Fear not dear devoted readers, I have not fallen from the fandom world and left my stories to fade. Life gets busy ya know! But thanks to reader "Idk" who happened to be that one commenter that asked if this story was being updated, and how good it was, it gave a little spark to me. And today being one of my days off, I managed to find the self discipline to sit and get this chapter done and outta here. Again, it isn't as long as I would like, but things needed to get posted, moved along, and I would have to say that we are at the 2/3 part of this tale. Thanks again, happy readers for being so patient.
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The next morning, Sasuke found himself still dressed in the clothes he wore last night, his fingers covered with writing dust and his papers scattered all over one of the tables in his room. He recalled the night prior. So much had happened, he wanted to share, but by the time he got back, it was apparent that everyone was sound asleep other than the night guards. He had decided to start going over his writings, compiling information and he thought to lay down for a moment when he finally felt his eyes getting heavy. He must have fallen asleep immediately, for he had no memory of just lying on his bed.
Quickly washing up and changing his clothes, he gathered up his papers, notes and journal, shoving them in his satchel and heading down to the breakfast room. His stomach gurgled with impatience, and with a little bit of luck, the queen and maybe Kakashi would be present at the breakfast table.
Entering the breakfast room, he was greeted by Kushina and the young woman with purple hair sitting next to her. Sasuke was curious, but did not question as he helped himself to a plate of breakfast spread out on the table. Thankfully it was only Kushina and this other young woman in the room, but Sasuke didn't know who this was, therefore said nothing other than a bow to the queen.
"Sasuke-kun, my dear, good morning," Kushina called out gently while Sasuke bowed. She waved her hand to a chair near her and gave the raven haired boy a smile. "I trust you slept well, please, eat." Kushina dabbed her lips with a napkin before grabbing her cup of tea.
The room was filled with only the noises of cutlery moving about while the three ate breakfast.
"I would like to request a meeting with you my queen," Sasuke said after finishing his plate of food.
"As I do with you," Kushina spoke curtly. "But where are my manners? I forgot to introduce you to Konan-chan." Kushina turned slightly, looking at the young purple haired woman. "She has come from King Orochimaru's kingdom, to assist the king. Konan-chan, this is prince Sasuke Uchiha. The Uzumaki and Uchiha have been long-time allies and friends."
'Ah, the necromancer,' Sasuke thought to himself. 'The one that Kushina and Kakashi spoke of the other night.' Sasuke nodded his head in greeting.
"Your highness," Konan bowed her head in respect at Sasuke.
She did not smile and he could see the sadness in her eyes. 'Could she be a prisoner to Orochimaru?' Sasuke clenched his hand at the thought of the vile king keeping such a young woman a slave to him. The man was repulsive enough.
"Sasuke-kun and my son Naruto were very close friends," Kushina added, sadness rich in her voice and she clasped her hands together.
Sasuke and Konan just glanced at the queen, saying nothing.
"Okay," Kushina finally said, placing her napkin on her plate. "I am going to show Konan-chan back to her room to rest, and then I will meet with you Sasuke-kun." Kushina began to rise from her chair.
Sasuke quickly rose from his chair in respect to the queen, bowing at her.
"Meet me at the west wing sitting room Sasuke dear, let's say in one hour?" Kushina gave a look down her nose, waiting for Sasuke to respond.
"As you wish majesty," Sasuke agreed.
Kushina hummed a pleased response, held out her hand to Konan who grasped it, pulling herself up from the chair. "Come child, you are looking pale, let me help you to your room." Konan nodded, hooking her arm into Kushina's and the pair left the room.
Kushina did not return Konan to her room, she went directly to her own private chambers and Konan did not resist. After their talk last night, Kushina was able to learn a little bit more from the young girl and she seethed all night at what Orochimaru was capable of.
Kushina directed Konan to her lavish bed, and had Konan sit beside her. She grasped the young girl's hands tightly and looked into her eyes. "Get some rest here, you will be safe here and there is little chance the king will return. He is too caught up in playing with his new toy." Kushina was torn about how to feel about the dragon's capture and Orochimaru's plans for it. Part of her wanted the dragon gone or dead, for all the damage it had done to her family and kingdom. But another part of her didn't want Orochimaru to gain any more power by using magical beings. She shook her head at the thoughts. What mattered right now was Konan and what she had been through.
"Konan-chan, when you told me about your family, and Orochimaru sending them on a mission, have you had contact with them at all since they had left?"
Konan's lips fell into a sad frown and she shook her head negatively. "I have but dared asked the king twice on their expected return or of any news of how they fare. But his last response was to inform me never to ask again." She dropped her head, hiding her eyes.
Kushina inwardly seethed. Being the woman she was, the queen that she had become, she highly suspected Orochimaru was not telling the exact truth. Kushina feared that her suspicions would be correct about Konan's only family. She patted Konan's palms gently, "fear not little one, I'll be sure to find out what I can about your family. Believe it." She gave the girl a warm smile. "Everyone deserves to have their family, no matter what the cost."
Konan's eyes widened at the statements. She felt her cheeks flush with warmth and a flutter in her stomach. The queen was a warm soul that Konan did not have much experience with. It was strange, frightening, but her soul craved more of Kushina's attention. The way her body craved more of Kushina's love, the more Konan worried for the queen's safety. If the king was to discover what a kind soul Kushina was, Konan wondered if he may break her. She bit her bottom lip in worry at the thought.
Kushina stood, pulling the covers up Konan's legs a little higher, tucking her in. "Get some rest, I will come for you later." She smiled warmly, placed her hand on the girl's head and ran her palm down the purple hair gently before heading out of the room. There were some things to discuss. The sooner, the better.
Kushina stopped to speak with various knights of Orochimaru that were within the grounds. She requested to know what of the king, how he fared, should he require anything and to let him know that she was thinking of him and his well being. Kushina knew she needed to ensure that she was still loyal to her betrothed. She didn't need Orochimaru becoming suspicious if she didn't still give off the impression that she was a lady that was eager to please the king. Giving the knights a silly giggle and a flamboyant wave, she made her way to the room where she had told Sasuke to meet with her. She had sent a messenger boy to fetch Kakashi as well. They all had much to discuss.
Kushina started first when the three were sitting together in a private area. She informed the pair of what Konan had shared. Though it wasn't much, it was enough to have Sasuke and Kakashi furrow their brows in concern.
"There is no doubt that Konan is a prisoner of Orochimaru, holding her only family over her head," Kushina whispered through clenched teeth.
"It's not uncommon for a king to send out warriors in training on long missions so they can gain experience, majesty," Kakashi mentioned. Sasuke nodded in agreement.
"You suggesting I do not know that? Captain?" Kushina hissed in response, throwing him a glare. Kakashi held up his hands in surrender, Sasuke looked at the queen in surprise. Kushina took a breath and sighed. "I apologise." She dropped her shoulders and gave an apologetic look at the pair. "With what Konan has shared, and the stress of Orochimaru, the dragon, Naruto, I don't know how much longer I can handle this." She shook her head sadly.
"Were you able to ask her knowledge about other dimensions and curses? The possibility of a human being trapped in a dimension or being cursed to one?" Kakashi asked gently.
"We did discuss a little about it. Unfortunately, Konan does not have too much knowledge as a necromancer. She was taken by Orochimaru when she was just a child, and I believe her powers had slowly developed but without her being able to learn how to control them. She is currently left at the mercy of what her powers do for her, not when she calls upon the power." She pinched her lips in thought. "She doesn't have anyone to teach her the ways, she is left to learn on her own. I believe the king is aware that she isn't too knowledgeable of her powers, but he feels that because she is bound to him, he will eventually be able to control her fully and her ability."
"Then what exactly is the length of her ability at this time?" Kakashi asked.
"She dreams, has visions, that often could be of future events, or dangers. She has shared she can manipulate matter, but she did not go into any other detail of what type of matter. She is but a scared little girl!" Kushina expressed with a long breath.
"I have much to share majesty," Sasuke spoke next. "I managed to infiltrate the king's camp last night and lay eyes on the dragon."
Kushina raised a brow at the young prince. "You did such a reckless thing," she scolded.
"I told you to stay away from there," Kakashi also scolded Sasuke.
"I understand your majesty…Kakashi, but I felt compelled too, there are still unanswered questions that I need to address!" Sasuke expressed, trying to keep his voice calm. He knew how the queen had felt about the dragon, since their last meeting. "Please majesty, bear with me. I understand your feelings, but there is something I can't explain now, but I feel closer to an answer," Sasuke pleaded to the queen.
Kushina closed her eyes, letting out a long breath. She needed to keep her emotions in check. "Go on then, tell us what you have discovered."
Sasuke explained the gruesome details of what was being done to the dragon, causing Kushina and Kakashi to both look horrified. It was apparent that Orochimaru was harvesting the dragon's body for most likely magical experiments, potions of power, and who knows what else. But most importantly he mentioned the man who obviously is keeping the dragon under his spell with his purple potion and incantations.
"With power like that over a beast, they could possibly command the beast to do anything they want!" Kushina whispered. She stood quickly and started pacing the room.
"At the moment majesty, it seems that thus far the king is only interested in harvesting the dragon's body. But it is a fair assumption that in the end, they may let the dragon heal enough in order to keep it in their control," Kakashi explained. "Either way, we need to either put the dragon out of its misery or release it."
"You can't be serious!" Kushina whisper yelled. "Releasing that beast back into the wild, you can't do that to the people! You know that it did! What has happened and what will most likely continue to happen if you release it!" She pointed her finger at Kakashi, her aura giving off a threatening vibe. "Better to kill it. I agree that it shouldn't be tortured as it is now, killing it would be best to put it out of its misery. Then we can burn the carcass so no one has access to the remains!"
Kakashi sighed. He couldn't argue with that fact. He glanced over at Sasuke, whose facial expression showed that he figured the young prince did not agree with a death sentence. "Prince?" he queried softly towards Sasuke.
Sasuke shook his head. It was apparent that the queen was not willing to take into consideration that the dragon should be set free. Sasuke's heart wretched at the thought of killing the beast, just so it wouldn't be accessible to any other persons that may try to gain a dragon for their own bidding. But something nagged at him, something about that dragon… He took a breath, "I saw Naruto again last night…"
Kushina gasped, her fingers coming to cover her lips, her wide green eyes staring at the Uchiha prince. Kakashi's brows raised.
"He was able to share more information with me this time. I was able to feel his body as well, until he faded once more," he said with disappointment in his voice. "I have a theory." He glanced between the two, who stayed silent, waiting for him to continue. He described the planes of existence and how Naruto could be trapped in between. "I was hoping that Konan could possibly know more about those dimensions. But since you explained…"
Kushina dabbed the tears from her eyes after Sasuke's description of what he saw. Kakashi leaned in close to the queen, squeezing her hand for support. "I can ask her more, but I don't expect too much," she whispered. She quickly got up from her seat and embraced Sasuke tight. "Thank you, my dear Sasuke, for being there for him. And giving me the hope that my son can hopefully return."
Sasuke returned the embrace, taking the smaller woman in his arms and holding her tight. She trembled slightly, soft sobs coming from her lips and Sasuke ran his fingers through her hair. He held her as long as it took for her to settle, his heart ached seeing her in such despair and briefly thought if this is how it would be if he was to truly marry the queen as he had promised. But he knew the love he felt for the queen was not of a lover, but more as if she was his very own mother.
"Unfortunately, we need to move quickly," Kakashi's words broke the silence. "We don't have a lot of time, in all aspects of this situation."
A knock on the door had the three suddenly turn their heads towards the door. They were all so wrapped in their thoughts, they all gasped at the sound. Straightening herself out, Kushina stepped away from Sasuke and sat back down on one of the chairs, as did Sasuke. A young boy opened the door when Kushina gave permission and promptly bowed towards the queen. "Your majesty, King Uchiha's messenger has arrived. The king shall be here in a few hours," the young boy said.
Kushina excused the boy quickly and looked expectantly towards the other two when the door closed. "How could I have forgotten! Your brother! I have so much to do! Your brother is wise and may have some ideas as well regarding our predicaments!"
"You must inform the Sound King majesty," Kakashi added. "I have the feeling that he won't be too pleased to hear of King Uchiha coming to the lands, since he has now subdued the dragon. He may feel threatened."
"Let me worry about that. I can handle him. You two let the Uchiha knights know of Itachi's arrival. I'm certain they will be pleased to hear their king is coming. I will get the servants started on preparing for his arrival." Kushina stood, waving her hand at the two towards her door. "When we are able, we shall meet again, with Itachi's presence. I'm certain he will have some theories as well." She opened the door, indicating for the two to head out. When Sasuke walked near her and bowed, she pulled the young raven haired prince in for another hug. "Thank you, again, you have no idea how happy I am knowing you are here for Naruto." She then kissed his cheek and cupped his face. "Now go, I'm certain you're eager to see your brother." She smiled and shooed him through the door. She nodded at Kakashi when he bowed on his way out. There was much to do and for once she felt a little lighter, thinking there may be a happy ending to this nightmare after all.
Kushina quickly wrote out a scroll, and gave it to one of Orochimaru's knights, commanding that it be delivered immediately. Shortly afterwards she began to bark out orders to her staff to prepare for King Uchiha's arrival. Dinner, sleeping quarters for the king and his servants, where their horses were to be housed, all needed to be prepared. Once satisfied that everyone was quickly doing their due diligence, she went to go see Konan.
The young girl was awake, standing at one of her windows, looking out over the horizon. Kushina announced her presence, so not to scare the young girl, but Konan did not even turn to look at her.
"Konan-chan? Are you alright?" Kushina asked while walking up behind the young girl. She placed her hand gently on the girl's arm, letting the girl know she was there. When Konan didn't move, she slowly walked around her to look at the young girl's face.
Konan's eyes were open, her eyes a dull grey in colour. Her lips were slightly parted, Kushina could hear the soft pants coming from her mouth. Her eyes didn't flicker, they continued to stare straight forward into the distance. Kushina called Konan's name again, but again, the young girl did not respond. Kushina studied the young girl's face for a moment. 'She appears to be in a dream,' she thought to herself. Kushina could see Konan trembling, but the girl still remained standing, her eyes wide, the grey in her eyes remained instead of the soft golden colour they normally were. Tears were welling up and falling from those eyes.
Kushina stood before Konan and grabbed the young girl's hands. They were cold, and she gasped them tight, while watching Konan's face. Her heart ached seeing the despair and fear in Konan's face. She didn't know how long she stood there, watching, but when Konan gasped loudly and took a breath, Kushina was there to embrace her so she wouldn't collapse.
"There, there, it's alright, I've got you," Kushina hummed while Konan's breathing was erratic and her body trembled heavily. The young girl whimpered and cried softly for several minutes before Kushina managed to guide them both to the bed in the room.
Konan's eyes were red rimmed but their original colour had returned. Her cheeks were streaked with tear marks, and Kushina offered a warm smile when Konan finally focused on her. "I'm here," Kushina whispered. She wouldn't pester the girl with questions. Something had obviously left Konan terrified, and she trusted the girl would tell her when she felt safe.
Konan took several breaths, trying to calm her heart's rapid breathing. The visions in her head still were fresh, and she felt agony, sadness, despair, and not fear, as she normally did. She rubbed her eyes, that still stung from the tears she couldn't stop from falling. Fear was easy to deal with, she was used to the fear she felt from visions. But this time — it was different. She was faced again with the cracks in the earth that exploded the land, leaving her surrounded by the red scorching lakes.
But this time, there was a mist all around, maniacal laughter echoed in the air, and many more people that she now knew, were falling to their knees, screaming in agony while their bodies burned to ash. She watched Sasuke, Kakashi, and Kushina… all fall to their knees, their screams filling the air as the flames began to melt their skin. She covered her ears and screamed, trying to block out the cries of pain from the people she knew.
The shrilling roar that sent goosebumps through her skin had her lookup. She had heard this roar before, but back then it struck fear through her. Now, it seemed as if whatever creature released that sound was in fear. The thundering yowling drowned out the screams of the people that burned, and disappeared completely as if they were never there. Konan's heart was pounding so hard, but she needed to see, what was causing that hurtful sound? She cursed the mist that was clouding her sight and she clenched her fists, willing the purple mist away! The maniacal continued, like continuous waves from the ocean and the pained roar echoed all around her.
The ground shook suddenly when a booming sound exploded somewhere. The scorching red lakes around her continued to boil, steam and she squinted her eyes through the mist when it began to lift. The only light came from the red heated lakes, casting a glow on a large creature that was struggling to claw its way onto the land. The thick red heated ooze grabbed at the creature, trying to pull it down into the depths of the lake. Konan's hands went to her lips, her eyes not believing what was before her. The creature was not one she had seen to be able to name, but she knew when a creature had been mutilated, tortured and slaughtered. The creature was missing areas of its body, blood, puss and purple sludge fell from the open wounds. Its feet had blood and puss, flowing quickly from each toe, causing the beast to struggle trying to hold onto the land. It once had wings, but from what Konan could see, only large bloody nubs remained. Its deafening roar escaped what Konan suspected was once its mouth. As the creature continued to cry out, the red thick liquid in the lake was winning. It latched onto the creature, not letting go, and slowly pulled it into its depths until Konan could not see nor hear the creature anymore.
She hiccuped a sob at being witness to such a sight before the sounds of cracking had her looking towards the sound. The same long reflective glass from her first vision was across the red lake, and Konan could see cracks beginning to break the surface. The reflection in the glass was the same as before, something glowing blue and white on the other side. She widened her eyes at the sight, sensing something was wrong and she gasped out in surprise when she saw a man, coming up on the other side of the glass, slamming his fists against it. He was screaming, but she couldn't hear him. His eyes were widened in terror as he took both fists and slammed against the barrier of glass. The glass then exploded, and it was gone, along with the man that was on the other side.
"Konan-chan?" Kushina's voice floated softly through her mind. She blinked a few times, wiping her eyes before focusing on the kind queen before her. Her heart had finally slowed to a more manageable pace and she fell into the queen's arms, wanting to feel the warmth of Kushina's embrace.
Kushina was surprised, but took the young girl into her arms and gave Konan the time she needed. She could feel Konan tremble, but she did not cry. She stroked Konan's hair softly, and rested her cheek upon Konan's head. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. But know that sometimes talking about it can help," Kushina whispered.
A few minutes later, Konan whispered, "the vision has changed. I fear the worst now, for all of you."
"How has it changed?"
Konan let out a shaky breath and lifted herself away from Kushina, sitting back on the bed. She gnawed on her bottom lip for a moment, thinking about how to say the words. She still clenched Kushina's hands, the warmth from the queen keeping her grounded. "In the past, when visions change, it is because there is a change of direction." She pinched her lips in a frown. "Something is changing, but I don't know what." She looked up at the queen's concerned green eyes. "Whatever decisions are being made right now, will not fare well for any of you," she whispered. Her bottom lip quivered, as the visions of Kushina's skin melting, her screaming in pain and agony from the flames that engulfed her body.
"What did you see?" Kushina asked gently. Konan only shook her head quickly, squinting her eyes closed in the process. "Oh my dear, it's okay," Kushina quickly pulled Konan in for another hug. "I promise we will do what we can. The future isn't written in stone, it's always changing." Kushina rocked Konan softly while soothing the trembling girl.
"And I saw him disappear forever," Konan whispered into Kushina's shoulder.
"Who?" Kushina asked when Konan pulled away again. Kushina rubbed Konan's shoulders gently, trying to calm the girl. Konan looked up before glancing over to Kushina's right, staring at something.
"Him," Konan nodded, her eyes still focused on the item.
Kushina turned to look to see the item on her bedside table. A picture of a blond, smiling young Naruto.