Human

Whirlpool Arc

Chapter 4

Kushina

To say that she was worried was a gross understatement and misrepresentation of the situation - Kushina was panicked half to death. Rin was staring in terror at the doorway to the room across the hall, eyes fixed on something, or someone, that wasn't there.

Kushina could not see this apparition, or smell it, or sense it with her chakra.

In no world was this a good thing.

It could be the Sanbi influencing her. Or the seal that contained the beast. Or any number of seals placed in Uzushiogakure that Rin may have inadvertently triggered when she wasn't under supervision.

Kushina rushed to Rin's side, grabbing her shoulder and shaking her gently, trying to get her attention. "Rin. Rin! Rin, sweetie, I need you to look at me."

Rin was taking ragged breaths now, paralyzed by her fear and locked in place, not hearing or reacting to outside stimulus. Fear of the thing that Kushina could not see gripped Rin like a vice. Kushina cursed under her breath, and scooped Rin up into her arms. She cradled the younger girl against her chest and held her steady. She needed to get Rin back to their temporary home, and then figure out what was happening to her.

Kushina made for the door and Rin screamed in terror, eyes still fixed on the 'something' that wasn't there. So, she believed it to be in the hallway. Kushina could work with that. "Rin, I need to get us out of the building. I need to go through the door, do you understand?"

Rin said nothing, eyes still fixed on the doorway. She was shaking now, and covered in a thin layer of sweat. Kushina didn't want to make the situation worse for her charge, but she didn't want to blow out the wall behind them and trigger any seals that may be hidden there. She took another step forward, and Rin convulsed in her arms, chakra lashing out and trying desperately to keep her away from whatever perceived danger she saw. Rin's lashing chakra once again caused the rapid release of the Sanbi's chakra to burst forth. Kushina was forcefully blown backwards by the sudden, massive surge of energy.

Rin fell to the ground with a loud 'thump' as Kushina collided with the far wall of the room. Kushina felt the air explode from her lungs upon impact, but caught herself and landed on her feet. Rin, she noticed, was writhing in either fear or pain or both.

The force of Rin's chakra expulsion, coupled with the foundation shaking impact of Kushina hitting the wall triggered the seal in the room. Splinters, lengths of wood, and old rusty nails filled the room with a bang as the explosive tag beneath a loose floorboard detonated.

Kushina crossed her arms in front of her face to shield her from the shrapnel. Heat washed over her and she felt the peppering of splinters as they pierced her skin.

"Shit," Kushina said. "This is not how today was supposed to go." She let her chakra swell and explode from within her. Golden chains of chakra materialized and wrapped themselves snugly around Rin.

Kushina's chakra battled ever so briefly against the boiling wrath of the three tails, before Rin stilled and her chakra returned to normal.

"Now to figure out what the hell happened here," Kushina said.

She took Rin back to their temporary home, and laid her in her bed. First, she looked Rin over, but her prone position had shielded her from nearly all of the blast. There were a few small cuts, and a short nail sticking into her thigh. Kushina dug out the metal, sanitized and bandaged the wound, and was pleased to see that the Sanbi was, at least, doing its part to heal her.

While Rin was out, Kushina took additional measures to make sure that their living space was heavily sealed, trapped, and otherwise impenetrable. On the off chance that they were dealing with a hostile ninja, she did not want to take any chances.

She returned to Rin's side and woke her with a spike of chakra. Rin lurched abruptly into consciousness, sitting up quickly and gasping for breath. Kushina steadied her with a hand on her shoulder. "What happened?" Rin asked.

"I was hoping you could tell me, ya know?" Kushina said.

Rin furrowed her brows, thinking. "We were across the Whirlpool Village. I was working on disabling a seal… no. I had just finished with one, and you were going to take me to look at another one you picked out. And then it's a little fuzzy. I remember being scared, but not why."

Kushina gave Rin's shoulder a squeeze. "Do you feel scared now?"

Rin shook her head. "No. Everything feels perfectly normal."

"Well that's something, at least." Kushina sat back on her own bed, arms crossed. "We need to figure out what caused it, though. It'll be impossible to get your chakra sorted out if we're dealing with this as well."

Rin nodded, and swung her legs off the bed. "I felt like I was being watched the entire time we were in that second house, right up until it happened."

"So it's possible that you triggered a seal and were under its influence. But then why wasn't I affected the same way?" Kushina frowned. "Something doesn't seem right. I checked that house specifically to make sure it was suitable for teaching you seal work. It can't have been a seal. At least, not there."

Rin opened her mouth, but didn't have anything to say, so she closed it again.

Kushina leaned forward and put a hand on Rin's cheek. "Don't worry so much, Rin. I can figure this out. I didn't make Jonin for no reason, ya know?" Rin nodded, but her eyes were cast down. "Why don't you get some sleep? I need to have a look around and see what I can find. But I'd prefer if you were here where I know you're safe."

Rin balked and latched onto Kushina's arm. "I don't… I don't want to be alone."

Kushina's heart melted for her charge. She crossed to Rin's bed and pulled the girl into her arms. "It's gonna be just fine. I promise."

Rin sniffled and buried her head in Kushina's shoulder. "I feel so helpless. I can't defend myself or help you because I can't use my chakra. I don't want to be a burden to you, but I feel like I am. And… and… you're so confident. So confident that you can fix all of this. I'm scared. What if I never get back to normal? I don't want to live like this, but I don't want to die, either."

Kushina held Rin close while she babbled. She could feel Rin's body tremble while she fought against tears, and Kushina wished there was more she could do. Rin was family.

"I'm confident, because this is something I know we can overcome - together," Kushina said. She hugged Rin a little tighter.

"Thank you," Rin said.

"What's family for, if you can't count on them when you're in need?"

Rin said nothing, but they stayed like that, wrapped around one another for comfort, until Rin's breathing slowed and evened out. Kushina stayed for another hour, gently rubbing circles on Rin's back. Eventually, Kushina extracted herself from Rin, and tucked her into the bed.

Kushina made her way back to the kitchen and collapsed into a chair. She didn't stop the hot burning of frustrated tears from falling onto the table, nor did she move to wipe them away. She wished, more than anything, that she could do something to make Rin's situation all better, but there was no easy solution. What they faced was terrifying and dangerous - and that was before this new complication of not-there hallucinations were involved. And, if Kushina was being honest with herself, she wasn't even sure if Rin was going to survive what was to come. The idea that Rin could die was too much for Kushina to bear.

She fought bitterly against the righteous scream that tore at her throat, and clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle the sound. She felt like she was suffocating on dread and anger and self-doubt. But there was nothing for it, because she absolutely could not fall apart right now. There was a kid in the next room that she loved. And that kid needed her to be a hero right now.

It took her a few minutes to collect herself. There were things she could do while Rin slept, like tear apart the house where her charge had had her episode one floorboard at a time while searching for any clue as to what the hell had happened.

She was back across the village as fast as her feet would carry her.

Once she reached the house where Rin collapsed, Kushina got to work. She began with a sweep of the perimeter, searching for any signs of life. There was nothing, of course. Even an invisible ninja would leave footprints or signs of their passage, but she felt foolish for believing she'd encounter anyone else. Nobody besides her (and now Rin) ever came to the ruins of Uzushiogakure.

When Kushina was satisfied she would not be ambushed by a hostile ninja, she returned to the front door and started searching for a seal that could induce paranoia or hallucinations if activated. Kushina found nothing on the splintered door or on the front porch and headed inside, where she roughly peeled back the drywall and searched for an errant seal secreted within the walls of the entryway. When that produced no results, Kushina started prying up floorboards, and while she did find seals from time to time, there was nothing that could explain Rin's episode.

Kushina continued through the house, one room at a time, searching for her errant seal. But doubt grew in the pit of her stomach, leaving her worried that either the seal within her, or the Three-Tails itself, was the source of Rin's newest ailment.

Kushina worked until she felt Rin's chakra flutter, signaling to her senses that the girl was waking up.

When she arrived back at the house, Rin was sitting up and blinking sleep from her eyes. Kushina smiled warmly at Rin, she was okay. It meant there was still hope. Kushina held onto that, and returned to her seat at the kitchen table, unfurling a scroll and fully intending to brainstorm a solution to her newest problem.

"Feeling better?" Kushina asked when Rin trudged out of the bedroom.

"A bit," Rin said. "Sleeping helped calm me down, at least."

Kushina put an elbow on the table, frowning at her blank scroll. "I went back to that house while you were sleeping. Searched for hostile ninja as well as any seals I may have missed, but I didn't find anything that explains what happened when you were there."

"So it wasn't a seal?" Rin asked, taking a seat.

"It could be. But I'm starting to think it's a little more closely related to your other problem," Kushina said.

Rin shifted uncomfortably and covered her face with her hands.

"Hey, look at me, we can beat this. I know we can," Kushina said, and she half believed it.

Rin hesitated before dropping her hands into her lap and fixing Kushina with an unsure look.

"You are stronger than you know," Kushina said.

Rin sniffled and wiped at her eyes.

Kushina smiled at Rin, wishing desperately for a solution to simply fall into her lap. When none was forthcoming, she returned her attention to the scroll before her.

"Are you going to make a seal to keep us safe?" Rin asked.

Kushina, who had been lost in thought, blinked and looked up. "Huh? What? No. No I'm not. It's hard to ward off whatever it is because I don't know what it is. I was trying to figure out what kind of thing could affect you in the way it did without being visible or even detectable to me."

"How can it be undetectable?"

"Well that's just it. Because of my ability to sense chakra, it shouldn't be possible for whatever this is to hide from me as if it didn't exist. The only other chakra I can sense, or have sensed, in the entire village is yours."

Rin said nothing, but drummed her fingers on the table nervously.

Kushina rolled the scroll back up, and put a hand on Rin's to settle her nervous fidgeting. "Let's not stress about it tonight. Instead we are going to make dinner and then we're going to spend the rest of the night playing card games to unwind. We'll figure it out tomorrow."

Rin nodded mechanically, still quiet and obviously lost in thought.

They made dinner: miso soup and seared rabbit, and after Kushina fished a deck of cards and some candy from her supplies. Slowly, Rin warmed up and let her troubles fade away. They played cards into the late hours of the night, and Kushina was careful to keep their conversation light and untroubled.

The next day came with overcast skies and the sense of impending conflict. Kushina felt it deep within her, and she was certain Rin could feel it as well.

Kushina slipped on her sandals and led Rin outside for their morning Taijutsu training, trying her best to act as if nothing was wrong. After their practice, they had lunch and spent the afternoon working on Rin's chakra separation exercises.

They did not venture into the village to work on disarming seals; Kushina did not think it wise, given the circumstances, and Rin was happy enough to remain in and around the safety of their temporary home. Kushina did note, however, that Rin seemed more run-down than she had been. She looked, to Kushina at least, as she had looked in those first days after becoming a Jinchuriki. And what was more, she lost her temper often. Frustration and the redness of cheeks appeared whenever she made a mistake or got lost in her own thoughts.

The day passed. Kushina worried.

The following morning, Rin had bags under her eyes, and had even more trouble focusing. Twice, Kushina landed a free punch when Rin focused on something far away, and both times Rin was more concerned with whatever she saw than with the bruises she was sure to have.

When it happened a third time, Kushina called a halt to their morning Taijutsu practice.

"That's it. We're done," Kushina said.

"What? Why? I can keep going," Rin protested from where she lay, spread-eagled and clutching her jaw.

Kushina sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You're distracted, ya know? More than just lack of sleep, and definitely more than just being worried about something. You keep zoning out, staring at things I can't see, and you can't hide from me that you're scared."

"I… but… I like the Taijutsu practice," Rin said.

"Why?" Kushina asked.

"Because I can focus on something other than being afraid," Rin said bitterly, sitting up and working her mouth open and closed.

"Not today you can't," Kushina said, offering her a hand.

Rin batted her hand away. "Yes, I can."

Kushina's temper flared, but she counted backwards from three and bit the inside of her cheek. It's not her fault, she reminded herself. She's just stressed.

"It's not that I don't believe you're capable. It's that something is keeping you from focusing. What's distracting you?" Kushina asked.

"Nothing," Rin snapped.

"Don't get snippy with me when I'm trying to help you," Kushina said, crossing her arms.

"Oh yes, I'm so sorry that I'm being rude. My mistake. I only got turned into a demon by some war criminals. I only killed my best friend. I only lost my ability to use chakra. I can't sleep. I can't concentrate. And now I can't stop jumping at things that aren't there. But since it's my attitude that's the problem, let me just fix that for you!"

Kushina blinked at her student's outburst, torn between sympathy and wanting to cuff her about the head. Had Rin ever lost her temper before? Kushina had never seen it. But the all encompassing teen-angst that accompanied her outpost was the most normal thing that had happened in over a month. Still, Rin shouldn't take it out on her. "You done? Got it out of your system? Can we have a conversation now?"

Rin glowered at her, got to her feet, and stomped towards the house. "I'm tired," she said.

"Rin, talk to me!" Kushina called after her, but Rin did not turn around. She watched as Rin slammed the door to their house and winced. "That went well."

She probably could have handled it better. She wanted to go after Rin, but figured it would only lead to an argument.

If Rin was going to nap, Kushina could take advantage of the time to search the island again.

Turning away from the house with a frown, Kushina sat in the center of their sparring area. She folded her legs into the lotus position, formed the tiger seal, and spread her chakra sense as wide as she could. Perhaps there was something very subtle that she was missing.

She focused on her breathing, trying to find calm, and the detection of small changes in the chakra of the world that accompanied it. The village was as empty as it ever was. Kushina could sense Rin, a beacon of chakra close by, and she could sense the birds and other animals that lived on the island.

Beyond that… nothing.

Kushina couldn't help the errant fear of failure from taking grip in her heart. She felt, now more than ever before, that she might not be able to get Rin back to the Leaf Village alive.

She kept up her sensory exploration of the village for an hour, but the only thing she noticed was that Rin's chakra was far more turbulent than usual. Her battle with the three-tails was taking its toll.

When it became clear that she wouldn't find her solution through her chakra sense, Kushina gave it up as a bad job, and got to her feet. Rin was, presumably, still asleep, and she was no closer to solving this problem.

What am I missing? Kushina wondered. It must be something.

But…

What if it wasn't an external threat, and the three-tails really was the culprit after all? She'd been hoping it was anything but. Kushina didn't know how to stop that.

Beyond the fact that the three-tailed beast was a turtle, and that it had previously been in control of the Hidden Mist, Kushina knew painfully little about it. There was maybe information in the old library once upon a time, but not now. The Mist village had pilfered after they had conquered. And that left only one source of potential information.

Kyubi.

Kushina allowed her consciousness to slip into her seal.

"What now, human? You have come here quite often of late, and I grow tired of your presence."

She smiled apologetically at the large fox behind the bars of its cage. "Sorry to keep bothering you, but you know how it is, one body for two entities and all that."

The Kyubi snorted derisively. "What do you want?"

"I was hoping you would share information about the Sanbi if you know anything about it," Kushina said. "Rin's been experiencing what I can only describe as hallucinations, and I can't—"

"I cannot help you. Leave."

"Please," Kushina said, voice cracking with desperation. "Just please listen. I know you hate me. I know and I understand why. But I can't change that. But please, Rin was used as a pawn by cruel men in an equally cruel scheme. She's… she's not the one who should suffer for this."

"I do not care what ails you or any other humans you associate with."

"But—" Kushina started.

"I said no!" The Kyubi's massive claw slammed into the gate of the seal. Even in the chakra-scape, Kushina nearly lost her balance as the entire chamber rumbled with the fury of the nine-tails.

"She's going to die if I can't help her," Kushina tried again, undeterred by the threat of a painful death at the claws of her prisoner. "And it's just one thing after another, ya know? She can't catch a break and I feel like I'm letting her down."

The Kyubi said nothing. It watched her with massive, hate-filled red eyes for a long time before turning its head away from her.

Kushina felt a desperate panic swell from within her. She needed help. Information. Anything. She stepped forward, placed her hands on the bars, and tried once more.

"Can the three-tails cause hallucinations? Do you know?"

She was met with silence.