Golden leaves dappled the forest floor. Glimmering green light passed through the trees. The sky glimmered a bright, endless, vast blue, the color of ancient memory and summertime.
Kabuto ducked under one of the trees. He raised his hand. Glancing from side to side, he drew his hands together in a clapping motion.
A series of gates formed across the ground. The golden forms of the newly-formed gates glimmered in the hot sunlight.
"I see we're expected guests," a calm voice remarked. The black-haired woman glanced toward Mizuki. "Did you inform him we were coming?" She stood atop one of the tree branches, looking down at the gates from above.
"I deserted Orochimaru a long time ago. Likely the only fate that would await me here is death." Mizuki's eyes narrowed. "No, beyond that. Did we have to come through this godforsaken part of the woods?"
"We don't have the best of odds elsewhere. According to boss, there's only a limited number of sites across the world, and this is the closest and easiest to gain access to." The black-haired woman scowled. "Quit sulking, Mizuki-nii-san. It's unbecoming of a member of our organization."
Kabuto's eyebrows furrowed. "I'm afraid you have the better of me." He cleared his throat, waving to the woman.
The black-haired woman glanced toward Kabuto. "Nara Shikamōto," she stated in a distant tone. "I believe you've already met my partner? Mizuki-san?" She gestured to the side. "We have another person with us, too." She hopped down off the tree branch, her foot shifting in the rocks.
Begrudgingly, Mizuki joined the partner on the solid stone. The long sword's hilt glimmered in the light brightly.
Kabuto's brow dripped with sweat. He raised an eyebrow. "I thought you died in the Third War." He adjusted his footing, assuming a more loose posture. "As to you, Mizuki, why are you here? Your unit hasn't reported in for years."
Mizuki did not reply. He glanced momentarily toward the rustling bushes before returning his sepulchral, green-lighted gaze to Kabuto.
Kabuto shivered. Somehow the light green eyes frightened him in their stony silence, their chilling darkness.
"That's the way I was ordered to make things happen." Shikamōto leaned against the tree trunk. "We have an offer for Orochimaru-oyabun. I'd prefer to tell him in person, but I understand if you'd prefer to convey the message yourself." She tapped her finger lightly against her jacket sleeve.
Mizuki briefly tapped the hilt of his blade. His eyes narrowed, green lights in the depths of the shadowed face.
Kabuto glanced briefly between the two. He sighed after a long moment. "It seems a fight would be ill-advised at the moment. What do you want me to tell him?"
Shikamōto paused. "Well, Mizuki-nii-san has the secret of immortality. I believe Orochimaru-oyabun was quite fascinated by the possibility. Something to do with discovering entirely unique and new techniques?" She shrugged her shoulders briefly. She looked upward. "Given that, perhaps he'd be interested in a few pointers."
Kabuto smiled. "That won't be necessary. He's already come very close to immortality."
Shikamōto frowned. "Hrm. Then would he have an interest in the power of a jinchūriki?" she asked, tossing Gaara down on the forest floor.
Gaara bled from a small wound above his brow. His eyes were closed in repose. Though most of the wound had closed over, a single drop of blood fell from the forehead to strike and stain the blood.
Kabuto shook his head briefly from side to side. "I can't be entirely certain on that one, but it seems he strongly dislikes Tailed Beasts. I can't see him being willing to play host to one, particularly if his will did not master it."
Shikamōto's eyes narrowed. A small flicker of shadow crossed her body. She stuffed her hands into her pockets. "Mizuki-nii-san. Two morons, twelve and six o'clock."
Mizuki's sword blurred upward. The sheath for the sword fell away in an instant, revealing the pockmarked and green-glowing edge of the pitted iron.
Kabuto's eyes widened. He shifted his foot backward slightly. His hand fell to one side, grasping the cover of his pouch.
"RRAGH!" Abandoning stealth, the figures in the darkness sprung outward, attacking Mizuki.
Mizuki slashed through the air. The semicircle of pressure blasted into the nearby tree trunks, splintering the wood into pieces.
Two figures wearing Hidden Sound garb collapsed in bloodied piles, splinters piercing through their flesh.
"Thus ends the negotiations. I won't bother speaking with a lackey again; clearly the only person with a shred of honor in hospitality is your master." Shikamōto turned her back on Kabuto. Her lips curled upward. "You really are a nasty thinker, nii-san. Using a trick like that on us. Buying time for assassins to kill us. Don't you have any sense of shame?" She glanced briefly over her shoulder.
"In my place you would have done exactly the same thing, you dirty liar." Kabuto's eyes narrowed. "Anyone who survived the war on strategy would have."
"Possibly. At the least, if I had planned such a thing I would have succeeded." The smile faded from Shikamōto's lips. She reached upward, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I will leave this message for your master. Our organization, Hakubo, does not take kindly to liars and cheats. We seek a single world, a world beyond the vagaries of desire. If your master joins us he can create new techniques to his heart's content, and discover a truth beyond the boundaries of the sane. But if he proves as false as you, I'll meet him with stitching through that 'immortal' heart." She turned away. Wind blew along the ground.
Kabuto's eyebrows furrowed. A shadow covered his brow. "Hakubo?" he remarked, his hand falling to one side.
Prelude
The birds chirped outside the city. Light pierced through the walls, striking the dust-covered floor of the house.
Sasuke knelt. Her hands cupped up a handful of oil, spilling it over her forehead. She closed her eyes, murmuring something over the ashes. A single stick of incense burned in the center of a black bowl near the shrine.
The door swung open. Dust swung up along the ground, blowing rapidly into the depths of the room like a gust of high wind.
Sasuke finished her words before she opened her eyes. She glanced over her shoulder, studying the visitor.
Naruto leaned against the door. His arms folded across his chest. He looked briefly toward the shrine with curiosity.
"Naruto." Sasuke stood. She walked over to the table. Pulling out the chair, she sat at a forty-five degree angle to the table.
"I sometimes forget you're a clan heir." Naruto glanced around the room, his eyebrows rising as he studied the darkness.
Sasuke pointed her finger at Naruto. "Think very carefully about how you finish that sentence." She reached upward, combing back her hair with a comb from her pouch.
"I'm done." Naruto shrugged. He glanced toward the doorway briefly, his guard down as he studied the room.
Sasuke lunged forward. Wrapping her arm around Naruto's neck, she forcibly punched him in the stomach.
Naruto groaned. "Ow!" He fell back onto the wooden floor. His hand rubbed his injured stomach. "Emperor, that hurt."
Sasuke sat at the table. She turned her gaze to the door. Her expression remained distant as she sat down again.
"I mean, you don't yammer on like Neji or somebody like that. Sure, you talk about the Uchiha pride all the time, but that's different."
A faint smirk curved up Sasuke's lips. She met Naruto's eyes, her own warmed slightly as she looked at him.
"And usually you don't flaunt your wealth either, so this is unusual for you." Naruto glanced around the room.
Sasuke's expression grew serious. "Yeah. Well, in truth, normally I wouldn't be here. The last time I came here I hadn't been here in almost." She tallied up the numbers on her fingers. "Five years? Something like that." She glanced toward the shrine. "But I had to come here to apologize. Both for losing the sword, and for failing to kill Itachi."
Naruto blinked. "You really think your family would want you to die? That guy's way strong!" he declared firmly. "You can't beat him. You'd just die uselessly!"
"Die or no. It will be my last act in this world to drag him with me. Down to hell." Sasuke's eyes narrowed. She fell silent for a long moment.
Naruto cleared his throat. "Sorry," he stated, rubbing his chin.
"You probably noticed the dust."
Naruto didn't answer.
"Under that dust is the stains of my family's blood. The long-lost shards of the agony they felt. I never cleaned it because I can't clean it until he's dead." Sasuke's eyes flashed crimson. She stared at the rugs. "I can't wash their blood from either of my hands. Me because I wasn't strong enough or he didn't like me enough to stop him. Him because that sin can only be repaid by death."
Naruto looked briefly toward the dust. A wave of shame washed over him.
"But." Sasuke glanced upward. "That's later, and I'll probably need help to do it. If I can land the last blow with my own weapon, that's a different matter." She glanced toward the kunai at Naruto's side. "What's that? Those kunai you were using earlier?"
Naruto shrugged.
"I know at least that it's a sealing technique. And I also know you don't have the talent to perform that kind of seal, and I don't either and none of the current shinobi can." Sasuke stared at the kunai.
Naruto drew in a deep breath. "That blood is your inheritance." He held out the kunai. "Mine is this, I guess. These were the Fourth Hokage's."
"Your father's." Sasuke took the kunai and turned it over in her hands.
Naruto blinked.
"I can see the resemblance between you two." Sasuke turned over the kunai. "These are well made." She glanced briefly toward Naruto's hands. "As weapons go, they're quite high-quality. Where'd you get them?"
"I received it from Jiraiya-sensei. He said that I'd finally earned the right to use them, or something."
Sasuke glanced upward. Her eyes caught Naruto's. "What's the chakra cost for using them?" she asked in a sudden clearer voice.
"Depends on the distance." Naruto hid his hands in his pockets.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Fine." She leaned back in the chair. "It's been a while since we've had dinner as a group. And besides, we need to relax before the mission. Based on Kōju-chan's information they haven't settled down yet, so we've got at least nine days, and relaxation will definitely help." She gestured to the table. "We'll eat here tonight."
Naruto shivered. "What about ghosts?" he asked in a nervous tone. His eyes glanced toward the dark corners of the ceiling.
"If any ghosts happen to come along, I swear I'll protect you from them." Sasuke's eyes rolled heavenward. "Plus, they'll probably be of my family, which means that my singing voice should be enough to quell them."
"You can sing?" Naruto asked in an entirely befuddled tone.
Sasuke smirked. "You can't?" she returned, mocking Naruto's tone.
Naruto gritted his teeth. I really don't know how to deal with her! She's. One second, she's acting great toward me, and the next she's mocking me! He scowled. "Fine. Who's making dinner?"
"I am~!" Kōju remarked, hopping down from the stairs. She brushed down her dress.
"How long were you there?"
"Oh, quite a while." Kōju smiled. "Well, you looked like you were having fun, so I didn't want to disturb you."
Naruto clenched his fist.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. She glanced back toward the table. "What's the plan for dinner? I won't eat ice cream."
"I wanted to try out a recipe from Hidden Stone."
Smoke rose in the sky from the center of Hidden Leaf. The compound faintly reflected the smoke in the dying light of the dipping sun.
A/N: The pace is going to be a bit slower for a while re: plot. I felt that giving time for revelations would prove more effective.