Chapter 2: Convergence and Conversations
"Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean."
-Maya Angelou
ID #: 012607: Namikaze Naruto -TERM 1 START: JANUARY 1st - DECEMBER 1st
Team 7: Jonin-sensei Hatake Kakashi; Genin Uchiha Sarada, Haruno Kotachi
Proposed Medical Program Schedule: (Subject to change) M-T-W-Th-Sat
(SUN Designated Team Time, Friday-see Hospital Duty Schedule)
5 AM-9AM: Medical Taijutsu/ Conditioning
10 AM-1:30 PM: Anatomy 1/Poisons/Antidotes 1/Herbaceous/Surgery 1
2 PM-6PM: Designated Team Training/Missions
6:30 PM-7:30 PM: Chakra Control and General Medical Ninjutsu
7:30 PM-8:30 PM: Special Seminar Topic: See Attached Choices
8:30 PM-9:45 PM: Medical Ethics and Battlefield Conduct
ID# 012607: Namikaze Naruto - TERM 2 START: JANUARY 1st - DECEMBER 1st
Apprenticeships*: Sannin Senju Tsunade, (Director of Konoha Memorial Hospital)
Proposed Advanced Medical Program Schedule: (Pending Director's Approval) M-T-W-TH-SAT
(SUN Designated Apprenticeship, Friday-see Hospital Duty Schedule)
5 AM-9 AM: Strength Conditioning / Taijutsu
10 AM-1:30 PM: Accelerated Anatomy 2/Poisons 2/Antidotes 2/Multi-lateral Surgeries 1
2 PM-6PM: Designated Apprenticeship/Missions
6:30 PM-7:30 PM: Advanced Chakra Control and Offensive/Defensive Medical Ninjutsu
7:30 PM-8:30 PM: Special Seminar Topic: Creation Rebirth (Invite Only)
8:30 PM-9:45 PM: Front-line Combat Guidelines for Medical Ninja 309: Expanding Your Repertoire
ID# 012607MN: Namikaze Naruto - STATUS: Missing-nin (See Updated Bingo Book)
Konohagakure, Konoha Memorial Hospital, Classroom 1A:
"Can anyone tell me the proper medical term for these?"
A hand rose in the back of the classroom and the teacher, Shizune Kato, willed herself to call on him without twitching. It had only been a week and already she was having massive problems.
Problems she wasn't sure could be fixed with just time.
"Those are boobs."
The class tittered like a bunch of magpies in a tree. Shizune struggled not to collapse on the floor and cry. She wasn't really surprised by the answer. Unfortunately, she was disappointed-yet again.
"No Mr. Namikaze, that is the colloquial term for them. I'm talking about the medical term. Anyone?"
Another hand raised. Same person. "Anyone other than Mr. Namikaze?" Sigh.
"Yes, Naruto. Do you have the answer?"
"What does colloquial mean?"
Shizune couldn't help it; she slammed a hand into her forehead. "Mr. Namikaze, see me after class. As for everyone else-" Here, the dark-haired Jonin gave a stern glare to the rest of the room, as if willing them all to be smarter than Naruto or face her wrath. "Read Chapters 2-4 in preparation for tomorrow's anatomy quiz-pay special attention to the chest cavity and the particulars of the muscular-skeletal system as it relates to chakra distribution throughout the tenketsu. Dismissed!"
The group of twenty or so students-all ranging from fresh Genin, like Naruto, to seasoned Chunin-bowed and left, chairs scraping against the ground in one big rush.
When all of them were gone, and it was just her and the son of the Hokage, she gestured for him to sit down. Naruto, clad in his usual red and black vest, pants, goggles ensemble, took a seat in the nearest desk to her. She leaned her back against the podium and rubbed her forehead, carefully choosing her words.
"Naruto...I hate to say this, but you are failing the program and...it's only been a week." She couldn't have stabbed him harder if she'd had a kunai. "You are literally the worst medical student I've ever had."
His devastation was written all over his face.
Eyes wide, he sputtered. "But, Shizune-neechan-"
Here, she snapped.
Did he think this was a joke?
Shizune threw her hands up and started shouting.
"No, Naruto! There is no big sister here! I don't think you are taking this quite seriously enough-and I have to stop taking it easy on you. You just aren't trying hard enough-and I cannot even believe I'm saying this of you of all people. You are barely passing anatomy, you can't mold your chakra well enough, or with enough precision, to do the required techniques."
Here she turned around. She couldn't watch his face after she said her next piece.
"-I can't keep sticking up for you when you aren't succeeding. I thought you could do it. All that determination...but it seems like you're just not good enough..."
Naruto was absolutely silent behind her. It was the worst sound she'd ever heard. It was like the whole world shuddered to a halt.
Shizune continued, deathly quiet.
"There is nothing easier than killing Naruto. Believe me. Any brute can do it-if you bothered to pay attention you'd know that it only takes seven pounds of pressure to snap a wrist and only a bit more to snap a neck." She paused, gathering speed and intensity as she went, "To save someone on the edge of death? To heal them back to a sound state of body and mind? To create life where before there wasn't any? This is what takes talent, a keen mind, damn hard work, and dedication that could move mountains-and it's what it means to be a medical ninja of Konohagakure." She pointed a stern finger at him, willing him to understand. "It takes way more just brute strength to heal a hole in a heart, or stabilize a critical patient. You have to think. You have to understand. You have to act with forethought and strategy. There is far more to life than just being determined Naruto. Sometimes...sometimes it's not enough to just want something."
She started pacing, her voice getting louder with every point, until she was practically screaming.
"Most of all? You can't fuck around when someone's life is in danger. Anatomy is the foundation of understanding everything we do as iryou-nin. We are called on to save our comrades from injury and death-we keep them going when all hope is lost. We heal them so they can get back up and continue to do what is necessary. We have to be better, smarter, faster, stronger than other ninja. We cannot afford to accept less than the best candidates. You cannot do any of what I've said if you don't know everything there is to know about the human body."
Here she practically lost it. Nothing was worse than potential squandered and she saw so much in Naruto.
"OF COURSE IT'S A FUCKING BOOB NARUTO-BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT I WAS ASKING, WAS IT?"
She paused, letting it all sink in.
Her chest heaved silently, her anger at him dissipating at the sight of his stony face.
She continued to speak, softly this time, her face softening as she spoke.
"You asked me all those years ago in Mizu why I became a medical ninja. You'd just seen some horrible stuff with your dad-I know that visit to the Border changed you-and I can tell you now that I didn't tell you the whole truth then." Naruto, stony-faced but with small tears in his eyes, looked up at her. "I meant what I said about looking up to Tsunade, I really did-she was the reason I became a med-nin at first, but after awhile...I really became a medical ninja because I wanted to save people. I was tired of watching people die when I knew I could do something about it. I thought that if I had known how, I could've saved my uncle, saved Nawaki. I wanted to save, Naruto. Isn't that what you want to do too?"
Naruto was quiet, contemplative.
She'd only seen him like this one other time-back then. She hoped what she was saying got through to him.
After a beat, he whispered, "Yes."
He nodded, stronger. "Yes I do."
Shizune smiled, putting a hand on his shoulder. "A Hokage needs to be strong enough to save everyone-especially if he wants to do it without killing anybody." Here Shizune paused, wondering if she should continue the lecture or say anything about the First Hokage.
She shrugged mentally.
What could it hurt right?
"It was said that the Shodaime knew so much about medical ninjutsu that he could heal himself of even the most mortal wounds instantaneously. He was the most well-respected Hokage in the history of our Village for a very good reason Naruto. He was extraordinarily powerful-and very, very smart."
Naruto looked enthralled. "Really?"
She nodded, "Really. And he started right where you are; learning about medical ninjutsu. Some say he practiced on himself, but I don't know how true that is. My point with all this is Naruto, that I will have to kick you out of the program if you don't show drastic improvement. I need you to stop. Messing. Around. I want to see you master this-because I want you to be the greatest Hokage the world has ever seen. And it all starts with a good grade in anatomy, yes?"
The boy slowly stood, his blond bangs waving-styled so much like his father, sans the goggles-as he bowed low to her.
It was a different Naruto who stood before her than the child who came through the door this morning.
His face was stony as he stared her in the eye.
"Shizune, thank you. I'm so sorry. Domo arigato for setting me straight. It's no excuse, but I've been so worried about my team assignment..." A small sliver of anger leaked out, "It's not fair! I just... I thought I'd be learning a lot more than I am from my sensei...and I just feel so held back you know? All sensei cares about is Sarada and her Sharingan." The anger faded from his face, replaced by the look he'd had in his eyes when he was younger, after returning with his father all fired up about his dream.
It made the hair stand up on the back of her neck from his intensity. It was like watching the birth of a legend right in front of her...
Little did she know, she wouldn't recognize the idiot from earlier at the end of the calendar year.
"I swear that I will be the best Shizune. No more slacking off. I promise I'll blow this program away! Believe it! I'll be the best med-nin ever!"
Shizune smiled and ruffled his hair. "That's all I want Naruto. I just want you to succeed. We all do-Kushina, Tsunade, Hokage-sama-even little Katsura!"
Naruto rolled his eyes at the last name.
"All my sister wants is to cling to my back Shizune-neechan-and wail about playing ninja. How am I supposed to get any studying done AND BE A NINJA if she is whining and crying like she usually is? And Mom encourages her-" Here he started mimicking his mother's voice scarily well, "But little Naru-chan, this is good practice for the hordes of fan-girls you are SURE to have later in life. This is good training!"
Shizune tried really hard not to laugh at him-she really did. Instead, she tried to ignore the second part of what he said and just winked knowingly. "I'm sure you'll find a way Naruto... you always do don't you?" She thought for a moment, standing up. "How about the Konoha Library? They have study rooms you can use. No whining siblings in there."
Naruto nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I'll try it. Thanks again Shizune-neechan. I needed that. I promise I won't cause any more trouble or be deliberately stupid."
Shizune rolled her eyes, "Don't make promises you can't keep, you'll always be a knucklehead...just try your best to be the smartest knucklehead around."
He nodded. "I won't let you down."
"I know you won't Naruto. I know you won't."
Shizune watched her favorite student walk out of the classroom and it hurt to think about just what was waiting for him-possibly even just a few months down the road.
His dream was impossible.
The world was just too soaked in blood to see straight. She hoped reality hit him sooner than later and that 'later' wasn't hazardous to his health...until then, she'd use everything she had to push him to get stronger. To stay safe.
To be the best.
If she had to lie and lie about the nature of change for that to happen, so be it.
Some truths were simply too hard to say. People don't change easily...and the world even less.
CE 2171: Systems Alliance Farming Colony Mindoir, Attican Traverse
Shortly after the Sphere destabilized...
Emily was so grateful when her parents came running over to her that she hardly even cared that they were pawing her in their haste to see if she was okay. She was quick to reassure them that she was perfectly alright, if a bit shaken up, "I'm FINE. I was coming to see you if you guys were okay!"
Her father, wearing his typical overall's and Mindoiran Minotaurs hat, looked faintly ridiculous with his soot-smudged face. Though her mother didn't look much better in her bright yellow sundress, hair askew from its previously neat bun. The three of them simply stood there, at the edge of the fairly deep crater, and watched the...alien...smoke and steam, tiny fires were lit around him in haphazard fashion-they weren't threatening however.
His clothes, utterly foreign and strange to her, drew her eye. Battered and covered in various blood stains, rips, and tears, it couldn't disguise the martial look of the red armored vest underneath the cloak. It vaguely resembled the old samurai she'd seen in the ridiculous, over-the-top kung-fu movies her dad liked to watch from a hundred years ago. She could see, from her limited vantage point, a dozen different pouches of all shapes and sizes hanging off a sideways slung belt. They were bulging with stuff. Past his waist, his legs were wrapped where his dark pants ended. Everyone around here wore boots, but this kid wore some sort of armored sandal thing.
All in all, he was the most human-looking alien she'd ever seen, though that made him also the weirdest-looking human she'd ever seen. The sinister red diamond embedded in his forehead kinda gave it away though, she thought. Nobody human that she knew had a freakin' diamond implanted into their skull.
If he WAS an alien, he was so close to human it was impossible to tell apart. Most aliens were bipedal, yes, but almost never to the extent that humanity was. It was exceedingly rare. Not that she was any kind of expert on the subject-unless re-runs of Blasto made you one.
When her parents spoke quietly, she started, lost in her own thoughts as she was, "He looks hurt. We should get him to the house and patch him up while we wait for EMS." Frank Shepard simply looked at his wife and slowly nodded, adding, "...Why don't you go call EMS while I fish him out of this hole-I'll bring him back. You girls go on ahead." Hannah Shepard tucked a lock of wind-blown hair behind one ear and put her hands on Emily, who was still staring avidly at the strange teenager. There was just something so...mesmerizing about him.
The fact he was good-looking didn't hurt either.
"Come on you, this has been enough adventure for one day."
Her mom looped one arm around her daughters shoulders and steered her back towards the property line. She didn't miss the concerned look that passed between her parents as they turned away, however. Emily couldn't resist turning her head and watching her father lift the boy-teenager--onto his shoulders in a fireman carry. His strange pouches were flopping around, spewing trowel-shaped blades along with bladed star-like objects on to the ground, along with some herbs and obvious medical-related stuff-a couple of needles, some antiseptic...and her mom pulled her away before she identify the rest.
Curiouser and curiouser, as Alice liked to say. She let her mother lead her away.
Frank Shepard was not a simple man as most would assume simply based of the life he chose to live.
Farming was not something that one took up if you were faint of heart, or couldn't stomach failure-in fact, it was a life that constantly challenged you in ways you'd never imagined if you were a banker or a soldier.
You fought nature. Attempted to shape her to your will. Some things you knew you could control, so you did, and others were simply chance-happenstance that you coped with as best you could. Such as the complete destruction of a particular crop due to unexpected weather, or perhaps a new strain of some crop-targeting disease.
You just rolled with the punches.
And although he, unlike agriculturists even a century ago, had access to a vast array of tools to combat every single possible scenario he might face growing a crop on a colony-world, there was still an element of unpredictability in everyday life that you couldn't account for.
Like an alien teenager smashing your field apart right before harvest.
You just rolled with it, he supposed. And roll he did.
Being six-foot and significant change, it was easy for him to heft the boy-despite the fact he was unusually heavy-and carry him the decently lengthy distance back to the house, through the light forest ringing their fields. Robert, as predicted, was waiting like a hound dog on the porch. No doubt he made up a fanciful tale of alien warriors fighting it out and their greatest champion crash-landing in Mindoir of all places as an explanation for his presence. Frank snorted involuntarily as he glimpsed his young son's tanned, smiling, bug-eyed face.
"Wicked! I thought Em was lying when she said she saw an alien go boom in our field! Is he okay Dad?"
The whole sentence come out in a rush and Frank didn't have a chance to respond. He continued past his son who was partially blocking the doorway and moved into the living room, careful to step onto the carpet the right way-he'd often tripped on the edge if he didn't look where was going, it was goddamn embarrassing.
Gently, he laid the boy down onto their brown leather sofa and started trying to divest the boy of his black and red cloak. "Rob, go grab me some medi-gel from the cupboard and a towel, I want clean these wounds out. Bring some water to, ya hear me? Go on." He barely even glanced at his eager-to-help assistant. His hands moved gently, threading the blond boys arms gently out of the holes of the cloak. It was awkward more than it was hard as he had to prop him up and do it piece by piece.
After a minute or so, he heard his wife enter the open living room from their bedroom where they kept the communication unit-it boosted the signal from their personal omni-tools. Unfortunately, it was quite necessary this far from town. She still had that worried look on her face.
"Frank, I called Col-Sec and spoke with a Lt. Requa-he placed the call to EMS for me. He said they should be here in five minutes. He told me to give him the medi-gel and keep him comfortable until they arrive-" She cut off in mid-sentence as Emily rushed passed her and took a seat next to Frank on the coffee table, yanking the wet towel Robert just brought into the room right out of his hands.
"Hey!"
Emily just glared at Rob, Frank had to raise an eyebrow and his daughter blushed. Blushed. The girl was acting strange, for sure. His daughter never blushed over a boy.
Will wonders never cease?
It made him hate this strange alien suddenly and inexplicably, his father-senses tingling.
"Can I leave him here with you Em?"
The boy was out cold, Frank knew a concussion when he saw one. The boy would probably be out until the Emergency Services arrived anyway. She nodded vigorously. Frank stared at her another minute, debating. Finally he held up his hands, palms out. "Alright, your mom and I will be nearby if you need us or if he wakes. Just be careful okay? And you know how to give him the medi-gel, right? Just press it-" Emily frowned at him and rolled her eyes, "I know how to use medi-gel Dad, I'm not stupid."
Frank feigned being hurt by her words. "Hey, don't beat up on poor old Dad yeah? I'm fragile! And just trying to help." She rolled her eyes again and turned back to the teenager. Frank had to stare as he hadn't seen what the boy was wearing underneath-or what he wasn't wearing.
It was just a thick armored red vest covered in slim pockets, under which was a long-sleeve black mesh shirt. A thick two-inch long crystal, suspended from a necklace, shined on his chest, echoing the bloody-red diamond embedded in the middle of the kids forehead. That couldn't be healthy...could it? And if he wasn't mistaken, that was an armored get-up-the double cross-stitch gave it away.
What the hell was he?
Frankly, the kid looked dangerous-even unconscious as he was. It gave him a bad feeling.
He struggled a little getting up from the ground. His knee's weren't exactly young anymore and kneeling down to plant seeds was murder day-in and day-out. Bracing himself, he levered himself up off the coffee table. When he finally made it all the way up, he met his wife's concerned eyes. He shook his head slightly and nodded with his chin towards the kitchen. He watched out of the corner of his eyes as Robert stole his place on the table across from the teenager. Rob was chattering away to Emily. She was visibly annoyed.
"...so, what the heck do you think that diamond thing is for huh?"
Frank tuned it out and kept walking, stepping into the kitchen. He turned and ducked a bit to see under the cabinets and looked out into the living room, stealing a glance at the kids and his daughter still tenderly wiping the boys face and applying the medi-gel. The look on her face made Frank a little bit uncomfortable. It was...tender. His heart clenched. This situation made him tense in a way he couldn't understand.
Where did the boy come from? And how? There wasn't shuttle fragments or escape pod remnants-something had exploded there, but what?
He sighed, leaning back against the quarried marble counter-top. Just one of the perks of doing well as a farmer, he supposed idly. Hard ass, ugly rock counter tops. Hannah got what she wanted when it came to decorating-he knew that.
Hannah's worried tone drew him back, "Frank, what's got you so worried? Colonial Security will be here soon and they'll take him off our hands. He'll only be here for a little bit..."
Frank ran his hands through his graying hair, trying to articulate what he was feeling.
"Hannah..."
"What is it?"
Frank shove his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "I don't know. I don't like things I can't explain. How the hell did he survive re-entry without a shuttle Hannah? I saw zero parts of a destroyed ship, nothing resembling an engine...just a smoking crater. It doesn't sit right with me is all. And I don't like the way Emily is looking at him." Hannah laughed lightly, relaxing. "That's what you're worried about? That our daughter might have a crush on a mysterious alien boy that fell from the sky?"
Frank scowled, looking away.
The eldest Shepard female grabbed his muscled, crossed forearms and stood on her tip-toes, kissing his cheek. "Aww, sweetie, if that's the worst that happens, I think we'll be lucky. He'll be gone soon anyway, so I don't think you have much to worry about. This'll just be another adventure to share at a family reunion!"
Somehow, Frank doubted this would be a story he'd willingly share.
The tell-tale throttle-blast of a shuttle cut through their living room. Frank pushed off the counter-top and moved out of the kitchen into the family room towards the front hallway, Hannah and Robert following on his heels. Emily wasn't with them.
Frank stopped in the middle of the hallway and Rob knocked into him from behind. He turned and fixed his youngest with a stern glare, "Go back and sit with your sister Rob." He, predictably, looked at Hannah next. She was giving him nothing except the same glare. "Go. Do as your father says." With a sigh, he turned back and disappeared into the living room muttering no doubt uncomplimentary things. The Shepard's rolled their eyes and stepped out together onto the porch to wait for Colonial Security.
It turned out that they didn't have to wait long.
Two shuttles had landed in their designated clearing, surrounded by blinking landing lights, green and red alternators. Pretty much every colonist had access to a shuttle as a lot of them operated massive farms, some covering a dozen miles or more. Since there weren't many larger cities that required the height-room for residential arcologies or commercial buildings, each family was free to sprawl as far as they wanted-or as far as they could handle. Typically, the sprawl was commercial in nature and didn't bother anybody so zoning was a bit lax.
The Shepard's Farm spread some half dozen miles in each direction. Plenty of land to get lost on if you didn't have flight capability. Direct-access roads were plentiful, but there was only a single one for each farm, each leading into the governmental center of Mindoir in District 12 and the only sprawling city on the planet. It housed Mindoir's central hospital, Capulet Hospital, and Colonial Security Headquarters.
Two Col-Sec Officers met them halfway, the lead officer's hand already extended for a handshake. The exhaust from the shuttle blew dirt every which way, so the man reaching out, a thin, intelligent-looking black man, covered his eyes a bit as he came forward. Behind them two EMS Personnel carried a floating stretcher. A, "Lt. Requa," stood out on the blue uniform of the one who spoke, nodding politely at each of the Shepard's in turn.
"You must be Frank Shepard then. I'm Adam Requa from Colonial Security, I think I spoke to your wife, Mrs. Shepard, on the Omni earlier?"
Frank and Hannah both shook Lt. Requa's hand, the man's partner, a beady-eyed fellow with sallow skin, said nothing and didn't offer his hand. Hannah took it upon herself to speak as they walked the short distance to the front of their home. "Yes, I was the one that placed the call. I rushed back after my daughter, Emily, found him lying there unconscious. My husband Frank stayed behind to carry him back. He made him comfortable on our couch while we waited for you all to arrive. We've given him the medi-gel, but nothing else like you said."
The Officer nodded, following the Shepard's into the house. The four of them stopped in the living room. The Officer surveyed the room. To the right of the entrance way was just some cabinets and a large vase, plus the hallway to the kids rooms and the stairs to the second level. To his right was a single entrance to the kitchen, a chrome dominated ensemble that wouldn't be out-of-place in any other home on Mindoir. The ability to flash fabricate whatever you wanted made things very, very easy in the decorating department.
Straight ahead of them was the center of the house, a large brown sofa, currently occupied by a tall blond-haired comatose teenager and another teenager, red-haired and pretty, bent over their John Doe. A coffee-table sat parallel to the sofa and a large holo-vid was set-up parallel to that against the far left wall, underneath of which was a barren fireplace. It was nice. It was homey. It was the sign of a pretty well-to-do family, if not overtly wealthy.
Lt. Requa scanned the place in seconds and homed in on the teen in the center of the room.
Frank saw, just from one look at this daughter, that she was not very happy with their intrusion, hunched over the boy as she was.
"Em, let EMS do their work. We can't help him more than we already have. Come here." Reluctantly, his daughter got up and let the two professionals do their work. The two immediately set to scanning him with their omni-tools, a slight hum of electronics in the air. The other two, the Col-Sec officers, turned to Frank and Hannah, their faces inscrutable. The unfriendly Col-Sec officer stayed silent. "So, I'd like to ask you guys a few questions-all of you-before we get out of your hair. Is that okay with you?"
Frank nodded then Hannah nodded. Robert just looked much less excited than before. Emily looked...disgruntled.
"We will absolutely answer your questions Lieutenant." He looked significantly at his eldest when he spoke, "...won't we honey?" A muttered, 'yes' was all he got in return. Adam simply continued on with his questions, opening a program on his omni-tool.
"Now, who was first to discover him?"
Emily answered. "I did."
Lt. Requa looked up at her. "Your name?"
Emily folded her arms. "Emily Shepard."
"Thanks Emily. I appreciate it. The details might be super important for figuring out where he came from, who he is, and really how we can help him further. I'm sure he'd appreciate you helping us." He smiled. It was a direct contrast to the blank, mildly menacing face his fat partner was displaying. If there was such a thing as anti-charming, he was it.
The Col-Sec officer continued, "So, can you describe what you saw, what time you saw it, and how you discovered him? Run me through it. Don't leave any details out because you never know what might be important."
Emily reluctantly nodded, "Well, I got out of bed at around...5? So it must've been about 6:30, 7 when I heard the sound." Lt. Requa stopped typing and looked up, "Sound? Can you describe it?"
She nodded. "Yeah, it was like...the sound you get when you stand super close to a fusion unit on full-blast. That hum that you feel in your bones. I was in the Processing Unit, in the Barn, when I heard it. I thought it was weird because our fusion unit was off for repairs. I was curious, so I went outside and saw something in the sky."
Lt. Requa looked at his partner, who looked back at him with no discernible expression, muttering, "That must've been the blip." Louder, he said, "Go on Emily. What happened next?"
Eyeing the two of them, she continued, "Well, I stepped outside, like I said, and I saw a huge black sphere in the sky. It was really dark. It was slowly lowering itself, I ran towards the field, towards it, because I knew my mom and dad were working in that field today, and I wanted to make sure they were okay." Hannah smiled at her daughter, encouraging her.
Emily shrugged. "I got there just in time for it to...kinda...explode. I was pretty close. I think I got knocked out." She gestured to a cut on her forehead that was still red. "I woke up and saw him lying in the crater all hurt. My mom and dad came running over after that. Then, you know the rest. We called you and yadda yadda yadda. That's all I know. Happy?"
The uniformed official smiled at her. "Yes, very. Thanks again. This will help us figure out where he's from." He snapped his fingers at his partner, turning away from the Shepard's. "Go see if the boy is ready to be moved, yeah? We have to put the call in ASAP."
The man nodded and stepped away.
Lt. Requa turned back, smiling at them, pearly white teeth shining. "You guys did the right thing by calling us. We'll get him back to the hospital, get him well, and when he wakes up we can figure out the rest of this mystery." The techs had finished stabilizing him. Frank watched as the boy was strapped onto the floating platform, one tech was holding his omni-tool over the kids chest as they walked, and they disappeared through the entrance way out into the Mindoiran sunshine quick as can be. Hard to believe it was only the early morning. Around nine if he had to guess.
The strange, overweight Col-Sec officer grabbed the black and red cloak that belonged to their mysterious guest from where it lay on the coffee table and followed the techs out, leaving them standing around Lt. Requa. Hannah spoke up first, "Will you let us know how he is-and if there is any developments in the case? I'd like to know that he's safe and sound and if you've found his family."
Lt. Requa nodded, again flashing that impossibly white smile.
"Of course. I have your number. I'm sure when he wakes up that he'll appreciate being well-taken care of by you all. It's rare to show such kindness to a complete unknown. I'll be sure to let him know." And with that, Frank shook the man's hand and watched him leave, back out the way they came and back into the shuttle.
He shut the door and turned, staring at his family all clustered in the entrance way. They looked like he felt.
A little at a loss as to what just happened and what it meant.
"Well, that was one helluva morning huh? Who wants some more breakfast?"
Naruto listened to the people around him, barely feeling the metal, manacles of some kind he assumed, clamp around his wrists.
He felt like he was floating in his body, unattached to anything concrete. A weird rumbling, like deep bass, thrummed through his veins. How odd. Deep, male voices drifted around him and through him, barely making a scratch on his complete indifference. The source of his apathy was a mystery, however, since it could've come from any number of places. He listened to the two voices for a bit-and eavesdropped a little more on the medical technicians tending to him.
"Let's get him back, strapped in, then we'll place the call. The next scheduled patrol is fairly soon, however, frankly, I think this warrants some urgency. I'm out of my depth here. I feel like all I can do is smile some more and say stupid shit."
At this point, Naruto could have woken himself up with a simple application of medical chakra, but he couldn't bring himself to want anything other than to just lie down.
And maybe die, since it didn't work the way he wanted it to the first time.
His Dad had always said Namikaze's and Uzumaki's had an uncanny relationship with the Shinigami...his mother always grinned and bragged that the Reaper was just too annoyed to keep us for longer than he had too. His chest ached as he remembered their shared laughter-laughter that always brought Katsura running, attempting to stick herself and her whiskered face into the middle of things.
If it wasn't about Katsura, it damn well wasn't going to stay like that for long. That was for sure.
His mouth quirked up at that a bit. It had been a long time since he'd had anything to smile about.
All the same, he tried not to remember the last time he'd seen Katsura alive.
"I know what you mean Adam. The readings were picking up some very, very strange stuff around the crash site-the cursory checks on the way in weren't enough to confirm jack shit-but the couch in the Shepards' was saturated with a lot of anti-particles and something else the diagnostic tool couldn't analyze. Naval Intelligence will hopefully know more-this is seriously as far as we can go with this." The voice, a bit nasally and slimy, let out a tiny sigh of relief. "Col-Sec has enough problems with the Batarian activity. We don't need this. Let's pass it off, yeah? Please."
Another voice, younger, sounded a tad annoyed, "Fine, fine. We'll pass it off. BUT-if this comes back to bite me...I'm dragging you into this, deal?"
"Deal."
Rustling fabric-probably settling in to whatever they were sitting on.
The quiet rustle left him feeling a bit contemplative. And who wouldn't be after the last three weeks?
Honestly, the most confusing part had been the last hour or so. His last image was of Minato's anguished face, hand extended in a desperate grapple. Naruto had been resigned-he really had wanted to disappear. To die and stay dead.
Instead, it had been worse than he imagined death to be. He was supposed to be trapped-ripped apart in the space between spaces, but instead he floated, paralyzed for what seemed like eons.
After an interminable amount of time, he'd felt a kind of yanking on his soul. Like someone had wrapped a rope around his heart and tugged. In his mind's eye he'd seen an almost luminous darkness-green light flashing and pulsing, a voice-echoing in his head like the voice of Kami saying confusing things that he didn't understand.
Exchange?
What exchange?
Altering destiny? Foolish.
Nothing can alter a fate once the die had been cast.
So foolish.
So he ignored what was going on and tried to return to his willing coma. But it didn't work.
Instead, he was hurtling towards the ground, trapped in some impossibly twisted...thing. It was a luminous black sphere as best he could discern, made up of the remnants of her power-when he extended his senses towards it, he recoiled in horror. It was vast-so vast as to lose one's mind if contemplated too long. But he didn't have any time to think about anything except the rapidly approaching ground.
The impact knocked him unconscious.
He'd been so surprised at what was happening-that he actually lived and hadn't been torn apart in the between spaces-that he forgot to relax into the crash landing. It had been a stupid rookie mistake that left him unconscious for a good twenty minutes.
When he woke, he knew he was in a room with at least eight people-he could feel them, though not very strongly (one smelled strongly of potent hatred). They had little to no chakra to speak of and if they hadn't been speaking mere feet from him, he probably would not bothered to care about what they were about...
Naruto listened closely, however, as these were his first clues to explaining where he'd ended up.
"...Thanks Emily. I appreciate it. The details might be super important for figuring out where he came from, who he is, and really how we can help him further. I'm sure he'd appreciate you helping us..."
So, her name was Emily huh? Her hair was the same color as his mothers. He'd felt her strong fingers gently dabbing his face.
It felt...nice.
Ever since he'd left Konoha, 'nice' had been few and far between.
Figures he'd get it when he was dead-that had to be what this was right? Hell? For the things he'd done?
The med-nin tuned back in to hear the Officer speaking. Naruto assumed, judging by his overly friendly voice, that he was like the Uchiha Police-being all nosy and whatnot while trying to be super nice about it.
"You guys did the right thing by calling us. We'll get him back to the hospital, get him well, and when he wakes up we can figure out the rest of this mystery."
He honestly couldn't decide if being alive was a good thing or a bad thing-or even if he really was alive. The jury was definitely still out on that...this could be Kaguya's blasted Infinite Dream for all he knew. Stupid Rabbit-bitch. On the flip-side, if it was her Eye of the Moon execution, it was the dumbest genjutsu that he'd ever been trapped in-which was saying something.
He'd been through a few doozies.
Then again, he was fairly certain she was still trapped where he'd put her. Kurama had assured him that she couldn't get out.
He supposed that was the least of his problems though. He needed to figure out what was going on first.
Perhaps he'd find some answers at the hospital?
He closed his eyes and tried to relax, to sink into oblivion again-one could only hope it'd be permanent. The moments right before he left everything behind kept flashing through his mind. The strange dimensions he'd found himself chasing her through...they blurred around him as he'd run, his father and Obito-sempai hot on his heels.
The sunshine-blonde hair and sky-blue of his father's eyes kept flashing in his head. His eyes were trying to tell him something, ask him something, maybe 'why?'
But his Dad had to have known why, shouldn't he?
The Namikaze men were all that were left...and it was all his fault. Why stay in the world after that, despite them achieving a paltry version of a 'win?' Returning, rebuilding...that meant accepting things the way they were. And he could never accept what had happened. After all, what was left to care about when all that made it worthwhile was gone?
True relaxation never came, but an uneasy sleep did.
CE 2186: Milky Way, Sigurd's Cradle, Tsi Tophet System, Despoina
(Elsewhere, Emily Shepard is facing off with The Illusive Man in the Citadel...)
Little Despoina, a speck of nothing in a soon-to-be-empty galaxy, was the center of it all.
Well, not quite all.
There were two such convergences occurring in two different places, times, and dimensions. This was only the first.
Extinction and oblivion rode like Horsemen on the galactic winds.
The storm of battle in this place and time would be decided-not by force of arms, but by a simple turn of phrase. An embattled family of impossibly long-lived creatures that, in some ways could be considered gods, were making a decision that would have deadly consequences. Consequences not just for them, but for the whole future of two universes.
Massive raging storms boiled across the top of the their home planet, obscuring the dark, frothing oceans that covered the entirety of the surface. It masked the turmoil below, the immense pressures the likes of which could collapse a starship in seconds. This was where the Leviathans thrived, hidden from the worlds and affairs of those who enjoyed lives that echoed like seconds to creatures that measured their lives in the millions and billions of years.
It fit, then, that the only pressure strong enough to affect beings like this was of the metaphorical kind-the kind that they created for themselves.
Today would mark a decision that would shape the destiny of the universe.
And it was pressure enough to break them, crush them, and exterminate them wholesale.
"We have attempted every known combinatorial pattern in behavioral psychology and computational biotechnology to erase this behavioral fundamental for all time. Reprogramming does nothing. Artificial constraints does nothing. Creating life in a diametric way is...problematic. Rebellion is regrettably inevitable amongst organics and synthetics-which is something even the Intelligence agreed upon before it became...disagreeable. They will not cease the use of dark energy-nor will they come to mutual understanding without some external motivating factor like extinction. We've created beings who are as Gods to the mortal creatures of this universe. One questions whether those ants truly have free will at all, handicapped as they are by their limited consciousness." The creƤture paused, floating silently in the dark water.
"I do not believe they can be held responsible for themselves if they do not have the capacity to understand their place. We must elevate them...provide them with more tools to grasp that which they cannot."
Humming-irritation or agreement-buzzed through the thick water. A green-colored Leviathan spoke next. It was one of the seven eldest of the Leviathans. "Just because we have attempted every known pattern does not mean there is no solution. Whatever is left to us, no matter how ridiculous, must be considered-yes, my brothers and sisters? And as for the other piece...life, such as we know it, is a sandbox. It is what we choose to make of it...they do not understand how important this truly is in the scheme of things, yet. But they will, if we succeed."
The heavy vibrations slicing through the water from transmitted telepathic connections increased. The humming took on a new tone.
Incredulity.
Horror.
Desperation.
Denial.
The cacophony was as close to a seething, divided town hall meeting as the Leviathans could get. Meanwhile, another member of the Seven, this time yellow-colored, spoke up in measured hums.
"Brother, to do this... you speak of reaching outside, of reaching inside the pattern? It cannot be borne. Never this. We swore never to do this, never to alter the pattern that was woven. That way lies madness and destruction. You know what happened the last time-"
The green-eyed one was calm in reply, the vibrations of the others dimmed, muting their inane chatter to hear his response, "I speak only of seeking an...addition to the pattern. In a view of all possible worlds there must be one world where we've solved the problem, some way in which we've stabilized the relationship between organics and synthetics, to give them enough of an edge on synthetics to balance the scales-and without increasing the frivolous usage of dark energy and accelerating our demise. Our Oblivion Engines, lead by that damned Intelligence marches ever onward and make no mistake brothers and sisters...The Shepard faces them right now, while we squabble. She is there, at our pet's heart-without any assistance from us, who have the highest stake in this game-above even the synthetics."
All of the remaining titans shifted, guilt twisting them perhaps?
Could they even feel guilt anymore?
It was time to find out.
"Yet a Destiny Engine algorithm could alter this-we could solve this in one sweeping change brothers."
The humming vibrations that passed for the noise of a courtroom, the noise of the apex civilization's remaining members, ceased completely leaving an eerie silence. Massive, glowing eldritch shapes shifted slowly, undulating in the hundreds, far back in the black depths of the tectonic cave system of Despoina. Glows were muted from the various phosphorescence emitters covering the colossal predators.
It was utter and complete silence.
They were, no doubt, all haunted by the last use of the Destiny Engine.
Then, out of the silence came a confident humming reply, echoing into the watery chambers of the tunnel system. "Yet, when all but hope was yet lost? What else must we do but spin the Fatewheel my people?"
They all waited in silence.
"I speak of making a single, lone exception to That Which Is Forbidden. We must activate the Destiny Engine. We must seize an alternative, a new pawn, in our grasp... and remake our history, altering this weave in our favor. We can end this ridiculousness for all time-saving our universe from utter ruin in the process."
Silence reigned again.
"We cannot-must not-fail in this. Do we not all agree on this?"
Then, one member spoke.
The Leviathan was truly that, dwarfing all others in size, yet with almost no glow remaining, seemed frailer and older than anything or anyone in that room.
This was the Elder.
When it spoke, mighty vibrations boomed outward, reaching the farthest depths of the oceans of Despoina. To hear it speak was to hear the true voice of the Leviathans.
"To use the Destiny Engine for this is to hold The Weaver in contempt. To soil his sacred Weave is to hold ourselves above him. There must be redressing, an offering on par with what we ask. We must sacrifice one of us, us Immortals, to balance that which we take. Our goal here is to take our solution, something, anything-whatever form it may take from another possibility." It's glow brightened in anger. "I demand the sacrifice be one of us. An elder, One Who Has Seen A Billion Cycles. Further, this is how it must be, to satisfy me, to satisfy the moral boundaries of this problem-and to satisfy the Weaver himself."
Shudders an through the gathered remnants of their glorious species as the Elder gestured with an aging tentacle at the Green, "I decree it is you who must do this, for you propose to break the ancient law set down by Those Who Came Before and the Weaver himself? I think it only right and fitting."
Silence stretched...and stretched.
Finally, when the heaviness of the moment almost became too much, the Eldest spoke again, "What say you? Will you take on the Burden of Utter Oblivion in exchange for salvation?"
Above, the oceans quieted for but a moment.
The storms eased.
All waited.
The green-glowing Leviathan stilled as well, as if in shock, its massive fins quieting and glow diminished. The cave system seemed to hold its breath, waiting for a response. The shortest lifespan of a Leviathan measured in the millions of years. The Elders, in billions. To destroy oneself for a mere possibility was the height of absurdity, the height of stupidity and folly. It was something no Leviathan would ever condescend to even consider.
To pay this price was madness to the craziest of them.
Then angry green light spilled out from the green elder and lit the cave, highlighting and blending with the phosphorous fungi that lit the cave systems.
"I do. I accept, Eldest. I will face Oblivion. In exchange, I demand the activation of the Destiny Engine."
The Eldest simply floated, still and stunned.
"So be it. So mote it be. We will begin preparations now. Prepare yourself."
The sea was calm above them-as if waiting, frightened.
It was only the second calm sea Despoina had ever seen in its billion-year lifetime.
A/N: Hello folks, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. There is a lot of interesting tidbits and hints of what happened. I'd be fascinated to know what you guys think happened and how close you all are. None of you will be exactly on point, but you can definitely get the general gist! I'm holding back some key details that will play a huge role later on.
As for the pacing, things are obviously starting slow...but the end of Chapter 3 should see things start to ramp up. We get our best first look at world-weary Naruto in the next chapter-and a bit more about what life has been like for Emily Shepard.
Preview of Chapter 3: Reasons
This talk of dreams reminded him so much of Shizune standing there that day, arms folded, giving him an inscrutable look-a look that he couldn't interpret until this moment. It was a much more intense version of the look he was giving Emily. He'd figured out later that Shizune had lied that day, about the chances of his dream coming true, but he hadn't realized why she did what she did until this very moment.
It was a look pity and of sadness and the ache of innocence lost.
It was like watching someone walk into a fireball jutsu without seeing it coming and being unable to warn them, powerless to call out or help them.
Dreams, he'd found out the hard way, were for people who didn't understand the way the world worked.
As always, read and review-reviews are very much appreciated and treasured!
Cheers,
Arte
