The water rippled.

Hacking and coughing, Akaihi surfaced from the water. A long twisting scar ran down his chest. He exhaled. "Hah. Uchiha Sasuke, you are an irritation. No wonder. Not bad, though." He exhaled. "Nothing less from the Uchiha's heir! What a rush." His lips curled upward. "I'm going to enjoy killing you."

"You're an idiot."

Akaihi turned in a circle. His eyes narrowed. "Oh, who the hell are you supposed to be?"

"I'm merely a messenger." Shishi studied Akaihi's face briefly. He lowered his hand to one side. "Anyway, I believe that you were recruited as a potential inheritor?"

Akaihi blinked. "Inheritor of what?"

"Let me escort you." Shishi's hand touched Akaihi's arm briefly.

Akaihi's eyes widened.

Shishi's body vanished.

The air glimmered inside the statue-filled room.

Shishi sat down. "That's better," he remarked in satisfaction. "We can talk more here."

Akaihi's eyes widened.

"Before we continue, I should say that your attitude offends me. It is entirely a symptom of this world." Shishi sighed heavily. "As thought the world ceases to move, a symptom of reliance. The belief that nothing mysterious exists is a symptom of the way this world works. And it is one of the reasons I hate this world." He paused.

"Hey, I've just embraced the killing nature of the world. Everyone kills. You're no different?"

"Well, yes. If the entire Elemental Nations were assembled, they probably wouldn't account for the number I've killed personally."

Bullshit. Akaihi's eyes narrowed. He's just like those samurai, always exaggerating.

"But even in that woman, and Kenpachi Kuchiki, there was something resembling purity of purpose. It's not as though they simply charged into battle for their own interests. Their deeds were conducted with a special meaning. Yours are—well—it would be rude to say anything other than sadistic. You have your own desires, your own motives—you've practically lost your head in anger." Shishi shook his head from side to side. "Please, do not say that you are the same as others. In reality, the truth is that you're alone in your insanity."

Akaihi snorted. "You're just like a priest, judging while you sit with gold in your hands."

"I suppose I should claim no higher ground, but there is a difference between mindless slaughter and what you practice. At the least the intent was different." Shishi exhaled. "But at any rate, that's not significant right now—it's not the kind of question that'll need answering, not at the moment, at least. At any rate, did you really think that the objective of Hakubo was simply to remove the power of the jinchūriki from other nations?"

"What's the plan instead then?"

"We bind them to the members of Hakubo. How you were selected as the survivor is, I think, beyond me." Shishi sighed. "There are such mysterious things in this world."

"Keh-heh." Akaihi sniggered.

Shishi's brows rose.

"If it does happen, old man, you're the first one I'm killing. In fact—you said you're just a messenger, right?"

Shishi raised an eyebrow. "It would be more accurate to say that I have no involvement with Hakubo beyond having started it in the first place. But yes, if you prefer, you can say instead that I am a messenger."

"Started it? Bullshit. Hakubo started—"

"Right, almost a thousand years ago. Let me rephrase my statement." Shishi paused. "I restarted it by bringing myself into contact with two individuals with an interest in seeing the current system collapse, and eventually be rebuilt."

Akaihi's eyes narrowed. "You're starting to piss me off, old man. I may not have my armor, but I didn't make my reputation just with that. You'll see, you fucker. Prepare to die!"

Shishi's brow creased. "Really?"

Akaihi's arms lifted in the air. The swords glimmered. That's right. That's the feeling I've been missing. My entire life, I've been fighting with the intent of winning, of destroying my prey. Armor just dulled my instinct. I'm ready to kill.

"Bakudō Four: Hainawa."

Akaihi stared in shock at the silver rope suddenly twisting around his arms. "What the hell? You bastard!"

"Good grief." A sigh escaped Shishi's lips. "Battle-crazed lunatics like you are the reason I wanted to change history to begin with." He turned toward the window. "We're beneath Hidden Leaf here," he went on in a quieter voice. "This is the bowels of the darkness, the darkness that started the elemental nations. At any rate, the primary reason to collect jinchūriki was to increase battle power. We had no interest in reducing power. The elemental nations have methods beyond that. Rather, our goal was to achieve insurmountable force." He paused, glancing back toward Akaihi. "May I ask you something?" he stated after a long pause.

Akaihi scowled. "Go ahead, old man. Seems you got me bound already, so skip the small—"

"Regarding Naruto. I understand you were sent to retrieve him."

"We fucked up."

A sound of irritation escaped Shishi's lips. "That's not the issue. I mean, did you encounter him at all?"

"Nope. Akatsuki had him under control, and then he went missing." Akaihi frowned. "Seriously, what's the big deal here, you bastard? What are you after?"

Shishi looked out the window toward the moon. His brown eyes narrowed. "I don't understand what that man is after," he remarked after a long pause. "Not at all. My kings are selected, and ready to begin the game. Yet he's selected such a weak piece as his instigator? The one who will stop the end of this cycle of the world?" He shook his head slowly from side to side.

"Hold up. You're acting like our lives are meaningless to you."

"I have no need to lie." Shishi turned slightly. "I am shinigami, superior to you in every regard."

Akaihi's eyes narrowed. "You're fucking direct."

"Again, I have no reason to deceive you. But he didn't even escape on his own. Incompetent, sloppy. It's not like Shade to make such obvious mistakes." Shishi rubbed his temples. "He's been in this world for nearly a thousand years. I grasp quite clearly—yes, I know—he's in a spot where he forgot himself for a long time, but even so, he should be able to determine an excellent successor."

Akaihi scowled. "You're talking in circles, and it's starting to piss me off. Not to mention I have no clue what you're talking about. A thousand years? Sure, I've met immortals now, so it's not a big leap, but—"

"Yes, you're correct. It's rude of me to continue in this manner." Shishi paused. "I'll begin with the nature of this world."

"Fuck that. Just summarize it for me. Give me a basic idea of what the hell's going on here."

"I don't entirely understand it myself, but—very well. In short, then." Shishi paused. "This world, historically, has been ruled by two impulses. The urge toward violence, and the urge to create. The two are generally found closely together—creation is in reaction to fear. Violence destroys something created. Fear is the most effective, generally. Today, what has been created rests on an unsteady foundation—"

"Ah, forget it." Akaihi yawned. "I've heard enough whining about a perfect world or whatever. I just want to kill."

Shishi's eyes narrowed. "Don't worry. I'm quite sure you'll get your wish, soon enough." He sat upright. "They've arrived," he remarked. He gestured briefly.

The silver thread tightened. Akaihi slid along the ground, finally landing on the stone bier.

Shishi muttered something briefly under his breath. "All right, you're connected. Is there anything you'd like to say?" he asked in a louder voice.

"Make sure he gets resolved quickly." The golden-eyed figure fell silent.

The sky cracked, blazing blue light engulfing the site.

Akaihi screamed. Lines of energy raced along his body, collecting near his head and feet. He shot off the bier, light sparking off his body and briefly forming the image of a cat. Darkness swallowed up the site.

Shishi folded his arms behind his back. His eyes narrowed. "Yes, there's a very strange sense, here—" His voice trailed off. His eyes narrowed. "There's a presence I haven't felt in a long time," he remarked in a softer voice. "Shade, you should be more careful. The darkness on your tail is growing. To begin with, you were the one who came to this world, who began to shape it to your whim."

Awakening

The echoes of the clashing swords reverberated through the darkness, touching the high rafters of the house.

"Sir."

Unmei inclined his head. He took a sip of the glass of mead at his side. "Yeah. Go ahead."

"I ran off and informed him about classified information. If you want my head, you can have it."

"There's no need." Unmei took a sip of the mead. His violet eyes narrowed. "Soon enough things are going to change as well, in a big way…" His eyes briefly closed.

The clash of arms from outside echoed through the room.

Miyama's brow furrowed.

Unmei exhaled. "You know, there are days I wish I could put these old swords of mine up, settle down for good with Erisia, and just leave all this behind me. But once you've gotten started into a game—" He fell silent. His brow furrowed. "Hah. Of course you're here," he remarked after a long pause. A smirk crossed his lips. "Leave me."

Miyama blinked. "Eh?"

"We can discuss your punishment later." Unmei turned his gaze toward the window. His eyes narrowed as he studied the bright moon.

Miyama nodded. Rising to her feet, she hurried out of the mead hall.

Silence filled the wooded room.

"Come on out, Frederika." Unmei's hand tipped back the wine. He smirked quietly. "It's been too long, for the both of us."

A blue-haired woman formed in the window. Her neatly-embroidered dress shimmered in the light, floating above the ground. Her violet eyes, briefly, studied the door. "I see Elysia's not here," she declared in clear, faintly accented English. Her gaze returned to Unmei.

"Care for some mead?" Unmei gestured to the barrel.

The woman shook her head from side to side.

"Suit yourself." Unmei leaned back on the chair. His violet eyes narrowed. "It's been a while."

"Yes. I find the irony palpable. The last time we met—"

"The last time I met you, I was pulling your fat out of the fire against Lamdadelta, which was still fucking absurd. I don't know what the hell could top that. The time before that is the one you're thinking of."

"Yes," Frederika agreed. She leaned forward at the table. "We still lost Higurashi, at the end."

Unmei shrugged. His stance grew stiff, his shoulders drawing up and together.

"But I suppose it would be quite difficult to avoid all ends." Frederika gestured to the table. A bottle of wine formed before her hand. "You mean to see it to the end, then. This quest of yours."

"I'm not involved. Not directly, not anymore." Unmei heaved a sigh. "If I got directly involved, he'd respond the same way."

Frederika's lips pursed in seeming distaste. She leaned forward, taking a sip of the red wine. "Well, I'm not playing against him. I find that I'd like to get involved, if only indirectly."

"Rika, that old bastard has gotten stronger. A lot stronger. My time stop used to be about ten seconds. Now it's up to fifteen. Even then, he's still able to stop time—"

"Oh, please. I'm not stupid enough to engage that old man in direct combat." Frederika's voice grew disdainful. "Rather, I'd like to see the nature of what sort of a piece you picked out."

Unmei chuckled. "Ah. I have a feeling you're going to complain at me again. But what can I do? Really, as I said, it's not that significant. I chose him with an eye to other qualities besides the obvious ones."

"I'll be the judge, if you don't mind." Frederika sipped the wine again. "It strikes me as strange that you picked one so dissimilar to yourself. Why not Sasuke, who shares in reality an ability close to yours?"

"Her personality is right, but somehow—" Unmei paused. "She has too much power to start with. Someone with too much power, too much wisdom, they start with a certain notion of the world. I'd prefer someone who's close to my nature, someone who struggles against fate."

"The struggler, the battler. I see. But even so, he lacks the talent to be considered your equal, does he not?" Frederika raised an eyebrow. "In terms of what he himself can do he is limited. Would it not be more appropriate to select Kōju instead, in that case? If I have observed correctly—"

"Straight talk for a minute. How long have you been observing?"

"Perhaps a month, no more. Around when that Gaara fellow had his spirit removed."

"Got it. Okay. So, basically, my opinion of Naruto is this: He's like a sponge. Put him in a substance, he'll take on its qualities. If you feed him with acid and hate, you'll receive nothing but that. But if you give him good fortune and happiness, he'll take a different quality on."

"I have to wonder if you're serious sometimes. But I suppose it's not my business, either." Frederika paused. "I would merely like to test him, and see what his qualities are. My powers should allow me to examine his qualifications to carry on the world you truly desire."

Unmei's lips curled upward. "You made a piece yourself, then?"

"Indeed. A traveling ascetic from Hidden Rain. She should reveal herself soon—a day, no, perhaps two."

A/N: A quick reminder that I'll be going on a hiatus starting next week and ending once I have the next few arcs written up.

JoblessReader, thanks once again for reviewing. Since you've brought it up a few times, I'll give you some advice derived from my limited experience in writing.

Just start writing. Get into the habit—a thousand words every day may be excessive, but even a little bit every day helps. The more you do this, the less daunting a story of this type seems.

As always, thanks for the praise, and hopefully I'll see you around sometime soon. Thanks to everyone out there for reading, too. Long days and pleasant nights.

A quick update:

First off, I'm not dead. I am, however, in the midst of a pretty lengthy rewrite in light of a few alterations I made a while back and the trickiness of writing up lengthier Bites the Dust sequences. I expect to be able to resume regular updates within six months or so, give or take.

Second, there is likely no better Christmas gift I could have received than this review. For a while now I've hesitated on doing the rest of the series-if I'm the only one who's interested in its completion, why should I continue? The importance of reviews to me cannot be overstated or ignored. From this review I have received the strength to continue rewriting, struggling against the complexities of craft and comprehensibility in making such a story. From the bottom of my heart, not merely from Returner's guest review but from the various accounts that favorited and followed over the past few months, I must express my deepest gratitude.

Thank you all.

Hopefully I'll be giving news of my return soon, with improved writing style, knowledge of life, and general emotional understanding.