.

Bewitching

Her path was never to become a ninja, her legacy

lay in something more powerful.

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Chapter 6: Transitum

"Just like old times..." Suigetsu was saying for the twentieth time.

"Can you please shut up?" Karin mentioned trying not to sound too boisterous since they were in delicate territory.

Jugo on the side kept ignoring the most extroverted people on the team, his eyes amused looking at the rabbits running around and hiding at the most quiet tremble. Sasuke really couldn't care less, he was focused on a mission, although part of him was tired of Suigetsu's comments; he definitely did not miss that.

"This is our big comeback guys." the white-haired guy said, his excitement still through the roof. "We're going to be unstoppable,"

"We are just detaining one girl," Karin downsized, still thinking that reuniting old team Taka wasn't necessary. Then again, in the comfort of her mind, she admitted that she missed this dynamic.

'And of course, to see Sasuke'kun again' her inner turmoil turned fangirl said while adjusting her glasses and sneaking a peek at the Uchiha.

"A pretty darn powerful one," the Hōzuki put his hand on the back of his head in a relaxed matter. "Say Sasuske, is she hot?"

The Uchiha hasn't regarded that aspect, he could only remember the glint of protectiveness in her eyes. But hot?

"You're such a pervert," the recently recognized Uzumaki shrieked. "Sasuke-kun is not going to answer something so..."

"Stop." Jūgo stopped the banter. "You're disturbing the forest,"

The whole group took into their surroundings; when it had become so dark? It was a full-on sunny day since they parted towards the so-called Alba Saltus, it was weird to have this lack of lighting when it was just past half a day. Sasuke guided all his senses towards what was present.

"I feel watched," Karin murmured, she was looking around for a chakra signature, she was the best tracker on the team, almost at Sasuke's level. As if following an instinct the whole squad used the trained formation they used to do as if waiting for an attack.

Suigetsu had his sword on hand, ready for whatever attack that appeared, he wanted to be prepared for it. Jugo felt the tension on his broad shoulders, he felt under scrutiny. The animals were silent, which usually told him that whatever was out there, was lurking. Which meant something was wrong.

But what was it?

The nervousness in the pit of his stomach made Sasuke grip Kusanagi; he was always ready for the challenge that awaited him. Suddenly the tension left everyone's shoulders when an old lady appeared, short in stature, with white eyes, a cane in her hands, an old woven bag that had seen better days on her hand, and a slow but trepid step.

"Ah... a hawk," she used the phrase like a greeting.

The whole team looked at the seemingly harmless lady. They made another careful look around the forest, as if waiting for something to jump out and this lady was bait for them to take.

"You shouldn't be here," her tone was kept amicable but the phrase sounded anything but like one. "It is very dangerous,"

Sasuke, as leader, responded, looking down at the woman. "Why?"

The lady kept on walking towards them, they noticed that her eyes were of a blind lady, her hair dark blue. Sasuke had a flash of the girl she saw a couple of days ago, around her face like a halo, deep blue tresses.

"Things aren't always what it seems, young Uchiha," she said with a smile.

"We'll take our chances," he said to her, taking careful consideration of this woman and every single movement she made.

Out of her bag, she pulled out a pomegranate. She handed it to him, ignoring the other three individuals. "For the road, if you must persist,"

Black eyes traced the stance, the fruit as if it was a poisonous thing, however, after half a minute, without showing any fear he took the fruit.

He looked at Jugo who kept his face impassive waiting for whatever he asked him to. "We are looking for a girl..."

"I know who you are looking for," the old lady said.

"Where can we find her?" Karin asked noticing the expression in Sasuke; he was getting impatient.

"In the trees, in the wind, mostly in the water... maybe she's in front of you," she smiled, and for a minute Taka thought she was faking her blindness by the way she looked pointedly at all of them.

"Oba-san..." Suigetsu laughed nervously, creeped out by the woman's cryptic message. "Do you know or not?"

"We need to find her," Karin spoke as if softening the brash question.

"Is that so?" the lady let out a giggle like a schoolgirl.

It was making them nervous the way she was behaving like a little girl playing hide and seek. The crows were making sounds although they couldn't be seen, Tension built up in the air, and the wind was unspeakably throwing gusts stronger than the other in their direction.

Karin looked around to discern who was causing this unnatural tension, Jūgo felt his other self ready to come out as a way to protect, Suigetsu had goosebumps all over his uncovered arm, Sasuke having enough of the hidden messages, flashed his Sharingan, ready to make her talk against her will.

In a flash she was standing over the woman, his nose flaring, suspecting that this woman was the Hyūga girl in some sort of disguise. "Talk,"

"Pretty," the lady said. "But that won't work on me," a second later the woman screamed like a wounded animal, and her body disintegrated into dry branches, the mountain itself into a pile where she once stood. The forest, once dark and full of ominous secrets and sounds was once again peaceful.

"Excuse me, what the actual fuck?" Suigetsu seemed to be the first to react.

Sasuke was tense, her jaw clenched with stress, and she was more frustrated than ever. He looked at the pomegranate. What was that all about?

"Sasuke, what should we do now?"

"We continue," he said, walking in the depths of the white forest.

"Hell no," Suigetsu screamed in protest. "I've had enough with the creepy lady, I don't even want to see what creepy things this girl we are looking for has to show,"

"Can you stop being such a baby?" the Uzumaki girl smacked the back of his head. "We are on a mission,"

"Woman!" the Hōzuki screamed, "The old hag disintegrated into matchsticks,"

The protests fell on deaf ears as team Taka moved into the forest with more caution, the forest was still eerily quiet, but not with the tense atmosphere they experienced a few minutes ago. There were no chakra signatures around, but they felt watched.

Sasuke looked at every possible scenario that might merit an outcome. He had been around darkness and his fair share of creepiness, as the history of his family had proved time and time again. However, in the privacy of the confines of his mind the interaction with the old lady left him... unsettled.

He'd never had the patience for riddles; they reminded him of Itachi. Many nights, he wondered how much his brother said in riddles that could've helped the fate of his family if he had the mind to decipher them on time. Would the timeline have changed?

Probably.

"Sasuke-san..." at his side, Jūgo talked to him. "I think we are at a dead end" his voice while gently moving around the area. Even though he calculated by the position of the sun it was early afternoon, it felt cool, white branches above them, so thick it cast a darkness with the occasional rebel sunlight.

Pretty much they were at a dead end, in a circle the trees formed.

"That old lady was a liar," Suigetsu muttered.

This can't be it...

Frustration bubbled at his core, his teeth grinding, impatience running through his veins.

"Hyūga..." he murmured. The other members looked at him wearingly but didn't say anything, they recognized how volatile his leader could be so it was better to leave him alone. "Disperse; look for something that may be a henge."

The others followed suit, moving around looking for an energy that may suggest more than what was being shown in the area. More than once, they couldn't help but wonder how Sasuke was restless, they've never seen him like that; how to approach they wondered.

In Konoha, the Hokage was in what seemed to be a three-day discussion with the council. While team Taka's search for Hinata Hyūga was not something a lot of people were aware of, the council had always a way of knowing these matters even if it didn't directly affect them

'They are just like hounds...' Naruto thought.

"It is a family affair," the Uzumaki decided to respond knowing pretty well that when it came to clan matters, especially the Hyūgas, who are indisputably the most secretive clan in all of the land of Fire.

"Is it really?" one councilwoman Koharu Utatane asked in her cunning way.

The latter has been around since the days Danzo was running an underground organization under the Third Hokage administration, Shikamaru and Naruto were trying to discreetly resign from her position but it was more complicated than that since the years got her in the more or less stable position she was in, at least she was the last of that cursed council. Still, old age didn't deter her from her tendencies of being toxic. Sasuke couldn't see her, knowing she was a key element to the extermination of the Uchiha clan.

Naruto always thought that Hotaru-san had been lucky; Naruto's resentment sometimes bubbles to the surface whenever he remember how complicit she was for his upbringing. Above all, she has always been known for keeping Konoha's best interests at heart, with questionable methods... and a curious nose.

He nodded towards her.

Something that he has learned early on is to control his mouth. The information could still be taken from the most simple details. He was sure Shikamaru was proud. The new council of Konoha had a representative from each clan, which was more equitable.

"May I remind you that while a clan matters, if it affects... a larger scale, we should be aware of it"

Naruto wanted to roll his eyes, however he knew that wouldn't be appropriate.

"We will be the first to let you know," Hanabi, today's Hyūga clan representative, spoke up quietly, making everyone listen.

An admirable Hyūga trait.

Koharu hummed in quiet annoyance, obliging herself to listen to the other clan matters at hand. Hanabi was satisfied to put out that fire, it had been exhausting to be in control of something that had been keeping her awake for the past few days. Her sister had left a note she didn't trust to leave hidden in the Hyuga manner, so she took it with her everywhere.

As sickenly as it made her and kinda haunted her, it was the last thing her dear old sister had given her, for how long she did not know, but she hoped it wasn't the last thing. She looked at the blonde Hokage wondering if it would be a good idea to show the note to him.

'Should I?' she kept asking herself like a mantra for the last hour.

At his side Shikamaru Nara had looked at her for a second longer, catching her meditative state, discreetly she rounded her shoulders to get some composure. This was eventually a bad meditative state, maybe she should keep the note to herself. Even if Naruto's intentions were pure, and he knew how much he appreciated her sister, she wasn't sure if she was comfortable with the idea of the advisor around him knowing about it.

Nothing personal against the Nara really, but again this was her sister. Hanabi took a deep breath, finally deciding to actively listen to the matters of the village.

"... and finally we should start organizing vendors for the Tsukimi Festival,"

"Have we ever celebrated that?" Tsume Inuzuka questioned, her eyebrow curved in concentration.

"We haven't since the days of Konoha's foundation." Shikamaru offered the details.

"Would it be a good idea to have it?" Koharu started. "There's been a lot of bad superstition around, that is why it hasn't been celebrated in almost a century,"

"This is a new era of peace," Naruto smiled. "We should celebrate!" his contagious attitude almost made the Utatane smile, of course, she watched herself at the last minute.

Chouji Akimichi, the newly appointed leader of its clan. "We would give the civilians the first chance to post their kiosks, if needed more please refer to our clan, we would be happy to help out." he smiled.

"Great!" Naruto celebrated. "We should have this Festival in a month."

Time passed and the search was proving to be fruitless. The darkness of the forest implied that it was almost the evening, they still had nothing.

"This is pointless," Karin murmured more to herself than to the rest of the group.

"Tell me about it," Suigetsu countered overhearing her comment.

The Uzumaki was so tired that she didn't feel the need to reply with a snarky comment towards the Hōzuki. She looked around and Jūgo was moving some heavy objects... for the third time. Her eyes found Sasuke's silhouette he was pacing around like a caged panther engaged in his own trail.

Some time ago, Sasuke was an impatient person. However, due to his redemption time in his life, that quality of his diminished... up until this moment. The Uzumaki has been aware of the Uchiha since she met him. Harboring feelings for him, she made it her mission always to know everything about Sasuke.

Nowadays, she didn't particularly feel good about that, but it was something that she couldn't help but notice at this precise moment. The guy was the same way whenever they knew something about the deceased older brother. She didn't want to assume, but it felt strangely like a dèjá Vu.

"Sasuke-kun..." she called out to him after interrupting herself in contemplation.

"What," it was sharp, but the similarities were there. Sasuke was frustrated.

"I..." she doubted, not sure what to tell him. "There's nothing here."

"Keep looking," he was turned back to his search, ignoring her completely.

She didn't realize she sighed loudly after that response, she felt like that sixteen-year-old who wanted to be superb so that Sasuke paid attention to her, but no matter what she did it just wasn't enough.

"Sasuke!" the Hōzuki called. "There's absolutely nothing," he was exasperated.

The Uchiha huffed.

"Even if I don't want to agree with him..." the Uzumaki started. "...he is right." she cringed when she noticed that her comment made him have that superior look she deeply detested. "We've been looking for hours, there's nothing here,"

"A little more..." Sasuke said after a second of contemplation not willing to accept what looked obvious.

"There's nothing," Jūgo, who was usually the quietest one intercepted, letting everyone know in the group that there was nothing else they could do. The first one to know was their leader, with their backs to them, the pomegranate in his hand. He was having questions; What was that encounter? Was this a trap to make them lose track of her? Was Orochimaru wrong?

"Fine," he said not willing to entertain the whispers of his mind of being easily deceived. "We'll look for a place to make camp and continue at dawn,"

"Finally! I am starving" Suigetsu said stretching his limbs.

The pomegranate was still in his hands, thinking of the cryptic message that Lady implied to deceive them, aimlessly for hours around that place looking for absolutely nothing...

"Take this," he said, throwing the fruit at Suigetsu, the same one that was haunting his musings, which were bubbling with frustration.

"I don't even like these," Hozuki mentioned. " Fine food is food." He opened the seed, and the red liquid poured out. "Huh? What the hell? " The thing is that it kept on pouring, unnaturally like an endless sea of red. The forest returned with an ominous feeling, as if anticipating this moment, some whispers could be heard in whispered, a haunting sound that had the goal of making them dive deep into desperation.

Staining his clothes, Suigetsu dropped the pomegranate his violet eyes open in disbelief. "Guys!" panic was in his voice as he saw a rapid puddle forming around them.

Sasuke came to assess the situation, looking around for any suspect. The voice of the strange lady rang in his head. '...maybe in the water,'

"I'm stuck," Karin cried to his left. To his right, he saw Jūgo in a similar situation using his strength to move his seemingly unresponsive feet. Suigetsu took his sword and slashed unsuccessfully the dirt, while pomegranate was reaching each one with its liquid.

On his part he started a fire jutsu which seemed to be successful, the desperation was palpable but with control in his voice he told the rest. "Use a fire jutsu,"

Quickly the other obeyed following the instruction and their drive of survival.

"Suigetsu," he called to the guy. "Use your form,"

"Right!" he said as if remembering his clan jutsu, he instantly converted. For a moment Suigetsu detained the red liquid from spreading.

While the rest were working on the fire, careful not to hurt their teammate, they were successful for a few moments, Team Taka seeing the light at the end of the Tunnel. But suddenly the earth started to collapse from under the feet, the pomegranate creating a crack around and the soil falling like uneven puzzle pieces; everything started to fall into an unknown abyss.

Suigetsu came back to his original form. "We are going to fall," he voice what was being suspected.

"Hold onto some branches," Jūgo.

The team followed, Sasuke noticed that the circle that was once there vanished into a deep hole, their bodies suspended, the confusion latent.

What was this place?

Author's Note:

Hi,

Friday the 13th seemed to be the best day to post! Let me know your thoughts on this chapter!

-LaCrazyWriter