Unexpected Changes: A New Life
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Disclaimer
I do not own the characters of Naruto. I only own Mizuki , Schel , a bunch of OCs, Nimue and the Ishizue clan. ….
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Hi again to anyone reading this… and thanks for the reviews I got….
dreamlife Thanks for the review! And I really like your story 'My dream'! gives dreamlife-san a choco Gaara
Rurikat J I do hope you would continue reading this…. even if it does kinda get overrun by OCs in awhile….. Thanks for reviewing! hands Rurikat-san a choco Naruto And THANK YOU for putting me on your favorites…. ummm… oh so you don't like yaoi… well err that's okay… I shouldn't make this yaoi then… but could you bear a little shounen-ai?
So here's the next installment...
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Chapter 1: The Return to Konoha (Part 2) (Lost? Trapped? The Elder! Death!)
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"Schel…?"
"."
"Hey… Schel, are we there yet?"
"No."
"Are we lost?"
"I don't know."
"Are we near Hidden Leaf's territory?"
"We are in Hidden Leaf's territory… since we crossed the Fire country's borders…"
"…oh…"
"So, are we far from the village?"
"I don't know… why?"
"It's just that… I'm … so … tired…"
"."
"…"
"Hey I can see it now… See that faint outline over the horizon? I think that's it!"
"…"
"…"
"Mizuki!"
"…"
"Mizuki! What the¾"
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"I guess it's my duty to bring you there after all… You really need to build up your stamina… Damn those Ishizues for not showing you how! And damn you for making me a beast of burden!", Schel exclaimed as she hoisted her friend up and carried her companion on her back.. Mizuki only groaned in response as she made herself comfortable while Schel continued on their way to Konoha.
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After an indefinite amount of time…- O -
"Schel? Where are we?", Mizuki said as she woke up, finding herself carried by her friend. "Honestly, I have no idea…", came the reply. "B-but… you said you saw the village already when I lost conciousness…", she sputtered indignantly. "I did! Or at least I thought I did… It's kind of … like a mirage", Schel said thoughtfully. "Genjutsu?" "I don't know…" "How long was I out?" "A few days… a week at most… What happened?" "I was attacked… some wild animals… I don't remember much but I think we're not really in the Fire country." "Actually, I don't think we ever left Hidden Rain." "So, you think it's some elaborate genjutsu? Why did you even ask me if I knew where we were, then?", the prodigy of the Tock clan asked irritably. Mizuki just let herself down from her friend's back and turned away. "I had a dream."
Schel crossed her arms and glared at Mizuki, "Uh-huh and what's the connection between your dream and us being trapped in an elaborate genjutsu? Perhaps, you should tell me. You should also tell me why you were out for so long… You shouldn't be keeping anything from me, you know!", she glowered angrily.
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"Because I saw her…"
"Who?"
"The Elder."
"Explain."
"…"
"The Elder is the head of the Ishizue clan, the clan that I belong to. She rules everyone in our own little village. Her word is the law and disobedience means death. She is the matriarch of the Ishizue clan ¾ the only surviving clan with absolutely no males in their number."
"But I thought you were an Akimichi!"
"I am… however, I grew up with my mother's people, as was expected of the daughters of every Ishizue, even the banished males."
"Since you mentioned it, what happens to the male children?"
"The mothers are given three choices. First and simplest of all is to kill it. Second would be to take care of the child while it's still young till the time when the child could be used to increase the number of the clan then killed after he has performed his duty. The third would be to give the child to his father but bound to the clan by one duty… to surrender any female child borne to him, to the clan. He may then live his life in peace. Ultimately, it's the mother's choice. It all depends on her. Whatever she chooses, though, the male child is not considered part of the clan from the moment it was born to the moment it dies…"
"How cruel! But… how could the first be the simplest?"
"No ties… No bonds… No duties… No responsibilities… Nothing…It's easier to let go and then afterwards, it's as if the child never existed. And … most of the time, the mother does it herself… she'd rather the child die by her hand than anyone else's."
"That's barbaric!"
"I know … but you see, they're all bound to the land, to the traditions of the land, to the Elder. All of that just because the Elder signifies the land and all must bow and follow her every whim."
"So … tell me about your dream…"
"…"
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Mizuki's Dream
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A red haze clouded her vision as Mizuki found herself in a strange place. A wasteland perhaps? But how could it be…? Just a few moments ago she has regned herself to her fate ¾ to be torn apart and eaten by a hungry pack of wolves. And then the next, she's here in this barren wasteland covered in red mist… 'It's thoroughly confusing, that's what it is!', the annoyed Mizuki thought.
"Is this some sick joke!" But as she yelled, she saw a figure in the north clothed completely in white. Her eyes widened slightly as she recognized who it was. 'The Elder! What is she doing here!' But as she thought of that and stared wordlessly at the woman, the mist started condensing and as the drops fell on the ground , Mizuki realized what it was… BLOOD! It's raining blood! What's happening? Why won't it stop…? Too soon it will be a river… a sea! A sea of blood!
But as quickly as it came, the rain stopped and Mizuki once again focused on the Elder. The Elder whose pure white garb was now soaked in blood… blood of the countless people she had slain. The ageless Elder whom everyone revered… The elder with her shining silver hair and steely gaze… The beautiful old woman who stood in the middle of it all holding in her right hand a still beating heart of a babe she had just sacrificed.
Mizuki regained her expression of shock and tried to run away … but to where? There's nothing here but blood and a barren wasteland. She looked down at the fruitless earth , trying to decipher some meaning out of all this…
"Mizuki..", the Elder called out to her. "Hai?" "Do you know this place, my daughter?", the Elder crooned softly. Mizuki shook her head accordingly. "It's where the all the scum go! This is the place where traitors, like your mother, go! In several pieces of course.", she cackled. At this point, gone was her gentle demeanor and she was visibly threatening Mizuki. "This is where your mother went! And this is where you will go if you continue down that path!" "You are not going to Konoha", she continued, "for that will mean that you are to follow in your mother's footsteps!" "What's so wrong with my mother!" Mizuki looked appalled at the woman in front of her.
"She was a traitor! She betrayed all Ishizues by falling in love with that man, Akimichi Choumaru. Yes, I believe that was his name. She tried to keep you and your brother away from the village. Amale child, that's hardly necessary… the Ishizues have never needed males and never will we need their kind! But she tried to keep you away. A mortal sin in our ranks and she paid for her treachery… that she did… dearly… And now you want to be like her! I must stop you from committing the same mistake as that woman!" Mizuki didn't look up but continued staring at the ground, her shoulders shaking as silent tears made their way down her cheeks, "That woman you say? Why is it so wrong? What's so wrong with falling in love and protecting your children and trying to keep them from harm? What's wrong with sacrificing yourself for the people you love?"
"It's wrong because it's a fruitless venture, a useless sacrifice. She tried to keep all of you away and look where how far that got her? That sacrifice got her as far as her grave! And where did that bring you? To us! In the end, all that she has done was done for nothing. She didn't succeed… I did. Now, I'm going to give you a choice. You could either go back to our village or continue on to Konohagakure for another fruitless venture.", the Elder said.
"I must continue on to Konoha.", Mizuki stood her ground. "If you say so…", the Elder replied, "But I must warn you … you have just chosen a path to your death… by my hand. You will join all the others who came here. They are what the barren wasteland is made up of. Their spilt blood has forever turned this ground red and they themselves have decayed and formed the very ground we are standing on. Isn't it brilliant? The stench of death never leaves this place… and you never will, too.", and a truly horrifying smile graced the Elder's face.
"You might think that your getting closer to Konoha, but that's not true. You are , indeed, still in the wasteland. The Fire Country backdrop and all? That's just an illusion." And with that said, the background changed. Gone were the red haze and bloody ground, and it was replaced by luxurious green grass and beautiful flowers, along with the tall trees and all that make up the Fire Country… But it didn't feel real. It was still deathly cold, suffocating… The red haze and the blood were still there but they have turned invisible…
'She's playing with my senses… but could she be right? Then,maybe we could just wait for her to run out of chakra to support this illusion.', Mizuki wondered as she saw the transformation take place. "Of course, I'm right", came the booming voice of the Elder. "It's my masterpiece… It's absolutely breathtaking isn't it?", she asked as she breathed in the scent of blood , all the while still fondling the heart in her hand. "And, you know what's the best part, dearest? I haven't wasted a single ounce of chakra on it … It utilizes the chakra of its victims. Brilliant, isn't it?" With that, she crushed the heart in her hand and let the ground absorb the blood dripping from it. The woman then placed her hand near her face and licked the blood from her fingers. "Hmm… so sweet the innocence of the little ones.", she chuckled darkly and turned back to Mizuki. "It's late, dearest, I better take my leave… and you should go on your way… to your death." A velvety laugh, a cruel smile.. and then she was gone as if she just faded away…
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"… and with her, the whole makeshift world faded away… as if it had never been there in the first place… all that was left was darkness, emptiness… something that could never be conquered alone… and alone I was there… until I woke up on your back.", Mizuki sniffed. "It was her plan from the beginning and we played right into her hand… Oh, how could we?"
"How could you prove that she's right?", Schel asked doubtfully. "Okay, try this… pick up a blade of grass Schel… since there are so many around I doubt if it could change anything were it real." "Hmm, okay", Schel said, bending down to pluck a single blade of grass. She could see it clearly but somehow , no matter how much she tried , she couldn't pull it out or even touch it.
"See?", Mizuki growled "If a single blade of grass isn't real , then how could all these things be real?" She made a movement as if to strike the tree in front of her but her hand also passed through that. " Is that enough proof, Schel?", she glared at her friend but deep inside, it was the one time she wanted to be proven wrong. It would have been okay if everything is doing fine and she's just paranoid. But it was the one time that being right meant losing … losing their lives… losing to the fates…
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"Mizu-chan, we shouldn't be losing hope."
"Why not? Everything's fake? It's all an illusion."
"No, it's not!"
"What do you mean? There's nothing real left… not even a single blade of grass is real… How could anything else be?"
"But, we are! We're real and it could make all the difference!"
"Right … but how? Don't you feel it, Schel?"
"Feel what?"
"The weakening of your spirit, the draining of your precious chakra?"
"What!"
"You might not have felt it yet, since you use up much less chakra than I do, but I'm weakening , Schel, and soon you shall be too… Soon we shall find out if there is another life… If there really is a Creator… Soon we shall meet our Maker."
"Mizuki! Don't succumb to it, whatever it may be! You're still strong ! We could go on and break out of this! We could defy fate together!"
"But it's hard, Schel. Don't you smell it? It's the scent of death, my friend, and it never leaves this place, as we never shall."
"Don't say that! Mizu-chan, you're stronger than that, and you know it! We need to get out of this place. That old crone is poisoning your mind."
"There's no hope, Schel. No chance at all."
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'Is it really possible? That what seemed to be a simple task will kill us in the end… I'm not really sure… but I sure hope not. I still want to see what Konoha looks like. I still want to see the face of my cousin and be one of the strongest nin alive.', Schel thought as she started to feel weak and drained. Those were her last thoughts as she collapsed beside her friend, in the Barren Wasteland that was Ishizue.
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Hundreds of miles away, in Konoha, a multi-colored bird has just finished its self-appointed mission. It has succeeded in preventing the snake sannin from gifting the last surviving Uchiha with his curse seal. However, time was of essence now as the said bird sensed a great danger overwhelming her human partner, her master, Akimichi Ishizue Mizuki, and her closest friend, Rock Schel. The bird set out to Ishizue to make things right again.
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In one of the little towns surrounding Hidden Rain, where all known Ishizues lived, the Elder sat on a chair looking out the window into Ishizue. "It's quite a loss, aye it is, She could have been useful but she had pitiful ideas. What I did was right. She would have ruined us… indeed, that she could have… but she was my daughter, and Mizuki my granddaughter. As the elder, I did nothing wrong. But as a mother and grandmother, what kind of monster am I? But I am the embodiment of the Law and I must uphold it, no matter what… even if you are my true descendant … I am not sorry that I got rid of you.", she said resolutely to herself not minding the tears that are threatening to spill, and ignoring the small voice at the back of her head telling her that she was also the one who made the Law.
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A/N
Okay… I admit it's weird and quite…. sad… and tah… I badly need a beta! Puh-lease? And umm… please review… here's the character profile I promised.
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Character Profile
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The Elder
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Name: The Elder, Ishizue Nimue (for a time), The Law
Age: Unknown (rumored to be 8 centuries old)
Sex: Female
Place of Origin: Amegakure (Hidden Rain)
DOB: November 1 (Day of the Dead)
Distinguishing Characteristics: Silver hair, bottomless eyes (it's plain blank… like a blackhole), Tattoo on her left breast (sickle shaped), extreme physical strength, ruthless.
Weapon: Her body is her sole weapon. (she honed it to be)
Jutsus: Ishizue bloodline limit (create water out of chakra at little cost), Unnamed Ice and water jutsus and just about anything she can manipulate her water to be.
History: No one knows how she came to be. Stories about her just said that one day, she came into Amegakure with three of her sisters and took Hiroki Kamura as her mate. Kamura was greedy, barbaric and he was also a wife beater. He used her for his perverted pleasures and showed her of to his friends. Sometimes, he also forced her to pleasure his friends. She was deeply shamed but she bore him five daughters but no sons. This angered him more and drove him to beat her everyday. Then, out of spite, she bore him a son ¾ a son who in the end killed him and ended his reign. Because of this, they were driven out of the children, along with the families of Nimue's sisters. This enraged their husbands and this drove one of them to kill his wife, Yuki. The death of her favorite sister drove Nimue mad and she killed every male in their encampment and from then on she became the Law and the Elder and she dictated that no man could enter their place and from then on the only Ishizues were female, the males of their kind were either banished or killed. The ones that remained only served the purpose to procreate, they were nothing more than breeding animals and they were treated as such.
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A/N
Hehe… that was fun! Hope ya liked it! More to come More to come … Please R&R!
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