Chapter 35 | A Path in Ways V
"And you are confident in this information?" asked Uchiha Izuna. He stood surrounded by the damp wilderness that wrapped around the Ito clan's village with the light of several paper lanterns strung along the edges of the willows providing a flickering orange glow.
Ito Takuei, the rangy leader of the Ito clan, sat atop a stone, sharpening the various weapons he used in his craft. The slight light darkened his eyes and hardened his features, made the angles of his gaunt face menacingly sharper. He ran the edge of a short blade against the surface of small whetstone on his lap. He paused a moment to measure the sharpness of his blade against his thumb. It made a clean line across without needing to apply any pressure. Blood bubbled out, a thin streak, and he cleaned it against his pants.
"If you have any doubts, ask the source yourself," said Takuei. He repositioned the short sword against the whetstone again. "He will tell you himself."
Takuei had been investigating the Mikazuki clan since he returned to the Waterfall Country and he had discovered the reason why they had targeted the Kuronuma clan for a relatively new shinobi clan, one that otherwise would not have had the sort of intel on the Kuronuma artifacts as they did. But the information had not ended there, there was another tidbit of information he wanted to be sure was the absolute truth because it could help release Mio from her imprisonment in the Sun Country. It could help him and Madara, too.
"He is here?" Izuna questioned.
"You need to sharpen your senses," a voice called behind him.
Izuna turned swiftly and the Kuronuma stood there, directly behind him, with a peaceful smile. "You? You're Mio's grandfather," he said, looking at him more keenly. He was as he remembered him during their brief meeting years ago. Giant in stature with stark white hair. "Is this where you have been? Mio has been searching for you! She went to the Sun Country to take back Ayuka's sphere in order to save you and you have been here? She's a prisoner there!"
"Mio will find me at the end of her journey," Kuronuma Shin replied. "There is no need for you to grow agitated."
"Did you not hear a word I said? Mio is Ayuka's prisoner," repeated Izuna slowly.
"I know where Mio is and the conditions she is enduring," said Shin. "I am here on business—"
"You should be helping her! Ayuka put barriers to make sure you do not cross the island, but those have been gone since the Sanbi escaped! You can help her," he interrupted.
"Izuna, you must listen to what Shinya has come to say," Takuei cut in, moving onto sharpen a kunai. "It is important."
"Isn't Mio the center of the Kuronuma clan? She is supposed to be protected," Izuna argued, eyes narrowing at Shin, who remained nonchalant. "She is the Shugosha and Ayuka wants to use her to gather the artifacts."
"Mio is capable of protecting herself—"
"I know that, but this is Ayuka, that woman is—"
"I oversaw Mio's training and gave her the tools necessary for her survival. Ayuka, Mikazuki Gouki, it would not matter who corners her, she can handle herself," Shin said, surprising Izuna with his interruption. "It is because others insist on protecting her that she finds solace in that security and forgets what she is capable of. She grows lazy and let's herself become the victim of others."
Izuna fell silent.
"Why do you think you are here and Madara is still on the island? You are too overprotective of her." Shin waved a hand in dismissal. "Now, I was here on business. You wanted to know whether Takuei told you the truth of the Mikazuki clan, right? Yes, Motou Ayuka founded the clan to go against the Kuronuma clan, and yes, some of the older members are missing Kuronuma children. That is why when you fought them, you couldn't see their chakra with your Sharingan. And yes, one of the Kuronuma in the Mikazuki clan is her son, and yes, he was the rightful heir to the artifacts."
"He was?"
"The rules are that you can only be Shugosha if you have not spilled the blood of another," Shin explained.
"Was there another Shugosha apart from Mio? Did he kill them?"
Shin shook his head. "I have long lost my claim to the artifacts, but a Shugosha remains a Shugosha through the bloodline. The blood he spilled was mine and without realizing lost his claim." The Kuronuma folded his arms over his chest. "Unfortunately, Ayuka has long been aware and plans to remedy this."
"Does she have a way?"
"Ayuka always has a way. She's crafty."
"What is it?" asked Izuna. "Does she plan to have Mio killed?"
"Mio dies and the artifacts die with her. They feed off her chakra and recognize only her as their universal protector and will not go with another even if they are stolen."
"Then what is it?"
"You're not going to like it."
"Tell me."
"Mio is the matriarch of a new bloodline. At the start of every line of succession, the Time Sphere gives birth to a new ability. The option of choosing a successor from a crop of worthy candidates, a shield that protects the sphere from being stolen, the ability to hear through the artifacts, you understand, right?" Shin explained calmly, drawing even Takuei's attention. "The ability Mio is passing down to her successor is the power to change the line of succession meaning anyone can seize control of the artifacts."
"That is how Ayuka plans to give her son the artifacts?" asked Izuna.
Shin gave a curt nod.
"Then we must find her successor," Takuei suggested. "If we can get our hands on her successor, we could—"
"That would be impossible," Shin interrupted.
"Why?" Izuna demanded. "If we got rid of her successor—"
"Her successor has not been born yet."
"We should kill its mother," Takuei suggested, lifting his kunai to the light. "Mio would stay Shugosha longer and Ayuka would be forced to stop her plans."
"Mio is the matriarch of a new bloodline," Shin repeated. "She is at the beginning of it. Her successor cannot be anyone that wishes it, let alone anyone from another bloodline."
The realization dawn on Izuna and he felt his body go heavy. "It's her child?"
Shin nodded, once more. "Yes, it is her child."
Izuna started to pace, trying to process what that meant. He couldn't think of anything no matter how many times he tried and finally looked at Shin in search of the answers his head wouldn't provide him. "How is this…how will Ayuka…?"
"Ayuka threatened Mio into accepting a marriage to Motou Enki—"
His blood boiled as his hands fisted at his sides. "All that goading he did," he bit out. Enki had devoted hours into speak of his bride to be, had spoken disturbing things, had done that and more in his presence! It finally made sense. He must have known how he felt about Mio and after the trouble he had caused this was his way of exacting his revenge. "Mio cannot marry that man."
He started to march forward, determined to return to the Sun Country to see Enki dead, but Shin stopped him. "You came for information on the Mikazuki clan," Shin started, voice serious. "You have your information. It is time you use it to help those trapped on that island."
"I don't know what Ayuka's son looks like!" Izuna snapped. Mikazuki shinobi frequented the island since it had been made public that Ayuka was working with them closely, but she never treated one differently.
"You do," Shin asserted. "And I do. He is Ayuka's weakness."
Izuna strengthened his belief that his brother would keep Mio from marrying Enki. "Where is he?"
"In the Fire Country."
"Then we must go there."
Shin dropped his hand back to his side. "I need to stop at the Iron Country before further travel," he said suddenly.
"Why?" asked Izuna sharply.
"The Mikazuki clan happen to be hunting down one of Mio's guardians. I'm going there to warn him about sharpening his senses too."
"There are guardians apart from Madara?"
"Three of them."
"Who?"
"Universe, Reflective, Power," Shin answered. "And the Universe Sphere guardian is in danger of death."
"Why would anyone be after one guardian?"
Shin made a face as he explained. "Unaware, Mio assigned the Universe Sphere to a new guardian even though its current guardian is among the living."
"Why did Mio have the sphere?"
Shin suddenly laughed. "You see, I was certain I killed him," he said, speaking as if he were in the middle of a joke. "Stabbed him right through the heart." He patted his chest. "Felt the life leave him. Proceeded to hurl him into black rivers of Kurata. He was dead. Dead as could be. And if he wasn't those rivers should have done the rest of the work. Let's say he survived and all this time, he's wanted his sphere back to change the history of things using the artifact except he'd never reveal himself to Musashi and with him dead, he can do what he's wanted."
Takuei rolled his eyes. "Tell me, Shinya-sama, are you or Ayuka to blame for this war?"
"It was a combination of myself, Ayuka, and her husband." Shin flinched when it looked like Takuei might hit him. "I am trying to rectify things! This was supposed to be for the sake of the clan, never did I anticipate it would turn into this!"
"Ayuka's husband?" asked Izuna, feeling like he was the only one to have heard it.
Shin straightened out. "Yes, and if you think Ayuka is dangerous, you should probably remove yourself from the Artifact War altogether because that man is a monster."
"Didn't you say you killed him?" Takuei demanded. "Can't you do it again?"
"I was the Black Sphere's guardian at the time, without it I wouldn't have been able to overpower him."
"And if he is so powerful, why hasn't he made his move?" asked Izuna.
"He already made his move," Shin said. "And when he gets his hands on the Universe Sphere, you will feel it hit."
"But weren't you going to warn the new guardian?"
"I have absolutely no faith that the combined forces of the Senju and Uzumaki and what remains of the Kuronuma clan will keep that man from his sphere."
"Then who has the Black Sphere now?"
"Mio."
Izuna was exasperated. "I'm going."
Shin walked after him, bidding Takuei a quick farewell.
"Who is Ayuka's son?"
"You're not going to like it."
"Just tell me!"
A child borne from her would be Shugosha…that alone did not surprise her. She became Shugosha as the start of her own bloodline, which meant any one of her children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren could inherit her title from her. None of that shocked her.
Ayuka took her hand from Mio's abdomen with a tender smile. "It would be best if he were born quickly."
A Shugosha with the ability to choose another Shugosha for the Time Sphere left her flabbergasted.
"Do your duty as a woman, Mio," Ayuka said, "and change the line of succession. That is your fate. You must accept it."
Amaya's return changed the ambience. Mio turned away from Ayuka's vigilant gaze and prepared to start a fitting for the robes, but her head was plagued by the revelation. She considered the possibility that Ayuka was bluffing about the existence of a Shugosha with that type of ability. She went onto torment herself with the fact that Ayuka was right in calling her a vessel. She was. For the Shugosha they wanted.
"How long have you planned this?" Mio asked. She planned to arrive at the Sun Country to coax Madara into helping her confront the Fate Sphere guardian, but never did she anticipate it would be a trap or that it would develop into a marriage. She never thought it had absolutely nothing to do with her, but her successor, who had not even been a thought in her head yet, let alone a possibility she was in the midst of considering that far into her desire of the future.
Madara just accepted the idea of her marrying Izuna and that had been under the condition his brother asked. She had pictured a harmonious life with him, but had not imagined children. She wanted them. She knew deep down that she wanted a large family, but the time to think of forming it would take place years from today.
Mio bet her life on the notion that Hag had been leading her to this revelation. She only wanted to know when it began.
Waiting on her response, Mio obeyed the dressmaker when she was asked to lift her arms so she could wrap white fabric embellished with gold etchings. She swallowed thickly, listening to the fabrics whispering against her clothes as Amaya draped and tugged at them and distant voices beyond the room. Her hearing was amplified in her trepidation.
"How long?" Ayuka repeated slowly. She tapped her index finger to her chin. "It has been quite some time. Almost forty years have passed and you were to become the Shugosha to fear. So, you see, Mio, I have known of you far longer than you have existed and I saw what you were capable of doing. You would be troublesome, a force of which even I would have struggled to take the artifacts from, but that was easily remedied." She paused, a small smile spreading across her lips. "I figured it would be easier to kill you and discover a way to breathe life into the artifacts, but your future revealed it would be unnecessary. The Shugosha I need is your son and he will take care of giving me the artifacts. All I needed was to drive you into a corner. It was easy."
Mio battered away Amaya's hands. "You have been changing my pathways," she said, the panic blooming in her chest, leaking into her voice as it rose into a shout. "How long have you been helping the Mikazuki clan?"
"I founded the Mikazuki clan to take care of pests like you," Ayuka revealed. "The Time Sphere was meant to pass down to my son and your great-grandfather deprived him of his birthright. He was the only son of Nishiki—ah, I see recognition in your face, you have heard his name before? And how could you not have?" The mere utterance of Nishiki's name brought her face to life. "Nishiki was the strongest. Shugosha-to-be. We made plans. We wanted things to change. He knew the truth of the artifacts, unlike you, the ignorant."
Her great-uncle Nishiki's whose only fame on the mountain stemmed from his unfortunate death and the person who killed him, her grandfather. Killing Nishiki had stripped Shin's right to the Time Sphere.
She could see it in the light of her eyes that Nishiki meant more than Mio could ever hope to understand to Ayuka. She understood better now.
"So you have hurt me for the fault of others?" asked Mio, her stomach turning into knots.
"They have already received retribution, but your grandfather is persistent," she said, "like you. The two of you are stubbornly persistent. I can see it in your actions though you pretend at defeat. Deep down, although I am blind to it, I can see that you are merely strengthening yourself for when it is time for you to strike again." She shook her head. "I might have liked you better had you been more like your mother. She certainly knew when to give up. Even better had you inherited your father's nature." She smiled. "Contrary to what you may believe, I did not hate your parents. They were impressive shinobi."
"That did not stop you from having them killed," said Mio.
"It couldn't be avoided. Necessary sacrifices were needed to bring you to the island," Ayuka went on easily. "And finally, here you are."
"I was a girl when you ordered Mikazuki Gouki to kill them," she said, and it felt strange for her to realize that had happened nine years ago. "I needed them to be in my life—"
"Is that all you are capable of doing?" Ayuka interrupted. "Everything is a tragedy for you. Crying has been all you have done. Will your tears ever dry? Or, do you expect me to sit here and watch your suffering? Do you think I care for it?"
"You have been hounding me because my great-grandfather chose me to inherit, because my grandfather killed Nishiki, and for your own ambition," Mio stated, her broken tone betraying her emotion. "You have taken so much from me and you want my son, too? I have done nothing to you, and yet, you want everything from me. What else do you want? "
"You are right. You have not done anything against me. You are a wonderfully brittle creature, Mio. That I did not anticipate."
"You will not have them," Mio said, finding strength inside her. An inkling, but it was enough. "The artifacts will remain safe under the guardians I choose and I will make sure that you never have them."
"How can you say that when you have had two of your artifacts taken since arrived?"
"Because I'm determined," she stated. "And I swear to you that I will be Shugosha until you're dead."
Mio went straight out the door and rushed out the temple. She didn't run to her room, she ran off the mountain until she exhausted her legs. She went as far as a clearing sparsely decorated by barren white trees and shrubbery. She gave into the urge to scream, feeling the terrible revelation turning into a dull ache in her chest.
Ayuka changed her pathways, each horrific memory she had was suspect. For all Mio knew, Ayuka was to blame for everything that went wrong in her life. How much did she change to stop her from becoming the feared Shugosha she should have? Mio thought to curse her weakness, but a notion surfaced in her head. What was to prevent her from being that Shugosha that the witch feared?
Nothing.
She exceeded her threshold for pain and everything that caused it. All that remained was for her to move forward, to stop allowing Ayuka to dictate what became of her life. She wouldn't be an easy prisoner and she wouldn't marry Enki. She would do everything she wanted to do from that moment onward and would make sure what remained of Ayuka's time as Fate Sphere guardian hell. She didn't care if that meant living through four generations of Shugosha, she would do it, and she would live making sure Ayuka didn't come near her artifacts again.
Mio stayed lying on the clearing floor, surrounded by blades of grass wet with moisture from the rain. She didn't budge when she heard a pair of tentative footsteps reach her or as a shadow cast over her body. She remained motionless and facing forward, staring at nothing in particular while she allowed her thoughts to help tame her emotions because she needed a better grasp at them.
A wrinkled hand fell atop her arm, gently rocking her. "You should not be out in this forest all on your own," a stranger's voice reached her, temporarily snapping her out of her reverie. She looked up at the tiny old woman staring down at her with big, clear blue eyes. "You have nowhere to go?"
"I am lost," she said simply. "No doubt someone will find me in time."
"No, no, not today, come on." The old woman attempted to heave her up. "Come with me. I will give you food and shelter until someone comes asking for you."
Mio let the old woman lead her out of the clearing. She carried a basket covered in herbs, whose combined scents were intoxicating.
"I am Kiyo," the woman introduced. "And you, girl, do you have a name?"
"Mio."
Kiyo lived in an underpopulated town by the coastline near the port in a hut with walls covered in shelves and jars of herbs. She invited her to sit, make herself comfortable, as she prepared and served her tea. She waddled off to put her newest pickings into the appropriate jars while Mio took in the sight of it all. Her home was small with only enough room for a table and a bed that sat behind a sheer curtain hanging from the ceiling. It smelled sweet. A bit of every herb was in the air.
"What do you do with these herbs?" asked Mio, seeing many the Kuronuma medics were accustomed to using for concoctions.
"I make medicine," Kiyo answered smiling. "If you have any ailments, come to me, I can have something prepared for you."
"Ailments?" she repeated absently. She looked up at the woman's wrinkled face. "Nightmares?"
"An exact remedy does not exist, but there are herbs that can guarantee you a peaceful sleep," said Kiyo. "Do you have trouble sleeping?"
"No, I am good at sleeping." Lately it was the one thing she did.
Kiyo joined her at the table after tidying up. "What do you do?"
Mio grew frustrated with herself and the fact that she could not think of an answer to that question. Her body shook.
"I have not seen you on this island before," said the old woman, changing the subject. "Did you arrive recently?"
"Yes, I'm from the Kuronuma clan," Mio said quietly.
"A Kuronuma? Ah." Kiyo nodded. "There is word the king is marrying someone called the Shugosha of your clan. In a fortnight? Or is it less?"
"Less. I am marrying him in a week."
"So you are not lost?"
Mio smiled bitterly. "Not in that sense."
She drank deep from her cup.
"You are nervous?" Kiyo searched her expression, trying to read it. "It is normal. You are young and this is your first marriage."
"I am not nervous," she told her.
"Ah." Understanding dawned in the old woman's face. "You do not want to marry him. That is not surprising."
"No, I don't want to marry him."
"Is this your clan pushing you together?"
"No," she said quickly. "No, it is his priestess."
"Ayuka-sama?"
Mio nodded. She could smell precipitation hanging in the air as another storm approached. She took another drink from her cup and let it atop the table, excusing herself. Kiyo stood to walk her out.
"Do not wander off," Kiyo advised. "This is a dangerous island."
"Would you mind if I came back?" asked Mio before leaving. "I only have one friend in the castle…and he is often busy…I don't want to be alone."
Alone surrounded by enemies. Not when she needed to think. She couldn't think with all the noise.
"You are welcomed to return." Kiyo smiled kindly. "Come as many times as you want."
Mio beat the storm to the castle and went to her rooms to catch a late lunch. She slipped inside, closing the door shut quietly, and turned. Taiga was inside, rummaging through her things. She made a beeline to him as he dug into the contents of her trunk and caught his hand, forcing him around to face her.
"What are you doing?" she demanded. "What are you looking for?"
Taiga leisurely picked her hand off his wrist and held it up in the air. "And where have you been?" he asked. "The witch has the entire castle looking for you."
"Is that what you are doing? Searching for me in a leather trunk?"
He grinned. "There is no telling whether you've been hiding. She says you left upset," he said in a curious undertone. "What did she do to you?"
"What concern is this of yours? Are you not the one banding together with the Mikazuki clan?" she asked. "Were you not the one that told me to trust you? How do you expect I do that?" She explicitly recalled him saying that he would guarantee her the freedom Enki would take from her if she obeyed all his orders, except he hadn't given her any and she had scarcely seen him on the island.
Taiga took a step forward and she took one back, remaining cautious of his actions. He grasped her wrist firmly. "Have you considered that the only reason I had been banding together with the Mikazuki clan was to keep them from you?" he asked. "Do you know how many of them do not care under whose protection you are in? They want to torture you. Some of them want you dead. The fact that Mikazuki Gouki didn't kill you when you were a child is a stigma on their clan. Not once had one of their targets survived a sweep and here you are."
She took a breath. "Let my wrist go," she said. "Please."
He dropped his hold on her and she clasped her wrist against her. She rubbed against the rings of reddened flesh where no doubt a bruise would take form.
"What do you want in return?" she asked, knowing none of his kindness came with a price. "Do you want me as Enki does? Do you want an artifact? What is it that you want?"
"One day, perhaps," he said with a shrug. "Everyone is in such a rush to have you that you could say I am…losing interest."
Taiga wanted her to become his and nothing had ever stood in the way of his staking his claim. She would not have denied him, as she had promised herself for Sako's sake, but he had never made any real attempt. He moved close, so close she could see the tiny cracks on his lips and even count his eyelashes if she'd wanted, however, none of that had been the initiation into more.
Like now, his intention seemed evident to her. He wanted to make her uncomfortable.
She stepped up to him, standing a few inches from his body. She didn't believe his advances. They were a lie. She was certain of it. If he wanted her as much as he claimed, he would have had her. So, she put on her own front to test her theory. No matter how much she pushed, he would pull away, leave her with some cryptic words to keep her confused, and leave.
"Losing interest?"
Taiga lowered his eyes, suppressing a grin. "I heard even Enki doesn't want you," he said, gaze flickering to hers. "He laughed about it. Said you were so innocent, you probably did not know how to kiss a man. He asked my opinion of it."
"What did you say?"
"I told him what he wanted to hear."
She saw him raise his hand to take the side of her face. "What was that?"
"That I would tell him once I found out for myself."
Mio shook her hands to keep them from fisting as the tension returned to her body. "Oh."
He arched an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"Are you going to?"
He chuckled, letting go of her face. He took a step back. "And prove him right? No."
Taiga walked towards the entrance.
"I don't understand what you get out of making me uncomfortable," Mio started, "but I know you don't want me."
Taiga stopped. "Have you ever wanted someone?"
She was taken aback by the question. "In what sense?"
He turned slowly, raising his hands in gesture. "Have you ever wanted to possess someone? Make them yours in every sense of the word." At the sight of her confusion, he attempted to elaborate. "Take Izuna for example. Have you ever wanted him?"
"No, I don't want to possess him, I want to be with him," she said, perplexed. "What is this about? I don't understand."
"You have proven my point," he said. "You answered your own question. You do not understand what it is to want someone for yourself, Mio. You have never felt that desire—that need—to make that one person completely yours. And if you don't feel that for Izuna, then you should let the poor bastard know it before he wastes the rest of his life chasing someone that won't ever want him the way he wants them. You and I know he deserves better than that."
"Can it not develop over time?" she asked, suddenly ashamed that she never thought about Izuna in that perspective. "My bloodline converges with his in the future; it is possible that I only need time for it to develop."
"He is not the only one in that bloodline," he said knowingly.
Taiga stepped out as Madara walked in and his words were still fresh in her mind, but she could not fathom considering them after she promised Madara himself that she would marry his brother. She wouldn't entertain that sort of thought and she knew nothing could ever possess her to betray Izuna. Madara wouldn't breathe the words betrayal when it came to his brother. It would be an impossible though.
Madara followed Taiga suspiciously, shutting the door behind his back. He faced her with the same inquisitive look. "What did he want? And where have you been?"
She felt flabbergasted and completely stupid. "He came to frustrate me," she said. "I feel he is manipulating situations for secrets. I don't believe he really wants me."
"Mio, he is twice your age," Madara said, eyeing her strangely.
"I'm not Yayoi, I said nothing of wanting him back," Mio snapped. She calmed herself at the sight of Madara avert his eyes and shrug. "I don't know what he wants from me, but it is something if he going through all this trouble to make me believe he desires me. He wouldn't even kiss me when I would have let him."
"Should you be telling me this?" asked Madara.
"Who else am I to tell? You are the only one I can trust on this island."
"I do not want to hear of such affairs," he said. "It is unsightly to think of you with any man."
"Oh."
"Oh?"
"Oh."
That made her feel strange.
"What did Ayuka want with you?" Madara walked across the room to open a window. "She wanted you back in the Temple as soon as you were found."
"I met the dressmaker. I was being fitted."
"I doubt a dressmaker alone was enough to make you run," he said assuredly. "What did she say to you?"
"That once I am married and with child, I should start counting my blessings," she surmised, earning a look. "As per my luck, I am to be the mother of a Shugosha that can change the line of succession. I suspect that I will die and she will be left to raise my child, manipulating him or her into making her Shugosha."
"She expects you to have a child with that pig?"
Mio sat down against the leather trunk packed with the luggage she brought with her. "Did you ever imagine you would be here one day? A prisoner with no one to trust? In this strange war? With me as company?"
He calmly took the seat beside her. "No, but the wars would have persisted and we would have continued fighting in them," he said. "And any one of us could have died."
She understood when he said "we" he meant the three of them: Madara, Izuna, and her. She felt a little twinge in her chest, staring at him with a hidden admiration. "But we're alive," she said, short of breath. She saw what he saw. "Even if we are prisoners here, no matter what Ayuka wants from us, we are alive."
"We are alive," he repeated. "The three of us."
Mio lowered her eyes to her hands folded on her lap, the words echoing in her mind. She lifted them again to look out the window, the rainstorm ebbing into a light shower, and she sensed a pulse through her sphere. She slid forward, sitting with her back straightened, and her eyes keen on the sight of the drizzle coming down. She blinked and it all slowed down. She heard herself breathing, felt her lungs expand and contract, in frightening detail, and she sensed them, like a candle being lit in a stretch of pitch-black darkness. Many lights blinked on. She counted seven. Three remained with her.
The artifacts.
The Universe and Power Spheres were together in one place, sitting far from her. The Reflective Sphere moving towards her. The Nature Sphere beside her. The Fate Sphere across her. The Climate and the Vision Sphere, the ones stolen from her—they were close.
— Mio! —
Mio snapped out of the trance and followed Madara's voice to meet his eyes.
"You have been strange," Madara admitted.
"No," said Mio. "I have been adjusting."
"Adjusting?"
"I found the stolen artifacts."
"How did you accomplish that seated here?"
"I'm Shugosha," she answered, "and I have my strength back." She took the Time Sphere in her hand. "I only need to uncover the secrets of this orb and make a few changes."
"Changes?"
"I cannot sit here doing nothing," she told him, seeing him grasp at her choice in disjointed subject matters. She found her strength after grappling in the dark for so long. "I will not sit around and do nothing as Ayuka succeeds."
"You thought of a plan?"
Mio nodded.
"I want to hear it."
"I plan to make what remains of Ayuka's plan a hell," she said, leaning forward with a smile, "and she will do it all herself."
Kiyo welcomed her the following morning. Mio had risen at the break of dawn and had left Enki's castle for a morning sprint. She had run aimlessly for the first hour, determined to explore the island only to discover that it was in a worse state than she had previously anticipated. She had climbed a high ledge covered in dry grass and wilted flowers that overlooked a village in poor state, one that had its inhabitants living in squalor, and she had moved through an abandoned battlefield that radiated the chakra it had stolen from others.
Mio had crouched down in the center, pressing a hand to the mushy dark earth beneath her feet and concluding after a few minutes that it had poisonous properties. She had set her hand atop her knee and had turned in every direction to see the black earth stretch far. It had been in that instant that she had decided to appear before Kiyo in search of the quiet and the strong smell of herbs and flowers permeating through her home to gather her thoughts.
The castle was filled with noise and it took everything out of her to beat it all into silence.
Kiyo guided her to a seat and offered her breakfast. Wishing not to be rude, she accepted and smiled in appreciation after the old woman set down a bowl of hot freshly boiled rice, miso soup, and pickled vegetables. Mio picked up her rice bowl and held her chopsticks in her hand, taking one of the vegetables between them and holding it to her mouth.
"You are red in the face, child," Kiyo commented. "What have you been doing?"
"Running," she answered, taking her first bite of food. She ate rice and drank from the bowl of hot miso soup. She savored every bite. "This is delicious."
"You flatter me," said Kiyo, chuckling. "This would not stand to what you are used to eating in that castle."
"Motou Ayuka only allows me to eat fish," she said, the mere thought of it turned her stomach. Ayuka was a pescatarian and given her success in the lifestyle, she wanted Mio to transition into it through salted fish, so that she might learn to enjoy the delicacies. "Only salted fish."
She never hated fish. She hated touching them, not eating them. But her opinion was changing fast.
"You come here whenever you want," Kiyo decided. "There will always be warm food here. You are welcomed for whatever reason you might have, but I must give you fair warning. This village is a curious one and does not see visitors often, not even from the neighboring towns, so the folks tend to get a little rowdy around anyone new. They all want to meet you."
"Will they teach me to play hanafuda?" asked Mio curiously. She saw the servants playing the card game often enough to make her curious about learning, to pass the time while Ayuka celebrated her victories, but there she didn't dare ask anyone in the castle to teach her.
"You do not know how to play?"
"No."
"And that's all you ask in return?"
Mio nodded. She needed the quiet and the peace.
"I have a granddaughter, Tsuruko, she is very good at hanafude," Kiyo mentioned after breakfast ended. Mio was crouched down in front of a large wooden tub of water and suds, washcloth in hand, cleaning the dirty dishes. "I'll bring her over. I think you too will get along well."
Mio returned to the castle in the afternoon, sauntering in without a care. She took a bath before returning to her room to change into a simple robe and obi and pulled out the deck of hanafude cards Kiyo's granddaughter lent her in order to practice. She set the old cards out in front of her and pulled a hand for herself, making matches and counting points.
The door slid open noisily and someone entered. She knew without turning that it was Madara by the pulse of his artifact.
"What are you doing?"
She leaned back to look up at him. "Playing hanafude," she said. "Do you want to join?"
Madara frowned. "You were supposed to be thinking up a new plan."
"Hanafude is the plan. I decided to learn it." She returned her attention to the game. "Do you know how to play?"
"No."
Setting a card from her hand to one of the ones sitting face up to make a match, she said, "Maybe you should learn."
Madara left her room likely thinking her behavior foolish.
As afternoon neared, she allowed one of the servants to plait her hair after it had dried before another came to leave the broiled fish and rice bowl she would be having for lunch. Mio ate the rice and continued playing cards on her own, realizing that as her understanding of the game expanded, her level of enjoyment went up.
Taiga dropped in for a visit before night fell, observing her from the windowsill where he had taken a seat. "Hanafude, Mio?"
"Do you know how to play?" she asked. She was certain he showed up after the servants started to talk about her strange behavior. She was not the type of person to do anything while imprisoned. She stayed put and picked at her food, she went to wherever she was called, and spent an adequate amount of time with Madara since he was assigned to watch her.
"I might."
"How about a game?" she suggested, gathering the cards from the floor to shuffle into a deck.
Taiga complied by taking a seat across her. "Have you given up? Is that the reason for your odd behavior?"
Mio prepared the game, dealing cards for them. "Enki heika gave me the permission to do as I pleased. I am learning hanafude," she said. "You didn't expect me to cry every day, did you?"
"You seem almost indifferent to your losses, it is a worrisome detail."
"I'm not interested in your criticisms."
Taiga took the cards dealt to him. "What are you planning?"
"Why does anyone have to be planning anything if they want to learn hanafude?" Mio shot back. She set down her first card, matching the patterns and tallying the points in her head. "Besides, I'll be married in a week, so the only plan I have is to enjoy my final days as a free woman."
"By playing hanafude?"
"Should I be doing something different?"
Taiga made two matches that doubled his points and put him in the lead. He grinned. "Some women seek the comfort of a lover," he began. "A few attempt to escape, the rest cry their misfortune. You are here playing hanafude."
"I made the conscious decision to stay on this island," she answered, drawing a card from the deck in the center. "Why would I stand in the way of my own survival by having a lover or attempting to run?" Her eyes flickered up, meeting his. "And suffering over the idea that I would be marrying a man like Enki would be redundant. I always knew I would marry and I never deluded myself to think it would be someone of my choice—do not look at me that way."
She had seen his face contort into one of disbelief and had anticipated his next choice of words. "What about Izuna?"
"You were right," said Mio, evening out her tone. "You were right about Izuna. About the fact that I cannot feel for him what he feels for me." She stared down at her cards contemplatively. "I only want to be with him because he wants me to be with him. I don't deserve it…so, I don't want to continue being delusional."
Taiga laughed softly. "You think that would convince me that you are not planning something?" he asked, humored. "Where have you sent Madara? He is rarely away from your side. Did you finally sink your claws in him?"
Mio thought to laugh, the humor almost escaped her, but she buried it away. "It is amusing to see how you perceive me," she said seriously. "I am not the woman you set me up to be. I do not sink my claws in anyone. And Madara does not take orders from me. If you want him, you can find him if you look."
"Hmm."
The game continued in silence until it neared its conclusion.
"You never asked after Sako or Minako," she said quietly. "You never came to me to ask after them. You entrusted them to me and I—"
"What did you want me to say on the matter?" asked Taiga.
"I imagined they were important to you," she went on. "She is your wife and that is your daughter and I don't know what's happened to them."
"What would I have accomplished in asking you? You said it yourself, you know nothing." Taiga exhaled a breath. "Whether they survived or didn't, we won't know until that Kuronuma arrives to the island. I will ask after them then." He looked at her. "And you will tell me that they are safe."
"Yes."
At the end of a somewhat challenging game, Taiga got to his feet and left. He patted her shoulder on his way out the door and left her in the quiet.
Enki had a jade necklace and a bottle of expensive wine delivered to her room with an inappropriate note that asked her to visit his rooms with only the green stones on her body and that he would teach her the wonders of depravity. She took the note to the fire warming her room and watched it curl into itself after tossing it into the flames.
Mio raised the necklace to eye level, turning it slowly. The necklace was made of silver links and the front was embedded with square jade stones. She lifted her hand to compare the silver of the necklace with the ring Okimi had given her. The band was beautiful, crafted with precision, and its simplicity was its selling point. The necklace was obvious in its beauty. It was a piece of arrogance and a promise of all the luxuries Enki could provide her.
"Shugosha-sama," a gentle voice called, followed by a quiet knocking against the wooden frame of the shoji screens.
Mio threw the necklace into a small chest that sat atop a rectangular table against the wall. It was overflowing with earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and rings she had received since she first arrived. The box sparkled in the opaque light of the candle that sat beside it. The jewels were all a darker hue than their usual clear, bright colors where they would remain neglected.
She slid open the shoji to the sight of a mousy, nervous girl. "Heika-sama has called a meeting on Ayuka-sama's behalf."
Mio walked past the servant, feeling the ends of her robes flutter at her ankles with every swift step she took towards the castle tower where she sensed the presence of two artifacts. She reached the meeting hall where she stood alone in the center of the yawning room with Ayuka, Enki, Kuugo, and the Motou shinobi that sealed the door behind her. Their intent was made clear and she fortified herself to keep the weakness from taking over. She anticipated this moment. Standing without an ally to rely on, like a cornered mouse surrounded by death traps.
Kuugo sauntered to her, leaning over her after she was near, and smiled. His proximity upset her, he had a similar feel to Gouki. There was an unnerving nature to him, but no matter how much her instinct nagged her to move, she willed herself to stay in place, staring onward as he walked around her like a beast hunting its prey.
"You came quickly," said Ayuka, sweeping to her with Enki at her heels. "Good. This is of extreme importance."
She glanced over her shoulder at the shinobi baring the entrance and the few others standing in want of orders. She returned her eyes to Ayuka. "Did something happen?"
"Where is the Universe Sphere's guardian?" asked Ayuka, strangely calm.
"The Universe Sphere's guardian is where he is supposed to be," Mio said simply.
Ayuka sucked in a sharp breath. "Mio," she began, breathing out slowly, "this is serious matter. I need the Universe Sphere."
"You cannot make do with the artifacts you have stolen?" asked Mio, feeling the brunt of her anger when Ayuka grabbed her by the neck and squeezed. Mio made a strangled noise, her hands shooting up to grip the hand threatening to squeeze her throat shut.
Everyone around her said nothing, only stared on in silence.
"Who has the Universe Sphere?" Ayuka demanded. "Who did you give it to?"
Mio felt her grip tightening, making it impossible to speak a word, let alone a gurgle. She curled her hands over Ayuka's, sinking her fingers under her palm, and yanked it away from her neck. Tossing aside, Ayuka's hand, she reached to rub the soreness from her throat and took a step back. Ayuka took her hand to her chest, holding it there and stared, outraged by that display of defiance.
"How did you expect me to talk?" Mio asked, walking past the priestess. All eyes were on her as she continued to move towards the wall and she turned to face them once more, seeing the fury in Ayuka's face.
"Then speak!" Ayuka ordered. "Where is the guardian of the Universe Sphere?"
"Give me a reason to tell you the guardian's location," said Mio. "What do you want with my guardian?"
"They cannot have the Universe Sphere!"
"That is not your decision to make."
Ayuka took a step forward, the anger radiating from her. "That sphere already has a guardian!"
"Its last guardian died long ago," Mio said, remembering the last guardian had been Nishiki, Musashi's son and first successor to the Time Sphere. Her grandfather had killed him and it had spurned the far for which he had been known.
"You will tell me where the Universe Sphere is and you will ask no questions!"
Her reaction spoke volumes. Nishiki was alive, but he wouldn't be for long with the Universe Sphere under Tobirama's guardianship.
A laugh escaped her lips.
Everyone else stared flabbergasted, at her and then Ayuka.
Ayuka's face was struck by confusion. "Why are you laughing?" she asked slowly. "What is it you find so humorous?"
She cleared the humor from her expression, but could not stop it from seeping into her tone. "Kuronuma Nishiki is alive," she whispered. She stared into Ayuka's face. Nishiki was such a sore spot for her that the mere mention of it gave her away. She had never seen the woman without composure. She had seen her furious, but she had remained poised. "Has the poison taken affect yet?"
"Give me the name of the guardian."
"What? Can't your Fate Sphere find it?" she asked carefully. "That is what you do, isn't it? You can read every pathway."
"I am blind to your guardians," Ayuka spat. "It is surprising that you only had the Fate Sphere an instant and after that I was blind to everything connected to you! How did you do it, you little witch? What have you done to my sphere?"
Images of herself running her bloodied hand across the surface of the giant scroll appeared in her head. She had done it unconsciously knowing it would do something, but not knowing what that would have been.
Ayuka grabbed her once more, crumpling the collar of her robe. She visibly relaxed. "If you are trying to protect your guardian, you have nothing to worry about. He has held the sphere for too little time, he will not become afflicted by the poison."
"The fact that you are in a panic over returning the Universe Sphere to Kuronuma Nishiki means the poison has already taken root and that it is spreading," said Mio. "The only reason that would happen is if the Universe Sphere accepted my guardian. If you take the sphere from my guardian, they will die, and I like my guardian."
Ayuka shook her. "You will tell me who has the Universe Sphere or else!"
She shoved her harshly into the wall, dropping her hold on her.
"I don't know who you think I am," Mio said, straightening her back. "You can torture me until your heart's content, but I will not utter my guardian's name. Do as you will with me, but you will not have the sphere."
"Kuugo!" called Ayuka.
"Yes, Ayuka-sama." The redheaded Mikazuki shinobi stepped closer.
"Return the Shugosha to her room and make her talk." Ayuka lifted her chin, the proud mien had returned to her beautiful face. Her eyes fell on her and a smile appeared on her face. "Then strip Madara of his artifact. Have him tortured until this one loosens her tongue. You will give one up, Mio, I can guarantee that."
Kuugo took her by the arm and started to pull her away.
"Were you not the one that said Madara was important?" asked Enki, his voice edging on annoyance. "That is why you did not let me kill him!"
"It was only important to keep him alive until Mio was a prisoner in the Sun Country."
Mio was shoved out of the hall by the Mikazuki, other shinobi following behind them, and dragged back to her rooms where she was thrown inside. She scrambled back to her feet, but Kuugo shoved her back down. He ordered two Motou shinobi to stand watch while he went to retrieve Madara.
She would not sit quietly. She stood, tightening the knot on her obi, and walked to her leather trunk to unsheathe her dagger. The Motou shinobi drew kunai in anticipation, but she moved through them quickly. She slashed one across the torso and when the other came at her from her left, she grabbed him by the arm and twisted it around his back until she broke it. She slammed him face first into the ground and kicked him across the face, knocking him unconscious. The other shinobi was groaning, attempting to pick himself off the floor, but the wound was too deep and he was in too much pain. She stepped over him to reach the door and left the room.
Mio paused, eyes closed, and pinpointed Madara's sphere across the island. She went after the slow pulse of the Nature Sphere, running as fast as her legs would carry and avoiding any shinobi. She didn't make it far before the Motou released the temple's priestesses, who caught her on as she crossed the chakra-sucking battlefield and surprised her by attempting to use the Kuronuma's techniques against her. The combination was all wrong, the black water was laced with poison and while it did burn, it did not scorch, and their movements were sloppy. They didn't have the physical capabilities to use the Kuronuma techniques to their full potential.
A wave of thick, black liquid crashed over her. It was lukewarm, but it soaked her to the bone. The priestess that managed to land the attack had been looking particularly smug, until she activated the Black Sphere to support her attempt at copying the technique from what she had seen her use. She created a tall wave of scorching black water and watched a few fools attempt to withstand the attack, only a chorus of sharp screams reached her ears.
She took the opportunity to escape only she realized after she had shaken off the Motou that Madara had moved. She stilled, heart pounding. He hadn't been moved, his artifact had.
Mio changed direction, going towards the ruins of Motou Jikai's castle. She learned the Southern Temple was the only building that had remained intact after the war between the two halves of the Motou clan.
The anger in her turned into something else. It changed into an emotion she had never felt before because she had always chosen pragmatism. She had learned at an early age that impulses wouldn't get her anywhere. They would likely have her killed faster than her occupation. She had felt fear and overcoming it had been her driving force, but none of that had accounted for the strange, new emotion she felt bubbling in the pit of her stomach like a sickness.
She wondered if that was what hatred felt like—wondered if it tasted like bile on her tongue. She didn't like it, but she couldn't help feel it at the thought of Ayuka.
Mio walked through the ruins of Jikai's castle, stepping over the fresh corpses of Mikazuki and Uchiha shinobi. The bottom of her robes were soaked in blood and her bare feet were throbbing and covered in tiny cuts. She moved through the broken entrance, following a trail of fresh blood.
The inner structure of the temple seemed more intricate than the temple in Enki's castle. There were carvings along the wooden beams holding the structure upright and the wooden panels, though ancient and worn. Kunai and shuriken were embedded in the walls and stabbed into the floor, and there was blood, dried and darkening the wood or fresh and the stench mingling with the dusty smell.
She heard a sound and whirled around. Nobody was hiding in the shadows.
Mio started to search the floor for a trapdoor.
A cough.
She stopped to listen. She heard it again and waited until movement followed.
Mio jumped back onto her feet. It was coming from the other side of the temple. She ran across, sinking to her knees, and found the trapdoor. When she opened it, she found no one inside the crawlspace and ran out of the building, searching frantically until she found a dying Uchiha.
She helped turn the man over, saw the blood spilling from his mouth. Her pulse raced at the sight of the gaping wound on his torso and pressed her hands against it to staunch the bleeding. She had seen Takuto and Okimi do this all the time and they had been naturals at it, but she was not. Her stomach turned.
"What happened?" she asked.
Struggling to speak, the man barely uttered a word before he started to choke on his own blood. She pushed him over so that he wouldn't drown in it, but he grabbed her by the arm, forcing her attention back to his face.
"Do…something," he spat.
She blinked at him, perplexed. A shadow fell across her and the man's eyes were bulging, looking up over her. A strong arm wrapped around her neck and dragged her across the broken stone courtyard. She reached for the arm, kicking her feet in her struggle, but it was tightening too quickly.
She couldn't breathe.
Mio buried her fingers into the muscled fresh and tried to break it, but as she heard the bone start to creak, she saw black. Her consciousness went soon after.
Mio opened her eyes slowly, finding it hard to adjust to the dim lighting. The sounds echoed, giving her the impression that she was lying in a cave. Underneath her, the surface was hard and her side was throbbing from having been on it for an undisclosed amount of time.
A hand fisted in her hair, forcing her head back to the front of the cave. A bloody person was lying across in an unconscious heap, arms bound tightly like hers.
"You are making this harder on all of us, Mio," Ayuka crooned.
Straining to turn her head, she could see strands of the priestess's long, red hair.
"Look at him." She pulled harder, making her strain. She saw him clearly, barely. Madara was in terrible shape and in need of attention. "That is what your silence has done. He can be saved, but whether or not he will be is your decision to make. One guardian or another. Him or the Universe Sphere guardian. Choose."
She said nothing.
"I do hate using force against you, but you leave me no choice," Ayuka said. "You only listen to pain. Never reason. I have to take from you to make you do what I want. I don't enjoy it."
"I won't give either of them up," Mio spat, the hatred reigniting. "They are my guardians! They protect my artifacts and I protect them! That is what a Shugosha is supposed to do!"
Ayuka tsked. "I will ask you one more time. Choose."
Mio closed her eyes shut tightly, straining hard against her bounds. They were stretching and thinning. A little more and they would snap. "Kill him," she bit out. It was a risky gamble. "Do it. Kill him. I choose the Universe Sphere. Tell Nishiki. Tell him that he is dying because of your incompetence. Tell him that you could not break a child. Tell him."
The binds started to tear, once it ripped a little, she managed to tug her arm free. She yanked Ayuka's hand from her hair, enduring the pain of having some of her hair pulled out in the process, and pressed her hand against her face. Mio slammed her, head first, into the floor. She leaned forward, feeling Ayuka's fingers digging into her arms as she began to shout.
"You are supposed to be weak!" Ayuka shouted repeatedly. "You are supposed to be weak, how dare you?"
"I am not weak," Mio said.
"Ayuka-sama!"
Mio was yanked to her feet by several arms and she let it happen. Ayuka sat up, her eyes wild, as others began pouring into the strange dimly lit cave. One of the new shinobi tried to help her back on her feet, but she jerked her arm away and stood up.
Ayuka took the sword of one man and stabbed her through the stomach. Mio bit back the scream, but the pain was immediate, sharp, and constant until she twisted the blade and it turned explosive.
"I may not be able to kill you, but I can hurt you until you wish you were," Ayuka threatened, turning the sword again until she elicited a scream. "You will be weakened. You will become nothing. I will break you."
She expected to feel a strum of fear rushing down her spine, but it was absent in the presence of pain. "Do it."
Ayuka took the challenge. "Kuugo, gather men and leave the island at first light. Find Uchiha Izuna and kill him."
Mio struggled against the four shinobi holding her back. "No."
The priestess smiled victoriously. "Give up the name quickly, else Izuna meet his destiny and die." She cast a sidelong glance at Madara. "He won't appreciate it. He has been a faithful prisoner for the sake of his brother—to protect him from you and the messes you bring. It is a shame he did not listen to my warnings, that he can still believe that you are not toxic."
Ayuka waved her hand and Mio was thrown to the ground. She hit the ground directly, the sword twisting further into her body. She cried out, coughing out blood, and landed on her side. "Use this time well," she said, her footsteps nearing. The sound of rustling reached her, followed by the sound of something falling. "Think about what you would be losing and consider your partner's opinion. And next time remember that if you try this again, it will only continue getting worse."
As the priestess removed herself from their new prison, she stopped. "The purification ceremony is in three days."
The purification ceremony meant one thing and one thing only. Marriage. Mio would be married to Enki in three days.
xl: It ain't looking well for Madara or Mio. D:
The delay for this chapter was due to a birthday party, two earthquakes (I felt nothing, really not serious), homework, and Orange is the New Black (thanks Aries01xD for the recommendation, I finally marathoned it and that ending was fantastic). I'm behind on my writing for the next chapter, so there's a chance I won't be able to have it ready to post on the 31st like I wanted. I still hold onto the idea that I can get it done. If not, you will see it in the first week of April.
Also, I asked a question in the previous chapter. I was going to C&P for anyone that might not have seen it (since I posted the chapter then edited it to add the question in), but I was lazy. You can just go back and check it out. I'm just curious for answers, so far I've gotten really interesting ones and I'm curious to read more if anyone has any other responses. If not, that's fine. :D
Moving on. Many thanks to these wonderful reviewers for making my week: crazyuser, MoonlightArrow, amaya-tsuki-chan, Red Lips 'nd Cloudy Eyes, Loteva, Aries01xD, Hina (Hello~ so happy you have been enjoying this story and thank you for answering the question!), and HushedFable!
Thank you for the new follows and possibly favorites! It's been such a joy!
Thank you for reading!
I'll try to post a preview tomorrow.
I seriously wish I had a question to ask after this chapter...but I can't think of anything now. Maybe next chapter!
Bye~