A/N: I debated using honorifics in this story and eventually decided not to for the sake of consistency among the AUs that will appear in later chapters.
Anyway, thanks for the support, and hope you enjoy!
Unwind
Cycle V
Hinata would laugh at those words if she were able to. Try her best? Her world is fading away for the second time that day. Betrayal after betrayal... for how long does she have to try to her best? And for what purpose?
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Surprisingly dark thoughts.
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Sasuke feels physical repulsion for a moment, as if he's trying to push two magnets of the same polarity together, except the magnet here is his mind…
…
He finally makes it through and lands.
Every mind has its own unique layout, but the telltale signs of fresh emotional scars in the form of murky whispering shadows are aplenty here. One particularly sinister shadow crawls past him with knobby gray fingers, groaning and sobbing as it leaves behind a path of yellowed shriveled grass.
Sasuke observes the area with mild interest. Mortal minds tend to be more vivid than immortal minds, for some reason, and this one is no exception. A starlit garden littered with ruins – the pieces of rubble shine like the moon; the collapsed columns, arches, and roofs sing eerily and beautifully when the wind goes by; and the thick long grass smells sweet and fresh with dew. Except for the shadows that watch him from all around him, he would say that the mindscape was one of the strangest, most peculiar and alien, he has ever encountered.
Well, enough observation. There's a task he has to get to, one that must be finished as quickly as possible. Itachi did, after all, warn him about the dangers of lingering in someone else's mind for too long.
He finds a patch of glowing moonflowers that seems to be doing a good job in warding off the shadows – a pool of dreams or resolutions, most likely – and sits in it. After making himself comfortable, he closes his eyes and waits, and when his focus is strong enough, he begins.
He follows the thread of a memory floating around in the air with his mind until he is at the core of her thoughts and most of her emotions and memories are at his disposal for manipulation. It's undoubtedly unethical, even for gods, but Sasuke feels little remorse; this breach of privacy is simply the most efficient way of either confirming she's strong enough or weeding her out before she gets in too deep.
But before he can actually begin manipulating the physical features of the mindscape, his shoulder is jerked roughly down. Sasuke's eyes snap open. He turns – the mortal girl is glaring at him defiantly, though her fingers tremble against her will. A cool breeze blows by, and the nearby ruins sing eerily again.
"Hyuuga," he acknowledges while hiding his surprise. "What are you doing?"
"I c – could ask the same of you. This is my mind."
A keen self-awareness. That might complicate some issues – for one, how can he know if she passes the test if the test can't be administered in the first place?
Though it should be fine. Manipulation is his forte.
"Your mind? Can you prove it?"
Hinata chews her lip in thought. "Well, no… but there's no other explanation."
"What if this is my mind?"
Hinata shakes her head. "No, that can't be. Sakura said you were going to test me, which means you have to test my mind."
"How can you be sure? It'd be easier to test you in my mind than in yours. I'd have full control there."
"How – how do I know you don't have full control of my mind either? You're supposed to be a god…"
Sasuke bristles. Supposed to be? She's probably have had doubts of their omnipotence ever since she saw the runes at the Archives, and granted, the gods aren't actually capable of doing everything possible; but he's still immortal and she's not. That, at least, deserves some respect.
Fine. If this is how she's going to play…
"If this was your mind, and I could have full control of your mind, don't you think the test would have begun by now?"
Hinata pauses at this. Then, "But the test hasn't begun. And we're still arguing. Meaning that you don't have full control whether this is your mind or mine."
Well, damn. Sasuke quickly concocts a new plan. "And how do you know the test hasn't begun yet?"
The girl stiffens and looks around. "But… nothing is happening."
"I'm not so sure about that. Do you see the shadows in the grass?"
Hinata looks around again. "No…"
"Don't lie. Don't you see them crawling around us?"
She hesitates and squints at her surroundings. Her voice is calm and sincere when she says, "I still don't see anything…"
His new plan shrivels up immediately. Sasuke wants to yell in frustration. This isn't going at all as he planned. There are too many variables he miscalculated, like how observant she is and how quickly she became aware of his presence in her mind. And the only reason these variables have gotten out of hand is because no target has ever resisted like this before – and what's weirder yet is that she can't see any of the toxic shadows in her own mind.
He racks his brain. Tries to remember if Itachi mentioned any case like this before.
Nothing. Nothing at all. This has never happened before, and Sasuke needs to get out of this girl's mind before anything else unpredictable occurs.
This is unorthodox but…
"You pass."
Hinata blinks. "I do?"
"Yes. You pass. I'm out. This is getting way too weird—"
But before Sasuke can even try to disrupt the mental link, the shadows, as if trying to prevent his escape, amass into one giant ashy smear on the ground, and swarm right under the moonflowers that they're sitting on. All of a sudden, they're both sinking as if the soil is made of quicksand.
"Wh – what's going on? I thought the test was over!"
"It's – supposed – to be," Sasuke mutters through gritted teeth. He tries to sever the godly link, but the connection remains taut, unbroken. Something's not letting him escape. Something? Whatever's out there isn't so sophisticated to have any control directly inside someone's mind, if Itachi's theory is correct. The only possible thing that can be holding on is…
No way. Seriously? Can this mortal be any more annoying?
"Let go," Sasuke commands. Their waists are enveloped in shadow. He wonders if she can see it now.
"Of what?"
"You know what. Let go of my mind!"
"I'm not doing anything!" She looks at him helplessly, frightened.
"Yes, you are! Look, we're both going to end up somewhere probably dangerous if you don't – let – go!"
Hinata squeezes her eyes shut. "I'm trying. I'm trying."
"Try harder!"
"I – I don't know what to do! I'm doing all that I can."
"For gods' sake, Hyuuga, let—"
His lips sink into the ground. He can do nothing as the girl in front of him squirms around and searches for a connection that she probably can't find, Sasuke cedes, because he's hidden it just so damn well. But if she was aware of it in the first place, shouldn't she be able to find it just as easily?
His vision is swarmed by gray as he continues to rack his mind for possible explanations. The shadows feel cold and slimy to the touch…
…
…
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…
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It's not me.
What? What are you doing here?
It's not me holding on.
This shouldn't be possible. I never should have said yes to this.
Please listen to me.
Itachi, you idiot, I'm going to kill you.
Please listen. I don't think that place was my mind.
What are you talking about? If you're saying that was mine, I know what my own mind looks like, thank you very much.
No, I didn't mean that. Sasuke, I think you – you must have forged a connection or something—
What?
Those shadows you mentioned – I couldn't see them until they were pulling me in. I don't think they were mine.
Hold on one moment—
I think they were yours. I think, somehow, when you invaded my mind, you embedded a portion of yours with it.
That's ridiculous. That's not possible. Why would I?
How else can you explain this?
I don't know. Maybe mortal minds have gotten even more messed up since the last time I've done this.
Please be more rational.
Look at all this. You think any of this is rational?
I – I won't have an argument about mortality and rationality here. Sasuke, you have to let go.
I've tried. I can't.
Then… we're stuck.
Gee, really? We're somewhere in a gray chasm, somehow able to communicate to each other for who knows how long, and you notice we're stuck?
I – I don't appreciate your sarcasm.
Wow. You seem to have grown a backbone now.
…
Hey.
…
You still there?
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Hyuuga.
…
Hyuuga. Answer me.
I—I'm so sorry, Sasuke.
What are you talking about? What took so long to reply?
I feel like I violated your privacy. Your shadows – th – they showed me something – a memory, I think.
…like what?
I – I can't say. It's too... I can't. I don't think even you know of it.
That doesn't make sense at all. If it's my mind, I should know.
No, no, it's… different.
So you're the expert now. Huh.
I didn't ask you to bring me here.
Yeah, well, I regret it too.
I'm sorry, but I think I know how to get us out of here.
Why are you sorry?
It might not work. And it might be uncomfortable.
What do you mean? And how do you know this?
…
What, did my frigging shadows show you the answer too?
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I don't know if you know this, but a god doesn't have shadows. We're immune to them. Perks of the job.
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Hyuuga, where the hell—
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There's excruciating pain. That's all he knows. This is what pain must feel like to a mortal, he dimly realizes. It feels like his body has been set aflame and someone is trying to gouge out his eyes with a shard of glass, digging into his brain with unrestrained gusto.
And then it's over. It fades away like wisps of smoke, and he can finally drift into sweet untouched slumber.
chapter five fin