NOTE FROM AUTHOR: Sorry for the delay in posting this chapter, I got busy in certain things and events. Thank you for staying with me for so long. I hope you like the chapter. Any suggestions or improvements are whole-heartedly welcomed! Contact me through instagram the_ghost_of_uchiha_official
(SOMEOF THE ITALICS AND BOLD WORDS WERE LOST DUE TO SOME ERROR. APOLOGIES.)
Chapter 8
As The Curtain Falls
"Lord Madara. . . There is no use . . . in trying to do it . . . it won't help. Nothing can . . . they would come . . . for me one day. Today it is." Kosuke said to Madara who held him in his arms, as Kosuke's blood flowed from the deep wounds on his body. Kosuke had reached the last adobe of his life. It was the end for him. The sun was dying out, so was Kosuke. But how did this come to pass? How did he know this will happen? Who came for him and left him like this? Where was everyone else? And was he so weak as to let anyone just take life away from him?
After getting the news about the coming of the Chinoike, everyone had either taken position or was about to. Not everyone was sent to fight as Madara was able to do some planning within the little time he had. In a nutshell everyone was somehow ready to take the fight.
Soon the attackers appeared and the fight began. Without a single exchange of any word, both of them started to put in all their efforts in defeating the other. Both the clans, being equally able, were giving a tough time to each other.
But their coming here meant they had gone past Sayura. Well they would have, considering their number, which was nearly as much as half the current population in the Uchiha clan. No matter how strong you are if you are outnumbered; you are outdone. Same must have happened with Sayura. But then she did not face them with the intention of defeating them but rather delaying their arrival, which she did as they did not come all at once rather their number increased slowly.
The air was filled with names of jutsus, sounds of weapons, screams, groans, and grunts. Apparently, the leader of the Chinoike clan had come too, and the fight he was giving to Madara was worth watching.
"Have to say you have indeed got something in you." Madara remarked, blocking his attack with his gunbai. "But it is still not enough to win over me. Uchiha reflection. "
The gunbai nullified the effect of the attack, made by the opposite leader (Ryuu Chinoike), by converting the incoming chakra into Wind nature transformation, which then reflected upon him and threw him away. He landed near the borders of the settlement.
The plan was to take the Chinoikes as far from the settlement as possible for two reasons: one, so that they can be taken down easily and second that they are not able to use their Exploding Human Technique on large scale. Therefore, the main motive of everyone was to push them outside the borders. And Madara had managed to get the main pillar out; as he believed by doing so he is breaking the entire clan's strength by taking out their leading pillar.
Ryuu had crashed against the wall of one of the houses; he got upon and brushed off the dust from his mustard vest. He had finely cut small pale hairs, his outfit was quite old looking at its condition and his bloody eyes on his faded face were like burning coal.
"Why do you still try to compete against us? Don't you remember how your clan was dragged to the Valley of Hell? Or do you think all of a sudden you have suddenly got the strength to compete against us?" Madara said with a smirk on his face, as he came where his opponent had crashed.
"We have not forgotten anything, Uchiha Madara, for if we had we would not have had this fire inside us that is waiting to burn down your clan!" he yelled and his face turned like that of a madman.
"Well then, if you want the remaining of your clan to be slaughtered, then it is the one thing I will be doing with pleasure, but not inside my clan."
He said and they both activated their genjutsus. The intensity increased. The red eyes were to compete with each other, in a battle. Both, equally capable, equally able, equally committed. Madara saw Ryuu take out a kunai and got alert. But instead of attacking with it he cut his arm and then let his blood fall onto the ground, forming a puddle. And then, after he murmured some inaudible phrase, from the puddle rose what looked like tentacles. Madara saw them advancing towards him to crush him. Madara saw one of them overhead coming downwards with force and leapt backwards, a thudding was produced after it hit the place where he was standing before he escaped. Then another one of those reeking tentacles came to slam him but Madara was able to get away yet again. And then another one and then another.
"Well I guess it's time I level up." Madara said with care freeness. His eyes changed design. In a split second they changed from the three tomoe sharingan to a mangekyou sharingan.
Meanwhile, Sayura was in forest, injured. She was trying to heal herself with the little healing jutsu she knew. There were a few corpses around her, which she had managed to eliminate from the whole. She desperately wanted to go help the others but she couldn't get up and thus she had no choice but to sit there.
"Ugh! This idea of revenge never seems logical to me." she said rather irritated. "What do we have to do with what our ancestors did with each other?! They are all dead, it hardly matters."
"But . . . that is what . . . we have received . . . from them." came the voice of one of the person who Sayura had assumed dead but apparently wasn't.
"So, you still have a little life left in you, eh? Well if I were you I would perhaps ask for forgiveness of my sins rather than waste my breath over such trivial things."
"This is matter . . . of utter importance."
"Everything is trivial once you're dead, dear." she said and gave a small laugh. "Now that you are willing to waste your last moments, please do care to tell me why did you choose to make a sudden attack when there was a battle to be held soon? And if you did want it to be earlier, why attack the settlements, you must be aware it is not allowed?"
"Didn't the Uchiha . . . do the same to us?!"
"Ah lord! Not that again. But surely that is not the reason."
"Whether you . . . believe it or . . . not is up to you-"
"Oh, he passed, didn't he?" she said with no emotions. "Hm, but why would they do that?" she thought to herself.
Many years ago, a woman of the Chinoike clan married the Land of Lightning's daimyo. The daimyo's first wife became jealous of her, and when the daimyo died soon after their marriage the first wife blamed the woman and her clan for the daimyo's death. Many believed the first wife's lies, causing the entire Chinoike clan to be banished from the country. The Uchiha clan were hired to carry out this task, since it was believed only they could compete with them, and they forced the Chinoike clan to settle in the Valley of Hell in the Land of Hot Water. The Chinoike clan since then had always wished for revenge and today they had come to realise it. Although the main query was that if there was a battle to be held in a couple of days, then why would they attack so suddenly? That was the thing going on in everybody's mind.
"So, you were able to escape that, eh?" said Ryuu.
"Did you think these eyes of mine are that weak that I won't be able to come out the genjutsu you had casted? My eyes are far more superior to yours." said Madara about his mangekyou sharingan, proudly.
By this time they had come considerably far away from the settlement area. They were surrounded by tall green trees of the nearby forest. They hadn't entered it yet though.
"We will see about that." said Ryuu and came ranging towards Madara with his sword. Madara blocked it with his gunbai and stroked his scythe on Ryuu's abdomen but he avoided it by a sudden and quick movement. Madara tried to strike him again and again, and with each strike he pushed him closer to the forest. Bit by bit he was moving into the forest but soon Ryuu realised that he had come near the forest he had passed through when he was coming towards the settlement. And then he jumped over Madara spun in the air and landed behind the Uchiha leader and went to strike his back. Madara turned around quickly and moved aside enough for Ryuu to pass by him without hurting him, though a slight cut appeared in his attire's sleeve near his arm. A little blood gushed out as well.
"Missed by a whisker." Ryuu commented with his back still turned towards Madara. Madara took this opportunity and with his scythe he bisected him from the middle. However, when he did so his whole body turned into blood that fell on the ground. While Ryuu who had stood quietly at a distance, started to run and then he leaped.
"Aaah!" Ryuu uttered with violently. Madara turned around on this and casted at tsukyomi, just in time. Ryuu fell down his sword dropped from his hand. He knelt on his knees.
"Told you my eyes were superior." Madara said with a tint of victory in his voice while looking down on his opponent. "Now then let's finish it before you come out of it, or else I would have to waste more of my chakra on you."
When Madara returned to the settlement area, he found hardly anyone present there. It was quite calm. It didn't appear as if there was some fighting going there dome time ago, except for a few corpses and the blood spots. Madara jumped over the tallest building to see where everyone was. He could hear faint sounds of battle coming from distance. He saw the members of both the sides fighting each other and decided to break to them the news of the demise of Ryuu Chinoike.
He got down the house and landed on the roof of another and then just as he was about to leap over another, he heard a familiar voice call him. The voice was fragile and weak, yet audible.
He turned around but found no one there. But he was sure he heard his name. He looked around once more but still empty and then the voice came again.
"Lord Ma-da-ra." almost breaking and cracking, the voice was coming from the lane below.
Madara looked down and found what he didn't expected. Kosuke was sitting against the wall, bleeding. His hand was placed over his wound, situated a little left to his abdomen, from which the blood was flowing like a stream, coloring his clothes red. There was blood on his hands, on his feet and on his face.
Madara came down in an instant. He sat beside him. There was so much he was longing to know, he didn't know what say! There was horror, worry and anger inside him. He opened his mouth to utter, just then Kosuke interrupted him.
"No need to say-anything, Lord Madara. I know-what you are thinking. How did this happen-all of a sudden? But I always knew. This was the one thing-that was always going-on in my sub-conscious-ness."
"What-what are you talking about?"
"Shh. . . I don't have much time. Stop talking-and listen." he paused. "There is this-one thing that-I want you-to do for me, say-it is my last wish."
"What?! You are no-"
"Shut your . . . mouth, I am dying here. . . Listen, I want you to . . . make sure that Sayura. . . At any cost does not . . . leave the unit, not until. . . Daichi is the . . . head, or else she too might . . . end up like me. That is it, now go . . . carry on your duties."
At this moment, his mind had become a tangled thread. There was a siren going inside his head telling him to go, yet the curiosity inside him wanted to know what Kosuke was talking about.
"Lord Madara. . . I knew it would . . . come to this . . . someday. I knew . . . they would come . . . for me one day. Today it is. Go the . . . battle is still . . . going on."
What was he talking about? Who was going to come and why? And if he knew why didn't he tell me? Madara had these questions popping up in his head. And at the same, his responsibilities were dragging him away from there. He felt as if there were shackles tied to both of his hands pulling him in different directions and he had to let go of one-and he did.
His responsibility weighed more and he left. He knew that no one man mattered more than rest of them together. He had thought what was more important saving a man who had no wish to be saved, or an entire clan that was waiting on him. He got his answer quite soon.
Meanwhile Kosuke still lay there, paying the debts of his breaths. His breathing started getting deeper. His life started to flash in front of his eyes, like a film.
It's a bright sunny morning, his is father teaching him how to wield a sword with the help of bamboo, and he is not perfect at it yet-missing a hit every now and then.
It's mid-July now, he is learning about chakra control and how to use a fire style jutsus. He had been excited about it. Although his father was not ready to teach him but he was kept insist to learn it.
He's standing beside a bed on which his mother lays. There is a tiny hand holding one of his fingers. It is the hand of his little sister. White as snow, her eyes closed and her tiny mouth ajar, in her the mother's arms wrapped up with blanket-so sweet.
He is teaching the little baby girl, who has grown up a little by now, what his father had taught him, although she is not as enthusiastic as he was yet she is doing good. He hates her energy.
A white mist envelopes everything now-just plain whiteness and then a silhouette appears of what looked like a boundary with a gap in between-the entrance to the Uchiha clan. He sees his little sister crying over the death of their father. Her cheeks and eyes are red. In the ceremonial hall he only sees two things: the corpse of his dead father and the shivering body his sister. His body is turning hard, his steps becoming heavier and his eyes wider.
And in a blink, he is at the unit with his sister, lying that he has a brother and not a sister. The 8-years-old girl is working her back off. It is the time when he to proves to everyone how able his she is. And he does. He has proven that despite being a girl she can be in the unit. It has taken so long that now everyone calls her Sayura instead of Sayuri. But at least she is with him.
There's blossoms in the air-it's spring time. He is returning back to the settlements, again. This time he has come for some work but he finds someone he doesn't expect to. In the streets he catches sight of a girl with a pretty face, perhaps one of the prettiest he has ever seen. He asks for directions as the clan had changed since he had left. She directs him. But he says that he doesn't understand, just so he can talk with her just a little longer. For the next few days whenever he sees her, he goes to talk to her, even though sometimes he doesn't even have a topic. And that's just how it begins.
But until he leaves the clan to return back to the unit, he does not realise that he wants to be with Emiko. And then he decides that he will be leaving the unit. Although he knows it is not possible. He just wants to stay there with her, he doesn't have the slightest of idea how he will leave the unit, and he just wants some miracle to happen. He thinks that he and Sir Daichi would have a long discussion over this and probably it won't end well.
He finally tells Sir Daichi and he very firmly says, "You may leave as you wish. But know your actions will have their consequences, and perhaps they would not be very pleasant." With this he leaves and set out for what he has really longed for.
Emiko in her beautiful traditional bridal attire is coming towards him. Perhaps it's the most beautiful day of his life!
It has been two years now. He is walking back and forth the gallery in anticipation outside a room. And then the gate slides open and a lady comes holding a baby boy in her arms and hands him over to Kosuke. He has a few hairs on his head, his eyes are closed, it is just like the first time he saw Sayura. The boy resembled his aunt a bit he says to himself.
The baby is grown now, he is making babbling sounds, his hairs are like his mother's but color resembles his father. He doesn't resemble anyone of them entirely; he has the features of both of them.
It is the morning time of today. He is talking to him; just then Sayura comes to bid morning to them both. He gets up too and leaves him and says goodbye to his wife, Emiko.
Back then who could have guessed it was the last time he was seeing them."I am sorry; I have to leave so suddenly. Please forgive me." he said. A gradual darkness fell over his eyes and all of them were gone, just like he was. Now he had become just one of those corpses that lay over there.
Whilst, Madara reached the site, a few miles away, where the clansmen were fighting vigorously. The number was enormous. It seemed as if the number had increased suddenly.
"Lord Madara has appeared, I bet he has defeat Ryuu." one of the Uchiha said to another.
It didn't take long for all to notice him, since he was standing at a heightened building. All those who where there glanced at him, anticipating an answer or declaration, which they soon got as Madara announced that he had indeed defeated Ryuu. After that he gave an offer to the Chinoikes between leaving the place immediately or facing the consequences of not doing so. Eventually, the second in command after the dead leader of the clan decided that they will leave. The victory was theirs.
The Chinoikes, although, were not left so easily. They had to follow the rules that every losing side has to after a battle or war. But the compensations that used to be given had never made up for the loss of the lost. Despite of growing habitual to this lifestyle, all clansmen of all the clans, still used to feel the tinge of pain, for their hearts might have become stones but more than often they used to have a soft corner that had not ceased to exist. They might not weep or show any sort of emotion on the external self, but inside their heads there was panic, grief and sorrow. In case of other clans it might not ever be visible, but the Uchiha were different. While experiencing a grave loss of the loved one, their eyes often used to show their sorrow. And so was the case this time.
After a battle had been fought between two clans, the clansmen were allowed to carry the bodies that belonged to them, to their clan for cremation purposes. This time wasn't an exception either.
The dead were brought inside the mourning hall where they were laid in coffins for the family members to greet once before the cremation takes place. It was evening by now the sun had almost set. Just then came a late bidder, the one Madara had been a slight anxious about. It was sister of a dead, it was Sayura.
Earlier the news of the demise was conveyed only to Emiko, as at that time Sayura was nowhere to be found and when she was brought back by Tamiko, she was not in a suitable condition. Hence, it was considered better that to inform her about it. But eventually it was to be revealed, and it was since they could not keep the bodies for long. Although the cremation was delayed by some hours due to this reason, it didn't use to happen often.
Sayura and Emiko had come together, since the former still needed recovery. She did not weep much but her red eyes talked of her tears. Perhaps she had cried before coming. It wasn't expected of a shinobi to lose control of their emotions publicly. And that's what she was doing, apparently. They both went towards the only coffin whose lid was open, and gazed at the pale and lifeless face of the person who lay inside it. Sayura was left alone at this point, for Emiko had gone out of the hall into the corridor where Madara had stood all along. Dead silence stood between them. Inside, Sayura had her hands gently stroking the face of her brother. She felt suffocates by the voice that struggled to come out of her mouth but was being held at her throat by her. There were words and cries that wanted to ooze out, but she held it back like one hold back when one feels like throwing up. She lost her strength; her head fell on side of the coffin. And on the ground below her appeared drops that fell from her eyes. She swallowed the voices in her throat and let them out of her eyes.
After nearly fifteen minutes, Emiko peeped inside the room and found Sayura sitting beside the coffin on the ground. In a crackling voice she asked if she was alright. But she wasn't able to complete her sentence, the same voice that were in the throat of Sayura, choked her too. Sayura, though lost, heard her and tired to get up, stumbling a little. Emiko helped her all that she could. They went out and went straight. They didn't bid Madara who still stood where he was. But he understood. He always did, for everyone. He empathized with those who had lost their loved ones since he knew how it felt. Moreover, he had seen numerous people come, he knew that since they are too occupied lamenting over their loss that they lose sense of worldly manners.
Soon afterwards, he gave a green flag for the cremation and one by one the coffins were taken. This was when the unit head, Daichi came in. He said to Madara that he desired to have a little talk with him of utmost importance. He also mentioned that it could not wait. Madara's instincts said that it must be about the attack, and probably he must be questioning his capabilities, which though he shouldn't. Immediately, they both went inside a nearby room and sat facing each other.
"What is that you want to discuss?" Madara questioned suspiciously.
"I know whose hand was behind the attack." Daichi replied. "It is not the Chinoike clan alone."
Madara sat there baffled.
"But before I inform you about it, there are certain things you must know about the Unit and its workings."
"What does it have to with it?"
"Everything. Long ago, when the other missionary clans started emerging, it became difficult to keep track of all and every detail and information about them- their abilities, chakras, jutsus, leaders, and members and so on. Even the prominent clan like ours started facing problems. Thus, the Uchiha Unit-08 was formed. Initially it had only 8 members, therefore the number '08'. Though in the start the unit had only worked for its own clan, but later on it started working for others as well in return of heavy remuneration. This lead to the Unit working individually of the clan. For ages it had worked like that. The members of the Unit drafted certain rules and regulations, which were to be abided by all the members. These were extremely strict and rigid. And this is where the problem arose."
"The members weren't able to follow them?"
"Well, apparently there is this one particular rule that a number of people throughout time have failed to follow. As a result, quite leniency is and has always been offered by the heads throughout the generations. But even so, some have the nerve to test our limits and cross them as well. And this time, it further leads to something that the entire clan had to suffer."
Madara found himself catching up on things, but he did not jump to conclusions and let the older man explain himself. Daichi told him that there was a specific rule that stated that 'no member shall have a life or a part of it dedicated to the clan and its workings.'
The rule restricted the members to have any relationship with the clan or any person from the clan. Although throughout the time, the members had been allowed to keep relationships with the people but they would have to keep themselves away from the clan's working and some other restrictions were imposed too.
Kosuke, who had joined the Unit at a tender age, was also one of the people to do so. But his case was different than others in some ways. While Daichi had no problem with him marring Emiko, a clan woman, he couldn't tolerate it when he left the Unit and became the chief of the clan force. That enraged him. He had warned the young man that he a hold be rational and logical and should consider all the consequences of his actions, rather than acting hastily. But it seemed to the head as he states that he was 'blinded by love'. Thus, Daichi told Madara, that he had to face the grave inevitability.
"If we would have killed him right away then, the foolish younger generation would have been affected adversely. Furthermore, new recruitments would not have come due to fear." Daichi explained.
"So you staged a whole attack and grabbed the opportunity to kill him, isn't it right?" Madara said in a low dark voice, with his head bowed that his face was shadowed.
"Well yes." He said hesitantly. "We had no other choice remaining."
In a split second, Madara stood and grabbed him by the collar. His eyes were filled with rage. If it were in his hands, he would suffocate him with his bare hands.
"You old nut head! What do you mean you had no choice? How did you even dream about putting my clan in danger for your menial rule? You put the entire clan under siege! Do you even realise that, you good-for-nothing old scavenger! You put all the lives under danger to satisfy yourself, for an idiotic rule! Are you out of your wits?"
"I understand your emotions, Lord Madara." He said plainly. "But I am not that of an idiot to not take any measures. I had analysed the strength of the opponent beforehand. In addition to this, I had my men positioned all around the village, keeping an eye on all the movements of the opponent. I had made arrangements for the worst case scenario, which I did not think would happen and so it didn't. Therefore, I would say to resent over it is a pure waste. It is all over."
"Waste? You think the life of all those people who died was a pure waste? It indeed it is all over!" He paused for a moment and calmed himself down. "I cannot let you continue. You will have to leave."
"And on what grounds will you be doing so? Will you say to the people that you further have no trust in the Unit? Or will you say that we had a hand in what happened? What will you do?" He raised a brow. "Imagine the trust that will break in their eyes. After all, they were betrayed by their own people. It would be so hard for them to ever trust us back. Even if I leave."
"I would just say that you weren't working up to my expectations."
"Rumors walk faster than the truth, and change its appearance it goes through one ear to another. Who knows they will start thinking it was you all along. I am going to die soon, eventually; you would not want to die with me, would you? And then imagine this news spreading to all of the clans, such ill would be said of our clan."
Daichi reasoned with Madara all that he could and left after precisely telling why he should just let it slide.
Madara though, was alone thinking about what he should do. Should he tell the truth? Or should he care of a greater bond of sentiment? He had not taken a stand in front of Daichi yet, he remained silent. It wasn't that he feared him or anyone else, but the prestige of his clan shall never be blotted.
The entire night he spent in the thoughts of the entire incident, viewing and reviewing all its consequences and happenings.
