Fate's Garden
Part 2.5 - Living With Rabbits
Chapter 2 - Hey Cousin
Sasuke stood on the large wraparound porch of the grandfather's house with his arms crossed heavily over his chest. Eventually, seeing that the aggravating old man was not going to help him, Sasuke had helped himself and wandered outside. Now he was staring off into the horizon, trying to decide if it would be really worth it to go off in search of Yuuta's burrow. What did gods do with their time anyways? There is no time here, he reminded himself. His lips curling into a sneer he started down the path leading from the house into what seemed an endless field.
The grass was tall, rising up to his waist, and it was a healthy green. It tickled his hands, and was soft on his feet. The sky was blue with no sun in sight, and a pleasant breeze ruffled his hair. It was so…peaceful here. He felt almost as if he'd rather do nothing but sleep. He could sleep when he found Yuuta. For the moment he had to keep moving. Slowly, a gnarled old tree began appearing within the sea of grass. The closer he got the more he saw of it and the more he didn't like it. Sasuke squinted, unconsciously quickening his pace, making for the tree. Once he reached it, he saw a hole in the front of it leading down deep inside of the tree. The dilapidated old thing had no leaves to its name, and its bark was hard and callused. Sasuke carefully approached it, thinking to knock on the tree to announce his presence. A voice he hadn't expected rumbled out of burrow.
"What are you doing here, kit? I thought you were intending to play with Pi and Shou." Sure enough, Shukaku clambered out of the tree in her animal form, scowling as always.
"Oh, it's you," was her bitter acknowledgement when she saw him, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm looking for Yuuta?" he offered.
The tawny coon laughed and said, "Keep going, he lives all the way past the woods, kit."
Sasuke nodded to her and resumed his walk. After a few minutes his legs grew heavy and the air about him changed. He felt like he was walking underwater. He held his arms out in front of him and felt his hands connect with something smooth and pliable. It was very strange because when he looked around he was still in the field, nothing appeared to have changed. When he gazed ahead of him there was nothing but more fields. His hands were resting against thin air it seemed. But when he pushed past the surface everything changed.
The air was hot and humid, the sky a dusky sunset. He'd wandered into a tropical rainforest. Mist hung about his feet and flowers, vines, and palms were everywhere. All he could see ahead of him was forest, and when he turned to look over his shoulder, the field was gone and there was more vines awaiting him. He continued on ahead, forcing himself to remember that there would be no frightening creatures here. It was a home for the gods, shaped and warped to their fancy. Besides, I've left the most frightening monster behind in that field, he thought to himself, in the hopes of lightening the mood.
He moved on and on, and as he went he thought he heard someone. He heard laughter and happy voices. Sasuke went to carry on when all of a sudden he found himself on the ground underneath a massive black panther. It roared playfully at him, smiling large dangerous fangs.
"Hey cousin!"
Sasuke tried to force out a greeting but none came forth. He was saved from trying further when another panther appeared, crashing into the one on top of him. They were both sent flying off to the side somewhere. Lastly out of the trees came a tall auburn furred coon. Out of that tall creature came a voice Sasuke never thought he would be grateful to hear.
"Sasuke!" Gaara called enthusiastically.
The coon morphed into a tall young man with vivid red hair and a welcoming smile. It would take Sasuke forever to get used to that smile. The panthers wandered over towards them, more interested in their 'cousin' than their game of wrestling.
"Hello Gaara."
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm staying with Yuuta until the dobe moves on to our next life."
"With Uncle Yuuta?" Gaara questioned kindly while the panthers snickered, "You do understand how far off that is, right?"
"Your cheerful mother was sure to inform me."
"Well, traveling is more fun with friends, we shall accompany you!" Gaara smiled reassuringly at him.
"And these two must be Pi and Shou?"
"I'm Pi," said the one on the left.
"I'm Shou," said the one on the right.
"How you've been cousin?" They asked in unison.
"…alright."
Sasuke shared an exasperated look with Gaara before climbing to his feet. Together, with two identical chipper panthers following, they continued on in the direction that Sasuke was headed. It wasn't long before the passed through a similar barrier and they left the jungle behind. Now they stood in barren wetlands. Salt plains interspersed with fresh water and bog trees, water lilies and cat tails. The air was salty and burned his nose a little. As they moved through Sasuke noted the three turtles lounging in the water, unmoving. An even larger one sat off to the side of them, and turned to smile at Sasuke and his traveling companions.
Gaara raised a hand to wave at the old man, "Hello Uncle Ko!"
"Hello, nephew! How are you?"
"I'm okay, just helping Sasuke get to Uncle Yuuta's burrow."
"Oh, why don't you take Ichi, Ni, and San with you?"
"The more the merrier…" Sasuke muttered to himself.
Pi and Shou nodded eagerly, "Sure! And then we can pick up Sada, Aiko, Ishiko, and Kohana when we get to Aunty Uta's place!"
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven…plus him equals twelve? Sasuke groaned inwardly. Him plus eleven other people? For this trip that supposedly would take forever? He'd give up before he got anywhere close to his intended destination. If there was one thing that people could say about Sasuke Uchiha, it was that he was not a people person. And though he wasn't going to be surrounded by people, he'd be surrounded by gods, it didn't really matter. They were all obnoxious. The turtles all shifted to their human forms so they could keep up with them, and their journey resumed.
Sasuke was exhausted. EVERYONE had tagged along. Out of all of them the only familiar faces were Gaara, and surprisingly Haku and Zabuza. The latter two had been a shock, well, that was putting it mildly. They were the two remaining children of Chikao, the six tailed lizard demon. Apparently the woman's four other children never 'hatched'. The two had greeted him in a surprisingly amicable manner. Sasuke and Naruto had been so busy during their second life as genin that they hadn't even noticed not having to go on that mission into the mist.
By the time they'd reached Yuuta's burrow, they were fifteen in number. Sasuke was shoved forward into the burrow by the others, despite his want to at least knock. The first room they entered was huge and had many chairs and couches, though not nearly as many as the grandfather's living room. The tall rabbit god came strolling into the living room and smiled warmly at his visitors. It must not be horribly rude if all of your nieces and nephews show up in your home unannounced in the realm of the gods. Sasuke snorted. Yuuta informed his siblings' children that his two little kittens were making cookies and they were all welcome to join them. Sasuke remained where he was, more than happy to sit in the living room alone.
Yuuta smirked, taking the seat next to him, "Now that they are all out of the way and you can breathe, how about you tell me what you're doing here?"
Sasuke sighed in relief, "Naruto hasn't transferred over to our next life yet…I'm staying here until he does."
"Ah, well I believe my father might have told you to come all the way out here then?"
Sasuke nodded.
"Well you passed with flying colors, you were determined enough to get here, and you did, despite your eager helpers."
"Where exactly is the room, please?"
"Right this way." Yuuta chuckled rising from the couch and gesturing towards a hallway to their right.
Sasuke wearily stood up and followed him away from the cacophony emanating from the kitchen.
TBC…