Chapter 6
Karasu stood alone in the middle of heavy rain. Her head tilted toward the sky and her eyes closed. Her focus on her surroundings.
"Focus your mind Kara. Breathe." The old woman said. "What to you feel?"
"Rain. It's the same rain, every time. Pouring heavily from the sky. It soaks me to the bone. I can't escape it. Every time I see lightning, a part of my past flashes before my eyes, and when I hear the thunder, I feel it rattle my whole body." Karasu replied.
"These visions, what are they of?" the old woman asked.
"I see myself with my mom and dad. How things used to be, but aren't anymore." Karasu replied.
"I see. This is very interesting indeed." the old woman said.
"What do you mean?" Karasu asked.
"It is a literal translation that inside you resides a storm. So much conflict, chaos, and pain. It clearly involves your family, and whatever happened between you and your family, its echos shake the very foundation of your soul. You have my condolences young lady." the old lady said.
"So what do I do?" Karasu asked.
"Time heals all wounds, my dear, but I will say this. Given your current situation, being able to control your dreams and transcend past them will prove very difficult. I can show you what I know, but it is up to you to clear the path for yourself in order to succeed." the old woman said.
"I really want to learn this, but why are you helping me? I'm a complete stranger to you." Karasu asked.
"You remind me of a young man I once knew. He once came seeking my help. He too had a storm raging inside of him. All he wanted to do was return home. I guess you could say, I have great sympathy for people like that." the old woman said with a slightly sad expression on her face.
Karasu opened her eyes and cleared her hazy head from her trance. She bowed to the old woman, "Thank you for your time and assistance. I'm going home now. I'll see you soon, ok?"
"You are welcome back any time, Karasu." the old woman replied.
Karasu returned to her makeshift home and felt asleep rather quickly. Then she began to dream of her father once more.
It was dark and two young men sat around a campfire in the middle of the woods. Their names were Sasuke and Don. Both looked at each other seriously as the conversed about their current topic.
"So how much do you know about the infinite tsukuyomi?" Don asked.
"I only know it was an extremely powerful jutsu used during the war. It was a horrible thing, it nearly consumed everyone. Why are you so interested in it?" Sasuke replied.
"I need to better understand it so I can perform it." Don bluntly said.
Sasuke stood up and reached for his sword. "I'd kill you before I'd let you even try."
Don beckoned his old friend to calm himself and sit down. "It's not like that Sasuke, I'm not looking to throw the world into chaos. There's just something I need to do using that as a means to an end."
Sasuke sat back down releasing his grip from his sword. "And what end would that be?"
"I want to bring someone back with me." Don replied knowing full and well his answer sounded ridiculous.
Sasuke's eyes widened "Do you hear yourself? How ridiculous you sound? The infinite tsukuyomi is a genjutsu, nothing in it is real. It's impossible to bring anyone or anything back from a make believe world."
Don looked down in sadness and clinched his fist. "You're wrong." he replied taking out his necklace from under his shirt.
Sasuke looked at Don curiously. "What is that?"
"What I'm about to tell you, you must keep between us. The only other person who knows this is Tsunade. This necklace you see here, it came from the infinite tsukuyomi." Don replied.
Sasuke's eyes widened in shock. "You're lying to me. How is that possible?"
Don smiled slightly, "I don't know how it's possible, but I'm not lying to you. I never would."
"How did you obtain it?" Sasuke asked.
There was a brief pause before Don answered knowing how Sasuke would react, especially knowing he'd now have to tell his story. "My daughter gave it to me."
"You're daughter? Don, what happened to you?" Sasuke asked.
Don sighed, "To try and make a long story short, I was approached by a ghost of Obito Uchiha who was so kind as to send me into the infinite tsukuyomi. It was all part of some kind of test, I haven't figured out what for to this day. I fell in love with my dream world so much that I didn't want to leave, despite being offered a way back home shortly after my arrival. Twenty years passed and during that time, I settled down with my first love, Konan, whom you remember from long ago, and we had a daughter named Karasu. She inherited this necklace from her mother, who in turn gave it to me when I finally decided to return home, as a memento to what had happened during my time there."
"That's quite the incredible story, Don. But tell me, how was it possible that you stayed there for twenty years and yet be sitting here in front of me having not aged a day?" Sasuke asked.
"I don't know. All I know is, it's not like I was a lifeless body the whole time while I was in the infinite tsukuyomi. My mind, body, and spirit was somehow all sent there at once. Somehow, when I decided to break free from it, it returned me to my original state in this world. Thinking about it now after all this time, I guess it held true to a dream world, I was just dreaming for twenty years there, but no time had passed here, if that makes sense." Don replied.
"It does, but what if you had stayed there until you died?" Sasuke asked.
"Simple. According to Obito, I would have vanished from existence entirely." Don replied.
"That's a bit harsh." Sasuke said.
"Yep." Don replied.
There was a few moments of silence between the two friend and then Don finally spoke up.
"Oh, and Sasuke? Don't tell anyone you had this conversation with me. People still think I'm dead and I need it to stay that way." Don said.
"I understand." Sasuke replied.
"I may not know all too much about the infinite tsukuyomi, however there is a place hidden away that is sacred to my clan that holds many secrets. I've only been there once, but I believe it may hold the information you seek." Sasuke said.
"Where's it at?" Don asked.
As Sasuke spoke, his words became muted and Karasu was unable to hear them. When Sasuke finished speaking she woke up.
Karasu looked around her room. The morning light just barely pierced through the window. She began to wonder where this place was that Sasuke was talking about. The more she thought about it, the more she became curious. If there was such a place in her father's world, then there should be one here too. If that was the case, why hadn't the Sasuke of this world referred her there in the first place instead of having her go on a wild goose chase? Perhaps he didn't know about it or merely forgot about it. It was a small gut feeling but it aroused suspicion with Sasuke.
Karasu returned to the village for more sessions with the old woman. Her exercises at first were being able to access dreams through meditation or even through sleeping itself. As time went on, it became less of becoming familiar with the dream world but rather controlling it.
"Controlling your dreams takes a conscious effort. Now that you have become familiar with what the dream world looks like and feels like, you should be able to acknowledge this while in a dream and ultimately be able to do what you want." the old woman said.
"That's incredible." Karasu replied.
"It is, my dear Kara. However, at this stage in your lessons, you will only be able to change what you personally do, opposed to acting out of your control, as if tied to some sort of script. As your skill develops, you will be able to change the world of the dream around you. This opens a door for a number of things, for instance, if you need to recall a dream you once had. Keep in mind dreams aren't always of things we are familiar with. Sometimes they can be of people and places we've never seen or been to before. When you master this art, you will be able to visit these dreams as many times as you want." the old woman said.
"Is there any downside to learning all of this?" Karasu asked.
"There is. Having the power to essentially transcend reality can cause damage to your physical body, primarily your brain. Many people have gone insane learning this, but their error was their own for not understanding the boundaries which should not be crossed." the old woman said.
"What do you mean?" Karasu asked.
"Nightmares. They are powerful things. They become even more powerful the more you become attuned to the dream world. The ability to lucid dream should only be used to gain knowledge and obtain wisdom. Those who abuse this tend to seek to conquer fear itself. On the outside, it seems noble; someone to eliminate fear from their minds and become stronger. There are very few who have exposed themselves to their nightmares and have made it out alive. The rest underestimated how tremendous it would be and became overwhelmed by it, destroying their minds in the process. Typically those who are broken by this, kill themselves from the madness." the old woman explained.
Karasu's eyes widened in horror. The curiosity and temptation would potentially kill her if she wasn't careful.