Chapter 2: Memories Burst Like Bubbles
Torture & Interrogation Headquarters, Konohagakure no Sato (2121 hours, August 24, 7 AK)
To say that Inoichi was pissed was an understatement.
He was enjoying a lovely dinner with his wife and daughter, laughing and bonding in a familial manner. It was rare that he had such an opportunity, seeing as his job usually required him to work overtime most days of the week. Ino was talking about this pink-haired girl with a large forehead that she met in the park earlier in the day. She was shy and unconfident, but Ino somehow found something more profound in the girl's personality and decided to befriend her.
Inoichi was proud that Ino found her own friend outside of the famous Ino-Shika-Chou group. Ino had grown to be a rather assertive young girl, bossy and somewhat self-centered. She often put her own interests over the interests of others, and while she was talented and attractive (as far as young 6 year old girls are concerned), those qualities were not enough for a person seeking lifelong friendships. It was a possibility, but this young girl may have attached herself to Ino because she herself did not have any meaningful friendships.
Regardless, Ino was enjoying the presence of one Haruno Sakura. Despite being the daughter of two genin-ranked shinobi of the little known Haruno family, Sakura and Ino seemed to have hit it off well in their budding relationship. All he needed to do was include Suzu into the mix, and Ino would have a circle of friends she could truly rely on. One that could potentially transcend even the Ino-Shika-Chou.
As the evening merriment continued, someone began to knock on the door. It was a unique knock, 1 knock, wait 3 seconds and then 5 knocks. It was a summoning knock, which meant that Inoichi was to get busy this evening. He scowled vocally at his own misfortune, but heeded the calling anyways. He left his home through a secret entrance just behind the bathroom cabinet and met with the dog-masked ANBU.
"What does Hokage-sama want…" Inoichi grumbled. It was times like these that he really hated his job.
"There's been a murder." Dog simply stated.
"Well, that's not under my jurisdiction." Inoichi replied. "If there was a murder, then Hokage-sama can handle it just fine on his own. Why doesn't he just send the perp to Konoha Maximum Security Prison?"
"Because the perpetrator is not an adult." Dog replied.
That rose Inoichi's eyebrow. A child committed a murder? That was completely unheard of!
"Must be a civilian child." Inoichi shrugged. "There's no way in hell a child could kill a shinobi."
"The victims were Fujibayashi Shiina and Fujibayashi Mumei."
"What?!" Inoichi asked baffled. "How? Who killed them?"
"Fujibayashi Suzu." Dog answered.
Inoichi's eye began to twitch. 'This must be some kind of sick joke.' He first thought, but that thought was quickly overridden. Hiruzen would not joke around if he were sending Dog, his most skilled ANBU captain. But why would Suzu do such a thing?
Shiina had always loved Suzu more than anything else. He remembered the time when she came to Inoichi, bragging about Suzu's apparent expertise in kenjutsu. She was going on and on about Suzu's relentless training with her bokken, annoying Inoichi to no end. But she was genuinely proud of her daughter's progress and achievement. Besides, from what he heard of Suzu, she didn't seem like the type of person that wished to commit such a malicious act.
"Hokage-sama is having difficulty deciding the fate of the girl." Dog continued. "He asked me to retrieve you specifically."
"For what exactly?" Inoichi asked.
"I do not know the purpose of your summons." Dog said. "I am merely the messenger. You'll learn of his reasons when we arrive at the TI Headquarters."
"TI Headquarters?" Inoichi asked. "What was he thinking bringing a little girl to the vilest place in all of Konoha?"
"This crime is unprecedented, Yamanaka-san." Dog answered. "There are no procedures to follow for the trying of non-Academy children of shinobi that committed felonies. If she was a genin, then the process would have been much easier. Children aren't expected to kill Upper Jounin strength shinobi, after all."
"…alright then." Inoichi said, after some contemplation. "Thank you for the briefing. We should get a move on."
Inoichi and Dog travelled all the way to the basement of Hokage Tower, where the headquarters of the Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force was located. The location was fitting for such an organization: civilians that travelled to Hokage Tower under business premises have no idea of the dark and cruel machinations of information extraction occurring under their noses. The Headquarters is also devoid of sunlight. Criminals, prisoners-of-war, and traitors are not permitted the luxury of seeing the light of day, furthering depraving them of potential hope that could strengthen their resolve.
Inoichi and Dog met with Hiruzen and Danzō, who were still overseeing the interrogation of Fujibayashi Suzu. Ibiki could no longer extract useful information from the troubled girl, who continued her ramblings on mind-control and "Dhaos."
Hiruzen had ANBU scour the libraries and information reserves for any potential mention of the entity known as "Dhaos." Suzu had been very adamant about her theory that Dhaos brainwashed her parents in an attempt to compromise Konoha to the enemy. Yet, no such records of Dhaos existed. No birth records, medical records, combat records, foreign reports, police reports, financial transactions, no proprietary records, nothing. Dhaos did not exist in Konoha.
There was the possibility that he could have been a foreign shinobi, but Konoha is surrounded by a protective barrier at all times. The only way for the shinobi to get in was there one of the major compass gates, or if they knew the passcode that permitted entry and exit via the barrier. He could not sneak pass the security of the gate due to its compactness. And there was no documentation of Dhaos ever entering the village in the last 20 years. The probable conclusion was that Dhaos was a figment of Suzu's imagination.
Suzu did not have an apparent motive for her actions, which was delaying her punishment. If Suzu did committed pre-meditated murder, then Hiruzen would have Inoichi reconfigure her mind so that she remained docile and nonviolent for the rest of her life. He did not want to go through with that punishment, in respects to the wishes of Shiina and Mumei. This whole dilemma was giving Hiruzen an irritating migraine.
Inoichi could see the frustration on Hiruzen's face. Shiina offered to take the mantle of leadership from Hiruzen once Suzu had become a genin. She was perfectly capable of such a position, with her reputation from the Third Shinobi World War, as well as her political expertise during her bid for clanship. The Fujibayashi family had not become a clan yet, and as such held a position of impartiality in all aspects of government. She was the perfect candidate, other than Minato or Orochimaru, for the position.
She was friendly and sociable, mingling with heads from other (open-minded) clans often to discuss the growth of their children. Nobody had a problem with her and her husband, and everyone sincerely enjoyed her presence.
Now she was gone. Taking from this world by the person she loved as her daughter.
"Ahh, Inoichi-kun." Hiruzen said, noticing Inoichi's presence. "Welcome. Please, have a seat."
"Is it true, Hokage-sama? Did Suzu-chan really kill her parents?" Inoichi asked, getting straight to the point.
"It is as you hear, Inoichi-kun." Hiruzen said in a gloom voice. "Suzu-chan did kill Shiina-chan and Mumei-kun."
Inoichi stared at the floor speechless. It really did happen. He was mourning the loss of the shinobi under his breath. They did not deserve to die like that, by their own daughter, no less.
"So…what am I here for? If you got Ibiki handling the job, then there's no need for me to be here." Inoichi asked.
"Suzu has been very cooperative in providing Ibiki with information pertaining to the murder. However, she insists that her reason for killing her parents was to save them for the brainwashing of an enigma named 'Dhaos.' We have attempted to locate data of such a being from all information reserves, but nothing pertaining to 'Dhaos' comes up. We have concluded that Dhaos does not exist and is merely a ploy to hide her true intentions." Hiruzen briefed.
"So we need you to sift through Fujibayashi's mind in order to find her real motive." Danzō said.
"I mean no offense but," Inoichi began. "What are you doing here, Danzō-sama?" Inoichi has never liked the dubious air of the bandaged old man. Danzō seemed too shifty to be trustworthy or reliable. Yet, here he was, with Hiruzen, overseeing the interrogation of Suzu. Did she have anything to do with Danzō's personal ambitions?
"What it looks like I'm doing here." Danzō said, not making eye contact with Inoichi. "There is no reason for me to state my business to a shinobi with a lower rank than me."
Inoichi was angered by Danzō's rude statement, but he could do nothing about it. While Danzō appeared old and decrepit, he was the head councilmember of Konoha's General Council, a council of three elders that oversaw the Civilian, Shinobi, and Clan Councils. Their power was only dwarfed by the Hokage, but their influence and prestige had a huge impact on Konoha legislation. While Inoichi himself was Captain of the Konoha Intelligence Division, his rank paled in comparison to Danzō's political power.
"Enough." Hiruzen said, and Inoichi's line of questioning came to an end. "Inoichi-kun, will you go through Suzu's subconscious and find any information worth consideration?"
"I will, Hokage-sama." Inoichi said as he opened the door to the Ibiki's interrogation room.
Ibiki's interrogation room was not unlike the interrogation rooms of the Konoha Military Police. It was a small room, walls painted in grey with a single table at the center. A lamp dangled on the ceiling of the room and was deliberately flickering on and off, as to build fear and tension in the criminal. However, unlike the rooms of the Military Police, there was no high window filtering sunlight into the room. Ibiki sat with his chair facing the wrong position. Suzu was sitting with her hands politely folded on top of the table. When she saw Inoichi enter the room, her eyes widened and she start to fidget uncontrollably. Ibiki stood confused at this new development. All his subtle efforts to instill fear on the little girl failed (due to, in part, by the fact that he did not know how to work with children), and suddenly Inoichi walks in and she is scared out of her wits.
"Relax, Suzu-chan. I'm not here to hurt you." Inoichi said in a calm voice, trying to soothe the child's fear.
"LIES!" Suzu squealed in a high-pitched tone. Hiruzen and Danzō rushed into the room after learning of the abrupt change in Suzu's character. She was trembling in the corner of the room holding her hands to her head. She shook back and forth, repeating the phrase "Mommy, Daddy" with a blank stare.
All four of the shinobi exchange a quick glance at each other, wondering what exactly was going on. Inoichi shrugged his shoulders before turning back to frightened young girl.
"Suzu-chan, I'm a friend of your mother." He said in a soft voice. Inoichi had a ton of experience talking to his daughter, so he was the best fit to comfort the uneasy child. "My name is Yamanaka Inoichi. I promise that I won't hurt you. Now, I'm coming over there slowly, so please don't do anything harmful, okay?"
"Lies…" Suzu said again, her voice muffled by the tears she was choking on. "No, you're out here to get me, just like you did mommy and daddy!"
That earned Inoichi a pause in his advance. He was out to get Shiina and Mumei? No, no that was impossible. They were both fine people. He could never try to hurt his fellow Konoha shinobi.
"I don't know what you are talking about, Suzu-chan." Inoichi said honestly. "Your mom was very excited about you meeting my daughter. I am too. Just, let me come over there to you and help you out, okay?"
Suzu stopped crying and looked at Inoichi with such cold disdain. Danzō took note of how much hatred Suzu had in her eyes.
"No." She said with spite and malice. "No, you took my mommy and daddy away from me! Now I'm going to kill you!" She unsheathed a kunai she was hiding under her sleeves and began to charge at Inoichi. "DIE DHAOS!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.
Unfortunately, the killing stab was not meant to be. Danzō immediately appeared behind her and chopped her at her pressure point on her neck. Her eyes widened for a moment as the realization dawned on her. She dropped her kunai and her body slumped into unconsciousness.
"Danzō," Hiruzen called out. "There was no need for such roughness!"
"I did what I thought was necessary to subdue the girl without killing her." Danzō defended. "She is obviously delusional and deranged. She needs to be killed, Hiruzen."
"NO!" Both Inoichi and Hiruzen said simultaneously. Ibiki held his tongue. Though he agreed with Danzō that the girl was indeed a threat, he did not wish to involve himself with something he thought was trivial. The girl was 6 years old, after all. She was not an imminent or dire threat to anyone. She killed her parents due to preemptive strike, not overwhelming skill, though the way she hid her kunai from even the Uchiha policemen was rather impressive for one with no practical training. Even the Hokage was impressed that she hid a weapon from his presence.
"Inoichi, you know what to do." Hiruzen said. Inoichi nodded. He placed both of his palms over Suzu's head. Although Suzu was unconscious, Inoichi could still dive into her subconscious mind. He closed his eyes and focused intensely on the child before him. Then everything went black.
Suzu's Subconscious (2245 hours August 24, 7 AK)
Inoichi regained consciousness after slipping into Suzu's mind. What he found shocked him to his core.
Suzu's subconscious mind was fragmented. It was a cluster of shattered remains of earth littered all over the place.
The odd thing about Suzu's subconscious mind was that no definitive laws of physics applied to the garbled mess of her mind.
Massive asteroids were suspended in midair (or what could be air). There was no gravity, but at the same time Inoichi did not feel himself being lifted from the ground and wandering forever. He could walk just fine, except he could also walk upside down, right-side left, left-side right and downside up. Suzu's mind appeared as though it could be a world of antimatter. A distortion world would better describe the peculiarity of Suzu's mind.
After wandering about for some time, Inoichi found that the area was quite desolate. The desolation was a mirror of Suzu's own loneliness. It was odd, considering how attached she was to her parents. But maybe her subconscious realized that she was the one who killed her parents, and thus altered itself to satisfy that premise. But Suzu, according to Shiina, was asocial to begin with, preferring to spend her time by herself then with other children. The more Inoichi wandered inside the child's mind, the more depressed he got. This was not the type of subconscious a child should have. A child's subconscious should be more lively and positive, not passive and negative. It made no sense why she actually has it, if her parents were as kind and considerate as he remembered them to be.
"Inoichi, can you hear me?" A booming ethereal voice called out to him.
"Yes, Hokage-sama." Inoichi said. Inoichi can communicate with the outside world and vice versa. His mental avatar speaks to people from the outside using the normal vocal process (larynx, tongue, teeth, lips, etc.). Likewise, he could hear what others have to say to him via massive disembodied voices in the horizon.
"Have you found anything that could be linked to Suzu's motive?" Hiruzen asked.
"No Hokage-sama." Inoichi replied. "The girl's mind is a cluttered mess. It is void of any life; plant, animal, or human. Her mind disregards the natural laws of physics that govern our own world. All and all, it's a pretty damn depressing place to live in, excuse my language."
"Don't worry about it." Hiruzen said, disregarding the minor swear. "Keep searching. Let us know if you see anything, understood?"
"Yes Hokage-sama." Inoichi responded. He continued searching around Suzu's subconscious for anything that related to the murder.
As he was searching, some of Suzu's most fond memories began flashing in the background.
Suzu receiving her first bokken. She loved it so much that she began swinging it wildly everywhere she went. She accidently smashed into one of Shiina's pots and broke it. Shiina scolded Suzu, but she forgave her and gave her a warm embrace.
Suzu going with her father to the park. Suzu was nervous at leaving her home for the first time to go to the park. But she immediately set aside those fears when she saw the swing. She happily hopped on the swing, and her father gleefully pushed her up and down.
Suzu falling on her knee. Suzu was busy playing with her bokken while Shiina was cleaning the floor. She tripped and fell directly on her knee, breaking it. It was very painful, but Shiina and Mumei never left her side. Suzu found their closeness reassuring, and she managed to sleep away the pain.
Suzu watching her mother practice. She was so amazed at the techniques her mom used. She loved how her mom can enflame shuriken without using hand signs, or how she charged her Wakizashi with negative Raiton chakra in order to violently attracted positive Raiton chakra from the air above. It filled Suzu with such pride at her mother's abilities, and it made her want to be like her when she grew older.
Inoichi did not know why Suzu's subconscious was being flooded by all these pleasant memories of Suzu's past. The disorganized array that was Suzu's mind should not have the capacity to recall all these memories. The most curious part about it was that all the memories lined up to form a pathway. Inoichi decided to follow the pathway and see where it leads. It felt odd, following this pathway lead to somewhere. It was as if Suzu was trying to guide him to his destination. But that shouldn't be the case either. Suzu was unconscious, so she would not be able to consciously guide Inoichi.
The pathway of memories (which played more fond and sorrowful memories of Suzu's short 6 years) led up to a strangely well decorated palace of earth. Pillars were well designed and symmetrical, the floor was smooth (compared to the rest of Suzu's mind), and the laws of physics seemed to flow at this area. Inoichi could only presume that this was where Suzu retreated when the stress of life was too unbearable for the little girl.
Inside the palace was an extensive, spacious throne room. The throne itself was intricately designed with spires protruding out from the top of the throne. It was vibrantly golden, much like the person sitting on top of the throne.
The man was stunningly handsome, Inoichi hated to admit. His long golden blonde hair raced down his body wildly, yet at the same time gave him an air of grace and refinery. His royal blue eyes shined like the light reflecting of the surface of the ocean. He wore a red headband that was covered by his golden locks. His clothing exemplified the grace he was exuding with his mere presence. A black body suit, laced with golden ornaments, was covered by a regal orange cloak that made him appear like he was a king among kings.
The man was an utter enigma, but it felt like he was overflowing with power. It did not help the fact that he had red and blue orbs orbiting his body at all times, bound by the man's will. His smile made Inoichi want to crawl and beg for mercy, and his gaze penetrated whatever flimsy defenses Inoichi readied himself with.
"W-who are you?" Inoichi finally asked, after regaining his previous resolve. "What are you doing here?"
The enigmatic man laughed. "Isn't it rude to ask for someone else's name before introducing yourself?" He said calmly, as if this was some sort of game. "Besides, I would like to ask you what you are doing here, in my domain."
The man was clearly an intelligent sentient being, according to first impressions. Inoichi decided to indulge the man's questions. "My name is Yamanaka Inoichi. I am the captain of the Konoha Intelligence Division and clan head of the Yamanaka. My purpose for being in this place was to gather information as to the motives of a Fujibayashi Suzu in her recent crime."
The man laughed again. "Suzu…she is such a fool." He said, confusing Inoichi. "She created me, and now she fears me. She would go through any lengths to rid me of my existence. Hahaha, how absolutely pathetic."
"Who are you?" Inoichi said, getting serious.
"I am Suzu." "Suzu" answered. "I am Suzu's subconscious mind." He lifted his right hand. The entire world began to tremor and crack before his might. Inoichi had trouble trying to stand upright as the tremulous quake shook his very foundation. "I am everything Suzu admires." He closed his fist. Massive stalagmites began to erupt from the ground near Inoichi, surrounding him in a perimeter of limestone. "And I am everything she fears." Dhaos slackened his right hand. The tremors halted and the stalagmites receded to the ground.
"Do not speak cryptically with me." Inoichi said. "You are not Suzu. Suzu is a wonderful girl with sepia hair and eyes matching the colors of autumn. Who are you really?"
"You take me for a fool?" The regal man asked. "I am Suzu, and Suzu is me. Her power is my power, and her will is my own. Her thoughts come from mine, and my thoughts stem from her. We are inseparable; kill her and I die, kill me and she dies."
"You're lying." Inoichi accused. "Why would you exist inside of Suzu? You are so different from her, in every way possible!"
"You entertain me, human." The man told Inoichi. "Suzu created me 3 years ago as a means for her to grow stronger. You can say that I am her id. You can likewise suggest that I am her superego. Suzu's true thoughts gave form to me, and Suzu has been providing me with the sustenance I need in order to survive."
"If you are her id, then that must make you…" Inoichi said, piecing together the cryptic messages of the man.
"You are right in your assumption, Yamanaka head." The man said, smiling at Inoichi. "'Dhaos' is the name that Suzu has given me."
"So you are the person that Suzu said brainwashed her parents!" Inoichi said. He now knew why Suzu went ballistic and tried to kill Inoichi. Most likely, Suzu equated Inoichi's long blonde hair as Dhaos' long blonde hair. But how would Suzu know that Dhaos have blonde hair if he resides in her subconscious?
"Suzu often have dreams of me." Dhaos answered, shocking Inoichi. "I can read your facial expressions. I know exactly what you are thinking of from the way you twitch your eye, to the odd manner in which your nose widens in disbelief."
"That's impossible!" Inoichi said. "She can't have dreams of people she's never met before!"
"You forget what I told you, Yamanaka head." Dhaos said, chuckling slightly. "Suzu created me. She knows exactly what I look like. That is all I need to occupy her dreams."
Inoichi could not believe Dhaos' words. Yet everything he said made sense, and was within the confines of current conventional human knowledge. There was only one question left. A question that needed an answer. A question that was the reason why he came here.
"Why?"
"Suzu craves power." Dhaos answered. "She knew that the love she was receiving from her parents was hindering her, so she desired to kill them. I merely provided her the means for her motive."
"No. Suzu never wanted to kill her parents. You were the one who forced this on her! You were the one who played Suzu's hands!" Inoichi accused.
Dhaos began to chuckle. It transformed into an all-out maniacal laugh. As he was laughing, rain clouds began to gather around Suzu's world. A deluge of rain crashed on Inoichi's head. Lightning blitz through the clouds, and thunder claps shattered the air around them.
"I forced this? I AM Suzu. My wish is her desire. Her objectives are my goals. She wanted this just as much as I did. She needed this. She could not become a "true shinobi" without understanding what it is like to kill. Now, nothing will get in our way. We will become stronger, and no one will stand before us. Leave me, Yamanaka head. We have nothing further to discuss."
"Hokage-sama, did you get all that?" Inoichi asked. Although everyone in the conscious world could hear everything Inoichi was saying, no one could hear the rants Dhaos gave. Only Hiruzen, who held his hand on Inoichi's shoulder, could hear Dhaos' speech. All of Inoichi's senses inside of Suzu's subconscious mind transferred over to Hiruzen's mind through that contact.
"Yes Inoichi-kun, I heard every single word." Hiruzen replied.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage." Dhaos said in a matter-of-fact tone. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"I wish I can say likewise," Hiruzen said. "But your presence in Suzu's mind is a liability to her growth as a person. You must be eliminated."
Dhaos became livid at Hiruzen's judgment. The downpour of rain became even heavier, the lightning began to crash all over the palace, and the earth shook uncontrollably.
"You think you can waltz into MY domain and tell me that I'M not welcome here?" Dhaos said, with his cloak beginning to char into flames. The orbs orbiting Dhaos' body began to revolve more rapidly as Dhaos' face turned form the epitome of beauty into a twisted form of anger. "You have the audacity to tell ME whether I can exist or not?"
"And you believe you have the right to decide the fate of someone else's life?" Hiruzen countered.
Dhaos merely laughed at Hiruzen's words. "You are a fool, Sandaime. We are shinobi. We are the instruments of death, designed to kill at the whim of a 'higher' power. We have the privilege!" Dhaos brought both of his hands in front of him. The intensity of all the elemental activities
spiked exponentially. "We ARE the right! And no one will ever dare again attempt to rid me of my existence."
"Hokage-sama, we've reached a dilemma. Please, make a decision now!" Inoichi demanded worriedly. This was Suzu's subconscious mind, and as such Dhaos had as much power here as he deemed necessary. If Inoichi's mental avatar died here, He would die in real life. He couldn't afford that; he wanted to watch his daughter grow into a splendid kunoichi, not die in the mind of a troubled girl.
"Alright Inoichi. Seal off Dhaos from Suzu's mind and erase her memories." Hiruzen said after a rushed decision.
"Yes, Hokage-sama." Inoichi said, going through a series of hand signs.
"You're going to die, Yamanaka head." Dhaos said, breaking into a dash. Though his face displayed an inhuman amount of calm, considering his predicament, his eyes betrayed a sense of desperation; of a man striving to survive. If Dhaos was not a mental avatar created by Suzu, Inoichi could have easily mistaken him for an actual human.
"Dhaos Corridor!" He shouted, slamming his left fist into the ground a massive explosion of chakra erupted from the point of collision and threatened to engulf everything in its path. Just as the wave was nearing Inoichi, he completed his series of hand signs and ended with the unique Yamanaka hand seal. A large, invisible force field shielded Inoichi from the brunt force of the attack, but his hair and clothing was still blown back by the ethereal force that bypassed the shield.
"Hijutsu: Shinten Tōbatsu!" Inoichi said as he pointed the Yamanaka seal at Dhaos' direction. A single beam of chakra was released at a blinding speed towards Dhaos' direction. Upon impact, Dhaos immediately froze, unable to move from his own free will.
"W-what is this?" Dhaos asked frustrated. "What kind of technique is this?!" He still tried to move, but it was to no avail. He could only speak to Inoichi.
"We of the Yamanaka clan have a special Hijutsu that allows us free reign over the minds of our opponent." Inoichi explained. "We can extract information from our victim's mind, take control of their body, and alter their entire personality." He scratched his head. "Well, there are moral implications for our techniques, but we live in a harsh world of shinobi. Our techniques are a necessity in order to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our village. And you are a liability to that safety. Killing you would risk the life of little Suzu, but I can suppress your influence on her mind."
Dhaos began to laugh again, in the same maniacal manner that he displayed earlier. It was chilling, even more so than Orochimaru's chuckle when he was still a shinobi of Konoha.
"All you can do is suppress me?" Dhaos said in a scoff. "Ridiculous. Suzu and I are intertwined more so than you can possibly imagine. Everything Suzu does I know about. You cannot truly 'suppress' me. I will become free from whatever prison you set me in, and I will exact my just revenge against you, Yamanaka head."
"Say what you will." Inoichi said. "I will be sealing you and erasing Suzu's memories. She will never know of any 'Dhaos' that may have come into her life. You will never be free."
Dhaos chuckled again. "Erase Suzu's memories? That's impossible. Suzu's long term memory is stored tightly and cannot truly be erased in that sense of the word. All you will be doing is delaying the inevitable. I will be back, and you will pay for your insolence." He laughed maniacally as he was lifted into a makeshift tomb that Inoichi created. He still laughed as Inoichi securely sealed the tomb with intricate Yamanaka mental blocks.
Inoichi could have sworn he heard the deranged lunatic's laugh as he demolished Dhaos' palace on top of the tomb. 'I'm not gonna have a good night sleep tonight, am I?' Inoichi lamented as he proceeded to erase Suzu's memories of all significant events that occurred in the last 6 years. He did not want to do this, but Suzu was a criminal, and this was the only thing the Hokage thought was her appropriate punishment. She'll have to start life anew as a new person. Hopefully, with the suppression of Dhaos' influence, Suzu can live life as a normal girl. Hopefully.
Konoha General Hospital, Konohagakure no Sato (0903 hours, August 25, 7 AK)
Her eyes opened suddenly.
As she regained her bearings, she placed her hand over head, trying to fight off a killer headache that plagued her. She looked around, taking note of her environment.
She was surrounded by some weird mechanical devices. Tubes were connected to her body and the machines were making annoying bleep sounds.
It was a small white room with a curtain to cover her privacy. There was a window to her right, where the sun illuminated her room in a bright yellow light.
The girl decided to look out the window to try and see where exactly she was. There were people walking outside, some laughing, others holding on to their children or spouse. Many of these people seemed to enjoy their lives. Maybe the place that she was in was a place for happiness and comfort.
Yet it did not have that air to it. Somehow, the room felt…cold…dead even. She looked at her clothing. She was clothed in a white gown. Nothing else.
There was a mirror next to her bed. She picked it up and looked at it. She was staring at a reflection of a young girl, probably 6 years of age. The girl had long, beautiful sepia hair that complimented her brown irises. She felt like she knew exactly who was in the reflection, but as she tried to think harder, nothing came in mind. It all dawned on her quickly.
"Who…Who am I?"
Jutsu Mentioned
Dhaos Corridor: A technique that belongs to the original Dhaos from Tales of Phantasia. Dhaos gathers an intense amount of chakra to a focal point in his fist and disperses it upon contact with the ground. The chakra spreads outward in a explosive wave, violently expanding and consuming all that meets its path. The technique has a radius ten times the length of the user's body, and serves offensive and defensive purposes.
Hijutsu: Shinten Tōbatsu (Secret Art: Mental Subjugation): A Hijutsu Technique from the Yamanaka clan. Can only be used within the realm of subconsciousness. The user forcefully takes over the mind of the subject, providing him/her with limitless control over the subject's mind. This technique is usually a prerequisite for mind alterations, memory erasures, mind cleansing, and other mental breakdowns or growth.
NOTE: Hijutsu techniques are secret clan techniques in Phact Phantasia, and as a result will have no rank. All clan techniques, such as the Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Immitation Technique) and Nikudan Sensha (Human Bullet Tank) are henceforth categorized as Hijutsu. Any ranking that comes with the technique is a ranking established within the clan itself as to the potential strength and difficulty of the technique.
Hey Y'all!
Hope you guys enjoyed chapter 2 of Phact Phantasia. The stage is now set for Suzu's character development and growth. It's odd though, considering that, at the age of 6th, she was still undergoing development of her personality. However, her personality growth was offset by the whispering of her "mental avatar" Dhaos. With Dhaos closed off from Suzu's mind, how will she develop now?
That being said, a major note on Dhaos and Suzu. They are not and will not be like their Tales of Phantasia counterparts. Also, Dhaos will be the only non-Japanese name I use in this entire fic.
Dhaos is condescending and arrogant, and tends to underestimate other people. However, he knows the limits of his abilities and flaunts them sporadically to deter people that he meet. This should strike some as odd, considering that he is merely a figment of Suzu's imagination. Something went wrong in Suzu's mental development, however, that birthed Dhaos, providing him with his own unique personality.
Dhaos cannot interact with anybody in the story (considering that he's sealed up in a tombstone reminiscent of his sealing in the game). Dhaos is merely a figment of Suzu's mind, and can only influence Suzu's decisions and actions. He could interact with Inoichi because Inoichi entered his domain and saw him for himself. Only people with the ability to enter subconscious minds (like the Yamanaka and skilled Sharingan users) can personally interact with Dhaos.
Suzu has lost all of her memories. How will she go about with her life now that 6 years of relationships were forcefully removed from her mind? Or were they removed? Was Dhaos right, and that Suzu could potentially get her memory back?
From here on in, Suzu now will have a perspective in the story. The story will switch to other perspectives occasionally, but the primary perspective will be the main protagonist, Fujibayashi Suzu. As for other characters, like Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Ino, Kiba, Hinata, etc. etc. They will eventually meet and interact with Suzu as the story progresses. I want this to be an Alternate Universe, with alternate events occuring throughout the story. The story will still follow the plot of canon, but with Suzu's interruption, things will change and events will have a different twist to them. For instance: What will happen to Team 7? Will Ino and Suzu become friends, like their parents want them to be? What about Akatsuki?
These questions, and more will be answered as the story begins to mold and take form. I look forward for the future of this fic, and I hope I can do Suzu justice (and not make her a Mary Sue, rather a believable character in the Narutoverse).
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Next week, I'll be focusing on writing Release from Pain. Next Tuesday, there will be a chapter for True Paths to Power released, so get hyped. After Release from Pain gets its individual attention, Finding Conviction is next. Hopefully, I should go back to regularly scheduled releases in the week of July 7th.
Until then, enjoy your week, and stay tune for the next chapter of Phact Phantasia.
-Blackrazgriz 6/22/2013 2:39PM EST
Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto. Tales of Phantasia is owned by Namco Bandai Games Inc. Blackrazgriz does not reserve any rights to the characters and stories of the respective franchises.
NOTE (7/20/2013 4:15PM EST): Changed the spelling of "defenseive" to "defensive."
NOTE (3/19/2014 10:12PM EST): Updated the entire chapter, replacing errors and mistakes.
NOTE (4/22/2014 11:13PM EST): Replaced the word "hencforth" with "henceforth." Added a new section title "Jutsu Mentioned." Edited the "Dhaos Corridor" section of "Jutsu Mentioned."