Sorry for the long wait, everyone. Last chapter had some pretty big developments, chief among them being a certain someone is now an orphan and the Leaf has been dealt a severely crippling bow. This chapter's going to be addressing that from start to finish as it marks the start of a new arc. I hope you all enjoy!
I do not own anything.
Fox Tails and Whirlpools
Chapter 26-Sunlit Aftermath
It was eerily quiet all around the Uchiha District, quiet as the grave one could say. Appropriately, it now was a grave, a mass grave for what had formerly been the Leaf Village's strongest clan. That role would now pass onto another clan, likely the Hyūga.
Not that anyone was seriously thinking about that; Sarutobi wasn't, it was merely a side effect of his years as Hokage. Every major event had to be looked at and the ramifications examined. Sometimes he hated that part of himself, but in the end, he resigned that it was simply a part of him. Even if he had stayed in retirement, it still would have been a part of him.
After tonight, retirement got even further away than it already had been. A heavy sigh was expunged from the old Kage's lips. His nose wrinkled with the smell of blood, a smell that he sadly used to.
The last time he'd seen a slaughter this bad had been the night of the Nine-Tails' attack little more than seven years ago. That tragedy had almost begun to feel like a distant memory; now, there was this.
All around him lay the remains of what had been a bloody massacre. It had occurred at the worst possible time, right in the midst of a demonic insurrection along with a rampaging Servant. One might have said that it was a disaster of absolutely horrible timing, but Sarutobi knew better. The truth was, one calamity had laid the groundwork for another. He knew the original one was the Uchiha Clan's attempted rebellion, an incident that would have been problematic on its own, but the world had become so much more complicated in the last three months. Unfortunately, rather than be dissuaded by the visitors from another world, the Uchiha Clan had pressed on, attempting to use some of those visitors to aid them in their coup attempt. Instead, it seemed like they had been the ones turned into pawns and collateral.
Making it worse, their own destruction had apparently came from within.
Kagami…forgive me. Winced the war veteran. The First Shinobi World War had been his first taste of what war looked like. It had been hell, traumatizing him and his comrades in ways that they'd yet to heal from, even now sixty decades later. Hiruzen knew that he'd only survived to live with those horrors thanks to his teammates, his friends. Kagami Uchiha had been amongst them, one of the first Uchiha born into the village, and it was too the village and its people that his loyalty had been given. Sarutobi often missed his friend, who knew how to tell a joke to break the mood, and wasn't afraid to step in when it seemed things were growing too tense.
He could see him shaking his head in shame at both his old teammate and his clan.
Every step he took felt like walking with the weight of the Stone Faces on his back. He was far too old to carry that burden, yet he knew he had to. Turning back wasn't an option, nor was running away anymore. If he did, then more massacres like this would ensue. Sarutobi couldn't allow that, he wasn't going to allow that. Even if it meant making some difficult decisions, decisions that he'd previously shied away from. It was that weakness that had helped lead to this tragedy.
"Hiruzen," called a lone voice as he came upon his destination.
Breathing out in sorrow, he stared into the lone left eye of his old teammate and friend. He could pray for forgiveness in front of Kagami's grave, but would he also have to pray for forgiveness on Danzō's part as well?
"Tonight…was a tragedy." The Third Hokage began. In spite of his previous declaration, even now, he felt himself wanting to retreat. Looking into the lone dark eye of his old rival, he waited for any sort of reaction to his statement.
There was one, a ping of genuine sorrow that Hiruzen was happy to see. But it only lasted for a second, then it was gone.
"Yes…it was, and we cannot allow it to repeat itself." His words were grave, actually carrying with them sorrow at the events that had transpired. Regardless, Hiruzen saw past that as he knew that sorrow wasn't all there was to it. He knew that how Danzō planned to prevent this tragedy from repeating itself was different from what he had planned. "I think we both-"
"This can't continue, Danzō." The Third Hokage declared, his voice ringing through the deserted square that had once been the hub of the Uchiha District. Now, it was a graveyard that reeked of blood. "I cannot allow you to continue to run wild with these places of yours. Not anymore."
A change occurred in the old war hawk. His body tensed up and his eyes flickered with surprise. Of all the things he'd been expecting, this wasn't one of them. That surprise morphed into harden defiance as he glared back at his old teammate. "I have done what I have since the day I took up the Leaf headband, protected the village from any and all threats." His voice was hard and ringed with quiet defiance. It was a small, but it was a rare show of emotion. "If anything, this night showed that the village is more vulnerable than ever before."
"And it can be safely said that it's your fault."
The feminine voice caused the gravity around the two men to intensify. Along with it came a heat wave that seemed enough to melt steel. Between the two men, the one-eyed war hawk bore the full brunt of it. To Danzō's credit, he stood strong in the face of the hostility that bore down on him, comparable to the sky and sun falling. On the outside anyway. Internally, he was rapidly conceiving plan after plan as to how to get out of this situation if it took a turn for the worst. If it did, then he'd be dealing with another angry fox, one with pink fur. And one that was incredibly annoying.
Tamamo-no-Mae appeared beside the Third Hokage in a burst of golden flames that briefly lit up the night. Her flames illuminated the sadden yet harden resolve upon the Professor of Shinobi's face. He barely batted an eye as the Caster appeared beside him, her face twisted into a ferocious snarl that was aimed slowly at Danzō. With her physical appearance, the heat wave seemed to grow even stronger, along with the surge of murderous wrath. Danzō could now look upon their epicenter; his response was to glare at her with a fraction of the disdain that he'd accumulated for the pink-haired woman.
The feeling was entirely mutual.
"My fault?" Danzō challenged.
"Yes. You." It was clear that Tamamo was stopping short of adding to her accusation. Just barely. "You may not be responsible for the entirety of this night, but you bear a great deal of blame for it."
Danzō's eye flicker with tightly controlled irritation as he glared back at her. "It was your alternate self, and from your world, that brought these demonic invaders to the village."
"And they only came because they sensed an opportunity for discord. An opportunity that was provided thanks to the Uchiha's mounting dissent." Remarked the Third Hokage. In contrast to the two, his voice was calm, rather fittingly acting as a mid-way point between them. However, that calmness didn't mean that he hadn't taken a side, nor that he too wasn't brimming with fury. "Dissent…that began with their treatment post-Nine Tails. Dissent that you helped formicate, amongst others." He watched as Danzō stood his ground against the accusation, something that didn't surprise Sarutobi. "You fed those whispers, Danzō. You leaked the information about Naruto being the host to the Nine-Tails to the public."
"What I did was give the villagers' hatred a target. We needed that least-"
"You made him an outcast!" Tamamo roared, her voice seemingly echoing across the deserted district. Those crows that had begun to pick at the corpses scattered the landscape. Danzō swerved his eye back at her, glaring at her. "He was the son of the Fourth Hokage and his wife, two shinobi who gave their lives for this village, and you made him an outcast! The Uchiha gave their lives for this village just like them! And you fed into the conspiracy theory that they somehow orchestrated the Nine Tails attack!"
"The preparator of that attack was a Uchiha." Danzō heatedly fired back.
"But we have no evidence that the clan itself was linked to the attack. That was a lie that you helped push, Danzō." Sarutobi cut in, his voice still calm, yet retaining the sharp edge that it had before. "Just like you helped spread the lie that the Fourth's seal would crack and the Nine-Tailed Fox would be unleashed upon the village again. It was you who continuously argued against peace talks with the Uchiha Clan. It was you who also sabotaged any attempts to deescalate tensions that could have helped us to avoid this!" With each word, the normally kind and pacifist Hokage's voice rose, capping off in a thunderous shout. His booming voice rolled across the decimated clan district. The echo served to emphasis his point.
Regardless, Danzō Shimura continued to stand firm, clearly defiant in the accusations being thrown at him.
"The village's hatred needed targets, or would you rather have had it run wild? Chaos, disorder, would you rather have had those things controlling the village? I did what needed to be done to protect the village, as I always have and I always will."
"And you've done a wonderful job so far." Tamamo sneered.
Ever since they'd met each other, it'd been made clear that Tamamo-no-Mae and Danzō Shimura would not get along with each other. That was putting it lightly. Now, all that disdain seemed to be pouring out.
It was quite a rare thing to see the one-eyed war hawk look so agitated. Were it not for the horrific disaster that he'd help format and the repercussions they'd all be dealing with for years, Sarutobi would have been amused by it.
"This is my village, fox. I have done all that I could to protect it from harm of any and all sorts. I have done more than you'll ever know. As far as I'm concerned, you're just a drifter, you and your husband. In fact, you aren't even flesh and blood, just a relic from another world's bygone past. A past that you seem hellbent on keeping a secret." Each of his words were arrows that he aimed straight for the Servant's heart. She took them all with her continued cold glare. "You know nothing about this village. You know nothing about this world. Nothing about us shinobi. You have no right to criticize me, Fox. This is my world, my village, my home, and I will defend it however I must." Though his voice was building up, there was no shouting at the end. Granted, one look at the simmering mount of rage that was Danzō and it was clear he was coming awfully close to losing control.
Tamamo's glare hardened even further. "Oh, I do, because I too am a citizen of this world and this village, and I'm damn well going to criticize the imbecile whose stupidity has put it in danger! Answer me, Danzō, how has any of this made the village safer!" Throwing her head about, she motioned to not just the scores of corpses surrounding them, but the smoke stacks that still continued to rise in the distance. With them came the sounds of search and rescue, a mournful murmur that dulled the hearts of anyone who heard it.
Or almost anyone.
Instead of responding, and potentially opening himself up to more criticism, the one-eyed war hawk turned to look at his old friend.
"Are you really going to stand there and let her butt her nose into village affairs, again, Hiruzen?" Danzō said, having regained a small measure of his composure.
Sarutobi maintained his, even as his face seemingly aged another ten years. "She has a right, Danzō. Not only has she done much to fortify the village, it was thanks to her that we got our second wind. It is also thanks to her that we still have one living Uchiha. One who, thanks to you, will now live the rest of his life broken and traumatized…while his brother will live a fugitive because you knee-capped any attempt at a peaceful resolution." Again, his voice was tight with anger that just barely kept him from screaming aloud in fury. "Danzō…do you even remember Kagami?" It was brief, but the war hawk's face tightened, confirming Sarutobi's suspicion. "You thought his son could become a traitor. Kagami's son, Shusui."
"Did you fear he'd become a threat to the village…or to you." Tamamo sniped.
"…Doing it wasn't easy, but I had to take precau-" The bandage-wrapped man began.
"You weren't thinking of the village, Danzō, you were thinking about yourself! This is not what Tobirama-sensei would have wanted!"
"He taught us to not let out emotions cloud our judgement." It was clear that, ironically, Danzō was getting closer to that with every second.
"Not to cloud our emotions…but not to entirely erase them, nor to focus our misguided paranoia on one clan to the point of turning them into an enemy! Or turning a hero's son into a pariah who could one day turn on the village!" Roared back the Third Hokage. "You've betrayed his memory just as much as you've betrayed Kagami's! You've gone against everything that sensei and Lord First stood for!"
"I'm protecting everything that they built!" The restrains finally came undone. At long last, the so-called Darkness of Shinobi let his emotions show, and it was raw anger…and hurt.
"You've left their village broken and crippled." Tamamo sniped again.
"Be silent, fox." Danzō barked in a restrained snarl.
"Oh no, I won't. I've been polite before, but that's gone now. I will no longer be silent in the face of ego-driven stupidity and hypocrisy!" The Caster-Class Servant retorted. Her arms dropped from their cross position and lay at her side. It would take less than a second for them to move, for one of them to pierce the cycloptic man's chest, or rip his head from his neck.
"Then you and your husband will be removed from this village. It's long overdue. You've spent long enough poisoning the Jinchūr-"
"His name is Naruto! Naruto Uzumaki!" Golden and orange fire erupted from Tamamo's form, so much so that the Third Hokage had to step back seconds earlier least he be burnt by the outburst. No longer was Tamamo a mere critic, she was a mother defending her child. There was no force in this world or those beyond greater, or more terrifying. Even Danzō took a step back. The two war veterans weren't the only ones to tense up and make themselves ready for action. Tamamo didn't think about the others though. Her flames died down as her face fell. Blood started to drip from her crushing fists. "Sasuke Uchiha…that is the name of the boy who your actions helped make an orphan. He is the only orphaned Uchiha child…as you had his brother and that manslayer slaughter the rest of them."
Danzō's silence was without a doubt an admission of guilt…or a lack of willpower to refute her words. Somewhere in his broken, dark heart though, Danzō knew that she was correct.
But just because she was correct didn't mean that she was right in her accusations.
"Every action I have taken…no matter how cruel or violent…no matter how much it has pained me, has been for the good of the village. Including this." His walking stick beat against the floor. On an ordinary day, when morning rose, this square would have been filled with Uchiha clansmen going about their daily business. By his actions, that would never happen again. "Was done in the name of securing the village. The Uchiha were on the break of open rebellion. Hiruzen, you know that if they did that…it would have been the end of us all. What their rebellion would have wrought would have made this look like a schoolyard brawl. You know that."
All eyes fell back to the Hokage. He'd seemingly aged another twenty years. His eyes were heavy with sorrow as he looked to meet his old friend. "I do know, Danzō. You are right in that had the rebellion happened…Konoha would be left a decimated husk at best." For a fraction of a second, the war hawk's demeanor softened. "But we had the ability to stop it before it could get that far. We had the ability to defuse this situation before war broke out." Eyes burning with resolve, sadness and rage, the Third Hokage glared daggers at his old friend, now the man who'd brought their home dangerously close to destruction. "But you refused that, Danzō. You sabotaged any attempt at peace, to the point of attempting to maim the son of our teammate. Going even further, you undermined my authority and contracted one of the village's Servants for your own private use. I cannot and will not allow you to do such a thing again, Danzō."
His grip on his walking stick tightened. "Hiruzen," he began sensing something big was coming. Though he was prepared for it, Danzō couldn't help but feel dread mounting within him.
"By my decree as Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, Danzō Shimura, you are hereby exiled from the village, indefinitely. Should you attempt to return, then your life shall be forfeit." In the span of a second, the old ninja's eyes flickered to his right, to the foxy sorceress beside him.
Tamamo got the message loud and clear, and she acted on the unspoken request.
Feeling his instincts kick up, Danzō acted. There was little to no formulate a plan, he only knew that he had to keep the fox-eared woman away from him. The Root operatives that had been watching the showdown unfold knew the same.
A pity that none of them were fast enough.
Six masked ninja surrounded Danzō as he'd dropped his walking stick to prepare a hand sign. By the time he realized what had happened, the attack was over. He felt blood running down his right-side cheek. His fingers rose and felt the blood underneath them. Looking back over to Tamamo, he saw her holding up her right fingers, then splattering them across a talisman. "What did you do?" He growled, his appearance looking very much like a cornered predator.
To Tamamo, he was merely a mouse attempting to bear its fangs in a vain attempt to look scary. "Ensuring that Lord Sarutobi's declaration will be followed." Pushing the talisman forward, she let Danzō get a good look at it, namely the trail of blood that now ran down it. The ofuda glowed red, giving off an ominous aura. "This is a blood curse. If you attempt to enter the village in spite of the Hokage's declaration, this curse will activate and you will die Danzō Shimura." For a woman who literally brought the light of the sun into the night, Tamamo's voice as cold as the winds of winter. "Should you attempt any harm against me or my family, then I will personally trigger the curse and you will drop dead where you stand. There will be no place on this planet where my curse will not find you."
Eyes wide and brimming with fury, the war hawk looked to his old friend, silently asking him if he was prepared to go this far.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's still firm glare indicated that yes, he was, and that he wasn't through. "As of this moment, Root itself is permanently disbanded. You will cease all operations and hand over all data pertaining to current and past operations to me. Failure to do so will be seen as an act of defiance and I will henceforth order your execution." The Third declared.
None of the assembled Root operatives reacted, another sign of their heavy indoctrination.
"…And if they choose to follow me into my exile?" Danzō inquired.
"Then they will be free to do so, but all of them will be required to given a sealing lock on their tongues." He answered. A tense silenced ensued as the two men stared one another down. They'd always been on opposite sides, but now, with the Hokage's declaration, the divided between them had been solidified. "You have until midnight of tomorrow to get your affairs in order and vacate the village. If not…then you will be treated as an enemy of the village and executed."
"…I understand…Hiruzen."
The Root operatives stood down at their leader's behest. One of them grabbed the war hawk's fallen walking stick and returned it to him. They all took up positions around their leader, making it clear they were going to follow him into exile. Hiruzen didn't have a problem with that; he knew that Danzō had indoctrinated his thinking so deeply into his subordinates that they'd followed him to the ends of the earth. Such loyalty would have been praise worthy if it hadn't been beaten into them and came at the cost of their humanity.
When was it that his old friend had lost his humanity? Would this exile help him regain it? The Professor of Shinobi highly doubted it. He also highly doubted that Danzō would take his exile quietly.
He knew that he'd just unofficially declared war on his old friend and rival. A sentiment that was shared as Danzō looked back at him.
Though he was angry, he was also hurt, and he showed it to Sarutobi. Then he looked to Tamamo. The hurt transformed into deep-seated anger that would in time no doubt morph into hatred. It was already hate on Tamamo's side.
"If you ever come near my family or Sasuke, you won't live long enough to regret it." The Caster barked with silted eyes that channeled her murderous rage.
"And the same to you if you put the Leaf in danger." He shot back.
Danzō and his Root agents all vanished at once, black blurs that moved as one. Tamamo let her irritation die down now that the source of it was gone. As it did, a quadrat of Anbu appeared behind the Hokage, having been there for the whole showdown.
"I want surveillance on every Root facility we know of in operation. Tell our people on the inside that I want every orphan and child that Danzō has captured taken in and placed in the child care immediately." The Third Hokage ordered.
"Yes sir." The captain responded without a hint of hesitation.
"Tamamo,"
"Yes, I know." Her voice had lost its fierce edge as well. Like the veteran ninja, she too was exhausted. To say the night had been long would have been an understatement, and it wasn't even midnight yet. "I'll get to work on crafting a more thorough curse to keep him out, but for now…I'm going to tend to my family, Lord Hokage."
"I know and I understand. For now, we focus on rescue and recovery. I also want all of our ninja informed of tonight's happenings. By week's end, I want every undercover ninja of ours in the loop about what has happened." There was a heavy pause as the old Kage shut his eyes, his next words weight on his shoulders. "And their bingo books updated accordingly."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
"In the meantime…" He swallowed the lump in his throat, further sadness nipping at him. "I want the body of every Uchiha collected and…put into storage before they can be made ready for burial."
There was a noticeable pause from the Anbu captain, a clear indicator that this incident was weighing heavily on him as much as it was everyone else. "Yes…Lord Hokage." They scattered a heartbeat later leaving the Servant and the Kage alone.
They looked to one another with deep sorrow, both knowing that it wouldn't pass when the sun rose. No, when it did, they'd only be able to more thoroughly see the extent of the damage done to the village. In spite of seeing that, they both knew they would have to work to fix it, and brace the village for more catastrophe, which they knew was sure was to come. But when it did…hopefully, the village would be ready. Hopefully.
Early Morning of the Next Day…
Dawn, the beginning of a new day. When the night was long and brutal, the light of daybreak was a welcome relief to those who laid eyes on it. That was certainly the case for the people of the Hidden Leaf Village after the night of April Twenty-Sixth.
Monsters had descended upon the Hidden Leaf Village, none anywhere as big or as powerful as the Nine-Tailed Fox. Instead of one monster, they'd gotten a small legion that had sprung up seemingly from out of nowhere. As with the dreaded attack seven years ago, the village's ninja rose up to defend their home, and they were successful, albeit the victory couldn't be attributed to any one figure just like before with the Fourth Hokage.
If anything, one would say that there were two heroes of the night. A hero of the moon and a heroine of the sun. The former had sped through the village as a silvery blur, passing along the information needed to slay the demons, and at times ferrying civilians to safety. The other was a heroine, a Heroic Spirit, with fox ears and a fox tail. Complete with her bubbly and outgoing personality, she wielded the power of the sun, using it to light up the night sky and revitalize all who were bathed in it. It was the light of hope shining in the darkness, burning away all the despair.
The moon had been Hakuno Kishinami and the sun had been his wife, Tamamo-no-Mae Kishinami. Two of the newest residents of the Hidden Leaf Village.
But in the morning light, they weren't heroes, they were simple a husband and wife concerned over the state of their family.
"Urgh, I'm really hoping that this doesn't become a habit in this world." Groaned the Master to his Servant as he attempted to sit upright. The good news was that he didn't feel nigh unbearable pain (which he'd felt before) when he tried to. He only felt about a dull but annoying sense of pain in doing so.
It was still a little much for Tamamo. "I don't either, and it better not. By Izanagi, Hakuno, I don't want to do this! Spending every other week in the hospital!" He shot her a sad smile as he reached out and took her right hand. Immediately, Tamamo gripped it; in spite of her own annoyance, she was glad to feel her husband's hand in his. The feel of life in his hands was always all she could ever truly ask for.
"I'll do my best. It'd really suck if the only way I'm able to do this is by coming dangerously close to dying. Then again, that's always been my thing, right?" He playfully mused.
His wife shot him a cute but still somewhat serious glare. "Your thing needs to change, darling."
"Gonna do my best." Hakuno responded with that warm smile that always sent her heart racing. While this time was no different, she was able to channel that love, as she had before. Tamamo moved forward to wrap her Master and husband up into a hug; she was careful not to agitate his wounds, which were still healing. They weren't as severe as they could have been, but they certainly weren't anything to be reckless with. "So, have you gotten any sleep?"
As a Servant, she didn't need sleep, just like she didn't need food or water or even breathable air. Still, all those things were nice to have.
"I've caught some…little naps in. Don't worry, I'm not pushing myself too hard. Not like you tend to." They shared a short laugh at the remark. Normally, she was the one advising him not to push himself to his breaking point and beyond, something that he often did intentionally and unintentionally. Tamamo could keep up with him from time to time though. "Don't worry, I'm planning on taking a break eventually, but…I have a lot of things that I have to do before then. It seems the old courtesan in me isn't quite finished yet."
"Tamamo," he started.
"Don't you dare apologize." She quickly said, reaching up and kissing him on the cheek. "None of this is your fault."
"It's not yours either." Hakuno added, knowing that the self-loathing still lay within her, looking for a way to the surface. Wrapping his arm around her, he tightened the hug. "Go check on Naruto, and Sasuke. I promise, I'll be here whenever you get back."
"Oh, you better be. It may be a little tight, but I plan on making sure you get a good breakfast, okay?" He nodded and accepted her next kiss, the last one that they would likely share for a couple of hours.
Minutes later and she was walking toward her son's room. There were two Anbu guards outside the doors who greeted her.
"You're in for a little bit of a surprise when you head in." The one with the owl mask said to her. "Kid's got way more guts than anyone could have thought."
Tamamo nodded in agreement. "That he does, and he's all the better for it." Opening the door, she saw that what the Anbu had meant.
"Oh, Naruto, it seems your dream of acknowledgement has begun to take shape." Happily whispered the pink-haired woman. Sitting atop the small table beside Naruto's bed was a vase containing a batch of fresh flowers. Who had gone out and bought flowers in the aftermath of the attack, Tamamo could only guess, but the meaning of the gesture was undeniable. She was glad that no one had touched them since they were brought in; Tamamo wasn't going to touch them either. She'd let Naruto see them with his own eyes when he woke up. He hadn't yet done so, but Tamamo was confident that he had.
And when he did, she'd ask him about the oni horn that had been found on his person.
"My little fox, you became a demon slayer overnight." She mused reaching over and stroking his cheek. Beside him, underneath the covers lay a wooden box with a seal on it that she'd crafted herself.
"This is…" The Caster whispered turning over the cut-off horn in her hands. It still pulsated with demonic power, but it was so faint it wouldn't be much of a problem.
A cat-masked Anbu operative stepped forward. "When we found him, we found the horn in his hands. Almost like someone had…put it there for him." She reported after explaining how the Jinchūriki had been found curled up and surrounded by demon corpses, corpses that he'd probably made. The scenario reeked of suspicion, but the Anbu had chosen not to investigate further, knowing that his safety came first.
While she stroked her son's cheek, the fox familiar he'd come to call Kyukon, appeared at the foot of the bed. The fox was careful in walking up it to greet Tamamo, then turn its attention back to Naruto. It was clear as day that the familiar was no longer hers, it was Naruto's, his guardian. The creature was also a pretty good mouthpiece for the other fox that Naruto had in his life, literally.
Kyukon's tail extended to touch Naruto's stomach covered beneath the sheets. Tamamo saw the swirl of orange-colored chakra that pulsated around his stomach, running along the fox's tail into his head. His entire body tensed, his fur seemingly darkening, as well as his eyes. Bloody-red orbs with silted pupils stared back at the Caster. She wasn't intimidated.
"That was the most fun I'd had in years." The deeply masculine voice sounded.
"Yes, well, I'd like for it not to be a habit, but I fear that my wishes won't exactly be fulfilled." The Servant responded.
The Nine-Tailed Fox snickered in amusement. "Oh, then I'm definitely hoping for another night like last night."
Tamamo smirked. "Be careful what you wish for, Nine-Tails. Your supposed chance of freedom may not be what you think it will be." The two foxes stared each other down, silent intrigue amassing within them. Both of them had accepted that for better or worse, their fates were going to be tied together thanks to the slumbering youth between them. The nature of their concern for him were polar opposite though. "Consider yourself lucky that you even have this familiar to serve as a terminal of sorts."
"Gah, I'll give you that. This is easily far better than anything that I've ever had with my previous hosts." Looking down at the slumbering Uzumaki, the fox sneered. He was seeing something different from Tamamo; if she had to guess, the Tailed Beast was seeing his previous hosts, all of whom came from the same clan as Naruto. "Don't go thinking that I'll be acting like some loyal pet. I shall never become that, especially to an Uzumaki."
"I'm not asking you to, and I don't think Naruto would ask that of you." Tamamo calmly responded. "All that I'm asking is that you keep Naruto safe. Actually, I really don't think I need to ask you to do so since you did so last night, in spades." She smirked as the Nine-Tails turned his sneer from Naruto to her. "Admit it, he impressed you, didn't he? Sure, he's a little reckless-"
"He's a helluva lot more than just a little, Caster." He spat. "This brat's the type that'll run off and get himself killed if he's not careful."
"Then it's a good thing that there'll be somewhere there watching his back." She casually retorted. The possessed fox's sneer deepened, yet Tamamo's calm demeanor remained. "Yes, I know you didn't plan on being his constant safety net, but for the sake of your survival, be there for him in his darkest times."
For a minute, the Tailed Beast's sneer held, then it softened showing he was considering it. That consideration ended in a dark smile that was fit for a fox, a trickster fox.
"Hmm, I think I could do that…especially if this seal were loosened a little." His venomous voice declared.
"No deal." Tamamo immediately retorted. "If you think I'm going to loosen that seal, then you're insane."
"Really? Not even if the boy's life depended on it?" He pressed while cocking his head.
Tamamo gave the monstrous fox a light chuckle. He knew that there wasn't a chance she'd give into his demands, but he was seeing how far he could push her. She'd play this game, but only up to a point. "Know this, Nine-Tails, while I abhor what was done to you, I will not let you loose so you may destroy this village, the people in it, and whatever else has earned you wrath."
"You think that his brat will be able to contain me? You think if I were to escape you could defeat me?" The fox pressed.
Naruto turned in his sleep, clearly sensing the tension that was accumulating in the room as his inner demon and his adoptive mother squared off. From the troubled look on his face, the dark mood was seeping into even his dreams.
That was enough to get Tamamo to retreat, for the moment. "I think we've made our roles clear."
"For the time being." He clarified. The Servant knew that sort of response was coming, after all, the Nine-Tailed Fox was a fox like her. "For the time, why don't you focus on tracking down your other selves, especially that Vitch."
"Yes, I know, but I fear she's…somewhat outside of my range for the moment. As much as I'd like to do what I failed to do last night, the village needs my protest more, and if I go off searching for her, I'm leaving it and everyone here defenseless." She responded with bitterness in her voice.
The Incarnation of Malice shared it with her. "That means that at best…you wait for another chance, and when that time comes, Caster…" Still connected his host, the small fox trotted up to the ancient goddess. His snout was mere inches from her face. "Don't fucking miss." He snarled.
Tamamo gave a solemn nod. Kyukon's tail broke from Naruto's stomach disrupting the flow of demonic chakra. The fox familiar's form returned to normal, twitching its ears as if it were a little shaken by the possession. She wouldn't be surprised if he grew opposed to those little possessions in the future. Reaching forward, she lightly scratched the fox's cheeks and behind the ears causing him to whine in joy. Her dark frown morphed into a warm smile.
"Keep watch over him as you always do." She whispered leaning forward and placing a kiss on his snout. He nodded, then went back to curling up beside the sleeping blond. Tamamo rose and watched as Naruto's frown melted away; he turned over and gripped his orange-furred companion. "And you sleep tight, my little hero." The Servant added planting a light kiss atop his blond hair.
Comatose. The state of being unconscious and in such a deep state of sleep that awakening from it wouldn't be easy. It was a dreadful state for a person to find themselves in, one that could cause concern for that person's loved ones and others.
Right now, Sasuke Uchiha had an entire village worried for him, yet Tamamo felt like her worry outstripped them all; she hated herself for it, but that's how she felt.
"Mikoto…I'm so sorry." After all she'd been through, the Incarnation of the Sun Goddess cried, her tears pooling atop her knuckles, which lay flat against her legs. Tamamo kept her head bowed, unable to look up at the comatose boy whose mother she'd come to call her friend. Mikoto Uchiha was now dead along with her husband and the rest of the Uchiha Clan, some two-hundred souls. "I'm so sorry." Tamamo continued to weep.
She knew that tears wouldn't do anything, they would be of no service to the little boy lying asleep in front of her. When he awoke, it'd be to a world without his family and clan, slain at the hands of an older brother who'd apparently exchanged their clan's life for his. It was cruel turn of events, but not one that she was alien too. No, Tamamo was distressingly used to tragedies like this, tragedies meant to forestall one disaster, yet sowed the seeds for another one down the line. She knew that Sasuke would be at the heart of that disaster.
You know what his heart will yearn for, what it will scream for. Would you say that he's wrong to seek it out?
No. Tamamo replied, having mustered the strength to look up. Sasuke was as still as a corpse, were it not for the beat of the heart monitor and rise and fall of his chest, one would have thought the boy dead. No child should have ever been in such a state. But to have his life consumed by it-
Life? What life? What does the boy have left? His older brother supposedly spared him in exchange for their family, but what did he leave him with? Nothing but a trail of corpses and a hole in his heart that'll never be fulfilled. Foolishness, foolishness in the name of-
Silence, Amaterasu! Tamamo roared behind her still crying face. Will you just shut up and…and…and…
There was a noticeable pause from within the Caster's mind. Sensing a sudden warmth, she looked up from Sasuke to the window. After such a brutal night, the sun had risen, the start of a new spring day. To her eyes, the light bent and warped into a faint figure that vaguely resembled her. Surprisingly, the figure's expression mirrored the sorrow that had gripped her soul. If we were at full power, Amaterasu began to speak. If we'd absorbed all of our other selves, or perhaps even four more, we might be able to use the Eight Span Mirror's full strength. We might be able to bring them back. Or perhaps even travel back in time to a certain point to prevent this tragedy from even taking root.
Wouldn't that be said. Tamamo murmured in response. Unfortunately, she knew that task would be easier said than done. She had no idea where her Alter Egos were, not even Vitch whose presence she needed to lock down and whose existence she needed to reabsorb. As she'd told the Nine-Tails though, she couldn't just run off and hunt them all down. Still, what Amaterasu had laid out still sounded like an appealing reason to try. Again though, she couldn't just run off half-cocked.
Amaterasu smirked at her, knowing the thoughts running through her mind, and the conclusion that she'd ultimately arrive at. Tamamo gave a half-hearted smirk in response. Chuckling in amusement at the emotional state of her mortal self, the sun goddess' phantom vanished from sight. Tamamo was left alone with the comatose body of the last Uchiha.
Would he accept her apologies when he woke up about why she wasn't there for his family? He didn't have any reason to, and she felt like she didn't have a right to ask him for forgiveness.
What was there to do for her? What could she do to help make this right? Tamamo wished that she had the answers, or that someone could give them to her.
Her ears twitched hearing the sound of footsteps and the push of the door opening. Wiping away her tears, she looked back at the bear-masked Anbu member poking his head in. He was fully aware that he was intruding on a private moment, one that he had no wish to interrupt.
"I-I'll be right out in a minute." She spoke.
"Take your time, ma'am." He replied bowing out and gently shutting the door behind him.
Sighing, she looked back at the black-haired child that was now an orphan. His only living family was who knows where, though if Tamamo had to venture a guess, Itachi Uchiha was never going to know a moment of peace again. In fact, if what she'd heard was accurate, he was going to spend every moment of his life wishing for death at his brother's hands. Would that make up for any of this? For the murder of his entire clan? His parents?
Tamamo had no certain idea what the answer was, but she had an overwhelming feeling that the answer would be, no.
But she doubted that'd be enough to stop Sasuke once he woke up and looked at the ruins of his life. More so if he learned what had really brought on the Massacre of the Uchiha Clan.
Thirty Miles outside of the Hidden Leaf Village, 10:50 AM…
"Am I going to have to chain you to your horse, and steer it and by extension you the rest of the way?"
Haine Comstock ignored the biting voice of his fell Templar; he instead continued to glare at the line of trees through which lay Konoha. He had only stayed in the village for approximately one day and one night, but he'd come to hate the ninja village with a burning passion. How dare they treat him in such a way? How dare they!
He tightened his grip on the reins of his horse so much that he seemed on the verge of tearing them apart. His teeth were gnashing as in tandem with them and his green eyes were burning with the hatred that at times empowered him. It was dying to be released, but couldn't for a number of factors, amongst the most pressing was that his strongest weapon was still sealed away. Kabaiel still lay sealed away in his Penalty Box, unable to be summoned until the box itself was unlocked.
Comstock would have liked to have just gone charging in, delivering the divine wrath that he felt the Hidden Leaf Village deserved; or to be more precise, the divine wrath he felt that Hakuno Kishinami deserved. That was what gnawed at him, he was fleeing after the humiliating defeat that the Japanese teenager had dealt him. Him and his Servant! While Comstock knew that humans taking on Servants wasn't entirely outside the realm of possibility, his pride had been dealt a critical blow that continued to throb and gnaw at him. He knew the only way to heal it would be to-
"Ow!" The gray-haired Englishman yelped, his left hand going to his recently pinched cheek. "Gah, what the bloody hell, Cadence!"
"I did that because you were gazing off into the distance, you idiot!" The blonde Frenchwoman shouted. "Look, I know that Hakuno Kishinami defeated you, but you're going to have to live with it! In case you've forgotten, Haine, we have other goals, other threats that must be neutralized! Your pride will have to wait!"
Growling, the Englishman Templar made it clear that he hated doing that, but ultimately, he knew that his French comrade was right. As much as he really, really, really wanted to go back and settle the score with the teenager, his other duties as a member of the Cross Bearer unit took precedence. Not to mention, as Cadence was remind him with her glare, he was down one Servant, and the village he wanted to raze had two. One of whom could kill him with a literal flicker of her finger.
He knew that already, but Cadence decided to remind him of that fact, much to his chagrin. Sneering as she reached into his coat pocket, she pulled out the jet-black that glowed with geometric lines. The glossy black surface of the box actually reinforced the notion that breaking it was going to be close to impossible by physical means. Comstock snatched the box back and stuffed it into his pocket; simply looking at it reminded him of the humiliation of his defeat. The shame was so great that he was tempted to say that he would have preferred Kishinami simply killed Kabaiel instead of sealing him away. Just as quickly as the thought came to him, he knew that he would have been worse off for it.
The taste of mercy, especially by an enemy he loathed stung him, and could continue to do so, but like his comrade had said, he still had a duty to perform.
Something she decided to remind him of, being blind or just uncaring to his inner musings. "Come on," Cadence said, turning her horse about. "I didn't tell you when I broke you out last night, but we're meeting up with Nihel and Renault." With a kick, she urged her snow-white stallion forward.
Wide-eyed, Comstock ushered his chestnut brown horse to follow. "Nihel? You managed to find him?"
"Yes, Haine, because we actually settled down and tried to look for each other instead of running off at the mouth like you and Darcie and Giles did." The French templar replied with a little smirk on her face.
He couldn't help but make a face. "We had leads and we took them. I'll wager that my lead turned out to be the best as at least now we know where the Moon Cell Regalia and the original Tamamo-no-Mae are. We now know where we'll be able to find them."
"True…but if we go back to that village, we're going to take a…different tact than the direct approach." The blue-eyed blonde declared, keeping her gaze focused on the cleared-out path ahead of them. She had to admit, it felt good riding instead of walking. "Now that they know we Cross Bearers are here and we know their location, they're going to be on guard. I certainly don't imagine that they'll be open to negotiations."
Comstock arched his brow.
"You do know that we can reason with these people, right? How do you think we got these horses?"
"…Fine."
"We're going to have to do like our ancestors did centuries ago, when they were first setting out beyond the lands of Europe." The Frenchwoman proclaimed. Unlike her compatriot, she didn't want to look back. While she had no great grudge against the Hidden Leaf Village, she wasn't exactly in a hurry to go back to it. Thanks to Comstock's attempted arrest of Hakuno Kishinami, any goodwill that the Church might have had had been blown sky-high. If they showed their faces again, Cadence didn't want to think about the results, especially since they were lacking a Servant, and the village had two, both of whom had quite a bit of incentive to kill them. And that were just the Servants, not the villagers who would no doubt be extremely on edge after the attack last night. Said attack had given her the cover she needed to find and rescue Haine, but by God, it hadn't been easy.
Any time she looked to the Hidden Leaf, she felt this unsettling prickling at the back of her spine. It told her to put as much distance between herself and the village as possible. Cadence didn't know what the epicenter of that unease was, but she wasn't one to ignore it.
Now, Haine on the other hand, she all but knew he'd come stomping back to the Leaf Village. One way or another, he was going to go back to the village, and if possible, simply order Kabaiel to use his Noble Phantasm to scorch it, and Hakuno and Tamamo, into oblivion.
And if that wasn't enough, she fully believed that he'd somehow convince Nihel or Darcie to come with him, with their Servants of course. Even Hakuno Kishinami and Tamamo-no-Mae would be hard-pressed to fight against a fallen angel and two of the legendary Paladins. Granted they'd taken on such odds before and actually won.
You know, maybe I should start praying that Easton will be able to talk him into dropping his vendetta against Hakuno Kishinami. The Church operative thought to herself as she and Comstock continued through the forested path. Just up ahead, it gradually opened up into a wide plain that would be a joy to ride through. They'd best enjoy it because by the half-way point of their ride, they'd be trading in the pleasant wind and the greenery of the fields for the dull brown and harsh sun of the desert.
Hidden Grass Village, 1:48 PM…
"Karin, you can come in." The gentle voice of Damon Wyss' gentle voice called out.
Cheeks blushing, the young redhead pushed the door open and walked right into the office of the dark-skinned stranger who'd blown into her village just a few days ago. It seemed like a lifetime ago that the first of these "Servants and Masters" had came to the Hidden Grass Village. Well, in their village's case, "came" could have easily have been replaced with invaded and devastated. If not for the dark-skinned doctor and his samurai Servant, Karin knows that she, her mother, and the rest of the village would be dead.
"Um, mom sent me to remind you that she's going to be preparing lunch in a little bit." She proclaimed. In a heartbeat, she scrambled up the desk to peer at the medical diagrams that the part-time painter had drawn. They were simply incredible, better than anything she'd seen. Of course, most of the books Karin had read were children's books. Regardless, she knew an artist's work when she saw one.
With a chuckle, the medical artist put down the pencil and rubbed his eyes. "She hasn't been waiting for me, has?"
"We've been waiting on you." The little redhead corrected with a bit of a cute pout. "You know, it's rude to keep ladies waiting!"
Damon's head fell as he burst into laughter. Needless to say, his response wasn't exactly what Karin had been aiming for. Her cheeks puffing out in comical fury, she stomped her foot atop the desk, yet that didn't seem to be enough to stop his laughter. While he laughed, the little girl turned her attention elsewhere, to the small garden that he had growing in his office. It was one awesome piece of decoration, and another step forward in strengthening the village. On the left side stood a massive spiraling tree that Karin knew had been grown using his magecraft. Hopping off the desk, she walked over to it, marveling at the array of berries that had begun to grow atop its leaves.
"If you want any, then you're free to take some, Karin. They've almost ripened so they should have some taste." The African-American spoke, having apparently finally gotten his laughter under control. Karin spun around to look at him with awe in her eyes, then the awe changed into joy as she grinned. No more had to be said as she grabbed a container from another one of the tables and began to pick them off the branches. As Damon had suspected in a village known for its building-sized greenery, berry picking was a pretty common occurrence, at least during the right time of the season and under the right circumstances.
His and Munisai's entry into the Hidden Grass Village had been anything but easy. Damon knew he'd never be able to forgive his first four hours in the village, where after arriving to defend it, he'd watched the village chieftain literally give up an entire clan to save the whole of them. It was a cold and cruel decision, but one that he could bitterly understand-sacrifice a few to save the many. But just because he understood it didn't mean that he liked it, he hated it with a passion even if there was logic to it. Damon was a man who valued life, and sending it so ruthlessly tossed away always pressed a nerve with him.
Conversely, it meant that when he saw life cherished and protected, he felt happy. After he moved past the rage and sorrow, he found happiness in the village, namely in the mother-daughter duo that he and Munisai had more or less taken up shop with. Between the two of them, Karin had taken to them pretty quickly, even Munisai, although neither of them would admit it; Damon and Momo couldn't help but find that shared stubbornness adorable.
The younger redhead often came by his office, either his private office or the hospital office he'd been gifted. Whichever one it was, he always welcomed Karin Uzumaki inside. Even into his private art studio, albeit the rules for any of them were the same-be careful what she touched. Still, a child's curiosity was something to behold.
"Um, hey, Damon, these berries, besides tasting great, what kind of effect will they have?" Her voice sounded, drawing him from his sketches.
Damon looked to her with an aside smile. "The berries that tree is growing are the sort that'll revitalize a person's physical health more so than their spiritual or magical strength. They're simply full of reinvigorating vitamins that'll put an extra spring in your step. The village is certainly eager to grow them. They'd make for quite a profit if they went on the market."
Karin's face turned pensive as she looked between the giant vine and the man who'd grown them. Damon patiently waited for her to collected her thoughts and voice them to her. She liked that about him-though he could get quite irritated, the mysterious doctor and painter was probably one of the most patient people she knew. Granted, Karin didn't really know that many people personally, but she liked Damon Wyss the best amongst them.
"Are you…okay with that?" She finally asked. "I mean, I know this village. A lot of times, people like…people like you and my mom really don't get the credit you deserve." There was a pause as her face tightened. "Or the breaks you deserve."
The artistic doctor sighed. "You're right about that, Karin. A lot of times…life really doesn't hand us a fair shake. It really sucks." Reaching forward, he gently patted the little girl's head causing her to look up. "But we still do it anyway. For people like us…well, we have a hard time looking away from others in pain and doing nothing about it. Or trying to prevent it. Kind of comes with the territory of being a healer. Our lives aren't easy, and sometimes they only get harder…but they aren't always so bad. You should know that."
"H-Huh?"
"No matter how much of a tough day your mom's had, she always comes home to you, right? Doesn't she always smile?" Damon gently pressed.
"Um…yeah." She responded.
"And for her, I'm sure that helps make everything she goes through worth it. Your smile, and the smiles of those she saves."
"She's…she's talked about that once. Especially when I asked her why she kept on doing it besides the fact that…without it we…couldn't stay here."
"Eh, well, yeah, there's that part, but let's focus on the first. I can sympathize with her on that because…the first person that I ever healed was my little brother, Frankie. He scrapped his knee once and I ran to the house to get some bandages and disinfect."
"You told me that he's a pretty reckless guy." Karin laughed.
"He is, and it gets annoying, but I still love him for it." Damon laughed. "Sure, it can get annoying, frustrating even, but…people like us do it because it's who we are."
"Who we…who you are." Karin repeated to herself. It was clear that this was the most thought that she'd ever given to her mother's occupation, no doubt because of him. "Damon, um…does it ever get to be…too much?"
"Occasionally." He answered with a sad smile. "Like I said, being a healer isn't easy. At times, it sure as hell isn't rewarding in a conventional sense…but other times, it is. Like right now. I've got to meet some interesting people and make some awesome friends, friends who also encouraged me to pursue my artistic dreams just as much as my medical dreams."
Her lips curved into a smile. "I'm glad that they did. You're an awesome artist, just as much as you are a cool doctor."
The Wizard sheepishly laughed at the compliment. If his brother or fellow Fox Catchers were present, they'd be joining alongside the little redhead in heaping praise on him, just to make him blush.
"Alright, come on, I think we should get going. You came to down here to make sure that I didn't miss lunch, right?""
"I did! Come on, let's go!" Closing the container, she slung it over her chest and grabbed the Master's hand.
Damon chuckled as he allowed the little girl to lead him on. It wasn't the first time that this had happened to him, and he was quietly happy that this probably wouldn't be the last time. Looking down at the jubilant face of the redhead, he considered his previously explained philosophy to have been validated.
"Treasure every smile."
That was practically one of the mottos of the Fox Catchers, an oddball group built around an oddball pair who'd shaken up the Moon Cell and the Earth in ways no one had imagined. Damon had a feeling that was going to hold true in this world as well, in direct and indirect ways.
Every day, he tried to live true to that philosophy, and he did when he came upon the picnic site set up for them, and Munisai. Damon wasn't at all surprised to see his Saber Servant, arms folded in his sleeves and a continuously sour look on his face. He immediately recognized it wasn't as sour as he wanted it to seem.
Unknown to him, all this came at the cost of a delayed notification. Said notification coming five minutes after he'd left the business office afforded to him. Had he stayed a while longer, he would have received an urgent notification there instead of at the picnic site with his compatriots, who would also learn of the news with him.
The shinobi world had changed overnight…again.
Hidden Stone Village, 7:10 PM…
Han was used to all eyes being on him when he entered the room. He had a rather strong presence that was hard to ignore. Sometimes he wished he could, simply blow out a cloud of steam and fade into it. Some days he could do just that, others he couldn't, he didn't want to. This was one of those times.
"How is she?"
Kaiya Matou shook her head. "Still comatose, but…she's still stable, which is a relief."
Her Servant snorted. "Stable is all she's been. We'd much prefer it for her to be awake and alive."
"A sentiment that I agree with."
The two Masters and two Servants eyes widened as the village's Kage stepped into the room. It was quite a surprise to see him, given the news that had came through about an hour ago.
Then again, it was perhaps that news that had spurned him to make this visit. That was the thought of Beowulf as he examined the big-nosed old Kage. Though old and quite grouchy, Ōnoki the Fence Sitter was still very much political savvy, and still something of a force of power to be recognized. The former showed itself in how he'd approached the situation regarding Masters and Servants-all of them were to be kept on strict watch, but they were given just enough movement that the four of them had the illusion of freedom.
When Andrea woke up. Beowulf and the rest of his Fox Catchers knew that as they'd been forced to tell Ōnoki that amongst the Fox Catchers, Andrea Harrell was one of their best.
Personally, she never took much stalk in her magus heritage, especially considering where that heritage had came from. If Ōnoki tried to press her on it, she'd find that her reputation wasn't just for a show, and that senior or not, Tsuchikage or not, she'd chew him up and spit her out for being too intrusive. Honestly, some of them were actually looking forward to seeing him try to assert himself to the Georgia-native. Sure, it probably wouldn't end well, but it'd be awesome as hell to say.
Han agreed with that and looked forward to it as he knew it was inevitable. Once he learned a little more about the mysterious dark-skinned woman he'd picked up by the northern beaches, he became eager to see her awake.
Sadly, it seemed that this wasn't going to be that day.
"I just came to see if the latest one of your otherworlders has woken up. We're going to be needing you, or in her case, she's going to be pulling double-duty since she doesn't have a Servant." The Tsuchikage declared.
Kaiya and Davis' faces went flat, though they weren't surprised. Neither were their Servants. Beowulf looked to the senior ninja with an amused grin, as for Nagayoshi, his face twisted into a sneer revealing his sharpen fangs. At times the man seemed more beast than human, and that was accounting for Han, who had an actual monster sealed inside of him.
As the Steamroller himself could attest, the Five-Tails hated being compared to the murderous Rider. Han could actually understand why.
"Still the slaver driver." Han remarked.
Davis sighed. "You know, you get word that one village's strongest clan has just been wiped out. No offense, but you're the kind of old coot I think would consider taking it easy after that."
"Hah! That just shows how little you know, boy." Ōnoki snorted. "This latest development means that now is the time to start gathering strength. Do you think that the other Hidden Villages aren't doing the same? That the Leaf won't be doing the same? They just lost their strongest clan in a single night, not to mention suffered a rather severe surprise attack. I have no intention of seeing such a calamity befall the Hidden Stone."
"If so, then maybe, just maybe, old man, you'd be best to stop antagonizing the people who could help fend off such an attack if it were to happen." The straw-hatting wearing ninja casually remarked. The four otherworlders looked to him with varying smiles while the Tsuchikage glared at him. Han merely chuckled; his day was never complete without his cousin glaring at him at least three times per day. Or throwing his back out once. "Just saying." He politely added.
"How's about next time you just keep your opinion to yourself!" The Kage snapped.
"Oh, but then you'd be there to give you the advice that you sometimes need to take into consideration?" Beowulf cracked.
"When he says something worth listening to, I'll take it under consideration." Ōnoki hit back. Feeling his frustration mount, he rose up and levitated toward the still comatose woman. The two teenagers who sat beside her regarded the floating ninja with unease, but ultimately parted ways. "With the Uchiha Clan's unexpected destruction, as well as that surprise attack to the Leaf Village, the balance of power within the Five Great Nations has radically shifted. Do any of you here truly believe that shift won't come with violent repercussions?"
"We know that they probably will." Davis confessed. The normally laidback photographer's face was hard and serious, an expression that Ōnoki actually found somewhat interesting. It was when he showed that he too had been through life-threatening ordeals, and he'd learned from them instead of simply shrugged them off like he pretended to. "We're just making it clear that if you're expecting us to be a part of some kind of military campaign against the Leaf Village."
"You mean against your allies, Hakuno Kishinami and Tamamo-no-Mae, right?" Ōnoki clarified.
"Look, Old Man Tsuchikage, we appreciate you taking us in…but we're still Fox Catchers. We're not ninja under your command." Beowulf boomed, his formerly jovial voice carrying titanic force that shook the hospital room. It reached outside to the elite ninja guarding the doors. The two looked to one another, feeling a sudden tension behind the doors. "If you try to force us, well…"
"By all means, give it a shot." Nagayoshi cackled. Throughout most of the afternoon visit. One might have assumed that he was a calm man from his cross-legged position in the far-left corner of the room. The minute he spoke and opened his eyes, that illusion was rudely dispelled. "If you try to push our buttons, Tsuchikage, we'll be more than happy to help redress this latest national power shift. Hell, I'm sitting here waiting for the chance to do so!"
From the moment he met him, Ōnoki knew what sort of person this Mori Nagayoshi was. He was a mad dog, a war dog, albeit one whose loyalty could be an unbreakable leash. Unfortunately, that loyalty wasn't to him, but to the blue-haired girl known as Kaiya Matou, and by extension the rest of these Fox Catchers. Honestly, somewhere in his old scarred heart, Ōnoki begrudgingly respected that Of course, that didn't mean that he was blind to the fact that if he made one wrong move, Nagayoshi would satisfy his bloodlust using him and his village, or as many as Kaiya allowed him to.
"If I were to…ask for you to be a part of a scouting mission, how would you respond?" He questioned, looking not to the Rider but his Master.
Kaiya immediately knew what he was playing at, as did her friends. "If Vitch really was a part of that attack, then I highly doubt that Nagayoshi will find anything. She covers her tracks too well."
"But not so well that you've never picked up on it, right?" The Fence-Sitter retorted.
The four individuals from the Moon Cell went silent, indicating that he'd spike true.
"Are you asking them to track down Vitch…or Itachi Uchiha? If so, I don't think Mr. Tall, Crazy, and Murderous over there will be the man for the job." Han intervened, catching his leader's sharp gaze. As usual, he wasn't detoured. "Come on, these four are adults, well, adults in mind." He added with a chuckle. Davis and Kaiya rolled their eyes, but allowed him to continue. "After what he did, Itachi Uchiha's going to be going deep underground."
"Earth is our element, Han. There's no underground too deep for us to penetrate." Ōnoki retorted. "Whatever his motives are, he's now a rogue ninja who we are to either kill or capture on sight."
"I'm assuming you wouldn't mind the capture part, will you?" Davis drily remarked. His tone and face made it clear that he already knew the answer.
"We are ninja, Mister Clyman." His gaze swerved from him to Kaiya and Nagayoshi. "How we operate should be obvious."
"Ah, so it's the way of lying, thieving, and cutthroat dealings. Sounds an awful lot like the magus society of old."
"Hah! From what I understand, we ninja are far more adaptable than your world's tradition-bound sorcerers!" The old ninja boasted, only for his face to fall in confusion a second later.
Simultaneously, all eyes looked to the woman who'd been lying in bed asleep. Or at least formerly lying in bed.
After several long blinks, hazel orange eyes remained open and scoured the hospital room. They took in every detail, especially the occupants of them. Their voices had been what aroused the African American woman from her slumber. Some she recognized, others, not so much. Likewise, she saw four faces she recognized ad two she didn't. Those eyes settled on her younger teammates, who'd stood up, their jaws hanging open.
"Hey, Davis, Kaiya. So, have you two-"
"Andrea!"
Davis held back, letting Kaiya get the first hug in. Between the two of them, she was easily the most emotional, not that he saw that as a bad thing all the time. As he watched the two ladies happily embrace each other, he felt his legs go wobbly. It was relief, sweet relief flooding him that their senior Fox Catcher and friend had fallen woken up. Finally. Letting that relief show in laughter, he sat back down, hunched over and feeling his heartbeat racing and slowing down, almost like it wasn't able to decide on which one it preferred. His confused joy didn't last long as he caught the former teacher's gaze. Raising his hands in happy defeat, he joined the group hug.
"Well, seems like the kami decided to give us a break." Nagayoshi cackled. In spite of his frenzied appearance, his red eyes gleamed with genuine joy. He wasn't anywhere near as vocal as his Master, but he was happy to have one of his fellow Fox Catchers awake and back with them.
"Ah hell yeah! Now we've definitely got something to toast to!" Beowulf boasted. Looking to his right, he marched over and wrapped an arm around the Five-Tails Jinchūriki. "And you're joining us, Han! Without you, we wouldn't have our dear Andrea back!"
"Heh, well, bringing her back wasn't easy. I had some dents in my armor that needed some repair work." He nonchalantly mused. "Still, I think I could go for a night out of drinking."
"Now wait just a minute! No one's going anywhere just yet!" Ōnoki shouted, regaining control of the room. He did not like it when he went ignored, especially by these youngsters who seemed to enjoy granting on his hospitability. "Young lady, do you have any idea where you are!"
"No, I don't. I've been in a coma for the last couple of…" She trailed off looking to her two friends.
"Two months." Davis answered.
"Ah, have I missed anything important?" Andrea asked.
The two Masters looked to each other, then their Servants.
"Eh, we'll explain it over dinner." The American nonchalantly responded. "Just last night, the strongest clan in another village was rendered extinct thanks to apparently, its strongest member going ax-crazy."
The black-haired woman nodded in quiet acceptance of the short rundown. Her response was proof that this woman had been through her fair share of…horrendous ordeals, including mass murder.
"The village is where Hakuno and Tamamo are. They're safe." Kaiya added.
"Hakuno and Tamamo? They're alive!" Andrea hollered, her eyes growing wide, then shutting in relief. "Thank God."
"Pretty sure that's literal considering where they were." Beowulf mused.
"Ahem!" Boomed the shortest person in the room, as well as the most politically powerful, which he needed to remind everyone of.
Kaiya swerved her head around, not surprised to see how red-faced the Kage was becoming. "Oh, r-r-right! Andrea, we're in a place called the Hidden Stone Village and this is its ruler, the Tsuchikage, Ōnoki!"
"The gnome." Beowulf added.
"Do you want me to assign you to guard duty! And you too!" The Old Kage screeched pointing a finger at Davis. The American's face fell. "And now, as for you, before you can so much as think of getting a crumb, you have some explaining to do!"
Even though she'd just woken up, even though her body was weak and in some places she felt like she had no feeling, Andrea Harrell's will remained strong. Once her eyes met those of the Third Tsuchikage, her hazel orange eyes hardened showing that she wouldn't be intimidated. Ōnoki silently recognized that, and he silently respected her for it. Over the past two months, he'd listen to the two Masters and Servants tell stories of this woman, Andrea Harrell. She was pretty capable for a former teacher, an occupation that Ōnoki wondered if he could use to his advantage. Was it possible for her to teach his village's ninja mageacraft? Could be convinced to do so?
With the Uchiha gone and the Leaf Village's Jinchūriki an unknow, the time is right to seize power, but those Cloud folk will no doubt be thinking the same thing, even though they've yet to find a Master-Servant pair of their own. Invisible hands moved various pieces across the board, both with the intention of protecting themselves and diminishing the opposition. The woman in front of him had the potential to help him do that.
"As Kaiya explained, I am the leader of this village, Ōnoki the Tsuchikage. And you, from what I understand, are Andrea Harrell, a magus capable of manipulating gravity, correct?"
"…Yes, I can." She admitted. "I'm not sure how strong my magecraft can become in this world, but I have a feeling that it's the sort of thing you'd like to weaponize, right?"
"Smart girl." The Old Kage grinned, confirming her suspicions. "I believe that will make for worthy compensation for your lack of a Servant."
Andrea raised an eyebrow. "Not beating around the bush, are you?"
"My dear, amidst that stream of information you've just been given, the balance of power in the land has shifted, and I need all the power that I can get if I mean to protect my village and my country."
Holding the Kage's gaze, Andrea looked as far into him as she could. Was this man a greedy opportunist? Oh, hell yeah, she'd figured that out over the last five minutes of her being awake. That said, she'd learned that not was a complete scumbag. When it came to politics, being an opportunist could sometimes mean the difference between a nation that survives and one that didn't. The old geezer in front of her knew that, perhaps too well so she couldn't completely fault him. Furthering the feeling, whatever this clan massacre was, Andrea had a sinking feeling that there was a Servant, and likely a Master, involved. She couldn't help but groan and put her hands against her face; there was a headache coming on, painful, but proof that she was definitely awake and alive.
"Hey, Old Man, how's about you give her just a little bit of a break? There's no shame in getting to know the lady after she's had a chance to get her bearings."
The tallest and most heavily-armored man in the room. Ōnoki's attention swerved to his cousin's, an annoyed glare consuming his face. Han held his gaze, then moved it toward Andrea. For the first time, she seemingly took in all of him, his imposing figure that more often than not left people at a loss for words. He wondered how he compared to some of the Servants that she'd met in the past.
Why not ask her? Rumbled his inner demon.
Maybe I will. After she's dressed in something other than just a hospital gown.
Heh, are you so sure about that? Or…is it you'd rather see her in something else.
Yeah, I get it, you're bored. With that, he ended the conversation between himself and his Tailed Beast. His full attention turned back to reality, which was filled with a tense standoff between himself, the Servants, the Masters, and his cousin in the room. The latter knew that and he knew that he could push and push, but it would probably do more harm than good.
Which was exactly why the old Fence Sitter let out sigh that was a mixture of acceptance and frustration. "Fine then, we'll…pick this back up in the morning. My office, eight o'clock sharp!"
"So…breakfast extra early? Or should we wait until after?" Davis openly mused.
"Gah, after! Though if you want to snack on something like a bagel." The village leader declared. Swooping his gaze around, he made it clear that declaration went to all of them including the seemingly docile Nagayoshi. "You all have…the rest of the night to yourselves." There was a noticeable pause as he levitated down and looked up to the towering, six-two figure that was his cousin and his village's Jinchūriki. Ōnoki would have given anything to know where the other one was. "And you too, Han, but tomorrow, it's back to active duty as usual."
A small puff of steam was exuded from the Jinchūriki's armor. "Thanks, Old Man."
"But if I hear one word about a bar fight breaking out, they'll be hell to pay!" The elderly ninja snapped.
"Guess that's where we come in." Kaiya giggled. The two veteran warrior Servants gave low chuckles, gentle thunder that make the Tsuchikage wonder if he was going to regret this decision. He'd known by midnight. Probably. "Thank you, Lord Ōnoki."
There was a brief pause as the Fence Sitter looked to the blue-haired girl with an expression that vaguely resembled…happiness. It was the first real glimmer of it that anyone had seen since he entered the room. The sight made his exit slightly meaningful.
Han breathed out a cloud of steam. "Damn, he actually made it through this meeting without throwing his back out."
"I know, damn, here I was hoping we'd get at least one bone crack." Beowulf cracked.
Andrea looked at all of them. "Throwing his back out?"
"Happens every time the old geezer gets too riled up." Davis explained.
The former teacher's eyebrow rose. "And he's this village's leader?"
Han tipped his hat. "Our dearly beloved, stubborn, but at times quite dependable-"
"Gnome." The Masters and Servants answered in perfect unison.
Andrea burst into laughter that was soon followed by the red-armored man. Within seconds, the hospital room was a quiet hub of serene laughter, a far cry from what it was predicted to be almost half an hour earlier.
It would be deeply ironic how the mood in the Hidden Stone Village would brighten, even as the sun set, while the mood of its rival in the southeast would remain darkened.
Konoha General Hospital, 8:23 PM…
Hakuno Kishinami's eyes flew open and his once calm heartbeat suddenly spiked.
"Ah shit." He groaned, knowing that there was a chance he was going to miss dinner. Regardless, if what he felt was real then he had bigger problems than a potentially empty stomach.
Luckily, almost a full day of rest had been enough for his body to recover, at least enough for him to stand up and not get dizzy. Still, he knew he was in absolutely no condition to get into another life-or-death battle, especially with a Servant. Based on what he'd sensed, Hakuno knew that probably wasn't what he was going to be facing. That didn't mean that he should have let his guard down; he didn't. Groaning as he swung his legs over the bedside and tore out the IVs and tubes connected to his arms, he stood upright, albeit shakily. His body was still sore and he felt like his legs had become toothpicks; just another indicator that he was definitely going to be spending another day recovering from his injuries in the hospital.
He had to make sure though that there was a hospital for him and the hundreds of other patients to recover in.
His ears buzzed as he heard the sound of commotion. Sucking in a breath, he took one step forward. One step turned into many, leading him out the door and into the hallway. The second he was out of his room he heard the uproar in full. Panic and fear, two things he'd gotten distressingly used to.
A crowd had gathered before the door to Sasuke Uchiha's room, and it seemed to be growing by the second.
"Dad!" His adoptive son called, turning around and running toward him. Naruto took note of how he was limping thus kept himself from running headlong into his leg. "It's Sasuke! Something…something's happening to him!"
"I know, Naruto, I know. I'm going to go in there to help." The male brunette responded.
"Help? B-B-But…is there anything I can do? I-"
"Naruto," he softly cut off. "I know you want to help, and you can, by staying out here and waiting. Trust me on this." Tilting his head up, his honey brown eyes stared straight into the worry-laced blue eyes of the little boy. "I will help Sasuke, he's going to be alright, I promise you."
He tensed up, clearly fighting the urge to go in there and help himself, even though he couldn't do anything. In the back of Hakuno's mind, he actually considered that a great positive. For someone who'd been ostracized as much as Naruto, the idea of helping another person might have came off as laughable. Thankfully, compassion was still there, in spades to be precise.
"O…Okay. You promise?"
"I promise." The teenage Master proclaimed. Naruto nodded, and stepped away allowing Hakuno to begin pushing his way through.
It wasn't easy, or pleasant considering his body was still aching at various points. Luckily, he didn't have far to go, and once he got to the doors, the Anbu took immediate notice of him and let him pass. He took a breath as he did so.
As he walked through the doors, he ran lunar chakra through his eyes, allowing him to see in the spiritual sense. Hakuno immediately saw the dark tendrils looping around the squirming form of Sasuke Uchiha. His occasionally painful yelps and shouts conceded with the tendrils digging into him. No one else could see them, not the myriad of doctors crowed around the young survivor. Several of them took note of him as he entered the room.
"H-H-Hakuno Kishinami?" The head doctor shouted. "What are you-"
"Had a bad feeling, came to check on it! Here to help!" The veteran adventurer responded. "Let me guess, he started shaking and convulsing, heart rate spiking and he feels like he's burning up?"
What few that took note of him looked around at each other, then back to Hakuno. All of them gave silent nods, their attention was quickly drawn back to Sasuke, whose voice broke into a scream as he arched upward.
"It's because he's being infected with demonic chakra, probably residual malice from the massacre last night." The otherworlder explained. He couldn't just sit by and watch, he began to push forward, knowing that every second counted. "Some of it must have been attracted to him. He was found in the crossfire of a battle, right?"
"Y-Y-Yes. He was." The head doctor clarified. "Are you saying that even after all the purification your wife's been doing, some of the malice is still linger?"
"Apparently." Hakuno said, his voice heavy with unease. The doctors parted ways for him allowing him to stand over the wreathing boy. "I don't know how, but that malicious energy is trying to consume him. I'm going to stop it." No one questioned him, something he quietly appreciated. "Just be on standby if this goes bad."
"Not exactly encouraging, but thanks for being honest with us." One doctor mused.
This is my first time doing this in this world. I have no idea if it'll work since everything here is flesh and blood, not dead. If he had the time, he'd have explained that to the doctors around him, but he didn't so he focused on gathering the strength he needed. That strength manifested in the silvery-blue glow that surrounded his hands. It illuminated the bloody-red and black tendrils looping around Sasuke's body. His eyes briefly popped up; Hakuno saw the red veins spreading along his sclera. They weren't completely covered, but they were getting there.
It's now or never! The Moon Cell victor declared. "Lunar Style-Ten Thousand Colored Stagnation!" Moonlight condensed around his right arm, glowing so brightly that the doctors in the room had to cover their eyes. In that instant, Hakuno brought his hand down atop of Sasuke's head. Sasuke, let me in so I can help!
Rather it was the force of his entry or Sasuke's residual will, Hakuno's mind was granted access. The physical world around him completely vanished, replaced by darkness as he sped forward toward a single gleam of light. The light normally would have been blood, but it was tinged red, like swirling mists. Moving closer toward it, Hakuno could feel his skin crawling in unease. He knew exactly what he was about to walk into, but he knew he had to do it.
Sasuke had already lost his family. There was no way he was going to just let him lose his humanity in the aftermath.
Like many, Taro Tasaka had had an interesting last forty-eight hours, albeit he'd substitute interesting for stressful. It was always like that for doctors in the aftermath of major calamities. It'd been like that in the aftermath of the Nine-Tails' attack seven years ago, somewhat repeated last night. Mercifully, the damage hadn't been as severe, but the life-changing affects had definitely been there. Nothing was the same after last night on so many lives, and he knew along with so many others that things would never go back to the way they used to be again.
Tasaka had accepted that rather quickly; he worked in the medical profession and knew that some injuries left too big a mark to ever be forgotten about. He was one-hundred-percent sure that Sasuke Uchiha would never forget last night, the night that his entire family was massacred by his brother while the village came under attack from demons. Likewise, no one would ever forget how the sky was lit up by the light of the sun, revitalizing the villagers and terrifying the demons. He'd been working his ass off to treat the injured when the sun shined at night. Luckily, he was close enough to the window that he could see it, and he was in utter awe of it.
Just like last night, he was in utter awe at the lunar light that exuded from Hakuno Kishinami. He'd watched as it grew until concentrating into his right arm, at that point it became too blinding for him and his fellow doctors to look at, so they looked away. When he looked back, he saw that same luminous glow confined in his right hand, now attached to Sasuke's head. The boy's wreathing had stopped and his heartrate had begun to slow down. It was still beating at a bit of an erratic pace, but it was calmer than it was before. Speaking of calm, he looked to the teenage brunette and saw his face bent in concentration, yet he seemed oddly relaxed.
"What…what's he doing?" Ami, one of his closest colleagues, questioned.
"If I had to guess, he's…cleansing Sasuke's mind and soul. Or maybe purifying is a better word to use." The black-haired doctor answered, though somewhat unsure of his answer. That's what his gut was telling him. He'd struggled to see the tendrils of nefarious chakra swirling around Sasuke when they were first called in. While Takasa knew they were there, they couldn't reach out and touch them, and when they tried to cut them with chakra scalpels, they simply grew back. If they were even cut at all. "For now, we just…remain on standby and let him work."
"Um, we've already sent word for Lady Tamamo." Ami reminded him.
"Then once she gets here, we'll likely be able to rest a little easier." He responded, already feeling his muscles lightening up. "Knowing her, she'll probably be here in the next three minutes or so."
To his right, Kota raised an eyebrow. "Feel like taking a bet on that?"
"I can't believe you two are seriously considering that at a time like this." Misaki groaned.
"Hey, we're trying to relax after coming dangerously close to losing the village's last Uchiha!" Kota defended. "Shit, just like the last couple of times, the Kishinamis have saved us all with a miracle!" He moved against the wall and let his knees give out beneath him, carrying him down to the floor. The redhead was far from the only doctor to do so.
Takasa counted down as the seconds turned into minutes, his gaze never wavering from the two individuals. Hakuno kept his hand on Sasuke's head, the silver glow never fading and the older boy never moving an inch. Sasuke, meanwhile, gradually began to cease his wreathing. Looking to the heartrate monitor, he silently watched as it began to slow down, returning to an even pace. Takasa felt his own legs about to give out on him as he realized that his redhead friend had spoken the truth, the Kishinamis had worked another miracle.
He looked to a nearby chair and felt ready to move toward it when he saw Hakuno finally remove his hand, the glow in it deeming. In once glance, he saw that the teenager was about to fall over and moved to catch him.
"I…I did it. For the moment possibly, but I was able to…cleanse the dark chakra from him. I don't know how much longer he'll be in a coma, but hopefully not any longer than another day or so." Hakuno answered. There was a then sheen of sweat on him, indicating that whatever purification he'd carried out, it hadn't been easy on him. Given he was still recovering, Takasa was willing to venture he'd just exhausted himself to the point of another night of resting. "Has there been…anyone else like him?"
"No, just Sasuke. I imagine because…" The medical ninja trailed off, unwilling to explain any further. There wasn't a need to as everyone's faces showed that they knew what he was referring to; there was no need to bring it up. "Come on, let's get you back to your room so you can rest up."
"I'm here!" The door burst open revealing the pink-haired face and foxy ears of Tamamo-no-Mae Kishinami, looking very much ready to act in another purification. Except one look around and she saw that such a thing wouldn't be necessary. "Oh, um…am I…not needed?"
In spite of the mental and physical exhaustion eating away at him, Hakuno chuckled and waved his hand. "Oh, I wouldn't exactly say that you're not needed."
Tamamo's confusion melted into relief, as did that of the whisker-faced boy that had snuck in beside her. Naruto's gaze moved from the adults to his sleeping classmate.
"Sasuke, is he okay?"
"He is now." Takasa declared. "He's going to be, but I…don't think all of us crowding around the room is going to be good for him. The youngest of the Kishinamis got the message, though the medical ninja wasn't against furthering the spark of hope flickering within the little boy. "There won't be any visitors for the rest of the night, but tomorrow morning at ten o'clock, you can come visit him." It was a silent hope that that prediction would hold firm and that they wouldn't have to do this again sometime later in the night.
Normally, Naruto would have tried to press the issue, but he knew that wasn't going to do any good. This was something that was out of his hands, but he still struggled to accept it. He hated feeling helpless, especially when someone else was in trouble. Looking at the comatose state of his classmate and friend made that feeling gnaw at him almost as strongly as it had the night before, before he decided to grab a spear and fight. Unfortunately, he knew that this wasn't a situation he could just slash or thrust at.
So he asked his parents what he could do on their way back to his father's room.
"When Sasuke wakes up…what's going to happen to him? Is he…"
The little boy's words froze the two veteran adventurers. They looked to each other, debating how best to explain the situation. Naruto may have been young, but he wasn't as stupid or as innocent as his age might have dedicated. He'd been through too much.
"He'll…Naruto, there's no sugarcoating it, he's never going to be the same after last night. No one can be after what he went through." Hakuno admitted, looking down at his adoptive son. "He's going to be in a lot of pain for…a long time."
"But what can anyone do to make it stop! I mean…he's…he's…" The young blond shouted, only for his voice to die down.
Eyes shimmering with sympathy, Tamamo reached down and gently stroked her son's hair. "No, he didn't deserve that, and no, he doesn't deserve this pain, Naruto. Very few, practically no one deserves it. And yet…it has found him, and now that it has, it will likely weigh on him for the rest of his life."
Naruto's face fell. He knew exactly what the Caster was talking about. Even if he had finally found a home and love, he would never forget the pain of his first years of life, how no one wanted anything to do with him. That pain still gnawed at him, and…at times, Naruto wondered if it would ever really go away. He'd never known his real parents, so he didn't know what it felt like to lose them. Granted, now that he had a set, he was in no hurry to find out. Unfortunately, Sasuke had, and as his adoptive parents had said, the pain of that loss was going to stay with him for the rest of his life.
"It'll stay with him, but it'll also be important to remind him that the rest of his life doesn't just have to be pain ad loneliness." His adoptive father sounded. His words were enough to cause Naruto to look up at him. "Horrible things happen to all sorts of people, a lot of them who don't really deserve it. Still, as horrible as they are…people learn to rise again from those tragedies. Sometimes they're able to find the strength alone…but other times, they have people who are there to help them."
"And those are the ones who are truly blessed." Tamamo added. "Pain is always hard to deal with, but it's easier, it becomes more bearable, when there's someone at your side to share it with you." Her gaze flickered from her son to her husband, her golden eyes twinkling with loving admiration. "And When that someone is willing to do their best to make some of it go away."
Stopping and looking between the two of them the question built up within him, begging to be expelled through his lips. Just as Naruto knew what pain was and how it could stay with a person, he also had learned that it wasn't infinite, and that there were indeed ways of lightening it, and perhaps even making it go away, if not permanently then in such large douses it wouldn't be an issue. Looking back at the hallway that they'd walked down, Naruto's mind was consumed with one question-could he do that?
When Sasuke woke up, his whole world was going to be gone, reduced to burning ashes and blood. Would he be able to help him rise from that? Was it even possible to pick yourself and keep on living after something that horrific?
Looking back at his parents, he wanted to ask them, yet he also felt a strange impulse to look inward.
Was it a question of if it were possible, or was it a question of if he would try or not?
That's the first post-Uchiha Massacre chapter. A lot less violent and heavy than the last couple of chapters, wouldn't you say? The next few chapters are going to be like this, though not entirely free of some action as you all will see. News is spreading of what's happened and the focus is now going to be fallout. Unlike with the Hidden Grass Village, the Leaf's a major power and last chapter's dealt a crippling blow to it on multiple levels.
To start with, I'll be entirely honest, I framed the showdown between Sarutobi and Danzō like a bad breakup. I mean, if there's one thing the series is known for (and something I personally like) it's the tragic friendships that tend to go sour, albeit some can be patched up. Will that be happening with Sarutobi and Danzō? Eh, I'm sure you all can guess not likely. I plan on the latter becoming a recurring antagonist, though not the sort that the Kishinamis and the Leaf will be directly fighting all the time as that's never been how Danzō's felt to me. He's a shadow that lurks around in the darkness, striking from it while at the same time dragging others into the shadows. Sometimes that sort of enemy can be fought directly and other times not so much. On top of that, I tried to portray Danzō as stubbornly insisting that everything that happened was tragic but necessary. I want to keep on exploring this attitude of his and how it holds up in the changing ninja world.
In other news, I shined a light back on some of the other characters, a trend that will continue for the next few chapters as several things are set up. Things are somewhat peaceful in the Hidden Grass Village, but Ōnoki being Ōnoki is setting up for the inevitable power grab that he knows is coming. Still, he's not exactly got obedient Masters and Servants to work with, which is one thing I found fun to write. He's the oldest and most stubborn of all the current Kage and it took the war for him to begin to lighten up; I plan on having that happen gradually thanks to the "other worlders" he takes into his village. With the current Master and Servant groups, plus Han, I enjoy writing the back and forth of service and not-so-absolute obedience. Oh, and various characters poking fun at him. I decided to be a little merciful and not have him throw his back out this chapter. It's a fun gag, but one I don't want to overuse.
Yes, I am signaling pretty hard that Sasuke's going to end up adopted into the Kishinami Family. It was pretty obvious from the start, but that's not going to be an instant cure for the psychological issues he's going to have to live with for the rest of his life. In this story though, since I'm introducing more fantastical elements thanks to Servants and their world's mythologies, things are going to get a little wild. Thankfully, Sasuke recovery will start next chapter, which will also see another major shift for the Kishinami Clan.
Also, for those of you Extra fans, you may have recognized a familiar technique Hakuno used, the Ten Thousand Colored Stagnation. He has it in this story as part of his jutsu listing, though calling it a magical spell wouldn't be too far off. It's finer workings will be explained in time as it will definitely lend into his role as the village therapist/priest, a role that he's going to keep on chugging toward.
Hopefully this chapter had its enjoyable moments. Until next time, everyone. Keep safe and stay healthy until then!
