Naruto: Tales of Ashihara

Naruto: Tales of Ashihara

The Shinden Saga – Arc 2: Pain Divine

.

Chapter 126 – The widower's plan

.

Close to Kirigakure, a few more days after the funeral of Tokiwa, her son Takeshi is doing what seems to be training but might just as well be considered a physical way to cry out. He is running at top speed around the land, trying not to think about anything other than what he is doing.

In the sky above the north shore of the land, Sakitsuki stares pitifully at the Minamoto doing his rounds. While she looks at it, she thinks to herself that no amount of training would get him near the level of Hyakki anyway. However, the more she looks at him, the less it feels like he is trying to achieve anything.

To make sure, she goes down to see him. She levitates aside from his trajectory, just in his field of view. At such speed, he must probably be witnessing the tunnel effect, but he's likely used to it even though it still limits his movements. This speed, even Hyakki can't catch up to it, but it is only in this context of a straight megameters long line that Takeshi would reach it.

As she waits on the side for him to stop, he runs past her once, to her unpleasing surprise… and twice after some more seconds, but stops at the third round. He wasn't training. He was just running and trying to get rid of any emotion. This included anything he's feeling for her. But the fact he stopped shows that he gave up on that effort.

From the look in his eyes, despite the mask hiding the rest of his face, Saki easily guesses what he can't get off his mind. His mother. Still. Always. It's been nearly 2 weeks and yet, to him it's still like the first hours of grief. She understands this reaction however. Having seen him grow up since birth, she knows that such a loss isn't something he ever considered.

She slightly opens her mouth, ready to speak kindly, but is distracted beforehand by what she reads on the lips of someone in Kiri. She looks away and flies up. "Your father will call you from Kiri." she says right before a rainbow ark of light transports her to the other side of the land in an instant. Just a second after she vanishes, Tsubai's voice speaks in Takeshi's mind.

"Takeshi, come quick to Chojuro's office." he just says, as foretold. Not busy anyway, the ninja in black runs to the Mizukage's mansion.

.

When he gets there, he finds Sakitsuki who arrived a few seconds before him. At the desk, the Mizukage is with Tsubai standing by his side. In the room are also a few other ninjas of Kiri, including Takeshi's squad mates, Kaori, Yukiko and Kokoro. A bit confused by the scene, he looks at Saki who seems unhappy about something.

"We have contacted the Hokage." Chojuro tells Takeshi. "He is ready to take Sakitsuki under his protection for the needed time."

To this announcement, Takeshi raises his eyebrows in surprise. Saki doesn't react as she was already aware of it. She just keeps a mistrustful look on her face.

"The people gathered here are those considered to be part of the escort team that will lead her to Konoha." the Mizukage adds.

"This… is ridiculous." Takeshi answers. "Why would she need an escort? Whoever you bring in would be less efficient to protect her than herself."

"The thing is she wouldn't defend herself if under attack." Tsubai steps in to explain what is actually his plan. "Actually, she wouldn't even go to Konoha on her own." he adds, looking at her with squinted eyes. "So what we do is send a team to escort her anyway. So she'll feel forced to go along."

"… Of course, if I had a choice, I'd refuse." Sakitsuki exclaims, frustrated by the Minamoto father's stubbornness. "Meeting the Hokage would mean to risk going against the instructions of the Shinden. I cannot do that. For the safety of this world, I can't break these rules."

"That's the whole point of the rule, I guess." Tsubai argues. "You aren't allowed to meet Naruto because, somehow, your kind knows that he's on par if not better than you all."

"Trust me, Tsubai, there are individuals among my kind against whom Uzumaki Naruto does not stand the slightest chance." she says with a threatening voice, which doesn't impress Tsubai.

"Sure, but not the god of destruction." he replies. "He ran away last time because he knew he couldn't dare to fight Naruto. So if he finds himself face to face with him when he comes looking for you, he'll have to step back… Now you'll ask what's the squad for then? Fact is that if this bastard steps back, Naruto won't engage either. He'll fight an enemy only if he has to. The team is there to start the fight by force, because Naruto won't sit back if Hyakki becomes a threat to us. And there, we'll have Naruto neutralize him."

Sakitsuki clenches her teeth, feeling oddly anxious as she learns this plan. This is mischievously getting rid of Hyakki while manipulating not only her, but also the 7th Hokage. In Tsubai's honest gaze, she sees and understands what she's witnessing. It is this man's hate toward her kind in action. These are the schemes of a widower who thought he was done being taken away from. The plan of a man who lost the love of his life.

"So we just start a battle that the Hokage will fight and win for us?" Takeshi replies. "Just one guy would be enough. The squad is still pointless."

"You're missing a detail, Takeshi." Tsubai says to his son. "Naruto can fight and win for us. But he's still Naruto. He'll prefer not to kill his opponent. If he can spare him, he will. The team will be here to finish it. We'll kill that god once he's defeated."

"Why are you taking these risks?" Sakitsuki exclaims, unable to stay silent. "I said I'll comply to leave with Hyakki-sama and save you any trouble. If you succeed, you'll only make it worse for you. There will be consequences to killing a god."

"I don't give a shit about consequences!" the old Minamoto suddenly yells. "There's no way I let this guy exist! And there's no way I let you leave with him either. I lost Tokiwa. My little girl lost her mother, and so did my son. I won't let him lose you too… And I know you agree with that. If you were really ready to leave everyone here behind to supposedly save us, why are you even waiting for this guy's return? Why don't you just fuck off and fly back to where you came from?"

Sakitsuki gasps, somehow offended by this statement. Yet she doesn't answer and just turns her head away. From the others in the room, everyone agrees with the Minamoto clan leader, except his son. Takeshi squints and looks at his dad's serious face. Not once in this discussion has he used 'damn', or a nickname for someone.

When he heard him say that word a few days ago, he thought it was a sign of acceptance. But he was mistaken. Those vocal habits are part of a personality that is inevitably changing. And he doesn't seem on the way to heal. For Tsubai, Tokiwa was the only reason he could recover from Himari's loss. Now that she's gone, it feels like nothing can save him but vengeance.

"If that's the plan… If it's just starting the fight and finishing him off, Dad, you could do it alone." Takeshi suggests, before looking at the others in the room. "You all, you don't need to be involved."

"Yes we do! Because we want to!" Kaori promptly shouts, feeling the self-centered attitude of her teammate come back. "Don't think you're the only one allowed to fight for this."

Takeshi looks at her, confused. It seems like the people in the room have the wrong idea about his position in this plan. And he understands the confusion. Just as he readies to confess the truth, he's interrupted by Yukiko who decides to express herself as well and break her usual shyness.

"We all lost someone that day!" she exclaims. "And we all lost Tokiwa. She wasn't just your mother. She was like an aunt to Kaori and I."

To complete her student's point, Kokoro brings in a much needed reminder.

"This, we should tell you too, Tsubai." she says to the Minamoto clan head. "Tokiwa was the last person I knew from where I came from. I've known her since the Daitengu. Just like me, she was close to Shibata." she adds that bit while staring at Takeshi, intending to get Tentoki's attention. "She's lived through the same pain as I did. I… We want to fight to get justice for her just as much as you do."

After this speech, Takeshi looks away, tearing up. The truth is that he played no role in elaborating or even wanting this plan. But his sensei's words made him forget about his intention of confession. Instead, he stays quiet and lets his father speak. Tsubai, with a trembling voice, gives a positive answer.

"Kokoro… I know that. That's why I asked for you to be here." he says.

Kokoro breathes in, a bit troubled by her own words, and nods in agreement. Takeshi stays silent, busied by his remorse, just like Sakitsuki who still can't comply. Chojuro, seeing the silence, considers the plan accepted and asks for the few missing information they need.

"Madam Sakitsuki, how long do we have before Hyakki Otsutsuki returns?" he asks.

"… I see that he's willing to give it a little more time." Saki doubtfully answers, considering that silence would be pointless. "For him, it could mean around 5-6 more days."

"Well… It should be enough to plan the path you'll take, the means of transportation and the meeting points and hours." the Mizukage says as he stands up. "I dismiss everybody here. Madam Sakitsuki, I apologize for the course of events. Understand that this man's offense in my village made him an enemy of the Union, and that this plan is only natural for us."

Sakitsuki simply nods, faints agreement and calmly leaves by the door. Tsubai leaves as well to get his daughter whom he left at the ninja hospital with Ashi Rinha. Takeshi follows him to the exit without a word.

.

The same day late at night, Takeshi still has his mind busied by the same silenced thoughts. Since he couldn't get any sleep, he left his home and went for a walk in the streets of the village that he knows by heart. He endlessly recalls what Kaori and Yukiko didn't let him say. From their judgment, it seems like everyone thinks that he wants to fight this battle alone to take his revenge.

But the truth is that he has no motivation, will, or intention to fight at all. In fact, he has no intention of doing anything. All that lies in his mind at the moment is self doubt and anxiety. When he was saying to everyone in the Mizukage's office that they don't have to be involved, he wasn't trying to get them away from his battle or his father's. He was trying to save them.

As he walks through the village, he speaks these thoughts to his first and own tengu, Makura.

"Why is everyone ignoring the simple fact that they don't stand a chance…" he says. "Even if he's defeated by the Hokage, he won't be down to our level."

"One's might doesn't matter much. Anyone can make a difference, honey." Amabie, left to Takeshi by his mother, says to answer instead of Makura who stays quiet. "Tokiwa and I saved your life against him. We accomplished just what we wanted, no matter how strong the opponent was."

Takeshi, unable to dissociate the mermaid prophet from the idea of a ghost remnant of her previous yamabushi, relives his last contact with his mother every time he hears her. To him, her sweet voice is like arms pulling him down into madness. So, just as he did so far, he ignores her. He pretends he can't hear, see or feel her.

"And… tens of thousands of people are gone…" he says, not acknowledging Amabie's comment. "Their neighbors, and even some friends… Why are they making it all about Mom?"

The mermaid, seeing that she's still being ghosted, doesn't complain or mind and keeps listening. Tentoki, meanwhile, is curious about a certain person's behavior.

"I worry the most for Tsubai." the celestial light says. "This is all his plan. What happened changed him. I don't think the vengeance he seeks will satisfy him. There will always be an unfilled empty hole. What he needs is you, Takeshi, and Yoshinari to remind him that he's not alone with grief and responsibilities… But to save him, you first need to find peace yourself."

"Someone is at home." Makura interrupts before Takeshi can think of this last sentence. The Minamoto, surprisingly, immediately understood that his tengu was talking about where his parent's home was and not his own apartment.

"At your parent's house." Tentoki notices after them. "Fear itself, your sensory ability's speed and accuracy are bothersome."

This night walk already led Takeshi to the devastated part of the village. He keeps walking calmly toward his home, through the paths that were cleaned during the few days following the incident. He silently keeps going until reaching the right place. In his parent's house, to his surprise, he only finds his little sister, Yoshinari, sleeping in her cradle where the living room used to be, as if nothing ever happened there.

Looking at her, he feels like even she isn't the same since then. She certainly noticed the absence of her mother. He can't tell yet if she's still waiting for her return or if she understood the fatality. Inside of her, he senses Kasha's chakra. The tengu is sleeping just like her young hostess. While he observes the sleeping baby, he feels an odd chakra fill the air for an instant.

Suddenly, he remarks that she stopped breathing. Before he does anything about it, he also notices that her hair has stopped moving with the wind. Actually, the wind itself stopped. Everything stopped, except him. In his mind, even his tengu are frozen. In this disturbing loneliness, he hears a familiar manly voice scream all out.

Startled, he goes to where the scream came from. It is in the remains of the neighbor's house, where his mother passed away. There, he finds his dad, Tsubai. The father catches his breath, standing before the exact place where he was lying next to his wife's corpse 2 weeks ago, with his long black coat left aside on the ground. Around him floating is dust that refuses to settle. It takes him a moment to notice his son standing aside.

When he does he just stares at him silently. When Takeshi takes a step forward, Tsubai gets startled and suddenly, everything starts to move again.

"Hm? What just happened?" Tentoki and Amabie ask together, just unfrozen.

Takeshi, judging from his father's face, understands what it was. Tsubai was in a time pause in which he thought he was alone. But oddly, he was still able to move. But only him. All his tengu were as inert as the world. In Tsubai however, Daikoku stood aware during the pause.

"I… I thought no one would hear me." Tsubai says, about the scream he let out seconds ago. A bit confused, he's not sure if his son actually moved in his time pause, which would certainly be new.

But Takeshi, not motivated to question this, ignores it and comes closer. Tsubai doesn't give up on it however. He gets serious and interrogates his son.

"You just moved during Jikanteido. How?" he asks. "The other day, when I arrived during your fight, you couldn't move or feel it. Why now?"

"… Do you remember when you used that jutsu?" Takeshi ignores the question and asks one himself. "Hyakki called it Kala. It's not how it's named, isn't it?"

"I don't care about that. Tell me how did you move just now?" Tsubai insists. "… Actually, it's a good thing. Together with your speed, imagine what we could do if we fought side by side against him again?"

"Does it matter?" Takeshi argues, hopelessly. "Whatever I do at whatever speed or time, he can heal infinitely, and he's just faster, stronger, smarter, better than us."

"This is all if he uses his Shinsen Kata, as he called it." Tentoki comments. "Maybe if Tsubai takes the memories of that form from him, he won't be able to use it anymore. His healing won't be a problem in that case."

"Also, even if he activates it, don't forget that my chant forced him to stop using it." Amabie reminds them, but is ignored by her host again.

Takeshi doesn't acknowledge his tengu's advice. He stares at his dad who stares back in silence for a moment.

"Well… I thought you were chatting with Tentoki." Tsubai says. "I was waiting for you to take back what you said after he reasons you."

Takeshi gives no answer. He stays silent, which bothers his dad. Angered by this lack of concern, he hits his son in the nose with his head and makes him fall over butt first in the dust. Shaken by this hit, Takeshi looks up and waits for an explanation from his dad.

"What's up? Is Fear Itself afraid of that guy?" he provocatively says. In Takeshi's mind, Makura is triggered by this insult, but Takeshi stays calm.

"It's not fear, it's logic." he answers.

"Of course. Logic." his father ironically says. "That's exactly what people who chicken out of fear try to justify themselves with."

This remark hits Makura's nerves again. Feeling his tengu's shame, and honestly tired of his father's behavior, Takeshi clenches his fists and teeth. In a rush, he sits up, leaps forward and hits his father back with an oddly violent punch to the face. Tsubai, really hurt at first, shakes his head and starts to giggle.

"That's it! That's exactly it!" he yells as he comes closer to his son again. "But I'm not who you should throw this at." He lays his hand on Takeshi's shoulder and turns around to stand next to him. "Look around you! This is all that's left! Where did everything go? Where is Tokiwa? Where is the life we used to live?" he tells with a trembling voice.

After these questions, nothing. The father and the son just stand in silence staring at the place and reliving their loss again. But this time, both of them clearly recall the face of the one who caused this. Takeshi remembers every single instant he spent fighting him. Up until the flash of the explosion. Tsubai, seeing his son's thoughtful face, feels his inner world and the tengu inside.

"… What was that explosion anyway?" Takeshi asks Tentoki.

"A nuclear blast. I already told you how it occurs." the celestial light replies. "His upgraded version of Jinton seems to be all about that. He's not just dismantling matter down to atoms. He's manipulating and shaping it at particle level. That's how he can dismantle your light. The jutsu he used to imprison Sakitsuki must have been based on the same element. He kept her body dismantled just as long as she was in that cube, and so her soul was unaffected. It's probably with a similar concept that he transports himself from one world to another… About the explosion, he just forced your Tengudama's matter into nuclear fission. He, by the way, taught me that such chakra bombs are made of fissile chakra material like Bijudama are."

Takeshi, Tsubai and the other tengu don't mind the last sentence that they don't understand. They just recall this description of Hyakki's Mijinton (Particle release), which must be a fusion of Jinton (Dust release) with a fourth element. Tentoki, seeing their silent confusion, simplifies his explanation of the bomb.

"To make it short, he collapsed the atoms of your Tengudama and caused a chain reaction that created a toxic energy blast… The takeaway message is that it's like a Bijudama or Tengudama but worse and poisonous. Takeshi, you managed to run away, and the core of the blast was far enough from the village. But if one were to stand too close at detonation, his body would be totally annihilated."

"That's not the way we should reason right now." Tsubai says, wanting to pass a message to his son.

"What way? I'm pretty sure we should reason with reason." Tentoki says with a sassy tone.

"Tentoki, these are the rules of nature and physics, I get it, but I don't really care much about it." Tsubai argues. "You know, another law of nature is that time always moves forward, yet I'm able to freeze it."

"That's what Meiton is." Daikoku completes his host's point. "And therefore this is what chakra is. Everything originated from chakra, which includes the laws of physics. So, with chakra, there is a way around anything. Even around reality apparently."

"Listen, Takeshi,…" Tsubai stands face to face with his son in both the real and spiritual world. "When I finished Katashiki 20 years ago, I had no idea that my Meiton scythe would do shit. I still don't know what it did. But I used it, and it worked. You have to think the same way. It means don't think too much. Don't think of how you can do it, but only of what you want to do. Next time we fight the god of destruction, if he uses this explosion again, just stop it with the first approach you can think of. Same goes for his sage form, healing and anything else we know he can do. Anything he tries that we've already seen, we'll stop it."

Takeshi listens to this advice and looks at the tengu surrounding them to see what they feel. Tentoki, unsure of the strategy, at least has to admit that such a call for action is what his host needs. Amabie, with half her body into the soil, slams her fists against the solid ground and shows her determination. Makura frowns and slowly nods in agreement, in sync with Daikoku who has the same reaction.

Tsubai, in the real world, wipes his eyes to prevent any tears from showing up. He steps aside and proudly but sadly looks at his son who's now ready to assume the same mission as him. Tentoki disagrees with the purpose but not the message. For him, Takeshi has to fight this battle anyway, not for vengeance, but to defend Sakitsuki. He however knows that this quest will inevitably be followed by a feeling of emptiness and realization.

While they're in their thoughts, Tsubai feels someone clinging to his leg. Looking down he sees Yoshinari, awake, hugging him out of nowhere. Seeing her looking around after noticing Takeshi, he understands who she's looking for. He takes her up in his arms and lets her fall asleep again.

.

.

At the same time, 11 light years away in orbit around Ashihara, the god of youth is once again alone on one of the asteroids that rotates around the red planet. Yet this time, he isn't pointlessly walking. He is on his knees, digging a hole to retrieve something he buried here centuries ago.

Out from the meteor's soil, he gets a white bracelet made of thin strings. He firmly holds it in his hands with much affection for a moment before strapping it around his right forearm, over his long glove. Sitting there on his knees, he remembers the person who gifted him this token.

"What's that?" a voice says.

He's promptly brought back to his senses when Yasona Otsutsuki, the goddess of beauty, sneaks on him and lightly caresses his naked shoulder just as she says these words. Startled, he turns around and stands up before sensing who it is.

"Tsk! Of course it's you. Anyone else I would have felt their presence." he complains.

"Such fabulous abilities of mine, don't you think?" Yasona says before making herself detectable again and bringing back her first question. "That's a quite odd accessory that you have here." she comments about the bracelet. "It's not really pretty. I can give you a better one."

"To me, beauty isn't physical. It is emotional." he responds while slowly rubbing his fingers along the white strand. "And this, in my mind, has more value than any design."

The goddess of mischief tilts her head and intriguingly looks at him in disagreement. She then smiles and slowly comes closer again.

"How is your task going?" she asks. "The painful demands of the Dragon sage."

"Hm! What is it you call painful? The demand or the Dragon sage?" he kids with her, conscious of the ambiguity.

"Oh well you know me and my opinions. Yamitsuki has always been a pain in the ass for me." she replies suddenly with a serious tone and face. She bends over to bring her head closer to his ear and whispers. "I so much would prefer him dead."

"He surely noticed this about you." Hyakki remarks.

"Of course he did." she says, bringing her head back. "But as he'd say himself, he could not care less anyway."

Hyakki just smirks and doesn't continue the conversation. Yasona, finding this as a great opportunity to vent, keeps complaining.

"By what right is he even at that place?" she argues. "There is no royalty in his ancestry up to 6 generations ago. In my case, you'd have to go just 2 steps back. I am the living celestial that is the closest to the Queen Mother's ancestry, after your father."

The god of destruction's smirk is washed off when he hears mention of this person. Not the Queen Mother, but his father. Yasona, with eyes closed while acting silly, doesn't pay attention to it and goes on.

"Yeah, for sure she was your father's mother, but also she was my aunt." she brags while shaking her finger. "Before Yamitsuki, the clan was never about the dragon kind's heritage. It was about the queen's lineage. It should be me or Isshiki on a throne above the universe. And since, before Yamitsuki, we've always been a matriarchy, I'm a better candidate."

"If it's you or him, you're better for sure." Hyakki says about his father. "The day this old man owns the world would be the last of all creation."

To his disguised argument, she lightly laughs before going quiet. Looking at him, she tilts her head again to the other side. After a short silence, she raises a hand and gently rubs his cheek.

"Tell me, handsome, would you like to visit my realm?" she says with a lusty voice.

Hyakki trembles and leaps away from her, disturbed by her intimacy.

"What the hell do you want?" he exclaims, on his guard.

"Hah? I just told you, didn't I?" she jokingly replies. "I invite you to the Kannogu. Don't you want the pleasure of its comfort?"

"No, I mean what do you really want? Why are you even here?" he insists.

"Hihi! You got me." she answers with a soft voice. "I don't want anything. I just came to make myself jealous. Jealous of your mission in a way. I too would have loved to play around on Earth."

"… Whatever you say." he replies. "To me, it's just a pain."

"Oh, is it? You sound like you're breaking character." Yasona remarks, before noticing him fingering around his white strand bracelet again. "I see. Earth brings some old memories back, does it? It's Isshiki who'd be mad to see you keep this with you."

To this comment, Hyakki doesn't answer. He just stays quiet, ignoring this mention of his father, and enjoys the feeling of this gift between his fingers. Yasona compassionately looks at him, finding a semblance of joy in what this object makes him remember.

"Should I envy you?" she questions. "I've never been able to feel the kind of joy and sadness you have. I'll never know the pure anger and love that you felt that day, 8 centuries back. Never did someone shake my hearts this divinely. Nobody could make me feel this."

The god of destruction, noticing her pause in her discourse, just shrugs his shoulders, to pretend he cares about her tale. In reality, he has no compassion for her and only gets even more nostalgic of his forbidden past. He's reminded once again that the only place he'll truly be fulfilled in is by this certain someone's side. But these thoughts don't appear on the outside. He just appears unbothered.

Seeing his comically exaggerated lack of concern, Yasona smirks and quivers. She comes all close to him again.

"This is how things are for me. I'm the charmer, not a charmed one." she says with an erotic voice as she raises her hand to softly hold her fingers against Hyakki's chin. "And tell me, what does a charmer do, Hyakki?… A charmer gets other's sympathy, lust and jealousy."

She now marks a pause before gently asking her previous question again.

"So, handsome, would you enjoy a visit to my domain?"

"… Well… I won't wait to make you beg." Hyakki calmly answers, accepting her invitation.

He's already seen the thousands of baths, cares and pleasures that the Kannogu has to offer. After all, Yasona invites anyone she doesn't hate whenever she feels bored. Since there's never more than a dozen celestials on this planet at any given time, she often invites the same people.

He finds no reason to refuse her arrogant kindness. He isn't expected anywhere else at the moment. And he wouldn't do anything with his time alone anyway.

.

End of Chapter 126 – Next Chapter: Confession of Time