Visions and signs
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Minato was a great guy. Always looked like one too. Even as he frowned, his mannerism remained humbled, as he lay the colorful piece of cloth, stretching it out over the dining table.
"Tell me, how did you obtain this…?"
"I came here to check if you knew anything about this."
"Has Kyuubi seen it?" Minato kept his hand on the material. The tapestry felt soft and smooth to the touch, yet at the same time, it was made to be durable, enough to perhaps outlast his life.
"Hinata Hyuga's signature was logged a few weeks ago, placing her at the Rain Village," Sasuke replied, ignoring his question yet again. "And when she came back, she suddenly had something very valuable. I wonder, where did she get it from."
His blue eyes took him somewhere far away, as he recounted what happened after Nenma lost the popular votes to become Hokage. His son had moped around until, one day, he met a politician from the Rain Village. Minata suspected one of their leaders had poached his son away from home, with the promise of responsibilities suited for a Hokage's son.
"Before my son left the village, I gave him something to keep us in his mind,"
"You gave him the tapestry." This time, it was Sasuke who traced his hands over the colorful piece of cloth. It was clear it depicted Kyuubi, Its nine tails made up of many different threads that gave the image life. The threads were woven together by someone who had been a master at this craft, as the intricate image captured its pain. However, part of a human's hand could be seen, reaching out to it. Thus, the whole image is a mystery to him.
Who was being worshiped?
Who was being saved?
"Why keep this from Kyuubi?" Sasuke asked, finally understanding the situation. Minato had wanted this as far away from the village as possible.
"The third Hokage told me a secret before his passing…"
"Hiruzen, of course." The old man had died when Sasuke was three years old, so he didn't take it personally.
"A portion of the Kyuubi's memories was sealed within this," Minato explained, tapping the surface. "This was the only way it agreed to be our guardian. He didn't explain it well but stressed that the tapestry should never be completed. Our guardian might become dangerous and corrupt once it receives its memory back. It might even destroy the same village it vowed to protect."
Sasuke's brow twitched. He wasn't one to want to stir and do anything that would upset the status quo. He wanted nothing more than to keep his village, and everyone, safe, even if it's from their guardian itself.
"So when Kyuubi turned the other day…" Sasuke mumbled to himself. Kyuubu must've been reacting to the chakra-laced threads. It could sense something was missing. Sasuke had merely thought it had been angry that Hinata Hyuga had lied about having the other half. Sasuke sighed. "Hinata Hyuga is on her way to the Rain Village as we speak. I must stop her from searching. I'll send my fastest men-"
Minata walked up to him and shook his head. "Too many people are already involved. Sasuke, you have to find another way."
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When Sasuke returned to the office, looking aged and exhausted, the guardian glanced up as it lay on its back, playing with a yellow ball of yarn.
"Kurama, where did you get that from?" Its ears twitched, flinging the yarn, the ball rolling off somewhere.
"Interesting, I never told you my name." Kyuubi watched Sasuke, with curiosity and fascination. "How do you know my name, Sasuke Uchiha? There's only one human who had the right to know. The first human that created the contract."
Since he had no real answer, he made one that could please the guardian. "Lord Minato-sensei helped me decode bits of the tapestry. Your name is all we could make out for now,"
Its eyes lit up with hope. "Amazing! With the two of you working together, soon I'll know more about myself! Perhaps it will reveal why I exist,"
Sasuke's shaky hands picked up the yellow ball of yarn by his feet and stared at it. So its name was Kurama.
And why did he know that? He breathed out a sigh and tossed the yellow ball of yarn back to Kyuubi, to stop it from observing. The nine-tail fox happily jumped and caught the ball, going back to playing with it on the floor. Sasuke removed his Hokage cloak, and slumped into the chair. He rubbed his temple, finding this all strange and confusing.
Why did I know its name? He hid his face behind a scroll, hiding his expression while pretending to read. Sasuke thought to that strange dream he had. He had wanted to know Kyuubi's name. And after touching the tapestry, he suddenly does. Even at its most incomplete form, the tapestry was dangerous to be around. If someone like him, who has nothing to do with Kyuubi's past, can learn its name, what would happen if Kyuubi spends time with it?
"So, kit, where is it? Where's the tapestry?" Kurama asked as it rested its paw, over the yellow yarn that had unraveled half way.
"I left it with Lord Minato-sensei. He's working on finding out more,"
"I see," Kyuubi stretched and then hopped on his desk. "Since the blue kit is risking her life, and searching out there, I'm going to honor the contract on my end,"
"Neji?"
"Yes. I'm going to follow this Neji Hyuga until I pick up on someone's intent to harm this child's life."
"Kyuubi, we're not children,"
"Yet, your lifespan is shorter than a ball of yarn. Shorter than one of my fur strand,"
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It's been only a few weeks since she had last seen Nenma, and Hinata couldn't believe it was starting up, all over again. Just like the last time, he pretended like he didn't know she was there because she needed something from him. Would pretend like she wasn't there on a mission. And through vague gestures of intimacy, he would take her around the village, arms draped around her shoulder, and walk her to a ramen place that could rival that of the Leaf Village. Then the second day, on a rainy night, they walked around the city in circles. No matter the discipline, she would cave in by the third night. It was never too late to stop him, but how could she when being there was better than being somewhere else at the time. With her hand against his chest, back against his bed, she accepted him with no discourse because she was the reason they were both so messed up in the first place.
Hinata closed her eyes. Her memories of it were vague. She could pin it to late-teenage curiosity. The beginning of a morbid friendship after Nenma discovered a different way of using the transformation technique. Long brown mane would replace his box dyed inks. Blue eyes becoming a pearly variation of hers. It was funny during training, until a kiss occurred, where she was encouraged to explore a Neji that wasn't her own.
Hinata pushed Nenma away, stopping him during mid-transformation, when remembering Neji was soon to be engaged.
"I didn't come here for this," She said softly while playing with his dark hair.
"A mission?" She nodded, and watched as he sat on the edge of the bed.
"Are you ever coming back home again?" She asked instead.
"They gave the Uchiha the seat that was promised to me. I will never forgive my father for this," In a pointless act of kindness, though perhaps not kind at all, Hinata snaked her arms behind him, hugging him close.
As her chin rested on his neck, she stared towards the door. Veins emerging, eyesight magnifying, taking inventory of all her weapons scattered throughout her Kimono.
"This might be the last time I visit." She said casually.
"You said the same thing the last time,"
"I know," She replied, keeping her eyes fixed straight ahead, as she reached for her combat knife, hidden underneath her dress. "Nenma, why don't we go out on a picnic, out in the open forest. We'll pack some lunch and spend a few hours there. That's all I can do to make it up to you."
He glanced over his shoulder. She was not the kind to plan out things so pointlessly. His eyes displayed recognition, as if asking if the two were being watched. She nodded, and he quickly deduced that it was none of his personal guards. His eyes trailed to the name she wrote on the scroll.
"I'll see you tomorrow in the forest, then."
Hinata slowly rose to her knees, giving him a firm nod. She slipped off the bed and collected her wooden sandals, and opened a window. After climbing on the ledge, she turned to Nenma, as he had been adjusting his black and red sleeve. Going for his dark jacket and mask, as if getting ready to possibly fight.
"Hey, Hinata, before you go, tell me I'm really understanding."
"You're really understanding, Nenma." Hinata giggled behind one hand. For anyone listening in, it might've sounded like regular flirting as she took her time translating. The play on words hadn't ended.
Hinata took a step back, falling hundreds off feet. with her arm spread, inviting the person watching to catch her as she fell.
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The moment he placed her down on the rooftop of a building nearby, she felt the cold concrete through her white socks. The masked Shinobi stumbled forward, reaching out with one hand, touching her shoulder for support as they felt their abdomen, tracing the source of pain. Hinata let go of the combat knife and took a step back as he yanked out the weapon, seething curses at the time. His wounds began to restitched themselves. The pool of blood around his would dried up like a cold drop of water that quickly sizzled into the air during the highest heat of summer.
Sasuke removed his mask.
"Lord Hokage, I'm so sorry!" She quickly bowed down to apologize, her fringes falling forward as her hair split in half and hid her frame.
"I mean you're not in the wrong. I would've been more concerned if you had blindly accepted that it was me, without verifying. After all, you were assigned a rather sensitive mission."
Hinata straightened her posture and dropped the wooden slippers to the ground and slipped them on. "But then, why are you here?"
"The mission has changed. Let's talk," Sasuke took a few steps ahead, his eyes taking in the blue and purple dotted lights that glowed all around them. He folded his arm behind him. Even in his Anbu uniform, he still maintained his posture, reminiscent of his status. "What's the situation? Did Nenma have any intel on the other half?"
"I was patiently extracting information from him. But you got in the way before that could happen." Sasuke frowned, retelling her a condensed version of Minato's warning. She glanced his way, not believing anything she was hearing. "You say that, but you know very well that if you're wrong, Onii-sama's safety will be at stake,"
"Don't you think that perhaps these visions you are having are a result of that line of thinking? Then again I should've known you wouldn't hesitate to risk the lives of others, just for one individual,"
"And what about Kyuubi-Sama?" Does it know Sasuke means to stop her?
"Our guardian warned you, a few times, that it would be dangerous," Hinata began to slowly back away when sensing that the only threat at the time was him. Her eyes widened when he withdrew his sword. "A true Shinobi should never make plans. Now you're going to leave a disappointed Nenma behind."
"Lord Sasuke… you wouldn't-"
"If the single life of a person means that the whole village will stay safe, it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. As for you, Hinata Hyuga, it's a shame that your life will tragically be lost in the process."
By then, his Rinnegan was active, tapping into his gravitational powers, pulling her to him, like a rag doll, in mid-air. His sword smoothly sliced through, and he watched her expression frozen in disbelief, until life left her eyes. Her body popped in smoke, dispersing underneath his choke hold. She had been a substitute all along.
Sasuke squinted slightly when a bright neon light glowed pink all around, as he was trapped inside a chakra tube. He touched the glass-like structure, only to withdraw his hand when an electric shock struck his hand, traveling throughout his body. Sasuke looked up to see Nenma floating above them.
"I was waiting around until I understood the situation, but this is just too interesting not to comment. So you're saying if the tapestry is complete, then the village will be destroyed? Seriously, Sasuke, must you believe every one of my father's lies?"
"Where is she?" Sasuke asked as he joined him up in the sky.
"Heh, you're still the same as old times. You only show up for executions, almost like a grim reaper"
"I ask again, where is she?"
"Gone."
"Really Understanding Nenma. You told her to run."
Nenma pretended to yawn, then cracked his head and his knuckles. "Like I said, you haven't changed at all. When I let her steal my dad's artifact, I had a feeling you'll be forced to come all this way."
"You lured me here for a fight? I don't have time."
He was unable to hide his sinister smile as he spoke behind his mask. "Come on, I've been bored."
"You're misunderstanding something here. Those days are behind me. That's why it's me on the seat and not you. Help me find her, and you will have your fight."
"Dark Rasengan," Nenma murmured, summoning a dark ball of chakra with orbiting rings, as if the attack he was unleashing wasn't strong enough to destroy half of the city.
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