Chapter 49 | The Guardians of the Time Sphere I
Mio woke in the center of a massacre. The wintry air was perfumed with blood and decay. The white landscape beneath her feet was sullied by the dead carcasses that had been left behind. Each body she could discern from those around her wore the Uchiha crest and most of them were in pieces or burned beyond recognition.
She breathed in the cold, panicked, and her eyes dropped to her bloodied hands where she found that the indent of a weapon was seared into her palm from a tight grip. She found the weapon at her feet, buried under a thin layer of red snow. She looked around her, horrified at the memory that she had been the one that killed the Uchiha around her—sought them out and slaughtered them. They were Madara's shinobi. She recognized. She knew she would never hurt them.
And yet, she had. She contemplated the action. There were memories in her head of hunting them down for crossing into Kuronuma territory, but they were blurry. The evidence was in her mind and all around her. She killed them, completely aware that she was incapable of doing it.
She did not remember many things like being in near-perfect health or wearing furs, let alone being in weather suited to wear furs. What she did recall was the excruciating pain throbbing throughout her body and lying weak in Madara's arms watching the Time Sphere's mist spinning into a violent red color in warning.
She sucked in the putrid stench, a shudder going through her, and started to walk.
Nishiki activated the Universe Sphere. This was his doing. This was a game under his absolute control. She needed to be cautious because she should not have remembered the new world being any different from their world. Acknowledging this, Mio reached for her ears to feel the earrings hanging from the lobes. The Black Sphere was still in her position, and by the feel of them, she could activate them on whim.
They did not rid the world of the spheres. Good.
Mio wandered through the stretches of unfamiliar territory, snow hills rolling endlessly from a giant ice mountain. There were other new memories in her head that guided her towards the mountain where the Kuronuma clan was supposed to be settled. This was not Mountain Country where Mt. Hyōga had been, this was a different country—one they called their own—where only their clan existed.
She reached high gates made of frosted black stone. They served as the only entrance into her clan's territory. Two shinobi in black armor stood guard, both straightened at the sight of her and seemed to look more alert in her presence.
"Shugosha-sama! Welcome back!" one greeted.
The second guard looked about her. "Where is Takuto-sama?"
"He was not with me when I woke," she admitted.
Another Kuronuma emerged from within the gates and ushered her into a lively village full of her clansmen. They swarmed her upon sight and bombarded her with questions, asking for Takuto. She gave them the same response she had given the men at the gates.
An elderly male appeared from the parted crowd and approached her with a feeble smile. "You are a welcome sight, Shugosha-sama," he said. "The small council will convene for you."
Mio nodded, deciding it would be for the best to go along with things to avoid rousing suspicions. She followed the wizen man into a hall in the center of the village where several Kuronuma waited standing around a table piled up with scrolls. She advanced towards the table, brushing back the hair from her face, seeing the dried blood on her hands in her periphery as it moved past her.
She swept her eyes to the other Kuronuma who went on ahead to ask for the absent Takuto only to receive the same response as everyone else.
"This will not do," said one council member, who possessed a powerful visage and a thick mustache. "We cannot seem weak. Without Takuto-sama in this country, we need a leader."
"The Shugosha-sama will be enough," another council member, with the darkest shade of rose eyes, replied to a chorus of acceptance from his colleagues.
The elderly man came forward besides her, looking up to her with a certain expectation. "Then it is settled, the Shugosha will lead temporarily until Takuto-sama can be located," he said, turning to the others, "This was no doubt the Uchiha's doing. Capturing leaders has always been their best tactic, but they will not defeat us, not when we are this close to avenging the death of our patriarch and our Shugosha's lord husband."
Mio breathed in slowly, preferring to keep her mind off the subject of her grandfather, who through doctored memories she saw he had been the patriarch of the clan, and Gouki. She recalled the truth as the council members argued about their next course of action. She tasted bile on her tongue at the memory. She stopped her grandfather from dealing the final blow. She distracted him, giving Gouki the opportunity to kill him. She remembered and the guilt was immediate and heavy.
She pushed aside various scrolls from the table, revealing the world map underneath them. The others too distracted by their arguments to pay her any mind. The continent was the same. Every country was intact and located where they were supposed to be. She suspected the governing structure remained the same, but as she thought this, she saw a long needle stabbed in the Earth Country. She reached for it, but drew back. She recognized the area as the one that housed Nishiki's castle and wondered why it merited a makeshift flag.
"What do you think, Shugosha-sama?" asked the mustached council member.
She visibly startled and looked to the man that had spoken. She heard nothing of the debate happening apart from the war occurring between the Kuronuma and Uchiha clans. The Uchiha clan was to blame for the death of Shin and Gouki. The Kuronuma clan had taken both deaths as a serious offense.
"It is sacrilege!" the wizen man exclaimed. "They are savages! Not even through equal exchange will we receive our patriarch's body back! They will see him sullied to acquire our clan's secrets! We cannot allow this to happen! We must attack at once!"
"Takuto-sama and the Shugosha-sama have already attempted to retrieve the body by force and this is what's happened. Our greatest medical specialist has been compromised," the mustached man interjected with similar fervor. "We must come to an agreement."
"What happens when the agreement those savages set out is keeping our patriarch's body? What then?" a younger council member asked. "We must answer the Uchiha clan with war. Let us do our country a favor and rid it of the threat those savages pose."
The tension among the six council members reached its peak a second time, the room dissolving into furious shouts and threats of violence amongst them.
Mio intercepted as two of the youngest members grabbed at one another. "Enough," she said loudly, commanding their attention. She could see what Nishiki had done by pitting the Kuronuma clan against the Uchiha clan. She only wondered if the same applied to her other guardian's clans. "We are a peaceful clan and my actions were anything but. There must be a treaty. We will not sully our ancestors by turning into a clan lusting for battle. We have one job and that is to remain neutral. Those were the terms set by Kiyohime, those are the terms, I, as temporary leader, set today."
The four that opposed the idea of a treaty gaped at her, but the others were prepared to write up reasonable terms to send to the leader of the Uchiha clan. She left them to do that and retired to her home.
The Kuronuma village was not like the one on Mt. Hyōga where its members lived in yurts constructed of intricate latticework covered in felt. The homes were tiny wooden lodges that sat side by side in rows surrounding the hall made up of black stone. Hers was a cozy household with little to no furnishing as she walked from room to room. She owned all that was essential for living comfortably.
Mio filled a ceramic basin with warm water and carefully scrubbed the dried blood from her hands and face. She found a change of clothes in a closet in the next room and tugged them on. She pulled on a new pair of boots after discarding all her filthy clothing and left her home.
She covered her head with the pale hood attached to her cloak. She went out through the gates. The shinobi posted at the site suggested she take a couple of shinobi with her in case she ran into another group of Uchiha invading their country.
"I can take care of them myself," Mio assured them.
She walked back to the vast pale landscape. Pieces of it reminded her of Kurata, particularly an elevated part of land further down the mountainous range that was covered in pine trees that were pale from the recent snowfall.
She ventured towards the great pine forest as the cold winds started to pick up.
The flap of powerful wings startled her and quickly she lifted her head up to the cloudless sky to the sight of a great falcon soaring effortlessly above her searching for prey among snow mounds. She hoped the stupid bird froze to death and continued south.
Mio came to a sudden halt. There was someone standing at the edge of the pine forest, tall and all dressed in black with hair down his back. Her heart skipped a beat and her steps quickened. Stupidly, she stumbled forward to the person, seeing something that hung from their neck catch the thin stream sunlight that burst through a break in the clouds.
My artifact. That was her Time Sphere.
It might have been a mistake running headlong to the elevated ground, but she took a chance. She jumped up and took several steps towards him, boots sinking into the snow.
"Madara," she called hesitantly.
At the sound of his name, he turned. She saw he recognized her, not as an enemy, but as an ally. He moved to her silently, reaching for her as she reached for him. She grabbed him by the neck and dragged him towards her into a powerful embrace. He pressed a hand to her back and held her near.
"Please tell me we are not having an affair while our clans are trying to massacre each other," she whispered, drawing back to stare into his face. "What is the last thing you remember?"
"Finding you half dead in the rubble," he answered, then averted his eyes. "Is this the Universe Sphere's doing? Are we inside it?"
"The world was made inside it, but this is…" She paused, unable to explain it. "This is…a new universe released from the sphere." This particular sphere had been difficult for her to understand when she had been learning about every artifact for the first time. "It's a lot of things."
Madara stared at her strangely. Her explanation did anything but elucidate. "What?"
"I can't explain it," she admitted. "Think of it like this. It's a new world with Nishiki in control. He can make changes as guardian, mold things he doesn't like into new things that he does like."
He returned his eyes to her. "Do you have any reckless plans to solve this problem?"
"If we retained our memories from before the sphere was activated, we can assume the other guardians did as well," Mio began, though she had formulated no real plans. "We need to come together. Nishiki and Ayuka are powerful and they are the only ones standing between us and the Universe Sphere. So, you are going to need to give back Takuto."
"What?"
"Takuto was captured by your men. I want him back."
"We don't have him."
"Are you sure?"
"We don't have him." Madara paused. "Now that you mention it, nobody I asked knew where Taiga was."
"Why is Taiga relevant—?" It hit her like a ton of bricks, her tone changed quickly. "You made Taiga a guardian?"
"I am Shugosha. I can choose whatever guardians I want, like you chose to give a sphere to Senju Hashirama. You think I enjoy hearing him shouting in my head?"
"I gave you the sphere to restore you to health, not for you to choose guardians without my permission," she retorted. "Where is my last remaining artifact?"
"I gave it to an Uzumaki," he responded.
"For what reason?" she asked exasperatedly.
He shrugged.
Livid, Mio held out her hand. "I want my sphere back."
"Oh? You want it back now? You did not seem to want it before when I offered it to you."
"Because it's the only thing keeping you alive, but if you are so determined to misuse it by making guardians I do not approve of, I want it back."
"Taiga is an acceptable choice, you cannot deny that."
"I do not trust him."
"He risked his life to accompany Izuna to save you," Madara said. "He has done enough for the Uchiha clan and for you to redeem himself."
Mio put an end to the argument. "We need to find our guardians."
"How do you suppose we do that when our clans want to murder one another?" asked Madara.
"I had two of my council members write up a treaty and send it to you, assumed you are still leader. We will sign it and penalize acts against it."
Madara nodded. "Then, I should stop my team's invasion."
Mio took a step back about to turn, but did not. She thought to ask him if the Uchiha clan possessed her grandfather's body, but doubted they did. It could have been more word of mouth to cause strife between them.
He stared at her expecting her to say more, but she decided against it. "We will meet soon," she said instead.
"Yes," he said in response.
Mio approved of the terms being sent to Madara finding them easy to agree upon during their meeting. The two would be standing face to face expected to act the part of enemies. She did not feel up to the task, but she did hold onto a slight grudge against Madara for assigning guardians without her consent. She did not like the idea of Taiga running around with one of her spheres. She liked it less that there was a complete stranger handling another of her spheres. She chose her guardians based on the connection they shared, whether it be a bond of familial, friendship, cordiality, or professional circumstance. There needed to be a connection and a certain level of trust. Usually, the artifacts themselves told her which person was appropriate for which sphere. She had not found the right guardians for the Vision and Climate Sphere.
She had requirements that needed to be met before forking over a sphere, though it felt easy to let the first couple artifacts go. She knew the recipients.
She did not feel she knew Taiga completely, much less the Uzumaki.
Mio stood on the flattest piece of land farthest from the Kuronuma clan's village in the mountain with her boots several inches deep in the snow. Serving as her protectors were six shinobi, each one larger than the last with the biggest standing at about seven feet tall, his body massive and muscled and intimidating. Two of her shinobi were guarding a small crop of tortured Uchiha they had been holding prisoner for information that they would be returning as part of their agreement.
The Uchiha arrived with double the shinobi following Madara.
One Uchiha carried a body wrapped in white and brought it to her, tossing it at her feet. "Your body, princess," he said mockingly, "as promised."
A Kuronuma released the Uchiha prisoners and with the same mocking tone said, "Your men, my lord."
Mio crouched down in front of the body, fearing she would have to stare down upon her grandfather's lifeless face again. She pulled back the sheet from the shinobi's face and her heart seized. It was him. Pale as the snow beneath him, but colder than the night storms. She covered his face, tucked the sheet inside to keep it from revealing itself, and grabbed hold of his body, hoisting it up over her shoulder.
One of her shinobi offered to take it from her, but she refused. She would carry him.
She met Madara's eyes and saw confusion drawing his eyebrows. He had not seen the body before she pulled apart the sheet. There were questions bordering on demands he wanted to ask, but with everyone watching their every move, even the quick look they shared roused suspicions. Everyone stared at them, from one face to the other.
"We will be powerful allies to the Uchiha clan," Mio said. "As the Uchiha clan will make for us. Let us bury our hatred for one another and create peace amongst our brothers and sisters."
Madara offered his hand for her to take and she shook it, firm.
"We will celebrate," said Madara evenly, withdrawing his hand. "In our country, we will accommodate you and as many men as you wish to bring with you. We will be expecting you, Shugosha."
"The Kuronuma clan looks forward to your hospitality."
They parted without another word, two leaders returning to their homes. The two agreed on a plan to use the celebration as a means to formally come together and leave when the opportunity presented itself. They planned to travel until they found the other guardians.
The sound of a cannon reached them.
Mio turned, seeing the Uchiha looking further beyond to a cloud of red smoke.
Another cannon boomed, another cloud of red appeared in the sky.
"Red smoke," she caught herself saying.
"Another execution," a Kuronuma answered.
"That is the second one this week the Emperor has executed," another Kuronuma added.
Emperor? Execution?
Neither term sat well with her, not without drawing from the deep recesses of her body an emotion so rooted to her being that she felt physically ill. Her heart thundered in her chest, the fluttering in her stomach became a web of knots that tightened, tightened until…
A third cannon fired into the air, filling the pale sky with another burst of red smoke, when she realized she had been scratching her arm raw. She glanced down at her arm and saw it was covered in hives. She stopped, her skin throbbing. Something was wrong, something was terribly wrong.
Mio touched her right earring and sensed the other guardians through Madara's sphere. Everyone with the exception of three were scattered, the three that were together were hard to pinpoint. She looked to Madara one more time, he and his clansmen were standing in place, everyone staring up except him.
He was looking at her.
She let go of the earring and inclined her head, he did the same, and she turned away, returning to the village.
xl: The next couple chapters are going to build up gradually. Nishiki's universe is deceptively like what we are used to in terms of governing, but there's a little extra. You'll be introduced as we move forward.
Thank you to Loteva, Guest, and Kettobase for reviewing the previous chapter! :)
I've officially met my writing quota for this story for this month (it was totally unprecedented and unexpected, but I did it and well, YAY!). I'll most likely be posting the next two chapters at the same time on July 4th and then I'll be taking a week off to finish off the story.
Thank you for reading!
Preview for the next two chapters will be up at my LJ by the time you finish reading this.