Chapter 10: The Fourth Ōtsutsuki
By: DragoonMen
'Human Thinking'
"Human Speaking"
Technique/Jutsu Use
'Bijū/Non-Human Thinking'
"Bijū/Non-Human Talking"
Published: 14/Aug/2020
Pre-Chakra Era Arc
1 Year Before the Chakra Event (BCE)
18 Years after Ōtsutsuki Arrival to Earth
Chapter 10
—Land of the Ancestors—
Ōtsutsuki City State
Hagoromo stretched his arms up, letting out a drawn-out yawn. He stopped stretching and turned his torso sideways, popping sounds of his bones immediately coming to his ears.
"Would you stop that?" A grumpy voice asked. The other individual in the room turned away from him in the futon across him.
Hagoromo raised his eyebrow. "Someone is cranky today..." He said in a teasing way.
The other man said from his position inside the blanket. "As if you are the one to talk about crankiness..." It sounded slightly muffled.
Hagoromo patted his roomie's back. "Come on, brother. We have to get up." A grumble welcomed him. "You know how mother is when we sleep off..." His brother seemed to stiff at that.
Hamura immediately stood up from his futon, looking terrified at the notion implied.
'Scare ready cat' Hagoromo thought with a smile. His brother was really afraid of their mother. Both brothers started to tidy up their own shared room, their mother was very strict in that aspect if not to say downright abusive.
After taking care of their needs and doing their chores, the Ōtsutsuki brothers went to their kitchen.
'It seems that is one of those days' The kitchen was empty which means that their mother was outside or she has gone to another one of her missions.
"Start the fire. I will do the vegetables." Hamura grabbed the knife and proceed to cut the vegetables they have stored.
"You got it." He gathered some wood already stockpiled in the storage room next to their kitchen and put it inside the oven.
He flickered his finger and a flame appeared on his digit which he put inside to ignite the fire.
After starting a fire, he began blowing some wind with his mouth so it would grow larger.
Hamura and Hagoromo knew how to cook thankfully. Since they were little kids, their mother had taught them everything, from how to wipe their own ass to stitching and cooking. Now, thanks to her they were very independent.
Once Hamura had cooked vegetable soup and ate, they went outside. Just like they presumed, their mother was nowhere to be seen.
'She could at least say goodbye...' Hagoromo thought dejectedly. If just their mother could be a little more considerate.
Hamura looked around. "So, off she goes, ne." Hagoromo just shrugged.
The brown-haired twin turned to look at his only family member besides their mother. "It seems so." He said with a far-away look.
Hamura just hummed, already familiar with her progenitor antics. He turned to look at his brother. A smile turning his lips upwards barely.
"Wanna spar?" Hagoromo rolled his eyes. His brother never got tired of their routine.
Hagoromo shook his head. "It's our day off, brother. Why not go to the central square?" He said while looking at the adjoining houses that were outside their complex.
Hamura just smirked at him. "Wanting to go sightseeing little Haori again, I see." Hagoromo blushed.
"That is not true." The twin being teased huffed.
Hamura didn't look convinced. "Sure."
Hagoromo started walking up to the gates of their compound. After a few meters, he turned to look at his brother. "Are you coming or not?"
Hamura sighed and started to follow his brother. They say twins are inseparable for a reason.
The Ōtsutsuki Brothers started walking into the center of the village, leaving behind what was once known as the Inner Citadel inside the City.
Passing the gates that divided the walled city with the outside town, they strolled together, people all around them greeting them and others even bowing.
Hamura and Hagoromo greeted them in return. They were just that polite. All the way into the town center this behavior repeated several times.
Before they could reach the central square, a senior man ran into their path. "Ōtsutsuki-sama!" The man panted. Everyone turned to look at the source of the outburst.
Both brothers turned to look at him. "What is going on?" Hagoromo asked intently. Hamura raised an eye at the man.
"Our cattle, Hagoromo-sama. They are being murdered!" The older man replied nearly our of breath.
'Probably from running all the way here' Hagoromo gave special thought to everything, even to something as minuscule like the man's heavy breathing.
Hamura chose that moment to barge into the conversation. "Why would they be threatened?"
"Something is living in the adjacent forest. They said is a huge animal!" The man exclaimed, spreading his arms wide to emphasize his point.
Hagoromo turned to look at Hamura. His white-haired twin nodding at him.
"We will take a look." Both twins replied at the same time.
The old man bowed at them. "Thank you, Ōtsutsuki-sama. I am indebted to you."
Hagoromo waved him off. "That will not be necessary."
OoOoOoO
Aokigahara Forest
Jigen was standing on top of a branch in a high tree overlooking the forest of Aokigahara. The woods were a fair distance away from the residence of Kaguya and her sons, so it was a perfect place to execute his plan
He had finally devised a plan to get to know the heirs of the Rabbit Goddess.
The farmers and ranchers around these parts have been lately reporting attacks on their livestock.
Some dead animals here and there had evolved into rumors that a big murderous animal was now living in the forest.
The truth however was something more simple.
Jigen had been sneaking into the private lands of the people during the nights to kill off their cattle. He was overzealous in his way of framing the scene to make it look like an animal had done the deed.
Then he would leave a trail of blood that went back into the forest. It was not long before the people started connecting the murders to something living in the forest.
Now, he was here in the top branch of a pine, waiting.
He was wearing a black uniform that he procured from a former tailor shop for guardsmen and a chest plate that on its backside displayed the Ōtsutsuki Clan Branch Side symbol handpainted. A silver oval and a half oval on its underside.
He was negated from harboring the Ōtsutsuki Clan Main House symbol by Isshiki.
According to the Celestial Being, he was still a worthless human that didn't have the right to use the seven-pointed star that represented their Clan on his clothes.
Jigen was the lowest of the low in the caste system if there ever was one but at least the thousands of years old alien being had accepted that Jigen could wear the Branch House symbol like some kind of ward of the Ōtsutsukis.
His utility belt carried a sword in his sheath and on his hands, a bow. He had in his back an arrow filled pouch.
The sons of Kaguya, if what Jigen had heard from the villagers around these parts, is that they were a pair of do-gooders. Always helping the people around them, no matter who.
So, Jigen waited. He knew that the people, once they acknowledge that they were unable to stop the attacks on their cattle, would turn for help and ask the objects of his interest for assistance.
'And they did' Jigen knew beforehand that some men had traveled to the town to request the help of the Ōtsutsuki Twins.
Now, all he had to do was wait, just like he had been doing for nearly eighteen years. Seconds turned into minutes, then minutes turned into hours. The early morning sun turning slowly to noon.
After nearly four hours of being perched on a branch, Isshiki's vessel heightened hearing ultimately heard faint sounds below his position.
"I told you we should have asked for details." Said an annoyed voice.
"I know!" The other replied. "Quit crying about it." He was clearly upset.
"Idiot..." Another mumbled.
Jigen decided to get himself ready. He already had the perfect made-up story to befriend or at least get close to the two teenagers.
Jigen jumped down and landed gracefully without making any sounds and immediately hid behind a tree.
When the bickering of the two brothers got louder, Jigen decided to put his hands to work, leaning on the tree and feigning a nap. He waited until the brothers spot him, if they did not, he would be incredibly disappointed in their tracking skills.
A voice suddenly invaded his conscience. "Are you sure you wanna do this?"
"It is a good plan." He paused to think it over again. "It will work." He said after passing another internal review of his plan.
"A radical one..." Isshiki commented.
"Fortune favors the bold, was that it?" Jigen quoted the proverbial saying.
"Leave it to a simple life form to leave all his decisions to so called fortune" Isshiki rolled his unseen eyes. "What if they see your bluff?" The Ōtsutsuki was just looking for their —his— well being. It wasn't a crime to do so.
"Then, I am gonna leave it all to you or have to run." Jigen said the most logical conclusions he had thought so far.
"You are so clever..." The alien inside him said sarcastically.
"Trust me. I know what I am doing..." He got no reply from the alien. Jigen just played to be asleep.
The bickering between the brothers got louder and louder until they spotted him.
"Hey! Look on that trunk." Jigen could feel a smirk breaking on his face but he suppressed it.
"Hmmm. He looks like a lawmen... kind of." The other teen commented after seeing his outfit.
"Let ask him if he had seen something."
"We shouldn't disturb him. He is sleeping." He wondered which one of the two said that. He had never heard their voices thus was unable to identify them by it.
"Who cares?!"
The other one sighed quite loudly. "Go on then."
Jigen heard footsteps going into his direction until he felt someone standing above him, then kneeling down and soon after someone touched his shoulder.
Jigen slowly opened his eyes, staring into the white eyes of the one he had come to identify by sight as Hamura Ōtsutsuki.
"Hey, you." He said sheepishly. "Sorry to wake you up but we would like to ask you a few questions." The white-haired twin offered him a smile.
Feigning somnolence, Jigen proceeded to rub his eyes with his fist as if to look better at them.
"Who are you?" Jigen looked back and forth between both twins, asking in a groggy voice with a tint of irritation. He was a hell of an actor.
Hamura backed some steps away from him to give him space. Jigen stood up and watched as the white-haired Ōsutsuki raise a thumb at himself.
"My name is Hamura..." Hamura then pointed a finger at the other individual accompanying him. "... and this is my brother, Hagoromo." The brown-haired twin waved at him from his position a few meters ahead.
Jigen already knew that but he played possum. "You are the Ōtsutsuki Brothers?" Jigen pretended to be surprised but put some apprehension on his facade. The twins noted that but did not say anything.
"It seems our reputation precedes us, right brother? Hamura's cocky voice was directed at Hagoromo's stern look.
Hagoromo just crossed his arms and nodded.
Hagoromo looked at Jigen. "And who might you be?" A finger was pointed at him.
"Oh, pardon me." He dusted his clothes off. "My name is Shin. Pleased to meet you." The supposed "Shin" offered his hand to greet the twin formally.
Hagoromo shook it slowly. His eyes boring through his own for a moment.
Hamura chose to break the staring contest between the two. "Have you seen a big animal near here?"
"Well... this forest is very popular because bears live here." Jigen scratched his chin. "But no, I haven't seen anything remarkable." Jigen said nonchalantly.
Hagoromo did a subtle check up on the man, noting his garb and weapons but choosing to keep these opinions to himself.
"So, you too are here to hunt the beast?" Hamura was curious why this man was sleeping in the middle of the wilderness.
"That's right." Jigen then looks forward to the forest. He turned to face them both after some thinking. "Would you mind lending me a hand?"
"I think is better if you head home and we..." Hagoromo was about to shrug him off. After all, he would just slow them down in the slightly more tanned twin. Jigen interrupted him in that instant.
"No, no..." He shook his head. "I insist. Let me help you." A fake smile graced his lips. He would not let Hagoromo ruin his chance to make acquaintance with them.
Hagoromo looked at Hamura. His brother just shrugged, he didn't care.
Hagoromo sighed. "Okay. Then let's go." He was the first to walk forward until Jigen catched up to him. Hamura conformed himself to be at the rear.
They started walking inside the forest, the three men venturing deep inside the green territory. After a few minutes of walking, Hagoromo decided to ask the doubts inside his head.
"What were you doing in here exactly?" Jigen heard Hagoromo direct the question at him.
"Same as you I guess..." He played the casual type and it worked.
"Why were you looking for the beast too?" It was Hamura who asked this. He was curious about what was in for this man if they succeeded in killing the rampaging animal.
"I was hired to hunt the animal before you came." Another lie, not that they need to know the real reason behind his schemes.
Another question from Hagoromo made Jigen exhaled through his mouth. "How many days have you been here?"
"Since yesterday..." Another short answer from Jigen. As expected from him.
Hamura finally asked a good question. "Any leads where to go?" Jigen just nodded while looking at the forest's ground.
"I got one now." Jigen crouched. The brothers looked at him strangely when they saw Jigen's hand touch a paw print on the ground.
'Bear... must be nearby' The trail looked fresh, definitely an animal had been here not long ago.
"There is a trail right here." He waved at Hamura and Hagoromo to look at it. "It's fresh. The animal must be close..." Jigen took the lead and started guiding them.
They continued to venture into a dark area of the forest where hardly any light entered the area thanks to the huge trees blocking the sun rays.
It was a very grim picture compared to the sunny side of the woodlands.
While walking through the area, Jigen ears caught a faint sound of sticks and leaves being crushed that he interpreted as something in the vicinity nearby.
'Something heavy is coming'
However, Hamura and Hagoromo were oblivious to this, opting to let the man guide them.
Jigen turned into the direction where he was sure the animal was or hoped it was. The two brothers behind him following him swiftly into a rock formation ahead.
It was not too long before they found a cave. A huge cave which was dark and cold. Jigen and his retinue stopped at the sight.
"Do you think the animal lives here?" Hamura turned to look at 'Shin'.
Jigen inspected around noticing some dried blood on the entrance of the geographic accident.
'He must be here...'
Jigen entered first, the brother following seconds later. The Cave was spacious, certainly this was some bear lair because it clearly looks the part.
They looked around but alas there was nothing, not a single trace of the supposed cattle-killing animal.
The white-haired teen started brooding when he noticed there was nothing to be found. "This was some huge loss of t..."
ROAR!
They turned to look at the entrance of the cave where there was a huge beast.
A grizzly bear stood on his hind legs, looking threatening and angry at the three men inside his den.
'No doubt because we invaded his home' A smart remark by Jigen.
The Ōtsutsuki brothers immediately sprung out into action, both of them adopting a fighting stance standing next to each other. Together as always.
"Stay behind, Shin. We will take care of this." Lighting started to crackle inside Hagoromo's hand while Hamura raised some spikes of the earth to separate them from the bear's close-combat attacks.
The bear roared again and charge head-on. The instinct to defend his territory coursing through the predator, hell-bent on turning these people on his next meal for trespassing by into his dwellings.
The brothers prepared for the attack until a slight breeze of air was felt on the space between their bodies and their heads.
Thrud!
The bear stopped his charge, falling dead on the cold ground of the cave. An arrow was now embedded on his head, right between the space created by both eyes. A perfect bullseye.
Hagoromo and Hamura were surprised to say the least. Of all the things they expected to happen, this was not the one they thought it would be, much less performed by some civilian.
However, their surprised state skyrocketed to the heavens when they turned on their back to look at the archer.
His bow was still aimed at the bear but the cherry on top was located in the man's face.
Two pairs of white eyes look back at lavender ones. Veins pulsing around the latter.
"No way..."
OoOoOoO
They walked in silence the entire trek out of the forest. Millions of things traveling at hundred miles per hour inside the heads of the two Ōtsutsukis.
Jigen knew of their inner unrest and was waiting for the moment the questions start flying. He was ready for it.
It was not too long before they reached the outskirts of the woods when it happened.
Jigen stopped dead on his tracks, the two brothers behind him doing the same. The tension palpable around them.
"Ask what you have on your mind..." He said with his back turned to them. A commanding tone engraved in his voice.
"How?" He heard one of the twins ask but he was not a damm fortune teller to answer the one-word question.
"How what Hagoromo?" He wished the twins would stop beating around the bush and be direct about it.
Jigen turned slowly as not to startle them until he finally faced the heirs of the Ōtsutsuki Clan of the Earth.
Hamura crossed his arms and sternly looked at Jigen. "How do you have our eyes?" Jigen narrowed his eyes at him. The Byakugan in his possession was his alone.
Jigen took a defensive stance in the conversation. "Our eyes?" He glared slightly at the twin that resembled the most his sworn enemy. "These eyes are mine." He brought a thumb to his chest.
Hagoromo interjected, wanting to defuse the situation between his brother and the stranger. "How is that possible then?"
"Because I am your relative." Both twins were taken back. "My father is an Ōtsutsuki." Jigen said that lie proudly or at least it sounded like it.
"Where is he?" Hagoromo was intrigued. They discovered they had more family than their mother. He was outright curious about it.
"He was killed..." Jigen eyes turned a little sorrowful even though he wasn't but he needs them to believe his act. "... by your mother." Jigen finished.
Hagoromo was paralyzed for a second when he heard those words. His mother killed this man's father. Hamura's reaction not so different from his brother.
After a few moments, Hagoromo asked another question. He needed to know the name of the father of 'Shin'.
"What was his name?" He hoped his newfound family member would reveal it to them but if he didn't he would not pry further. They were the sons of the one who did wrong to Shin for Kami's sake.
"Isshiki." Jigen lied.
"So, you could be like our cousin so to speak." Hamura opined. He was probably related to them and was almost close to their age if not slightly older than twenty years from his looks.
"Yes, probably..." Jigen let them think so. If he was part of their immediate family it would be easier for him to gain their trust.
"You should come with us back to our town." Hagoromo offered him. Jigen froze.
"After all... you are our family." Jigen shook his head. If he chose to go with them, his cover would be blown by Kaguya along with his head.
"That is not possible." He said the truth. "Your mother would kill me if she knew I exist." Jigen knew that if he ever got close to Kaguya, he would be soundly executed to put it lightly.
Hamura was quick to answer him. "You don't know that..."
Jigen raised his voice some octaves. They needed to acknowledge the fact that he would die if he ever got close to their compound. "I do know it! My father was killed because your mother wanted to be the only Ōtsutsuki left alive." He was obviously lying but what they did not know, won't hurt them.
"That way she ensured no other clan members compete with her bloodline descendants for the leadership of the Clan. That is how our Clan works." He stared at both brothers hard.
"The strongest survive, the weak perish." His voice struck a chord inside both brothers and they unknowingly looking down again.
Hagoromo looked thoughtful. What 'Shin' said was horrible but it was a valid reason. He did not know how their Clan's tradition worked, but the man before him knew more of their Clan than the bits and pieces their mother would tell them every once in a few years.
"But don't be sorry. I know you were oblivious to this." Jigen soft voice reached their ears. The downed faces of the twins rising up to look him.
"You two weren't even born when that happened." Jigen bore no ill sentiments to them, just to their mother. Jigen did not know why but every time he thought of Kaguya, his anger would spike. Unknown to him, these were effects from the fusion he was still undergoing on his body with that of Isshiki.
"How many years have you been living on your own?" Hagoromo truly wanted to know how much time the man had been alone thanks to their sire.
"For almost twenty years. Ever since my father was killed, along with yours..." Jigen chose to drop another bomb to the Ōtsutsukis. They gasped as he knew they would do.
The man had revealed in a not so subtle manner that he had known the twin's father.
Kaguya had never mentioned him to them and probably never would but 'Shin' was not afraid to use Lord Tenji's memory as a weapon to turn Hagoromo and Hamura against their mother.
Hamura could not contain his excitement. "My father?!"
Jigen nodded at him.
Hagoromo was more composed but some excitement seeped in his tone. "Did you knew him?" Jigen nodded again and replied.
"Yes, I knew him briefly. Have your mother never tell you about him?" Jigen waited for a reply but he already knew the answer to his question.
'No, she did not' Jigen smirked at the reaction of the teenagers after he shed some light on the parentage.
The two sons of the Usagi no Megami stared down at their feet, the action made Jigen smirked internally. They were ignorant of the big picture that surrounded their family.
And ignorance is costly.
'Just like I imagined' Jigen stared at the darkening sky. "You should head down to your home." He pointed to the dirt road that would get them on their way to their lodgings.
"Your mother will probably arrive soon." Jigen hoped she did not, he had just made the first steps to manipulate the only people probably capable of defeating the Kaguya Ōtsutsuki once and for all.
Hagoromo stared too at the increasingly black sky. "You are right..." Both brothers started walking down the road.
Hamura turned to look at him. "Will we ever see you again?" They have still so many questions unanswered.
Jigen thought it for some moments. The brother looking at him expectantly. "You can come and see me in here in a turn of the moon if you want. I will be waiting..." Jigen did not have anything better to do, so he accepted. The brothers requesting to see him mean that they already trusted him to some degree.
"Thank you, Shin." Hagoromo bowed slightly. Jigen just took in a sharp breath. He was not accustomed to the gesture being directed at him.
Jige brought both his hands to his chest in a manner that said 'Stop It'. "No need. We are family after all." He hoped the smile he gave them was convincing enough.
"Just do me a favor." Hamura looked curious to what he would request from them.
"Don't mention me or what I told you. Please." The word sounded foreign in Jigen mouth. He had never been a person to say please to others.
"Don't worry cousin, we will keep your secret." Those words calmed some of Jigen worries a little bit.
Jigen just nodded his head. That was enough for him.
"See you in a turn of the moon." Hamura waved off. The two Ōtsutsukis started walking back to their town.
Jigen waved back at them. When both brothers were some distance away, he let an evil grin invade his features.
"Who would have thought? You nailed it... as expected of my vessel." The Ōtsutsuki inside him was surprised indeed. This human had managed to worm his way with the Ōtsutsuki brothers.
"I told you. You should trust me more." There was more smugness than words in those sentences.
"Don't get full of yourself, you may have played them like a fiddle but they can still rat you out." Isshiki reminded him. It was a possibility.
"They won't." Jigen was sure of that. Hagoromo and Hamura would not speak a thing of what transpired today.
"How do you know that?" The alien was intrigued by Jigen.
'How is he so sure things won't turn bad?' Isshiki truly wanted to understand his vessel's reasoning.
"Because they need answers..." Jigen paused internally. "... and only I can supply them."
"Hn." Isshiki for once would concede. The human had done his given task flawlessly.
Jigen continued to look at the retreating form of his 'supposed' relatives. He had done the first thing to cause a rift between the three members of the Ōtsutsuki Clan of the Earth.
He had just planted the seed of doubt.
'Now it's just a matter of time before it grows' Jigen could only think of the bright future ahead of him.
End of Chapter
AN: Muahahaha Jigen is a damm liar and cunning bastard. So here you go. Jigen is playing with the tendrils that will define the future and Kaguya's demise. Like I said Jigen will do anything to achieve his goals. There is a reason why he got so far in time in Cannon.
Remember my readers, this story is an AU. There could be some differences in the Timeline, like for example that some characters being slightly different in their personality. Others could be gender-swapped. Who knows. After all, that is the magic of Multiverse. Some things can change. For better or worse.