Those Who Are Lost
Chapter 17
Like Flags on a Map
Hello there my fellow fanfictioners! It's certainly been a while hasn't it? Happy 2019! I apologise, as I always do, for my late updates.
It takes time to come up with chapter ideas that are not only interesting but make logical sense to progress the plot. Then there is the writing, the writer's block (which is an ass) and of course that small pesky thing called life which sometimes gets in the way.
Nevertheless as a pseudo-apology I have written a longer chapter for you guys to devour. Additionally there may be a little reward in my Author's Note at the end of the chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not in any way claim ownership of Naruto, Naruto Shippuden or Boruto: Naruto next generations. These fantastic properties are the property of the great Masashi Kishimoto.
I do however like to think I own my OC's so please don't take that away from me, okay? 😉
Now then, enough of my senseless prattling and on to the story.
KONOHA- THE HOKAGE'S OFFICE
"Is that everything?" Naruto asked, his attention focused entirely on the large map of the Elemental Nations spread over his desk like some bizarre tablecloth.
"Yes, Lord Hokage…" The shinobi replied, seeming to hesitate towards the end. This caught the Uzumaki's attention and Naruto looked up from the map, his index finger still circling the large red flag centred on the cartograph, representing the location of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. There was another such flag further to the north representing the capital of the Land of Fire, where the daimyo was seated. The map was also littered with a host of smaller red flags, facing a sea of purple ones. The purple flags represented the forces of the enemy. The forces of the Hidden Sound. The past few years had seen the cold war between the two nations escalate until now. Now it was only a matter of time before the two Hidden Nations were in open conflict with one another.
"What is it?" The Hokage asked, trying and failing to keep the weariness from making itself known in his voice and features. Fortunately, his guest made no mention of the fact and whether Naruto had succeeded or not in this endeavour.
The man hesitated again, seeming to take a moment to gather his courage in order to speak before letting out a long sigh, reaching into his breast pocket to withdraw a well used carton of cigarettes, pulling one, lighting it and proceeded to take a long deep drag.
"Shikamaru?" Naruto pressed his old friend, noting his comrade's reluctance to speak. Shikamaru Nara took another long pull of the cigarette, puffing out the smoke a moment later and watched as the cloud of his own making swirled around in the air in a series of chaotic, mesmerizing patterns before dissipating. Naruto, never a fan of the Nara's habit, couldn't help but cringe slightly as the smell of tobacco assaulted his nose and resisted the urge to step back out of the smoke blowing radius.
Hinata would kill me if I came home smelling of cigarettes.
The Leaf's master tactician kept his quiet for another moment, staring at the map detailing troop deployments as though, if he stared at it long enough, he would be able to see the future. Evidently it had been long enough, and the Nara patriarch moved right up to the Hokage's desk before placing his finger on the map. Peering closer at the indicated area Naruto couldn't help but frown.
The Valley of the End?
"I don't understand. There was no mission scheduled to take place there?" Naruto questioned, a subtle hint of displeasure making itself known in his voice. Shikamaru pointedly avoided his eyes and shuffled from one foot to the other, the only indication that he had done something he shouldn't have, and Naruto didn't fail to pick up on it.
"Shikamaru. What did you do?" Naruto asked careful to keep his voice neutral. There was no point in getting angry until there was something to be mad about.
The Nara took another pull of his cigarette, refusing to meet his Hokage's gaze.
"A few days ago, refugees reached Konoha from Umi no Machi by the Salt Sea. They took the road through the mountains which led them to pass by the Valley of the End. The stories they told our ninja of what they saw there... I had to find out if it was true or not." Shikamaru began.
"Why didn't I hear of this sooner?" Naruto growled, doing his best to ignore the prickle of apprehension which caused the hair on the back of his neck to stand on end. Whatever the information the Uzumaki knew that it couldn't be good.
"You were preoccupied with the return of Kiba Inuzuka and the subsequent need to reinforce our borders with the Land of Wind and the Land of Lightning." Shikamaru replied after another puff of smoke escaped his lips.
Naruto gritted his teeth but nodded, nonetheless. There was no point in denying the truth and so the Uzumaki waved his hand for the Nara to continue.
"I sent a team to investigate." Here, Shikamaru stopped short looking distinctly uncomfortable.
"What happened?" Naruto asked quietly.
Shikamaru sighed, putting out the remainder of his cigarette in the nearby potted plant by the window.
"Of the five shinobi I sent out only one of them returned." Shikamaru informed him, watching his Hokage warily for his reaction.
Naruto sighed, sagging back into his chair and resting his face in the palm of his hands.
"So many. We are losing so many shinobi to this damned war." Naruto mumbled under his breath. Shikamaru grunted in agreement.
"What did they find on this unsanctioned mission of yours?" Naruto asked quietly and with a sigh of his own, Shikamaru dropped into the chair on the other side of the desk.
"They're building something in the Valley. Some sort of large tower-like structure and they seem to be in a hurry to do it." Shikamaru reported, jabbing with his finger once more at the outlines on the map that denoted the location of the Valley of the End.
The territory was located deep behind the line of purple flags.
There's no way we can get there in time.
"Any idea what th-" Naruto began only to be interrupted by the sound of raised voices coming from beyond his office door. Naruto and Shikamaru both turned to look at the door as the sounds of raised voices grew louder. A moment later the doors burst open, revealing a dishevelled looking Hinata, panting desperately for air.
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata gasped breathlessly.
"Hime?! What is it?" He asked standing upright and making his way to her, eyeing his wife in concern.
She looks as if she sprinted all the way across Konoha to get here.
Seeing the frantic, indignant look on his secretary's face from over Hinata's shoulders and the hesitant form of two dog-masked ANBU guards, Naruto waved his secretary off before signalling the ANBU to close the door. The masked ninja nodded before closing the oaken doors behind Hinata.
"Kiba!" Hinata gasped, bending over and resting on her knees. At this Naruto finally reached Hinata, placing a hand on her back in concern and trying not to pay attention to the twisting feeling in his gut.
"What is it Hime? Has something happened to Kiba?" He asked.
Is he dead?
The thought was an uncomfortable one and it took considerable will on the blonde's part to crush the worry. If something terrible had indeed happened to Kiba then the hospital would've called him directly as he had instructed them to do so.
Hinata shook her head, still sucking in great lungfuls of air. "Himawari." She finally breathed out, some of the colour returning to her cheeks.
Himawari?
"What are you talking about Hime? What is wrong with Kiba?" Naruto questioned, his eyebrows furrowed, and he signalled Shikamaru to bring the Hokage chair over to them so his wife could sit down.
Hinata took the offered furniture with a tired nod in thanks to the Nara.
"Himawari." Hinata repeated her voice catching, her eyes shining with unshed tears and Naruto knelt down in front of his wife, taking her hands in his and rubbing his thumb in slow circles against her skin.
"Hime, you're not making any sense. What does Himawari have to do with Kiba?" Naruto asked her gently. Hinata shook her head softly from side to side and Naruto found himself astounded to see a shaky smile forming on Hinata's face.
"You don't understand Naruto-kun." Hinata began. Then she said the words that turned Naruto's entire world on its head.
"He saw her Naruto-kun. Kiba saw our little girl, Himawari is alive!"
HI NO KUNI- THE FOREST OF FIRE
They had gotten onto the trail before dawn's light had even revealed itself and so they had risked travelling by torchlight until the sky had lightened enough that it was no longer necessary. It was Sasuke's decision, made under the reasoning that it would be easier to slip by any patrols that might have been looking for them in the dense foliage of the forest and that the deeper in they were the less likely anyone would even spot the glow of their fires. On the one hand Himawari understood that this was the most logical decision but on the other she couldn't help the frustration from coursing through her veins at being made to wake up so early.
'Definitely not a morning person' Sasuke couldn't help but think to himself with a small raising of his eyebrows as Himawari cursed at him with a rather impressive vocabulary for someone so young.
They avoided the main roads like the plague, moving through forest trails, forgotten to all but a few and it was slow going. The Forest of Fire stretched for hundreds of kilometres into the distance and if someone were to get lost, there was a good chance of never making it out again. Fortunately, Sasuke happened to be one of the few who still remembered the old pathways. It was only thanks to his years of trekking backwards and forwards across the Elemental Nations that he was able to mark the path through the trail known as the Green Road.
Years ago, on one of his first sojourns through the hidden trails the Uchiha had marked several of the trees with a small 'X' in red paint to mark the turns and bends in the trail. This was essential as the trail signs and the pathway itself was frequently overrun with aggressive, fast-growing vegetation.
It seems as if the Leaf hasn't been keeping the trails well-maintained.
The thought came unbidden into Sasuke's mind and he grimaced at the implications that that brought with it. It was clear that something had happened to occupy the Leaf if foreign shinobi had been allowed to infiltrate so deep into the Fire Nation's borders unchallenged.
Nevertheless, despite Sasuke's inherent knowledge of the many trails that made up the Green Road their progress was slow. They had to constantly shift from one trail to another to ensure that any pursuers they may have had would become hopelessly lost or unable to reasonably predict their destination. Every now and then the exiled shinobi would stop to brush aside some overgrown foliage away from the bark of a tree or from a faded, rotten trail marker in order to search for that same small 'X' he had made the last time he had walked these paths. At certain points the paint had started to fade from bright red to a deep, gore-like hue. Sasuke let out a small huff as he realised that he would need to recoat many of the markers he had left behind.
In the beginning Himawari had tried to keep track of their movement but after the seventh changeover she found herself unable to continue. The forest was a labyrinthine maze and one which seemed to constantly shift. It was as if the forest was a living, breathing thing, contracting and expanding in size like the rise and fall of a great beast's chest. Sometimes she would look back at the trail they were trekking only to find herself unable to locate the path. It seemed as if the forest were covering the trail with foliage whenever she wasn't looking.
It was a terrible thing and she knew that all it would take was one wrong turn in order for one to become lost in the gargantuan forest. Sasuke had told her that the though the forest could seem to be choked with trees and plants of all kinds so thick as to be impassable there were exceptions. There were many clearings and glades if someone knew where to look. Apparently, there were even a number of small towns and villages that called the great forest home.
Their route took them only through a small section of the forest, but it would still take a few days to make it to their destination. Thinking about their destination still made her frown in worry. After everything that had happened, not only in the Uchiha shrine but everything prior to that the two of them had reached a decision:
The Fire Temple.
They needed to put some distance between themselves and their pursuers and it was the only firm destination that they could agree on. Sasuke had wisely decided not to bring up the possibility of Konoha again and for that Himawari was eternally grateful.
Whenever they stopped, either for a simple break or to make camp, Himawari would train under Sasuke's guidance. It was a slow process but the more she trained the more Himawari could feel her own strength growing. Though she never said it she was glad that Sasuke was the one teaching her. He was a good teacher and she had never met anyone with the power that he seemed to possess.
When she thought back to their encounter with Nakata Sae, Himawari still found herself amazed at the skill and ease with which Sasuke had engaged the army of silent sound ninjas. A small voice in the back of her mind whispered that for all she had seen Sasuke could easily be more powerful than she thought.
The days passed and certain events became routine; Waking up, brushing Kamui, training and then travelling on the road. Conversation between Himawari and Sasuke dwindled quickly as both of them ran out of topics to talk about after their second day.
The silence was not an uncomfortable one and Himawari found that she enjoyed the quiet for the most part. Listening to the sounds of the forest proved to be an enjoyable activity. The singing of the birds and the rustling of the leaves in the seemingly ever present light breeze gave off a sense of tranquillity and when Himawari closed her eye and focused on nothing but those sensations and the familiar bobbing feeling that she had come to expect from riding on Kamui, she found a feeling of peace she had never experienced before.
And on and on the duo repeated this cycle. It was on the morning of their eighth day in the Forest of Fire that the routine finally broke.
It began as usual. Himawari practiced a few more katas, they would wash themselves, eat breakfast and then break camp and began their journey as normal.
That was where the montony ended. That was when Sasuke began his little game.
"I spy with my little eye something beginning with 'T'" Sasuke posed suddenly. Himawari's meditative state broke instantly and she looked down at the Uchiha. For the past three days Sasuke had insisted on her taking control of Kamui's reins while he walked beside the horse, giving pointers and tips from time to time to ensure her posture remained firm. As the days passed, she gradually learned how to ride Kamui and Sasuke began to give fewer and fewer pointers until eventually the advice stopped.
Shaking herself out of her own musings, Himawari began looking around, her search only taking a half-second before she figured it out.
'Why is he doing this?' Himawari couldn't help but think to herself. Taking another moment to consider it the young girl decided that she didn't much care for the reason. It broke the monotony of things and the act of searching, brief as it as, provided a rush of excitement that shocked her. A strange feeling of mirth bubbled up inside of her as she caught Sasuke's eyes and gave her answer.
"Tree silly!" Himawari giggled. Sometimes she just didn't understand her guardian, but, as she answered, she realised that she did understand what he was doing and why. After everything the both of them had been through she appreciated it more than anything.
"Well done." Sasuke grunted refusing to meet her gaze or let her see the small half-smile that adorned his features for a second. "Your turn."
'This is silly!' The Hyuuga thought to herself.
Despite that Himawari couldn't help the smile from gracing her features. It was a childish game, but it only took Himawari another heartbeat to realize that, despite everything that had happened during the year, she was still only a child.
"I spy with my little eye something beginning with… 'G'" She said hesitantly, still a little unsure as to whether this game was some kind of trick.
Sasuke made a show of thinking about it, scratching his chin and looking around himself, a serious expression on his face.
"Hmmmm… that's a difficult one!" Sasuke complained dramatically, proceeding to wave his hands in a theatrical fashion and he looked back at Himawari with an exaggerated look of hopefulness.
"Give me a clue." He asked of her. Himawari shook her head and raised her hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles.
"Fine. Be mean." The Uchiha sighed in apparent defeat before looking around once more. After a few moments he snapped his fingers as though the answer had just come to him.
"Grass! It has to be grass." He declared and Himawari laughed.
"That was an easy one Sasuke!" She teased and the Uchiha merely smiled in return.
"Your turn!" Himawari prompted, unable to keep the mirth from her voice.
"Alright alright. Let's see… I spy with my little eye something beginning with 'B'". He shot back after a moment's thought.
This was a harder one and Himawari frowned her head in thought. There was nothing in the immediate vicinity around them that jumped out at her as the answer.
"Bush?" She guessed and pouted when Sasuke shook his head in answer. Closing her eye to think about it Himawari then heard it. The sound of a bird singing.
"Bird!" She stated proudly and Sasuke merely grunted.
"Do you see the bird?" He asked her and Himawari frowned. All around them was nothing but trees and brush. Try as she might though, there was no sign of the creature.
"No." She admitted eventually.
"Try using your eye to look for it." Sasuke told her, his voice taking on an odd quality.
"I did. I don't see it." Himawari replied in a deadpan voice.
"No. Try using your other eye." He reiterated cryptically.
"I... don't know how." Himawari replied with a frown.
What is he playing at?
"Channel your chakra like we practiced." He instructed quietly. When Himawari didn't do as he instructed, Sasuke gave her a pointed look.
Even from her superior position, Himawari couldn't keep from squirming. There was something about the way that Sasuke could stare at a person. It was never quite a glare but something verging on the edge of it. It was the kind of look that made her feel as if she had done something so terrible that she would have to spend the rest of her life making up for it.
Resisting the look for a few moments more, Himawari let out a small sigh of defeat before shutting her eye and bringing her hands up into the standard seal for gathering chakra.
"Good. Now mould the chakra and send it to your eye. For now, try sending it to your remaining eye in a small constant stream." The Uchiha instructed.
"Okay…" Himawari assented hesitantly before following her protector's instructions and ignoring the fatigue she already felt from the shaping of her chakra.
"Now open your eye." The next command came in a soothing tone and, this time, Himawari complied without hesitation. Slowly at first, her eyelid cracked open, adjusting to the sunlight in a heartbeat and what she saw shocked her so much that her eye shot open in shock.
The world was dark, as if night had fallen and she were without a torch. A part of her knew it was daylight. Her eye had reacted to the light of it even though she couldn't see it and she could feel the comfortable heat of the sun on her skin.
But what took her by surprise wasn't the dark surroundings but the explosion of colour that came into being around her. The forest was filled with… it was difficult to put into words but if forced to, Himawari would say it looked as if every object seemed to possess its own veins of faint blue. From the trees to the small animals scurrying to and fro. It looked like the pictures of a human nervous system that she'd seen in one of Kouda's medical books but replicated in everything around her. The whole world seemed to be saturated with the stuff.
It was incredible, taking in all the pulsating veins that seemed to fill the world around her. Incredible as it was that wasn't the only new experience awaiting her. It was the oddest feeling. Himawari's mind struggled to comprehend what she was going through. It was almost as if the young Hyuuga was able to see what was in front of her as she typically would under normal circumstances but, at the same time, it was as if she was looking in several other directions at once. Himawari found she was able to somehow focus on everything at once. The second of wonderment passed and then her brain caught up with the information that her singular eye was processing. It was as if someone had suddenly inserted a syringe of lava into her brain.
Again, the searing agony only lasted a microsecond before vanishing, only to be replaced when a wave of nausea washed over her so strong as to make her fall forward against Kamui's neck in order to steady herself. Perhaps it was too much for her mind to handle and Himawari fought the sudden encroaching haze at the corner of her vision. If one could call it a haze when she was seeing so much at once in a world that was dark and light at the same time.
"Woah… I don't feel so good." Himawari mumbled after taking a deep breath in order to control the sick feeling rising in her throat. Letting out a groan, Himawari rested against Kamui's mane hoping that the bobbing motion of the steed would help to soothe her as it did not so long ago.
It did not.
"It's alright. Everyone feels sick the first time. It's a lot to take in." Sasuke reassured her with a somewhat sympathetic grunt. He remembered when his mother had told him about his cousin Sachiko.
Sachiko had been fifteen when her Sharingan awakened. It had been in the middle of her birthday party and the poor girl had been so overwhelmed that she had thrown up all over her birthday cake. At the time, Sasuke hadn't been able to stop laughing for hours. He certainly hadn't felt that way when it happened to him.
"I don't understand… It's like I see what's in front of me but I'm also looking around me as well." Himawari voiced her thoughts aloud and the Uchiha merely nodded.
"When I first activated my Sharingan I also saw the world in a whole new way. It was such an overload to the senses that I actually blacked out." Sasuke told her to reassure her, leaving out the fact that his awakening had been the result of massive trauma to his psyche and that he had actually blacked out as a consequence. Not to mention lost the memory of acquiring his kekkei genkei in the first place.
"Do you see the bird?" Sasuke questioned once again, changing the subject so that the young girl could focus on something other than the nausea.
Taking a deep breath Himawari did her best to focus.
Everything around her was so different like this. Sasuke's form had long since faded from that of a hardened ninja only to be replaced by a black silhouette filled with a set of softly glowing orbs located at different points in his body, connected to each other by a thin strand of blue lines. Another one of the strange nervous system lookalikes. That was when a thought hit Himawari so unexpectedly that she shot up in the saddle all feeling of nausea forgotten.
Chakra. That must be his chakra network!
"Himawari?" Sasuke asked concernedly, a hand stretched out and ready to catch her in case she suddenly toppled from the mount.
Shaking her head in an attempt to clear it, Himawari searched for the bird.
"Nothing." Himawari sighed with a small hint of disappointment after a few more moments. Even given her newfound ability the young Hyuuga found herself unable to locate the small avian creature.
"How far can you see? Can you see all around you or just a part? Sasuke pressed and Himawari frowned at the serious undertone present in the man's voice.
"Not too far… I'd say I can see everything around me on this side." Himawari explained, gesturing to the side of her which wasn't blinded.
"And on the other side? What about your missing eye?" Sasuke asked after a moment, genuine notes of concern manifesting.
Himawari shook her head mutely
"Himawari? Try again?" Sasuke prompted placing a hand on her arm to encourage a response. Releasing a breath, she didn't know that she had been holding, Himawari gave him a small nod.
"I'll give it a try." She answered, giving her mentor a weak smile and tried to use this new sight of hers once more. It took her a few moments to get herself orientated but eventually she found the creature.
It was a small songbird with a bright red, puffed out chest.
"Over there to the left. Third tree in. The one with the gnarled trunk." Himawari informed him tiredly, pointing over her shoulder with her thumb. Using this eye was proving to be draining.
"Well done." Sasuke congratulated her with a small smile and a pat on her knee.
"Um… how do I stop this thing?" Himawari questioned nervously. This new sight was unnerving and every time her head moved, the whole world spun around and around threatening to tip her from Kamui's saddle.
"Byakugan. It's called the Byakugan. Just stop the flow of chakra to your eye." He informed her. Taking a deep breath, Himawari did as instructed and stopped the flow of chakra. Immediately the world around her became stable again as her vision became a lot more singular. The darkness dissipated as colour returned to the world and the chakra networks faded until they became invisible.
"That was... interesting." She mumbled still trying to recover from the experience.
Sasuke snorted in amusement but said nothing more.
"I spy with my little eye something beginning with a 'S'". She spoke up after a moment to fill the silence between them.
Sasuke smirked before taking his first guess, the thought coming unbidden to the fore.
Sometimes it's good to be a kid.
THE VALLEY OF THE END
Hatred. He could feel it coursing through him, thicker and hotter than the blood in his veins. It was an ever-present sensation and one that Tatsuya had carried with him his whole life.
He hated this whole stinking country. The smell of air after the rain, the colour of the leaves… Just thinking of it made him want to stick his blade into the nearest individual and watch as their steaming guts hit the ground.
Speaking of which
From somewhere to his left the sound of some pathetic Land of Fire civilian's scream ended in a bloody gurgle as the executioner made his way down the line of kneeling blood sacrifices.
By Jashin! The damn cattle couldn't even die properly. Tatsuya spat off to the side in disgust as the dying gurgles of the civilian were replaced by the fresh sounds of death from the next sacrifice in line.
From his position atop the makeshift balcony, Tatsuya had a clear view of the ritual preparation proceedings as rows upon rows of victims were either sacrificed on the spot or corralled into iron cages to be sacrificed at their appointed time, used as slaves or whatever other bullshit reason they had for providing the scum with a stay of execution.
Those that were sacrificed were shoved forward so that the blood spurted from the wounds in their necks into buckets laid by their feet. Once the bucket was filled one of the faceless Silent Step shinobi would collect the container, carrying it as though it were some sacred artefact over to the base of the massive structure upon which Tatsuya stood and handed it over to a team of shinobi who would use the crimson liquid to coat the wooden material that made up the Ritual Tower.
The Ritual Tower. Tatsuya couldn't help but sneer whenever he considered the structure. This massive construction of sanctified wood that had been built in only a few short weeks. It was located here, in the Valley of the End, a place of power where the prophecy would be fulfilled.
The Hyuuga child's blood would be spilled in the proper way here, at the anointed hour, a mere two days from now. The thought of the child's death brought a smile to his face, one which disappeared all too quickly.
Of all the things that intensified his hate one ranked higher than any other: The escape of the Uchiha bastard and the little Hyuuga bitch.
He had had them! Then the Uchiha had managed to sneak away into the dead of night and simply vanish, girl in tow, as though the pair of them had never been there.
The death of Nakata Sae and her cohort had been unexpected, and Tatsuya had wasted no time in organising his forces to catch the prey. He had been on the brink of entering the Great Forest of Fire himself at the head of a veritable army of shinobi when a messenger arrived from the Second Company.
That message is what led him here to this place. Just thinking of the demands that had been made to him brought a fresh wave of fury surging through him and Tatsuya shuddered in something akin to exultation at the old, familiar feeling. The message had been received and Tatsuya had spent the next few minutes, furiously hacking at the messenger's corpse until there was little more left than a steaming pile of offal.
He had, of course, obeyed his instructions as per the lettering of the message and made his way to the Valley of the End with all due haste.
And now he was here, in this glorified slaughterhouse.
What did I do to deserve this?
Tatsuya let out a whistle of hot air from between his teeth and turned away from the banister and entered the velvet curtains of the large pavilion set up on one of the massive walkways that spiralled around the tower from its base to its peak. Now here he was in this lavish obscenity that had been hastily erected in the colossal shadow of their master's construction waiting for yet another source of his ire to acknowledge his presence. The one who had recalled him from the hunt for no damn good reason.
The pavilion was an unnecessarily extravagant thing in the Jashinist's eyes. Censers hung from silken ropes and the smell of the incense burning was intense to the point where the warrior-priest was unable to control the grimace from appearing on his face.. The only source of light came from a scattering of dim candles burning in the corners of the pavilion just out of reach of the flammable wall material. Cushions decorated seemingly every inch of floorspace yet somehow seemingly at random as if the owner expected guests to just fall to the ground at whim. Which brought Tatsuya's attention to the figure at the opposite end of the pavilion.
The man was seated in a formal position at the head of long, low table, his entire figure cloaked in shadow as if all the light in the area simply died before reaching his form.
"You have failed." The shadow whispered.
"The failure was not mine." Tatsuya insisted shortly, resisting the urge to reach for hilt of his blade. "That belongs to Nakata Sae. She was the one who proved unable to best a small, crippled girl and a washed-up war hero."
"Semantics. Sae is dead and the failure now rests on your shoulders." The shadowy figure hissed and for a moment Tatsuya felt as if he were speaking with a coiled snake ready to strike rather than a man. In some ways he supposed he was.
"The fault is not mine!" Tatsuya insisted angrily, grinding his teeth together in a visible effort to not unleash a tirade of filth at the man who summoned him. "If you had not summoned me then there is every chance that I would-"
"The Master is not interested in your excuses!" The voice turned deadly quiet and Tatsuya couldn't help but swallow nervously. It mattered not to him if the rest of Oto hated him, they were of no threat, but if the Master had lost faith in his capabilities…
For a brief moment Tatsuya felt a shiver of apprehension run down his spine. Something almost akin to fear making a trickle of cold sweat run down the back of his neck.
"And neither am I." The shadow continued, leaning forward and revealing himself to the warrior-priest.
Seated opposite from him was the Master's right hand in this endeavour. Sousuke Tenchen.
Otogakure's Lord of Prophecies and the mastermind behind this whole damned plan. Not that Tatsuya doubted the Master's plans, he doubted the old man's though.
Lord Tenchen reminded Tatsuya of an old prune left to dry too long in the sun. Tenchen's skin was wrinkled and covered in liver spots from head to toe and had a leathery, brownish hue to it. He wore a long kimono the colour of deep vermillion as if someone had splashed nightshade all over the garment. The man possessed little worth note as far as facial features were concerned. A bald head covered in yet more liver-spots and a long white beard that extended as far as his hips and thick, bushy eyebrows of the same colour.
If there was one thing that caught Tatsuya's attention though it was Tenchen's eyes. The eyes were as ancient as their owners' but filled with a lifetime of hate and murder. A hard, unforgiving pair eyes that Tatsuya knew from experience could turn into cruel delight at the pain of others. Eyes with a spark of madness lurking deep within.
Tenchen had served as an assassin under the Master's guidance long before and after the rise and fall of Orochimaru.
"What do we do about the Uchiha?" Tatsuya spat, unable to disguise his disgust of the decrepit old man sitting in front of him.
"Don't concern yourself with the Uchiha. He will be removed from the equation soon." Tenchen drawled. Reaching out, Tenchen lazily pulled on a long hanging velvet rope. A moment later there was a sudden, thin beam of sunlight that pierced the dim interior of the pavilion as a small parting appeared in the lining of the pavilion's main entrance. A hooded servant entered, falling to his knees and crawled his way over the landscape of cushions to kneel, face to the ground, in front of Tenchen, awaiting his command.
"Bring me my food." Tenchen hissed and the hooded servant bowed deeply, seeming to almost drown in the cushions before rising and scurrying out of the room.
"You have a plan to kill him?" Tatsuya asked, curious in spite of himself. Tenchen laughed and shook his head.
"Eventually but not yet. The Master has very special plans for the Uchiha. Right now, the girl is all that matters. The time of the ritual is nearly upon us." The ancient answered as though he were explaining something incredibly simple to an especially stupid child.
"And how do you propose to find them? Last report had them enter the Great Forest." Tatsuya bit out, a vicious sort of enjoyment filling his core at the visible tic that appeared on Tenchen's forehead. It was only for a second and then the old man's features returned to normal.
"That has always been your problem Jashinist. Your lack of faith in the Master's abilities." Tenchen chuckled darkly. "Your blood seer, Maru already knows where they are going."
Tatsuya snarled at the thought of Maru and the other Notes running to Tenchen at the first opportunity. Truly the Notes of Oto had no loyalty to anything save themselves and the Master. Another break in the dim as the hooded servant returned carrying a silver tray with a cloche covering some sort of dish.
"Your food milord." The servant murmured fearfully, his whole form shaking as he placed the tray in front of the old man.
"Excellent!" Tenchen cackled, clapping his hands together in glee. Hesitantly the servant reached over and removed the cloche before all but fleeing from the room. Tenchen did not react to the servant's antics and Tatsuya wondered just what could have frightened a man so.
Perhaps it's a matter of how many servants had come before him.
"Have you ever tried this?" Tenchen queried, his eyes never leaving Tatsuya's even as he began viciously tearing the meal apart with his knife and fork. In the poor lighting and from where he was standing Tatsuya was unable to identify the meal except that it was meat-based.
How uncivilised.
"No… what is it?" Tatsuya asked, already bored of what was happening.
If the old fool wishes to dine then he does not need me for an audience!
"Myobokan Frog. Caught fresh this morning with a rather interesting package." Tenchen informed him airily, a smile on his face as he popped a rather raw, orange looking slice of flesh into his mouth and began chewing slowly, ignoring the dribble of blood that trickled down his chin and into his beard as he did so.
A summons?
"What kind of package?" Tatsuya asked, genuine interest colouring his tone.
"A letter. One addressed to our quarry's guardian." Tenchen answered, his eyes never leaving Tatsuya as though gauging the Jashinist for a reaction.
"Oh?"
"It seems that fool the Leaf call a Hokage wants his pet Uchiha back on the leash." Tenchen hissed. If the man was looking for a reaction from him then he wasn't going to disappoint.
"No mention of the girl?" Tatsuya asked unable to stop the deadly smile from stretching across his face.
"None at all." Tenchen replied, nodding his head as if satisfied that he had found what he was looking for in the Sword of Oto.
Tatsuya waited, his patience shortening and his ire growing with each bite of raw frog flesh that the old man stuffed behind his blackened teeth. When Tenchen was about halfway through the poor summons he stopped, wiped his mouth delicately with the small white napkin provided for him on the serving tray and looked at Tatsuya with a gaze so intense the Jashinist had to fight the urge to look away.
"You are to fortify our defences here in preparation of the ritual." Tenchen ordered of him at last.
Stunned. That was his first emotion to this news. The anger came next, red hot and bubbling like molten lead through his veins. Letting out a threatening snarl Tatsuya stormed up to the table next to Tenchen and slammed his open palms against the wood so hard that the cutlery shifted.
"I am not some guard dog! I should be out there running my sword through the guts of that Uchiha scum, not babysitting some shit valley in the middle of nowhere!" He roared.
To his credit, Tenchen did not react to the warrior's outburst. Instead he calmly finished wiping his mouth before depositing the napkin over the remains of the messenger frog. A small part of Tatsuya's mind couldn't help but to compare it to a sheet being drawn over a human body.
"The Uchiha is not your concern. The child is our priority, if we miss the anointed hour, we will not get another opportunity for a hundred years." Tenchen informed him softly. Despite its outwardly calm tone, Tatsuya felt his heart hammer beneath his breast as it did in those rare instances where he could actually be in danger.
"You are banking a lot on this 'prophecy'". Tatsuya growled, ready to decapitate the man regardless of the danger that course presented.
Tenchen laughed before reaching inside of his robes. Tatsuya curled his hands into tightly clenched fists so as not to draw his blade and end this farce.
"The Master has faith in it." Tenchen informed him drily, withdrawing a crisp white envelope and presenting it to the Jashinist.
A crisp white envelope with his name written on it. His name, and the Master's seal. Snatching the letter from the old man's grip, Tatsuya tore open the seal, unfurled the communique and scanned its contents quickly.
With every word he read his anger grew in equal measure to the shame and fear he felt. Once he had finished he looked over at Tenchen, his face unreadable.
"It will be done." He said simply before leaving the tent at a pace not dissimilar to the servant. Once he was far enough away, he would have to vent.
Jashin, he hoped that someone would cross his path. He needed to cleanse himself in the blood of something at least somewhat worthy.
It didn't matter what anyone said. The Uchiha would die at his hands. Not even the Master would stop him if he got the chance.
THE FOREST OF FIRE
"It's… lighter than I thought!" Himawari exclaimed in surprise. She held Sasuke's sword in her hands, gripping the weapon and keeping her appendages as far away from the blade as she could.
Despite her caution she couldn't explain the thrill that shot up her spine as she swung the blade slowly backwards and forwards, her movements lazy. She still couldn't believe that Sasuke had agreed to let her hold it.
She had been expecting the man to flat out deny her, considering how he always kept a hand on the hilt whenever he wasn't busy with something else. However, the Uchiha merely grunted before unsheathing the sword and handing it to her hilt outstretched.
"Kusanagi is lighter than most swords. Something to do with how it was forged." Was his reply to her comment.
Well that wasn't cryptic at all.
Shrugging, Himawari swung the blades a few more times experimentally still surprised at the lightness of the weapon. It was as if the blade weighed little more than a feather.
"Want to learn a few moves?" Sasuke asked with a small smirk gracing his features.
Himawari's eye snapped around to meet his own charcoal pair and she couldn't have hid her excitement if she had tried. She practically bounced up and down in anticipation as Sasuke cautiously moved closer to her to avoid the flailing blade.
Standing behind her, he reached forwards and laid his hands over her own, helping the young girl to adjust her grip so that she held the sword correctly.
"Alright now you need to adjust your grip like this and move your left foot there." He instructed.
It took little more than an hour for Himawari to learn a basic kata and Sasuke took a seat by the fire to oversee her progress, occasionally calling out pointers or admonishing a sloppy mistake both of which were rewarded with a nod and a light red dusting across the cheeks. Did all Hyuuga girls blush so easily?
Her footwork was sloppy and her grip on Kusanagi was a little shaky. Once or twice throughout the set she almost let the sword fly from her hands and the Uchiha couldn't help but duck whenever he suspected that he might be impaled by his own weapon.
All in all, though Himawari was taking to kenjutsu almost as quickly as he had and Sasuke couldn't help but smile at the thought.
That smile faded as the Uchiha gazed into the campfire, watching as the flames danced about. They would reach the Fire Temple tomorrow. Despite the answers that that place offered Sasuke couldn't help but feel a pit forming in the pit of his stomach at the thought of taking Himawari there.
The sizzling sound of fat hitting the fire shook him out of his thoughts and Sasuke turned his attention back to the pair of rabbits currently spitted on the fire in front of him.
"Himawari." Sasuke called. "Food's ready."
The Uchiha let out a wince and sighed as Himawari dropped Kusanagi to the ground like a used up twig in her eagerness to get to the meal.
Guess I know what I'll be teaching her next.
So... what did you guys think?
We're entering the endgame now. Only a few chapters left to go.
I apologise once more for the wait. I had at least five different chapter 17's ready to go but couldn't decide which one made the most sense for the story. In the end it was this one I went with and I hope that you enjoyed it.
Please leave me a review if you'd like.
P.S. I need some inspiring names to use in my next chapter for a few OC's so if anyone has any suggestions I am all ears. If I like it I may use it and drop a shout-out to the relevant reader/author.
Anyway once more, please leave a review if you enjoyed the story or if you have any comments or constructive criticism to throw my way.
Until next time.
Chapter 18: The Fire Temple