LIES, LOVE AND BETRAYAL
Greetings from the void!
Okay again I am sorry for the wait. Two things have happened since last I posted, first off; a fellow weaver of Lore who has taken a particular interest in this fic(along with a few others) and has recently been giving me suggestions for characters, summons, ect. Allot of which I will probably be using. So I had to stop, and think how these would effect my story and plan accordingly. None of those story devises will be introduced for a number of chapters though.
Secondly, a good friend of mine, a being of infinite chaos who also happens to be a skilled writer-a Chaosmaster to my Loremaster, if you will-has lectured me on "info dumps" which I will be putting more effort into the correcting in my future works.
Well that's it for the technical update, now on to the theatrical update! Enjoy...
Chapter 8: A Night in Baishu
"Wow..." Naruko awed as she experienced the rejuvenating effects of Satori's healing chakra, "Is there anything you can't do?" she asked, turning her gaze of amazement towards the incorporeal being.
"Unfortunately, yes, I am very limited. Though my thoughts and my words may travel to the farthest of the vines, they can not supersede them. And the farther they go the more of a strain on myself it creates. And I may only manifest a semi-physical form here in this chamber." Satori responded rather painfully.
"Oh... I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean it like that" Naruko said, looking away.
"It's alright, young one." Satori giggled through her sorrow, however slightly. "None of that is even the worst part." she trailed off.
"You can't experience the facets of a corporeal body anymore, can you?" Han asked.
Satori nodded, "Kokuo has told you well. I can no longer feel the cool wind on my skin, the wet rain on my head or... the warmth of another persons touch."
"I can see how it would eventually grow unbearable." Fū commented, before turning her voice inward, "Emotion without sensation... I can't even imagine that." she pondered, as she gazed at her hand.
"Well, I try to look on the bright side, but it helps having a friend or two around though." Satori's expression softened.
"You got four now, though!" Naruko said as she beamed a grin.
Satori smiled back, "That would be wonderful! But I discovered something that may be of interest to you, Naruko."
Naruko's head tilted to the side, "Like what?"
Satori gazed upward and with her translucent hand guided a vine, that slowly pulled itself from inside the dirt wall. The vines tip was wrapped around a certain large scroll.
"Hey, that's the scroll those jerks used on Doku." Fū stated.
"Duh." Han said blankly, receiving him a glare from the girl.
"It is in fact that scroll. However I happened to notice, this..." Satori said as she directed the vine to move closer to Naruko, twisting the scroll just enough to reveal a symbol. A certain orange swirl.
Naruko's eyes widened, she had already seen this symbol. It was a symbol that she grew up being told by the Sandaime Hokage, was very important to her parents.
Then, in her sudden shock she yanked the scroll out of the vines grip, and wandered back away from the group to study it.
"Okay, that was a little weird." Han said before turning his gaze back to Satori, "I guess I'll ask since no one else did. Can you help us locate a man named Takata Yoshimaru? Rumor said he wandered into the Dreadlands here."
"Ahh yes I remember picking up his Thought Echos. He came here, moved about the expanse for a few days with a group of others but then they headed north out of the reach of my vines."
"Well that helps." Han shrugs.
"I have something else that might help. Though with my lack of interest, during his time here, I did notice that he kept thinking 'The Forgekeeper better be right.' "
"The Forgekeeper?" Fū asked.
"Yes, I believe there is a man of that title and distinction in the city of Baishu. I avoid sending my thoughts to the cities though, too much noise and other subconscious clutter. So I don't know much about him. But he seems to have a certain level of fame there."
"Great, so now we have to walk our happy butts back to the city!" Fū face-palmed.
"And then pay them again to get inside" Han retorted with a chuckle.
"Ahh crap! I forgot about that!" The mint haired girl sneered.
"I don't understand any of this!" Naruko suddenly burst out, bringing the rooms attention to her.
"Something wrong?" Han asked rhetorically.
"This entire scroll is written in some advanced sealing script and I can't read any of it!" Naruko said as she rose to her feet and rolled the scroll up, "I'll have to ask the toads about it later. For now, lets go!"
"Did you even catch any of that?" Han asked the blonde as he directed his hand towards Satori.
"yeah-yeah, Yoshimaru, Forgemaster, city, gotcha!"
"Forgekeeper." Han corrected the girl.
"Whatever, we got lots of walking to do so we might as well go now." Naruko said as she sealed the scroll in the mark on her belt.
"Not all of us are so damn eager to walk back." Fū retorted.
"Not to mention, paying an entrance fee again." Han chimed in, raising a finger in a matter-of-fact way.
"Exactly!" Fū responded.
"I think I can help with that as well." Satori.
Doku turned to her and spoke up finally, "Satori, please. Let them do it on their own." He pleaded.
"Doku you worry to much. I can transport you three, directly into the city."
"Seriously?" Naruko asked, getting slightly excited.
"Yes, any where within reach of the vines. Unfortunately, it strains me to send one, let alone three."
"You don't have to do that." Han replied.
"No please, I wish too. Consider it a sign of my good faith. I will be fine after some rest so you will have to either stay the night in the city or just head back yourselves." Satori instructed.
"Fair enough. So how is this done?" Naruko asked.
"Like so." Satori said as she held her hand out. The three nearby vines that healed the trio approached them once again except this time the flower pods grew massive in size, then opened up.
"Hey, whoa! This is getting a little creepy!" Fū snapped.
Doku smirked, "You might want to bend your knees."
"Wait wha-" Naruko asked just before each of them was enveloped by the petals of their respective flowers. Then an all to familiar popping noise was hear and white smoke leaked from the seems of the flowers.
The flowers opened and the smoke faded. The trio was gone.
Back in the city of Baishu...
Some vines growing in the yard of a house whose inhabitants were sound asleep, revealed flowers that grew in size and-with puffs of smoke-popped open, spitting the unprepared group of jinchuuriki on the grass.
Han managed to land and correct himself, the girls however, were not. With a thud, the two landed on the ground in a tangled mess.
"Ouch..." Fū grunted as she opened her eyes to a sight she wouldn't soon forget, up Naruko's skirt, to her tight lace panties that one could practically see through.
A slight blush crossed her face. She then promptly pushed the blonde off before standing up and brushing herself off.
Naruko however, was still rather dazed.
After Naruko composed herself, the team began searching the town for info. Which wouldn't be hard considering how busy the main street still was at 2 am.
They found their way to a tavern on then northern end of the main street.
They chose their seats at a table in a corner, no one seemed to pay them any mind. Save for the waitress that came and took their orders. Which was just tea, considering what they were there for.
"So who shall we ask first?" Han questioned.
"I don't know, maybe the bartender or a waitress?" Fū suggested.
"It's a start." said the blonde.
It was at this time that a new customer entered the tavern. The man was adorned with a dull sage green cloak, with brown trim. The cloak cut off just below his knees. The man pulled his hood down and looked around with his deep teal eyes, before moving towards the bar and found a seat.
The bartender approached the new customer, "Hey, what's your poison?"
"Just some water will be fine." The man responded.
The bartender raised an eye brow. This was a first for him, NO ONE in this city just orders water at a bar, "Waters not free here, just so you know."
The man dug in a pouch on is hip before silently dropping some ryo on the counter. The bar tender shrugged, "Suit yourself..." He shrugged before taking the money and going to retrieve the water.
This drew the attention of some rather large-bodied drunks seated next to the black spiky-haired man, "ooohhh big man, ordering a tall mug of water! Ahahaha." One of the drunks said before nudging the man on the arm just a little to hard.
"Yeah, hope its cold and frothy enough for you!" The drunks friend chimed in, this incited laughter from his drinking buddy.
The cloaked man simply turned to them and glared blankly for a few seconds before turning his attention forward again in an attempt to ignore their banter. Just in time for the bartender to place his glass of water on the counter.
The man reached for it, but the first of the two drunks knocked the glass over with his finger, spilling its contents over the edges of the counter. The man let out a slight sigh of irritation.
"Ooops, did I do that?" The drunk asked rhetorically, "How about this? Since you are saving SO much money by just ordering water, why don't you buy a round of sake for me and my friend here, it seems our bottle has grown a bit dry and out pockets a bit light."
The man closed his eyes and sighed once again, "If you drunken buffoons are too broke to afford your habit maybe you should quit." He said coldly.
"What the hell did you just say to me little man?" The first of the drunks barked as he shot to his feet.
At this point, the jinchuuriki turned their heads to the little dispute.
"Oh I do apologize, I'm sorry if you couldn't understand me, I believe its because I don't speak monkey." The man said sarcastically.
"You miserable little fucker, stand up, I'll crush your skull in!" The drunk said before pulling out his work hammer, so did his friend. The two positioned themselves behind the man. Meanwhile the bartender just stood by and wiped down his cups, clearly this was commonplace here.
Han returned his attention to the females, "This town is full of degenerates." He shook his head.
"Oh yeah" Fū concurred.
"What? Are you too stupid and incapable of hitting a person who isn't at eye level?" The man retorted to the drunks with a smirk, as he reached in his cloak and pulled out a beautifully engraved pocket watch.
"That's it!" The drunk yelled as he raised the hammer up and swung it down towards the mans head with all his strength.
A violent set of crashing noises echoed throughout the bar. Everyone's attention was now on the two drunks. Laughter echoed out. The first of the two drunks was smashed through the counter, unconscious, the head of his hammer shoved into his mouth like a gag. The second of the two was rolling on the ground, hands over his bloodied face and his pants at his ankles.
Their intended victim? Vanished, no where to be seen.
Naruko's eyes widened. She was the only of her group who was facing that direction from her seat.
Han and Fū whipped their attention over, "The hell just happened?" Han asked.
"Where's the guy those jerks were messing with?" Fū asked.
"Did I just see what I think I saw?." Naruko said with a new drive of interest as she stood up and ran out the entrance.
"What the hell are you doing?" Fū asked. She turned to Han, hoping he had an answer.
Han removed his kasa and ran his fingers through his hair, "I am so confused." He exasperated before placing the hat back atop his head, "Lets go find out what she thinks she is doing."
The two darted out to the main street, where Naruko had just spotted the green garbed man as he walked down the street. She promptly followed him.
Han and Fū exchanged looks of confusion.
The hooded man turned down an alley. Before he could make it half way down the alley, a nimble Naruko landed on the ground in front of him, "Hey hold on a second, I don't know what you just did but it wasn't just speed."
The man raised an eyebrow before pulling his hood off, "What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb, I saw you!" Naruko stated as she crossed her arms.
"And what is it exactly that you think you saw?" The man asked cautiously.
"I didn't just see it... I felt it." Naruko asked.
"Hey kid I don't know what kinda fantasies you're into but I don't want any part of them!" He said holding his hands up in a defensive posture, "So if you'll excuse me I'll be on my way." He said before turning around only to bump into a certain red-armored jinchuuriki.
He trailed his eyes up to meet the massive mans eyes, "Well hey there big guy, someone's been taking their vitamins." he chuckled fearfully.
"Naruko why did you chase this man?" Han asked
"You mean you guys didn't notice that?" Naruko asked.
"Notice what?" Fū replied as she approached.
"Yes... do tell... I'm most curious about this." The man said turning to the blonde girl.
"Back there at the bar..." Naruko started.
FLASHBACK...
"That's it!" The drunk yelled as he raised the hammer up. Naruko watched as he swung it down towards the mans head with all his strength.
Then Naruko noticed the man simply pressed the button on the top of his watch, causing it to pop open and its hands reveal the time to be 2:18 am.
At this time Naruko felt a churning in her stomach almost like someone grabbed her internal organs and twisted them ever so slightly. Her skin tingled and her hands and feet went numb. Everything around them came to a stop, frozen in time. So was Naruko. At least her body was. Her perception of the situation seemed to stay the same though.
The only thing that wasn't stopped, was the man with the watch at the bar, who reached over and picked up a cup of sake the drunk had at his seat. He drank the sake down then put the cup back where he grabbed it from before standing and turning to face the paused men. He very casually grabbed the hammer and slipped it out of the mans grip, then promptly swung the tool across the mans face, very hard.
He shoved the hammers head into the mans mouth to complete the insult. He then turned to the second drunkard, to pull his pants down and knee him in the crotch.
The man smirked and wiped his hands together, satisfied with his work before walking out the entrance to the tavern. As the door closed behind him everything and everyone returned to normal, the first drunk fell through counter with a furious thud and his friend tripped forward, smashing his nose on the edge of the counter before falling over.
...FLASHBACK
"Oh shit... you actually did see..." The man said as his shouldered slumped with fear. He grabbed the girl by her shoulders and shook her slightly, "How the hell did you see that?! What manner of sorcery be this?!"
Han put a hand on the mans shoulder to ease him, "Easy there friend, I don't want to have to break you." He said.
"You couldn't hurt me if I didn't want you to." The man said, with little interest in Hans words. He simply continued to shake the young girl, "Tell me! How could you see that?! What are you?!"
"What are you talking about?" Fū asked, "You're making it sound like this guy paused time."
"That's it! He DID freeze time! That's the only explanation!" Naruko stated, finally having a decent description.
The mans eyes twitched, and he slapped his hand over the girls mouth and shushed her. "You know too much... That means I'm supposed to kill you." he said fearfully.
"You're welcome to try" Han said, eagerly cracking his knuckles.
"Hey whoa, easy there, I said I'm supposed to kill you... doesn't mean I'm actually going to. No, what I want is to talk to you." he said pointing a finger at the young blonde.
"Yeah I got allot of questions for you, myself." Naruko asked.
"Just not here, keep your traps shut and follow me." The man said.
The man lead them to a small set of apartments near the western wall that surrounded the city. Once inside the sanctity of the home, the trio sat down in the living room.
"So who the hell are you and how did you do that?" Naruko asked before her butt even hit the seat.
"That's what I should be asking YOU." The man retorted as he too, took a seat.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruko, This is Fū and Han." She directed at her respective companions, "And you're the one that froze time, not me."
"I'm still not convinced that it was time travel." Han said crossing his arms.
"That was not time travel... just... time manipulation." The man said. "My name is Matsushida Kirito. I'm the most recent in a long line. We are called the Nendai-ki, or 'The Chroniclers.' if you will."
Han scowled, "And I guess this is the part where you tell us that you posses a god-like prowess just to play historian?"
Kirito scowled back, then turned to Naruko, "This guy is a real downer. Is there someway he could like, NOT be here for this conversation?"
"I'm not going anywhere til I figure out what the fuck is going on." Han replied.
Kirito sighed, "Fine. And to answer your snide question, yes, that's what I am. So were my predecessors. Glorified historians. There's only ever been one at a time, save for their apprentices."
"What is that you Nendai-ki do exactly?" Fū asked.
Kirito began, "Long ago, the first and original Nendai-ki, a man by the name of Hazama, was granted a vision from the gods. They showed him the final days of our world. They explained to him that time was not a perfect system, and as the time line continues on, it stretches and stretches until the point-like a taught rope-it would snap. All of time would recoil in on itself and all of it would be lost. This terrified Hazama and he begged the gods to help him prevent this from ever happening."
"And so they granted him the knowledge of time manipulation?" Han asked with much skepticism.
"In a sense, yes." Kirito said, "The gods developed a system that was built inside of the timeline. A scroll-a tool irrevocably linked to the Temporal Spiral. From this scroll Hazama learned how to manipulate the flow of time. The gods instructed him that the only way to prevent time from collapsing in on itself was to traverse the Temporal plain and chronicle all that he saw and heard in the scroll. The scroll serves to preserve time by alleviating the stress on it."
"I'm not following any of this" Naruko asked.
"Think of the scroll as a back-up storage. Should the timeline ever be in danger of collapsing, the history and knowledge in the scroll will be released into the Temporal Spiral and repair the damage. Why? You might ask. Time can't exist without all of the past, present and future in sync. If there is no past there can be no future and vice-versa."
"So how do the Nendai-ki come into play?" Fū asked.
"We have all lived out our lives, freezing and studying time as we went, then depositing everything we experience during the process, into the scroll. Don't get confused, traveling THROUGH time is impossible, but we have the capacity to pause time and study it as it unfolds."
"So you travel the world freezing time on a whim to chronicle what happens then store it in the scroll as a safety precaution?" Fū asked.
"Exactly. Like I said, past, present and future must all be in sync. If the past is lost in the collapse then so is the future. So preserving the history of the world will preserve its future... If any of that makes sense."
"It makes sense... I still think you're just blowing smoke out of your ass though." Han retorted.
"Good if you don't believe me that's better! Please, by all means think of me as a whack-job who lost his grip on reality." Kirito stated, "All I give two wailing shits about is that fact that she was somehow able to perceive my time manipulation." He pointed to Naruko.
"Is that weird?" Naruko asked.
"Weird? Oh heavens no, you can just peer through the Temporal Spiral's veil and see its inner workings whilst I'm manipulating it. It's not weird... its FUCKING ABSURD!" He shouted, slamming his fists down on his arm rests, "The only people who should be able to do that are me and the former Nendai-ki!"
"Well don't bite my head off." Naruko said as she crossed her arms, almost pouting, "It's not my fault. I don't understand any of this. Maybe its because I'm a Jinchuuriki?"
"Wouldn't that mean we would have seen it too?" Fū questioned.
"Well I'm gonna dash that little theory for you right now. It is most certainly not because of you being a jinchuuriki." Kirito explained, "The bijuu and their hosts are just as susceptible to time as we mere humans. My master encountered one when I was still young, froze him in time just like the rest."
"So even Kyuubi is vulnerable to time manipulation?" Han asked.
"Yes. Only the gods and Nendai-ki are capable of surpassing times effects. Though the stronger the will, lifeforce and chakra of the individual, greatly effects how long I'm capable of freezing them in time, should I choose to focus it on a single person rather than the entirety of time."
"Temporal mechanics..." Han sighed, "There's a school in Iwa dedicated to learning the stuff."
"Yeah I know, and between the four of us, those idiots got it all sorts of wrong." Kirito chuckled.
Han merely raised an eyebrow.
"So you honestly have no clue why this happened?" Kirito asked Naruko.
She simply shrugged, "Excellent..." Kirito sighed sarcastically, "Well, I'm going to have to look into this, I'll contact you when I figure something out." He asked as he stood up.
"How will you contact us? and how do we even know you're telling the truth?" Han asked.
Kirito walked over to Naruko and without warning, yanked a few strands of her blonde hair out, "With this. I'll worry about the details, you guys just go do your thing, whatever that is."
"Wait, since I am once again the only one thinking of the job at hand, we need info on the Forgekeeper." Han asked.
"Oh yeah, forgot about that heheheh" Fū chuckled, sticking her tongue out. A gesture Naruko found endlessly adorable.
Han directed his attention back to Kirito, "After meeting these two, would you still question why I'm a 'downer'?"
Kirito chuckled.
"Heyyyy!" The girls glared.
"You guys have absolutely no idea how ironic it is that you're looking for the Forgekeeper." Kirito pulled out and popped open his stop watch, revealing the time to be 3:14 am
"How so?" Naruko asked.
"Well, this is his house." Kirito said with a laugh. Just then they heard keys at the front door.
They whipped their attention to the door, "Who the hells in my house?! I know I didn't just leave the lights on!" They heard an angry voice from the other side.
The trio turned back to Kirito... who was no where to be found, "Oh that son of a-" Han was cut off when the door slammed open revealing a very angry middle-aged man.
The trio shot to their feet and before the man could even open his mouth to shout his profanity, arms of steam wrapped around him and yanked him inside before closing the door.
"Yes, yes, I'm the Forgekeeper, what do you want?" The man asked fearfully from his chair.
"We just want to know where we can find Takata Yoshimaru." Han asked.
"Why, you want to kill him or something?" The man asked.
"No, we are trying to deliver a message from his brother." Han said as he held up the said letter.
"So you break into peoples homes?"
"No. It's a long story. Trust us we didn't mean to meet you like this. Tell us where we can find him and we'll be on our way." Naruko said.
"He went into the Dreadlands."
"No where did he go after that, we know you told him something. We aren't sure what but he's looking for something because of you." Han said.
"He was trying to find a trustworthy merchant that sold the materials he needed. So I told him about one I knew. But the guy isn't easy to do business with, one wrong move and he'll kill. Your best bet is get lots of chakra vines to trade, so he went to the Dreadlands to collect them before going to meet the guy. That's all I know."
Han raised an eyebrow, "Fair enough, where can we find this merchant?"
"He has a cabin a few miles north of the Dreadlands in Iwa."
Elsewhere...
Inside of a vast cavern, that was lit only by torches, figures scurried about in the dim light. The sound of metal on metal, the clash and clank of tools echoed about. Sparks flew in the distance, as the welding of metal took place.
"Hurry, we finally got things moving, if this things frame is not done in two days the boss is going to crush us!" the apparent foreman shouted.
"We don't need you to keep telling us that, when he's standing right behind you!"
Two large red eyes, at least fifteen feet in the air, lit up. They were followed by a deep, hollow almost raspy voice, "Yes, be silent, Huguru, you're growing irksome again, you imbecile." It growled. It's massive shadowed figure struck fear into the workers.
"Y-Yes sir, right away sir." Huguru replied.
"There will be no more incessant chatter. Work, you drones! We are nearing completion. Once we are done and announce it to the black market, even the Akatsuki will bend over backwards to obtain it..." It chuckled menacingly.
NEXT CHAPTER:
Having obtained some useful information can the Jinchuuriki find Yoshimaru?
Is Yoshimaru even still alive?
Finally, chapter 8! Hope you all enjoyed. Drop some reviews?
'Til next time, this is Damiad signing off from the Void!