Welcome to Gaia! ::

Chapter Two

“She’s weird,” Taran said quietly as he watched his cousin step away from the campfire to the desert beyond the cave they were staying in, “Sorry that…”

“I like her weirdness,” Yoru shrugged, “Besides,” his hand brushed against the other boy’s hand, “She’s considerate enough to give us some privacy.”

He turned bright red, “A…aren’t we a little…”

“Taran,” he leaned forward, “You know,” he breathed, “So let’s make every moment count, not worry about the small stuff,” he took his hand, tracing his own fingers around Taran’s, “We don’t have to go all the way,” he said quietly, “I just want to…” he blinked as the smaller boy suddenly embraced him, the tears that soaked through the linen shirt.

“Please don’t talk like you’re dying right now,” Taran whispered, “I promised that I wouldn’t interfere with that, but live… at least until that stupid fight and your body isn’t yours anymore. Promise me Yoru.”

“It’s a great honor…” his voice turned sad as he lifted the other boy’s chin, “Three more years, that’s all I can give you, are you certain that you’re alright with that.”

“So long as you actually live during those years,” he said in a low voice, “That way neither one of us will have any regrets.”

“Deal,” Yoru smiled as their lips met, his fingers danced over the puppet master’s hips, “Now tell me again why we bothered to get dressed in these linens after finally taking off those confining suits…”

“Do I get any chance to resist?”

“Not at all,” he licked the tear stained cheeks, “I only have three years to make sure that you never ever forget anything about me.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Going out into this deep of the desert without a stillsuit is asking for Death,” a voice said as someone stepped behind Arashi, “Even at night.”

“Which is why I came,” she smiled, “You’ve been avoiding me.”

“You’ve been becoming increasingly more suicidal,” Shi said flatly, “I figured that some distance might persuade you to finally acquire some common sense.”

She turned to him as she placed her hands on her hips, “You won’t let me back in your realm no matter what I do,” she snapped at him, “That’s why I have to go through all this trouble in the first place!”

He shrugged, “I promised them that you wouldn’t come to harm,” he nodded to the kitten on her shoulder, “That’s why I allowed you to keep him. Are you really so stubborn to insist on that delusion you had as a child?”

She crossed her arms, “I keep telling you that it wasn’t a delusion. I’m in love with you,” she smirked, “And I’m going to prove it by finding that sword you hid. And then you can’t deny me,” she placed a hand on his chest, “Or yourself anymore. So Imamiah, feel like a betting man?”

“I’ve already placed enough obstacles around it’s resting place,” he said as he opened his book, “Though in your case, I’m adding a condition. I have to Awaken to prove that what you say is true.”

“Which means that you’re going to have to break that promise and let me get hurt,” she teased.

“If you can manage to pull the sword from it’s resting place, then you will lose the protections I placed on you, excepting for the yokai guardian,” he said as he started writing, “You’ll have to somehow get through to me after that. It takes three days for the curse on that blade to fully take effect.”

“I refuse to go to your realm if you don’t recognize it,” she smiled, “So guess I’ll be heading off to where my parents are if you can’t Awaken, and we’ll just never see each other again.”

“Don’t be so arrogant,” he said as he started to walk away, “To go there you will give up every part that makes you who you are, my Sister’s realm is not kind even to those that she chooses. Are you sure it’ll be worth it?”

She watched as the wind picked up and he disappeared into the night, “Wonder if those two had enough time…” she said as she reached up to pet the kitten, “We’ll be going deeper in the morning, they won’t get a chance for a few more days,” Castor purred at her and she nodded, “Yeah, let’s give them a bit more,” she said as she sat down, “I want to watch the stars some anyways.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sero frowned as he looked at the information just given to him, “What do you mean by ‘they disappeared?’ I remember having no less than ten agents in place at those gates,” he glanced up at the shivering boy who was standing in front of him, “After that, it should have been a simple task.”

“T…there was a sudden sandstorm,” he wrung his hands, “A strange one, there was lightning that…”

“Are you suggesting to me that the reason my orders couldn’t be carried out was an act of god?” he said quietly as he raised an eyebrow, then slowly smiled as he held out his hands in defeat, “Well, in that case, I suppose there was nothing that could be done.”

The boy breathed an audible sigh of relief, “We were so worried that you would be upset Mas…” his eyes grew wide as he gasped in pain, his hands going to claw at his neck before he fell to his knees.

“How is it that you’re the only one of them that never disappoints me?” Sero asked of the red-haired girl that stood behind his dying minion.

Kotori reached up to place her hair stick back into one of her braided buns, “Probably because you have very little expectations when it comes to me,” she said shrugging, “Though to be honest, there is no real way of tracking them in that desert. Our intel does state that when Arashi stopped coming to school that she went to some sort of group that lives in the desert, and Taran spent much of his holidays the same way after his parents were killed. And no one could say for certain where the hell they were other than the desert.”

“Why couldn’t I get any followers to go after them?” he pinched his nose, “Do you realize that it’s possibly the only country that I failed to get a single permanent spy in? The ones placed in Suna were all placed there for that day only, visitors at the missions board posing as a group from River Country.”

She sat down beneath the tree with him, “There’s nothing but a wasteland there anyways,” she pointed out, “They might even get themselves killed.”

“Convenient as that would be, I still need my brother’s eyes,” a blade pressed against her cheek, “I suppose that’s another reason that you get to live. Your Uchiha blood makes you a nice little back-up,” he sighed, flipping the kunai away from her, “I’m torn now. He disappears in that desert or I kill him in three years. I’m actually not sure which outcome I like more.”

“You might be able to get a spy in there now,” she suggested, “The Kazekage did just die, I think he was the one making things difficult there.”

“It amazes me how that idiot brother of mine could just waltz in, but any of my agents were found out immediately,” he mused, then stood up, “No matter, we’ll move onto another plan of mine for right now and forget the cursed Wind Country. I always wanted to prove to Father that I could take over this place,” he looked around the gardens, “The Joint Academy would make an excellent base, so much better than the caves of Oto.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“It’s a dangerous wager Ariel. Imamiah’s right, I will have to destroy every bit of you, even if it is by your choice.”

“Don’t act like you don’t know what’s going to happen Mama. You predicted this years and years ago when you told me not to seek him out. ‘Only great sorrow waits for you there’ wasn’t that it?”

Yoru opened his eyes at the chuckle that came after that, staying very still as he listened to the two voices, one he was able to recognize as Arashi, but the other…

His arm protectively pulled the still sleeping Taran to him, something about that voice…

“Shall I make a new prophecy then? This journey that you find yourself on, nothing good will come of it. He’s one of the most stubborn people I know, even I can not promise that you’ll be able to get through.”

“Because you won’t tell me. And that’s fine Mama, I’m going to try anyways. I just want to be entirely sure what will happen if I fail, and I want you to say it where he’ll hear you say it,” there was a note of amused confidence in her voice, “And then, even knowing that, I’m going to prove that I am of Companion material. You said yourself that there’s a test, this one’s mine.”

“You drive a hard bargain little one. Fine, fail in this and you’ll go back to the peach tree that you were entrapped in before, only this time as a wraith waiting forever and watching forever and never able to talk or to do anything. He’ll pass right under your branches and never know. Fire and storm will not undo your curse, it is an eternity of silent solitude that will be yours alone. Arashi will no longer exist, the memories that will cement her to the lives she touched will fade away into oblivion. That is the price you will pay if you fail… an eternity of nonexistence that you will never escape from.”

Yoru sat up then, trying to see the cruel woman that spoke those words, and blinked to see Taran’s cousin sitting alone on the other side of the fire. “I heard…”

“We’ll need to be moving out soon,” she said cheerfully as she pulled on her stillsuit, “Did he tell you how we’re getting into the deepest part yet?” she checked the different tubes and then nodding, went to pick up the six long iron hooks that he had wondered at the day before when she had unrolled them from the scroll, “No, I guess not, since we’re hiding everything until it happens so Sero can’t find your plans out.”

“Who was in here?” he demanded.

“We won’t have a lot of time,” she said as she placed the hooks into three pairs, “You guys have the easy part, I’m the one who gets to summon it,” she shrugged, “My own fault for going with Auntie to the Free Tribes instead of going to school I guess. But wouldn’t change a damn thing anyways,” she looked up at him, smiling at the glare he was giving her, “That was my Mother. You want to see a life without any regrets? Then pay close attention to me, I’ll show you one that will burn out faster than a star, and I’ll love every minute of it.”

Before he could answer, Taran stirred, “Morning already?” he murmured, then blinked, “Arashi didn’t see us…”

“You guys looked a bit cold, so I covered you up,” she teased as he turned bright red, “And it’s not like I haven’t seen you naked before. Better make sure you clean up good before you put your suits on though, wouldn’t do to clog some of those tubes.”

“It wasn’t what it looked like!” he protested.

“A wild night of unabandoned sex?” she teased.

“It was exactly what it looked like then,” Yoru smirked, ignoring the blushing exasperated look that Taran threw him, “So how are we going into the deepest part of this desert?”

“Get in your suit, gather your gear, and take a pair of hooks and meet me outside,” she grinned, “You’re going to be in for a treat. And as an added bonus, you survive this, and you’re automatically an honorary member of the Free Tribes.”

“Of the lowest rank,” Taran said quickly, “You won’t be getting an army from this.”

“That’s fine, I don’t need an army,” he stood, “That’s what your puppets are for anyways.” He glanced over towards Arashi as she walked outside the cave, “Your cousin… has she always been a part of your family?”

“There was a storm a long time ago, and that was when the twins brought her in,” Taran went to clean up and get dressed, “I remember it because there was a tree in Yuri’s garden that I really liked and after that it was gone, struck by lightning or something like that. Why?”

“Did she say why she was helping us?”

“She said she was just going this way,” the younger boy looked up at him, “Yoru, something wrong? You can trust her, Arashi isn’t the type to betray family.”

“I don’t think that there’s anything that we can do anyways,” he said quietly then picked up his suit, “Help me get in this again? I had the hardest time yesterday.”

Chapter Four

Kano walked beside his father as he looked around the rows of students in the courtyard of the dojo, “You have gotten many more students since the last time I was here,” he said smiling, “You finally achieved that dream then?”

Lee nodded, then leaned heavily on the cane that he had been using for the past five years, “Though truth be told, my greatest dream was achieved when you were born,” he said quietly, “Kano, how is Chihiro holding up?”

He was silent for a moment, chewing his lip, “She is withdrawing as she did when Haru and Sora…” he shook his head, “I am not strong enough,” he looked up as he felt the hand on his shoulder.

“It is not your strength that she needs in this time, but your heart,” Lee said gently, “That has always been why those three chose you as their closest friend.”

Kano’s eyes teared up, “Father…”

There was a loud crash before anything could be said, “Idiot!” snapped Karura as both men looked to see her placing her hands on her hips and glaring at Mamoru, “That was my sparring partner!” she pointed at the poor boy that was lying knocked out a few feet away, “He’s supposed to try and hit me! And did you have to destroy part of Grandfather’s dojo?!” she gestured at the shed that was in shattered timbers around the boy, the small ditch that now led to it.

“This one is too weak to train with the Princess,” he said as he sheathed his sword, “If you are to learn these techniques, then you should aim to learn from the strongest here.”

“I’m a beginner! You’re supposed to work your way up!”

“I am sorry about his behavior,” Kano started as he walked towards the two, “I will ask him to rebuild…”

“You know, he is correct,” Lee whispered to himself, “As she is my cute granddaughter, I should train her myself. I think Gaara would approve as well,” he chuckled, “I always wanted to see how well the taijutsu techniques I have work with the sand, and he never could withstand my training.”

“Her sand is a bit different from mine and Daddy’s,” he turned to see Chihiro standing behind them, her arms crossed, “It’s Grandfather’s gold dust that swirls in the grains she carries,” she nodded to the small clay jar hanging at Karura’s waist, “And I have only seen it used defensively, she hasn’t the ability to use it for attacks.”

“Then she is truly a product of love from your family,” Lee said smiling, “The powers of the generations choose to protect her. All the more reason for me to take on her as my student, I still have a duty of friendship to Gaara to complete.”

She smiled sadly, watching her daughter and foster son arguing with each other as Kano tried to calm them down, “Lee-tousan, he considered that duty fulfilled a long time ago.”

“My duty is to make sure that she receives the love and friendship that he once tried to deny himself,” he followed her gaze, “It is the sincerest hope that we have that our will is continued on through our children and children’s children.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“How deep is this canyon anyways?” Taran asked as he walked down the stairway behind his cousin, “We couldn’t see the bottom earlier.”

“I dunno,” she said sheepishly, “Last time I was here Shi teleported us in,” she patted the black kitten that appeared on her shoulder once they started down the stairs, “You can still go back if you’re scared.”

“No way,” he snapped.

“Besides, no telling what’s down here,” Giri said happily, “I’ve got to at least get a sample of the soil to bring back.”

“Think what she said about the place is true?” Doku whispered, “If it is…”

His friend smiled, “Don’t eat anything down here, just in case. And when we leave, don’t look back. This time we’ll just scout and come back later…”

“There aren’t any souls here, any that are still attached to our realm are all in Kin’ichi, and it’s buried far beneath the desert now,” Arashi called back, “Auntie was very thorough in that particular thing.”

“Is it possible then?” Yoru asked quietly, “My lord’s jutsu could become far more complete…”

She shook her head, “It’s possible, but not recommended. What you bring back might not be what you think,” her eyes saddened, “There’s a reason she did all of that.”

“Will you finally tell me what happened there?” Taran asked, and she shook her head, “Fine, so what is down here besides a weapon that you’re getting for yourself?”

“A pendant that gives immortality and eternal youth,” she said, “I figured that if you guys really do go through this thing, then you wouldn’t want him to just switch up in three years.”

“What?” the puppet nin turned to Yoru, “What’s she talking about?”

“How did you know that?” he narrowed his eyes, “That’s a secret known to only a handful that are alive.”

“Same reason that I know why your mom doesn’t have that problem, I have some information that I traded something for,” she hugged Taran’s neck, “Think I was just going to stand by and let my cousin follow you by himself? You guys go through this, I’m going to do everything I can for you. And that’s including making sure that your body isn’t just wasted and dumped.”

“Still want to know what the hell she’s talking about,” Taran said as he pulled her off, “You said that you told me everything.”

“It is something that doesn’t matter,” Yoru crossed his arms, “When my body becomes his, why should I care what he does with it?”

“Because I do!” he snapped, “And…”

“If it makes you feel any better,” Doku started before his mouth was covered up by Giri who glared at him before walking around the two and pulling Arashi with them to walk ahead.

“What if we got him the eyes another way,” Taran whispered, “If Arashi’s right about that pendant, then he won’t need to have your body.”

“There is only one other pair of Uchiha siblings left,” Yoru sighed, “And as willing as I am to fight my brother, my father is a good man that has already served his purpose for Lord Orochimaru,” he chewed the inside of his cheek, “And that’s if he and his sister fight in the first place, so far, he’s the only one that she hasn’t completely betrayed yet.”

“You won’t sacrifice any more than necessary,” the puppet nin looked down as his fists clenched, “But in the end I’m still going to be mourning you.”

“I promised you last night didn’t I?” Yoru wrapped his arms around him, “I’m living for you until that day. Lord Orochimaru will forgive this little escapade, even gave me an excuse to be gone until the time of the battle. Do you want further insurance that I’m yours until then?” he tilted Taran’s chin up to face him, “We…”

“The stairs are disappearing,” he pointed behind them.

The Uchiha whirled around, “Damnit!” he exclaimed as both started running down, “She could have mentioned that!”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Karura picked up the ruby on her mother’s dresser, holding the necklace up to the light, “There’s a little bird in it,” she said, “It’s flying around… how’d they do that?”

Chihiro was quiet for a moment, a sad look in her eyes as she remembered the desperate pleas her aunt gave to the Eidolon who had merely bowed her head, taking her Beloved’s hands in her own and cast that final healing spell, one that took the last bit of light she had, sealing her away once again, and all to save him from the arrow holding the Heaven poison.

Instead of answering, she took up her shamisen, “It’s late,” she said, “Your Grandfather will pick you up before the sun comes up.”

“Can I have this?” the girl asked, “I know it’s Baa-chan’s, but…”

“Keep it safe,” she said quietly, “A dear friend gave it to her. Now you need to get some sleep,” her fingers strummed over the strings as Karura smiled and placed the pendant around her neck before leaving the room, “You go to sleep as well Mamoru,” she said without glancing at the boy crouching in the shadows, “Your training will start tomorrow as well.”

“I am uneasy about leaving her,” he said as he stood, “I promised that my place would be at her side.”

“And yet, she won’t be able to stand alone if you’re constantly protecting her,” the song on the shamisen intensified, “There is a war coming, the golden age is coming to an end, the signs are all pointing to that. It is why we came out of the desert after all. And you know next to nothing of this world, which is why I arranged for this. Karura will be safe here, you can rest easy and concentrate on this mission that I’m entrusting you with.”

He nodded, bowing, “As always, your wisdom is sound,” he said, then chewed his lip as he went to leave, “But this war, would it not be better to return to our ways of the desert?”

She shook her head, “We’re part of this world as well, it was something I was trying to tell the Tribes all this time. And since Taidana was sealed away as well, the protection he provided to the ones left is gone,” she sighed, “All the work my father and the others did…”

“I will retake their work back!” he exclaimed, “I won’t forgive those that waste the water of your parents!” his fists clenched, “Those who wasted the water of the Tribe…”

“Mamoru, your mission is to live,” she said, and he blinked in confusion at her, “The training that I want you and Karura to go through, it is so you are strong enough for this world. Rather than revenge, rather than justice, I want the two of you to carry on the water of the tribe entrusted to you, just simply that for the time being.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“How the hell are we going to get out of here?!” Taran yelled at Arashi as he pointed up the side of the canyon, “There’s no way we can scale that!”

“The exit is on the other side,” she pointed, “All we have to do is get through here and find the treasures before it opens again.”

He covered his face with his palm, “I’m going to end up killing you before this is over…”

“Do it by tightening up the puppet wires and making my limbs and head explode off of my body,” she grinned, “Make it nice and gruesome and completely unavoidable.”

“You have problems,” Yoru commented.

“Says the guy that’s on a quest to kill his brother and become the body to one of the Sannin,” she placed her hands behind her head, “Come on, the sword’s this way. Hear that humming?”

They followed her, “I kind of expected a bit more pizzazz,” Giri said as he looked around the stones that towered over them, “Not something that looked like a giant rock collection.”

“Looks more like a series of ambushes waiting to happen,” Yoru narrowed his eyes as they passed between quartz and obsidian, “There are too many shadows.”

Taran unfurled a scroll to let one of his mechanical birds out, “Sparrow will at least give us a warning,” he said as the bird flew over their heads, “Ara, I don’t hear that humming at all.”

“Shi’s playing with me,” she said, “Last time, it was a river with a series of islands.”

“It has occurred to you that we could be in the wrong place,” Yoru pointed out, “This…”

Sparrow cried out in alarm, “s**t!” Taran and Yoru backed against each other as the rocks started to move towards each other, “Damnit Ara!” the puppet master snapped, “You led us into a trap!”

“Not true!” her voice called out from the other side of the converged rocks, “We’re just looking for something different. Keep heading for the other side, be there by the time the door opens.”

“Like we have a choice,” Taran sighed, then looked behind them to see the rocks there had joined as well, “And we lost the others.”

“Not giving us much of a choice as to where to go is it,” Yoru nodded at the one path they had, “Might as well see if we can track down that pendant.”

From the other side of the rocks, Giri looked up in disbelief, “I wonder if this place changes all the time,” he said thoughtfully, “She said that we just had to be at the other side…” he turned to Doku, “Spit that out!”

“What?” the other boy said as he chewed on the rabbit, “I was hungry.”

“Didn’t you remember what I said!” he exclaimed, “If this is the land of the dead, you can’t eat anything here!”

“Why not?” Doku asked with wide eyes, “It’s good! Not a ghost at all, you sure you’re not supposed to eat anything?” he blinked, "Aren't you going to get a head-ache banging against the rock like that?"

"I'm trying to kill myself. Leave me be for a minute."

Chapter Six

Taran whirled his head around in confusion as he found himself no longer in the canyon, but in his family’s home, sitting up in his own bed, “When did I…”

There was a humming coming from beyond the door, and he slowly got out from under the blankets, his green eyes narrowed at the slight glimmer of recognition at the song as he exited the room and went down the hall to the kitchen.

He stood at the archway there, frozen as he stared at the woman that was bustling about, “Mama…” he breathed.

Karin turned towards him, “Oh Taran! You’re up already!” she grinned, “I figured that I’d get a head start on dinner. Maybe this time I won’t mess it up, whaddya think?”

“But you’re…” he started, then jumped as he felt arms wrap around him.

“Isn’t it great that we have such a cute little brother Yomi?” sighed the elder of his twin puppet sisters.

The younger strawberry blonde placed her hand on his forehead, “You must have had one of those ‘nightmares.’ Yoshi, we might have to dissect his brain to see what was in there.”

“Nonsense!” the first twin exclaimed, “Taran, just tell us, or Yomi really will dissect you!”

“You’re all dead,” he whispered, his eyes wide, “Yoru and I…” he slipped out of Kiyoshi’s arms, “That mission that Dad and Mom went on…”

“Don’t be silly,” Karin said gently, “You know that I don’t go on missions, it’s too peaceful to risk my heart remember?” she placed her hand on his forehead, “Must have been some dream, you still feel a little feverish… maybe you should go back to bed?”

“Can you make me some of your ginger soup?” he asked quietly, and all three women blinked at him with wide eyes.

“You’re asking for Mom’s cooking?” Kiyomi asked in surprise.

Kiyoshi nodded, “Usually you accuse her of poisoning everyone…” she smiled, her hands going to her face, “Such love for his mother today!”

“Maybe you should skip school today,” Karin said in a worried voice, “Taran, you can’t be feeling well.”

He shook his head, “No, I better go in, Yoru’s waiting on me,” he turned and left the kitchen, completely missing the blank look the three shot at each other as he did.

When he was out of earshot, Kiyomi couldn’t hold in the question all three shared any longer, “Just who the hell is Yoru?”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He ran up to the hidden garden on the roof of the principal’s office, “Yoru!” he called, “You’ll never believe what…” he stopped as he saw the red-haired girl that pushed up her glasses as she looked over at him, “How’d…”

“Yoru? Is that your new pet name for me?” Kotori asked confused, “And Taran, you’re late! You said you would be here an hour ago!”

“How the hell did you find this place!” he snapped, his hand going towards his scrolls, “Did Sero order you to find all of his brother’s sanctuaries?”

She blinked in confusion, “Taran, what are you talking about? You showed me up here years ago, during the festival. Remember? You were the one that helped me out when I found out who my father really was.”

He stared at her, “The festival in kindergarten…” chewing his lip, “Where are Yoru and Sero then?”

“Who the hell are they?” she asked exasperated, “There was never anyone by those names here!”

He backed towards the exit, “That’s why they’re still alive…” he whispered, “That’s why you’re…” he turned and ran, “Kotori, we’re not friends!”

“What?” she followed him, “But we’re dating! You told me that you…”

“None of this is real!”

“How can you say that!” she yelped as they hit the hallways, “We…” he turned at the panic in her voice, “You said you loved me! That garden…” tears formed in her eyes.

He stopped, placing his hands on her shoulders, “You love someone else Koto-chan,” he said quietly, “Whatever memory you have isn’t real, this world isn’t real, it’s a genjutsu.”

“If this world is so fake, then why haven’t you tried releasing the illusion instead of running around then!” she snapped, “Gah! You’re such an idiot sometimes!”

He turned red, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, “You know, that really is the first thing I should have tried…” he muttered, then formed a hand seal, “Kai!”

She crossed her arms, “Some genjutsu,” she huffed, “Taran, you’re just making this all up so you don’t have to admit that you’ve forgotten our anniversary.”

He shook his head, “No, this isn’t real,” he knelt down and pulled out his scrolls, “Did I ever give you a puppet?”

“Why would you do that?” she placed her hands on her hips, “You make chocolates and bento for me. I don’t want something like those dolls. Your birds are just too mechanical looking.”

He narrowed his eyes, “Then why would Nightingale still be missing if this world was real. That’s the one I gave to Yoru…” he looked up as he heard a very faint birdsong, “Koto-chan, I’ll catch you later. There’s something that I have to do.”

“But Taran!” she called as he ran off.

He stopped a few times, holding his hand to his ear whenever the birdsong seemed to fade, but he didn’t lose it, he kept following it until he opened a door and stared at the teacher that stood in the classroom.

It shouldn’t have surprised him as much as it did, considering everything else that had happened so far this day, but still… seeing Nikona-sensei give him the same heated glare that she always did before her death…

“Haven’t you figured it out yet?” a voice said behind him, and he turned to see the twin males with silver hair and fox ears, “Since Ara’s so intent on making sure that you’re happy before she finishes up with this world, we’d figure we’d give you a choice.”

Taran stared at the two, “Just what are you doing in my class Taran?” Nikona’s sharp voice asked.

“You can make everything like this?” he asked quietly.

“Not exactly,” one of them shrugged, “We can just let you stay here. It’s up to you though.”

“We can even make you forget,” the other added as he held up a vial of dark liquid, “So that you can be even more fulfilled. So what do you say? He worth all the lives that were lost since you met? The lives that will be lost in the future?”

A long moment passed as Taran looked at the vial, then he finally shook his head, “I’ll still regret it even if I do forget,” he said as he clenched his fists, “Yoru needs me… no, I need him. I’m not going to just abandon him for a dream, no matter how much I miss my family.”

“Good answer,” the two chorused, and the one holding the vial threw it behind him as the Academy faded away into a starlit darkness.

Taran’s eyes closed, and he started falling down, and the two fox-men watched him disappear from their realm.

“You would have had fun torturing him if he had chosen otherwise,” a voice above them said, and they looked up and smiled at the woman with the flowing midnight hair that sat above them.

“We would have really given your realm a reason to be called Hell,” they chorused as their lips curled into their trademark crooked smiles, “Maybe that’s why we made the test so damn easy.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Taran!” Yoru placed his hand on his cheek, “Come on, wake up!” His red eyes searched for any sign of life, the sharingan activated almost as soon as the puppet master slipped and fell into the river, he had managed to pull him out without touching the water himself, but the snake that he had summoned was now a skeleton.

The dead serpent that still laid halfway into the waters made him even more nervous for Taran’s life, on his shoulder Nightingale was perched, singing that reassuring lullaby that always seemed to calm him down, but even with the puppet, he was on the verge of angry tears, “You can’t die until after I do! You promised!” he snapped.

“Nnngh,” he smiled as he watched the younger boy stir, take a gasping breath as he suddenly sat up in a coughing fit, “Yoru?”

“How dare you nearly die on me!” the Uchiha said as he gathered Taran into a tight embrace, “I would not be able to continue on with my duties if I had to go at them alone, you’re not allowed to leave me.”

“Sure you would have,” he said, happily wrapping his arms around his waist, “If anything, I’m a distraction.”

“One that keeps me focused,” Yoru said, then reluctantly parted, “The time for the exit to open up is almost here, we still haven’t found that jewel Arashi told us about.”

“I guess at this point we should just hightail it to the other side of the canyon,” Taran sighed, “Sorry that…” his eyes widened and he reached into his pocket, pulling out a large jade-green stone, “The hell…”

The two exchanged a glance, “Maybe it got caught there when you fell into the waters,” Yoru started, then turned to look at the river, blinking in confusion when he saw the wall of the canyon that was previously far away from them, “How the hell…”

“That’s just how things work here,” a voice said and they turned to see Arashi perched on a large rock a few feet away, a strange sword slung over her back, “Now to wait on Giri and Doku to get here.”

Chapter Eight

The three moved quickly and quietly through the now decimated village, Taran leading the way, as they headed towards the Kazekage tower.

When they got across the street, they stopped, staying in the shadows of the alleyway as they surveyed the damage.

“This is a trap,” Yoru said quietly, “Specifically aimed at us, they knew that you would try and retrieve them if their resting place was compromised.”

“Just how did they find it though?” Taran frowned, “Dad said that no one knew of that place.”

“They don’t,” Arashi whispered, “They were trying to smoke Yoru out of the desert, figuring that you would come here if the village was burning, they hedged a bet on something being here that you didn’t want to lose.”

Both boys stared at her, then turned to each other, “Maybe we should have…” Taran started.

“I’m not risking Doku’s safety,” Yoru interrupted, “I already did enough by allowing him to follow us into that canyon.”

“Not like that they’ll easily find that camp,” Giri piped up, “We can still help though.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Yoru crossed his arms, “I…” he whirled around to see the two younger boys behind them.

“It was boring there Aniki,” Doku grinned, “And if I wanted to be bored, I’d have stayed in Oto.”

“Do you have any idea how dangerous it is here?” the Uchiha hissed, “I thought at least Giri had some sense…”

“Can’t be helped,” Arashi said as she rubbed the wrist where the invisible chain was, “We better get going, not nice to keep them waiting.”

“If anything happens, we regroup back at the campsite?” Taran asked Yoru, who nodded, “Doku, he’s right, you could get hurt.”

He stuck out his tongue in response, “I’m tired of being left behind by everyone.”

“We’ll stay out of the way,” Giri added, “We might even be able to help in the fight.”

Yoru sighed in defeat, “Fine. We’ll call this your first lesson then,” they started to move across the street, “Stay with me. Taran, you and Arashi run ahead to where they are. If it’s a trap, there’s no reason for us all to get caught.”

“I’m leaving Wren with you,” Taran said as he pulled out the scroll containing his bird puppets, “If anything happens, she’ll let Sparrow know, and vice versa. That way, none of us will get caught for long.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Arashi opened the door to the Elder’s room, “Clear,” she said turning to Taran, “How long will you need?”

He held up the two scrolls he had taken out, “Just long enough to seal them here,” he whispered, his green eyes resting on the stone marker with the rune that stood in the center of the room, officially a memorial to Chiyo.


Blinking away tears at a happier time, he stepped forward, lifting up his hand to touch the runes on the stone…

“Seems like we need to give that person who gave us the information a treat,” a voice said and both looked up to see Kotori leaning against the far wall.

“I thought you said it was clear,” Taran hissed to Arashi.

She looked past Kotori, “The curse really is taking effect,” she whispered, “I can’t see anything but the other realm…”

“Still the same weird girl that she was in kindergarten I see,” Kotori reached up to her hair and pulled out one of her sticks, “Doesn’t matter, I kill you, then Yoru suffers and I prove my worth to Sero-sama.”

“Koto-chan, you were so cute once,” Arashi said as she stepped forward, her eyes still unfocused, “What happened when I was gone?”

“Don’t even try it Ara, she’s too far gone to his side,” Taran reached for one of his scrolls, “You’d think as much as she hates being lied to, she wouldn’t go for him though.”

“On the contrary, Sero-sama has been completely honest with me. I know I am absolutely nothing but a pawn, that all he cares about is proving himself capable of ruling his father’s empire,” she laughed, “Look around, he’s the one that did this! This is all the truth I need, absolute destruction of everything that was held dear by those that hurt me,” she lunged towards Arashi, “And you hurt me the most! You were my best friend and you abandoned me!”

The midnight haired girl stood there, “Was I?” she asked, “I don’t remember anything that happened before my fathers went away.”

“You lie!” she exclaimed, “Where were you when I found out why they hated me?!” she stabbed the stick forward, blinking when she saw that it went into Taran’s shoulder, not Arashi.

“Why didn’t you avoid that?” he winced as he pulled the stick out, “Ara, you’re going to die if you don’t get it together.”

“Isn’t that my plan?” she chuckled as she tore a piece of her shirt to wrap his wound, “I want to die, remember?”

“What does she mean by that?” Kotori asked as she stepped back, “And why aren’t you dead from the poison?!”

“You ever had his mom’s cooking?” Arashi paused for a second, “He’s close…”

“You gonna tell me why you’re acting weirder than usual?” Taran asked in a worried voice.

“I never told you, did I?” she smiled wistfully, “Better not lose him Taran,” she drew the sword, rushed towards Kotori, swinging it forward.

She brought up a kunai in defense, her eyes wide with surprise as Arashi went past her, driving the sword into an invisible enemy, “How the hell did you miss?” she hissed as her weapon drove into the girl’s chest.

“Not aiming for you,” she smiled as she collapsed to her knees, “Did my part Shi…”

The blond boy invisible to all but her eyes glared at the sword that had impaled the large book in his arms, “I still haven’t recognized you.”

“Not much time left,” she whispered, barely aware of someone gathering her into their arms, the warm liquid pooling around her.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“If you two had waited where we left you, they wouldn’t be in danger!” Yoru snapped as the three rushed after the bird puppet.

“If we had stayed behind you would be caught in the trap as well!” Giri pointed out, “You’re just mad because you’re worried about him.

“Besides that, I’m tired of everyone treating me like I can’t do anything,” Doku added, then looked over at his white-haired friend, “Everyone besides you I mean,” he turned back to his brother, “Aniki, I really can help!”

“Why is it that you want to help him so badly and not your other brother?” a voice said, and they looked ahead to see Sero standing there, “Doku, don’t you think that you can better learn to rule from the one who already has an army?”

“I’d rather have followers like Dad’s,” he said, “They love him. All of yours but one fear you and talk about you behind your back.”

“They’ll leave you at the first chance,” Yoru said as he stepped between Sero and the younger two boys, “Do you really want to have our fight now?”

“They won’t have any place to run to,” Sero laughed, “While you’re training, I’m taking over the world! At the meeting in three years, I’ll lay it at Father’s feet along with your eyes and I’ll be the one chosen to rule over his empire!”

“You do this for your own purposes,” the elder Uchiha smirked, “I won’t have any guilt about defeating you then, you’re still not worthy to be the new vessel.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Stop crying,” Kotori said as she took the kunai from Arashi’s chest, “You’ll be joining her soon enough anyways.”

Taran hugged his cousin’s body, “You people don’t get family do you?”

“My family betrayed me!” she snapped, “Keeping the truth from me while my stepfather and stepsister gave me nothing but hate and misery!”

“And yet your brothers tried to protect you because they loved you,” he said, brushing the hair from the fading blue eyes, “Hang on Ara, I’ll get an antidote.”

“My poison kills instantly. It’s a wonder that she’s not dead already,” Kotori said sweetly, “I didn’t know that you two had such a good resistance to it,” she placed the kunai back on her belt, “I’ll just have to think of another way to kill you. Sero-sama said to make it as painful as possible.”

“Have you slept with him yet?”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” she snapped.

He glared at her, “Exactly what I said. Do you even know who he is?”

“So he’s the son of the snake sannin,” she shrugged, “No big deal, in fact I can appreciate everything he does even more.”

“If he’s Orochimaru’s son, then where did the sharingan come from?” Taran asked, a slow crooked smile forming on his face, “Yoru and Sero have the same mother, and the same Uchiha father. So have you slept with him yet?”

She frowned, “He was grown in a tube. The labs in Oto had some Uchiha dna, it’s simple to do that. My mother grew fetuses all the time.”

“Neither one of them were grown in a tube,” she took a step back, not liking the strange look in the green eyes, “Answer my question.”

“I…I don’t want to,” she said, then reached in her pouch for a weapon, gasping when her arms were grabbed by invisible wires.

Taran picked up Arashi, “Hang there and think about it,” he said as he flexed his fingers and she was lifted up.

“When the hell did you set this up?!” she yelped and he gave her a sorrowful look.

“When you were killing my cousin,” he adjusted the midnight haired girl, “Hang on Arashi,” he whispered, “Giri’s got some medicine, he just has to.”

She didn’t respond, her eyes stared at a point past his head, at the invisible boy that kept writing in his ruined book, her hand reaching out to him.

“…please…” her breath was ragged as Taran ran through the corridors.

Chapter Ten

“Giri, open up,” Doku called from the hallway, “It’s been three days.”

A long moment passed before the door to the laboratory opened a crack, “She’s almost convinced him,” he whispered, “I want to see how it ends.”

The long haired boy blinked at him, before looking past into the room, “Giri, no one’s in there.”

“Sure there is, you just can’t see everyone,” his friend smiled, then quickly his face grew worried as he glanced back, “Her body’s already disappeared, if she can’t get him to admit it, then she’ll be gone. Taran’s already forgotten right?”

“Forgotten what?” Doku asked in confusion, “Who’s body?”

“See!” Arashi called from where she was sitting on one of the counters, “The living ones already are acting like I never existed,” she crossed her arms and smirked at Shi, “Told ya Mama doesn’t play around. You heard what would happen if…”

“You are sadly mistaken if you think a threat like that will move me,” he said as he wrote in his book, “If anything, that’s an incentive. The paperwork will even take care of itself.”

“Yeah, but did it ever occur to you that my Dads would still remember and probably would have permission from Mama to wreck havoc in your realm?”

“They can’t do any worse than what Kaze and Hayato do on a daily basis.”

Giri chuckled and turned back to Doku who looked at him with confused eyes, “Oh right…” he rubbed the back of his head, “Hey, Mom said that it’s alright that we date, and Dad’s good with it so long as I keep offering the good sake to his shrine.”

“And I mean the stuff from my secret stash,” Hayato called out, “There’s still enough to last another hundred years. I can’t drink Charon’s moonshine anymore!”

“Does give new meaning to the term ‘rotgut’ doesn’t it?” Kaze mused, “It’s nice to see that you’re so happy.”

“I think Akira cleared out most of the stash,” Giri smiled, “But I can go and get some good sake easily.”

“You tell that scorpion brat that he’s to pay back every ounce!” Hayato yelped, “I spent almost all of my money and way too many favors to build it up!”

“I actually specifically ordered him to do that,” Kaze pointed out.

“B…but… why?” Hayato asked with wide eyes, “You died first!”

“Giri, what’s going on?” Doku asked quietly, “You keep spacing out… you’re not having a dream are you? I mean, you’re awake, but that thing could be…”

“I’m wide awake,” Giri said, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek, “It’s just that something really big is about to happen in the underworld…”

“If Imamiah ever stops being such a prude,” Arashi called out.

“And if it does, then it’ll happen here,” he tapped his eye, “You don’t remember the canyon anymore do you? I have something here that lets me see.”

There was a tugging at his elbow and he looked down to see Mnemosyne grinning up at him, “If you want…”

“But wouldn’t that be against the rules?” he asked with wide eyes.

“Who’s he going to tell?” she placed a finger on her lips, “You should share things with the one you love…” she blinked, “Oh wait, that’s it!”

Doku stared with wide eyes at the seemingly sudden appearance of the gathering of the denizens of the Underworld in Giri’s lab, “What…”

“Big Sister, you gotta kiss him!” Mnemosyne called out, “He won’t admit to anything!”

Hayato raised his bottle of sake in agreement, “Forget kissing, go straight to the…”

“Kissing’s fine!” a bright red Kaze interrupted.

“Don’t you dare!” Shi squeaked as Arashi flashed him a crooked smile, “Not in front of…”

“If you say it, then I won’t do a damn thing,” she examined her fingernails, “Can’t make any promises if you’re going to be an a** and let me vanish into the void though…”

“I…” he groaned, running a hand through his hair, then stood up, placing the large volume in Kaze’s hands, and taking the sword from it, “I, Imamiah, known as both the Scion of Darkness and the Reaper, accept Ariel as my Companion.”

“That was a lot less romantic than I was hoping for,” she teased as she rested her chin on her hand, “Beggars can’t be choosers huh?”

“Ara, since you insist of making my life a merry hell,” he glanced at her, and both Doku and Giri wondered when he suddenly became an adult, “I might as well let you get it out of your system. Kaze, you watch over the book until I return,” he glared at the white haired man, “And every name better be written clearly with the time and cause, else wise, I’ll be adding a few more millennia to your sentence.”

“Master! You can’t leave him in charge!” Lethe cried, “Why not Uncle instead?”

“What, worried that he’s going to let me do some of those things that I threatened you with?” Hayato growled in undertone.

“Charon is far too blind to write down the names,” Shi said, regaining his former composure, “And he’s the only one not meddling in my business right now, judging by the fact that he stayed behind. I’ll need him to make sure that there is some sanity still left in my realm.”

“Shouldn’t we get married before the honeymoon?” Arashi asked with a raised eyebrow, and Shi paused, seeming to count to ten very slowly, “And you still haven’t said quite what I wanted you to.”

“Careful. I might just impale you and leave you in a dark cave for a few centuries,” he hissed as he took her arm, and suddenly the two boys were alone in the laboratory.

Doku rubbed his eyes, “You didn’t slip me any experimental drugs did you?”

“Yoru and Taran aren’t going to remember her,” Giri said, “So it’s up to us to get them to go to Uzu for that sword,” he turned to his friend, “Come on, I need to go get Uncle Akira to buy some sake for Dad’s grave.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yuko placed the last of the paperwork in her outbox as she stretched and rose from her chair, “Seems like there’s nothing but bad news lately,” she sighed, “Suna’s burnt down from riots after Gaara’s death, the Academy’s closing it’s doors…”

There was something scratching at the back of her mind about the seemingly unlucky events, but she shrugged it away, instead wondering why it was so quiet.

Her eyes narrowed, unusually quiet… and this was one of the busiest time of day for Kiri, she walked to the door, her hand reaching for the knob when it opened.

“Mom!” Kotori said happily, as she ran forward, her arms wrapping around the Mizukage’s neck, “It’s been way too long since I came to visit!”

“My little bird!” Yuko smiled as she returned her daughter’s embrace, “I heard that you graduated! I was hoping that you would come and visit before you went to report to…” Kotori broke away and Yuko froze as she felt the pin p***k as Kotori’s nails scratched against her throat, the rush of some sort of medicine entering her system.

“It’s too late to try and close off you veins,” Kotori smiled sweetly as her mother fell, “And to think, once you were a member of the organization that almost took the world… falling for such an easy trick.”

“Ko…” Yuko gasped as she felt the poison rushing through her, “Wh…” she yelped as she was kicked in the stomach.

“If I were born first instead of Karasu, I would have been loved wouldn’t I?” she snapped, “Instead I became the b*****d that you hid! Were you worried about what the village would think if you had been caught cheating on that weakling?”

“No, that’s not wha...” she reached up as her eyesight dimmed.

“Too easy to take care of this entire village,” Kotori laughed as she placed a hand on her hip, “Just a little drop in the water supply and everyone’s dead,” she kicked her mother again, “Go join my father. I’m heading to the capital next, there’s a little matter of getting my eyes permanently fixed.” she threw down a pair of glasses, “No more of this. You won’t control me anymore.”

With that she whirled out of the room, leaving the Mizukage staring blindly after her, a hand outstretched to try and reclaim her lost child.