Only a thick glass window separated the battered body of Yuko from four of her watchful comrades. Mimori, who appreciated the relative warmth of the medical center, was standing beside Ahiko, assisting them, Takeo, and Gotou. Mimori exhaled with relief. She knew that, despite the grim atmosphere of the chamber enclosing them, the young woman was in the best of hands. Clad only in white shorts and a white top, Yuko hung in a vertical position inside a transparent cylinder with a breath mask covering her nose and mouth. Takeo was attending to her with the skill of the finest healing. Gracefully, Takeo worked a switch that brought a gelatinous blue fluid pouring down over his patient.
This fluid, Gotou knew, could work miracles, even with patients in such dire shape as Yuko.
As the bubbling fluid enveloped her body, Yuko began to thrash about and rave deliriously. She was floating, weightless, surrounded by darkness and silence. It seemed she was adrift in the darkness itself. Then consciousness began to return. Her body, jerked from blissful unawareness, thrashed in the fluid of the tank, creating a stream of bubbles that rose silently to the surface. Her heart began to pound. She could hear the blood rushing through her veins.
Her eyes popped open in time to see Takeo come over to adjust some of the settings on her tank. Within seconds her heart rate slowed and the involuntary thrashing of her bruised and battered limbs settled.
"Watch out." She moaned. "Dangerous path. Have to...Get back to the compound."
Ahiko had not the slightest idea what her friend was raving about. Gotou, also perplexed by the youth's babbling, expressed himself with a grunt.
"She doesn't make sense to me either." Gotou remarked.
Mimori commented hopefully, "I do hope she's all there. It would be most unfortunate if Yuko were to develop something adverse."
"She battled something." Ahiko observed matter-of factly. "It was something else according to Himari."
"It's those creatures." Gotou said, looking at the grimly staring Mimori.
"We've tripled the perimeter, Gotou. The hole is sealed. " Mimori began. "I don't know how or where—"
"Forget it." Gotou said brusquely.
Right now he was concerned only with Yuko in the healing fluid. Yuko's body sloshed through the brightly colored substance, the healing properties by now taking effect. For a while it appeared as if Yuko were trying to resist the curing flow of the translucent fluid. Then, at last, she gave up her mumbling and relaxed, succumbing to the fluid's powers. Takeo turned away from the woman who had been entrusted to his care. He angled his head to gaze at Gotou and the others.
"Yuko is responding well to the fluid." Takeo announced, his commanding, authoritative voice heard distinctly."She is now out of danger."
The elder man's words immediately wiped away the tension that had seized the group on the other side of the window. Mimori sighed in relief, and Gotou grunted his approval of Takeo's treatment.
Yuko had no way of estimating how long she had been delirious. But now she was in full command of her mind and senses. She sat up on her bed in the medical center.
What a relief. She thought. To be breathing real air again.
Ahiko and Mimori were removing the protective pad from her healing face. Her eyes were uncovered and she was beginning to perceive the face of someone standing by her bed. Gradually the smiling image of Ahiko came into focus. She gracefully moved toward her and gently brushed her hair out of her eyes.
"The fluid is working well." She said as she looked at her healing wounds. "The scars should be gone in a day or so. Does it still hurt you?"
Across the room, the door banged open. Akari walked silently toward Yuko's bed. "Yuko, it's good to see you up and running again."
"Thanks, Akari."
"The Fuinjutsu."
Yuko formed two seals, touching the pattern on her side, it vanished as the precious fuinjutsu appeared in a cloud of smoke.
"Fine work, Yuko." Akari complimented.
"Thanks."
"Hi, Yuko!" Izuna greeted her boisterously as he burst into the medical center. "You look strong enough to spar a few rounds."
Yuko felt that strong, and felt grateful to her beloved.
"That's two you owe me." Ahiko gave Yuko a wide grin.
"It looks like you arranged to keep me close by for a while longer." Izuna was certainly grateful for the woman's concern. But before she could reply, she was met with yet another interruption.
"I had nothing to do with it." Yuko said, annoyed at Izuna's vanity. "I got back with the fuinjutsu. My mission is complete."
"That makes a good story. But I think you just can't bear to let me out of your sight."
"I don't know where you get your delusions, particle beam jutsu for brains." She retorted.
Mimori, amused by this verbal battle between two of the strongest human wills she had ever encountered, let out a laugh.
"Laugh it up." Izuna said good naturedly. "You didn't see us alone in the compound."
Until now, Ahiko had scarcely listened to this lively exchange. Yuko and Izuna had argued frequently enough in the past. But that reference to the compound sparked her curiosity, and she looked at Yuko for an explanation.
"She expressed her true feelings for me." Izuna continued, delighting in the rosy flush that appeared on Yuko's cheeks. "Come on. Don't tell me you've already forgotten."
"Why, you half witted..." She sputtered in fury.
Izuna grinned. "I must've hit pretty close to the mark to get you lively like this. Doesn't it look that way to you, Ahiko?"
"Yeah." She said, staring at Yuko. "It does...A little bit."
Yuko looked over at Ahiko with a strange mixture of emotions showing on her flushed face.
"Oh, it does?" Yuko said. "Sorry. I guess you don't understand everything."
Ahiko agreed silently. She agreed even more when in the next moment Yuko leaned over and kissed Izuna firmly on the lips. Then she turned on her heel and marched across the room, slamming the door behind her. Everyone in the room looked at one another, speechless.
"You can go for a walk." Mimori said, looking at Yuko carefully. "Just don't wander too far."
Yuko nodded and left the room.
Izuna smirked as he watched her depart, his heart beating faster than before. "That's my wife."
Memories of motion and pain flickered across Yuko's mind. The sights, sounds, and smells of battle. She remembered the approach of bloodstained snouts. A creeping spider. Tyrant kings. Ahiko and Mimori must have stepped in after she blacked out when she got back. They must have brought her here to heal. She wasn't surprised that they would help her recover. So she would survive...But her life was just beginning.
Since coming to the compound she had worked toward one clear goal. All her studying, all her training had been for one single purpose. To understand and command the power of chakra. Chakra would bring her power. Strength. Freedom. Now she would be a leader. She would be allowed to listen in on the group discussions, have a part in the daily lessons, to practice her skills in her own training sessions, but that wouldn't be all. Any hope she might have had of getting one on one training with any of the leaders was no longer necessary.
But, without that specializing guidance, her potential would wither. In practice they needed leaders, leaders like Daishiro, Madara, Izuna, Gotou, and Saki here at the compound. The strong always stepped forward. Those who weren't up to par had no choice but to follow. Now Yuko was destined to be one of the leaders. One of those who stepped forward. Her life of following orders was over.
Yuko had found victory, and she understood all too well that she had grown. She was renewed.
Part of her wished she wouldn't get so much attention.
It couldn't be helped.
Yuko shuffled down the halls of the compound, her measured pace was one of necessity. The lingering discomfort she felt was insignificant. Thanks to the fluid her broken bones had mended and her bruises had vanished completely. The emotional damage, however, was more difficult to reverse. A few pairs of laughing apprentices approached, regaling each other with supposedly factual accounts of the battle, how the hole was sealed, and even her own battle. Their conversation stopped as they neared the solitary figure.
Yuko kept her head high, not avoiding meeting their eyes as they passed. One whispered something unintelligible, but the admiration in her tone was unmistakable. Yuko didn't react. She was dealing with the emotional pain in the only way she knew how. Not the same way she'd dealt with it as a child. She didn't withdraw into herself or try to make herself invisible to avoid the gaze of others.
She just kept walking with her head held high.
Unlike other buildings in the vast sprawl of the compound, the Temple stood alone. A colossal pyramid with multiple pillars rising skyward from its flat top, it sat atop everything at the end of a broad mountain linking it with bulkier, sharper-edged mountain caps in which solitude and mediation were more likely to be found. Within the Temple were housed the leaders and the whole of the compound engaged in contemplation and study of chakra, handling paperwork, and in training to build a connection with chakra.
The Council room dominated a central portion of the complex. The Council itself was in session, its doors closed, its proceedings hidden from the eyes and ears of all but ten people. Ten of them comprised the Council at the moment, a diverse and seasoned group who had gravitated to the position of leader from both ends of the Elemental Nations. The final three, who were guests of the Council this afternoon, were Souji, Shin, and Himari. The seats of the current ten Council members formed a circle facing outward to where the trio stood, the three of them relating the events of the past few days, Himari and Shin a step behind, listening attentively.
The room was circular, supported by massive pillars spaced between broad windows open to the tree-scape and the sunlight. In their world, the balance of life within chakra was the pathway to understanding and peace. Souji studied the faces of his listeners as he spoke, each of them familiar to him. All were leaders like himself, among them Daishiro and Chie, seniors in rank among those seated.
He stood apart in the circle that formed a speaker's platform for those who addressed the Council, his tall, muscular form and deep voice commanding the attention of those gathered, his dark eyes fixing them each in turn, constantly searching for a reaction to his words. They watched him carefully, upright and stern Shinpachi, young and beautiful Saki, slender Chie, stone faced Daishiro, regal and beautiful Katsumi, stoic Touma, and all the others, each different and unique in appearance, each with something vital to offer as a leader. Souji brought his eyes back to Daishiro and Chie, the ones he was addressing, the ones most respected and powerful of those who sat in the room.
"My conclusion..." He trailed off quietly, his story completed. "Is that Yuko Uchiha has awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan at last."
The silence that followed was palpable. Then there was a stirring, a shifting of bodies and limbs. Glances were exchanged and murmurs of disbelief quickly voiced.
"A Mangekyo Sharingan?" Chie repeated, leaning forward. She was a strong, slender woman with long hair and piercing eyes.
"Are you sure?" Shinpachi asked, not bothering to hide his disbelief at the suggestion.
"I thought Madara, Arata, and Izuna were the only ones." Katsumi commented.
"Evidently, they're not." Saki finished.
Daishiro shifted only slightly in his seat, a stoic and calm presence in the company of hot tempers, his eyes narrowing as he analyzed, he turned toward Souji, Shin, and Himari thoughtfully.
"You're certain."
"We are. We seen her in action." Himari said.
"It's a good thing, since it falls into our parlay." Daishiro observed in his thoughtful voice.
The others began to mutter anew among themselves. Souji said nothing, waiting them out. They had believed there to be only three with the Mangekyo. They had believed there would only ever be three. He could feel Himari and Shin shift at his shoulder, having trouble maintaining their silence. Chie leaned back, resting her arm on her knee. "I do not understand how one could have awakened the Mangekyo and we'd never know."
"Don't overlook anyone in this compound, Chie. You know that by now." Daishiro said with a small snort.
Chie firmed her lips, but nodded.
"Perhaps she will be able to show us her Mangekyo." Saki suggested with a nod to the trio.
"Yes. She should be able to use it again." Shinpachi agreed.
"The Mangekyo isn't what we were thinking, that much is clear. There's a cycle of the Sharingan. Since she succeeded once, she should be able to do it again." Saki added.
Chie nodded at Souji. "Do you agree?"
"It depends."
"It's strictly for battle." Daishiro snorted.
The others murmured their approval, showing the confidence they felt in the Daishiro's and Saki's deductions. Still Souji said nothing.
"We will test her resolve." Chie advised. One hand lifted in dismissal.
Himari turned to leave. She stopped when Shin and Souji did not follow, but instead remained standing before the Council. Himari held her breath, knowing what was coming.
Daishiro nodded his head just barely. "You have more to say?"
"With your permission..." Souji trailed off, gaze steady. "I suggest Yuko Uchiha be made a leader."
Saki's eyes widened slightly. "A leader, you say?"
"A leader." Shin affirmed.
"Do you know what you're saying?" Katsumi asked quickly.
Shin nodded. "Yuko Uchiha. Her cells have to have extremely high concentrations of chakra and life force...It is possible the Mangekyo drains her of this."
There was a shocked silence this time. Souji was suggesting the impossible, that Yuko truly had a Mangekyo, but a strong life force as well, by the connectors to chakra itself.
It was Daishiro who gave voice to the Council's thoughts. "You believe in this woman?"
Souji didn't hesitate. "I do."
"She proved herself." Shin said.
"You both do..." Chie's eyes narrowed.
Souji took a deep breath. "I request that when the time comes, that she be tested. If she passes the test she will have the rank of leader."
"She could be a captain, but a leader...I don't know about that one." Saki looked at Souji carefully.
Again, there was silence as the members of the Council exchanged glances, communicating without words. Eyes shifted back to Souji.
"For Yuko to be a captain. A leader. In the amalgamation...Is that what you request of us?" Daishiro asked.
"Finding her was a miracle." Shin pressed ahead recklessly.
"I have no doubt of it." Souji added.
Daishiro held up one hand, bringing the debate to a close. "When the time comes, she will be tested."
Chie nodded somberly. "She will be tested by all of us."