Kira
Suki seemed troubled on the trek back to the base, and Kisame had quietly held her hand the whole time.
Back at HQ, she mumbled something about needing a nap, and wandered off toward Kisame's room, with the big shark man trailing behind her.
Sasori gave me a look and followed me to my own room.
"That man... He knew our names, he claimed to have had twin daughters who were taken away by his wife's clan, they were named the same."
Sasori grunted, "That's a coincidence," he said gruffly.
"I thought so too, until..." I showed him my tattoo, "He showed us an identical tattoo to Suki's, and his wife's was the same as mine. It's just... There are too many similarities to call it a coincidence." I said, perplexed.
He was quiet, contemplating.
"And he spoke of a village, full of these smoke users. Where fire, wind, and water are."I recalled, though if I was remembering correctly, there was no way that the Lands of Fire, Water, and Wind shared a border.
"Maybe it doesn't necessarily mean the nations of fire, water, and wind." Sasori quietly explained. "Long before borders were set and Ninja villages were founded, our lands were characterized by their distinct weather patterns. It was rainy in Rain, windy in Wind, fire spread quicker in the drier climate of Fire..." He waved his hand, "I could go on, but you get the point... Right?"
I nodded, "Somewhere that has all three factors, Fire, Wind, and Water, then." I concluded, and he nodded.
"The hidden village of smoke, Kemurigakure." He said.
I found myself agreeing with Takei... If we went to wherever this place was, we'd find the answers we sought.
I visited Suki that night, and we sat on her bed and talked.
"All of our life, we knew that the people who raised us weren't our real parents," She sighed, her blonde hair piled on top of her head in a bun.
I nodded, quiet and contemplative.
"And Takei-san didn't deserve the fate he got... If there's a chance that he's..." She cut herself off, shaking her head.
"I agree that there are too many matching details... But what if we're not?" I asked, not afraid to dash her hopes.
She shrugged. "I just hope that we are."
I nodded once more, and she changed the subject, instantly gushing over how adorable her shark-nin could be.
She pestered me about the progress of my relationship with Sasori, and I told her all there was to tell, nothing had really happened, and I was perfectly fine with that.
It had been a while since the last time we had slept in the same bed, but I woke the next morning feeling closer to my sister than I had in a long time.
It was tough convincing Pein to allow us to travel somewhere that probably didn't exist, so Suki and I drug Sasori back to the village with us to talk to Takei.
We arrived at the fairgrounds, but the circus had already departed.
"We... Missed him..." Suki mumbled, dropping her face into her hands.
"Just our luck," I kicked a rock, and Sasori patted my head. I brushed his hand away and looked at Suki.
More than anything, I wanted to help her get the closure she wanted, but there was still a part of me that was upset that we hadn't gotten to confirm or deny our theory.
Sasori had some items to pick up, so we accompanied him to run his errands.
We strolled the downtown area as he visited a special woodworking shop. Suki led us to a small cartography shop. I held the door open for her, and it jingled as we entered.
"Hello!" An old woman greeted us, seemingly popping up from nowhere. "Are you looking for something? A map will help! Handmade and guaranteed to help you get to your destination!"
My sister beamed, already taking the lead on this. "We're actually looking for a place where fire, wind, and water meet."
I watched the grin fall from the woman's face. "You are not the first to ask this question. That is just urban legend." She offered another toothless grin, and I got the impression that she wasn't being entirely truthful. "I have map here for beautiful tourist sites," she held the map out to Suki, "Free of charge. Please enjoy."
With that, she disappeared into the back of the store once more, closing off that end of our investigation.
"Wait, she said someone else came in asking... Do you think she meant Takei-san?"My twin asked, bright and hopeful. We exited the store and returned to our rendezvous spot.
"Perhaps... But didn't he say he'd been there before?" I asked, reminding her of the holes in that theory.
She shook her head, pale ringlets bouncing. "No, he said that he and Nagaya lived away from the clan," she corrected me. "It's entirely possible that he came here asking for directions to the spot where this place would be..."
I sighed, dropping my remaining argument. "Alright, if you say so..."
She made a noise, then greeted Sasori as he approached us. "Hey, Sasori-kun."
He nodded, glancing at me. "Are you ready to return?"
I shrugged and Suki chirped, "yep!"
"What's that?" He asked, glancing at the map my sister was clutching.
"Oh, um, well the lady in that store gave it to me and said it'd be a pretty sight to see."
"Ah," Sasori said, and left it at that as we returned once more to the Akatsuki hideout.
Suki didn't mention the map again when we returned, but her demeanor had changed for the better. She was happier, it seemed, now that we had spoken to the strange old lady.
I spent the evening reading about the history of the world in an old book Sasori had tuck away somewhere. It was dusty and thick, the words written in age-old ink.
I read all that I could until I started drifting off, curled around the tome.
As if he was bidden, a dark figure slipped in and removed the book from my bed, tucking my blankets around me with the barest hint of a smile.
As I pretended to sleep, he pulled the thick wool blanket over me and perched himself in my chair, silently watching me sleep for a moment before slipping back through the door that connected our bedrooms.
Sasori did this every night, assuming that I was asleep when he let himself in. Eventually, I came to keep myself up until he visited, and only after he left would I close my eyes and allow sleep to take me.
In the early days of our time with the Akatsuki, I didn't sleep well, what with the constant fear of being murdered... Needless to say, when Sasori first started his quiet routine, it startled the hell out of me.
But tonight... I called out to him, mind my tired and confused, I asked him to come back.
"What's wrong?" He asked, faking exasperation.
"Sasori, I can't—" I stopped myself, placing my face in my palms. "It's like I can't form a coherent thought, and I keep wondering and fucking thinking—"
Sasori cut me off with a gentle peck to the lips, patting my head.
"Stop worrying, doll."
I sighed and shifted as he sat next to me.
Sometime later, I drifted off to the sound of the hollow thumping of his heart in his wooden body, a melancholy thought on my mind.
He was gone when I woke up, so I didn't think anything about the uncharacteristic show of weakness.
Zena had returned that morning, and she was in the kitchen, practically getting mauled by Tobi. Sakana and Suki were already eating, obviously enjoying Zena's return.
"Zena-chan, you came back! Hidan said you ran away because Tobi is annoying!" The Uchiha whined, wrapping her in one of his famous bear hugs
She giggled, pushing him back a bit. "I had something secret to take care of," she said, winking and putting a finger to her lips.
I gave her a confused look, but she didn't explain further, just nodded in the direction of fresh food.
I salivated and snatched a scone to fill my stomach. After eating, she led Sakana, Suki and I to the living room to talk about her spontaneous trip with Konan.
"Ah, well..." She began, looking down at her tea. "Konan took us to Jiraiya, actually," she said. "Because of the incident at the festival." She looked up, seemingly more excited than ever before. "I got to meet Naruto."
"Whoa," I breathed out, impressed. I actually had a thing for Gaara, and if I ever had a chance to meet the future Kazekage of the Sand, I'd probably be excited too.
Sakana whistled, "Yeah, Shikmaru would be freakin' awesome to meet," she agreed.
Suki shook her head, "Kisame has always been my Number 1."
"Naruto-kun is so kind and ambitious," She said, "It was really... I mean if being here with the Akatsuki didn't convince you, go talk to that little orange ball of energy."
I smiled, and Sakana and Suki laughed.
"There's more than that, though..." Zena continued after taking a sip of her tea. "Apparently, when I was a baby, somebody took me from this world—and my true family."
Sakana coughed, spitting out her tea.
"Ew," I remarked.
She stuck her tongue out at me, then looked at Zena. "Something similar happened to me... Nagato and I found out that we're.. erm, siblings." She confessed. "I was waiting until Zena got back to talk to you guys about it."
Suki glanced at me, and I nodded. "Well, we're kind of in the same boat."
"There may be a chance that we're originally from this world." I clarified.
"A chance?" Our calm brunette friend asked, eyebrows raised.
"Yeah, there was this guy and he..." Suki told them the full story, from us meeting Takei, to the weird matching tattoos, and finally the old woman who refused to answer us, but insisted that we take the map to the bridge.
"That's too odd to be a coincidence," Zena said, "And there's something bothering me about that map woman."
Suki nodded, "Yep, I'm gonna get to the bottom of this. Pein won't let us go look for a maybe-fake village... But he won't say no if we just want to go look at a bridge... right?" She had a sly smile on her face, and I couldn't help but think about the trouble that usually came after Suki donned that smirk.
As she predicted, Pein let us take a trip to the bridge.
It was more of Sakana and Suki pressuring him to let four fangirls have their moment.
His only condition was that we bring along two Akatsuki members to act as our handlers.
Wisely, we chose Sasori and Deidara, as they were the only two available and willing to accompany us without compensation.
The bridge actually wasn't far from the headquarters, and we reached it an hour and a half after we began our journey, thanks to Deidara's clay birds. Suki and I sat on one with Sasori, and Zena and Sakana rode with the explosives master.
They disappeared after we landed on the bridge, flying up and exploding.
"What do you think, Kira-chan? Beautiful or what?"
I nodded, "Pretty cool, Deidara-san."
"Hmph, don't encourage his childish ideals," Sasori chided me.
I rolled my eyes and glanced at the map Suki held up again. "This seems to be the right place," I observed, pointing out the similarities on the map.
"Yeah, this is it," My sister agreed, looking up.
You couldn't seen further than fifteen feet around you, the fog was so dense.
"I guess this is it," Sakana sighed, sitting down on the wooden bridge.
I shrugged, taking in the view. "If this is what we came this far for, at least it's... Nice."
"Meh, it's alright, but not fleeting enough," Deidara grumbled, feeding clay into his hand-mouths.
Sasori smacked the back of his head, and the blonde yelped.
"It's gorgeous," Zena breathed out, leaning over the railing of the bridge. "Whoa!"
The old railing snapped, and Zena went tumbling over the edge of the bridge, into the mist.
"Zena!" Sakana called out, jumping after our friend.
Deidara jumped into action, spitting a bird figurine out of his hand and jumping on it. He dove down into the spray of mist, disappearing after our falling friends.
Sasori and I looked at each other, then I glanced at Suki.
A minute ticked by, and there was no sign of our friends.
"We have to go after them," Suki worriedly said, biting at her thumb.
I nodded, but Sasori stopped us before we could take action.
"There's got to be a reason they aren't back yet, and we can't blindly jump in without knowing why."
"Yeah... You're right," I sighed.
"Hey! Wait!" A voice called out.
A figure came into view through the fog, waving and shouting.
"Suki-chan! Kira-san!" Takei called, nearing us. "I made it in time..."
"Huh? Takei-san?" My sister asked.
Sasori glanced over the man quickly, deeming him a non-threat.
"The cartographer—I asked her to point you here in case you came asking about Kemurikagure." He explained, showing us a map identical to ours. "She's very meddlesome though, so I wasn't sure if you'd get my message..." He laughed.
"You knew we'd come here?" I asked.
He nodded, "If you truly thought that our ties are deeper than just strangers, then of course you'd come." He smiled, closing his eyes.
I looked away, suddenly remembering the others. "Takei-san, our friends fell over the bridge and they haven't come back up."
The blonde man shook his head. "Once you've breathed in a lungful of that smoke, you're out. Your friends won't be coming back up. The Kemuri will return them to the village on the other side of the bridge after they're taken in and healed."
Suki gasped, "But we can't just leave them down there!"
Takei tsked, "I didn't say there wasn't a way to get your friends." A devilish smirk cut across his face, and he led us to the break in the railing. "The trick is to not breathe. Keep in mind that you're going to hit solid ground. Once through the smoke, you're clear to breathe again."
With that, he took in a deep breath of air, and dropped from the bridge.
Suki and I exchanged a look and Sasori shrugged. "Not like I have to breathe anyways."
"Lucky you," I murmured, before following Takei's lead and jumping off the bridge.
Don't breathe, don't breathe, don't breathe. I chanted internally as I fell. I watched the mist thicken, and I realized that it truly was smoke, concealed by a genjutsu of some sort to make one believe that it was just the spray from the river.
My feet hit solid ground, and I breathed in a lungful of air as I looked up to lock at Takei. He was poking at Sakana's head.
"Hey!" I exclaimed, waving the odd man off of my comrade. "Don't do that!"
"Just making sure," he winked, setting the stick he was using in the grass.
A second later, a thump sounded and Suki sat up, pushing her hair from her face.
She bounced up and Sasori landed gracefully beside her.
"Oh my god, are they dead?" My twin asked, picking up the stick and poking Sakana, who was laying face down in a patch of dirt. I could feel myself sweat-drop, watching her act just like the tall, blonde man had moments before.
"No, just under the influence of a powerful genjutsu." Takei explained. I rolled my eyes.
"If you knew that, why did you still poke them?" I asked.
He gave me a blank look. "Poking is fun."
I held back a deep sigh, resisting the urge to have Sasori use this guy for a puppet, potential father or not.
Sasori picked each of our friends up with his chakra strings, lugging them as Takei led us through the sparse forest.
"The Kemuri clan is very withdrawn," He explained, "So much so that they reject modern technology in favor of the old ways."
Suki hummed, and Sasori and I remained silent.
"Nagaya and I would bring new toys to the children before the twins," He said, "They were always so excited. The adults hated technology... But the kids were in awe." He snapped out of his reverie. "Now they keep to themselves as much as possible. Your friends are under the effect of their Kekkei Tota: Smoke style."
Sasori made a noise of recognition.
Suki and I were lost; there was no mention of this in the manga.
"What's that?" Suki asked.
"Bloodline limit, though it's not quite a kekkei genkai," Sasori explained quietly, knowing the extent of our knowledge of the Narutoverse, as we'd called it, from our late night talks.
"Correct... Basically." Takei agreed. "The Kemuri clan live in this spot, where wind and fire and water exist in harmony. The meeting of these elements causes a dense smoke to cover the air above their village. They use this smoke with their ability and cause anyone who breathes it to fall into a sleep genjutsu. Your friends will be out for... two days maybe."
"What?" Suki exclaimed, "That's a long time."
I agreed. That was some Sharingan-type shit, as Sakana would say.
"Well," Takei grunted, knocking a vine from our path, "In this time, they bring the lost visitors to the village and heal them before returning them to the topside."
I bit my lip, "You speak of this place like you came from there."
He glanced over his shoulder at me, and I understood. Takei had come from this place... His own family had framed him and exiled him. It was probably troublesome to come back
"There is a new clan head, and he's got a soft spot for me..." He said, "It's just hard for me to return to the place where that pain lies."
I was listening too intently to his story, I tripped over a rock and went down hard.
"Shit!" I yelped, clutching my bleeding knee.
"Kira!" Sasori exclaimed, kneeling down to examine my knee. "Are you alright?"
I flushed and looked away. "I'll be fine, stop fussing. Just... Help me up, alright?" I snapped, embarrassed by the look Suki was giving me.
Sasori shrugged and offered me his hand as he stood.
I winced as I rose, and he swept me into his arms. I objected to his carrying me, but he ignored me.
He filed behind Suki and Takei through the thickening brush, ignoring my commands to set me down.
"The village is founded by the Kemuri, the branch of the original kekkei wielders that use smoke." Takei further explained. "Their closest family is the Iburi, they control ash style." He paused in front of us, and we all halted behind him. "They have a deep deeded hatred for each other... Going so far as to move hundreds of miles apart to keep their distance. Imagine my mother's reaction when a Iburi man wandered in, injured and confused. That night, my mother cared for him and hid him, and for a fleeting moment, the clans were joined as one. He was discovered, but not before creating life with my mother. I was born many months later, a Kemuri child with the kekkei of an Iburi." He recalled. "I was tormented, but she saved me. Gave me a reason to smile... And when it was my turn to make her smile, well... I went above and beyond to make Nagaya happy." He let out a low chuckle, then continued moving.
Sasori shifted me as he walked, and I hid my face in his hair.
"And your mother?" Suki asked, cutting the silence.
"Ah, she died a long time ago. After Nagaya and I wed." Takei replied quickly. "It was natural causes, it's okay, Suki-chan. Don't be sad."
He had known she was crying without looking back at her. Hm.
We finally broke through into a clearing, and Takei waved his arms wide. "Welcome to Kemurigakure."
A few steps into the clearing, we were stopped by a band of men dressed in rust colored pants.
"Takei, you've returned." The leader spoke, glancing at Suki and I. "And you've brought outsiders."
Takei chuckled, holding his arms out. "They come seeking answers. Bring them before Nakito-sama and give them the confirmation they deserve."
The man swallowed and narrowed his eyes. "Who are you to be demanding anything, murderer?"
Takei stilled, his voice coming out in a low growl, "You'll watch your mouth, Okuto."
The man scoffed, but nodded to his men.
Sasori set me down cautiously and moved away, standing beside Takei as the guards flanked my sister and I.
A they fell around us, two of them broke off to usher Takei and Sasori away, the latter's chakra strings still attached to our unconscious friends.
The squadron led us through the village, as if parading us in front of the entire community. Side family members eyed us, murmuring behind their hands as we passed through the streets. We finally reached a large house, what I could only assume was the main family's compound.
"Sit." One of the men commanded, and we kneeled in the dirt in front of the large home.
As we waited, one of the other guards entered the house, returning a moment later.
"Lord Nakito will speak with these foreigners." He declared, and I was pulled roughly to my feet.
The house was traditional, complete with sliding paper doors and simple furnishings. We walked through until we reached a bare room, with a low table and two mats on one side of the table.
Suki and I sat side-by-side, glancing at one another in apprehension.
We were joined a moment later by a thin older man wearing a decorated yukata.
"Welcome to Kemurigakure, visitors," He smiled, looking at one of his guards, who stood by the door. "I'm told you have questions regarding—" His words stopped as he looked at me. "Nagaya."
I swallowed, and shook my head.
"—Actually, Lord Nakito, was it?" My sister cut in, "We came to ask about Nagaya-san's lost daughters."
Nakito chuckled, "Those two are long gone, lost somewhere in this vast world."
"Excuse me?" I asked, clearing my throat. "Takei said that they were..."
Nakito looked down at his hands. "I'm no monster... They were removed from the village and sent away."
Suki and I shared a look. "With all due respect, we need to know everything about those girls."
He hummed, still looking at his hands. "Then you must speak to Elder Oul."
I was tiring of the goose chase, to be honest, but Suki kept her determination, and led us to the place that Nakito described.
She knocked firmly on the door, and a young woman with ash gray hair and eyes that resembled burning coals answered. "Yes?"
"Ah, my apologies, we must have gotten the wrong address," Suki bowed, this obviously wasn't the old man Nakito described; the last member of the Council that was active at the time.
"You must be looking for Ojii-san," The girl said, opening her door wider. "He doesn't get many visitors now, but you're welcome to come in."
I nodded graciously and followed her through the home into a small room.
The old man was laying in his bed, and as he entered, his head seemed to swivel around to look at us.
"Hmm, so you've come," he quietly said, "Then it is time. Dear Akane, could you go prepare tea for our guests?"
"Hai, Ojii-san!" The girl bowed quickly and left, closing the door behind her.
"Oul-san, we've come to see the truth," Suki said, stepping toward the old man's frail body, placing her hand on his arm.
"No," he shook his head fractionally. "You've come to see the past."
He reached his hand out to me, and I don't know why, but I took it. His other hand was placed in Suki's, and he exhaled slowly.
"Oul-san?" Suki asked, placing her other hand on his.
"Quiet, child," he chastised, and my sister fell silent.
"Close your eyes and you shall see," He cryptically said, and I felt my eyes drifting closed.
Images flashed through my brain, the council arguing over Nagaya and Takei's wedding, and a young Nakito stepping forward and pledging his loyalty to the family, and asking for role as heir.
Then, the council discussing Nagaya's children.
"It's simply too dangerous," an old woman said, "We cannot risk any twins, regardless of who they are born to."
A much younger Oul shook his head, looking over at Nakito, who had remained silent until now.
"I agree with Lina-sama," He said, though his voice was trembling. "We must remove the children from the clan."
"No, more than that!" Lina argued, and a few of the other elders nodded in agreement.
Nakito stood and slapped his hand on the table. "No harm will come to them!"
"Nakito! Do you dare argue with the elders? Know your place," Lina snapped, and Nakito sat back down without a word.
The vision faded, replaced by another. Masked clan members held a crying Nagaya up as they carried the babies away. She wept as she collapsed on the ground. Takei lay motionless beside her, a thick smoke hanging around him like fog.
Another came up, Nakito and Oul talking quietly, looming over the crib holding the twins.
"Take them far away," Oul warned Nakito. "I agree that distance from the village is the best course of action... But Lina has everyone convinced that the children must die..."
Nakito wiped tears from his eyes, and nodded resolutely. "I will find someone to take the children."
The images were playing through faster now, just snippets of conversation before they were replaced with another. Nakito handing the children to a person cloaked in black, then the person carrying the children away through the smoke.
Then the person was in the village. They set the children down on a stoop and pulled the mask away from their face.
Nagaya smiled sweetly at her children, pressing a chaste kiss to each of their foreheads before bursting into smoke and drifting away in the wind.
Suki and I came back at the same time, gasping for air.
"That's what happened to the twins, then..." My sister remarked, frowning.
Oul's grip hung limp, and his eyes fluttered.
"Oul-san?" Suki gasped, dropping his hand to feel the man.
Akane re-entered then, "Ojii-san!" She dropped to his side and placed her hand on his wrist. "Using those damned eyes always leaves him weak." She said, turning to us, "Don't worry." Her ember eyes glanced between the two of us. "I sincerely hope that you got what you came here for, but-"
"Is there anything we can do to help?" My sister cut the young girl off.
She looked confused for a moment, then smiled, "No, Ojii-san will be alright, I just need to burn sage and rosemary to rouse him."
We watched the process, it was almost as if she were performing a sacred ritual.
She turned and noticed the shared confusion between Suki and I. "Kemuri blood keeps our bodies from suffering adverse reactions to smoke," Akane explained, "Among that, these bundles are infused with chakra, and that helps bring him back."
"It seems you're used to this," I observed.
"Yes. Ojii-san used to get visitors a lot, but the more he uses the eyes, the more time it takes for his stamina to replenish." Her eyes were downcast, watching her grandfather as she tended to him. "Now Nakito-sama only comes a few times a year. Ojii-sama doesn't have much time left."
After a few more wafts of the smoke, Oul-san slowly opened his eyes, "I'm terribly sorry, Akane-chan," he mumbled.
She took his hand in hers, soothing him. "It's alright, Ojii-san, I understand the burden of your eyes."
"Mmm, I'm going to rest now, dear," He quietly said, closing his eyes once more.
Akane led us to the sitting room in the house, and poured us each a cup of tea.
"Akane-san, could you tell us about your grandfather's eyes?" I asked, not interested in the too-hot liquid.
She swallowed, glancing from me to Suki. "Ojii-san inherited those eyes from his brother," she said, solemnly. "He was known as the God-Killer. He slayed the divine twins and took their foresight and hindsight." She tapped her forehead, indicating that the man she spoke of had stolen the third eyes of the powerful beings.
I remained silent, glancing at my sister.
"He wanted the power those third eyes held, and with the pair of Jikan eyes, you can see through anything. However, his spree of pillaging and murdering led to cosmic retaliation. As he died, he gave my grandfather the eyes. If he had died before transplanting the eyes, they would have withered to dust without being returned to their rightful owners."
"And your grandfather is waiting for the return of the goddesses to give back the eyes."
She nodded, "Ojii-san has a good heart," A sad smile graced her lips. "The greed of this clan is what's tearing it apart, not the prophecy."
"That's right, Takei-san told us that your family has something against twins..." Suki recalled, "Can you tell us more?"
Akane nodded, "There's an old legend... Twin sisters, Mirai and Kako, founded the clans. They were the great rulers of the clans, they each held a mysterious third eye. They were considered Goddesses, and were worshiped so... Until the Goddesses were slaughtered and their third eyes stolen. Since then, their names have been besmirched and their legacies have been disgraced, all thanks to the generation of evil that had a hold on our country for so long..."
"That's..." Suki started, but Akane continued.
"The elders believed that any twins born into the clan are the Goddess's attempts at rebirth, though to be honest, it's very rare that it happens... They insist that the children must be gotten rid of, as letting them grow stronger will result in the downfall of the clan... But," She paused, looking at us, "I think the elders are misunderstanding. This place belongs to the Goddesses. They just want to come back."
I looked at Suki as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "That's a very interesting point of view, Akane-san," I remarked. "But I think that they must really want their eyes back..."
Suki giggled, and the dour atmosphere loosened microscopically. Akane had a hint of a smile on her face.
"The elders really believe that twins are evil," Suki observed.
"Mm. So much so that even the heiresses to the clan weren't spared. Lord Nakito had to... Kill his sister's children... His own nieces." She looked up, clapping her hands over her mouth. "I shouldn't be revealing such dark family secrets to outsiders. I apologize."
"No, don't!" Suki cried, "We came asking, we expected to hear everything."
I nodded in agreement. We had heard the awful tale from Takei, who was scarred from his time here.
The redhead sighed, locking her hands together. "I'll tell you everything, then..."
Suki and I both nodded, and she began to speak.
"In the old days, the clans people would visit the Smoke Goddesses' shrines to seek answers from their own future or past. Their eyes cannot be used to see one's own story, so the Goddesses accepted gifts in return for their services."
I nodded, following along.
"There was a man who sought his future, but he wasn't happy with what Mirai-sama told him. After a telling, the Goddesses would need rest, and while Mirai-sama was recuperating, he snuck in and cut the eye from her head, implanting it into his own. With the new power that the eye granted, he killed her, then her sister." She glanced at Suki and I, and for a split second, the embers in her eyes were a raging flame, "With both eyes, he was able to see everything. He was able to manipulate smoke through his chakra, and have no difficulty seeing through any type of genjutsu. He went on to unify the people into the Kemuri clan, giving all of his descendents the ability to manipulate smoke. The eyes were passed along the line, usually given to the heir to the clan... But Nagaya refused to take the cursed orbs, and there was nobody left to receive them before the previous user died... Ojii-san stepped forward and took on the burden. He's had them since, but his body is too frail to withstand the toll they take. Soon, he'll be gone and I will receive the eyes to hold until they true owners return."
"How will you know?" Suki asked, suddenly.
I hadn't even thought to ask it.
"I'll know," Was all she said.