Note:

" talk " - The characters are speaking in Japanese.

" talk " - The characters are speaking English.

' talk ' - The characters are thinking.

More notes at the end of the chapter.

This chapter is unedited/ not proofread. (11/28/20)

Eternal

Part Two: Thallo

Chapter Thirteen:

Puzzles

A few years ago...

"What's wrong with him?!"

Wails of a worried woman, a mother concerned over her seven-year-old son as her husband stared, disgust in his eyes. Distressed as she stared into pale eyes that usually seemed so lifeless, eyes that bore no pupils and almost colorless irides suddenly sprung to life in a disturbing, unsettling manner, sending fear down her spine as the veins near his eyes bulged. This was an irregularity. This was uncommon. And the woman didn't know what to do. Neither did her son as he stared back at himself in the mirror, head aching and seeing things he should not be able to see. The tiniest speck on the wall behind him, the ground beneath his feet, his neighbors in their own apartment sitting down on the couch enjoying a snack while the television was lit.

Panic engulfed him, his body paralyzed on the spot.

"We have to leave, baby. We're not safe here anymore."

His mother held his hand tight, a heavy backpack on his back as she led them, running out of the apartment building they called home. They used to call home. Quickly getting in the cab, the boy watched as the building that encased so many wonderful memories got further away from him, just as how the fire of beautiful memories he cherished flickered off, darkness swallowing the image whole the moment it all went wrong.

"Mama!"

People in white carrying the one person he cared about as tears rolled down her cheeks, struggling against their hold.

"My baby!"

Years of solitude, anger boiling up inside such a small body.

"Whatever he has, it's an anomaly!"

X-rays, tubes, white walls.

"A mutation? Do we know what effect it has on the boy?"

Syringes, needles, poking and prodding.

"There's something in the heat images, sir!"

A door opened, revealing a man tall and foreboding.

"Would you like to know where your mother is?"

"Yes."

It'd been years.

"We'll bring you to her," he paused. "Once you do this thing for us." A wicked grin. "And we might even find your real father."

His father? A man he'd never met. Could it be? His mother said he died.

"What do I have to do?"

The vision faded, replaced by nothingness. But there was a voice, barely audible to his ears. "Neji… you must live."

A green mark on a forehead.

"You are... loved by the…"

A bird in a cage.

"...talent more... in the clan…"

Destiny.

Present

It was as if the air was sucked out of the room the moment the name escaped Kakashi's lips. He watched as the other four in the room reacted, and though they were all shaken, three of them seemed to focus their gazes on the woman whose entire body froze. Her expression was unreadable, but there was a slight tremble in her bottom lip.

Tenten had known him best. They grew up together in a team that grew to be her second family. She had hoped she'd find the others in this life. She wondered where Lee was born, where Gai-sensei may be, but her mind always went to the one person she wished she had more time with. He was someone she held great respect for, her constant training companion, the man who, in time, grew to be someone so important to her that when he died, she became well acquainted with the earth shattering pain that was heartbreak.

She wasn't aware of it then, why it hurt as much as it did. He was her teammate, her best friend, of course she'd be devastated. There would be no more shared glances of amusement or incredulity when Lee and Gai-sensei would go off on their antics. No more training sessions that would last all afternoon. No more nights of guard duty where they'd share each other's company while the two were asleep, talking about everything and nothing. There was something there she never could put into words, something unspoken between them that neither of them ever brought up. So as they grew up and that unspoken gravitation towards each other grew stronger. Brief glances shared felt more intimate. Training sessions that ended late afternoon became bittersweet partings. Those mission nights made her more conscious of her actions. She hoped she'd understand her feelings and make sense of it after the war, and she did. But it was too late.

She didn't decide to never marry. She just hadn't met anyone that could compare to what she felt with him. No one made her feel as respected or as important as he did. So, she would visit his gravesite every morning before she went to work and every night before she went home for that spark, for a semblance of that feeling, and slowly, she mended her heart. She spent the rest of her past life trying to make his spirit proud, live for herself but also for him, for the life he could have had if the universe hadn't been so cruel to the man that had so much to live for, so much to give to the world, so much to prove.

She opened her mouth. "Really?" Her voice was soft, trying hard to mask every emotion that welled up inside her.

He nodded.

She pursed her lips, unsure of what else to say. After all the years of grieving his death, all the years of seeing him in her dreams, she finally got confirmation that he's alive just like she was in the life the universe had granted them after their first. But for it to end up like this.

"He's clearly being used," Temari said, filling in the silence.

"He's undoubtedly not regained his memories yet, but this is what I feared." Kakashi leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees as his fingers laced together. "Based on our encounter, it seems he is capable of using his Byakugan and performing jutsu."

"If he's using Byakugan, he might be able to track us down faster than we thought," Shikamaru frowned. "So our time is limited."

"It was limited to begin with."

Casting a side glance at his girlfriend for her remark, Temari shrugs at him. "How strong is he right now?"

"Couldn't gauge it from our encounter. But his chakra is similar to how it was during the war. Just how much of it he's able to use, I don't know yet."

"What made him stop? With Team Seven such easy targets, why didn't he strike?"

"Naruto."

Sai nodded. "His memories would have to be somewhere in him for him to have so much chakra."

"And Naruto did have a major effect on him in the past." Shikamaru added. "But to have so much chakra and not have a clearer picture of his memories, there has to be something pulling him back."

"What could possibly do that?"

"We'd have to get more information for us to know for sure."

"Well, if he's anything like how he was at the war, we need to prepare Team Seven quickly. Us being on private property is an advantage, but we don't know just how far Shimura's reach is." Temari sighs. "The fact that he could disrupt phone lines means he's more politically powerful than we thought."

"Hopefully whatever information Gaara has procured for us will be able to shed some more light on Shimura or this Kaiju person. You said they were meeting in Nakagin Capsule, correct?"

"Yes. We believe they've been meeting there regularly. Kaiju has been supplying him with his men as guards, it appears. But since Sakura tipped Tsunade off by mentioning his presence in her building, I think he's hired a rat within her staff."

"But the more important files were hand delivered to the staff instead of her servers, which we're lucky she decided to do."

"That doesn't rule out the possibility that someone could have intercepted those files." Shikamaru pinched the bridge of his nose. "And here I thought our past lives were more troublesome."

"We can discuss this more later when Tsunade and Itachi return. Gaara should be coming with them, too. For now, let's eat. The food Tenten left on the porch table could be getting cold."

As everyone filed out, Tenten remained where she stood, waiting to be alone with Kakashi. He had an inkling she wanted to speak with him privately. With her silence during the conversation and her reaction to his name, it was no surprise she had questions. The sliding glass doors closed, leaving them in the living room, alone.

"He was wearing a mask," Kakashi spoke first, hoping to start the conversation before she could second guess her wanting to know the answers she wanted to hear but was fearful of getting confirmation. "He seemed more cagey, less sure of himself like the Jounin you used to know."

"But he's alive." She swallowed. "And on the other side."

He nodded, feeling sorry for the woman. This certainly complicated things for them. First, with his former students being so far out of the loop and having no way of outright answering their questions without risking their lives. Second, with the outbreak in Maiso actually being the villagers' bodies unable to adapt to the chakra pathways forming in their systems and Shimura having control of the area, it meant he could possibly use the information he could get for his own gain, or worse, he was already aware of what chakra could do. Third, a close ally being used as a pawn for the other side. And knowing how close Team Gai was in the past, it undoubtedly affected Tenten.

But with Tenten with them and her knowledge of her former teammate's abilities, they were given a hand to deal. She knew him best. She had trained with him, gotten to know what he's capable of firsthand. And with her relevance and importance in his life, perhaps it could trigger his dormant memories to awaken.

"He'll find us faster than we think he will."

Kakashi had no doubt that he could. "What will you do?"

She takes in a breath, relaxing herself. "See him. Try and wake him up from whatever they have against him. But…" She looked up to the ceiling. "It'll be hard."

"You're taking the news well. You'll be fine."

"To think I'll meet him again like this." Her laugh was humourless. "All before we even track down Gai-sensei and Lee. That's if they're alive in this life." She'd like to think that they were. She hoped they were.

"Can we talk?"

Sasuke didn't expect her to be right outside his door. She thought with everything, she'd preferred to lie down and catch some sleep after what appeared to be a sleepless night based on the dark circles under her eyes and the paleness of her face. Not to mention her unusual behavior.

He'd noticed the distance she had placed between them. It was unnerving, something that affected him more than he'd like to admit. With every look away, it dug under his skin, like a parasite eating away at him from the inside. It really shouldn't be the case. They had just met. In this life, that was. There was a whole other life with a relationship between them neither knew how deep it went. But with the way he reacted with every glance, every word she spoke, every time her skin touched his, he knew they were close, whatever their relationship was.

It was different to the kind of innate closeness he felt with Naruto. He was a brother, a soul that matched his in a way that really shouldn't because of how different they were. No, with her, it was as if her soul was one with his. He could just tell how she felt when their eyes would lock, a shared connection he had only ever experienced when he met her. There was a reason, but there was no in depth explanation. He knew that this was not their first meeting. But he wanted to know just who she was to him for him to be so troubled. Troubled by her sudden avoidance, troubled by the instant desire to be close to her, troubled by whether his past life, his past memories were trying to creep in and take over who he was now. But was there a difference in who he was now? Was he always like this? Would he always be like this? He hated not knowing. He hated knowing there was an answer but that there was a large barrier in the way of the truth.

"Sasuke?"

He realized he was standing there, silent, as she waited for a reply. Instead of saying something, he moved to give her way to enter. With cautious steps, she entered his room, eyes meeting his as his hand still wrapped around the door knob.

"Are you going to close the door?" She asked.

"Do you want me to?"

She nodded. "I want this to be between us, please. It won't take long, I promise."

Slowly, the door closed shut, and it was only the two of them.

She sat opposite him, a few feet between them with her sitting on the edge of his bed and him by the door, back leaning on the wood with his hands enveloped above his chest, waiting for her to say whatever she planned to say.

There was an unnamed tension in the room. She could feel it. She felt it came mostly from her, that underlying fear from what she saw in her dreams the night before still present but with the self consciousness that had arisen because it was only the two of them, alone in a bedroom. She shook her head. Now was not the time to be embarrassed by such a thing.

"I want to apologize for my behavior, being so… far off."

He raised a brow. "What's with the formality, Sakura?"

The way her name rolled out of his tongue felt so familiar, it sent shivers up her body. But as fast as that sensation came, the flash of the same haunting image she saw in her dreams passed through her mind and the nerves reappeared. She looked down. "Sorry," she mutters, feigning a cough to clear her throat. "I know I'm being distant."

"Was it something I did?"

"No!" Yes. She sighed, looking back up at his face.. "It's complicated."

His shoulders seemed to tense slightly. "You had a dream?"

She couldn't look away from the myriad of emotions that peeked through onyx swirls. "Yes."

This time, he looked away, arms falling to his sides and hands put into his pockets. He didn't know what to say next. He was hardly any good at being a conversational partner, most of the time an unwilling participant, but in this situation, he had a lot he wanted to say. He just didn't know where to start. He figured she had a dream, a drip from a crack in the well that was who they were long ago. But with confirmation, there was a small fear of what that dream could mean about him.

"And look," Sakura started before he could say anything. "I know that we don't know the whole context of anything from the past, and that we could be completely different people-"

"But what you saw scared you?"

She bit her lip and nodded.

"Do I scare you?"

Sakura didn't know how to answer that. Instead she looked down, hands on her lap, her nails lightly digging into her skin. "It's not you, perse." Not a lie, but also not the whole truth. "It's what this means. I spent my life planned out, thinking that after working my ass off in college, I'd become a doctor and eventually work my way up to be a surgeon, make enough money to help my family. This," she looked up, gesturing around her. "Was not planned. I didn't think I'd end up with some magic power that maybe helped me in school more than I realize and that maybe I got to where I am not by working hard but because of whatever this is. I'm afraid that maybe this strong feeling I have towards you may just be fragments of a past I don't remember leaking through and that the me I know now may not be reality. It's all just… A lot."

He took a moment to digest her words, process each pained expression, each rise and fall of her voice. She was shaken, undoubtedly shaken the most out of the events in Maiso. From finding out the unbelievable truth of their dreams, to finding a murder site, to finding out the reason she was in Maiso in the first place would be in the hands of the very man who could be behind everything, she was on the edge of a precipice, and he was surprised she managed to hold herself considerably well despite it all. It showed her restraint, but her vulnerability also showed strength.

He had to agree on the things she said, however. He felt the same. To find out that certain truths about his life, about his family were hidden from him and the truth having spilled out in front of him in such a short amount of time with its inconceivable validity and unrealistic possibilities. But it did, and if they'd try to deny it, it would only cause more confusion. She was right. It was a lot. Too much. But it was their reality and they had to face it.

"I understand," he said simply.

"I didn't mean to alienate you or make you feel uncomfortable, but I'd rather just be cautious."

"Cautious of what exactly?"

"Everything. Including you. Including what," she motioned between them, letting the silence fill in the rest of her sentence. He understood. But it still left him with questions and perturbation that he didn't want to speak on. For her to say as much as she did, she's had enough to dwell on for today. For now, he would wait. For what? He wasn't sure. A sign? A flag? For the spark in her eye to return? He would know when it arrived.

Without another word to each other, Sakura stood, giving him a small, uneasy smile that stung slightly, in a way he wouldn't know how to describe. He gave her way, and she left the room, leaving him to his own thoughts, his mind drowning in unspoken words and inquiries that he didn't want to voice.

A few steps was all it took for him to reach the edge of the bed where she sat, a single pink strand of hair a reminder of her presence just a moment ago. Why was he so affected by her presence, by her voice, by her emerald eyes? Everything about her sent a powerful swirl of emotions inside him that he was not used to. His hand went to reach for the strand, a stark difference from the black sheets. As soon as the skin of his finger made contact with it, he felt goosebumps rise on the skin of his arms, a rush of air entered the room as if it was meant to clear his senses, relax his tense shoulders, give him some piece of mind. But it all vanished as soon as an agonizing ache invaded his mind. Clutching his head, he felt his feet go unsteady, his knee hitting the mattress of the bed as his body fell forward. His hand went out, his palm on the black sheets as he kept himself up.

"Papa!"

A youthful voice echoed in his mind.

A young girl, hair short, color matching his own, ran down the hall, a skip in her step despite her exhaustion.

A logo on the back of a red dress, a fan colored in red, black, and white. His eyes continued upward to see the familiar shade of pink, shorter than he remembered, but nevertheless still bright and a comforting sight. The woman turned, emerald green sparkling with content, with that marvelous glow that he felt shouldn't be directed at him. But it was. And it felt like the heavens smiled upon him with that single look. It was quiet but it was powerful.

"We did good, didn't we, darling?" Her smile was infectious, brimming with pride and showering him with such shining devotion.

He felt his arm raise, the only one he felt he had, and he looked to his left and found a sleeve hanging there. Yet he didn't care. It didn't matter.

She walked to his side, her arm wrapping around him just as his sole hand rested on her hip. She placed a hand on his chest, her head on his shoulder, and there, right at that moment, everything felt right.

"Though she is going to have to work more on her stamina. Knowing both of us and our tenacity, I'm pretty sure it rubbed off on her."

He felt his mouth open. "She's our daughter."

"Our daughter."

The room spun around as her voice echoed out into nothingness until the space was completely dark.

"Our daughter."

A daughter.

"We did well, didn't we, darling?"

Darling.

Sparkling emerald orbs directed at him.

Sakura.

"Sakura."

Her name on his lips.

The pounding began.

"Hey, Sasuke!"

The pounding on the door was loud, completely unignorable. His body laid still on the bed, eyes slowly opening as he tried to recount what he had just experienced.

"The food's getting cold, come out!"

A daughter.

With Sakura.

"Come on, man!"

Naruto, finally fed up with waiting for an answer, opened the door. He stood still as he saw Sasuke on the bed, slowly rise up.

"You took a nap?"

A nap.

It wasn't a nap.

It was an experience.

A daughter with Sakura.

That couldn't be what she was afraid of. It didn't feel frightening at all. So what did she see?

What did he do.

He raised his hands, palms up as he studied them. His left was shakier than the other. But that wasn't what unnerved him. For a flash, he could have sworn his palms were red.

Itachi studied the footage on the numerous screens that faced him on the tall wall. Nothing unusual so far, he gathered. But with his arms folded and a sweat on his brow, he had a feeling it would not stay that way.

"We've managed to identify some of the men Kaiju has hired to work under him," Gaara said from his side, eyes also fixed on the screens. "Most were based in Hong Kong and UAE before coming to Japan. From what I gathered, they mentioned something about power he could grant them."

"And they believed them?"

"Based on their shocking loyalty, it would seem so." Gaara turned his head to the older man. "So Naruto and Team Seven?"

"They're fine. Taking things better than I would have thought." That was cause for concern for Itachi. They were taking things well, it appeared. "But I don't know how long they'll keep that up before they can no longer hide what they truly feel."

"You think they're trying to appear less affected than they are?"

"I know so." He sighed. "Naruto, however, seems to be taking it best compared to the other two. But you'll get to see that for yourself when we get to Sendai."

Gaara let a small smile trace his lips. "After all this time." But that smile could only last so long before, at the corner of his eye, he saw an image on one of the screens that caught his interest. "Wait."

He quickly walked to the screen in question and tapped a finger on it to freeze the video. Itachi observed as Gaara rolled back the video for just a few seconds and paused it again. A man, long black hair, his back facing the camera that was situated in one corner of the outside of Uchiha Towers. He was facing the sewer vents, and though his face wasn't shown, they knew exactly who he was.

Two snakes emerge from his long sleeves and land on the ground. Their eyes aimed where he was focused on, as well.

"Shit." Itachi took his phone out of his pocket. "Gaara, check if we've lost anything."

Orochimaru was there. And he knew.

But what side was he on?

"Excuse me, sir?"

Neji felt the hand gently tap on his shoulder. Opening one eye, the air stewardess was taken aback at the color but feigns a cough, regaining her composure, calming her expression. "We are about to land, sir. Please fasten your seatbelt for landing."

He nodded, and she walked away. Sitting up straight, he turned to look out the window.

Sendai.

Notes:

So Eternal's back! Sorry for the long wait. Had a hard time getting motivated to write for this fic lately, but I'm back! Thank you all for the reviews and kind messages. I may not respond to all of them because I am shit at responding, but I read them all and cherish each of them, so thank you.

I've also posted two fics that are in the Eternal verse that take place in their past lives called A Mother's Worries and Inevitable. A small scene from Inevitable was a flashback in this chapter!

In this chapter, we have Sasuke finding out he married Sakura in the past, but Sakura still thinks he killed her because of her dream a few chapters ago, so how do you think this will mess with their current relationship? We also have Orochimaru again after his brief appearance that one chapter. Which side will he be on? Then, we have Neji and the shit he's had to deal with in this second life and how Tenten's reacting to his appearance. What do you think will happen with that? I'd love to hear your theories!

Anyway, I keep people updated on my Twitter on when I'll be updating which fic, so if you'd like to follow me, I'm cxtwithclxws on Twitter!

Holiday season is here/ fast approaching, so Happy Holidays!