Chapter 25, Inside out.
The darkness was a familiar sight to Inoichi. He felt calm as he swam through the nothingness of her mind. Like he did many times before, he searched for the "brain." His target was her memories, but he would inspect anything that stood out.
In the midst of the darkness, a white door, adorned with golden carvings of a sakura flower, stood. It was tall and imposing, a warm glow peeking through the non-existing door fame, a beacon in the void.
Inoichi paused before the door placing a hand on its smooth surface; it wasn't a genjutsu barrier. The fact shocked him; he was expecting more resistance. He frowned at the golden handles, his reflection frowning back. While he wouldn't complain about having less work, he refused to believe it was that easy to invade her mind. Steeling himself for the worst, he turned the knob.
A hallway greeted him beyond the door. Glowing lanterns mounted the pale walls that stretched on forever, broken only by Birch doors, mirrors of the one he entered through. In the midst of whites, a royal blue carpet covered the narrow floor. The confusion was at the forefront of his mind. Was this the mind of a civilian child? The lanterns were oval with sliver steel wrapped around them in the intricate design of a sakura flower. They cast the hall in a warm glow making it feel oddly welcoming.
Feeling uneasy, he soldiered on; he had been in worse situations, a welcoming mind wasn't so bad. He gripped the first door and turned the knob.
Waaa!
He paused at the noise the wailing of a child. His surroundings were distorted, both vision and sound.
"I suppose this is her beginning." He muttered, waving through hand signs. While the child could not preserve the world, he had to clear her vision himself.
"Reveal."
The world changed, no longer looking like abstract art. Everything fell into place, and the truth was revealed.
"Sakura Haruno," Mebuki blessed her child with a name.
Inoichi smiled at the scene before him, relieved despite himself. His daughter seemed fond of the girl; she'd be sad if he had to kill her.
He exited the memory and made his way down the hall. Knowing she was a civilian of Konoha was only half the battle. There was also the possibility of her being influenced by an outside force. Going through her memories individually would take forever so, he cheated. Using a family jutsu, he revealed the doors with imprinted memories. Moments in her life that she treasured and or sealed away. He observed the hall as it changed the doors changing color.
Those with important memories glowed bright gold, and those with suppress memories glowed a murky blue. There were a lot more glowing doors than he thought, with almost no blue ones. Those suppressed were of trivial things, like seeing her parents kiss; passionately. He sympathized with the little one, closing the door.
He was in a difficult situation, the memories could be trivial, or they could be significant; there was no telling what Sakura thought was important.
He was about to move on to the next door when his eyes caught a hint of red. It shone in the darkness of the hall that broke away from the main hallway. The air changed; his instinct flared, warning him of the danger ahead, pleading for him to run and never look back. He was the head of the Yamanaka clan, it took a lot to scare him, but now he was terrified.
"It's just a memory," he reminded himself. "No reason to be frightened."
Despite his instincts protesting, he took a step towards the ominous hallway. One foot in front of the other, he came closer to death's door. The darkness swallowed him; the absence of the lanterns left him blind. With the beacon of red light his only guide, he stumbled through the void.
Splash!
He stepped into something wet, looking down welded no result in the darkness. Though, with the smell of iron in the confined space, he could hazard a guess of what it was. He powered through. His steps took more effort as he walked through the thick liquid, his feet sinking deeper and deeper the further he went. The thick liquid slowed his strides, clinging to his legs as though trying to stop him outright.
"Release!" He tried to undo the genjutsu, but as water blasted away, it came rushing back full force. He tried a total of three times to undo the jutsu, but each time it repaired itself. Sakura wasn't going to make this easy for him. With a sigh of defeat, marched on.
Screams came next. Blood-curdling cries only a banshee could match, echoing off the walls and threatening to deaf him. He gritted his teeth as their volume increased the closer he got to the door. Dimling, he mused that this was the first psyche attack he experienced since entering her mind. She was trying far too hard to keep him out for this to be another embarrassing memory.
The red glow came from the gaps of the doorframe, much like the entrance. Up close, he realized the door was different from those before. While also white it, had no carving of a sakura flower; instead, the plain door had the kanji 'Seal' painted in blood. The writing dripped down the length of the door, adding to the blood on the floor.
The door felt hot to the touch, burning him as he examined it. He hissed and pulled away, flashing his now pink palm. He would still feel the pain after he exited her mind; even though not physically injured, his mind would interpret him as such. That was the danger of using this technique.
While inside someone's mind or body, his own mind and body were vulnerable. If he died here, his brain would also die. That was what made his job so dangerous; one wrong move, and he would land himself in a coma.
He briefly wondered if he should have brought Ibuki along before dismissing it. Sakura was a child, not some rogue ninja. Whatever she had in her mind couldn't be worst than that of a serial killer; he shivered at the memory.
His courage reinforced, he gripped the handle. From his brief examination, he determined the seal was to keep something in, not out. Mind readers weren't common, so many don't account for them when they seal their minds.
Turning the knob, he pushed open the door and stepped inside. He shielded his eyes from the bright light that assaulted him. He blinked to clear his vision before staring in disbelief. The room was just that, an office with a floor to ceiling window blue curtains drawn that took up the far wall, from which light seemed through, bathing the office in the golden warmth of summer and confused Inoichi. The room was red before wasn't it?
It was spacious and clean, the same royal blue carpet covering the floor. A dark oak desk sat empty but for a single lamp before the huge window, a leather chair facing away from him behind it. Paintings of places he didn't recognize mounted the walls, bring life to the empty room. It reminded him of the houses on sale in the village. There was nothing personal about the room, no trace of the person that resided there. Even shinobis had more personality in their residence.
Despite the warmth, he felt cold.
The pictures on the walls were obviously generic, showing forest and beaches, but once again, nothing personal like a family. He made his way over to the desk, hoping for better results. Memories aren't always clear at first glance, he reminded himself. While the room itself might seem welcoming, nothing sealed away is ever good. Moving closer to the chair, he steeled himself for the horror.
It was empty.
He looked around, puzzled, but the result remained the same. There was nothing in the office: the room was empty. Was the memory of this office a trigger for another memory? That would explain why she sealed it away, but something wasn't adding up. He definitely felt it, that energy that promised death. It came from this room, yet he felt no trace of it now.
It was when looking through the large window that the answer came to him.
It wasn't real.
There was nothing beyond the glass but light. A normal memory would have something even if it was blurry, but what light beyond the glass was nothing but light.
He paused and listened, but he heard no sound. He chuckled, assumed that he was so easily fooled. He would give credit where it was due; he didn't suspect a thing. But reverse psychology was his specialty.
"Release!"
The room began to warp as the genjutsu dispelled. The room remained as was but for a few very noticeable changes.
The light from the window became crimson as he had witnessed before, and the walls now covered in red writings. Fuinjutsu, written in blood, lined the walks leading to the ceiling compelling him to look up.
He froze. His eyes widened as he staggered back, his body trembling with drain.
He felt the presence as soon as the genjutsu lifted, but looking at it intensified it.
Bound to the ceiling by golden chains and nails that pierced its limps. It defied gravity; its long spiky black hair sprawled out around it as though it were lying down. Dressed in a blue robe that's high collar was all too familiar. The thing seemed to be sleeping, its eyes closed.
There were story's of the world before the five great nations, where the clans were at war. The most famous along them were the Senju and the Uchiha, whose bloodline held great power. The leader of this clan was said to be the god of shinobi's equal, his statue carved into the cliff of the final valley. It was with that statue that Inoichi identified the man pinned to the ceiling.
Madara Uchiha.
"What is something like this doing here?"
"The masked man claimed to be Madara Uchiha." He recalled the reports. "Sakura was impaled by him; it's still a mystery as to how she survived."
He sighed in relief as his legs gave out and he fell on his butt.
"She must have been traumatized by the whole ordeal and sealed the triggers to the memory away," he concluded, feeling silly for thinking otherwise. He thought she was recovering a little too quickly; now he knew she was just running from her problems. It was oddly comforting.
He felt eyes on him.
His mouth felt dry even as he swallowed. He didn't want to look, even as his trembling eyes rose skyward, meeting obsidian pools.
He trembled, overwhelmed by Madara's presence. Black eyes shifted, turning red as his Sharingan came to life.
Suddenly the world shock.
Ahhh!
A scream of pain rocked the foundation and threatened to bring down the room on his head.
"Sakura!" He heard the cries of her parents, and the realization hit.
His be ending here was hurting her. When he entered one's mind searching for memories, whatever he found was also rediscovered by the host. They would know what he knew and could not claim ignorance.
He released the memory by opening the door, and while Madara was stilled pinned to the ceiling, he could only guess that wouldn't last.
He rose to his feet quickly and dashed for the door. Crimson eyes followed his movement but didn't try to stop him. Inoichi slammed the door shut, which instantly resealed itself. He fell to his knees, suddenly exhausted. The hallway was genjutsu free, for which he was grateful. The experience would hold a place in his mind for years to come.
He wasn't expecting this when he accepted this task. Secrets of treason or innocence: not death. He looked back down the hall, at the remaining doors. That was a memory close to the night of the Uchiha incident; he explored enough, he saw nothing suspicious and would say as much.
He was leaving because he completed his mission, not because he was fearful of what else lay within her mind. He looked at the sealed door once again, crimson glow seeping through the cracks.
Madara Uchiha," Inoichi whispered, "I pray this is the only time I ever encounter you." He took a moment to send a prayer to whatever god was listening that he never met the man in person. Even as it was impossible as he was dead, he prayed his soul never went where he was.
Sorry I'm late, my laptop that is two decades old decided to show its age, and I had to get a new keyboard. The problem is, the world is on fire, and it's impossible to venture out into that hell storm. It didn't help that I caught a cold from walking on the cold tile and everyone freaked out. Sigh~
Until next time, Night Song!