Settling in
Shikako gasped to catch her breath as she approached the broken temple, slowing with every step. The chakra and the not-chakra burned in her system. It was like the sensitivity of her childhood all over again. It had chiseled stones at it’s base and apex, with a path of steps upwards. The edges were formed with glowing gems that exuded power. Shikako struggled not to choke on the air around her as she examined the temple ruins.
Other Shikako was already there at the base of the temple.
“Are you here to help me?” Shikako asked
Other Shikako looked up at the temple’s highest point and visibly breathed in the energy dense air, shaking her head before replying “We can’t go any further, we are only the familiar form that you were likely to listen to. You must make this journey on your own.” Other Shikako paused before continuing, “We may be unable to accompany you, but we can give you this.” She pressed a familiar stone into Shikako’s palm.
Shikako looked at the stone, it was the gelel stone. When she lifted her eyes back to the temple she watched Other Shikako fade. She let her emotions ride to the surface before smooshing them back into compliance. With a deep breath Shikako let the energies in and for the first time they did not burn. The settled low inside her, like her near empty chakra pools had developed deep pockets and the foreign energy welled within them, yet barely filled them at all.
Shikako stared at the temple for a long time not moving from her position at the base of the temple. Her teeth chattered in a fear she couldn’t suppress, like her very bones were shaking. She wanted to break down, she wanted to cry, she just wanted her life back as it was before the stupid intelligence gathering mission. Shikako let all the fears and sadness wash through her before squishing it down far enough to climb the steps in front of her. She need to get home, she could let it all out later.
Each step was like a mountain on it’s own, Other Shikako was correct in calling it a journey. Emotions Shikako hadn’t confronted in what felt like years welled into her mind with every upward movement. It took what felt like days or weeks to finally reach the top of the temple. Every previous brush with death lay fresh in her mind.
You needed to remember. The words appeared in her mind. Recall what it was like when we reinforced your lifeforce against the shadow that follows the living. We exist always as one, revolving around each other in a complex dance, moving in tandem year opposition.
”What is the reason I am supposed to control you? I don’t want more of your power, I can find my own way to save my friends. No one has to die.” Shikako asked to the formed emptiness in the air.
You never would have made it past the first step if you weren’t worthy. Each was a challenge to your ability to persevere through your problems. We have broken before and been used by our fractures, many of our others were unable to stop themselves from the lure of our power. We have existed in many universes, many dimensions, many places all at once and never at the same time. The amount of power in your veins is already changing, the energy only burned before because you hadn’t been accepted. The moment you accepted our power in the form of the very stone you hold with no ulterior motives even still. We have accepted you. There is so much fate you hold in your hands to make, but there are conseqences. For every action prevented by us on our own another is formed in it’s place. Apart we can not influence things as needed in this world. Allowing our power in has already changed you irreversibly we cannot be apart as you live in this life of yours. We will endeavor to alter the pain and the deaths that have not come to pass. We cannot alter death as it stands or time as it has passed not without changing more than we intend. No cost in power does not mean no risk to ourselves, if we change to much we may undo ourselves, we are unwilling to end you or your life, again.
Shikako snapped her head up at that “What do you mean again?”
This has come to pass before. You have sacrificed yourself, ourself before, we found it an unacceptable cost. We managed to turn back the flow over and over but the strands are fraying and breaking down, this is the last of our mergings, our joinings. We imparted only the most relevant knowledge to you, your existence had always changed things, so we emphasized what we could to prevent your very real death that tore ourselves apart prematurely.
Shikako let the words sink in for several moments before replying “I just want to go home.” Her voice came out shakier than she meant to as her favorite memories of her family pushed to the front of her mind. Her family she had made around her was just as important as the one by blood, to lose any of them again, like Aoba, probably would drive her to attempt the impossible. She vaguely wondered how many times she had died at the hands of Danzou and his minions and driven this force to send time flowing backwards.
And home we shall go The voice murmured in her ear But first you will learn our power the depth of it before we go to your home from ours.
“The Other me said that I was to live and die here, that I wouldn’t be rejoin you as you were” Shikako tried to say.
We were correct in the times before, but your acceptance of our power changed us, as did our acceptance of you. We are not as we were any longer, as we were has changed. You will not rejoin us as we were, we will be joining with you as we are now. You will live and die in this world, but we will continue on. It will unquestionably be a loss. You existed, even as us, with the singular focus of impermanence, once this life has passed we will let your soul move on in the natural path of this place as we return to our flowing. To be separated again will be painful, but if we work together we can keep you and yours safe.
The energy swirled around Shikako in eddies and pools, and the energy alongside her chakra seemed to swirl in response. It was like a patient parent teaching a child, waiting for a response. “How do I learn what I need to get home?” she asked. Suddenly her mind filled with a seals and chakra patterns she vaguely recognized as jutsus with no hand signs to guide them.
You already have accepted our power, you merely need to accept our knowledge before we could impart it. Jumping through this place back to your home will take us with you, but you, we will always be able to return here. Here is us afterall.
The world flashed around her and the energy pools within Shikako suddenly felt like they were bursting before they expanded more to accommodate the surplus.
Shikako blinked as her eyes readjusted to the night. No. That wasn’t right. This was the ground, It was as dark as a night sky. She sat down and breathed out hard. The dark ground expanded to the horizon on every side. Shikako sat for what felt like hours, it could’ve been days, or seconds, but she moved slowly. She brought her hand in front of her face, clenching and unclenching her fist, getting a feel for her hands, letting her chakra and this new energy flow. They were parallel and yet intangible to one another. She tried to touch the energy and felt it tug at her chakra in warning. She hesitated before directing her chakra into the Gelel stone, her stone. It responded instantly, gently sliding into shadow form. She let her face turn towards the sun, before shifting to search for the pulses of familiar chakra that felt stronger in this shadow form. She was going home.