Disclaimer: Naruto and all Naruto related stuff is (c) Masashi Kishimoto. All OCs and original storyline/plot/imagination (c) of ME!!!!!
A/N: Sorry for the delay… school and all…
WARNING: Flashback chapter
THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!!!
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IN FLUX
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"Tell me."
"As I have previously informed you," The blue-haired Raiden apologetically smiled at her team leader. "It is not something I can do."
"But isn't that the whole point" Oushi tried to reason with the girl, as he watched her carefully string her pear-shaped lute. (1) "I mean, your jutsu; isn't it supposed to be used to divine futures?"
"Precisely." Tereya nodded. "Futures. Plural." She paused to readjust herself on the large boulder she was sitting on. "The future is always in flux. Nothing is guaranteed."
The boy watched as the lightning-eyed girl tightened the first silver cord on her stringed instrument; all the while trying to maintain her balance on the large rock. At any moment, she could easily slip straight into the water, if she wasn't careful.
"If that's true, then what's the point in being able to see anything?" The sixteen year old boy returned to the topic at hand. "If there are an infinite number of possible futures, how can you know if what you see is even going to happen?"
"I do not." Tereya confessed; shrugging her shoulder slightly, before returning her attention back to the instrument in her hands.
"Is that…" Oushi hesitated. His playful tone no longer cheerfully coloring his voice.
The kunoichi knew what he wanted to ask. It was a question most people wanted to ask her, but did not dare to approach; either out of a sense of respect for the dead, or in fear of how it would affect her and her brother.
"Yes." She replied to his unasked question. "And no."
"Huh?" Oushi looked back at the younger girl questioningly. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It is complicated." Tereya hesitantly replied; momentarily taking her attention off of her lute.
"How?" Oushi curiously questioned; feeling a bit more liberated to ask then he had been when they first began the topic.
"Do you know what happens to a clan with a powerful Kekkei Genkai, when their village begins to fear their power? Or when their village no longer sees any use for them?" The kunoichi looked straight into the older teen's eyes; waiting for him to understand her meaning.
"I've heard." Oushi solemnly replied. "But…" He paused to think of a way to phrase his next words.
"Hn." Tereya meekly smiled; realizing that consciously, or subconsciously, the shinobi was close to putting the pieces together.
"Wait." Oushi furrowed his sharp brow as everything slowly began falling in place. "Are you saying…"
"Hai." Tereya nodded in response to his query.
"Why?" Oushi questioned. "Even if the Yochigan were not completely accurate, I don't see a reason for the village to ever have turned against the Raiden clan." (2)
"It is true." Tereya acknowledged. "The Yochigan eye is not without limits. But Contrary to what you may believe, my clan's Kekkei Genkai is not limited to our ability to see an infinite number of possibilities."
"It isn't?"
"No." The girl slowly shook her head; returning her attention back to the stringed instrument she held. "It is also in understanding which, more then mere possibilities, are in fact, destined paths of existence."
"Huh?" Oushi looked at the girl in confusion. "I don't get it."
"…" Tereya chewed her lower lip thoughtfully; wondering how best she could explain what she was attempting to convey to the older boy. "Consider this instrument." The kunoichi lifted the stringed lute.
"Is that the Biwa your mother left you?" Oushi eyed the stringed instrument.
Normally, Biwa lutes only consisted of four strings; this one, however, had the usual four silver strings, but in addition to those, a rare fifth, golden string; making this particular piece rather unique. Oushi had previously questioned the girl on the instrument's origins, only to discover that it had once belonged to her mother.
"Hai." The blue-haired girl nodded, before bringing the instrument back down to her lap. "Notice the fifth string on this instrument?"
"Hn." Oushi nodded.
"Think of each silver string as one of the many distinct possibilities of that which may come to be." Running her finger one by one, the kunoichi plucked each silver string; checking the tune and pitch. "The gold one, however, is unique and special." As she plucked the fifth string, Oushi noticed the sound on that cord was much sweeter and higher pitched than the previous ones; though its thickness would have implied otherwise. "The golden one is more solid; secure." The girl explained.
"And what does that mean?' The boy asked, as he watched the fifth string slowly come to a stop.
"These strings are like the strings of fate." Tereya continued explaining. "There are some that are special." Again, she plucked the sweetly somber golden cord. "The golden string is guiding. It is decisive. Its singular sound uniquely creates the melody that the rest of the strings follow."
"So, what you're trying to say…" Oushi attempted to put his thoughts into words. "Some futures are guaranteed?"
"That is correct." Tereya nodded.
"But then…" The boy looked over at the girl with the same confusion he had started with.
"My clan has previously seen unpleasant and unalterable destinies that are disturbing to imagine, but necessary." The kunoichi cryptically explained.
"Are you saying," Oushi curiously paused; unsure of what to think of the kunoichi's enigmatic foreshadowing. "That your clan saw some inevitable disaster befalling Konoha, which would earn the scorn and distrust of the village?"
"Is that what you believe?" Tereya carefully eyed the older ANBU; not answering his question, but wanting to know if he really did understand.
Yes. Her clan had left the village because they knew of a great calamity that would arrive upon the village in ten years time. (3) Their disappearance had been deliberate. Despite what all those of the village believed, even what her own brother believed, Tereya knew the truth. Her clan was not dead.
Their disappearance was a strategy they had used many times in the past, in order to escape the inevitable persecution that would befall a foresight-empowered clan that failed to prevent a devastating natural disaster. It was what they had done on many occasions, in many different villages, before Konoha's founding. It was natural for them. Tereya understood this. But what she failed to comprehend was why they had left her and her Yochigan-less brother behind. Why?
"Hey." The sixteen-year old boy stood from his spot on the grassy floor near the riverbed where the two teens were enjoying a peaceful spring day. "So tell me," He slowly approached the younger girl. "What's our golden cord look like?"
"Oushi-kun." The raven-haired teen painfully blushed.
"Come on," He leaned over the girl; playfully nuzzling his nose into her neck as the girl ticklishly giggled, barely managing to keep her balance on the river-side boulder. "Tell me."
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TBC
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FOOTNOTES:
(1) A lute is a stringed instrument… in this instant, it's BIWA I'm talking about… which is a Japanese short-necked lute.
(2) Yochigan … just reminding you all that that is the foresight eyes… the Kekkei Genkai of the Raiden clan.
(3) Check my profile… and you'll see that she's talking about the 9-tails attack…
A/N: I realize not everyone likes OCs, which is probably why these flashback chapters usually get the least amount of reviews... but i pleaseask that at least those of you who have this story on alert or fravorite (and i happen to know there's A LOT of you out there)... could you be so kind as to at least review with a kind word or two?... i worked really hard on this chapter (took me forever to come up with how to explain exactly what i wanted...)
ALSO... if it's not already obvious, this is BEFORE Tereya and Ryoku's mission, where Tereya ended up dieing...
one other thing... of course Tenten is going to be fine... next chapter will get us back to that...