CHAPTER 32: COLLAPSE (PART 2)
(Disclaimer: Avatar The Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon and Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own my OC's)
(PLEASE READ: THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL TO "SHUJINKO: THE FOURTH MEMBER", BUT A DIFFERENT STORY WITH SHUJINKO AS THE MAIN CHARACTER. THIS STORY WILL NOT HAVE ANY EFFECT WHATSOEVER IN "SHUJINKO SHIPPUDEN". I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL TO SHUJINKO'S ORIGINAL STORY)
Summary: One night, a stranger breaks into Shujinko's house and tries to steal one of the most mystical objects in the history of the Ozuma clan: The Eye of Kazemaru. When Shujinko tries to stop him, the two of them activate an ancient and forgotten power of the gem by accident, which sends them to another dimension where a certain monk has to master the four elements in order to defeat the evil Fire Lord. What kind of impact will Shujinko's presence have in the Avatar universe? Who is this stranger and what does he want? Get ready for one wild space-time adventure
Opulent; sumptuous; majestic; imposing; vast; splendid.
Many were the words one could use to describe the royal palace of the Fire Nation. Upon entering the palace's premises, however, its incredible size and exquisite architecture played second fiddle to the most noticeable aspect of the place: Its solemnity.
For those born outside the royal family, the Fire Lord was more than just the ruler of an autocratic monarchy; he was the nation's highest form of authority, a nigh otherworldly being whose word was truth and law, a deity in human flesh. As such, the royal palace was his home and his temple, a place of residence as well as reverence. In times of war, the top brass of the army would attend council meetings presided over by the Fire Lord. The latest developments were discussed, the soundest strategies were suggested, and the final orders were given.
One evening, sitting on his throne, Fire Lord Sozin came to the bitter realization that despite the Fire Nation's success in the war, there was nothing he could do to win his ongoing battle against arthritis. The architect of the Air Nomads' genocide could scarcely walk from his bed to the privy without his joints causing him throbbing pain, and even though he had his own indoor palanquin and servants to carry him wherever and whenever he pleased, he despised being paraded around the royal palace like a worthless cripple. No matter how old he was or how much time among the living he had left, Sozin was still the Fire Lord, and no Fire Lord worthy of the blood in his veins should display weakness so openly.
With this in mind, he summoned his generals that same evening and informed them that all council meetings would be held in the throne room from that day on. Prince Azulon, who sat by his father's side during these meetings, took a liking to the new arrangement and saw no reason to change it after his predecessor passed away. What started as a temporary measure evolved into customary law, and the throne room was given a second name by the military men who frequented it; the War Chamber.
Several decades later, a new Fire Lord sat on his forefathers' seat in the War Chamber; the young and handsome Fire Lord Zuko.
"It is getting late, Fire Lord Zuko," a sapphire dragon said with the voice of Azula echoing out of her snout. "You should get some rest,"
"I'm not tired,"
"So you say, but we both know that not to be true. I can feel your weariness, your languishment. When was the last time you gave yourself a respite?"
His eyelids did feel heavy, Zuko noticed as he blinked. Shortly after, he found himself bobbing his head up and down. 'Who am I kidding? I really am tired,' the Fire Lord thought, grogginess steadily burning him from within. 'After everything I've done, how could I not be?'
"Close your eyes, Your Highness. Stop resisting and welcome comfort's embrace with open arms,"
"NO!" the ruby dragon bellowed with the voice of Iroh, to which Zuko jolted in his seat with his eyes snapped back open. "Do not listen to her honeyed words. She seeks to corrupt you because she fears your inner strength. If you relent now, the relief that she promises shall swallow you whole, never to let you go. Reject the temptation and stay awake; your journey is not over yet,"
"Why continue on a path that leads to nowhere? You deserve more than the scraps this deceiver has been feeding you, Your Highness. He has been leading you astray from the very beginning with his false wisdom, taking advantage of your plight and playing you for a fool. His warm smile hides the envy and the bitterness of someone whose legacy is naught but a chain of failures. If you continue to let him stay by your side, he will do everything in his power to ensure you end up just like him, if not worse,"
"All I want is for Zuko to find the same peace I have found without paying the same price I did. Not just because I could not do the same for my son, but also because I do not wish to see him suffer more than he already has, so solitary and full of ire. My nephew, the flower of change you have long yearned for is finally starting to bloom; do not let woes of the past wither it away,"
For a ruler, being indecisive was the same as ingesting poison. Whether it killed you slowly or quickly, death was assured. The young Fire Lord had never been one to suffer from such a flaw, but at this moment, Zuko didn't know how to respond to either dragon. They both wanted completely different things for him while he wasn't sure he even knew what was it that he wanted for himself. All he knew was that he could only walk one of the two paths that were laid before him, that believing one dragon meant casting the other dragon aside.
No answer departed from his lips. There was no time for it. The palace was suddenly assaulted by a cataclysmic earthquake that shook the building to its very core, almost as if the world had taken to dancing. Pieces of the War Chamber's floor cracked and jumped all over the place whilst pillars trembled and swayed their hips. "What's happening!?"
"The moment of truth has come at last. Come with me, Your Highness. I shall take you to your quarters where no hardship or disgrace will ever touch you again,"
"Stay with me, my nephew. Let us leave this palace and find a place where you may live freely and fully,"
"That's not fair! You can't expect me to… I-I need more time to think!"
"There is none left, Your Highness. It is now or never,"
"Make your choice, Zuko,"
"But I… I-I don't-"
"Choose," "Choose," the dragons sang in unison.
"I said I-!"
"Choose," "Choose,"
"Choose," "Choose,"
"Choose," "Choose,"
"CHOOSE," "CHOOSE,"
"SHUT UP! I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO CHOOSE!"
…
…
…
It took a moment for Zuko to realize he was squeezing his eyes shut, but when he opened them again, everything was back to normal. The throne room was as quiet as the Dragonbone Catacombs underneath the High Temple. The sapphire and ruby dragons were gone as well, and although the young Fire Lord was glad the mayhem had ceased, he couldn't help but feel on edge for some reason, as if a lingering sense of danger remained in the room. His gaze flickered uneasily about the place until he took notice of something, or rather, someone.
A woman was standing in front of him, still and graceful like a statue. Her garnet robes were partially covered by an iron grey cloak that hung from her back, yet even at a distance, Zuko could tell they were both made of remarkably fine silk, the likes of which only a scarce few nobles could afford. The delicacy and elegance of her visage were unquestionable, and her light skin was so pristine it could be mistaken for porcelain. She looked like she could be easily twice as old as Zuko, though she still retained some vestiges of youthfulness that would make any woman her age scoff with jealousy.
Zuko's eyes grew wider and wider as he stared at the lady in front of him. She was beautiful indeed, but it wasn't her beauty that had him gawking like a fool. This woman… he knew who she was, and she looked exactly as she did the night she disappeared from his life.
"… Zuko,"
"… Mother?" he managed to whisper with a quaver in his throat. The woman responded by removing the hood of her cloak and nodding shyly at him, the faintest of smiles gracing her lips.
Overwhelmed by emotion, Zuko scrambled to his feet and darted towards Ursa with tears running unbridled down his face. Nothing mattered anymore; not the dragons and their warnings nor the colossal earthquake that shook the palace to its core. Brief figments of his imagination were all they were to him now that she was right there in front of him. After years of doubts and longing, mother and son finally got to embrace each other.
"I missed you, Mother," Zuko sobbed through gritted teeth while his snot stained Ursa's silks. In his mother's arms, the Fire Nation's sovereign lost all decorum and composure. "I missed you so much,"
"I know you have, my sweet boy. I know you have," Ursa replied, rubbing her hand gently up and down her son's back. "… Shame I cannot say the same for you,"
Zuko's heart stopped in his chest, as did the tears in his eyes. Those words at the end had come from none other than his own mother, yet the voice he heard was not that of her. It was a masculine voice; smooth and refined, yet firm and rich in balefulness. Gobsmacked, the Fire Lord retracted his arms, took a small step back, and raised his eyes in search of his parent's gaze… and he found it.
"What is the matter, oh glorious Fire Lord? Is a father's affection beneath you now that you sit on my throne and rule my nation? And here I thought you had inherited your mother's sentimental heart," Ozai said with a wicked smirk as he approached he who was his flesh and blood in name only, holding a dense plume of fire in one hand whilst beckoning Zuko closer with the other. "Come, my son. It has been so long since I last caressed your face,"
Screams of pain and sadistic laughter soon echoed across the War Chamber.
|Earth Kingdom|
The singing of Cat Owls and the muttering of Cricket Mice filled the Earth Kingdom's Northeastern Woodlands as the air carried the rich, earthy scent of soft soil, old wood, and wet rotting leaves. It was a rare fragrance found only in those forests that still retained the untamed sovereignty they were born with. How long before the hand of civilization and its ever-growing grasp reached out and changed things was anyone's guess, but for now, the Northeastern Woodlands remained almost as pure and wild as it was when its first trees took root.
The members of Team Avatar were all positively frazzled by the time they arrived at the Northeastern Woodlands. Since they needed a place where they could set up camp, they settled on the first location that was both spacious enough and secluded enough, which thankfully took them only a short time to come across. Once they were there, Toph made use of her Earthbending and provided Team Avatar with shelter by raising one from the ground. Said shelter consisted of a sizable one-room shack with a roof, a few windows (or rather, square holes on the walls), and enough space for everyone to dwell inside comfortably.
Their first day back in the open wilderness was rather inactive, meaning our young heroes did little aside from sleeping and eating in between naps, though, in their defense, they had more than earned their repose and repast after their latest adventure. Unwilling to leave his side, Aang took some food with him and slept right outside the shack on Appa's musty, but otherwise comfy back. Everyone else stripped down to their undergarments and got into their bedrolls, using their bundled-up clothes as pillows. Gone were the silk sheets, the soft featherbeds, and the scented incense sticks they used to enjoy every day during their sojourn in Ba Sing Se.
The members of Team Avatar spent their second and third days lazing about and doing whatever they wanted, be it taking naps, eating snacks, or going on small hikes around the place. They reveled in their freedom and did as they pleased, living without a care in the world… except, of course, for Shujinko, who faced his toughest test of endurance yet.
During these two days, Shujinko worked like a slave and kept himself busy with self-imposed tasks. Some of these tasks were par for the course; chores that had to be done regardless of circumstance, such as finding the nearest water source, gathering firewood, and conducting area reconnaissance to make sure there weren't any Fire Nation soldiers or dangerous predators prowling about. Other tasks he completed were of lesser necessity or even superfluous, such as camouflaging the roof of their shelter with leafy branches and getting rid of nearby plants, either because they were poisonous or because he suspected them to be so.
Aang's happiness over having Appa back with them rendered him oblivious to Shujinko's comings and goings throughout the day. The rest of Team Avatar, however, took notice of his excessive proactiveness and inquired him about it. Unable to reveal the truth just yet, the Chūnin told them they needed to cover all their bases, arguing that they couldn't afford to grow too relaxed with the Dai Li likely searching for them all over the Earth Kingdom.
"If the Dai Li had its own Bingo Book, we'd be listed as S-rank criminals," he told them.
His reasoning held merit and no further suspicion was cast upon him, though at the cost of having to explain what a Bingo Book was and what S-rank criminals were. This led to him getting quizzed by Sokka, who found the concept of classifying rogue ninja according to how dangerous they were and ranking their profiles in a book positively fascinating. When asked if he had ever come across an S-rank criminal before, the image of Itachi Uchiha materialized in the Ozuma's mind, staring down at him with those blood-red eyes that could trap anyone under any illusion of his choosing.
He replied with a curt "No", yet the tone of his voice told Sokka the complete and true answer. "No more questions,"
Hours came and went, and what started as a coping mechanism transformed into an obsession for the young shinobi, who forbade himself from thinking about anything that wasn't his next distraction. It didn't matter whether there were any practical rewards or tangible benefits to the things he did, so long as they succeeded in keeping him occupied. Once he ran out of tasks to burden himself with, the brown-haired teen resorted to the use of shadow clones, with whom he engaged in all manner of activities and challenges such as target practice, rock climbing, and the occasional sparring match.
After what felt like eons, the moon rose high above the Northeastern Woodlands, announcing the end of Shujinko's self-imposed period of grace.
000
Team Avatar was enjoying what, by their standards, was a lavish dinner under the night sky, having sacrificed a considerable chunk of the supplies they had acquired in Aoshang for the beans constituted the main course of their peasant feast while bread, corn, rice, and a limited variety of fruits made up the rest of the menu. And since no feast was complete without something to go along with the food, the young globetrotters decided to open a small cask of sweet sider, which they drank from wooden tankards so crudely crafted that they were practically dinner bowls with mug handles included.
"Something the matter, Shujinko?"
The young ninja feigned mild confusion as he turned his face towards Sokka. "What do you mean?"
"You've barely touched your food since you got back, same as yesterday. I know I'd build up an appetite after two full days of hard work," Sokka replied before turning in his seat and rummaging through an open bag, retrieving a roughly carved wooden bowl along with a spoon of equal material and quality. "Katara and I made some killer beans. You should try them,"
"Katara and I?" the waterbender repeated, her tone thick with skepticism. "Tasting the food to check if it's too hot doesn't count as cooking, dear brother,"
"Now, now, let's not forget who took care of the campfire and brought you clean water for the pot. You wouldn't have been able to cook squat without my contributions, sweet sister, so technically they're part of the cooking process as well. Therefore, I cooked too,"
Aang, who was in too good of a mood, chuckled lively at Sokka's response. "He's got a point, Katara,"
"Excuse me, I don't just have a point; I am correct. I am unquestionably, categorically, imperatively, and distinctively correct. Anyways, where was I?" Sokka approached the boiling pot and grabbed a ladle, dumping a generous helping of beans into the bowl he was holding before making his way over to the Chūnin. "Here ya' go, buddy. Dig in,"
Shujinko eyed the bowl as though he was being offered fresh manure, and this time, he doubted he would remain on civil terms with his stomach if he shoved another bite of food down his gullet. "Thank you, Sokka, but I'm not that hungry right now. Maybe I'll have some later,"
"The beans will go stale if you don't eat them soon. Besides, you need to keep your strength up, don't you?"
"That's what rest is for," the Ozuma argued, though he quickly became aware of how stupid an answer he'd just given. Sokka looked at him oddly for a moment, most likely wondering if he truly needed to explain the importance of proper nourishment in one's recovery to Shujinko of all people, which prompted him to blurt out the first excuse he could think of. "Look, I appreciate the sentiment, but I just don't like beans, okay? So thanks, but no thanks,"
Much to the Chūnin's chagrin, his refusal elicited a smirk of amusement from Sokka, who proceeded to pucker his lips mockingly. "Awww, how cute. We've got ourselves a picky eater over here. Grumpy wittle Shujinko won't eat his dinner," he cooed in an exaggerated baby voice.
Shujinko curled his hands into fists and said nothing, hoping that his furrowed brow and tightened lips made it clear he was not amused. Getting so miffed over such a silly joke was even sillier than the joke itself, but the Ozuma's patience was at the end of its rope after biting his tongue for two days. Unfortunately, Sokka misread the look on his friend's face and took it as an invitation to keep pestering him. With a cheeky smile, he scooped out a spoonful of beans.
"Maybe this will help," Things got worse when Sokka raised the utensil and started waving it around, drawing imaginary circles in the air while invading the Ozuma's personal space one slow step at a time. "Swiiish, swiiish! There, up in the sky! Is it a Raven Eagle? Is it a war balloon? No, it's a bison! A tasty, yummy Sky Bison! Swooosh, swooosh! Look at him go! He's flying in the air and now it's going straight into your mouth, so you better oooooopen wide!-"
"Knock it off!"
"Ouch!" The 'Sky Bison' went flying in the air for real after the brown-haired teen slapped Sokka's hand aside, smacking the spoon away as if it were a weapon pointed at his face. The amusement vanished from the faces of Aang, Toph, and Katara, all slightly rattled by the Ozuma and his over-reaction. Appa and Momo also stopped what they were doing and stared curiously at the two teenagers. "Sheesh, what was that for?"
Toph slurped down the remains of her bowl of soup. "Yeah, that was a weird thing to get mad at, not to mention stupid. What's got you in such a snit?"
"I'm not in a snit. It's just that…" The brown-haired boy left his sentence unfinished. An awkward silence came about, one that was made even more awkward by the frustrated hiss he then let out; being unable to properly express himself never failed to make him feel stupid. The rest of Team Avatar waited patiently for his next words, though Shujinko would've preferred they hadn't. 'Screw it, now is as good a time as any,' he thought as he mustered all his nerve. "… There's something you guys should know,"
"What, that you really don't like what Katara and I made for dinner? Trust me, you made it abundantly clear a moment ago. You could've just used your words to express your burning hatred for beans, but nooooo. What Sokka needs is a literal slap on the wrist to get the message," Before he could continue his diatribe, Sokka saw the look on the Ozuma's face, whose expression was cold enough to abate his annoyance and numb the pain in his wrist. "Why are you looking at me like that? Did something bad happen?"
"No. Not yet, at least. It's just that what you're about to hear is… important. Very important. This is gonna take a while, but please hold off asking questions until we're finished. Shall we, Katara?"
The waterbender scraped together what little steadiness she could summon and got up from her seat. She knew what time it was; she knew it was coming. Katara felt the scrutinizing gaze of the whole world upon her, weighing her down and burying her into the ground. In a moment of weakness, she searched for support in the eyes of Shujinko, but the glance that she got from the Chūnin told her he was just another listener for the time being. A part of her resented him for it, yet she reminded herself that it was Shujinko who would deliver the truly shocking news.
Gulping down the knot in her throat, Katara began her confession.
000
…
…
…
It took Shujinko and Katara twenty minutes of talking to drain every drop of cheeriness and good humor from the pond their friends had been bathing in all day long.
Katara spent the first few minutes of her confession going into tangents. The Ozuma remained quiet throughout the initial awkwardness with his lips pressed into a thin line, tapping his foot against the ground and scratching the bark of the tree stump he was sitting on. Eventually, the girl from the Southern Water Tribe explained everything related to the Ice Shattering technique from its origins to its risks. She even admitted to using it on Jet despite having never practiced the technique before and lying to all of them about it, which left the Avatar, the Blind Bandit, and the son of Hakoda all slack-jawed.
Finding out how dangerous a thing the waterbender had done behind their backs was jarring in its own right, but then it was Shujinko's turn to speak, and what came out of his mouth shocked them to their core: In order to learn the truth behind his seemingly inexplicable arrival to this part of the world, he was going to subject himself to Katara's Ice Shattering technique this very night.
Under normal circumstances, the members of Team Avatar would've been elated to hear that Shujinko had found a possible solution to the problem that had beset him since day one. They knew it was the one thing he desired more than anything else in the world, and of course, they too were curious to learn how his arrival at this part of the world came to pass. But in the eyes of the Avatar, the Blind Bandit, and the son of Hakoda, there was nothing to celebrate, for Katara and Shujinko were painstakingly honest about the dangers that came with the Ice Shattering technique.
Should the technique be executed incorrectly, or if the memories it unlocked prove too disturbing for the Ozuma's psyche to handle, his mind would be torn asunder and his sanity would be forfeit.
"… And that's about the end of it," the golden-eyed boy finished. "I wanna make something clear: My mind is made up and I'm not budging on this. Still, if any of you wants to say something, say it now or forever hold your peace,"
"… We're gonna need a moment," was all Sokka could say as he frantically rubbed his brow and shifted his body uncomfortably. The boy from the Southern Water Tribe could feel his brain frying inside his skull as he mulled over everything he'd just heard, unable to find any rhyme or reason to it. His astonishment was such that he was actually getting vertigo even though he was sitting on the ground with his back leaned against a rock.
Toph had always dismissed the term "struck speechless", writing it off as mere hyperbole, an expression not meant to be taken literally. Yet there she was, sitting with her arms wrapped around her raised knees and her forehead hanging low, completely at a loss for words. As for Aang, the monk had been over the moon with happiness since reuniting with Appa, the kind of happiness that burned away any and all doubts and concerns. Now he was numb with disbelief, and doubts and concerns were all he had.
After a moment of hieratic silence, Sokka decided to be the first to make his thoughts known. "Listen Shujinko, I know you appreciate an honest and straightforward opinion just like I do, so I'm going to be as honest and as straightforward as I can on this: What you're about to do is absolutely insane. You're talking about risking your sanity in the hopes of getting your memories back, and you don't even know how good or bad your chances of success are. Does that sound like a safe bet to you?"
"I'm a ninja, Sokka. Safe bets are the exception, not the rule," the Ozuma retorted, the sternness in his eyes lending credence to his words. "Besides, Katara already used the Ice Shattering technique on Jet and it worked just fine. Now that she's got the hang of it, my chances are better than Jet's at the very least,"
"Your chances might be better than Jet's. That doesn't mean they're any good," Hakoda's son had a point, one that Shujinko might've conceded to if Sokka hadn't turned to his sister with eyes full of incredulity. "Katara, you're not seriously going to use your technique on Shujinko, are you?"
"Leave Katara out of this. She's only doing this because I asked her to," the Ozuma said sharply, determined to push as much attention away from the waterbender as possible. Although he had never known her to go back on her word, he feared Katara might get cold feet and renege on her promise to help him if the pressure became too much. Under no circumstance could Shujinko allow that to happen.
"I think it's bizarre how the most cautious guy in our group is willing to wager his sanity," Toph said, her tone sober and direct. "You can live without a finger, a hand, an arm, or a leg. Just look at me; I was practically born without eyes and I still get by. But you can't live without something like your mind. Not really. Having to spend the rest of your days unaware of who you are and what you're doing doesn't sound like living to me… That being said, if you really wanna do it, go ahead,"
"Wait, what?" Sokka, who had been nodding approvingly at her words, was caught flatfooted by that last part. "Toph, how can you be okay with this? Don't you understand what's at stake here?"
"Of course I do, Sokka. I'm not stupid, but neither is Shujinko. He knows what he's getting himself into, he's aware of the risks involved and he's accepted them. Who are we to tell him what he can and cannot do with his life?" A moment of silence and stillness followed her words, during which the earthbender's poise faltered as she bowed her head down. When she spoke again, her voice remained steady, yet it had an undeniable softness to it, a sense of resignation that was absent in her previous tone. "I wish you wouldn't do this, but it's your wish that matters here, not mine,"
With his hands on his elbows, Sokka buried his nose and mouth in his palms, groaning in exasperation. "I can't be the only one here who thinks this is a terrible idea. Aang, you're a smart guy; you're with me on this, right?"
"… I-I uhhh…" the airbender spoke too soon. His voice betrayed him, exposing his doubts on the matter.
On the one hand, he agreed that the Ice Shattering technique was far too dangerous an alternative to rely on. What was more, even if the technique was a success and the Chūnin's memories were unblocked, there was no guarantee that those memories would provide a satisfying or useful explanation. The way he saw it, the golden-eyed boy was letting his frustration and his thirst for answers, both admittedly understandable, befog his judgment. Aang himself was guilty of allowing his emotions to dictate his actions every once in a while, so he could tell the same thing was happening to his friend…
… His friend, the fourteen-year-old soldier with unfathomably exceptional powers and a mind as sharp as the weaponry he wielded. No matter how deep a connection they had, how strong a bond they shared, how buddy-buddies they were, Aang could not and would not deny the fact that Shujinko was a dangerous person. Not a bad person, but a dangerous one… A very dangerous one. The thought of someone like him losing his sanity overnight and becoming a complete and utter wild card who could not be reasoned with was enough to make the Avatar feel queasy.
On the other hand, could he or anyone else blame him?
If he didn't do this now, how much longer would his friend have to wait before the truth was finally revealed to him? What if this alternative was Shujinko's best and only shot at seeing his family and friends again? Was he not owed that much at the very least? Had Team Avatar not overcome greater odds? If the Ice Shattering technique instead offered Aang the possibility to revive the Air Nomads or bring an end to the Hundred Year War, would his answer be any different?
Aang would've preferred to remain silent. In fact, not having to ponder these things at all would've been much better. It felt unfair having to respond to such heavy questions after being given a few minutes to meditate on them. This was no mere thought experiment, after all. In the end, he could only give them what he believed was his opinion at the moment and hope that he would not come to rue his answer. "Whether we like it or not, this is Shujinko's decision. It's not our place to judge him,"
"Yes, it is! It absolutely is!" Sokka exclaimed as he got up from his seat, his patience ebbing away. "Just because it's his decision doesn't mean we should keep quiet and let him go through with it. That's not what friends do. If I said I was going to throw myself into a ditch, would you guys start clapping or would you tell me what a stupid idea that is?"
"Simmer down, Sokka. You've said enough," In spite of Shujinko's efforts, some emotion leaked into his voice.
"Trust me, I haven't said half of what I'm thinking right now. We've got Appa, we have a mountain of dirt on the Dai Li, and we have enough time to earn King Kuei's trust before the Council of Five takes over the Earth Kingdom. Things are finally going our way for once. I'm trying to be open-minded about this and see things from your perspective, but I just don't get it, and I don't get you either. The Shujinko that I know would never be on board with this nonsense,"
"Maybe you don't know me as well as you think. If that makes you upset, that's your problem, not mine,"
"I'm the one with the problem? That's pretty rich coming from the guy who wants to get his brain pocked and risk going insane! At this rate, your damn stubbornness is gonna drive me insane! Can't you see I'm trying to help you?"
"Help me?" Shujinko nearly shouted as he got up from the tree stump he'd been sitting in, his tone fraught with indignation. It had to be said about Sokka; he didn't so much as flinch as the Ozuma approached him with a fierce look, stopping just outside of arm's length and locking gazes with him. Shujinko stabbed Sokka with a cold glare, but his words proved colder still. "Like how you've been helping me find my way home this entire time? Is that what you mean?"
Even though he was standing right in front of him, the Ozuma didn't fully capture the look on Sokka's expression until the last of his words abandoned his lips. He was hurt and ashamed and unable to frame a reply, deeply wounded by the ugly truth that had just been shoved in his face. For a second, Shujinko felt compelled to apologize, but stubbornness froze his tongue. In his mind, expressing any sort of regret right now would only diminish his aplomb, and if pride and selfishness served as antidotes to hesitancy, then he would be as proud and as selfish as he needed to be. Just for tonight, the Chūnin would give himself carte blanche.
"I said this once and I'll say it again: My mind is made up. Personally, I'd feel better if I had all of you by my side for this, but don't feel obligated to stick around. If you wanna leave, then leave. No hard feelings or anything. But make no mistake; I'm doing this with or without you,"
An ominous hush surrounded the members of Team Avatar, as though all will to speak had forsaken them. Shujinko believed he had said everything the others needed to hear, but something about the sudden silence that came after made him feel ill at ease. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath; the air felt cold and dark going inside of him, yet warm and sweet upon exhaling. The Ozuma savored the lingering taste in his mouth and took comfort in it for as long as he could.
"Even if they frighten me…" he declared in a murmur. "Even if they break me, I will get my answers,"
000
Under Katara's supervision, the inside of the shack was modified and rearranged to her specifications, which thankfully took less time than Shujinko had anticipated.
Toph was instructed to raise two blocks of different size and width from the ground. The smaller block had the rough shape of a cube; it was given depth and curvature until it acquired the form of a baptism font, a vessel to contain the water was going to be used. The bigger block had the rough shape of a cuboid; it required more effort and patience, and although the ending result was far from flawless, the Blind Bandit managed to mold the block of earth into something that the Chūnin could loosely call a chaise longue.
The sun was long gone by now, but Aang and Sokka placed oil lanterns and candles around the place, providing enough lightning to all those present. Having been literally raised from the ground, Toph's chaise longue proved mighty uncomfortable to recline on, so Shujinko asked the Water Tribe siblings to hand over their sleeping bags before placing them on the chaise longue one atop the other. Adding these two layers of extra cushion made the surface more loose and slippery, but it was way better than lying on cold flat stone.
"Hold on, Katara. You're gonna use that?" a wide-eyed Sokka asked, prompting the Ozuma to look back over his shoulder. The waterbender of the group was holding a thin conical vial with a leather cord tied around its neck, as well as a miniature moon decoration fixed to the stopper, which Katara then removed and left it on the edges of the font.
"Not all of it, just a few drops,"
"What is that thing?" the Chūnin demanded to know, his eyebrows arched into a frown. Sokka's reaction to the vial and Katara's response to him almost gave him the impression that it was some kind of experimental drug or illicit substance.
"This is water from the Spirit Oasis at the North Pole, a parting gift from Master Pakku. It has special healing properties thanks to the spiritual energy imbued within it, which makes it very hard to come across," Katara replied as she meticulously added the drops to the water in the font. "Master Pakku said I should only use it as a last resort, so I'm saving as much of it as I can. But a few drops should still give us an edge,"
Shujinko drew a deep breath and closed his eyes. Shortly after, he felt the water's touch as it soaked his head and applied a certain amount of pressure to his water then began to glow, going from lukecold to frigid in the blink of an eye. The brown-haired teen endured the sudden change in the water's temperature without so much as flinching, determined to face whatever was about to happen with all the fortitude and mettle of a proud Hidden Leaf shinobi…
…
…Then, it really began.
Painful wasn't the right word to describe it. It didn't hurt the way a bleeding gash or a fractured bone did. Rather, it was uncomfortable beyond measure. It was as though his brain was getting licked by several tongues that were both viscous and cold to the touch. The rest of his body was being subjected to a different sort of malaise, with invisible hands groping him from neck to toe, covering him in gooseprickles, and making every hair on his skin stand on end. The golden-eyed boy had never known a sensation quite so dreadfully gross before; a torture that inflicted no pain and left no wounds, yet caused suffering all the same.
Despite his efforts, Shujinko was unable to keep himself steady. He started jerking his neck sideways; his shoulders began to tremble; his legs wouldn't stop twitching. As the distressing feeling persisted, the Chūnin squeezed his eyes shut and tried to stifle as many grunts as he could, clenching his fists until the skin across his knuckles turned pale. Chills invaded his spine, making him stick his chest out involuntarily…Then, Katara stopped the technique and all of its effects ceased at once, leaving a thick numbness all over his body.
"That was…"
"Unpleasant?" the waterbender suggested, receiving a shaky nod of confirmation from the Chūnin. He did his best to appear composed so as to not alarm the rest of Team Avatar, but his sweaty brow and quivering exhalations did him no favors in that regard. "It was the same for Jet. Now you know what to expect every time I prove into your memories. I'm afraid there's nothing I can do to make it more bearable. You'll just have to grind your teeth and get used to it,"
"I will," Shujinko assured her. "Let's do this,"
…
000
The sky was filled with brilliant stars around the crescent of a day-old moon.
Mom and Dad had left days ago.
Nanami would be spending the weekend at a friend's house.
He was lying in bed reading a book by the light of his bedside lamp. 'One more chapter and that's it,'
…
The entrance door made a creaking sound. The wooden floor groaned.
… Were those footsteps he was hearing?
000
…
"… -Ko…"
"… -Jinko…"
"… Shujinko!"
The golden-eyed boy jolted with a shuddery gasp as his heart jumped up his throat. "W-What…?" He blinked several times and looked at the faces of his friends, who were staring at him the same way students stared at a fellow classmate who had gotten caught sleeping in class. Something tickled his chin, and when he touched it, his fingertips were met with drool. "What just happened?"
"You zoned out for a moment. And I mean really zoned out. We were standing right next to you waving our hands in front of your face and I didn't see you blink once. It was almost like you were sleepwalking. Or sleep-sitting, I guess," The Avatar made a pause and let out a discrete sigh of relief. In spite of Katara's assurances that Shujinko was okay, watching the brown-haired boy in a state of such profound disconnection proved to be somewhat unnerving. Aang wondered if this was how his friends felt whenever he meditated his way into the Spirit World and left his corporeal body behind. "Anyways, how did it go? Did you remember anything?"
Aang's question was met with silence as Shujinko lowered his eyes. Now that clarity had returned to him, the Ozuma retreated into his own ruminations and blocked the rest of the world. Half of his brain was fixated on the memory Katara had just unburied while the other half was dealing with the avalanche of questions said memory had given rise to. The Chūnin noticed cold sweat trickling down the sides of his neck as well as a slight perspiration on his brow and under his armpits. Memory or not, the experience had been so grossly vivid that it caused his body to react.
"… It was late at night…," the young shinobi admitted after imposing a degree of logic and order upon his jumbled thoughts. "… I was in my room,"
"Your room?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's where I was. My bed; my drawers; my window; it all looked exactly as I remember… I was alone. Not just alone in my room; no one else was home. My parents were gone for the week and Nanami was staying at a friend's house. I was reading a book and… and then I heard something downstairs… Footsteps,"
"So it was nighttime, you were home alone and suddenly you heard footsteps downstairs. Why, that doesn't sound like the beginning of a horror story at all," The looks of reproach that Sokka got from the rest of Team Avatar made him realize how inappropriate and poorly-timed his comment was. "Wait, that's not what I… Sorry, that was stupid. Forget I said anything,"
Ignoring Sokka's foreboding slip of the tongue, the Ozuma filled his lungs to the brim with oxygen and took a moment to check in on his emotions. Fear and excitement waged war inside of him, clawing at each other like two stray dogs over a morsel of food, and just like a disciplined war hound, Shujinko shoved them aside before either emotion got the upper hand; it would not do to lose even a crumb of tenacity at such critical a time. "Everything faded to black after that. Whether those were footsteps or not, what matters is that I heard something I couldn't ignore. It's not much, but it is a start… Alright, let's continue,"
…
000
A man stood in his father's office, holding the Eye of Kazemaru he had just misappropriated.
His head was concealed by the hood of his cloak. A bandana covered his face from the bridge of his nose down.
Shujinko stared at him.
Bright eyes stared back.
"Clan… Destiny…"
000
…
"I… I-I saw…!" the Ozuma spluttered amidst gasps. "I saw…! He was…!"
"Easy now. Try to calm down," Katara was quick to place a hand on the Ozuma's chest as he puffed and wheezed, his mind revving. With her fingertips, she could feel his heart thumping against his ribs like a battering ram, and the waterbender couldn't help but wince. "I know it's difficult, but whatever it is you saw, think of it as a dream instead of a memory,"
Were he not so busy catching his breath, the brown-haired teen would've scoffed at her. Pleasant or not, no dream came remotely close to what he had just experienced in terms of vividness. He doubted it could even be called a memory due to how frighteningly real it felt.
"Here, have some," Shujinko looked at Katara's zahato for a second, then took it and drank avidly in long sips. Having been drawn from a nearby lake, the water was tepid and had a slight thickness to it, yet the golden-eyed boy chugged it down like a glass of sweet milk. After drinking his fill, the Chūnin handed the zahato back with a calmer heart and a clearer mind, wiping his mouth dry with his forearm.
"The hooded man… He was in my house that night,"
"The hooded man was in your house?" Toph asked, her interest peaking. "What was he doing there?"
A moment of hesitation later, Shujinko pointed at his backpack on the floor next to his laid-out bedroll, to which Toph promptly stomped her heel into the ground. The backpack was sent flying into the air like a trebuchet projectile before landing on the golden-eyed boy's lap, who opened it without delay and retrieved a bundle of cloth wrapped around an object he hadn't touched in quite some time. "Seems he was looking for this,"
Off came the cloth, revealing a sunshine yellow jewel that was almost too big to fit comfortably in the Chūnin's palm, its shape square with rounded corners. "That's the gem you showed us back at Yahai Town, the one the hooded man wanted to steal from you," Sokka said while squinting his eyes. "The Eye of something-aru, right?"
"The Eye of Kazemaru, and yes, I believe he said something along the lines of prying it from my cold dead hands. Still, I can't think of a reason as to why the hooded man would want it so badly. He went as far as to sneak into my village in order to obtain it. Keep in mind; this is a shinobi village we're talking about, not some backwoods town you can waltz in without anyone batting an eye at you,"
"What's truly unbelievable is the fact that this guy followed you all the way to the Earth Kingdom in search of that thing, and your village is so far away from here it doesn't even show up on a map. Credit where credit's due; he's probably the most dedicated jewel thief in history," Toph said before drawing inspiration from her own tongue-in-cheek remark. "Come to think of it, ninjas get paid to do anything back in your homeland. I don't remember all that stuff you said about contracts and missions or whatever, but I got the gist of it. Maybe someone hired the hooded man to retrieve the Eye of Kazemaru and you happen to be standing in his way,"
Aang wrinkled his nose, then proceeded to shake his head. "There's gotta be more to it than just that. When Shujinko confronted the hooded man, he referred to himself as 'Savior' and called him 'Condemner', and he also said something about him being his 'fated opponent'. I don't see how any of it ties in with that gem, but that's not the kind of talk you'd expect to hear from someone who's motivated by money,"
The ambiance in the shack had shifted without Team Avatar even noticing it. Now that some progress had been made, the risks of the Ice Shattering technique were no longer at the forefront of everyone's minds, having taken a backseat to the intriguing mystery they were slowly unraveling.
"Only one way to find out. Let's keep going, Katara,"
…
000
"… Remarkable… Truly remarkable… To think that the blood of the Ozuma clan flows through your veins. I thought they had all been wiped out from the face of the earth, but you…"
…
"Tell me something, child. Who are your parents? Where do they hail from?"
000
…
"… But… No, that… That can't be… It can't…"
"What can't be, Shujinko?" the airbender asked. His voice expressed genuine concern for his friend, yet he couldn't deny he felt an ounce of morbid curiosity as well, which could be said about every other member of Team Avatar except the golden-eyed boy.
"That night was the first time I met the hooded man. He was a total stranger to me back then, not that that's changed. I was a total stranger to him as well, and yet… and yet he knew right away I belong to the Ozuma clan. He said as much to my face. How the hell could he tell just by looking at me that I'm an Ozuma? What is he, psychic or something?"
"Is it really that big of a deal?"
"Damn right, it is. My clan has been extinct for years,"
"Extinct?" Toph's lips opened before it even occurred to her to speak, and when they did, a foul taste invaded her mouth. She was no dimwit; she knew what the word 'extinct' meant, yet she still felt the need to ask. "As in...?"
"Dead; erased; gone; you get the idea. I have no cousins, no uncles or aunts, no grandparents, no distant relatives, nothing. The Ozuma used to be a big, proper clan with many members, but no more. Me, my parents, and my sister Nanami, we´re the only ones left,"
"How come we're finding out about this just now?" Sokka demanded to know. "Why didn't you tell us before?"
"Because I had no reason to. Up until now, the subject of my lineage has never been relevant. I'm not in the habit of telling people how many of my relatives are still alive,"
Katara took in a slow deep breath, drawing patience from the deepest pits of her humanity. It wasn't that the Ozuma's answer lacked validity, but he was just so damn nonchalant about the whole thing that it almost offended her. Her head was filled with hundreds of questions, and though she would gladly spend the rest of the night asking all of them, she chose to ask the only one that mattered at the moment. "Can you at least tell us what happened to your clan?"
"Fine, but you're getting the short version since that's the only one I know. The Ozuma clan was founded in the Land of the Sky, a remote nation of which I know very little. Like many others back then, we were a mercenary clan. We made our living fighting other nations' wars, either because one side hired our services or because it benefited us one way or another. Pops told me we used to be one of the strongest clans in all the land, possibly the strongest back in our heyday. We met our end at the hands of a coalition formed by several of our rivals, who sought to eliminate us before we could grow too powerful. Their combined forces overwhelmed us and our entire clan was put to the sword. Luckily, Pops fled from the Land of the Sky before the massacre took place. Years later, he met my mom. The two of them got married before settling in the Land of Fire, home to the Hidden Leaf Village, and the rest is history,"
Aang was spared the look of intrigue that adorned the other listeners' faces. He remembered all too well the time when he and Shujinko went for a walk together, leading to them having their first heart-to-heart talk. By the end of the conversation, Shujinko had told the airbender almost everything he knew about his clan and its members, including the grim fate that befell them. Per the Chūnin's request, Aang never told anyone what happened to the Ozuma clan, mostly out of respect for his friend, but also because he had no need or reason to divulge said information in the first place.
"I'm about to go out on a limb here," Sokka said once he had enough time to process things. "What if the hooded man belongs to one of the clans that slaugh-… Errh, faced the Ozuma long ago? Maybe that's why he has an axe to grind with you; he's looking to finish the job,"
After a brief moment of deliberation, Shujinko concluded that Sokka's suggestion was fairly valid. Plenty of clans had been persecuted and decimated to the last man at the hands of their sworn rivals in the past, and not just in the Land of Fire. The Chūnin could scarcely imagine having such deep-rooted enmity towards one specific group of people, but history had proven that to be quite possible time and time again. "Maybe, but I doubt that's the case. When I fought the hooded man, I didn't get the impression that he was motivated by some old blood feud. Sure, he was smug, and he certainly seemed to enjoy patronizing me, but I didn't feel any real hatred coming from him,"
Toph nodded in agreement. "Also, if he truly is motivated by a blood feud, why keep it a secret? You'd think someone with his flair for the dramatic would jump at the opportunity to make a grand reveal like that, especially in front of his sworn enemy. That´s definitely the kind of thing a villainous villain like him would do according to every children's story I've ever heard,"
"Maybe, maybe not. We just have to keep digging,"
…
000
"This is the key that will allow me to achieve my destiny, the missing piece of my puzzle…"
…
"You don't know the history behind this gem, much less its true power and purpose…"
000
…
"The Eye of Kazemaru… The hooded man referred to it as the 'missing piece of his puzzle', whatever that means, and claimed it would allow him to fulfill his destiny. He also said I don't know its history nor its true power and purpose,"
Unable to stay still any longer, Shujinko left his stone-made chaise longue and started pacing about the shack with fitful steps, kneading his scalp like a fretting bride on her wedding day. Whether it was of any consequence or not, Katara didn't approve of him doing such a thing in the middle of their very delicate healing session. She was about to ask him to lie down again when the sight of the Chūnin stopping dead in his tracks held her tongue.
"Something doesn't add up,"
"What would that be?"
"Everything I know about my family's history, I learned from Pops and the clan archives he took with him. One thing I learned is that the Eye of Kazemaru was our most treasured possession. It was named after the man it first belonged to; Kazemaru Ozuma, the founder of our clan. For whatever reason, his descendants came to regard this family heirloom the same way a priest would regard a sacred object of his faith. Eventually, it was agreed that no Ozuma should be the gem's sole owner and that whoever became head of our clan would be given stewardship of the Eye of Kazemaru. In other words, our leaders didn't inherit the gem itself. Rather, they inherited the responsibility of safekeeping the gem for as long as they held the title. Hotama Ozuma, my grandfather, was the last leader of the Ozuma clan before our fall,"
…
"His wife Kyoko saw the only one who saw the storm that was coming. She entrusted her son Daichi, my dad, with the Eye of Kazemaru and the clan archives with our history recorded in them and arranged his escape from the Land of the Sky. By the time her 'treason' was discovered, the other clans must've been banging on their door. Otherwise, they surely would've chased Pops down before he could've gone far. In the end, our clan was slaughtered and our name faded into obscurity,"
…
"Well, that was quite… informative," Sokka's voice ran thick with awkward uncertainty. "But what does any of this have to do with the hooded man?"
"Everything! It has everything to do with him, damn it!" Shujinko snapped, his anxiety and frustration having grown too big for the box he had locked them in. "I'm the descendant of a long-gone clan from a faraway land. The fact that the hooded man was able to recognize my Ozuma blood just by looking at me is frightening, but for him to know about the Eye of Kazemaru as well… It's not possible. It shouldn't be possible. Whoever is hiding under that hood should be completely clueless about the existence of my clan and its precious relic, and yet he seems to know both of them better than I do, almost as if… as if he…"
Whatever words were supposed to follow, they were left unspoken as Shujinko's vocal cords suddenly went numb, preventing him from finishing his sentence or starting a new one. His mouth fell slightly open, and as his canary yellow eyes grew wider, his brow grew furrowed. This, in addition to his slack jaw, painted an expression of shock on his face so intense that it almost came across as intentional.
'No, that can't be. It can't,' the young ninja thought, unaware that he was mumbling mutely to himself as a sepulchral silence befell the atmosphere of the shack. 'It's impossible… And yet…'
Looks of concern were exchanged between the airbender, the Blind Bandit, and the Water Tribe siblings, none of whom wanted to be the one to ask Shujinko about the distressing thoughts they assumed he was having. By the time the Ozuma concluded his rumination, his entire mien had changed drastically. He stood welded to the ground, pale and sickly, his Adam's apple bulging in his throat as if suppressing his gag reflex. A drop of sweat was trickling down his temple, and while it was most likely a trick of the light, Katara could've sworn she saw the hair on his forearms standing on end. One could say he looked as though he'd just seen a ghost, but in truth, it was Shujinko who looked more like a ghost himself.
"Please," they heard him mutter to no one in particular. "Please let me be wrong,"
Aaaaaand that was chapter 32. Hope you all liked it.
Allow me to start this author's note by saying: Holy fuken shyt, this chapter was a complete and utter BASTARD to write… But I did it. It's finished. It's finished, damn it!
Instead of copy-pasting Zuko's fever dream sequence, I gave it my own spin and added some unofficial lore of my creation, as well as some symbolism that I thought would be an apt choice to represent Zuko's inner turmoil.
On a slow and unnecessary side note: I always try to avoid using terms or names of objects/buildings/etc, that don't exist or shouldn't exist based on the setting of either franchise. This applies to both the characters' POV and mine as the narrator. For example, if an enemy happens to be wearing armor, Shujinko would compare said armor to the ones used by samurai since A) Samurai do exist in his world, and B) It would be possible for him to have seen them in drawings or pictures, or heard about them from older, better-traveled people than him such as Kakashi. Contrariwise, it wouldn't make sense for him to picture a medieval knight or a Roman centurion given how they don't exist in the Naruto universe either as such or as a fictional equivalent.
However, there are times when I'll ignore this self-imposed rule because A) There's no other name/term I can use to describe whatever it is I'm describing, B) The name/term exists, but I can't find it, or C) It's the best name/term I can come up with for what I'm trying to describe.
The reason I'm bringing this up is because I used the term "baptism font" to describe one of the vessels made by Toph in this chapter. Even though it is the perfect label, there's no such thing as baptism fonts in the A:TLA universe, nor is there an A:TLA equivalent of Christianity's baptism ritual, so I was slightly hesitant to use that term.
I could go on and on, but honestly, I just don't have it in me to keep typing. This chapter has sucked all the energy out of me. Feel free to send me a PM if you want to discuss anything.
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Peace!