A/N: Gift fic for our dearest Daifuku Mochii! Chracaters are based on the Naruto Themed Tarot Cards! Hope you enjoy!
- In A Nameless Forest Between Nowhere and Nothing -
When the trail grows cold, Aoda appears from the hanging canopy to hiss softly that Sakura has called for Sasuke's return to Konoha. Sasuke, in no good mood at all, with nothing but snails and berries and a few leftover scraps of oxen serving as his past seven meals, quietly devastated at the dead end that months of clues and leads have pointed to, promptly ignores the request and turns on his heels. He will have to return to his prior post, a small landing on a cliff that overlooked a good stretch of the forest. His fire that he kicked out just that morning will be waiting for him, and Sasuke will greet it with a somber, ticked face before blowing life back into it. More snails and edible forest berries for dinner, and then a sleepless night where he will toss and turn, upset, back to square one.
Aoda follows from the canopy, hardly making a sound.
He does not stop until Sasuke stops, and then his large head lowers from the tall branches above.
"Master." His tongue zips around in the air, tasting the displeasure rolling off of Sasuke's form. "Another message from Sakura."
"Just ignore her," he insists, though a small part of his mind near the front is curious. Sakura has not called for him since Naruto's funeral. Twice in one day is a daunting sign. But she's her own person, and she is strong, and she can take care of herself without him; whatever it is, Sasuke is sure he is not desperately needed. "If she tries again, don't pay it any attention."
Aoda feels the command with the flicker of his tongue, but he does not retreat to the treetops. His head remains low. His eyes stare straight into Sasuke.
"She said something about a curse."
Curse.
That is a word that makes that small, curious part of his mind grow louder. Curse can mean anything: a simple spell that turns one's hair blue every time they bathe; or something more dangerous, more interesting. If Sakura of all people is reaching out to him, his best guess is that this curse is something of the latter.
"What about it?" he asks.
Aoda tips his snout downwards. "She did not specify."
"Then it is no concern of mine."
"She only mentioned it had something to do with the new empress."
Hinata?
He only has two memories of that woman: the first when she was a girl, the second on her wedding day. After vows and dinner and reception, she had come to carefully thank him for coming, for she and everyone else there did not expect Sasuke Uchiha to come across stretches of undiscovered lands just for a wedding (a royal wedding, sure, but of a kingdom he had long left behind him). She followed that type of mannerism that was polite and kind, but it made him uncomfortable, and he had been glad that she didn't lag behind to small-talk him to death; instead, she went to her new husband, glowing with pride, and that was the last time he saw her.
Empress Hinata, while many things, is not known for being the most hateable person in all the lands. No witch or warlock would hex her for the sake of it.
Sasuke considers — then stops. The Kingdom of Konoha is a two-week's journey by foot. His current trail ran dry, but that does not mean the next one will. He can't afford getting distracted.
Sasuke rounds Aoda's head, getting a few steps down the path —
"Master."
His companion's eyes dilate, pupils slim lines of black. He listens to the far-off message, and when it finishes, he focuses back on Sasuke.
"Another message from Sakura. She says the Great Light Mage Tsunade and many others have tried and failed to break the curse."
Now that is interesting. Tsunade is a fearsome name. Her magic is known across lands. Her power reaches to countless kingdoms. If they have called for Tsunade's help, that tells Sasuke that not only is this curse important enough, but strong enough to combat some of the world's strongest light magic.
Sasuke gives his companion a particular look, assessing the decision laid out before him. "And she has still yet to give any details on this curse, I'm assuming."
"That's correct," Aoda hisses.
Typical. Sakura knows how to get him. Hold what he wants to know in the wind and make him follow the scent.
"Fine," he says. "We'll go."
Aoda dutifully drops from the canopy, encircling Sasuke in his great stretch of scales. He says not a word, but Aoda is pleased, Sasuke can tell. He stinks of it. The giant snake is fond, after all, of Konoha. When the funeral was announced, he had wanted to go, but stayed a loyal shadow to Sasuke's form as he traveled further and further away from that kingdom.
But now they're going back.
It has to be proven, after all, that out of all the Great Mages in the world, the Snake Mage is the greatest of them all.