After leaving the streets and all the unnecessary attention unleashed by his act of kindness to an unknown child, able to overcome the intimidation that Weiss and Blake's beauty provided, Sasuke escaped a horde of extremely moved girls and women and resentful men, barely being able to keep his dignity intact.
It was getting unnerving how indecent and disrespectful these people could be.
So much so, that his Rinnegan, a divine and deadly eye on more levels than he could currently comprehend, was being relegated to a mere means of escape against these out-of-control girls.
Apparently, a less militaristic society, regardless of the threat or perhaps exactly because of the threat, made people more...uninhibited and that was a problem.
At least, Sasuke had admitted that it helped him a bit to get used to this new kind of uncomfortable environment and adapt, even if only with this specific teleportation ability.
Now, having broken his recent rule of not carrying a Weiss and Blake who seemed willing to die fighting to protect him from these strange and thirsty girls, Sasuke was at his intended destination. The trip was so fast that Blake didn't even have time to register their movement and have another hormonal attack by his touch, something that would surely result in the unhappiness of a Weiss who would probably turn against him should another one of those kisses happen.
Other than all that happened, Sasuke had to say, this world really did differ from his.
Weiss's room was more like a mansion a hundred feet off the ground, where everything was so adorned and fancy, clean and bright that even he, someone from a relatively noble background, felt out of place.
"A Suite in the penthouse of one of the most expensive hotels in the kingdom," Blake commented as soon as she had managed to recover from the momentary effect of being in Sasuke's arms and set foot inside the room of a Weiss who looked dizzy. They all entered through the balcony that Weiss claimed to have used to venture over Vale when the emergency alarm sounded. That way they avoided the trouble that their presence would surely bring, especially Sasuke's. Still... Blake couldn't help this pessimistic thought that all this wealth and luxury was possibly provided by slave labor. "Why am I not surprised?"
Weiss imagined that something like this would be said so she hesitated, more than clearly to answer, still feeling a little bad for the sudden feeling of movement when being carried by Sasuke after the whole mess that had happened in the street for the benevolence shown.
There was judgment in Blake's eyes and she could imagine what that was all about.
"Hn," was all Weiss could say, getting two pairs of looks on her and liking the effect that this usual grunt from Sasuke had. That must be why he does it so much.
"Let me guess," Blake didn't fall for it, seeing through this little princess. "This building is yours, isn't it?"
Weiss sighed, knowing this wasn't going to be easy.
"Yes, Blake," she resigned herself to answer. "This building, as well as many others around the world, belong to my family." Narrowing her eyes, almost as much as the resentful girl before her, Weiss added, "So let me guess and say that you have a problem with that?"
Sasuke stood there, quiet and watching to find the reason for this tension that fortunately didn't have him as its focus.
Blake must feel angry at the thought of this wealth coming from the alleged slave labor. There were many reasons for him to have in mind, but this seemed to be the main one at the moment. I can understand, to a certain extent. After all, the welfare of Konoha as a whole was earned through the sacrifice of countless people, many of them being from my clan.
So, just like him, it would be strange if Blake simply stopped questioning, rejected everything she believed until recently, and showed none of it.
However, contrary to the expected conflict, Blake was the one to break the silence and look away with her judgment-filled gaze.
"Sorry..." she sighed this time, realizing exactly what she was doing. "It's just...hard to disassociate you from what I think about your family."
"I'd be lying if I said I don't do the same, but..." Weiss smiled, almost sadly. "At least we're trying, right?"
"Yeah..." Blake matched the gesture, agreeing with her, "and that's a lot more than most set out to do."
Sasuke was trying too but in a different way.
He wanted an answer that would justify the change, not change to justify the answer.
He didn't feel like he was doing very well at this.
The more he learned and understood, the more complicated and burdensome everything became; the responsibility of his actions was showing itself in a way previously ignored and this put him in his current state of endless questioning.
Since a definitive answer will take a while, I'll focus on the second most important thing at the moment. Sasuke had his left hand before his eyes, showing the crescent moon that contained the temporary power given to him by the Sage of Six Paths. Not if I can do anything about it.
His Chakra had changed and gotten stronger non-stop over the past few weeks, ever since he had fought the Kages and killed Danzou, descending into darkness until he had almost drowned, especially after transplanting Itachi's eyes, but none of that compared to the mere act of carrying the power of a god in his body.
In that case, how much stronger wouldn't he be if he permanently made this power his own?
While hours had passed since I arrived in this world, no more than a minute must have passed back in the Elemental Nations. Naruto was holding Kaguya and maybe even putting up a fight on the basis of anger over everything that happened, knowing that emotional idiot. Also, Obito, if he wasn't dead, or Kakashi, if he had received the Sharingan back, would be trying to bring him back and Sasuke knew he couldn't count on either of them. The amount of Chakra used by Kaguya, how much denser and more powerful that same Chakra was when compared to what Obito possesses as a former ten-tailed Jinchuuriki, proves that only someone on par with her can remotely reach this dimension.
Sasuke depended on himself to return and for that, he needed more power; enough power to support him in each and every goal to be set.
Nothing had changed, his quest for more power remained the same as ever and this notion left a bad taste in his mouth.
"Sasuke?" Weiss passed her hand in front of his face, trying to gain his attention and succeed. "Is everything okay?"
A question he had been asked before.
"Hn," Sasuke nodded along with his usual grunt so as not to sound like he was being a complete idiot. "Just pondering what to do next."
It wasn't a lie, since he really was.
"Oh." Weiss was beginning to get used to the way Sasuke spoke and acted, being more direct and calm on levels that rivaled her sister. Nothing new, she noted, as well as how that could help! "So..." she almost smiled, eager to finally be able to set her goal in motion and get to know him better! "What do you have in mind?"
"Bathing and eating," Sasuke defined immediately, turning away from whatever this girl was plotting, and looking around. "Do you mind?"
"N-not at all!" Weiss was quick to say, pointing to where the bathroom was, "Make yourself comfortable, I'll get you some food."
She was also desperate for a shower, being in a state she had never been in before, where even her hair was covered in dirt. However, she could wait a while, since boys tend to take less time, as she would certainly take hers.
Besides, she could get on Sasuke's good side, almost praying that the room service was still working.
"Thank you," Sasuke didn't force it this time, thanking her more naturally. Well, she deserves it.
The help this girl was providing him was worth the effort made to get on her good side... although, Sasuke wasn't really doing anything, and Weiss, as well as Blake and Ruby, were accepting him regardless of the craziness and danger his presence represented.
Only Yang had any sense of reality in all of this, a detail that was bothersome because of the similarities shared with Naruto, the dumbest person he knew.
Girls... he would never understand how the female mind worked, and he didn't even know if he wanted to, having enough to disturb his mind as it was. Not to mention that if it all goes well, they will be rewarded with power, so I don't need to think too much about it. Sasuke was sure that everyone loved power as much as he did, "I'll take my time then."
That said, he went to take his more than deserved shower, however, stopping at the door to stare at the two girls who couldn't take their eyes off him.
"If you two try to spy or anything like that..." Sasuke let a small wave of malice rise with his words to hint at the implied threat, drawing shivers from these two to the point where neither of them tried to retort to him or claim that such an indecent act hadn't even crossed their minds, as it had, at least from one of them. "Good."
The door closed and the two took a deep breath, for various reasons.
"Be honest, what did you really want when you asked that question?" Blake broke the silence that followed after the threat that strangely wasn't so scary, almost prompting her to try to do exactly what he didn't want. "About what he had in mind?"
"Definitely nothing you were thinking about." Weiss was upset, staring at the door closed by the one who had every reason in the world to be concerned about girls' intrusive attitude, but not hers! I have never shown even one kind of such behavior!
The girl next door was the only one who deserved to receive that cold stare!
"Oh~" Blake smiled, teasing this moody princess, "and what was I thinking?"
"You know!" Weiss almost turned red and this girl before her didn't hold back the laughter that eventually made her smile too, knowing they were back to their usual. "If that was all, can we get some food?"
"Hn," Blake couldn't resist and Weiss' shallow smile almost broke as she glared at her. "What? You did that just now, too."
What have I gotten myself into? Weiss definitely didn't expect that her first day in the Vale would be like this... and deep down, she didn't regret everything that happened. Now, let's order some food!
To her dismay and almost despair, the room service wasn't active, because no one was working!
The chaos in Vale was still to end, be it from the fear inflicted or the endless celebration unleashed.
"What do I do now?" Weiss didn't know how to make almost any food on her own, as she always had someone to do it for her!
"Don't worry, princess," Blake assured, being more than capable of cooking...in field circumstances and for dozens of people. "I can handle this!"
Weiss very much doubted it, but there were ingredients in the kitchen, so what else could happen?
Everything.
When Sasuke came out of the shower, wearing clean clothes and more relaxed after suffering from trying to understand on his own how those mechanisms of this world worked and refusing to ask for help, there was chaos and the smell of burning all over the place. In the midst of it, once again, a familiar scene of conflict between two opposites was playing out.
"You said you knew what you were doing!" Weiss looked like she had come out of another war, after her fight with Blake, almost wishing she could start that all over again, but this time using a spatula!
"I thought so too!" Blake had never seen half that stuff in this kitchen, holding a wooden spoon to fend off this crazy Schnee! "And you get in the way more than you help!"
"At least I tried to help!" Weiss would never admit or accept being considered a hindrance!
"Who almost set the building on fire?!"
"It was an accident!"
"Cutting the table with the vegetables is an accident!"
"Of course it is, since it was your mistake!"
Sasuke was really regretting his choice of possible allies.
Those two were too reminiscent of Naruto and himself.
Resigning to his self-imposed fate, Sasuke approached this fight and the girls stopped just inches short of flying into each other's throats.
"Sasuke..." Weiss felt a wave of shame fill her, both from her degrading state, being dirty with flour and burnt food, and from the presence of this boy in casual clothes. "You look..." she blushed, unable to look away, "much better than before."
Those weren't the words Weiss really wanted to use, but they were enough to describe her current impression without going off course.
"Much better is a way of saying," Blake gave her piece of opinion on that, almost melting from just looking at him. "And the worst part is that you haven't even done much."
I deserve it... Sasuke only took a shower, getting all that dirt, sweat, and blood off his body, the result of all the fighting in the war, as well as changing his clothes for something less flashy that he still had on his storage seals, like black pants and a dark blue long-sleeved shirt adorned with his clan's symbol on the back, and nothing else, no sash over his waist or flashy ropes, for now. Still, they look at me as if I had prepared myself for some important event.
Really, he could never get used to the way girls thought.
"I think you two should go clean up," Sasuke suggested, approaching the kitchen in a state of chaos. "I can handle this... For real."
Blake and Weiss looked at each other to understand that they were almost a nuisance. This notion discouraged them, for it would certainly make him rethink the offer made. Then, wind made itself present where it shouldn't be in this closed place and when they turned to Sasuke, the kitchen was sparkling clean!
"WHAT?!"
Sasuke was just finishing cleaning up this mess and again looked at these girls, staring at him with their mouths open.
"You two still here?" he raised an eyebrow, questioningly. "I'm not going anywhere, so you can keep staring at me later."
Not that he wanted to, but he hoped they would understand what they were doing and how uncomfortable it was.
Contrary to the hint given, they didn't know what to say, for a different reason...
How did he move so fast?!
"Hmm," Blake let out a nervous, almost mechanical voice, "Weiss, should we take a shower?"
"S-sure," Weiss had no way to even reject, no matter how odd the request made was.
This way, two girls who almost hated but are trying to understand each other left in dismay to clean themselves up, maybe put their heads together and not get in the way of someone capable of moving at incomprehensible speeds or altering reality itself.
Being alone, something not very common these days, it was in Sasuke's hands to prepare tonight's meal but at least he knew what he was doing, this being part of his life for a long time, probably very different from those two.
As he opened the fridge to the ingredients that hadn't gone to waste, there was surprise at the familiarity.
There are tomatoes in this world too, Sasuke had his favorite vegetable, or fruit for all he cared, on his hand and even the taste was exactly as it should be. No, it's even better.
It looked like something of quality straight out of his mother's garden and that brought up feelings and questions about the similarities between this world and his own, as well as memories.
Fish, rice, tomatoes... Sasuke kept listing and seeing, which included eggs, beef, and pork. I wonder if the names of these ingredients are the same too.
There had to be a limit to coincidences, where only an idiot would not question all this and accept it.
Even more questions for the seemingly endless list. Sasuke would leave this for later, prioritizing his meal that would vastly help his full recovery. After that, I can start my training.
In no hurry, he began to cook what his mother would have made with the available ingredients.
When the girls came out of the most awkward and embarrassing bath of their lives, disheartened to the point of feeling no shame that they were wearing only bathrobes while their clothes were washed and dried, Weiss and Blake were greeted with a traditional banquet.
Sasuke couldn't help but steal a meaningful glance at these two dressed in a more...natural way, just as he was and it enhanced their beauty.
I think that's what they meant before. He understood better now, not that it really mattered. "Don't just stare, serve yourselves."
The difference was in the modesty and respect of not staring too much, even though he recognized their beauty.
"O-oh, right," Weiss snapped out of her momentary shock next to a Blake who wasn't much better and join this god full of surprises in a meal.
"So, if you'll excuse us," Blake served herself, recognizing much of these dishes, them being traditional from Mistral. Is he really from another world?
The thought of a foreign world sharing the culture of a specific kingdom was as surreal as the notion of another world and gods existing.
Yet, there she was, sharing a meal with a Schnee she had kissed, more than once, and even had a bath with!
So, who knows, maybe this was all true?
"T-this..." Weiss had her eyes wide open and one hand over her mouth, not being able to hide the unexpected good taste of such simple-looking food. "It's really good!"
"Yes, you would make a great husband!" Blake gave her more than suggestive opinion and both Sasuke and Weiss almost choked as they stared at her. "What?"
This not very subtle attempt managed to change the strangeness in the air and restore the mood, to some extent.
Husband... Sasuke never imagined himself as one, not even when he was aiming to restore his clan. Although, this is not that bad.
He could barely remember the last time he felt comfortable sharing a meal with another person, let alone two girls.
With team seven, there was a bad feeling that reminded him of his family and that was a weakness; One that not only limited him but worried him about the possibility of losing everything again.
Even now, after getting all this power, that possibility/fear still existed in the form of Otsutsuki Kaguya.
After dealing with her and everything, who knows... His eyes softened, unconsciously imagining a Ruby there, joining these two, and realizing what was going on. What's your problem, Sasuke?
Remotely considering having a family was one thing, now envisioning it with three different girls from a foreign world he barely knew?
Time to go out. Sasuke finished eating and immediately stood up. "Don't mind me, just keep eating."
That said, he walked toward the balcony.
"W-where are you going to go?" Weiss almost jumped out of her chair, asking. He can't leave now, I haven't even learned anything about him yet!
"Meditate," Sasuke would say that much, however, he did so without even looking at them. "I'll be back at dawn."
With that, he disappeared without a trace in a way that was more than familiar to these girls.
"Congratulations, you scared him off," Blake wanted to applaud since that was quite an achievement.
"How the hell do you scare a god?!" Weiss didn't even understand the concept of such absurdity!
"I don't know, it was you who just did it." Blake continues to enjoy the food made for her, even though the taste has worsened with the sudden departure of Sasuke.
"D-do you think it was my fault?" Weiss frowned at that possibility, not understanding the reason at all. Maybe I was too intrusive?
Thinking about it, she wished she had expressed her curiosity in a less offensive way...
Somehow, seeing the princess blaming herself like that made Blake feel bad for having said anything at all.
"No," she rephrased her words, acknowledging the possible truth. "I...I was just projecting, not wanting to consider that maybe it's my fault." It wouldn't be surprising if it was, having crossed the line more than once, and now that he wasn't around to incite her instincts, Blake could see that much. "Besides, Sasuke is...complicated, to say the least, so don't think too much about it."
Blake wasn't even sure if she knew what she was talking about, only that it was the purest truth. Both about herself and Sasuke, considering the emotions shown by him before spoke volumes about this fact.
Weiss reflected on that, on the way Blake said every word, and concluded that she wasn't the only one overthinking all this.
"Blake," she smiled, before eating the last piece of fish that this girl was protecting. "You're an idiot."
No offense, just facts.
"Yeah," Blake laughed a little, agreeing in anger at losing her favorite food at this table and accidentally spilling pepper in this princess's tea. "Just like you~"
The two continued to stare at each other where their twisted smiles grew until laughter was all they had for each other.
On the rooftop, sitting in a lotus position, Sasuke could hear something unfamiliar in his relationship with Naruto.
As a child, Sasuke had stopped laughing after that fateful night. Such a display of humor only showed itself again in the worst way when he manifested the second stage of the Cursed Mark and later with the madness provided by the Mangekyou after his fight against Danzou.
"It doesn't matter," Sasuke knew it wasn't quite that way, but he would disregard all that for the sake of his current goal. "Now, it's time to ascend to another level."
Closing his eyes, Sasuke pushed away any and all conflicting thoughts, delving into his inner self through the flow of his Chakra.
For the first time since Kabuto and the Sage of Six Paths brought him back to life, Sasuke had the opportunity to examine the changes made calmly.
In his blood and flesh, Sasuke could feel what Kabuto had done to him. After all, his heart had been pierced, and only something unnatural could reverse such a condition.
At that particular moment of his death, Sasuke regretted not having Orochimaru's powers anymore, as repulsive as his mentor could be.
Power was power, no matter where it came from, and Orochimaru could survive almost anything, just as Sasuke had done when Itachi hit him with the black flames of Amaterasu.
Now, it seemed that Kabuto had remedied that detail and added a few more to his body.
Circulating in his veins were the familiar cells of Orochimaru, Hashirama, Karin, Suigetsu, and especially Juugo. In fact, a frightening percentage of his body was made up of the cells of his insane protector.
That wasn't all, there were many more different types of cells present that he didn't recognize, which left Sasuke without action for a second.
To even remotely think that his body had been mutated to such a level was revolting.
However, power was still power and he wouldn't complain, otherwise he would be rotting on the ground of that battlefield and all the sacrifices made by Itachi would have been for nothing.
With that in mind, it would only be fair for him to make use of this gift.
Without counting the cells of the First Hokage, Orochimaru, and Juugo, Sasuke would disregard everything else as not being of enough use to justify any amount of time being devoted.
First of all, he focused on his twisted mentor and it wasn't long before Sasuke had white serpents appearing around his body without being summoned, resulting in a satisfied smile.
This power was something he knew to levels he wouldn't want to admit, but now, should the situation arise where lethal damage was unleashed on his body, Sasuke had a chance to live without relying on someone else or that damn concept called fate.
After regaining Orochimaru's powers, now it was the turn of the most abundant cells in his body that were not his own, those of Hashirama and Juugo.
In that case, he hesitated a bit about what to do. The Wood Style was certainly powerful and useful depending on the situation, but it wasn't exactly a priority as it required a lot of Chakra and that was something his eyes used too much of, as well as needing some training to be able to use it effectively.
The proof of that was shown when the white snakes returned to his body and tree branches were present after he used the Rinnegan to access the necessary affinity with the elements of earth and water to make use of the kekkei Genkai of the First Hokage.
As great as the temptation was, he would leave the Wood Style in the background, for now, having a more suitable use for those cells from the First Hokage.
To be more precise, these cells would provide an answer to the question he had since he arrived in this world and decided he needed allies.
A means to complete the Chakra of those he judged useful.
The abundance of Juugo and Hashirama cells, plus the Six Path Chakra, was exactly what he needed.
Shall I give it a try? Using Wood Style as best he could, Sasuke created a clone, so he wouldn't have to use one of Shadows, and removed his shirt. "Do it."
Nothing more needed to be said and the clone made a cut on Sasuke's neck just enough for blood to come out and use it as ink to start writing on his body.
Meanwhile, Sasuke closed his eyes again and focused on what he wanted to obtain...or regain.
Using Juugo and Hashirama's cells, Sasuke channeled Six Path Chakra where that corrupted from Orochimaru should be to recreate the Cursed Mark on his neck.
No, Sasuke was almost trembling as he struggled internally to conduct something uncertain. This Mark is not cursed, not anymore. What made that power unstable wasn't just a trait of Juugo's clan but a lack of mastery; stability in that which manifested against the will of its bearer. This is something that Hashirama's cells can provide and help my power to control even more. As for the backlash, the side effect provided that consumed the user's body would be immensely reduced the way it was being recreated, almost completely eliminated by replacing Orochimaru's weak and distorted Chakra with what he wanted to make his own permanently. That way, this Mark becomes divine!
Six tomes, just like what was demonstrated by his Rinnegan in its supreme state, were now where three tomes of a curse used to be.
"Now!" Sasuke opened his eyes and ordered the clone on hold.
Hand seals were made so fast that in a millisecond they were ready to repeat something done in the past by Kakashi.
"Curse Sealing!" the clone finished with the touch of his hand on the original's shoulder and every letter of blood that stretched to the surrounding ground came to life to finish Sasuke's creation.
I had forgotten how much this hurt, Sasuke was almost in agony during the whole process, opening his eyes to massage the sore and bloody spot as soon as he finished, being able to feel this new Mark begin to absorb natural energy. For now, it seems to be working perfectly.
The clone disappeared and a smile that was becoming habitual showed on his lips.
Although it doesn't have a second stage, because of Hashirama's cells and Six Path Chakra being predominant, the power of this Mark would live up to the expectation.
Now, Sasuke only needed to wait for this... Six Path Mark to fill up with natural energy to know for sure if it worked as it should and start considering a way to gift those he chose and promised power with one of these.
I think I can create about five more of these without harming myself, Sasuke enumerated how many allies he could have and knew of four of them, leaving only one more. It could have been that woman in red if the circumstances of our meeting were different.
It didn't matter, not anymore.
Sasuke would have enough power to deal with Kaguya on his own at the end of it all, where those allies would be nothing but a contingency in case something went wrong.
That being the case, better not waste even a second. Sasuke closed his eyes once more and began to study; to assimilate the Six Path Chakra that could no longer be taken from him completely. When I'm done, that old man won't even get back what he gave me.
So once again, Sasuke plunged into the darkness that the Yin Chakra of the Six Paths represented in search of more power, but in a different way, where nothing would be sacrificed this time.
A very welcome change in his life and hopefully, the first of many.
I hope you enjoyed it.
I know the pace is slow, almost as if I were writing a slice of life, but I like it that way, without forcing the story forward and at the same time making some progress.
I've also done two chapters of that Sasuke/DxD fic, once I have four I'll start posting it.
The same goes for Eternal Pride, so let's see if next month I'll have more stuff to entertain you.
That's all so don't forget to review, and if you want to support me and read ahead take a look at my P t r & on (slash) Bertoti
Until the next one by the end of the month.