Manicherryblossom33
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Sigh! Its for awesome climactic chapters like this one that make me wish I was a better writer. This is it people! The truth! Well, a third of it. Many secrets are revealed, and something exciting happens! Read on!
Naruto fanfic: A future without you
Chapter 34: Time
NARUTO'S POV
"Whoaaaa." He marveled, surveying the cavern in awe.
"This is the only part of the gorge with light." She informed him, toting the lantern on her shoulder.
"All of THIS is part of the gorge?" Naruto asked, approaching the entrance to the intricate stone maze.
"This cavern is beneath the Sacred Tree, if you want to be technical." She informed him. "Your friends are at the center, I can sense them."
Naruto whipped his head up. "Really?"
She peered over her shoulder at him with one large violet eye. "Yes. You can use chakra here."
He grinned and gathered chakra in his legs. But before he could climb the wall, her hand shot out and clasped his elbow.
"Don't use too much, or you'll summon guardians, monsters, and beasts." She warned.
Naruto nodded, a question in his eyes.
"What?" She asked.
"What's your name?" He asked.
She blinked incredulously, and bowed her head majestically.
"Anna." She answered, sounding refreshed. "My name is Anna."
Naruto's expression became questioning and wry. He crossed his arms, humming thoughtfully.
"That's a weird name. I've never heard it before." He said with certainty.
Anna "humph[ed]" and turned her back on him.
"I don't want to hear that from a boy named fishcake."
His head shot up. "Hey!"
Anna climbed the wall in great leaps, whistling mockingly at him. Muttering a few insults at her, he jumped to the top, and caught his full glimpse of the maze.
"Huh? Huh? These walls... Why are they covered in weird pictures?" Naruto asked, glancing about.
All the walls excluding the entrance had strange symbols or pictures carved into them. One wall showed a huge monster with multiple horns on its back and a large eye that resembled Sasuke's sharingan to a point. Another wall showed a seed growing into a large tree with strange fruit. The one directly below them showed a woman with two children, and another wall showed a man, who also had two children.
"They're ancient, but we placed preserve seals on them as protection from the elements." Anna said, gripping the lantern pole.
"But what are they?"
"They're a series of historic murals, telling the story of the rikudou sennin."
Naruto looked back at the picture of the man with his two children. The picture looked sort of funny to him, like it wasn't very accurate.
"Let's go." Anna said, taking off.
Naruto followed after her, hopping from wall to wall. Even looking over the entire maze, he couldn't for the life of him see the center. Anna seemed to know where it was, so he just followed her.
They travelled in silence. Naruto watched her back attentively. Her eyes and hair... She looked just like his mother.
They hurried to the center. Naruto was anxious, and couldn't stand their current speed. If he knew which way to go, he would have taken off. Anna seemed so capable since she had strolled through the gorge with a lantern, completely calm. But Sauke and Kiba... There was no telling what had happened to them...
"Don't worry over them. Theres no way they were killed just like that." Kurama reassured him.
"I know!" He grumbled. "I know that..."
"Who are you talking to?" Anna asked, peering over her shoulder.
Naruto jumped. "No one!"
"... Focus. We're getting close."
Grinning, he leapt down from the wall into a large courtyard filled with greenery. Soft grass filled the large square courtyard, with little bundles of clover and mushrooms dotting the areas. In the center was a large wooden tree trunk the pierced through the roof of the cavern and tunneled down into the earth through the cavern floor. The monster was there, having melted enough to go from being pure ice to slush. Which was odd, because Yuuki clan ice wasn’t supposed to melt so quickly.
It had coiled around the tree with Sasuke and Kiba were collapsed side by side a short distance in front of the monster, and Naruto wasted no time in joining them.
"Hey! Guys! It's me! You okay? Hey! Hey!" He babbled, shaking first Sasuke and then Kiba and repeating the process.
"Shut up, clown." Sasuke groaned, irritated from the pain as he opened his eyes halfway and glanced at him.
Kiba grunted, digging his fingers through the grass and coughing up dirt. He opened one eye and then the other lethargically, frowning at the ceiling.
"Where's Akamaru? And Hinata... And Saku..." He asked, trailing off.
Naruto shook him again. "Hey, don't pass out again! They're okay! Everyone's safe but you guys! So I came to get you!"
"I…? Singular...?" Sasuke asked. "She let you go alone?"
He was obviously referring to Sakura. Naruto rubbed the back of his hair, regretful.
"Well... They tried to stop me, so I sort of trapped them in an eternal imprisonment seal."
Kiba and Sasuke both froze, staring bug eyed and furious at him. There was something else in their expression though. Fear, responsibility, concern. Just like the girls.
But Sasuke slowly lost the expression, looking like he had had enough of the situation, and sighed.
"Sorry..."
Naruto laughed nervously. "Don't apologize to me! It feels weird, you apologizing to me!"
"Help me up." Sasuke sighed.
Naruto moved to do so when Anna interfered.
"No, stay there." She commanded softly, falling to her knees and sitting in front of them. "Move, Naruto, I don't want to waste my chakra on you."
The vein in Naruto's forehead snapped as he shot to his feet and marched away, grumbling.
He stubbornly watched as Anna made a few hand signs (bird, boar, dog, monkey, serpent), and waved her hands in opposite directions, creating a wide arc before they came together, side by side. A cloud of green chakra enveloped Sasuke and Kiba, who just watched in confusion as all of their fatigue and injuries disappeared.
It only took a few seconds. Anna placed her hands in her lap, seemingly unfazed, and Sasuke and Kiba stood up.
"This is awesome!" Kiba shouted, cracking his knuckles. "Thanks-- Aaaah!"
Sasuke didn't move or scream, but was nonetheless surprised.
"Yes?" Anna asked dully.
"Nothing. You just resemble someone we've seen before." Sasuke told her.
Naruto chuckled. "That's funny! I was just thinking she looked like my Kaa-chan. Who are you guys thinking of?"
"Silence, noisy idiot." Anna ordered, earning a glare from him. "I don't wish to be compared to the mother of an unimpressive imbecile."
"WHAT'D YOU SAY?!" Naruto charged, nearly choking on his own shirt when Sasuke lashed out and grabbed his collar.
"Whose side are you on?!" He yelled.
"Enough." Sasuke replied, dodging the question. "We've got to get back to the surface. What's your plan?"
Naruto flinched, looking away awkwardly.
Sasuke glared icicles and daggers at him through slit narrow eyes.
"You hopped down here to rescue us without a plan?"
Naruto pointed at him. "Well you got dragged down here without a plan!"
Sasuke opened his mouth to argue, but Kiba got to Naruto first and grabbed his shirt, getting in his face. His eyes and face had become just like an angry beasts.
"You can't just jump into gorges like that, you jerk!!" He screamed, making Naruto's ears ring. "Especially a deep, smooth, chakra repelling one like this one! I've had enough of this! Stop trying to kill yourself right after we--"
Sasuke whacked him over the head with his sword sheath. Apparently it scrambled Kiba's brains well enough, because he immediately released Naruto and slid to the ground.
"Really?" Anna asked sarcastically. "Immediately after I waste my precious chakra on you fools, you start producing new injuries? I do not envy whoever it is that is the medic ninja of your group."
Sasuke actually smiled at this. "Well her temper is worse than mine or yours, so that's good."
Naruto blinked at him. He was acting weird. The smile disappeared as quickly as it appeared, but...
Sasuke lifted Kiba to his feet, throwing one of his arms over his shoulders to help him walk.
"I can return you to the surface." Anna informed them.
Kiba was swirly eyed and drooling, but if he were conscious he probably would have had the same reaction as Naruto and Sasuke.
It was just that what Anna said sounded so iffy. You couldn't manipulate chakra in the gorge, even if it were possible in the cavern.
"If you don't want to believe me, then you can sit here until you become skeletons." Anna warned, making Naruto shudder. Skeletons…?
"How?" Sasuke asked, prompting her to explain.
Anna raised her head and walked past them to the monster, which made a strange gurgling sound that might have been a growl. Anna simply placed a hand on the creature, a soothing gesture that melted the ice and allowed it to move freely. Sasuke and Naruto took a step back, grabbing sword and kunai, but the creature simply slithered away, seemingly blissful.
Anna placed both hands on the tree, which got their attention. Immediately they could see gentle waves of chakra gathering under and around Anna's palms.
"Come over here." She ordered.
They would have hesitated, but what other choice did they have? So they went to her.
"Good, now place your hands on my back."
Naruto's hair stood on end, his face turned red. "What?!"
"Silence! Your high, excited voice angers me! Just do as you’re told!"
Sasuke had already completed the task, and was giving him a wary look. So with little mushrooms of hot air popping out each ear, Naruto followed suit.
There was a flash of light, a strong wind, and they quickly found themselves on the rocky cliff where Kairi was. Anna's hands were still on the trunk, but it was obvious they'd teleported.
"We're back!" Naruto cheered, punching the air and running off. "Hinata! Sakura!"
"Naruto!" Anna chastised. "If you fall, I won't bring you back a second time!"
He made a face at her and kept running. He found the girls fairly quickly. They were still on the other side of the gorge, trapped in the seal.
"Hinata! Sakura!" He called, getting them to shoot to their feet and face him. "It's me! I'm over here! Sasuke and Kiba are fine!"
They started yelling and waving back at him, but the gorge was so wide he couldn't make out what they were saying.
He dropped his arms. He'd forgotten about that. What to do...
He felt someone grab his shoulder, and turned to see Sasuke looking across the gorge at the girls.
"Leave this to me."
“Uhhhh… Okay.” He shrugged, revealing a slip of paper with an equally strong seal drawn on it. “Just use this. Both seals should cancel each other out.”
Sasuke to the slip and bit his thumb prior to making hand signs.
"Kuchiyose no jutsu!" Sasuke slapped his palm against the ground, and a giant hawk appeared in the cloud of smoke.
"Whoa! A bird appeared!" Naruto screamed, pointing at it.
Sasuke jumped onto it's back. "Take me to Sakura and Hinata."
"I'll have to make two round trips." The hawk replied.
"It talked! The bird talked!" Naruto exclaimed.
The hawk opened its wings and shot into the air. The gale winds blew Naruto's hair and clothes back, but afterward everything was calm. There was a moment of watching Sasuke ride the bird across the gorge, followed by a moment of watching him give Hinata a ride to the rocky hill. Naruto waited in anticipation, drumming his fingers against the tree trunk, running them through his hair.
When they landed, Hinata had tears in her eyes that made them sparkle. Not nearly as many as before, but just enough to make her look even more beautiful. She placed her fists over heart and leaped from the hawk, after which Sasuke took off to go get Sakura and Akamaru. But Hinata ran up the hill, to him.
Knowing what was coming, he held his arms out and leaned his head forward. As expected, she crashed into him, knocking his back into the tree. Sliding to the ground, they kept their arms around each other in a warm embrace, their heads resting on each other's shoulders.
"See? I'm back!" He reminded.
She leaned her head against his, sighing in relief and joy.
"Yes... Yes you are..." She breathed and buried her face in the crook of his neck. But before he could really start to enjoy it, she straightened up and looked him in the eye. Her expression was determined, and angry, and caring, and she was so close to him that their noses brushed together and their foreheads touched.
"But! If you jump off a cliff like that again, I will yell at you! I will!"
He was so surprised at her that his first reaction was stunned silence, which quickly turned to laughter, but that only made her get even closer to his face.
"I'm not joking!" She warned. "You better take care of yourself, or I won't be able to welcome you back!"
His eyes widened at the words "won't be able to" and he suddenly understood she was being serious. Dead serious in fact. If he wanted to keep getting these welcome back hugs, if he wanted to move forward with her, he needed to be careful.
He smiled nervously, apologetically.
"Okay, I got it."
She only gave him a small smile in return, but she seemed to believe him as she slipped the seal stone hed given her into his pocket. He was really happy to have her near him. Relieved that she had agreed to continue this mission with him. Proud that she believed in him.
"Hey! Don't hog her all to yourself! Hinata, don't I get a hug?"
Naruto gave Kiba his best death glare, which wasn't hard because he had experience giving such looks to people. But that didn't stop Hinata from leaving his arms to go hug her team mate, making him gape. It was very disappointing.
Fortunately, Sasuke landed at that moment, carrying both Sakura and Akamaru on the back of the giant. Talking. Bird. (There was just no getting over that.) And Akamaru immediately jumped, tackling his master. Naruto was quick when pulling Hinata out of the way, so only Kiba was knocked down.
"Calm down, buddy!" Kiba laughed as Akamaru barked happily at him. "Yeah, yeah, I missed you too! Get off me, okay!"
Sasuke and Sakura were quick getting off the bird, who gave his regards to Sasuke before disappearing with a POOF. Sakura gave Naruto a wary look, but didn't jump down his case for once. Hinata caught her staring and smiled politely at her, which resulted in a mutual smile on Sakura's part.
Did something happen between them?
"If you're all done with the happy reunion," Anna said, finally making an appearance, "We should hurry. There's too much to talk about and too little time."
Sakura and Hinata's first reaction to her was not unlike Sasuke and Kiba's. Anna wasn't impressed by their frightful staring and narrowed her eyes at them.
"Quit looking at me like I'm some sort of ghost." She ordered.
Hinata was startled and immediately tried apologizing, believing she'd been rude.
"I'm sorry, it's just--"
"I remind you of someone else. Yes, well... I could say the same thing about you lot." Anna cast her gaze on Sasuke, who looked back questioningly. She then took a seat on one of the larger tree roots poking out of the ground. "This place is as good as any. Sit down, and tell me about everything you've seen in this village."
They did exactly that. Naruto wasn't sure why they were so willing. Maybe it was because they wanted answers? Or maybe it was just that keeping secrets from an Uzumaki who'd lived there for who-knew-how-long was pointless?
Nonetheless, Anna took everything they said in stride. Nothing surprised her, nothing fazed her. Both her expression and her voice were dead. Emotionless and empty...
"I see." She nodded, looking first at Sasuke. "You're right. A lot of the trees here used to be people. After the massacre, Kairi didn't want their corpses being taken and analyzed. So she flooded her chakra through the land, turned all the dead to trees, and has continued to be this lands power source ever since. Before the slaughter, she was already flooding the air with her chakra to neutralize the toxic outer forest. It's actually quite taxing for her.
"It's surprising that you were able to talk to one of the trees. More surprising that they would lead you here. This whole area was placed under genjutsu by Kairi. It doesn't matter if you try to look upon it from a high place or a low place. You won't reach this place unless you're led here. The tree revealed its location to you because it trusted you. That being said..." She turned to Naruto and Hinata. "That boy you saw was no spirit. There is no such thing in this land. The so called ‘apparitions’ are actually echoes."
"Echoes...?" Hinata asked.
Anna looked up at Kairi. "SHE connects the past, the present, and the future. People who've been dead for years, people who won't be born for years, they show up here from time to time in the form of Echoes. There used to be a lot more, but lately I've only seen Shinra."
"Shinra?" Naruto straightened up.
"You said the boy who led you here was a light blue eyed, light blond haired, Konoha ninja correct? I see him all the time. He appears more frequently than others, so I nicknamed him Shinra. It seems he's looking for something. I've no idea what..."
"Oh." Hinata said, obviously disappointed. Naruto was too. He could've sworn he knew that guy...
"You should talk to Kairi." Anna told him, making him flinch. "She's no longer strong enough to talk to me. But if Sasuke can talk to one of the Villager Trees, you should be able to talk to the Sacred Tree."
Naruto shot to his feet. "I can do that?! Really?! How?!"
"The door." Anna pointed to a spot on the trunk about the same height as Naruto. "Place your hands through the door and step through."
Frowning, he switched his gaze between Kairi and Anna, and slowly approached the trunk. His hands slipped through, and so did his arms.
A ripple seal...
Pushing through, he entered a yellow-white, fuzzy looking indefinite space not unlike the peaceful area in his psyche where he went for mental battle simulation training with Uri. At first, everything was bright and blinding, but his eyes began to adjust.
"Congratulations, Aniki." A voice from behind said, making him flinch and swivel. "You made it. Now we can talk."
She was beaming and laughing at him, as usual. She looked older, around thirteen, in a loose fitting kimono and two small braids in her hair on the sides of her head. When he didn't move or say anything, when he just kept staring at her in grief and disbelief, she smiled and tilted her head at him. There was concern in her eyes. So he gulped, grinned and lifted her into a tight hug.
"Heehee! I missed your hugs! You always gave me one whenever you came back." Kairi recalled, hugging him back cheerfully and playfully. "And then the children would jump on you because they were jealous."
He tightened his grip on her, making a pained expression. She was really warm, as always. Part of his brain was sending him little alarm signals, reminding him of what happened. But the other part wanted to forget that it happened.
And he just hated that.
"Don't make such a sad face, Aniki." Kairi said comfortingly. "It's not like you. Besides, there's so much I have to tell you. Very important things."
There was a sense of urgency in her voice, forcing him to acknowledge that he couldn't stay here with her. That they only had a limited amount of time, and that they needed to move on before that time was up.
So he set her down, earning a smile of praise from her.
"What is it you need to tell me?" He asked, trying to be optimistic.
She held up her index finger. "Many things! I want you to know my, and our clan's, story! These are things that no one else can tell you. So listen to me, and don't forget any of it, okay?"
He nodded, determined.
"Okay! To start off, I'm an unusual tree. And there's a reason for that... A long time ago, there was a man named Hago-kun. He had a beautiful, powerful, scary mother named Kaguya. She came from faraway to eat the fruit of another tree, one much, much bigger than the Sacred Tree, me. This fruit gave her power, and she ate all of it, including the seed. The seed was very durable, but it was contaminated by her stomach acid. And when she died, this is where she fell. This spot here, the center of the land of eddies."
Kairi gestured to the area around them.
"The seed was still there, in her belly. And as her corpse rotted, the seed grew into a tree. This tree grew taller and taller. However, it was not evil, and it did not sprout fruit of power like the bigger juubi tree. It was much smaller, and had no consciousness. And it was weak, a normal tree by most standards. Except there was one difference. This new tree was capable of holding chakra and sharing it with its surrounding environment."
Kairi's expression changed, becoming pained and lonely. "Many, many years passed. Too many for me to give an exact number to. While I sat here, the Uzumaki travelled to the place where Kaguya came from. That place had been eradicated by numerous wars that annihilated the people and badly polluted the earth and air. Wars had resumed in the land of ninjas, and the clan was trying to escape to a peaceful place. This was still what you would call ancient times. Our clan only spent a little time there, because as soon as they breathed the air, they caught a horrible illness. It contaminated their blood. On the long trip back, many lay dying while others grew stronger. And when they reached this island, they decided to make it their settlement. The dying sealed their chakra and their corpses into me, and I released this chakra into the air to heal the survivors. Their blood, which had been contaminated by the air of Kaguya's homeland, became a source of power because I neutralized the poison with the healing atmosphere. That's something I've regretted doing, since it would have been fine to leave it alone. Their chakra and lifespans were already fighting the poison and winning. All those who were too weak had already been sealed inside me, so it would have been okay to do nothing. But by healing them instead of letting them fight for themselves, I gave them a power that made them strict and pretentious and discriminate against outsiders. On top of that, all the blood seal fuinjutsu were too powerful for them, so they shortened their prolonged lifespans which was a result of being Kaguya's descendants." Kairi's eyelids drooped as she hugged herself. "I've always felt so bad about that..."
It was so much to take in, and yet he got the feeling she was just getting started. He'd never heard of this Hago guy or Kaguya, but Kairi said their names with such respect and grief. It was so mysterious.
But he accepted all this, because he had to ask...
"Kairi." He said, making her look at him. "I... I ran into Mami recently. She told me that you're... I mean, that you're... That you're the Sacred Tree's human form. That's true right?"
It certainly sounded like it was true. And as expcted, she didn’t try to deny it.
Kairi frowned, nodding sadly. "Yes. That's true. It took a while, but as the Uzumaki continued to seal their dying and their chakra into me, I eventually started to combine their selves into a single entity. Doing this gave me humanity, and through that humanity I retrieved my ancient memories surrounding my birth, and the years of loneliness that followed. It was so painful remembering all of that. So I was very grateful to the Uzumaki clan, who became like family to me, and saved me from loneliness. I was so happy they were living and thriving on this island. They created, they learned, they grew, they protected and loved one another. It was just so wonderful... Just watching them brought me such… Joy. I vowed to protect them from anything and anyone. Unfortunately..."
She bit her lip, sobbing as hot tears streamed down her face. Her arms tightened around herself as she sobbed, heartsick and guilty.
"I never imagined... I never even considered the enemy would come from within." She blinked tears away as she shook. "Seto's father, Hiro, had been such a good leader. But... He betrayed us all. He killed everyone. Even the babies... I! I actually could have stopped him! I had the ability to do so. But... The idea of killing Hiro was too much for me. I... I just couldn't do it. Everybody died! All I did was watch... I despaired, and watched."
Naruto shuddered. Why... Why did this sound so familiar...?
I ADORED THEM.
He flinched, remembering their conversation from before. Oh right... Sasuke was...
"There were survivors.” Kairi continued. “Many of them made it out. Most of them were children, but there were adults too. I am connected to all the Uzumaki. In this form, I can feel them all no matter how far away they are. And I am also connected to all those close to them, both friend and foe. So I could feel the survivors, and knew what happened to them. One by one, they were captured and worked like slaves. Or they were tortured for information, and refused to give it. Or they were brutally murdered or mutilated. All the things they felt, their hellish final moments, I felt them too. I felt them curse their fate and the world and their own weakness. I felt every blade that cut them, every jutsu that drained their energy. And I can feel them even now..."
Kairi shook with immeasurable terror and cupped her hands around her throat. She was still crying, and the image of her standing there, horrified on a level that no one else had ever been, was haunting.
"This was true for the minor Jinchuuriki in foreign lands as well." She laughed hysterically. "Anyone who wasn't captured just hid underground and began to die out. They became so bitter, so full of hatred, and I felt all of that. But..."
She slowly smiled, and light broke through the darkness in her eyes. There was hope where despair used to be.
"There was one." She beamed, blinking all of the pain and tears away. "There was one who wasn't suffering underground or brutally murdered. She lived happily in a prosperous village, made friends, and had happy adventures every day! She was free, but also caged. She had a terrible secret. But a certain boy didn't care about that, and told her he loved her. And then, one day, I felt the presence of a new Uzumaki growing inside of her."
Kairi smiled at him, laughing light heartedly.
"You." She said, making him flinch. "I could feel you. You were so warm, and tiny, and safe. And I was so happy, because those two protected you so well, were so careful. You grew, and you were so healthy, so strong! You were just a baby! I hadn't felt such innocence in such a long time. And THEY really loved you, and were eagerly awaiting their first meeting with you. Only... You're birth turned out to be a chaotic one. And those two, those wonderful, strong people... They didn't make it."
Naruto’s eyelids lowered at this, his mouth forming a hard line. Kairi placed her hands over her heart, biting her lip.
"I lost my family again, and it crushed me. I wanted so badly for those two to live happily together; I wanted it more than a person wants air underwater. But it didn't happen. And just when I was prepared to curl in on myself, close my eyes, and die, I heard a sound. That sound... It was so loud! So selfish! So completely ignorant to what had just happened! I don't know why, but it restored my hope. You were crying, and I continued to listen to it, and tuned out everything else. It began to change to actual words, and then whole sentences. But then, I had to stop listening."
Naruto leaned forward. "Eh? Why?"
Kairi giggled. "Because of the others. They'd returned to me. Only for a short while. I was so... Relieved! I'd been alone for so long! And then suddenly they were back! And they were going to leave me again! I couldn't stand that, because..."
Kairi froze, her mouth hanging open. Naruto waited for her to finish, but... She looked so reluctant.
"Because..." She started, gripping her kimono. "Because I... I was weakening. Aniki, I... The truth is, trees aren't supposed to live this long. It's unnatural, and it takes a lot of power. And power is something I'm running out of. I've been weakening for years now, and I... When I realized the others were going to leave me again, I was so desperate. I didn't want to be alone when..."
Naruto groaned, his heart doing anxious back flips.
"Kairi, stop beating around the bush! You're driving me crazy!" He admitted. "What is it? What's wrong?"
Kairi laced her fingers together and sighed, looking up to meet his eyes. Such a clear expression...
"I... I don't have much time left. I'm already... Beyond saving."
His heart froze, and his eyes widened. What...
"What... What did you just say?"
Kairi gulped and looked at him sympathetically. "I'm dying... Aniki, I'm half dead already."
He let out one short, low, anxious breath and kneeled in front of her, grabbing her shoulders.
"That's...! That’s...! No! I--" he rambled, shaking his head. "I came to save you! That’s why I'm here now! I came to save you, and you just dump this news on me last second!? You already died on me before! And now you're going to rip the ground out from under my feet just like that!?"
Kairi squared her shoulders, bowing her head.
"I'm sorry. I... I already knew when I decided to become a human that doing so would weaken me even further. But I wanted to spend what little time I had left with our clan, even though, as a human, my connections to everyone would be temporarily cut, and my powers would be weakened to almost 1% of their usual strength. But I really... I really didn't want to die alone...!
"I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have gotten close to you! I should have kept my distance! But I was just so surprised when Uri showed up in our hideout, carrying you on his back. You'd gotten so tall...! You were in a terrible state, but I was still so happy to see you. I'd actually had amnesia myself up until then. Becoming human had robbed me of my memories as well. Seeing you brought everything back. That's why I... I visited you every day. You couldn't move well, and you wouldn't eat, and you were hooked up to life support, but I still visited you. It wasn't long before I learned that you had the curse, and that is my third greatest regret. The curse was something I created to make it impossible for clan members to fight each other. But I was unable to cast it on the entire clan, and instead it appeared in only a handful of people. It isn't necessarily hereditary, and appears randomly. I wasn't expecting you of all people to have it. I'm... I'm really sorry..."
"Don't apologize! That's not what I want to hear!" Naruto yelled. "And stop crying..."
She placed her hands over her eyes, and shook her head. Naruto flinched as he noticed the light in the room start to dim. Kairi remained solid, but turned transparent as her knees gave out on her.
He caught her and held her close. Her warmth was vanishing, and she was still crying as she turned in his arms to reach out to him.
"Please don't be sad, Aniki." She breathed, smiling weakly. "I... Have lived a very long life. It was tough at first, but you, and the other Uzumaki clan members, you made it better. I'm so sorry for all the mistakes I've made. That's why I wanted to talk to you, so that maybe you could understand me a little, and also so I could help you."
Using her index and middle finger, she jabbed Naruto in the forehead and muttered "Release."
Immediately, his head felt lighter. He had grown so used to the constant weight, pain, and static buzzing in his ears that he hadn't even noticed them. But he felt them go, felt his head become light.
"I can't remove it completely." Kairi told him. "But I loosened it, and I healed all the damage. So it should be safe to tell you a little of the truth now."
"The truth? What truth?" He asked frantically. Keep her talking. If he could just keep her talking, he could put off saying goodbye to her for good.
Just keep her talking. Don't let her fade away...
DAMMIT! Dammit, this wasn't how this was supposed to go!
"The truth... Is that..." She said inbetween breaths. "You grew up in a village... A very prosperous, powerful village. You're a very... Important person, loyal ninja, and good friend to many. But you were... kidnapped and... Placed in the space. The space... Is a moving room... It enhances the powers of any seal... Placed within... And because of that... The Memory Seal that was placed on you when you were three... Was tightened. You forgot... More than you were supposed to! I'm not sure... Who the castor is... But I suspect he placed the seal... To try and keep your curse from developing. In any case..."
She gripped his shirt, breathing heavily.
"In any case... You have another family. And you love them very much… You can't live without them. And if you don't… remember them soon, you'll lose them for good…!"
"Lose them? What are you talking about?!"
Kairi sank lower, her eyes trembling.
"You have to go now..." She said as it became even darker. "If you stay here, you'll die with me…"
"I'm not just going to leave you here!" He protested. "You said so yourself that you didn't want to die alone!"
"Stop it, Aniki." She ordered. "You know you can't stay here. You KNOW."
Naruto grit his teeth. This was so frustrating it made him want to scream! It made him feel so useless which only made things worse!
Why did she have to die?! Kairi was... Everything she did was for other people. Despite how lonely she'd been, she never did anything for herself. She used all her power on them, saved him from Seto, and now she was going to die?! Just like that?! It was too simple, too sudden, and seemed so aggravatingly pointless that Naruto wanted to punch the first guy he saw.
But he knew she was right. She'd lived too long, and he hadn't. He had things to do. So he couldn't stay here. He couldn't even be by her side as she died.
Darnit! There had to be something! Anything! He didn't care what it was, as long as it would help Kairi.
Please...!
He gasped as Kairi's hand, which was gripping his shirt, began to glow. Now more transparent than water, and colder than ice, she clenched her fist, raised it, and uncurled her fingers.
It was a seal stone. Or rather, a tiny fragment of one. It was smaller than any pebble, and glowed blue in the darkness.
"What's that?" He asked.
She smiled, blinking tiredly.
"A... Seed. This is what I was originally, a small seed just like this one." She told him, making him eye the seed in wonder. "If you want to help me that badly, you should take it and plant it in your home village. Who knows... Maybe I can live again. But I won't give it to you unless you promise to leave."
Naruto's face fell. A seed, huh? Even with all his strength, this was all he could do?
He shook his head, ridding himself of his childish thoughts and staring at the seed with a new fire in his eyes. No. He couldn't be selfish when she was killing herself further just to satisfy him.
This wasn't self-sacrifice. It was death that couldn't be avoided. Kairi needed him to understand that, and trusted him.
IT ISNT IMPOSSIBLE. He told himself as he took the seed. ALL OF HER EFFORTS... THEY WERENT FOR NOTHING!
She nodded. "Good. Now run... All of you. Anna knows where to go. As soon as I'm gone, everyone will lose control and attack you."
Naruto nodded, setting her down and taking off his long red coat so he could lay it over her. He could always get another later.
"Goodbye." She told him.
Gripping the seed, he nodded to her.
"Thank you, Kairi."
Naruto fanfic: A future without you
Chapter 34: Time
NARUTO'S POV
"Whoaaaa." He marveled, surveying the cavern in awe.
"This is the only part of the gorge with light." She informed him, toting the lantern on her shoulder.
"All of THIS is part of the gorge?" Naruto asked, approaching the entrance to the intricate stone maze.
"This cavern is beneath the Sacred Tree, if you want to be technical." She informed him. "Your friends are at the center, I can sense them."
Naruto whipped his head up. "Really?"
She peered over her shoulder at him with one large violet eye. "Yes. You can use chakra here."
He grinned and gathered chakra in his legs. But before he could climb the wall, her hand shot out and clasped his elbow.
"Don't use too much, or you'll summon guardians, monsters, and beasts." She warned.
Naruto nodded, a question in his eyes.
"What?" She asked.
"What's your name?" He asked.
She blinked incredulously, and bowed her head majestically.
"Anna." She answered, sounding refreshed. "My name is Anna."
Naruto's expression became questioning and wry. He crossed his arms, humming thoughtfully.
"That's a weird name. I've never heard it before." He said with certainty.
Anna "humph[ed]" and turned her back on him.
"I don't want to hear that from a boy named fishcake."
His head shot up. "Hey!"
Anna climbed the wall in great leaps, whistling mockingly at him. Muttering a few insults at her, he jumped to the top, and caught his full glimpse of the maze.
"Huh? Huh? These walls... Why are they covered in weird pictures?" Naruto asked, glancing about.
All the walls excluding the entrance had strange symbols or pictures carved into them. One wall showed a huge monster with multiple horns on its back and a large eye that resembled Sasuke's sharingan to a point. Another wall showed a seed growing into a large tree with strange fruit. The one directly below them showed a woman with two children, and another wall showed a man, who also had two children.
"They're ancient, but we placed preserve seals on them as protection from the elements." Anna said, gripping the lantern pole.
"But what are they?"
"They're a series of historic murals, telling the story of the rikudou sennin."
Naruto looked back at the picture of the man with his two children. The picture looked sort of funny to him, like it wasn't very accurate.
"Let's go." Anna said, taking off.
Naruto followed after her, hopping from wall to wall. Even looking over the entire maze, he couldn't for the life of him see the center. Anna seemed to know where it was, so he just followed her.
They travelled in silence. Naruto watched her back attentively. Her eyes and hair... She looked just like his mother.
They hurried to the center. Naruto was anxious, and couldn't stand their current speed. If he knew which way to go, he would have taken off. Anna seemed so capable since she had strolled through the gorge with a lantern, completely calm. But Sauke and Kiba... There was no telling what had happened to them...
"Don't worry over them. Theres no way they were killed just like that." Kurama reassured him.
"I know!" He grumbled. "I know that..."
"Who are you talking to?" Anna asked, peering over her shoulder.
Naruto jumped. "No one!"
"... Focus. We're getting close."
Grinning, he leapt down from the wall into a large courtyard filled with greenery. Soft grass filled the large square courtyard, with little bundles of clover and mushrooms dotting the areas. In the center was a large wooden tree trunk the pierced through the roof of the cavern and tunneled down into the earth through the cavern floor. The monster was there, having melted enough to go from being pure ice to slush. Which was odd, because Yuuki clan ice wasn’t supposed to melt so quickly.
It had coiled around the tree with Sasuke and Kiba were collapsed side by side a short distance in front of the monster, and Naruto wasted no time in joining them.
"Hey! Guys! It's me! You okay? Hey! Hey!" He babbled, shaking first Sasuke and then Kiba and repeating the process.
"Shut up, clown." Sasuke groaned, irritated from the pain as he opened his eyes halfway and glanced at him.
Kiba grunted, digging his fingers through the grass and coughing up dirt. He opened one eye and then the other lethargically, frowning at the ceiling.
"Where's Akamaru? And Hinata... And Saku..." He asked, trailing off.
Naruto shook him again. "Hey, don't pass out again! They're okay! Everyone's safe but you guys! So I came to get you!"
"I…? Singular...?" Sasuke asked. "She let you go alone?"
He was obviously referring to Sakura. Naruto rubbed the back of his hair, regretful.
"Well... They tried to stop me, so I sort of trapped them in an eternal imprisonment seal."
Kiba and Sasuke both froze, staring bug eyed and furious at him. There was something else in their expression though. Fear, responsibility, concern. Just like the girls.
But Sasuke slowly lost the expression, looking like he had had enough of the situation, and sighed.
"Sorry..."
Naruto laughed nervously. "Don't apologize to me! It feels weird, you apologizing to me!"
"Help me up." Sasuke sighed.
Naruto moved to do so when Anna interfered.
"No, stay there." She commanded softly, falling to her knees and sitting in front of them. "Move, Naruto, I don't want to waste my chakra on you."
The vein in Naruto's forehead snapped as he shot to his feet and marched away, grumbling.
He stubbornly watched as Anna made a few hand signs (bird, boar, dog, monkey, serpent), and waved her hands in opposite directions, creating a wide arc before they came together, side by side. A cloud of green chakra enveloped Sasuke and Kiba, who just watched in confusion as all of their fatigue and injuries disappeared.
It only took a few seconds. Anna placed her hands in her lap, seemingly unfazed, and Sasuke and Kiba stood up.
"This is awesome!" Kiba shouted, cracking his knuckles. "Thanks-- Aaaah!"
Sasuke didn't move or scream, but was nonetheless surprised.
"Yes?" Anna asked dully.
"Nothing. You just resemble someone we've seen before." Sasuke told her.
Naruto chuckled. "That's funny! I was just thinking she looked like my Kaa-chan. Who are you guys thinking of?"
"Silence, noisy idiot." Anna ordered, earning a glare from him. "I don't wish to be compared to the mother of an unimpressive imbecile."
"WHAT'D YOU SAY?!" Naruto charged, nearly choking on his own shirt when Sasuke lashed out and grabbed his collar.
"Whose side are you on?!" He yelled.
"Enough." Sasuke replied, dodging the question. "We've got to get back to the surface. What's your plan?"
Naruto flinched, looking away awkwardly.
Sasuke glared icicles and daggers at him through slit narrow eyes.
"You hopped down here to rescue us without a plan?"
Naruto pointed at him. "Well you got dragged down here without a plan!"
Sasuke opened his mouth to argue, but Kiba got to Naruto first and grabbed his shirt, getting in his face. His eyes and face had become just like an angry beasts.
"You can't just jump into gorges like that, you jerk!!" He screamed, making Naruto's ears ring. "Especially a deep, smooth, chakra repelling one like this one! I've had enough of this! Stop trying to kill yourself right after we--"
Sasuke whacked him over the head with his sword sheath. Apparently it scrambled Kiba's brains well enough, because he immediately released Naruto and slid to the ground.
"Really?" Anna asked sarcastically. "Immediately after I waste my precious chakra on you fools, you start producing new injuries? I do not envy whoever it is that is the medic ninja of your group."
Sasuke actually smiled at this. "Well her temper is worse than mine or yours, so that's good."
Naruto blinked at him. He was acting weird. The smile disappeared as quickly as it appeared, but...
Sasuke lifted Kiba to his feet, throwing one of his arms over his shoulders to help him walk.
"I can return you to the surface." Anna informed them.
Kiba was swirly eyed and drooling, but if he were conscious he probably would have had the same reaction as Naruto and Sasuke.
It was just that what Anna said sounded so iffy. You couldn't manipulate chakra in the gorge, even if it were possible in the cavern.
"If you don't want to believe me, then you can sit here until you become skeletons." Anna warned, making Naruto shudder. Skeletons…?
"How?" Sasuke asked, prompting her to explain.
Anna raised her head and walked past them to the monster, which made a strange gurgling sound that might have been a growl. Anna simply placed a hand on the creature, a soothing gesture that melted the ice and allowed it to move freely. Sasuke and Naruto took a step back, grabbing sword and kunai, but the creature simply slithered away, seemingly blissful.
Anna placed both hands on the tree, which got their attention. Immediately they could see gentle waves of chakra gathering under and around Anna's palms.
"Come over here." She ordered.
They would have hesitated, but what other choice did they have? So they went to her.
"Good, now place your hands on my back."
Naruto's hair stood on end, his face turned red. "What?!"
"Silence! Your high, excited voice angers me! Just do as you’re told!"
Sasuke had already completed the task, and was giving him a wary look. So with little mushrooms of hot air popping out each ear, Naruto followed suit.
There was a flash of light, a strong wind, and they quickly found themselves on the rocky cliff where Kairi was. Anna's hands were still on the trunk, but it was obvious they'd teleported.
"We're back!" Naruto cheered, punching the air and running off. "Hinata! Sakura!"
"Naruto!" Anna chastised. "If you fall, I won't bring you back a second time!"
He made a face at her and kept running. He found the girls fairly quickly. They were still on the other side of the gorge, trapped in the seal.
"Hinata! Sakura!" He called, getting them to shoot to their feet and face him. "It's me! I'm over here! Sasuke and Kiba are fine!"
They started yelling and waving back at him, but the gorge was so wide he couldn't make out what they were saying.
He dropped his arms. He'd forgotten about that. What to do...
He felt someone grab his shoulder, and turned to see Sasuke looking across the gorge at the girls.
"Leave this to me."
“Uhhhh… Okay.” He shrugged, revealing a slip of paper with an equally strong seal drawn on it. “Just use this. Both seals should cancel each other out.”
Sasuke to the slip and bit his thumb prior to making hand signs.
"Kuchiyose no jutsu!" Sasuke slapped his palm against the ground, and a giant hawk appeared in the cloud of smoke.
"Whoa! A bird appeared!" Naruto screamed, pointing at it.
Sasuke jumped onto it's back. "Take me to Sakura and Hinata."
"I'll have to make two round trips." The hawk replied.
"It talked! The bird talked!" Naruto exclaimed.
The hawk opened its wings and shot into the air. The gale winds blew Naruto's hair and clothes back, but afterward everything was calm. There was a moment of watching Sasuke ride the bird across the gorge, followed by a moment of watching him give Hinata a ride to the rocky hill. Naruto waited in anticipation, drumming his fingers against the tree trunk, running them through his hair.
When they landed, Hinata had tears in her eyes that made them sparkle. Not nearly as many as before, but just enough to make her look even more beautiful. She placed her fists over heart and leaped from the hawk, after which Sasuke took off to go get Sakura and Akamaru. But Hinata ran up the hill, to him.
Knowing what was coming, he held his arms out and leaned his head forward. As expected, she crashed into him, knocking his back into the tree. Sliding to the ground, they kept their arms around each other in a warm embrace, their heads resting on each other's shoulders.
"See? I'm back!" He reminded.
She leaned her head against his, sighing in relief and joy.
"Yes... Yes you are..." She breathed and buried her face in the crook of his neck. But before he could really start to enjoy it, she straightened up and looked him in the eye. Her expression was determined, and angry, and caring, and she was so close to him that their noses brushed together and their foreheads touched.
"But! If you jump off a cliff like that again, I will yell at you! I will!"
He was so surprised at her that his first reaction was stunned silence, which quickly turned to laughter, but that only made her get even closer to his face.
"I'm not joking!" She warned. "You better take care of yourself, or I won't be able to welcome you back!"
His eyes widened at the words "won't be able to" and he suddenly understood she was being serious. Dead serious in fact. If he wanted to keep getting these welcome back hugs, if he wanted to move forward with her, he needed to be careful.
He smiled nervously, apologetically.
"Okay, I got it."
She only gave him a small smile in return, but she seemed to believe him as she slipped the seal stone hed given her into his pocket. He was really happy to have her near him. Relieved that she had agreed to continue this mission with him. Proud that she believed in him.
"Hey! Don't hog her all to yourself! Hinata, don't I get a hug?"
Naruto gave Kiba his best death glare, which wasn't hard because he had experience giving such looks to people. But that didn't stop Hinata from leaving his arms to go hug her team mate, making him gape. It was very disappointing.
Fortunately, Sasuke landed at that moment, carrying both Sakura and Akamaru on the back of the giant. Talking. Bird. (There was just no getting over that.) And Akamaru immediately jumped, tackling his master. Naruto was quick when pulling Hinata out of the way, so only Kiba was knocked down.
"Calm down, buddy!" Kiba laughed as Akamaru barked happily at him. "Yeah, yeah, I missed you too! Get off me, okay!"
Sasuke and Sakura were quick getting off the bird, who gave his regards to Sasuke before disappearing with a POOF. Sakura gave Naruto a wary look, but didn't jump down his case for once. Hinata caught her staring and smiled politely at her, which resulted in a mutual smile on Sakura's part.
Did something happen between them?
"If you're all done with the happy reunion," Anna said, finally making an appearance, "We should hurry. There's too much to talk about and too little time."
Sakura and Hinata's first reaction to her was not unlike Sasuke and Kiba's. Anna wasn't impressed by their frightful staring and narrowed her eyes at them.
"Quit looking at me like I'm some sort of ghost." She ordered.
Hinata was startled and immediately tried apologizing, believing she'd been rude.
"I'm sorry, it's just--"
"I remind you of someone else. Yes, well... I could say the same thing about you lot." Anna cast her gaze on Sasuke, who looked back questioningly. She then took a seat on one of the larger tree roots poking out of the ground. "This place is as good as any. Sit down, and tell me about everything you've seen in this village."
They did exactly that. Naruto wasn't sure why they were so willing. Maybe it was because they wanted answers? Or maybe it was just that keeping secrets from an Uzumaki who'd lived there for who-knew-how-long was pointless?
Nonetheless, Anna took everything they said in stride. Nothing surprised her, nothing fazed her. Both her expression and her voice were dead. Emotionless and empty...
"I see." She nodded, looking first at Sasuke. "You're right. A lot of the trees here used to be people. After the massacre, Kairi didn't want their corpses being taken and analyzed. So she flooded her chakra through the land, turned all the dead to trees, and has continued to be this lands power source ever since. Before the slaughter, she was already flooding the air with her chakra to neutralize the toxic outer forest. It's actually quite taxing for her.
"It's surprising that you were able to talk to one of the trees. More surprising that they would lead you here. This whole area was placed under genjutsu by Kairi. It doesn't matter if you try to look upon it from a high place or a low place. You won't reach this place unless you're led here. The tree revealed its location to you because it trusted you. That being said..." She turned to Naruto and Hinata. "That boy you saw was no spirit. There is no such thing in this land. The so called ‘apparitions’ are actually echoes."
"Echoes...?" Hinata asked.
Anna looked up at Kairi. "SHE connects the past, the present, and the future. People who've been dead for years, people who won't be born for years, they show up here from time to time in the form of Echoes. There used to be a lot more, but lately I've only seen Shinra."
"Shinra?" Naruto straightened up.
"You said the boy who led you here was a light blue eyed, light blond haired, Konoha ninja correct? I see him all the time. He appears more frequently than others, so I nicknamed him Shinra. It seems he's looking for something. I've no idea what..."
"Oh." Hinata said, obviously disappointed. Naruto was too. He could've sworn he knew that guy...
"You should talk to Kairi." Anna told him, making him flinch. "She's no longer strong enough to talk to me. But if Sasuke can talk to one of the Villager Trees, you should be able to talk to the Sacred Tree."
Naruto shot to his feet. "I can do that?! Really?! How?!"
"The door." Anna pointed to a spot on the trunk about the same height as Naruto. "Place your hands through the door and step through."
Frowning, he switched his gaze between Kairi and Anna, and slowly approached the trunk. His hands slipped through, and so did his arms.
A ripple seal...
Pushing through, he entered a yellow-white, fuzzy looking indefinite space not unlike the peaceful area in his psyche where he went for mental battle simulation training with Uri. At first, everything was bright and blinding, but his eyes began to adjust.
"Congratulations, Aniki." A voice from behind said, making him flinch and swivel. "You made it. Now we can talk."
She was beaming and laughing at him, as usual. She looked older, around thirteen, in a loose fitting kimono and two small braids in her hair on the sides of her head. When he didn't move or say anything, when he just kept staring at her in grief and disbelief, she smiled and tilted her head at him. There was concern in her eyes. So he gulped, grinned and lifted her into a tight hug.
"Heehee! I missed your hugs! You always gave me one whenever you came back." Kairi recalled, hugging him back cheerfully and playfully. "And then the children would jump on you because they were jealous."
He tightened his grip on her, making a pained expression. She was really warm, as always. Part of his brain was sending him little alarm signals, reminding him of what happened. But the other part wanted to forget that it happened.
And he just hated that.
"Don't make such a sad face, Aniki." Kairi said comfortingly. "It's not like you. Besides, there's so much I have to tell you. Very important things."
There was a sense of urgency in her voice, forcing him to acknowledge that he couldn't stay here with her. That they only had a limited amount of time, and that they needed to move on before that time was up.
So he set her down, earning a smile of praise from her.
"What is it you need to tell me?" He asked, trying to be optimistic.
She held up her index finger. "Many things! I want you to know my, and our clan's, story! These are things that no one else can tell you. So listen to me, and don't forget any of it, okay?"
He nodded, determined.
"Okay! To start off, I'm an unusual tree. And there's a reason for that... A long time ago, there was a man named Hago-kun. He had a beautiful, powerful, scary mother named Kaguya. She came from faraway to eat the fruit of another tree, one much, much bigger than the Sacred Tree, me. This fruit gave her power, and she ate all of it, including the seed. The seed was very durable, but it was contaminated by her stomach acid. And when she died, this is where she fell. This spot here, the center of the land of eddies."
Kairi gestured to the area around them.
"The seed was still there, in her belly. And as her corpse rotted, the seed grew into a tree. This tree grew taller and taller. However, it was not evil, and it did not sprout fruit of power like the bigger juubi tree. It was much smaller, and had no consciousness. And it was weak, a normal tree by most standards. Except there was one difference. This new tree was capable of holding chakra and sharing it with its surrounding environment."
Kairi's expression changed, becoming pained and lonely. "Many, many years passed. Too many for me to give an exact number to. While I sat here, the Uzumaki travelled to the place where Kaguya came from. That place had been eradicated by numerous wars that annihilated the people and badly polluted the earth and air. Wars had resumed in the land of ninjas, and the clan was trying to escape to a peaceful place. This was still what you would call ancient times. Our clan only spent a little time there, because as soon as they breathed the air, they caught a horrible illness. It contaminated their blood. On the long trip back, many lay dying while others grew stronger. And when they reached this island, they decided to make it their settlement. The dying sealed their chakra and their corpses into me, and I released this chakra into the air to heal the survivors. Their blood, which had been contaminated by the air of Kaguya's homeland, became a source of power because I neutralized the poison with the healing atmosphere. That's something I've regretted doing, since it would have been fine to leave it alone. Their chakra and lifespans were already fighting the poison and winning. All those who were too weak had already been sealed inside me, so it would have been okay to do nothing. But by healing them instead of letting them fight for themselves, I gave them a power that made them strict and pretentious and discriminate against outsiders. On top of that, all the blood seal fuinjutsu were too powerful for them, so they shortened their prolonged lifespans which was a result of being Kaguya's descendants." Kairi's eyelids drooped as she hugged herself. "I've always felt so bad about that..."
It was so much to take in, and yet he got the feeling she was just getting started. He'd never heard of this Hago guy or Kaguya, but Kairi said their names with such respect and grief. It was so mysterious.
But he accepted all this, because he had to ask...
"Kairi." He said, making her look at him. "I... I ran into Mami recently. She told me that you're... I mean, that you're... That you're the Sacred Tree's human form. That's true right?"
It certainly sounded like it was true. And as expcted, she didn’t try to deny it.
Kairi frowned, nodding sadly. "Yes. That's true. It took a while, but as the Uzumaki continued to seal their dying and their chakra into me, I eventually started to combine their selves into a single entity. Doing this gave me humanity, and through that humanity I retrieved my ancient memories surrounding my birth, and the years of loneliness that followed. It was so painful remembering all of that. So I was very grateful to the Uzumaki clan, who became like family to me, and saved me from loneliness. I was so happy they were living and thriving on this island. They created, they learned, they grew, they protected and loved one another. It was just so wonderful... Just watching them brought me such… Joy. I vowed to protect them from anything and anyone. Unfortunately..."
She bit her lip, sobbing as hot tears streamed down her face. Her arms tightened around herself as she sobbed, heartsick and guilty.
"I never imagined... I never even considered the enemy would come from within." She blinked tears away as she shook. "Seto's father, Hiro, had been such a good leader. But... He betrayed us all. He killed everyone. Even the babies... I! I actually could have stopped him! I had the ability to do so. But... The idea of killing Hiro was too much for me. I... I just couldn't do it. Everybody died! All I did was watch... I despaired, and watched."
Naruto shuddered. Why... Why did this sound so familiar...?
I ADORED THEM.
He flinched, remembering their conversation from before. Oh right... Sasuke was...
"There were survivors.” Kairi continued. “Many of them made it out. Most of them were children, but there were adults too. I am connected to all the Uzumaki. In this form, I can feel them all no matter how far away they are. And I am also connected to all those close to them, both friend and foe. So I could feel the survivors, and knew what happened to them. One by one, they were captured and worked like slaves. Or they were tortured for information, and refused to give it. Or they were brutally murdered or mutilated. All the things they felt, their hellish final moments, I felt them too. I felt them curse their fate and the world and their own weakness. I felt every blade that cut them, every jutsu that drained their energy. And I can feel them even now..."
Kairi shook with immeasurable terror and cupped her hands around her throat. She was still crying, and the image of her standing there, horrified on a level that no one else had ever been, was haunting.
"This was true for the minor Jinchuuriki in foreign lands as well." She laughed hysterically. "Anyone who wasn't captured just hid underground and began to die out. They became so bitter, so full of hatred, and I felt all of that. But..."
She slowly smiled, and light broke through the darkness in her eyes. There was hope where despair used to be.
"There was one." She beamed, blinking all of the pain and tears away. "There was one who wasn't suffering underground or brutally murdered. She lived happily in a prosperous village, made friends, and had happy adventures every day! She was free, but also caged. She had a terrible secret. But a certain boy didn't care about that, and told her he loved her. And then, one day, I felt the presence of a new Uzumaki growing inside of her."
Kairi smiled at him, laughing light heartedly.
"You." She said, making him flinch. "I could feel you. You were so warm, and tiny, and safe. And I was so happy, because those two protected you so well, were so careful. You grew, and you were so healthy, so strong! You were just a baby! I hadn't felt such innocence in such a long time. And THEY really loved you, and were eagerly awaiting their first meeting with you. Only... You're birth turned out to be a chaotic one. And those two, those wonderful, strong people... They didn't make it."
Naruto’s eyelids lowered at this, his mouth forming a hard line. Kairi placed her hands over her heart, biting her lip.
"I lost my family again, and it crushed me. I wanted so badly for those two to live happily together; I wanted it more than a person wants air underwater. But it didn't happen. And just when I was prepared to curl in on myself, close my eyes, and die, I heard a sound. That sound... It was so loud! So selfish! So completely ignorant to what had just happened! I don't know why, but it restored my hope. You were crying, and I continued to listen to it, and tuned out everything else. It began to change to actual words, and then whole sentences. But then, I had to stop listening."
Naruto leaned forward. "Eh? Why?"
Kairi giggled. "Because of the others. They'd returned to me. Only for a short while. I was so... Relieved! I'd been alone for so long! And then suddenly they were back! And they were going to leave me again! I couldn't stand that, because..."
Kairi froze, her mouth hanging open. Naruto waited for her to finish, but... She looked so reluctant.
"Because..." She started, gripping her kimono. "Because I... I was weakening. Aniki, I... The truth is, trees aren't supposed to live this long. It's unnatural, and it takes a lot of power. And power is something I'm running out of. I've been weakening for years now, and I... When I realized the others were going to leave me again, I was so desperate. I didn't want to be alone when..."
Naruto groaned, his heart doing anxious back flips.
"Kairi, stop beating around the bush! You're driving me crazy!" He admitted. "What is it? What's wrong?"
Kairi laced her fingers together and sighed, looking up to meet his eyes. Such a clear expression...
"I... I don't have much time left. I'm already... Beyond saving."
His heart froze, and his eyes widened. What...
"What... What did you just say?"
Kairi gulped and looked at him sympathetically. "I'm dying... Aniki, I'm half dead already."
He let out one short, low, anxious breath and kneeled in front of her, grabbing her shoulders.
"That's...! That’s...! No! I--" he rambled, shaking his head. "I came to save you! That’s why I'm here now! I came to save you, and you just dump this news on me last second!? You already died on me before! And now you're going to rip the ground out from under my feet just like that!?"
Kairi squared her shoulders, bowing her head.
"I'm sorry. I... I already knew when I decided to become a human that doing so would weaken me even further. But I wanted to spend what little time I had left with our clan, even though, as a human, my connections to everyone would be temporarily cut, and my powers would be weakened to almost 1% of their usual strength. But I really... I really didn't want to die alone...!
"I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have gotten close to you! I should have kept my distance! But I was just so surprised when Uri showed up in our hideout, carrying you on his back. You'd gotten so tall...! You were in a terrible state, but I was still so happy to see you. I'd actually had amnesia myself up until then. Becoming human had robbed me of my memories as well. Seeing you brought everything back. That's why I... I visited you every day. You couldn't move well, and you wouldn't eat, and you were hooked up to life support, but I still visited you. It wasn't long before I learned that you had the curse, and that is my third greatest regret. The curse was something I created to make it impossible for clan members to fight each other. But I was unable to cast it on the entire clan, and instead it appeared in only a handful of people. It isn't necessarily hereditary, and appears randomly. I wasn't expecting you of all people to have it. I'm... I'm really sorry..."
"Don't apologize! That's not what I want to hear!" Naruto yelled. "And stop crying..."
She placed her hands over her eyes, and shook her head. Naruto flinched as he noticed the light in the room start to dim. Kairi remained solid, but turned transparent as her knees gave out on her.
He caught her and held her close. Her warmth was vanishing, and she was still crying as she turned in his arms to reach out to him.
"Please don't be sad, Aniki." She breathed, smiling weakly. "I... Have lived a very long life. It was tough at first, but you, and the other Uzumaki clan members, you made it better. I'm so sorry for all the mistakes I've made. That's why I wanted to talk to you, so that maybe you could understand me a little, and also so I could help you."
Using her index and middle finger, she jabbed Naruto in the forehead and muttered "Release."
Immediately, his head felt lighter. He had grown so used to the constant weight, pain, and static buzzing in his ears that he hadn't even noticed them. But he felt them go, felt his head become light.
"I can't remove it completely." Kairi told him. "But I loosened it, and I healed all the damage. So it should be safe to tell you a little of the truth now."
"The truth? What truth?" He asked frantically. Keep her talking. If he could just keep her talking, he could put off saying goodbye to her for good.
Just keep her talking. Don't let her fade away...
DAMMIT! Dammit, this wasn't how this was supposed to go!
"The truth... Is that..." She said inbetween breaths. "You grew up in a village... A very prosperous, powerful village. You're a very... Important person, loyal ninja, and good friend to many. But you were... kidnapped and... Placed in the space. The space... Is a moving room... It enhances the powers of any seal... Placed within... And because of that... The Memory Seal that was placed on you when you were three... Was tightened. You forgot... More than you were supposed to! I'm not sure... Who the castor is... But I suspect he placed the seal... To try and keep your curse from developing. In any case..."
She gripped his shirt, breathing heavily.
"In any case... You have another family. And you love them very much… You can't live without them. And if you don't… remember them soon, you'll lose them for good…!"
"Lose them? What are you talking about?!"
Kairi sank lower, her eyes trembling.
"You have to go now..." She said as it became even darker. "If you stay here, you'll die with me…"
"I'm not just going to leave you here!" He protested. "You said so yourself that you didn't want to die alone!"
"Stop it, Aniki." She ordered. "You know you can't stay here. You KNOW."
Naruto grit his teeth. This was so frustrating it made him want to scream! It made him feel so useless which only made things worse!
Why did she have to die?! Kairi was... Everything she did was for other people. Despite how lonely she'd been, she never did anything for herself. She used all her power on them, saved him from Seto, and now she was going to die?! Just like that?! It was too simple, too sudden, and seemed so aggravatingly pointless that Naruto wanted to punch the first guy he saw.
But he knew she was right. She'd lived too long, and he hadn't. He had things to do. So he couldn't stay here. He couldn't even be by her side as she died.
Darnit! There had to be something! Anything! He didn't care what it was, as long as it would help Kairi.
Please...!
He gasped as Kairi's hand, which was gripping his shirt, began to glow. Now more transparent than water, and colder than ice, she clenched her fist, raised it, and uncurled her fingers.
It was a seal stone. Or rather, a tiny fragment of one. It was smaller than any pebble, and glowed blue in the darkness.
"What's that?" He asked.
She smiled, blinking tiredly.
"A... Seed. This is what I was originally, a small seed just like this one." She told him, making him eye the seed in wonder. "If you want to help me that badly, you should take it and plant it in your home village. Who knows... Maybe I can live again. But I won't give it to you unless you promise to leave."
Naruto's face fell. A seed, huh? Even with all his strength, this was all he could do?
He shook his head, ridding himself of his childish thoughts and staring at the seed with a new fire in his eyes. No. He couldn't be selfish when she was killing herself further just to satisfy him.
This wasn't self-sacrifice. It was death that couldn't be avoided. Kairi needed him to understand that, and trusted him.
IT ISNT IMPOSSIBLE. He told himself as he took the seed. ALL OF HER EFFORTS... THEY WERENT FOR NOTHING!
She nodded. "Good. Now run... All of you. Anna knows where to go. As soon as I'm gone, everyone will lose control and attack you."
Naruto nodded, setting her down and taking off his long red coat so he could lay it over her. He could always get another later.
"Goodbye." She told him.
Gripping the seed, he nodded to her.
"Thank you, Kairi."
