Chapter Fifteen: Izanagi and Team Taka
AN: This chapter has my interpretation of Canon Izanagi that complements the narrative's themes. It'll be elaborated on more in the coming chapters. Izanagi's canon "results' cancellation (it's a Genjutsu—it doesn't 'turn back time' as some silly readers believe)" ability has been modified as its canon usage would make Sasuke almost invincible and that isn't something I want in this fiction.
I've also modified Susanoo and Amaterasu quite a bit, so you'll know more about them in the coming chapters, as well. Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan Sasuke's been downgraded immensely to fit the local-logic of this fiction's universe. He's nowhere near as powerful (in my fiction) as he was in the Canon.
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Whoever said that necessity was the mother of invention was off the mark and a fool. It had always been desperation, looming behind it, tall and menacing, the way a woman was behind the ill-fated sequences of a fool's, Naruto's, life. She may deny it; she may hide it behind social traditions of ambiguity; but Sasuke knew that she was nothing but trouble!
The last thing he wanted as an added distraction was another woman hounding him by day and dogging him by night. The mess was piling up, and he was sinking deeper—the plunge into the chaos of sweet trouble had become deeper. Yes, games were sweet. There was a certain charm in the mire of confusion a new game provided. The more it unravelled, the more excited he got, giddy as a child for his new-found toy.
He had sunk his teeth into this new ambrosia and tasted the sweetness from its delicate tendrils that fell drop by drop on his tongue—the tongue of a lover that adored the evanescent fragrances and tastes of many a flower; and when the thrill enthralled him completely, he would let it flood him with such eagerness that, for a moment, he would think himself to be no better than a madman, giving chase to faceless foes that played hide and seek with him since his boyhood days; but then the thought would slink back into the undulations of his of unwelcomed nightmares, kept deep under the things he deemed not to be his necessities.
So it was a ritual, a requiem of loss, for that one thought he had buried long ago in the unknowing days and nights of innocence—now, all grown up, he stood in the autumn drafts that pushed his shirt against his sweat-dotted breast; he was no madman. No, he was a thrill-seeker; and he had come to cheerfully embrace this side of himself a long time ago. Others may have hated, even loathed, him for his harsh tongue that smoothed out the roughest of edges (occasionally)—even women—but he shrugged off these sentiments: they were not his to collect.
Last night, when the rain had yet to stop, he slipped out of the futon and sent Kirin off to Karin. She had been sending him messages. He did not think her inclusion was necessary right now; but the way a powerful seal could not prevent Naruto from leaving his house—he had to admit it, he was being plagued by doubts. And these doubts were starting to gnaw away at his plans like rats.
Was he being played? Was someone beating him at his own game? Questions—questions—youths with purpose did not have time for that! A look of cooled anger flashed across his face. It was so quick, like a flash of lightning that left a bright cobweb floating in one's eye, that no one's gaze could have navigated fast enough to see; but only faster, like the coming of a heartbeat when you felt that a powerful pulse was about to throw the heart against the ribs whilst you struggled in madness to save your neck, and then . . . it was gone, suffusing the body with life's slowest crawl—again! A-ha! re-assured that you were not going tonight—not this night!
Sasuke let out a breath of warm air, and then sucked a lungful of cool air back in. He wrinkled his nose a bit when the air pushed the musk of grass and soggy ground up his nostrils. For a moment, his gaze stopped on Naruto and he met his cloudy eyes: he looked tired, oblivious, with Sakura's arm in his. Since Hinata was not here, Sakura found it convenient to flaunt their arrangement out in the open. Naruto was such a fool!
He chose not to say anything. Naruto's forgetfulness was his advantage. He hung his head a little to the left and hid the smile breaking across his face. Yes, it was just a little game . . . and playtime (with its boyhood charms) had begun! He lifted his face and masked the fast-fading hint of glee (almost) perfectly behind that same expression of duty that involved the dutiful rise of his brow and the shift of his facial muscles to create a look of authority. It was truly a tired old ritual.
"I've called all of you out here to introduce a new member," he began and folded his arms more firmly than before. "I'm sure you can all see her. She's Uzumaki Karin, and she'll be the Sensor of the Team."
All of them were already looking at the young woman who stood on Sasuke's left side, looking quite excited. "Sasuke—Sasuke-Sama, do I have to introduce myself?" she asked and circled his waist with one arm.
Sasuke's jaw tightened, and he spared her a sidelong gaze that almost burnt a hole into her face. She immediately backed away and collected her glasses swiftly as if to prepare herself for the coming criticism. "This isn't a Genin class," he said, clearly irritated by her natural skill to be continually causal, and clenched his teeth together. "You've already been introduced. Stop fooling around. Talk to Yuu and make yourself useful."
She laughed a little, but that laughter died in her throat when she saw Sasuke walk away from her. With the smile vanishing, her face seemed a bit indifferent, almost hard. Her soft, purple-hued eyes turned left and trailed over to the lost lover staring at her with a boyish grin across his face; then she gazed at the subtle apprehension Sakura's eyes could not hide in time.
Karin cast one last glance at Sakura, and then methodically wiped at her glasses with a clean cloth she had fished out from her pocket. She lifted them, her breath fogging the glass, and repeated the same circular movements with her thumb. When she got satisfied, she put the glasses back on and fingered them back to their usual perch. She canted her head to one side and smiled a smile delightful smile that must have made her appear like a woman with a carefree disposition to everyone, even Sakura. It was amusing . . .
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Sasuke lay still under the trickles of rainwater coming in from the crack in the roof. A puddle grew wide next to him as it caught the droplets. Drip drip drip—the sound was like hammers in his ears. He stirred his head a little and pulled back his lips that were stuck to the floor, caked in dirt.
He exhaled sharply and hazily saw bits of dust rise up into the air. The place was dark save for a single silver shaft from the moon, travelling down and breaking into white wisps as it struck the wisteria growing inwards through the roof's crevices. His head was pounding and his vision was blurring, swaying, a heaving boat on stormy tides.
He mustered up the courage and propped himself up on his elbows, his head hanging in exhaustion. It took a while before his cloudy vision allowed him the luxury to survey his surroundings: the cave was muddy and soggy, and the noise from beyond the numerous roots, burrowing into the cave, grew angrier. It was about to rain hard.
Sasuke whispered something to himself, but his voice was lost in dreams. Slowly, he got to his feet and put his hand on the harsh rocks on his right. They glowed in the dark. Luminescent rocks? There were no such rocks in Konoha! Where was he? His chakra was out, and his Sharingan could not beat back to life again: his own power had abandoned him! How helpless he felt as an Uchiha with his anchor taken away so harshly from him? It was a nightmare come alive!
The rustle of feet through the grass turned his vision. He could not see anyone save a shadow. The kunai in its hand glimmered in the light and shone, a spectre of death's instrument, at the sharp edge. His pride whipped the fear in him, and he stood defiantly before it—ready to take on the brunt of its cruelty.
The figure lunged forward and stabbed the knife through his heart. It was a magnificent sight: a red shower landed on the long-dead Sakura flowers strewn about the cave, dappled red with his life's last signs; it was amazing how he saw them just now—death had lifted the last secret's veil, and he could see everything clearly now!
He tried to speak but the air left him: his dying, unblinking eye caught the last drop of rainwater . . . and he woke up, his breathing hard and heavy. He placed his hand on his sweaty forehead and wiped it across his face, collecting the oozing sweat from every pore. The warm room was a welcoming place from the spectacle of his own death—even if it was in a dreadful dream.
Sasuke turned his head slightly, still not amused that Hinata had taken a refuge for the second night inside his room; but he let it slide. It was a sacrifice on his part, a hard compromise for the prize he desired. He eased back down into the futon and relaxed the tense muscles in his back.
Breathing in, he realised that this was the third time he had had this dream; his Sharingan was telling him something, and he intended to solve this mystery . . .
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The premonition was set into motion. No, he could not really say that for sure, but he could hear the wheels of its chariot turning, ready to crush and crumble his life and everything he held dear; but the woes would have to wait! He knelt down and picked up the last fallen Sakura flower of the season. They would not bloom again this year; they were of short stay—he remembered the dream still. The flowers had long since died, drained of colour in Izanagi—in his mind, he felt a colder rain. Was his nightmare winter's fragment?
By his feet, countless ripples disturbed the shallow marks in the ground. The hard stone-road was worn away by autumn storms that stayed merciless. If the shinobis did not know their paths right, they got lost in the vast forests, killed by spies or taken hostage. Konoha and Root always washed their hands clean of such petty matters. Lives did not matter to them as long as that nexus of power, birthed by vice, remained undisturbed.
Sasuke breathed in the moist air and palmed his wet face, his lips pulling into a thin line. A frisson of disgust remained suppressed under his skin, cradled deep in the boy's heart—a part of which, dirtied by his people's slaughter. When it beat, it sent bits of hatred coursing through his whole body: a constant anger he cherished now . . .
He lifted his head and placed his elbow on his knee and looked beyond the red hair flowing in the wind, breaking the last shafts of grey lights. Karin had tied her hair back into a ponytail. Presently, two fingers of her right hand were pointed upwards. She was concentrating. Her glasses were foggy and dotted with raindrops that slowly trailed down and splashed on her lips and nose. It was cold at this time of dusk.
"Anything?" he asked, stood up, cleared his throat. The abrupt change in weather had given him a bad throat—or it could be the well-flavoured tomato-sauce he over-ate last night . . .
Karin opened her eyes and lowered her hands. "When he merges with water, it's difficult to track him," she said and blinked her right eye several times when a drop of rainwater clung to her red lashes and touched the surface of her dilating pupil. She removed her glasses and rubbed at her eye. When she opened it again, it had turned red and tearful.
"It's been a while," he said and turned to his Sharingan—that one tool that never lied to him. His ears were abuzz with the rustle of leaves that quivered in the rain. The dissonance of forest's melody did not disturb his vision. He kept looking, disappointed when his eyes failed to trace his chakra.
"Should we go and look for Jūgo?" Karin asked and shook her wet hand. Her red hair clung to her face like paste, her cheeks blushing in the rain. The thinning rain was not lasting long enough for this foray. The wind was bone-freezing cold, and both of them felt its lashes on their skins, Karin more so than Sasuke for he was naturally equipped to fight it.
Sasuke turned his head around, not finding a soul out here at this hour. Faint slivers from sun vanished behind the clouds that devoured the sinking sun. The grey blanket cast darkness below, and it dispersed like frightened children when the sky lit up with a roar. His cunning could not have anticipated this poor weather!
"Let him sing with his birds," he said and cast her a bored gaze when she burst into girl-ish laughter, "he might get luckier than us."
"Should I sense again?" she asked and moved her hands up to form a seal again. Without Sharingan, he could barely see her beyond the mist that rose between them—a grey ghost in the going black.
"No need," he said, louder this time, as wind hissed, cut through the air, and cried into their ears. "What's taking them so long?" He moved under the cover of branches that had got snarled up with the vines. Overhead, leaves, clinging to the branches with last signs of spring's life, got severed by the wind.
"Sasuke, we won't find it in this weather. And even if we do, the rain would've cleaned up any leftover chakra. We should come back another day," she said and placed her hand on his shoulder. His Jōnin shirt was completely soaked though that she could feel his warming skin underneath: he was very young and lusty, his chakra so potent that, on most days, cold hardly bothered him! She was almost envious!
"We have to find it today. These rains aren't going to stop—I don't know if I'll get a day off in the coming weeks. Nii-Sama will be back soon. He won't allow me to do as I please. You know how things are," he said, his voice deep and throaty, peering into grey mist by their feet. He could no longer see the grass underneath.
Curiosity came over her face, and then a clever smile broke it suddenly. "Your little pink-haired slut won't make my job easy," she said with teeth in her smile. "Should I kill her? Keeping an eye on Naruto would be easier that way!"
"She's not my lover. I've never touched that woman nor do I intend to," he gave a measured reply and drew in a breath; it travelled like liquid-ice in his fire-hot lungs.
"Oh, poor her—bet the sow wants to fuck you so bad!" Karin said in a playful, mocking tone and pressed her finger over her soft lips. "I still think she would be nothing but trouble. Don't worry, I'll make it look like an accident."
Sasuke smiled at her strange sense of humour—truly a wicked and innocent smile—and leant back against the tree. "Why dirty your hands? She isn't worth it," he broke off and fixed her with a mischievous look. "I wouldn't worry about her, but you're a bit cruel, Karin."
"Are you still hung up on that dead whore?" she asked, the surprise in her voice getting lost in the midst of many sounds. "She was going to tell on us. If I hadn't done that, Root would've been onto you after what you did to Fū—you should thank me. I didn't have much choice."
"You could've wiped out her memory. Murder—" he stopped to let out a sigh, "—it complicates matters. It's better to keep things clean and simple. Sometimes, even the murder of a bystander can become trouble later. You won't do anything—not unless I tell you to."
"You're a softy," she said and mashed herself against him and clasped her arms about his waist. "That's what I love about you. Such a romantic!"
"There's romance in keeping matters from getting messy—that's what Nii-Sama tells me," he said slowly and looked around ", and then he says, 'you will do well to remember that.' "; mist fell down upon them through the wet boughs like a cascade. He walked out into the open as the rain eased up to a thin drizzle.
Karin walked behind him. Both of them stopped when they heard rustling in the wet bushes ahead. "It's okay. It's just Jūgo," Karin said and put her kunai away.
Sasuke's grip slackened on the sword's hilt; and, not a second later, a very tall man appeared from behind the bushes: he had quite a few birds perched on his wide shoulders; they chirped and sang in melodious voices, and for the life of him, Sasuke could never understand how he was able to talk to them.
"Sasuke," he said immediately as his gaze fell upon the Uchiha youth, "I talked to the birds around the area. They don't seem to know much about the hidden trail, but they say that there's something at the base of the mountain up ahead." He pointed north and stood with a calm disposition.
"Where's Suigetsu?" Sasuke asked and pushed the sword back into the sheath. "I hope he didn't get carried away by the currents—wouldn't want him to get lost in the river."
"He should've made to it the entrance. He said he was too wet to walk around for now," Jūgo said and fed one of the birds few soggy breadcrumbs.
"Let the bastard drown and die! Why did you ask him to come along?" Karin asked, irritated.
"Behave yourself," Sasuke said and turned his head to look at her features, touched by anger's colour that was deep enough to rival her hair's colour. "I wouldn't have this here. You understand?"
Karin clucked her tongue irritably. "You'll get along and you'll do it without creating a mess for me," he continued whilst the Sharingan flared and then disappeared, overtaken by the blackness his eyes were familiar with.
"All right, all right," she said, raising her voice, "but he better not get on my nerves."
"Lead the way, Jūgo," Sasuke said and ran behind the tall man, followed by the very reluctant Karin.
It took them a few minutes to reach a little clearing. Sasuke held out his palm and a flame came alive upon it and sizzled in the drizzle. When they stopped, he looked around; he had passed by this area a couple of times but never came upon this clearing. It was probably because of the pile of boulders before the area on the right. He had no business to come here.
He walked carefully and let his Sharingan see through everything, even the chakra flowing inside the water-like form of Suigetsu's odd body. "I thought you drowned in the rain," Sasuke said and elicited a loud laugh out of Karin.
"Yah, ya would love that, huh, Karin? Ya just think 'am this tiny stone in yor path, dontcha? Like hell I am, 'cause I'll be this giant fuckin' mountain between ya an' Sasuke. 'Am never goin' ta move. Ya hear me?" He moved his sagged face and revealed perfect-white pointy teeth. It was hard to tell what kind of expression he was trying to make, because all Sasuke could see were tiny bubbles rising up to his blue skin. "Really, Sasuke, I can't. Ya know why? 'Cause 'am water, baby—'am here, there, 'am everywhere!" He lifted the large sword up into the air as some sort of victory gesture and pulled a smile that sagged the next moment. It looked as though he could not maintain any expression longer than two seconds.
"You shouldn't sit under the rain after being in the water for so long. I don't want to come back and collect you in buckets," Sasuke said, with poker-faced seriousness.
"Ah, good times!" Suigetsu said aloud and snapped at the mist several times like an irritated dog as if it would dilute him even more. "When was that again? Oh, yah, that Cloud Village incident. The nasty broad was about ta flush me down the toilet. I still got nightmares."
Sasuke let out a subtle 'hmm' sound and moved his eyes and looked at the thick line of trees standing all around them like an ominous, variegated curtain. This trail was hidden in plain sight. He had no reason to tread this far away from the main trail during his missions. How much were they hiding from their own military?
"I think she should have. You're already so full of shit!" Karin said with a snap, creating a disgusted expression as if Sasuke really had pulled him out of the gutters—bucket by bucket.
"That's rich, comin' from a whor—"
"Enough, both of you." Sasuke raised his hand and then turned a little to look at Suigetsu. "Where is it?"
"I'll take you, Sasuke. The birds are getting restless because of the negative Natural Energy here. They need harmony," Jūgo said with infinite calm and started for the boulders in front.
"Now, ain't that guy an original thinker!" Suigetsu exclaimed and pointed his sword at Jūgo who disappeared behind the large rocks worn thin by fungus and rain. "If only ya was like that, Karin. But with all that anger and shameful thoughts 'bout Sasuke, yo'll just disturb his peace-lovin' parakeets!"
"For Sake's sake . . . " Sasuke mumbled and walked behind Jūgo, not sticking around to lend a patient ear to Karin's uncultured insults that involved Suigetsu, his hyper-fluid penis, and his willing, dead mother.
When he turned the corner, he came across a shrine or what was left of it: it was shattered to pieces, and from the looks of it, not long ago! He knelt down and brushed his fingers on the hard mud. He could see nothing. The chakra, the prints, it was all gone save for the fragmentary bits of bluish energy plastered to the rocks, and it was not enough to pin down the worm. The rain took care of its true nature and hid the culprit's identity; otherwise, his Sharingan would have seen the colour of that snake's chakra.
"Not quite what ya was expectin'?" Suigetsu asked from behind him. "I thought it always looked like that and was wonderin' what yo'd want with this dump."
"No," Sasuke sighed out and stood up. His eyes turned and stopped on Suigetsu and Karin. "One of the Root members talked about coming in through the entrances in the south—only three days ago. Someone destroyed this very recently. Karin, can you sense anything?"
Karin touched her glasses—it was a perfunctory habit of hers. "There's a bit of chakra from someone here, but it's too small to sense anything. You're right. Someone did this quite recently," she said and moved a little to the left to look at the smashed entrance.
"Isn't there any way under it? I can slip inside," Suigetsu said and propped his sword against the tree.
Sasuke looked down at the entrance again and found nothing but darkness. The entrance was destroyed from both ends. There was not even a gap the size of a bodkin to squeeze through. "Leave it. Whoever it was, he sensed danger and acted before us. Even if you manage to slip in, you'll get caught," Sasuke said, a look of confusion scurrying across his face.
"Any ideas who?" Karin asked.
"Don't know," Sasuke replied and brushed his fingers across his reddened cheek, "but I'll find out soon enough."
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