TW: Mention of dead bodies.
The shadow extends beyond the treeline. I blink hard, struggling to see, but once I see what's headed in my direction, I feel all the tension leave my body. After being friends with Shikamaru for years and practically being pseudo-adopted by the Nara, I grew to trust the deer as much as I trusted the clan. It's clear to me just by looking at the deer walking towards me that they're originally from the Nara forest.
But why are they in Uzushiogakure?
"It has been some time since someone has come to these shores," the deer says. I'd never heard one of the Nara deer talk before. He sounds tired, his antlers have clear knicks. A scar runs under his right eye as he studies me.
It reminds me too much of Shikamaru.
"I've wanted to come here ever since I first heard about Uzu," I say.
"This is not a tourist destination, child."
"It's not like that!" The deer doesn't respond. I huff, crossing my arms as he stares at me. "You're just as annoying as Shikamaru 'ttbane!"
"I have not heard of that name before," the deer says. "But I assume I would like him." I can hear the amusement in his voice, it's the same tone as Shikaku when he scolds us for getting caught for a prank.
"I didn't tell you my name," I say, deflating at my realization. No wonder he was being so suspicious of me.
"That does help when meeting someone new," he snorts.
"My name is Uzumaki Kikuko, it's nice to meet you."
"My name is Ren," the deer says before he slides his leg through the barrier. When he moves it back, a piece of sealing paper rests on the sand. I recognize it immediately. Mom had used something similar for sealing her and dad's apartment. It's a blood detection seal. I crouch down and bite my thumb before sliding it across the center of the seal. It lights up a bright blue color before it disappears. I grin up at Ren and he rolls his eyes.
"Like I said, this is not a tourist destination."
"Of course not, it's home 'ttbane!" The deer pauses to look at me.
"You are too young," he shakes his head.
"Please don't send me away," I say, tears begin to burn behind my eyes again. He tilts his head slightly, much like the deer in the Nara forest when we were doing something out of the ordinary for a Nara.
"What are you so afraid of?"
"Oh, I don't know," I say as I look up to the sky. "The crazy elder who sent members of his old organization to kill me and my team? The fact that my brother is alone in the village with the monster? That I've been destined to a life of killing others just to survive?" I shake my head, wiping at my eyes angrily. What am I going to do now? I'd barely survived getting here. Everyone I loved in Konoha would be in danger if I went back.
"You're more mature for your age," the deer says after a moment. I'm still too afraid to actually look at him, so I focus instead on the waves as they roll in. "Giving the seemingly obvious answers while not giving me the real answer at all."
"I-"
"If you don't answer truthfully, I won't tell you what will be required of you should I let you in," he says firmly.
"Mito-baachan and my mom both wanted to come back to Uzu, but Jiji said they never made it," I say as I fiddle with the strap on my backpack. "I-I've always felt like I didn't belong in Konoha, not because of how the villagers treated us, but it just felt wrong."
"So you're hoping a trip here will make you feel better?"
"No, quit putting words in my mouth 'ttbane!" I feel my anger flare as I glare at the deer in front of me. I know I gave him what he wanted, a reaction. But I couldn't help myself.
"Hiroto-oji told me that my name is Uzumaki Kikuko, I'm the last princess of Uzushiogakure and I will not fail! I won't fail him or any of our family out there!" Ren looks at me as I struggle to catch my breath.
"Would you be willing to do anything to accomplish that goal?"
"Yes," I say firmly. He lowers his head slightly, a sad sigh coming from him.
"Then it's time I tell you what will happen if you break the barrier seal." I feel my breathing stop as he pauses. "You must bury the people of Uzushiogakure."
"I have to do what?"
"If you choose to break the barrier seal, you must bury those who fell with Uzushiogakure," Ren says. I feel my throat tighten as I sink to the ground. It explains why no one has actually come to Uzu since it fell. "There have been many who have come to these shores, but they were never able to commit to the task." I feel my hands start to shake as I stare down at the sand below me. Flashes of my earlier visions pass before my eyes. The bodies, the blood.
"You are too young for this," Ren sighs. "You can seek refuge in a smaller village until you feel ready to return."
"No," the word comes out without me even thinking. I freeze for just a second before I force myself to stand. "I'll do it."
"This is a huge responsibility-"
"It's my responsibility," I say, finally looking into Ren's eyes. "I'm the last princess of Uzushiogakure. This is my burden."
"Child-"
"No," I shake my head.
"You have no idea of what you will see."
"I think I do," I say, my voice cracking. I shift my jacket to show Ryūjin strapped to my side. "I saw visions when I was training with this sword growing up."
"Visions," Ren repeats slowly.
"The first one was when I was five, it showed how pretty Uzu was when its people were alive." I take a deep breath, "But the next visions weren't good. They showed the destruction, the bodies."
"What is the sword's name?" A voice asks. I look up to see a seagull flying in the air above Ren.
"Ryūjin," I say as I look up at the bird.
"So you're telling the truth, then," the bird says as they come to land on one of Ren's antlers. The deer gives a good natured sigh before he turns his attention back to me.
"This is your choice, Uzumaki Kikuko."
"And I choose to take care of my people." The seagull stares at me for a moment, something passes in their eyes, grief, pride? I can't really tell. They're gone before I can even ask their name.
"You will need to use your blood for this seal," Ren says pulling my attention back to him. I nod, pulling a kunai out before I rest on my knees in front of the barrier between us.
"First you need to start with the basic deconstruction array…"
The sun began to set by the time I finished the array. It drained almost all of my chakra to pull the barrier down, but I know I will never forget the feeling of taking that first step past the barrier. Despite the horror I knew I was about to see, I collapsed with relief as the barrier went back up behind me.
The original seal included a stasis and barrier seal. My additional seal would allow me access in and out, but in order to do that, the stasis seal had to be broken. Which meant I only had a limited amount of time to bury all of the bodies.
"Come along, Kiku." Ren says, breaking me out of my thoughts. We'd walked up the path filled with greenery like I had seen in my visions before. But things change when we finally make it up to the gates. The once large gates are now splintered into pieces along the ground.
We slowly make our way through the streets, Ren points me in the directions of the major parts of the village as we walk along the main road. I follow directly behind him, keeping my eyes up to avoid the bodies that line the streets.
He points me in the general direction of what used to be the academy, the mask storage temple (much like the one that's apparently in Konoha), the water and wind temples, the women's temple, the old onsens, and to the area where the most popular restaurants used to be.
Eventually we come to the main square. I struggle to keep looking ahead. Ren points out the fountain at the center of the square, I look over to see the water still flowing from it, the fountain seems to be the only untouched thing in the area. After looking at the fountain for a few moments, Ren pulls me towards a tall blue building. It seems untouched from the outside. But from the look Ren gives me as he pauses by the door, I know that's not the case.
"This is the Uzukage tower," Ren says. "This is also where the Sandaime Uzukage died. It is also the one place that has been untouched since the fall of Uzu."
"I thought that the barrier seal kept everyone out?" I say as I look at the swirls on the doors in front of me.
"It did not stop the summons from removing the combatant's bodies from Uzu," Ren says.
"The summons?" I turn to look at him.
"All of the summons have stayed on the island if their summoner fell with Uzu in the hope that they may sign with one of their descendents."
"But the deer, they're a Nara contract, right?"
"They are, my summoner's body is in this building," Ren says. "He was the husband of the Sandaime."
"I'm sorry," I whisper to him. Ren lowers his head slightly before looking back up at me.
"As far as we can tell, Kumo and Konoha are the only major villages that did not assist in the attack," Ren says. "We also believe an unidentified assisting force helped the larger villages as well; they possibly are the ones who planned this. Those are the bodies up in the tower."
"Wait," I say quickly. "The academy barely spent a full history lesson on Uzu, but they made it clear every major village except Konoha was a part of the attack."
"There hasn't been a single Kumo shinobi found," Ren shakes his head. "The Uzukage was in talks with the Raikage about an alliance-"
"That would violate the treaty with Konoha-"
"But what has Konoha done for Uzu except steal her people?" Ren asks.
"I'm not arguing with you there, my mom was one of the ones that was stolen 'ttbane!"
"Kumo was offering more in aid and partnership with Uzu," Ren says. "Kumo, like Uzu, is a village of immigrants."
"What?"
"While the Uzumaki were the most known and founding clan of Uzu, smaller clans came to Uzu for protection from larger villages."
"And Kumo is like that, too?"
"From what I know, many descendents and possible survivors went to Kumo."
"Possible survivors?" I whisper to myself. I knew Karin and her family were still out there, so was Nagato, but there were more?
"They've most likely changed their names. That or Kumo is using the fake narrative that they were a part of the massacre to help hide them," Ren says, his voice contemplative. "Regardless, we regularly have people of Kumo drop off flowers along the border."
"Jiji said if I needed anything, I shouldn't go back to Konoha for it to be safe," I say quietly.
"You would be safe to go to Kumo," Ren says. "But now we must find a place for you to stay tonight. Some of the housing by the docks should be good enough for a few nights-"
"No," I say. "I'm going to see- I'm going to see what happened in the tower."
"Kikuko-" I don't hear the rest of what he's going to say as I push the doors open. I step around the bodies on the stairs as I head to the top of the building where I assume the Uzukage's office will be. Once I reach the top of the stairs, I enter a small waiting room. There's a set of double doors beside the desk on the other side of the room.
I take a deep breath before I push the doors open. I slowly open my eyes to see the carnage of the room. It's filled with bodies. All the ones that cover the floor have masks over their faces. At first, I'm grateful for it. The last thing I want is to see their faces. The faces of a village's Anbu that came to destroy my village.
I feel a lump in my throat as I step over the bodies to get to the other side of the desk. Behind the desk are only two bodies. One, a man, is clearly a Nara. His hair is even up in the typical Nara ponytail. But laying across his chest, her eyes closed in what seems to be peace, is an Uzumaki. It's undeniable from the dark red hair that cascades down her back.
Her kage robes are covered in blood. I feel my hands shake as I stare at the couple, I eventually force myself to look away. Instead, I turn my attention to the other bodies in the room. I walk over to the one closest to me to examine the mask. Maybe if I sent it to Jiraiya he could tell me what village they're from. I carefully pull the mask off of the man's face, careful to not actually look at him or the mask as I do so. I turn around and put the mask face up on the desk.
And that's when I remember what Ren told me downstairs. These people are part of the unknown assisting force that brought the fall of Uzu. I focus on the mask. There's no animal face on it. There's no symbols on it. It's a blank white mask. I feel my heart beat wildly in my chest as I turn back to the man. Bright fangs are painted on his face like the Inuzuka of Konoha.
This wasn't an unknown force.
Konoha was involved.
Konoha was likely the ones who planned this.
Shimura Danzo killed my village.
I hear a scream when I realize this, the terrified wail echoing through the quiet of the village. The same scream I heard in one of my visions. It takes too long for me to realize it was me that screamed. I fall to the floor, dry heaving at the realization. The sobs start to make their way out of my chest soon, too.
Shimura Danzo killed my people.
Shimura Danzo tried to kill the Uchiha.
Shimura Danzo killed my teammate.
Shimura Danzo tried to kill me.
Shimura Danzo is in Konoha unchecked with my brother there, alone.
I scream until the entire island is silent once more.
I wake up slowly. Sunlight streams into the office and I blink my eyes, struggling to adjust to the light. I must have fallen asleep at some point in the night, I don't even know how that was possible with the state I was in. I groan as I slowly push myself up and away from the side of the desk. When I stand up, I see the same seagull sitting on the window frame.
"You should have listened to Ren when he told you to go to one of the homes by the docks to sleep," the seagull says as it ruffles its feathers.
"I couldn't," I say as I look at them. "What's your name?" I ask as I try to avoid looking around me. I know I need to start working, but I know I also need something, someone, to bring me back to myself when this is over.
"Kairi," they say plainly. "You know who is behind the masks."
"I guess you do too now that the mask is off," I say as I look at them.
"What will you do now that it turns out your precious Konoha took part in the massacre?" Kairi asks, their anger clear in their voice.
"Now, now," another seagull flies to sit beside Kairi on the window. "It's nice to meet you, Kikuko. My name is Soma. Please don't take my sister's anger personally-"
"Soma," Kairi huffs, cutting off his deep voice as she turns her head from him. I blink once and struggle to respond. Is this how Naruto and I looked when we were out together?
"I don't think the Hokage knew," I say after an awkward silence.
"How did he not know? He sent his Anbu!" Kairi yells.
"That's not normal Konoha Anbu," I say as I pick the mask up. It's clear to see how much I'm shaking as I hold it. "Konoha have painted masks," I say as I hold the white mask up to them. I put the mask back down on the desk before dropping my backpack beside it.
I pull out the scroll I used to store the mask from earlier before turning and showing it to them. Kairi freezes, the only sound from her is the clack of her beak closing.
"This is the mask of a Root agent who tried to kill me on my way here."
"Root?" Soma asks, his head tilting to the side.
"An underground operation that acts separately from the Hokage," I say quietly.
"Why are they targeting you?" Kairi finally asks.
"Because I stopped him from killing the Uchiha clan when I was little," I say as I rub the back of my head.
"You did what?"
"I went to the Sandaime about it, but he was acting weird. Danzo put a seal on him, and when we broke it, that's when he realized that Root was operating again."
"What put them out of operation?" Kairi asks.
"My dad- I mean- the Yondaime, I read some of his journals where he talked about it."
"Your father was the Yondaime?" Soma asks.
"Yeah, I think mom would've done a better job, though."
"Really?" Soma asks, amusement clear in his voice.
"She would've killed Danzo," I say honestly. "Dad believed that there was a way to peace, he didn't want to use more violence than he had to."
"And what do you believe?" Kairi asks.
"As long as Shimura Danzo lives, the elemental nations will never see peace."