Chapter 40: Stranded (1)
-7:07 PM-
(Nebulous Fucking Nowhere)
It took me exactly ten seconds and one slap in the face from my ever-loving twit of a brother to regain my bearing.
It took me an additional three minutes and twenty seconds, a bout of screaming and not an insignificant amount of soothing spiritual energy to mind-fuck the panicking orphans into a more reasonable human being so that the wardens and I could herd them away from the gigantic fox that was hell bent on burning Konoha down before it changed its direction and trampled us to death instead. Luckily there weren't many of us and only a small number of younger children, thus almost everyone could run for their lives.
We were taking a short break in the middle of nowhere, what with my companions being physically exhausted and beyond terrified, when the Nine-Tails suddenly shot a highly condensed chakra ball into the Hokage Mountain.
There was a flash of blinding light in the distance, followed by a sharp boom and echoing roar. The mountain was burning and a pan of the mushroom rose against the darkened sky. The cloud dissipated as the sky lightened, leaving pulverized rock formation and a clear path of destruction in the middle, practically cleaving Konoha into two.
My jaw dropped in muted horror and awe as I slowly processed what I've seen in my mind's eye. All of those chakra signatures… disappearing within seconds.
That is not dead which can eternal lie. And with strange aeons even death may die. Damn'd daemons of despair.
Once again I was reminded of my place in the universe, nothing but an inert chunk of randomly assembled molecules that drifted wherever the universe blew me.
Nothing but a lamb to the cosmic slaughter.
The thought washed over me like water on a flower shop window, like a soothing, cool lotion after you've showered and spent the whole day training under the sun. Like numbness, the thought worked on my extremities first and then penetrated into the rest of my body, giving all manner of questions, starting with the silly ones—what do I know about the universe—rising to the major ones—what's my purpose, why do I even exist?
My means of receiving impressions were absurdly few, my notions of surrounding objects infinitely narrow. We humans saw things only as we were constructed to see them and could gain no idea of their absolute nature.
And the Tailed-Beasts… they were… they were something else entirely.
Existing in shapes and forms long since withdrawn before the tide of advancing humanity. Forms of which poetry and legend alone had caught a flying memory, and called them gods, monsters, mythical beings of all sorts and kinds.
For all of my resentments towards the inhabitants of this Earth, I would always be thoroughly humbled by the beautiful horror of this universe. Humbled by the vastness of life that gave birth to all kinds of nightmares and calamities since the dawn of time—
"Hideyo, are you— are you seriously fanboying over the Nine-Tails right now?"
I had half a mind to kick Sasuke for oversimplifying my existential crisis. The boy had refused to put me down, no matter how much I wriggled and whined in his arms, rendering my loss of dignity naught.
"I'm doing a…" Another batch of unlucky cannon fodders blipped out of existence, "...scientific observation, if you must know. Damage assessment… and stuff…"
Sasuke, as always, was dubious. "Right..."
"Our family is alive, if you're wondering." And so was Naruto (his blinding chakra was kinda difficult to miss), huddled in one of the shelters among those with dimmer signatures — probably other children or civilians, which made me wonder where the hell this Kurama came from.
Sasuke exhaled against my shoulder, obviously relieved. "Good, that's good—"
"—are you out of your mind?" One of the caretakers, Keiri-san's, shrill voice rang through the dark forest, startling a few birds away.
Few feet away from her arguing friends, Yakushi Nonō sighed.
"For God sake…" I grumbled, "they're at it again?"
Sasuke shrugged, quite at a loss. "It appears so."
"It's a rhetorical question, Sasuke."
Grimacing, the plump woman dragged the third warden, Kenpu-san, deeper into the forest, where they proceeded to continue their argument.
"Sheesh, give me to Mother Nonō. That poor woman."
For once, Sasuke obeyed.
Nonō-san was distributing water and small crackers to the children, all thirty-something of them. Her posture was beyond tense, but she kept her gentle smile, reassuring the children that everything was going to be alright. The older kids helped however they can, distracting their younger siblings with small games and stories.
I held my arms up. "Mama~"
Nonō-san raised her brows. It must've been strange to see me wanting her attention, I was never an affectionate child.
I channeled a projection of calmness into my spiritual energy and enveloped it around Mother Nonō, like a warm blanket. I did the same to the orphans, warping my energy around them like a cocoon, not unlike a genjutsu.
Nonō's eyes widened. "Thank you, Hideyo-chan."
"No biggie. Now let's have a talk with obasan and ojīsan, shall we?"
The matron chuckled and gently swayed me as she walked. "Ah, Mama should've known. I bet if your brother were taller you wouldn't even come to me."
"Nuh-uh, Big Brother hates my," I make a quote sign, "crazy schemes."
"Well… Hide-chan do have a tendency to go overboard sometimes."
"I invent, transform, create, and ruin things for science, Mama. When I don't like something about the world, I change it. But sometimes science is more art than science, and art is never too much."
Nonō gently ruffled my hair. "You're going to do great things, Hideyo. Terrible, yes, but great."
"—the children would be safer inside the orphanage! How long do you think we could survive out here in the forest? Fire Country has some of the most vicious animals roaming the land. We also don't have enough food and water supply. Also, if you haven't noticed, the children are shivering!"
"What choice do we have, Kenpu?! There's a giant monster slaughtering people in that direction. Do you want to die, for the children to die?! We need to keep as much distance from it as—"
Mother Nonō cleared her throat. "Keiri-san, Kenpu-san."
"Ah, Nonō-chan—"
"Mother Superior—"
Their eyes met my gleaming sharingan and became glazed.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone