Chapter 23: Mysteries in Konoha
The first thing I noticed after Kakashi and I dodged the paperweight is the piercing amber eyes of the Godaime. Lady Tsunade's eyes are the type that make people feel as though all their innermost thoughts are on display, transforming a person's mind into a book for the Sanin to peruse through at her leisure.
Amber orbs featured on her unblemished, oval shaped face. Her perfectly groomed eyebrows, the same golden hue as the hair framing her face, gave her a more severe look - making her expression more sharp, almost hawklike.
"What is it, Kakashi?" Lady Tsunade grumbled, briefly shutting her eyes while rubbing her temples as if to get rid of a headache.
"I assume you've been made aware of Ren-kun's rather special sight?" Kakashi asked casually, leaning against the wall casually.
Lady Tsunade's eyes snapped open as she scoffed. "Of course."
Despite the seemingly casual nature of the exchange between the two, I could tell Kakashi's statement garnered much more of the new Hokage's attention than we previously held - I was unsure whether to be thankful or wary of that fact.
"Tell her." Kakashi ordered me not unkindly, gesturing with one hand from myself to Lady Tsunade.
"I-I guess I need to know if you know how it works first?" I asked hesitantly, eyeing the Sennin as I spoke slowly out of consideration.
"You see the future." Tsunade said bluntly, raising one eyebrow as if silently requesting that I elaborate.
"Yes, sort of - I see many of them, mostly." I replied haltingly
"Hurry up, kid, this isn't the time for political correctness." Tsunade said pointedly
"The future isn't like a straight road - metaphorically, if the present was a man and there were an infinite number of paths, with each path being a possible future, then the future only becomes concrete once the man's taken the step down the road." I explained, mind racing as I fell back on the explanation I gave to Rafu when he found out for the first time. "Each future is different, some with small differences such as different colored flowers of the same kind on a path taken by the man and some futures have recurring similarities… things that are highly unlikely to change, similar to how a giant canyon may pass between many of the paths taken - these are the big events in the world, the ones which are more likely to occur. Much in the way that no matter what path was taken, the canyon would still interrupt the path - and few have no canyon at all."
"So some events are extremely subject to change whereas others are more concrete?" Shizune asked, mouth set into a tight line as she considered the analogy.
"Exactly." I agreed, gaining confidence after realizing at least someone understood. "Now, take into consideration that every single person alive has a myriad of paths to take with each decision -from small choices like what they decide to eat in order to break fast or the more monumental choices such as to take a life or declare war on a country."
"I need sake." Tsunade groaned, rubbing her temples once more and drilling holes into my skull with half lidded eyes.
"Basically, it's hard to 'see the future' without some idea of what one is looking for. I have to focus on one person, the more I know them the easier it is, and watch as they choose a path. Just like ninja can tell someone is about to punch them by observing tensing muscles, I can get an idea of what someone might choose. As soon as they commit to the choice, then it is a definite future and the other ones fall away." I surmised, hoping it was as clear as I thought it sounded in my head. "The other futures falling away generally just means a hundred more futures pop up - all of them ever changing, dependent not only on the choices to be made by the man walking the path I am watching but also the choices of any other people who may affect one, two, or all of the outcomes."
"Kami, just stop." Tsunade said, raising a slender hand with a grimace. "I get it - it's complicated and not very accurate until everything's happening. What is it you saw that requires an explanation like that?"
"Well, I am rather familiar with Chunin Nara Shikamaru, Lady Tsunade." I began, worry beginning to become audible in my tone the more I spoke.
"I'll say." Lady Tsunade interrupted with a smirk, stifling a chuckle at my bewilderment and the embarrassed look on my face.
"I monitor my friends if I am able too while they are on mission in order to ensure their safety." I admitted, hoping she would not blow a fuse since doing so could allow me to discover classified information on accident. Lady Tsunade's face twisted into an expression I did not recognize and was already smoothing over as she impatiently gestured for me to continue.
"I stopped seeing Shikamaru's future, something that has never happened to me before." I finished quickly, ditching all attempts to disguise how concerned I felt by it.
"I see." Lady Tsunade muttered quietly, only our sharply trained hearing allowing us to be privy to the words spoken almost to herself. She steepled her fingers on top of her desk, forehead furrowing minutely as she thought.
"I need a moment to consider what you have told me." Tsunade abruptly voiced, snatching a small scroll of paper and writing a few things down before looking back at Kakashi and I. "I'll summon you if I have any news or have need of you."
"Yes, Lady Hokage." Kakashi and I said simultaneously with a bow, leaving the office right after.
'Snick'
The sound of the latch on the door reverberated ominously in the large, vacant hallway outside Lady Tsunade's office. My mind was whirling as I considered every word said in the office in an attempt to predict what would happen next. This proved a fruitless endeavor considering I do not know the Godaime at all, so after parting ways with Kakashi and realizing there isn't much for me to possibly do, I made my way through Konoha's streets in the direction of my apartment building.
Despite having told a superior, THE superior - it doesn't get higher up the ladder than the Hokage, I couldn't help but to brainstorm various methods that could be capable of rendering my dojutsu unusable.
The first thought to enter my mind is another bloodline limit with the potential to counteract my 'sight'. I quickly dismissed this, however, after thinking on it further because I could not reason out what the purpose for such a kekkei genkei would be aside from canceling any other bloodline limits. Despite being in the realm of possibility, especially considering it would not be the strangest thing I've heard, it seems to me like such an ability would, at least, have rumors going around about it even if not known by Konoha as an actual ability someone possessed.
I absentmindedly stepped around a inattentive civilian stepping out of a store carrying a large piece of furniture as I considered the next possibility. A jutsu of some sort, possibly a genjutsu, that managed to block the Sakimonagan by fooling the target into believing they had no future or that caused me to believe I wasn't seeing anything when I attempted to look.
The idea of my vision being affected directly could not be possible without knowing when I would try to imagine Shikamaru specifically due to being able to see everything but him. A technique forcing the victim to not believe there is a future was slightly more believable, especially when considering that when one doesn't have a future there aren't any decisions to be made if they are doing nothing at the time, but still seemed far fetched. Prolonged usage would need a large amount of chakra and I can't think of anything the user of such a technique would gain other than the cessation of my specific ability. While not impossible, it is improbable after considering the amount of people familiar enough with the Sakimonagan to create such a technique. Not to mention the lack of motive for doing so in the first place - other than attempting to prevent me from finding Shikamaru or seeing something having to do with him.
The only cause I could imagine for that would be if he was on a sensitive or classified mission and, after thinking that, I was left with a theory that did not have much weight after taking into account the surprised response of the Hokage. Granted, shinobi were masters of deception, but it held little weight regardless - it would require too much effort and that combined with the likelihood of a chunin being given access to information sensitive enough to require such a undertaking made me continue thinking.
I tossed a few ideas around my mind the rest of the night, coming up with new ones and disregarding almost as quickly in many cases. After another frustrating attempt trying to 'see' Shikamaru the next morning, I gathered my things and left my apartment to head over to Akari's parent's house in search of a fresh perspective and homemade dango. I made my way out of the building with a single minded focus until glancing at a building I've probably passed over a hundred times this year alone.
My apartment building is located in a district populated predominantly by shinobi - I actually received a brief history of the district when I first checked out the building with Akari two weeks after graduating from the academy; It had been the third building we inquired after and one we stumbled upon on accident. The owner of the building told us on the day I was shown the one bedroom apartment that this building and the one a block away was built during the second shinobi war as temporary living for displaced shinobi and civilians alike. Once homes were rebuilt, civilians returned to them in order to raise families but a large amount of shinobi requested to remain.
The building is located in a defensible location, is out of the way without being inconveniently far from the missions office or the gates out of the village, and came already furnished. Since a lot of shinobi spend time training or out of the village and viewed one apartment much the same as any other because of their way of life; they figured it would be more of a hassle to arrange for different living quarters than to just remain where they were and deal with any minor flaws the minimalistic units had.
As a large amount of single shinobi began to occupy what became my building and what is basically its carbon copy, the identical set up resulting in the nickname they were now known by shinobi as - 'The Twins', businesses began to set up shop as well so they would be more convenient than another of the same kind on the other side of the village in what was the market district.
While I had thought it was interesting history at the time and had been far more interested in the damage rent would do to my meager income, it is relevant now for two reasons - the first being that my building is next to a weapons shop which boasted about creating their own exploding tags as well as the ability to customize the size, intensity, and the amount of time after being triggered before detonation.
The second reason, which is also why I froze in the middle of a busy street gaping without noticing or caring about the dirty looks given to me as civilians avoided my still figure, is the sign displayed in the window which advertised the aforementioned exploding tags.
The Art of Sealing. Hindsight almost always appears blindingly obvious but it honestly chafed me I didn't think of it first. Of course seals would be able to render me unable to see what they were guarding - more than once has it been said that sealing is as dangerous as the imagination and ability of the fuinjutsu user. Sealwork allowed people to do a great many things unable to be accomplished otherwise. It was the people's proficiency in Fuinjutsu that resulted in Uzushio's destruction, after all.
Despite my original plan to use the normal streets to travel to the house I basically grew up in, I didn't hesitate to jump onto the roof of the building I had moments previously fixed with an incredulous stare due to the tacky poster advertising customized exploding tags. I eagerly flew across the rooftops, feeling the same sort of satisfaction I did when I had successfully picked my first lock in the academy, incapable of containing my excitement at sharing what I hope is source of my blood limits inability to view Shikamaru's future.
"Ohaiyo!" I called out from the front door of what had always felt like home despite the apartment containing all of my stuff.
"Okaeri!" I heard two voices chime out from the sitting room in response. My lips quirked up into a smile at hearing the deep voice intermingled with the bell-like voice of Yami. Akio had turned down missions for a period of time after Akari and Rafu died during the Invasion of Sand and Sound but has been taking missions at a increasingly higher frequency. While incapable of performing seals himself, I'm sure Akio's years of experience as a ninja will be helpful. Without hesitation and almost on autopilot from of the years of repetition, I toed on the set of house slippers and placed my own sandals on the mat next to the door before venturing down the hallway.
"Hello, it's great to see you both." I said with a smile before making my way to the low table and sitting in the seiza position gracefully across from Yami and Akio.
"It's as though you grow more and more in height every time I see you." Yami said fondly as she held out a full cup of tea towards me once I was settled.
"It's been two days since you saw me." I replied, rolling my eyes at her exaggeration and accepting the proffered tea. "Thank you."
Yami hummed in lieu of verbalizing that your welcome and eyed me with a shrewd expression. Uncomfortable with the visual assessment, I began to fidget before stopping myself from broadcasting my discomfort.
Yami's lips pursed in blatant disapproval. I did not need to activate the Sakimonagan to see that a tongue lashing was in my near future delivered by the refined woman sitting across from me.
"One would think that someone who only recently became able for active duty after a medical leave of absence would take better care of himself." Yami scolded. I lowered my eyes in shame as I heard the barely restrained fear and concern underneath the scolding tone she is used to mask the terror of losing another child.
"Look at me." She snapped, my body automatically doing as she ordered before I could process it. The emotion in her eyes caused a chill to race up my spine and my heart to ache in sympathy. She look hunted. "Do you want to destroy my already shredded heart?"
"No, I just…" I immediately protested, hurt that she would even insinuate that I'm capable of intentionally causing her pain.
"I'm sorry."
Yami exhaled slowly and laid the palms of both hands, which had been previously wrapped around the tea sitting before her, down on the table. Silence pervaded the air for a long moment until Yami spoke again, her tone of voice more kind than it had been. "I know you don't mean to worry us. It's… well, you know."
"Now, tell us why you look like you've been in a fight with the Shinigami. Still having problems with those eyes of yours?" Akio asked
"That's actually why I came to see you two today." I responded, straightening my posture as I remembered my suspicion.
"You feel you know why you cannot receive a vision in regards to your lover?" Yami questioned
"Ka-Chan.." I groaned out of embarrassment, the telltale heat warming my face making me painfully aware of the vivid pink my cheeks were becoming.
"Yami, Stop teasing the boy." Akio told her with a straight face but a tone of voice which betrayed his amusement at my reaction.
"What? That's what they are!" Yami exclaimed as she threw her hands up in exasperation. When I noticed the mischievous look she adopted I knew I would have no desire to hear what came next but the realization dawned too late for me to cover my ears. "If they're anything like we used to be they 'love' each other wherever and whenever they can all around Konoha too! I remember when you had me pushed against that wall, Akio, one hand up my-"
"Kami!" I yelped, the flush on my cheeks spreading all over my face while I fought to think about anything but the picture she described. I shuddered and began to stand, shaking my head in an exaggerated display of both disgust and mortification. "I need Morino-San to torture that mental picture out of my head or Yamanaka-San to completely erase it. I'm heading to T&I."
The two alleged adults in the room burst into laughter after hearing my remark and a minute later Akio waved his hand in a gesture of me to return to my previous seat. "Oh never you mind, sit back down. She's only poking fun… and telling the truth."
The last words were said more softly than the rest and I watched as the couple who basically raised me as their own shared a look so sickeningly sweet it made my heart ache and my mind turn to Shikamaru. I shook my head after I quickly recovered from the small bout of melancholy and pointedly pressed on to the subject that had been temporarily abandoned.
"I believe it may be a seal of some kind preventing me from being able to get anything." I informed them seriously with my hands together in front of me and on the table.
Neither of them spoke for a minute, though the words had sobered them up instantaneously, and it was Akio who finally broke the silence. "A seal that prevents you from seeing into the future."
"Is it possible?" I inquired, tilting my head and waiting for him to finish considering the question.
"I believe so." Akio finally decided, the grave expression aimed in my direction not aiding to ease my trepidation in the slightest.
"What is it? Just tell me. I can take it."
"The problem with seals, and the same reason that so few master sealing or even bother learning anything about them at all, is that they are complex creations." Akio explained, his tone changing into what Akari, Rafu, and I used to fondly refer to as his "educating the next generation" voice. Chastising myself for the moment of inattention spent in reverie, I pushed the nostalgic memories aside in order to benefit from my father figures knowledge. "There are a couple of troubling thoughts that come to mind and need to be discussed."
"Why is Fuinjutsu that complex?" I wondered out loud, searching my mind for anything and everything I have ever been taught about or read about seals. "I know that the amount of focus required, especially for an amateur, is tremendous. I believe I once read a passage in a scroll I came across that Fuinjutsu requires not only that every line of ink be correct but that a significant part of the process is the requirement to imbue your intent and chakra into every stroke of the brush."
"Very good, Ren-kun, you're on the correct path."Akio praised, nodding his head in approval and making my chest warm from his compliment. "I've told you fuinjutsu is complicated but I haven't explained why - not only does it require what you mentioned a moment ago, it also has to be extraordinarily detailed. The best Fuinjutsu user will be precise, able to think quickly, adept at critical thinking as well as imaginative thinking, but most importantly - they will be capable of applying an enormous amount of attention to detail at a rapid pace."
"It's much like a formula for poison in the sense that there are recipes you can follow and once finished will be capable of reproducing the same effect as long as your intention was properly focused. Another similarity they share is that most users have their own recipe, one that is just different enough to be noticed or to emphasize a desired reaction. With Fuinjutsu, the most minuscule mistake could kill you or create a useless seal."
"Now, the troubling part, is that they have to be specific. For instance, one cannot just create a barrier seal and write barrier - you have to describe the barrier, what it should guard against, the density, the height, shape, and many other various details."
Akio ceased talking for a moment, looking at me expectantly - it shared a frightening resemblance to how my academy instructor used to stare at my class after explaining something boring and hoping to get a response in return. I went over the last few sentences he spoke in my head more carefully and analytically. He said this is the troubling part, or at least one of the troubling bits, and described how detailed and in depth the pieces of the seal have to be in order for it to function properly when placed together to create a usable, whole seal.
My eyes widened and the tea mug in my right hand shattered to pieces that cut my fingers as well as all over my palm. The stinging pain barely registered despite the rivulets of blood weeping from the various cuts I just received. The practically scalding tea currently covering my hand in liquid and turning the irritated skin a deep red color never crossed my mind. Yami's alarmed yell sounded far away as the flood of adrenaline began pouring into my system, filling my ears with the impenetrable sound of my heart pounding erratically in my chest. As though suddenly cursed with tunnel vision, the only thing I am able to see is Akio's face and the grim expression paired with a slow nod in order to confirm the truth to what I had not realized until this very moment is my greatest fear and an unexplored weakness.
"What is going on! Akio? Ren?" Yami yelled, the fear and confusion exuding from her working like a bucket of cold water as it brought me back to my senses and away from the debilitating fear that had gotten ahold of and essentially crippled me.
Yami's eyes, as she crouched next to me with a towel wrapped around my hand to stop the bleeding, were darting between Akio and I uneasily. Finally, Akio spoke up in a tone of voice tightly subdued with a forced sort of calm.
"Ren realized what it means if it is truly a seal circumventing his ability."
"What is it?" Yami asked, the trembling I only just noticed in her hands, from a fear she felt strongly enough that my arm shook along with her own. Slowly, in an effort not to frighten her anymore than she currently was, I covered the hand she was using to put pressure on the cuts.
With my own steady hands holding her own steady, the trembling turned into an occasional twitch of movement. Yami turned to fully face towards me after the silent show of support and blatantly written all over her face was the desire to ask a question I never wanted to have to verbalize into words; I am sure, once spoken aloud for another soul to hear, it would transform into a reality in which I am not completely confident in my ability to confront.
A notion so completely and utterly ridiculous, one borne out of a childish desire to run away from problems and pretend they are not real, used as a method of avoidance.
I am Ren - a genin of Konohagakure, member of Team Eleven, a comrade, a friend, a son, and a boyfriend. Steeling my resolve, I told Yami what had caused such a dramatic reaction.
"Someone knows exactly how my bloodline limit works, has worked up a way to test that the seal is working, and is using Shikamaru to do so." I explained, my stomach rolling in nerves and trepidation. "Someone highly resourceful thinks that I'm a potential threat and has a found a way around my best defense by completely blocking himself out with a seal."
Yami's eyes widened in shock and she followed up he explanation with another question."Why would they give one of the seals to Shikamaru- Kun though?"
"They're testing them to ensure they work." Akio answered before I could, his eyebrows drawn tight over his face in a clear expression of worry.
"When trying to work out who is responsible for something, use deductive reasoning and the process of elimination." I practically mumbled to myself without paying an iota of attention to Akio-san's question, the words which I spoke aloud moments ago occupying my focus- the words are a direct quote straight from Takeshi-sensei's mouth during one of his most memorable training sessions that covering the way to investigate something.
He once told us that if you are able to answer those three questions, you will be well on your way to solving the mystery presented to you. Now, applying that logic here, all I need to do is deduce who has the means, a motive, and the opportunity.
"One of the council members, though a clan head is unlikely due to the fact the seal is being tested on Shikamaru. No clan head would risk implicating their own clan by testing an unapproved prototype on the Nara heir - no, this person was likely to have no clan affiliations, which gave the flexibility to use who they wanted to use."
"Ren-kun."
"Truthfully, it doesn't have to be a council member but I am going to put two subcategories- one list of potential jonin and the second of potential political figures. This reeks of an attempt to secure or continue to deal in dirty politics." I spat out, abruptly beginning to pace as I spoke in order to let the motion stimulate my brain.
Despite being somewhat aware and fully comfortable with the presence of Yami and Akio standing in the room with me, I am talking to myself - which is a bad habit I have that began after I moved into my apartment and has become more frequent since Rafu and Akari were killed in action. It's hard to think with so much oppressive silence and needless to say going to a house with four people to an apartment without anyone except myself occupying the matchbox on a regular basis.
"Ren-kun!"Akio finally thundered irritatedly, having previously attempted to capture the young ninjas attention by steadily increasing the volume of his voice.
"Yes, Tou-chan?" I asked innocently, as though screaming is how everyone communicating with one another these days.
"I've been trying to tell you" Akio continued, lowering his voice to a more appropriate volume now that the boy he saw as a son's attention is unwavering. "That you should ask Kakashi Hatake his opinion on the sealing theory. While Kakashi is not even close to being a master, the amount of knowledge and understanding he has in the art of Fuinjutsu is quite rare. You should take advantage."
"Thanks Otou-chan, love you! Love you Ka-chan!" I shouted, calling out the words used to say goodbye over my shoulder, already sprinting across the roof of the building three down from their own seconds later. I knew exactly where I would be able to run into Kakashi-Sensei at this time of day.
A sharp left turn and ten minutes of fast travel later found me coming to an opening in the thicker part of the forest, completely devoid of any trees or animals lurking on the shadowy edges of the forest. The moment I had entered into visual range, I knew Kakashi is within olfactory range and most likely auditory as well - as one would expect with a Jounin that bore a reputation like Kakashi-Sensei, he gave away no visual or olfactory sign that he knew about being watched.
"It was not my idea to track you down and I'd like to make it known before we begin that I have a lot of time to spend chasing you and a lot of motivation." I told Kakashi-Sensei, who didn't have the grace to look mildly is not the first time I have had to chase Kakashi in order to force him to acknowledge me or to have a conversation; it was a recurring challenge that served to annoy me endlessly.
I activated my Sakimonagan, breath hitching in surprise as I saw Kakashi-sensei reaching for my arm in order to bring me along on a Shunshin rather than leave me in the clearing as he would have once. The surprise I felt after deactivating my eyes and already standing in a secluded alcove near to the mission desk did not take long at all to develop into a disgruntled glare, Kakashi-sensei patting me on the head affectionately with an eye smile that reeked of condescension.
"Now, cute little genin, wait for me around here and after the debrief is over maybe I'll let you get around to whatever it is you sought me out for to begin with, ne?" Kakashi-sensei told me, leaning down slightly to be more on eye level with me. "Oh, and Ren, If you're always looking into the future, you might forget to live in the present - it's a weakness of yours."
In order to impart both how serious I am taking the sealing arts and how concerned I am about the potential of a seal designed to prevent my sight on specific areas or people of interest, I gave him my complete attention - and something about the set of my jaw or the look in my eye must have betrayed my desire to listen in on the meeting because Kakashi-sensei informed me that if I attempted to listen in on a classified meeting, then there would be hell to pay; After directly being ordered to not listen into the meeting, I would not have dared to do so anyway, but the silver-haired nin wasted no time explaining why my chances of success were so low.
"Those traps are made for more experienced shinobi and even if you managed to pass the ones I set today, I will still be able to tell how far you made it and where in the room you were, so no snooping." Kakashi-sensei told me patronizingly and I hated my teeth subconsciously in retaliation to his body language.
I suppose an accurate word to describe the summation of my feelings would be an equally divided combination of anger, righteous indignation, and humbleness. I could tell Kakashi came back into the clearing and despite being unable to see any of the facial expression due to his mask, the amusement in the air and the fact that he keeps having to repeatedly muffle what sounds like incessant giggling. The whole left half of my shirt is gone, leaving it half hanging on and half hanging off, after Kakashi's trapmaking skills made themselves apparent. The flamethrower resulted in primarily cosmetic destruction, satisfyingly the damage caused by the veritable flame thrower will have Kakashi-sensei parting with a rather large amount of money.
No less than he deserves for trying to kill me, I sniffed irritably, glancing at him from the corner of my eye. I have yet to pass a mirror after attempting to burglarize THE Copy Ninjas residence and when I found myself to be severely lacking the ability to finesse into the apartment, the last few days has my temper on a short fuse and after becoming angry when his lock spit adhesive glitter onto my hand, covering the entire damn hand in vibrant purple glitter, I became temporarily unhinged and had my foot whipping through the air as hard as I could manage to in my state. See, the problem with that plan is the giant fucking flamethrower on the other side of the door. In the frame of the door itself are a couple of exit points that release oil - once covered in the oil, which I mostly dodged aside from the left part of my upper body, the canisters of oil will release in the direction of the door - coming into contact with a burning candle between the flight path of the oil. The overall effect is an amazingly terrifying trap resembling a very primitive flamethrower.
Needless to say, after he flamethrower quit trying to incinerate everything in a two hundred square foot radius and after liberal use of multiple fire extinguishers, I leaned into the apartment in order to close the door. I am still not exactly sure how I activated the trap but I found myself falling forward after my foot tripped over something.
Instinctively reaching out to catch myself, I watched in both muted fascination and horror as a strand of hair that fell from my head shredded by razor sharp wires. I let out a relieved huff of breath after I caught myself, thankful for my fast reflexes because the wires are almost entirely incapable of being seen with the naked eye.
It took the combined efforts of a chunin living next door and myself, as well as requiring I remain completely immobile for the amount of time (which had totaled up to 2 hours) needed to dismantle the death tra- I mean home security and defense initiative, as Kakashi cheerfully put it, having invited me to analyze him while he went about organizing a list of the various components necessary to have his normal amount of deadly,elaborate, and completely terrifying aspects to the 'security system'.
I did contribute as much as my current skill level allowed and the few that I am prohibited from both attempting to bypass or attempting to reconstruct a similar version of the Death Chair until I am some type of Jounin, either tokubetsu or full.
The most amusing event to occur happened during the massive undertaking Kakashi enlisted my assistance to handle. We began by setting all thirty traps up in order, none of which were armed to be lethal so we could tinker on them, and started examining each one individually to see if it could be improved or needed any maintenance.
First, to give as brief of an explanation as possible, the traps are designed to systematically go off in a specific order so that the maximum amount of agony is experienced by the intruder before guiding them to an intentional long, drawn out death - each individual trap had been carefully thought out in an effort to render them as unpredictable and unconventional as can be realistically attained while keeping the total amount of destructive potential each individual trap is capable of inflicting as high as possible.
The entire day after I informed Kakashi about the possible creation of an anti-Sakimonagan seal, and after he questioned me and forced me into writing down an accurate and detailed report of every single piece of information or discussion I have had that led me to my reasoning and unverifiable hypothesis - that an unknown, though possibly politically affiliated without having any close ties to one specific political group, has created a seal designed specifically to counteract the bloodline limit ability I possess (I refused to include the guess I had on how the seal is capable of preventing the use of my eyes in a written report while the possibility of a criminally affiliated politician in a position of influence remains.
Obviously, the unidentified male or female pulling the strings has some kind of information damaging enough to justify spending a large allocation of financial resources in order to prevent a genin from accidentally, maybe, stumbling on something. The effort required to carry out the mission preparation, particularly locating a Fuinjutsu master competent enough to design and produce the seal as a special commission, and then paying for however many time consuming seals he'd like to receive.
The amount of resources being utilized spoke of an enemy with either an excellently well-honed talent for foresight or an unstable individual suffering from debilitating levels of paranoia left untreated for years; the paranoia not being kept in check implies the subject may be prone to delusions of grandeur and prone to consistently making compromised decisions based on unsubstantiated information or feelings due to an irrevocably damaged psyche.
If I was forced to guess without any more additional information, I would say damage to his/her psyche stems from a subsequent lack of treatment or therapy after an extraordinarily traumatic experience - whatever events transpired during said trauma have in all likelihood impacted the subject immensely; one possible outcome being that the subject feels this event was a catalyst in their life (giving what is essentially a tough experience a much larger impact than is normal - high possibility that subject will become fixated on this moment and anything directly or indirectly involved).
If faced with the first type of enemy with a knack for predicting and anticipating exactly how others will act, Konoha could possibly be facing a civil war between two opposing, and so far unnamed, factions. If, however, it is the other initial and unfinished profile type that is discovered acting on their own behalf in addition to issuing orders that are not within his or her power to command in the first place without the express permission of the acting Hokage on a case by case basis.
In addition to the insubordination and obvious intentional abuse of power and privilege, which should result in the one responsible being stripped of all titles, ranks, favors and goodwill accumulated throughout his life including but not limited to: any rank, title, or inheritance rightfully claimed by birth, secured due to good fortune, or that have been presented to you for any and all services provided to serve Konoha and Fire Country. After distancing individual from any and all affiliations, punishment should be immediate execution for treason, misappropriation of Konoha assets, embezzlement, conspiracy, and any other charges possible.
These thoughts kept me company throughout the day and tortured me in the dark of the enemy is firmly obscured by shadows and will remain to be until they are brought into the light by one of us by keep an immense amount of pressure constantly applied. The only other event I can possibly fathom that would require the master pulling the puppet strings to reveal his identity is if, in an effort to secure any essential assets or to ensure the successful completion of a pivotal objective, the individual cannot be as efficient as needed while also maintaining such a strict behind-the-curtain persona - forcing him to take action, presumably in the form of a coup or takeover in order to openly control wherever his base of operations is set up.
All of that information I placed in the folder given to me by Kakashi-Sensei, who sealed it somewhere so quickly and made it impossible for me to know the specific location of the information. After we finished all of the paperwork, Kakashi having delivered the contents to Lady Tsunade personally with an uncharacteristic grim air radiating from him.
Instead of agonizing over unknowingly and accidentally omitting pivotal intelligence that had the potential to help or may be necessary to find the subject or find proof of a person operating within Konoha, Kakashi had me focus on redesigning traps and learning new skills. After spending a bountiful amount of free time perusing the schematics, I grew sick and tired of never seeing a name at the top - calling it the traps or security traps just sounds lame. The acute frustration I am feeling, mainly about my inability to currently do anything further for the investigation or the search party.
Which is exactly how The Fatal and Elaborate System of Traps (Codename: FEST) officially came into existence. One section had ninja wire sharpened and reinforced until the resulting wire is more than capable of slicing through a human neck as if it were made from butter; Considering how intimately familiar with the wire I almost became when I fell face first after being tripped by the raised up floorboard, which is unnoticeable until triggered to raise once the primitive flamethrower is out of fuel.
The following section has six different projectiles including shuriken, senbon, and kunai. Each type of projectile has two different launch angles and launch timing, so even a ninja ranked considerably higher than myself would have to pay attention while evading so many different objects from numerous angles in a cramped space - not to mention having to simultaneously be careful so as to avoid accidentally setting of any other traps.
Ten seconds following the last barrage of razor sharp objects in that section, the next phase will commence which I am proud to admit I modified and improved this particular surprise in the system with Kakashi's Indifferent attitude unable to hide the approval in his eyes after considering the effectiveness and increase in difficulty gained by the system as a whole. Previously, after 6 sets of projectiles, the target was bombarded with gas to inflame and aggravate the breathing access points on a body in addition to the severe, almost debilitating, pain that occurs if the gas is released near someone with any wounds. It makes a papercut feel akin to someone jamming a torture device over and over into a stab wound after periodically burning bits of skin on a hand. The gas doesn't just cause an intensification of the central nervous system's sensitivity levels. A rather ruthless chemical combination that absorbs into skin through pores and will cause an unbearable itch to compliment the sharp, burning pain and near suffocation already being experienced by whatever unfortunate soul is unlucky enough to be exposed to the painful concoction and live to experience the long lasting effects. A more merciful act by far would be granting the victim a quick death.
Everything is the same as Kakashi originally designed it to be aside from one section; I only put in a small addition, courtesy of the accumulated motivation that two entire days worth of boredom and no training cause me to act on or suffer a slow death caused by a degenerating brain disease - a disease specifically prone to develop in teenagers, Acute Boredom Induced Brain Deterioration is a rare sickness developed in the brain stem when an otherwise brilliant mind suffers from a sudden lack of interesting or useful stimuli in order to occupy the portion that would normally be used to worry about impossible situations.
Most often the anxiety and resulting deterioration is a direct result from inexhaustibly repeating the same fears, questions, and the same scenarios - this recurring tendency has so far been highly ineffective in producing a solution to either situations and additionally has been unable to recall any other information that may have been omitted from the file submitted to the higher ups and Lady Tsunade. All information gathered is being thoroughly investigated by fully grown adults that have the resources needed and all of whom are far better equipped to resolve both problems while ensuring a minimal amount of negative backlash becomes generated resulting from the chosen course of action the village leadership decided will be the most effective and beneficial to Konoha's interests.
I slowly pushed the air in my lungs out, releasing a weary sigh while massaging my temples using two fingers from each of my hands in a valiant effort to combat the amount of pain from the crippling migraine that has been punishing my body continually throughout the past two days.
Truthfully, I am aware that to relieve myself from the persistent throbbing to constantly hound my sleep deprived body. This morning is when any attempt I make to bully the lethargic excuse for a brain rotting inside my skull into an ineffective moment of thought; one that bears only the most pathetic resemblance to any sort of brainstorming session. After the Herculean effort required to form a proper sentence, I concede defeat to my body's biological need to sleep.
I forced myself to raise my head, which seems much heavier than normal and requires more power as well, I didn't resist my body's inclination to shut my eyes. Sleep has eluded me for the past week, ever since the discovery pertaining to my inability to see Shikamaru's future. I am not entirely which part of me is positive that Shikamaru is still alive but I feel as though he is with such a intense certainty that I have not experienced doubt for even a small fraction saying otherwise.
I can't recall the exact date when, for the first time, I experienced a future showing my possible death. I remember how I felt after screaming so hard that woke up myself - the shock, fear, anger, disbelief. After analyzing the scene over and over in my mind, unable to seek any further sleep with the moment I die playing like a sick, macabre reoccurring movie that I threw up moments later.
I began dating Shikamaru soon afterwards even though I knew my death would be brought about indirectly because of my relationship with the soft hearted genius. I certainly considered ending things and this way we both may have spouses and children… but every time I envisioned a family, my family, eating dinner… I saw Shikamaru, a little boy, and I all around a table. I can never picture another man at the table.
The process people go through in order to accept things that have impacted them in a significant way is a gradual one; Despite knowing it was a change slowly happening, It honestly felt as though I went from watching the end of everything I know and seeing myself being murdered every night to instead watching an older version of myself sacrifice himself without hesitation in order to protect someone he loved more than his own life. The look on my face when I'm hit, knowing it's fatal, is one filled with a love so pure and all encompassing for the man with my head in his lap.
There is not a single moment of fear or regret in my final moments, only a peaceful acceptance and a love too vast and limitless to fathom into words - to attempt to do so would only cheapen the bond between the two men and the unspoken assurance to one another that something this is as simple and inevitable like Death would not be capable of separating them for eternity.
It is reassuring to get these dreams and while not occurring EVERY night unfailingly, it has always occurred at least once every week since they the first one. Except this past week - I have yet to dream at all for the entire time and I thought maybe… well, the future is always changing so I am unsure what exactly I thought.
After having seen the vision so regularly and being so entranced by it despite my ability, as I proved mere moments ago, to recreate every moment of it word for word with help forming in the imagination department thanks to our highly active imagination - imagination having always been deemed essential, thus, deserving you to both continue nurturing as well as encouraging one another to keep your imagination engaged for your entire life by Yami and Akio.
I fell asleep before realizing I had even begun to drift, the pleasant and safe warmth distributed throughout my small body at present a reassuring piece of evidence, not counting my seemingly instinctual knowledge that he is alive, that Shikamaru is still alive. After sleeping undisturbed for the entire night uninterrupted, I felt more human and alive than I have in recent memory - I felt so reinvigorated and energized! After the bout of insomnia and the stress, I'm ready to catch back up and then possibly come up with ideas to acquire evidence pointing towards the identity of the Anti-Future Visions Seal.
I stood up and made my way over to the dresser with a bounce in my step, a slight smile tugging at the corners of my mouth at the thought of what catching up on sleep is capable of doing for your health in addition to being fundamentally necessary for a rounded base set of good habits to teach their son every now and then.
Toying around with the words, I hope, may one day be part of an entire song that I composed alone. After days of monotonous and awful mood swings, I felt so happy that I became distracted enough to do the ritual I always followed on auto pilot. It's the reason I was ill prepared to receive a vision - let alone one capable of easily taking the spot reserved for most vividly intense vision experienced in my life.
My eyes burst into a luminous color reminiscent of electricity and moments after I fell to my knees with my head turned up toward the ceiling with an expression that displayed terror and pain so obviously that no one spoke a word about it in the following weeks. A unanimous vote said they shinobi in question was displaying signs of extreme terror, collapsed onto her knees and her fingernails dug into the palm of her hand with enough force to draw blood.
The stark white, thin fabric commonly found among the linens at the hospital passed through my fingers and provided yet another uncomfortable reminder in regards to the temporary room I have been placed in after being admitted to the hospital earlier in the morning. A random thought concerning the ever present stiff-like quality present in every piece of the fabric cleaned within the medical facilities walls. My eyes followed the perfectly equidistant stitching performed along the edge of the starched sheet with an unnatural and entirely faked level of interest in order to prolong the inevitable questions and the unverbalized demand for answers to aforementioned questions with every minute detail.
"I'm truly sorry that I cannot delay asking these questions or allow more time to pass prior to receiving any details you can recall - unfortunately, the potential for information and the possibility that any information may be time sensitive means a high priority level. We may gain information, even indirect information to lead us something concrete, could result in enough to require an actionable response." Lady Tsunade said, her voice adopting a tone that came across as a perfect blend between being one that would broker no nonsense and be to the point in any questions with a matter of fact tone. In addition, she also retained a gentle quality to provide a comforting implied concern for my well being.
Even the words chosen and the method in which they were delivered seemed to be carefully constructed works of art; the difference being that instead of the type of brushstrokes or shade of paint an artist will use to attempt invoking a specific feeling or reaction m in any who admire the work. Yes, I am positive Lady Tsunade has been given some sort of formal diplomacy training.
The Hokage has an inflection common among diplomats - similar to how the skill and style difference is glaringly evident when comparing a master painter to an individual that has never painted before, the esteemed Godaime seemed in possess an impressive ability with words that alluded to a mastery in diplomacy. The chosen words used were masterfully subtle in their purpose - they effectively reinforce the idea in a leader predominantly motivated by her empathy. In an effort to come across as a benevolent and strong leader that harbors a deep affection and sense of responsibility for every single occupant.
By beginning with an inquiry to my personal health and apologizing for something that I am being ordered to do despite my reluctance to disclose any information, it almost appears that it is an unpleasant act that she cannot help but enforce due to pressure from a nameless entity - also providing an anonymous scapegoat for any resentment to be blamed for any imagined unfair treatment. Finally, indirectly appealing to the ingrained sense of duty and loyalty every shinobi is conditioned to have in order to receive my full cooperation voluntarily given to 'help the village'. Both the way she spoke is careful in measured without seeming unnatural as well as the subtlety applied emphasis on seemingly unimportant pieces erased any remaining doubt that she had some form of training.
"It did not feel similar to any others I've had in the past; the kind I usually get feel completely effortless - almost like rekindling a friendship with a person you know very well but fell out of touch with. I am never confident or sure what to expect since every vision is as different from one another as they are similar" I answered, the unscripted words falling out of my mouth effortlessly.. "Every single vision, regardless of content or level of intensity, has held one recurring trait throughout my entire life - it's difficult to put into words… It's like a feeling… or maybe a presence? One that is comfortingly familiar without bringing anyone or anything specific to mind."
"What did this one feel like to you?" Lady Tsunade asked, moving a little closer to the bed in a display of body language saying my answer is on she was interested in hearing.
"It felt… unnatural. Something inherently wrong that became twisted due to someone purposefully attempting to change the very nature of something… or someone." I informed her quietly, my voice dropping even lower as I spoke the last words.
"What did you see?" Tsunade asked imploringly, being careful not to demand a response or push me to give one - a technique usually used by interviewers when trying to get information from a victim rather than a suspect.
"Flashes, so quickly I didn't have time to make sense of most of it or to comprehend the picture." I finally said, struggling to remember the numerous glimpses I saw to give her something more than an "I don't know'. "I remember seeing an underground base of some sort. There were.. people, I guess, but something is wrong with them. It's like… something took away their humanity - as if they were husks that had been relieved of their souls. I remember seeing some kind of design, maybe a seal, and that's all I could make sense of aside from…"
"Aside from what?" Tsunade pressed patiently, maintaining eye contact as I searched her eyes for something I wasn't sure of while ignoring the ominous silence hanging heavily on the air.
"An emotion." I admitted with a slight grimace that interrupted my yawn. "Similar to desire but a desire tainted by anger and what seemed to be an almost desperate need for control and power. I don't believe they will rest until he has what he wants."
"What does he want?" She asked
"What's the position with the most power?"
Lady Tsunade's hands clenched and she glared at the floor, jaw tight and a determined expression across her face that made me feel sorry for the person who wanted to cross the Slug Sennin. Her voice turned to steel as she spoke the word out loud.
"Hokage."
A/N: Sorry it's been so long! I wrote a lot to apologize! Love you all and if you have a moment, check out this page for me. I have heard it is hard to find and was told the easiest way is to go to Go Fund Me and type in: 513F0co in the search box. You'll know it's the right one because it will read Liability.
** go fund me dot com / 513f0co**
Thank you so much to everyone who has helped me in this trying and difficult time, it is impossible to feel hopeless or frightened for long when faced with such an overwhelming amount of kind words, generous hearts, and encouraging support. I cannot express how touched I am by everything that has been done and said for me with such selfless sincerity. I am writing this so that you know how much of an impact you've made in my life and, though we may never meet one another face to face, I love you and thank you from the bottom of my heart - if there is anything I can do to even begin to repay you for the kindness shown to me, please reach out to me. If there is anyone hurting, scared, or in need of a friend; I will be there for you, to pass on the good will and kindness shown to me. I will be there if you'll allow me to be.
Love,
Rache
(As a side note: fakumadafaka, if you are reading this, I deleted your comment due to the derogatory content contained within it and I kindly ask anyone reading my story to respect one thing: I leave anyone free to comment whatever they like in order to encourage everybody's right to express their opinion. I ask that in return you refrain from utilizing any sort of derogatory or ugly language. If you find that there is something distasteful within my story, please articulate your opinion without resorting to discriminatory language or any language used with the intent to belittle, hurt, dehumanize, or objectify anyone of any gender, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, or any other classification used in order to further the segregation of Homo sapiens into various classifications. I appreciate your continued support and adherence to this request!)