Amidst the ink stained pages of the Kojiki the tales of old are ironically clear despite the words' smudged and dilapidated form. The scripture talks of beginnings and ends, each one significantly different to the last. Gods and humans alike are mentioned throughout the manuscript; their gallantries and losses depicted vividly with equal measure. The songs and poems of the Kojiki are split into three separate sections.
The Kamiyo no Maki or the 'Age of the Gods' is the first. This segment depicts the beginning of the world and the saga of the creation deities who shaped it. During their epic romance an epic tragedy also sprang forth; with the life that they created death was always close by to ruin what they had worked for. But it wasn't all about the divinity of the gods. The Kamiyo no maki also talks about how Ninigi-no-Mikoto, grandson of the sun goddess Amaterasu, descended from the heavens to pacify the lands. To fulfil this perilous task his grandmother bestowed upon him three gifts: a mirror, a jewel and a sword. These three items soon became known as the imperial regalia.
The Nakatsumaki or 'Middle Volume' begins with the story of Emperor Jimmu the first emperor of the pacified lands and his many conquests. Emperor Jimmu was a descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu as well as the fearsome storm god Susanoo. Many of the world's myths and legends were documented in this volume alongside the various descendants of the emperors who had long passed. It was a time when mythological beings were so integrated into society that the mortals of the world lived alongside them in peace and harmony – even to the extent of entering matrimony.
The Shimotsumaki or 'Lower Volume' unlike previous volumes has very limited references to the interactions with deities. The interactions are prominent in the first and second volumes; but as society progressed, the need for a higher power and sense of faith dwindled. The interactions and romances between deities and mortals diminished from the pages of the Kojiki, they simply becoming bedtime stories for young children.
But that was not to say that those relationships diminished from existence entirely.
Over the ages the gods although immortal and magnificent in their ways were not exempt from the sentiments of the world. Despite their timelessness they were equally susceptible to love, remorse and all other ungodly emotions considered a nuisance. Yet it has been known that love amongst other emotions have a tendency of working in confusing and mysterious ways.
The lopsided smile that once previously inhabited Tsukuyomi's face grew weak and his lips slackened as Reina's expression remained blank despite his earlier pronouncement. He studied her face carefully noting how her brows knitted together causing small wrinkles to form along her brow line. Her lips though slackly parted betrayed the tension that ran along her jaw. Hesitantly as not to startle the already fretful heiress, Tsukuyomi placed his hand upon hers ever so gently stirring her from her thoughts.
"Reina my child, please speak to me." Tsukuyomi urged quietly, his gold orbs meeting her glossy ones. Reina pursed her lips in thought before speaking, tears spilling over her lashes and down her cheeks.
"If what you say is the truth then why…then why didn't you save them? If you are truly the great moon god- then why didn't you save them? Why didn't you save my mother and my father – your son?! Why save me and not them? Why?!"
By the time the last of her words had spilled from her lips her voice had jumped in volume yet cracked at the same time. The silence didn't have the chance to settle as the air was suddenly filled with sharp pops and low hisses as Reina's kekkai genkai reacted alongside her emotions. The initial disbelief about his statement had been replaced with a long repressed anger surrounding the topic of her parents' death. That, mixed with the volatile cocktail of emotions created by the surreal turn of events the past few months, meant that she was on the verge of exploding.
Over the years she had come to terms with her parent's death – the fact that she would never see them again. The fact that she would never feel the warmth of her father's embrace again or hear her mother's voice again – regardless of whether she was cursing her name or not. She had accepted that fact a long time ago. But when the truth of her Uncle's involvement reached the surface - that was something she was not prepared for.
It was something she had not come to terms with.
"Reina it doesn~" Tsukuyomi began, his entire demeanour reticent in comparison to his formerly brash disposition. Reina swiped her hands from his grasp sharply, holding them up in front of her in a defensive manner. Her face was contorted in sheer agony; years of suppressed grief were beginning to surface without restraint, her emotions bubbling and simmering over- it was overwhelming.
"Don't. Just don't. You expect me to believe that you couldn't save them? That you, Tsukuyomi – a god, had no power to save your own child?! How could you let them die? They didn't deserve to be killed! To be slaughtered like animals! How could you!"
Tsukuyomi stared in awe.
Like the sky that hung above them Reina's eyes were blood red; they blazed with such a ferocity Tsukuyomi thought he might melt where he sat. She was wild. He had never anticipated that a manmade bond such as an indenture could be so powerful, for a human being to have command over another's inherited bloodline so effortlessly. It must have been the use of his very name that caused the genjutsu to take effect; however for a jutsu to affect a deity was a different matter entirely. She was so powerful and yet had no idea.
"Reina I need you to calm down. This anger. This repressed rage will not bring them back. The reason I didn't save them…was because I couldn't. I couldn't save your mother. I couldn't even save your father – my son. I didn't save them because I couldn't. I was powerless." Tsukuyomi murmured lowly, his voice filled with regret and a self-loathing only known to those who had experienced pain at its truest most potent form.
Reina's breathes were ragged and uneven whilst obscure sounds persistently rang through the air as her emotions continued to peak and run wild. She narrowed her scarlet orbs, unconvinced of his exclamation. With white-knuckled fists she stared at him with a look of abhorrent disbelief; her stomach was knotted so tightly she could almost feel it moving up towards her throat. She wasn't sure why or what made her thoughts wander to Sasuke at a time such as this but a voice at the back of her mind made her wonder if this anger and resentment she was feeling was the same darkness that had eaten away at Sasuke for all these years.
And that petrified her.
The thought of that perpetual darkness and hatred consuming her in her entirety terrified her to her very core; to never see the good in the world or have anything but a negative outlook on life all because a murky cloud haunted her every step. She didn't want that. She didn't want the rest of her life to be stained with past matters that were beyond her control. She didn't want to bring her child into a world that was tainted with emotional scars all because she refused to let them to heal.
She didn't want that. She didn't want that at all.
"I'm just…so tired. I'm so tired of losing people and not being strong enough to do anything about it." Reina whispered, the blood slowly returning to her ghostly hands. Tsukuyomi observed her meticulously, acutely aware of the concoction of emotions that were still racing around her head. The blazing crimson that had previously inhabited her irises began to bleed away, revealing her usual golden hued eyes. As the sharingan disappeared, inky blue hues once again decorated the sky above them as the fabricated world slipped away along with her anger.
"We are all tired Reina. You are not alone. However one thing you are not is weak. You have overcome so much heartache for someone so young and yet you have not allowed it to consume you. That, my child, is true strength." Tsukuyomi took Reina's hand in his, a quiet, encouraging smile etched onto his lips. She was cold to the touch despite her rosy complexion. The ire she had previously displayed was not in her nature; yet he knew that a wounded heart could turn bitter if not dealt with.
"Why couldn't you save them?" Reina asked quietly, her tone muted but sincere. She stared up at him after avoiding his gaze for so long; her eyes were puffy and raw yet still retained a fire to them. Her tone wasn't like before, none of her words were laced with venom and her tongue was not sharp. Instead there was a sense of mutual understanding; an understanding that the gods, despite their immortality, were as equally defenceless against the nature of death. Tsukuyomi paused for thought before he answered her question. He was a god. A supreme being. And yet here he was, about to admit that he was incapable of something. He almost felt ashamed.
"I couldn't save them because they were outside my jurisdiction as the moon god. The only reason I was able to save you and that Uchiha boy was because you were in yomi. Yomi is a mythological land, although an extension of the human world, it is a mythological realm none the less. When a human wanders into such a place they instantly become susceptible to our abilities. But on earth the only authority we have is our namesake; so I cannot control what is not mine. No matter how much I want to…"
At first Reina said nothing as she attempted to lull over his words. Was it merely luck or fate that she had ventured into yomi? She wasn't sure. If it were not for the Akatsuki's involvement then the turn of events she found herself in would never have happened. She would never have gotten to know the real Itachi Uchiha; or uncovered so many secrets that had remained expertly hidden for so long. If it were not for them then the truth about her parents would never have come about- and their deaths would have remained unavenged. If it were not for events that lay outside her jurisdiction she wouldn't have learned things about herself she never knew existed.
So the concept of jurisdiction made sense to her. She was able to understand his words without feeling resentment towards his inability to intervene. He was equally as stricken as she was – if not more so, knowing he could not do a single thing but watch in horror as the events unfolded before his very eyes. Then it occurred to her. In all the time she had been in his presence, she had not once thanked him for his actions- she had done quite the opposite in fact.
"Thank you. I understand now why you did what you did and I am grateful. But you have to understand my actions too. There are people out there who I need to save whilst I have the opportunity to do so. I don't want to go through more heartache knowing I could have saved them but didn't." Reina squeezed his hands in gratitude, a whisper of a smile ghosting her lips. However the small smile was short-lived. As fleetingly as it came the gesture disappeared from her face, a look of desperation remaining in its wake.
Tsukuyomi held her hands in his, his eyes locked on their linked digits. He didn't know how to tell her no, that bringing the elder Uchiha back to land of the living was beyond her duty of care. Deep down he knew she had the ability to bring him back, to give him the second chance she so desperately wanted. But it wasn't as simple as that. It wasn't a matter of her waving a magic wand so that everything magically worked out. It would be a matter of her venturing back into yomi alone and risking her life, as well as her child's, to rescue her lover. In her eyes it was obviously worth the risks and possible heartache. However millennia of heartache had made him selfish and bitter - and he wasn't about to let that happen to her.
"I'm sorry Reina, but I can't allow you to go after the Uchiha boy." Tsukuyomi stated bluntly. His expression was stony; his brows were furrowed together as his lips pursed together in anticipation of her reaction. Inwardly it felt like he had his hand around her heart as opposed to her hands. She could feel her pulse drum against her temples as his words repeated in her head. She was so close. So close to saving him and she was about to fall at one of the final hurdles.
"Please don't say that. Please don't make me leave him there. I need to get Sasuke out of there too – he, he's alive, he doesn't belong in yomi." Reina began, her words were frantic alongside her movements. Tsukuyomi simply shook his head and held her hands in his so she couldn't move away. Panic had set in, her heart leaping at extraordinary paces as she pleaded silently with her grandfather. "Please, please don't do this. Let me save him. Let me bring him back. Please…" Reina implored frantically, tears streaming freely down her cheeks once more.
Once again Tsukuyomi simply shook his head and remained silent despite her pleas.
"What is wrong with you?! Do you have no heart?!" Reina cried shrilly as she attempted to pull her hands from his only to find his grip on her tightened. Defiantly she fought back, struggling to free herself from his grasp. But it was no use. It was then she felt a tingling sensation creeping up her skin, the feeling slithering from her wrists and up her forearms. It was cold. As if her veins had turned to ice beneath her skin. She attempted to phase away from him but her kekkai genkai remained dormant despite her silent commands.
"I'm sorry Reina. You can hate me. I'll understand. But I can't allow you to throw your life away for that boy. Please understand that what I'm about to do is for your own good." Tsukuyomi finally spoke, his own gold orbs dark with regret as his grip on her tightened; Reina stared up at him in astonishment, dread having set in, in her stomach. The frosty sensation continued to snake its way up her body, her limbs becoming numb as the feeling enveloped her body. "I'm not going to hurt you or your child. I give you my word. I'm simply removing a thorn from your side so you can live in peace." He continued to restrain her, his own chest tight as tears carried on spilling down her cheeks.
He didn't want this any more than she did, but he had the opportunity to keep her safe and he wasn't about to let it slip through his fingers. Reina gasped as the artic flurry reached her throat, it ebbing in every possible direction from her chest to her head. Although cold it felt like her head was on fire – it was debilitating and stole the breath from her lungs. Suddenly her vision blurred, the bold colours that once graced her vision now resembled nothing more that smudged smears on an artist's canvas.
"I'm sorry Reina. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me." Tsukuyomi pleaded through gritted teeth. Reina gasped attempting to catch what little oxygen she could, but it was pointless. Eventually she fell limp, her body lolling to one side like a ragdoll falling from a child's grasp. A quiet sob passed Tsukuyomi's lips as he cradled a now unconscious Reina in his arms. He stroked her hair gently, she completely unaware of the conflict that was eating away at his insides.
Ever so cautiously he lay her down on the tatami mat, positioning a pillow beneath her head; her breathes were now soft and even in contrast to her earlier gasps of horror. Content that she was comfortable Tsukuyomi stood silently, taking one final, longing look at his granddaughter before disappearing down the hallway from whence he came, leaving Reina in a dreamless sleep.
He hoped that when she woke she wouldn't hate him.
But that didn't really matter, because when she would awake she wouldn't even know he existed.
Everything would seem like a dream within a dream.