Many thanks to SaphireWhiteWolf! She beta'ed the first half of this for me.
Chapter 13: Delirious Truths.
Bam. Sledgehammer to the head. Whatever you want to call it, it was a staggering blow, as if someone had physically hit him. Kashiya stumbled, and then righted himself, rubbing the back of his head. Ouch. Had that been the spirit? Was it angry? The initial stabbing sensation had subsided to a normal headache, pricking and annoying, but not debilitating.
"Are you okay, Kashiya-san?"
He turned back to the Hokage at the sound of her voice. "Heh. Yes mam. I'm fine, Lady-Tsunade."
A whirl of emotions seemed to whirl inside him, just below the surface. Like turbulent waters, not quite waves suppressed, unable to crash against the shore. Instead they were encased inside, ready to jump out when they had the chance. The sudden negativity and intensity of the sensations caught him off guard, and sent his mood simmered, unconscious of his own desires and confused feelings.
Like an independent entity.
Had the spirit possessed him? If so, why was it so angry? That one word "angry" didn't even begin to cover the strength and depth of the emotions existing, hiding in him.
Resentment. Fear. Even..a hint of confusion? The last sensation was one he shared with the invisible self.
He couldn't even begin to understand why. It was incomprehensible to him.
"See ya later kid!" Izumo called, waving from the door. Kotetsu chuckled, and ruffled his hair. "Good luck!"
The two exited from the door, leaving him alone.
"I need you to fill out a few forms while you wait for Team 7." Again, the feeling a drowning in sorrow and hate overwhelmed him, and his headache spiked.
"H..Hai." He took the papers and pen with a shaky hand. Kashiya hoped she didn't notice, or just wrote it off as being nervous in her presence.
Name: Well, that's easy enough. He wrote down the characters quickly, Kashiya. Age: Gah..I can't even remember my own age?!..Well, not exactly, It's just my birthday I dont' remember.Kashiya filled in the blank with a thirteen. 'Previous Affiliations (if any):. Ano..gaps in my memory..are very inconvenient. N/A was what he scribbled in.
Most questions he left blank. It's not like he could put: Sorry, I wish I could tell you, but I really just don't know. It's the craziest thing!
"Here you go, ma'am."
"Thank-you." She said shortly, but not in an unfriendly tone. The woman took the papers from them, and straightened them. Pap. Pep .Pep.
His eyes wandered the room. Dark wood panels covered the floor, and the desk was the most prominent feature, also made of wood. It was a beautiful mahogany. The shelves behind her desk (what he dubbed "her domain") were lined with scrolls, and more than likely some important documents were hidden there in the mess. But her desk was meticulously neat. It produced an odd sense of deja vu.
He gripped his hair, tensing. I've been having these headaches latley-better to keep it secret, no use bothering them about it. It was accompanied by the weirdest feeling-like someone was watching the world through him.
A woman appeared at the door. She was rather average-looking; nothing was there that would make her stick in his mind. He assumed she was Tsunade's assistant, or at least secretary. "Team 7 are here, Tsunade-sama."
"Let them in."
First through the door was a girl. He felt a blush rise to his face, from his neck, creeping to his cheeks. Even his ears were red. Probably. Her skin was fair, and had no blemishes. Her eyes were jade, and most exotic of all was her pink hair. Like cherry blossoms. His first reaction was that she made him heat up, literally. His face felt hot and unconsciously he found himself straightening his clothes, and wiping nonexistent food off his face.
She glanced at him and sent a polite nod his way, and was that a hint of a grin?
Then there was a man. Much taller than everyone else in the room, and donning a jounin vest, the man must have been the team's sensei. He noted his odd shade of hair and mix of silver and grey, almost white. He couldn't make out his features as most of his face was covered by a mask.
Last a boy came through the door. A wave of annoyance washed over him, and even longing. Longing wasn't quite it, but jealousy didn't right either. He had to admit he was good looking, with black messy hair and dark eyes that popped against pale skin. Kashiya scowled. This guy probably had girls flocking him left and right.
He's just that kind of popular.
Kashiya ignored the irrational wave of envy at the realization. He wasn't even sure it was coming from him. It was, but is wasn't .Two contradicting feelings at the same time. Like someone was overshadowing him. The only thing he could think of was the spirit, because he hadn't even met these people before, never less talked to them ever in his short life.
What was that?
He could've sworn..
No it was nothing. I'm just tired.And indeed, he could practically feel his eyes drooping..it felt as if he hadn't gotten a bit of shut eye in years. Kashiya put..well, whatever it had been from his mind. Far away.
Kashiya was brought back to the real world by a cough. Remembering just in time not to look stupid, he shut his mouth cutting off the inevitable 'wha? huh, what's going on?' expression, Kashiya blinked, and focused his attention back on the room. "I've just been explaining the mission to Team 7, Kashiya."
Wondering what he was supposed to say, he just nodded dumby. Effectively ruining the plan not to look stupid.
"Ah, yes." was the bit he added after that.
"So this is the idiot we're escorting?" The broody girl snatcher drawled.
Kashiya growled and resisted the unbelievable urge to pummel him or shout at the comment. This was a trained fighter, something he was not.
"Don't be so mean, Sasuke-kun," the girl chided. "He's new. And has amnesia to boot!"
Sasuke. So that guy's name is Sasuke. He filed the information away, though it tickled..as if he'd heard it before. Why..? this makes no sense. Like many times today, he felt like grasping his head, and maybe dramatically crumpling to the floor while he was at it.
Yep. No more chocolate. Or late night dancing. Or..maybe it was just the spirit messing with him?
Nah. No way. It had nothing to do with the voice inhabiting his head.
Reigning in the irritation tickling him (wow that sounded weird), he forced a polite facade on, turning his lips up. Or tried to. The corners barely twitched. "I'm Kashiya." He started to lift his hand up, but then stopped, letting it awkwardly hang by his side. The amnesiac wasn't exactly sure if he was supposed to offer up a hand.
And he wasn't entirely sure if he even wanted to.
"Nice to meet you." the jounin replied in turn, before a silence could make it's way into the conversation. His tone was friendly enough. "I'm Hatake Kakashi. Their sensei." He added, a bit needlessly. The masked man gestured at the two younger genin.
A frown was still set on the guy's, Sasuke's face. And Kashiya had a feeling if he could, the brooder would have his arms cross. Instead he settled with the less rude alternative: stuffing them in his pockets. "Uchiha Sasuke." Brief. But he had gotten his point across.
Kashiya's eyes flickered to his face as the boy had given his introduction, roaming over the Uchiha, taking in his features. White shorts, a black shirt with a funky collar. And his hair was a bit longer than it seemed it should be. But how should I know? What a strange case of deja vu. One that shouldn't exist.
How can you remember things about people you've never met before?
The girl that had snatched his attention when he first laid eyes on her stepped forward. Unlike the others, she had a smile on her face (well, that Kakashi might have..but with the mask it was impossible time) and held out her hand. "Hi. I'm Haruno Sakura." She even tilted her head cutely, in the manner of a puppy. A goofy smile emerged on his face when he felt her soft smooth hand in his.
But alas, after five glorious seconds, her hand slipped from his.
"nehehehe."
Kashiya stiffened, and stifled a shriek.
Monster!
A horrible gory form.
So disturbing..yet eerily familiar.
There! In the corner.
Now it was gone..
Kashiya bit his lip, until his teeth broke the skin. He swallowed, feeling the blood run down his throat. Slowly he made himself breathe in and out deeply, unclenching his fists.
Didn't they see it too?
The urge to scream was still there, but it had lessened without the presence of the nightmarish..thing. It made his skin crawl.
His reaction must have been well veiled however, for it seemed none of the other's in the room noticed anything was amiss.
It was like time had frozen again.
Kashiya turned around, facing them again (somewhere in between freaking out and calming down, he had turned away from them) as ready to go as..
As a man about to jump into the deepest pit of hell.
Cause that was how he rolled.
Something about going through the town truly terrified him. He couldn't pin point the source or origin of the fear. Perhaps it was just the thought of seeing that dreaded..thing, again.
"Well, your job is to show me the town, isn't it?" Kashiya said with false cheer.
---
"And this is the Yamanaka Flower Shop," Sakura said knowledgeably. Kashiya took in the building she pointed out and nodded faintly: it was of modest size, and a wooden sign hanging just above the shop door let anyone know what it was. The girl was obviously very familiar with this place. The brunet wondered why she came by the place so much and firmly rooted in his mind: beige walls, and a flat roof, two stories in all.
Anything that could get the flower in his favor would be in his interest after all.
The group was walking down a dirt road, like the many others that ran through the village. He was already beginning to get a feel for the place; the roofs were more than often tiled, and red or brown in color. The few that weren't were flat. Dirt paths ran through Konoha everywhere, not a cobbled road in site. It was a very pleasant atmosphere all around he supposed.
But underneath that..another layer seemed to lurk. Something, that he couldn't identify made him feel unease at the situation all around.
Kakashi stayed back as they walked, content to let his two genin lead the way.
The air was dead. Not a breeze of relief to be found. It was stale, and strangely far from fresh, despite being outdoors. Must be the crowdedness of the buildings, and all these people, so close together. Kashiya was most definitely not comfortable around crowds, that was for sure. But despite that, an inexplicable pang of loneliness ate at him, festering.
He thirsted for contact.
"People are vermin"
Kashiya froze, the comment he had for Sakura stuck in his throat.
Something flashed, to fast to be seen, out of the corner of his vision.
Why am I the only one seeing this?!!
"Trip over a rock, loser?"
Sasuke's sarcastic barb snapped him out of his spit second panic, worming in past the fear. "You should take better care of your roads!" He shot back, letting his temper get the better of him.
"Hn." The boy sneered, not even deigning him with a real reply.
Why he!! That jerk. Kashiya was so tempted to rip the smirk off his face. "Calm calm, must stay calm. The spirit is watching somewhere I'm sure.' He realized, and chided himself for being so easily distracted. Girls with pink hair were rather exotic and rare after all.. He allowed a blush to grace his cheeks (he really couldn't control such minor things like that anyway) and the random burst of giddiness that accompanied the thought.
He was on a mission, after all. Recon. Yeah. He was a smooth spy, infiltrating the mighty Leaf Village!~..
In fact, he could've sworn he heard some spy music.. doo doo doo. dooo do. *
Monster!
He paled. It stood, if that was the right word, in a corner, with glowing white eyes. It seemed to glow red, but maybe that was just all of the blood on it. The thing flickered, as if it wasn't really there, but yet it was the most real thing here. Solid. Freaky. The only truth in the world.
And then he knew, upon seeing it, what he had to ask.
Turning his back on it, thought it felt so wrong..a wail, screeching and long in his head rose up. Kashiya knew it was emanating from that..thing. He faced the people that were supposed to be his escort, in this village of fakes.
"Where is Uzumaki Naruto."
The wailing grew louder, stronger.
Sakura tilted her head again, in that endearing manner. But now..it was just disturbing. "Who is Uzumaki Naruto?"
His heart plummeted.
"There isn't anyone named Uzumaki Naruto in this village." Sasuke said calmly.
"He doesn't exist."
Kakashi's words sent him spiralling out of control. All the while it was getting louder and louder. The crying!! It wouldn't stop. His world, it was slipping beneath his feet and growing black.
The lies around him were crumbling, the truth whirling around incomprehensibly.
He fainted, and was scared.
Because that monster in the corner; human, fox, ugly, unwanted..
...was Uzumaki Naruto.
---
Words: 2,540
I'm sorry guys, I meant to give you a big, giant epic chapter, but this was it. I couldn't do anymore, and didn't want to keep y'all waiting. I already have the next one planned out though, so don't worry, it shouldn't be nearly as long! Hopefully..:) Oh, and our band is going to area this weekend!! For marching. Hopefully we move on to state!!!
Anyone else going to Renfest?
10/20/09
