Bonds
Hidden Orchestra - East London Street (Drums Only)
"Now... tell me," announced the voice from everywhere, "Before the first, after the last... Nothing between, no shadow cast. What am I?"
The curtains parted before him revealing stone winding stairs leading down the slope toward a bamboo forest. Sasuke moved forward without looking back.
He descended the illusory stairs, standing at the edge of a misty tropical forest, a greenish fog rising beneath his feet. Somewhere exotic birds were singing. Under his feet was a bottomless abyss, filled only with milky greenish mist and endless bamboo poles.
Something strongly pulled him to the other side, where, many steps away, there was again seemingly safe land and a path further through thickets mixed with curtains and tapestries hanging from nowhere resembling war banners, some of them covered with clan crests that the Nanusake had fought against.
But how did he know that? He had no idea, yet new things he had no right to know before suddenly started making sense in this strange place, as if the answers, thoughts of this domain's ruler were pouring into his head, extending tendrils.
Something waved encouragingly from the other shore... someone? Drum beats and cymbal sounds rang out again giving another rhythm.
It’s here, again.
Sasuke stood at the very edge, turned around, but the space behind him began to blur, consumed by approaching blackness, giving an ominous feeling of forgetting and disappearing forever. He didn't want, for all the world's treasures, to feel what would happen if he stopped.
The bamboo poles swayed drowsily in the non-existent wind, fog moved lazily. Sasuke looked under his feet, then raised his head hearing new sounds and his eyes beheld an army of women dressed in traditional combat kimonos. On their faces, they wore kabuki masks in the image of... Izumi. All were smiling and identical. Long silken raven-black hair flowed down their shoulders, waving together with the lazily breathing mist.
Breathing... Yes, everything gave the impression of being one organism.
"You're in the belly of the beast after all!" a childish voice full of amusement rang out at the end of the abyss from the other side as if responding to his thoughts.
Little Izumi stood there, waving to Sasuke and laughing. She was dressed in what he remembered from the last night before her kidnapping when they were so small.
"Wait!"
"Come follow me, I'll show you!"
The drums resounded rhythmically, and with each shake of the percussion cymbal, the figures standing on bamboo pole tops began to move, creating with themselves a kind of dynamic labyrinth.
Little Izumi disappeared from his sight, and the terrifying cold of advancing darkness behind Sasuke's back was already licking at his heels. The boy didn't think longer and taking a deep breath stabilized his chakra and extended his foot forward, stabilizing it on the first bamboo pole top.
The figures swayed on bamboos with grace, not losing stability they moved jumping unconsciously from one top to another, simultaneously blocking Sasuke's passage.
Every moment, in rhythmic tempo an opening appeared between several figures and with it several bamboo tops. Sasuke sensed the pattern and began shooting into these moments, jumping.
He observed the figures carefully at the same time, but they didn't interact with him.
He missed his sword so much.
Next jump. He wavered, gulping air, but stabilized his chakra directing another wave to his feet, crouched catching balance. A red shirt flashed in front of him, somewhere in the distance between figures. Little Izumi had returned to watch him from behind one of the trees on the other edge.
"Come, young hare!"
"Don't call me that."
"In that case Taka taka taka, hahaah" the girl chirped bothering Sasuke even more, almost pulling him from concentration. The poles swayed more violently, some figures dangerously approaching Sasuke.
He was already among them, but felt no energy in them, no chakra that would come from a human. And yet they moved. Mechanically, like puppets driven by a puppet master's chakra.
He noticed they were much taller than him, surrounding him like a forest of adults, again he felt small... little Izumi's laughter, again drove him to memories.
"No, stop, don't get distracted."
The milky mist gently soothed his feet, wrapping around his ankles. He turned back, hearing a crack.
The figures he left behind were turning toward him, and one by one starting to fall into the abyss along with poles that began crumbling into tiny pieces like dry rot.
Masks covered their faces, ending just above their mouths, which opened in a silent scream showing rows of needle-sharp pearly teeth. Mouths gaping in a cry of terror, monstrous, yet helpless in the face of... perish. Black mist poured over the edge slowly approaching them.
Sasuke felt cold sweat washing over him again.
Drums pounded as the boy, frantically assessing the situation, quickened his pace, jumping across poles, stopping momentarily to change tactics when the path closed before him.
"Faster!"
"I can't!"
"You can do it, I'm already close..." older Izumi's voice, more serious. "Every now and again I get this feeling... and the great big void inside me opens up..." she sang melodiously.
"And I really wish that you could help" Little Izumi stretched out her hand to Sasuke when he raised his eyes ahead again, being able to notice her for a few seconds at the end of the shore from among the gradually thinning army of puppets. "But my head is like a carousel, going round in circles..."*
Sasuke clenched his teeth and furrowed his brow, he wouldn't let her disappear.
"I'm coming for you!"
Faster and faster, women began falling into the abyss and bamboo poles crumbling, not only behind him but also on his path, reducing the room to manoeuvre.
Sweat appeared on the boy's temples, who forcing out another wave of chakra, jumped more and more violently to successive ending poles. He moved past several marionettes, who suddenly turned violently toward him and grabbed his shoulders as the bamboo beneath them began to crumble.
Just two more steps.
"Reach out your hand!" little Izumi shouted and Sasuke realized that only reaching out separated them.
He felt a jerk backwards, and terrified mouths surrounded him in a silent scream, their cold hands dug fingers into his shirt, shoulders. Sasuke jerked, losing balance, wavered falling backward when he turned toward Izumi. No, this is not my end.
One clear thought possessed his mind, silencing everything else momentarily. He turned crouching, hit one, another, delivering a spinning kick to another, they let go.
He caught himself with his hands on the bamboo edge, and hearing the last drum beats, almost in a trance matched movements to the rhythm, manoeuvring chakra, pushed off from the bamboo edge, jumping back onto its top, using momentum, made a jump toward the edge.
With his right hand, he caught little Izumi's forearm, her gentle pull was enough for him to find himself on safe ground, at the same moment when black mist behind him swallowed the last pole, devouring it with the last sound of melody.
Sasuke collapsed to his knees, catching his breath and wiping stinging sweat from his temples.
"You're... the void?" he replied uncertainly in response to the second riddle. The girl nodded when he raised his head. She had the face of a mature woman, smiled proudly. He lowered his gaze.
"Come." The voice of a mature woman rang in his head again, though before him he still saw the feet of a little girl.
"They're so confusing..." he muttered to himself. He breathed with relief, he didn't want to know what it would mean if he had answered wrong. Again little Izumi laughed and turned on her heel running into the forest depths.
"Wait!"
"Taka taka taka...! You'll see"
He didn't hear her anymore, but he didn't slow his pace.
He ran to the cave familiar to him now, before which torches burned stuck in dark sand, creating a kind of path to the entrance. Before him stood Huranaishi, smiling. Sasuke ran through the remaining puddles after the dark ebb around the cave and ran in to stand before the seer.
"You're the void" he gasped catching his breath. “The riddle.”
"And you're Izumi’s fate. Which soon you'll understand"
He didn't answer, just looking at her then lowering his gaze.
"I'll let you bring her back, but take care of her. Izumi waited for you so many years"
"Mhm"
Huranaishi placed her hand on his shoulder and went down with him to the other end of the island indicating a new path among dark waves. She turned to him one last time looking into his eyes with her large pitch-black eyes.
"There are three deaths that will strike at your bond, dear Sasuke. The first is when you'll choose darkness over light. The second is when she breathes her last breath. The third will be the moment you will stop seeing her in your daughter's eyes." He looked at her puzzled contemplating the words.
“Go forward then, Izumi drifts there waiting for you” the Moth lowered herself to add warmly. She pointed the way with long claws then left him alone, dissolving into air. Sasuke shook himself, he'd had enough of this darkness. Time to return. He moved forward.
The bottom merged with the horizon, impossible to determine whether he was stepping on the ground or drifting into nothingness. Despite everything, he walked forward, the red of the Sharingan illuminating the way, giving strength.
At some point he began to notice an indistinct shape above him, while simultaneously feeling the bottom of the depths under his feet. Being certain he had found her, he pushed off with momentum and moved upward through the depths of the dead ocean.
From there, at a slow pace, Izumi's body was descending. It was sliding helplessly into the depths, her eyes indifferent, unconscious, half-open. Air bubbles escaped from her mouth, white dress rippled gently, the girl resembled a ghost, but Sasuke pushed away these thoughts - she was alive, otherwise they wouldn't be here. Sasuke moved forward after a moment pushing off from the bottom, moved upward suddenly wading through depths, having walked on dry land before. Nothing in this place made sense and simultaneously everything did, according to the belief of whoever dared to manipulate its possibilities.
Sasuke waded faster and faster toward Izumi, air bubbles escaped from his mouth and dispersed under his feet and hands as he approached the descending girl. He was so close now.
He caught her in his arms with momentum and pushed upward, further toward the surface.
They emerged from the water, Sasuke took a breath choking on longed-for air, still holding Izumi's unconscious body in his embrace he stumbled still wading in knee-deep water and they fell together on the warm sand of the shore. Izumi was taller than he expected after these few years, only now did he realize this.
Although she had been drifting in illusory water, he proceeded to revive her with trembling hands trying to restore consciousness. Finally, the awaited loud raspy breath emerged from the girl's mouth. She opened her eyes.
The Abyss disappeared as quickly as it had pulled Sasuke in earlier, returning them to reality.
Izumi opened her eyes wide, choked on air and threw her body in a violent spasm, first instinct kicking away from her the person who was close to her. Her kick to the chest threw Sasuke from the bed, who rolled across the floor in identical shock falling from the stool.
The girl looked around the room lightning-fast, jumped from the bed and with one hand holding the sheet covering her, with the other grabbed a surgical knife that lay on a tray of instruments within reach. She jumped into the corner of the room and curled up in a defensive position breathing heavily.
Her large eyes, wide with terror and amazement darted around the surroundings trying to assess the situation, understand where she was... A hoarse moan escaped from her throat, her black hair flowed down her shoulders in cascades covering half her face. Sasuke looked at her terrified slowly coming to his senses and realizing the girl's condition.
"Izumi..." he stood slowly from the ground, feeling instantly the effects of three days of his body remaining in the same position. He extended his hands in a defensive and simultaneously surrendering gesture "It's me" he cleared his throat though these words didn't change the girl's stance. She didn't recognize him… The girl shook her head furrowing her lips showed her teeth clutching the knife in her hand before her.
"It's me, Uchiha Sasuke" Something in her gaze changed slightly at his name, but she still didn't lower her guard. Sasuke slowly calmed his breathing, though thoughts raced in his head without stopping "Whatever they did to you there... you're safe here now" not knowing what to say, he blurted out these words, desperately holding onto hope that any words would help in taming her. Her gaze instantly jumped to the doors, which opened unexpectedly. Izumi hissed again taking a breath quickly, retreated deeper into the corner where she was.
Orochimaru entered the room supporting himself on Kabuto, with an excited smile he surveyed the girl, nodding with admiration toward Sasuke. "Congratulations, young Uchiha, I didn't doubt for a moment the power of your Sharingan. Bravo."
"Well little Moth, we meet again" he shifted his gaze directing it toward Izumi "I hope you missed me because I did very much!" he broke into coughs. Izumi relaxed her stance a little, very slowly tiny pieces of memories began returning to her. "From now on you'll begin a new life. You'll like it even more, I don't doubt it. Who knows, maybe you'll surpass Sasuke himself in abilities!" The boy burned with embarrassment directing his gaze to the floor. "Welcome back to Uncle Orochimaru!"