Seated on a rock by the shore of a small river in the midst of Konohagakure’s forestry, Sayoko watched the growing congregation with a measure of trepidation. There was a lot more people than she had summoned; those who could tell something important was about to happen and did not want to miss it. Alone on top of the large boulder, she felt like some sort of messiah, surrounded by the hopeless and the sick expecting salvation in one or another way. She wondered if the Sage of the Sixth Paths ever felt like this; he was also one to attract crowds like this. Then again, he did have a message to impart on those willing to listen.
By the base of the boulder seated Higashiyama Yuriko, Inuzuka Kiba and Kuromaru the nin-dog. The remaining one from the Higashiyama twins unconsciously fidgeted with the hole of her white sleeveless kimono shirt from which a wooden construct replacing her shoulder could be seen. Naturally, they were not alone; of all people, it was Higashiyama Yurine who loomed over them with motherly worry clear in her expression. Kiba wordlessly dodged her concerned glances, although he was making it a point of avoiding the eyes of everyone, especially the youkai. Aside from Yurine, Inuzuka Hana and a veritable troop of ninja dogs and ANBU elements stood on guard behind the Genin. Kiba’s sister held his nin-dog, Akamaru, in her arms.
Absolute, true mastery of the Void, like every other Aeon, demands abandoning every other discipline to rely solely on the power of Oblivion. Not even Sayoko could claim to be at such level, for she still relied on things like telepathy and Henge. However, even if she could no longer use the Enchantments kitsune are rather infamous for, she could instead do things like temporarily nullify a person’s disobedience and unwillingness, which in the end led to the same results.
“Look at me, Inuzuka Kiba.â€
And the boy lifted his head to gaze upon her. The boy’s visible surprise soon became a rictus of disgust, but Sayoko did not feel like wasting time with niceties; she needed eye contact, so she made it happen. The angry Kiba, the confused Yuriko, the stern Kuromaru and the bored Sayoko looked at each other for several seconds in which nobody said a word. The audience of hundreds—most of them civilians—surrounding them remained almost deathly still, obviously expecting something to happen.
“Mushoku Saisei.â€
The crowd gasped when spears of Void leapt out of Sayoko’s shadow and impaled the lily, the boy and the dog. The shinobi drew weapons, but the fact none of the three appeared to have lost their lives halted their actions for a moment. Sayoko paid no heed to Jiraiya and Hiruzen stepping out of Shunshin right behind her on the boulder, nor on the group of men (and one old woman) that appeared on the edge of her perception, most likely the Hokage’s advisors in this time of dire issues.
“We…we’re fine,†Higashiyama Yuriko’s feeble voice attempted to dispel the uneasiness among those watching. “This…we are not hurt,†she said, glancing at the the other two, who nodded in confirmation.
“Be silent,†Sayoko demanded. “It is hard to concentrate.â€
Sayoko’s Achromatic Reconstruction was a demanding jutsu, in which she openly challenged the Void she ruled over to reclaim that which had been claimed by its infinite nothingness. How do you recover that which was utterly annihilated?
Well, you cheat. And you compromise.
Everybody saw how the wood “implant†Chiyuri had placed to keep the arm from falling off was swallowed by blackness. However, where the blackness receded they could see rapidly growing bone, muscle and connective tissue, which were quickly covered by flawless white skin.
“Ah…†Kiba murmured upon catching sight of the miraculous reconstruction, only to notice he was capable of making sounds once more. He rubbed his sandals on the ground, and reveled on the scratching sound the action elicited. He cleared his throat, cracked his knuckles; everything he could think of while his sister watched with amazement, tears quickly gathering in the corners of her eyes.
“Kiba…†Hana whispered, and the boy turned around to look up at his sister, then at Kuromaru, Akamaru and then at his sister’s face one more time. He was smiling.
“Sis…†he said, and the older girl fell on her knees and unabashedly enveloped him in a hug, uncaring of the small white pup smothered between the siblings’s bodies. Kuromaru barked a laugh, and rest of the nin-dog troop walked over to him, barking happily and wagging their tails in rejoice.
“Uuuugh…†Sayuri moaned in something resembling disgust, like a pampered princess looking down on the plebeians. “Onii-chan, can I—â€
“No burning, Sayuri. Or exploding, or bombarding or anything.â€
“Mugyuu…â€
Naruto was looking around, hoping to find two certain half-Void kitsune.
“I want to lie down,†Sayoko said to Hiruzen and Jiraiya. The “please†was implicit in her tone and how liquid her eyes seem to those two. Saying nothing, the powerful Konoha shinobi leapt off the boulder, and Sayoko promptly slumped on its smooth surface, looking at the morning sun. While the sight of a sunbathing lady like Sayoko should be somewhat attractive to the eyes, she gave the impression of a cold-blooded animal catching sun rays for the sake of homeostasis. There was a lot of murmuring amidst the congregation, but the ancient Void paid it no heed. Sayoko did things at her pace, so if she wanted to loaf around before moving to the next point in her agenda, she would loaf around and god have mercy on whoever got in the way.
“…bring her back.â€
Sayoko yawned, but the speaker of those words only heard the sound—her head remained sunken and hidden by her long hair. She was the only one among the three Sayoko had just assisted who had dared voice the thoughts of many who had just witnessed her amazing feat. Sayoko acted like nothing she did was really such a big deal, but there is no understating the magnitude of her power: what just happened was the first known example of the restoration of something, anything, which had been extinguished by the Void. The youkai and the most experienced shinobi acquainted with the Void—to varying degrees of understanding—glanced at each other with obvious unease; how is one supposed to act in the presence of one who can modify the weather as far as the horizon and restore that which should be irreparable? Especially when she acts like such a…slob?
“Bring her back!†Yuriko repeated, this time standing up to glare up at the sprawled kitsune on the tall boulder. “My sister…! If you can do this, then my sister…!â€
“I refuse,†Sayoko said with a finality none of her previous lines in this story, not even the lines directed at the two misguided Kyuubi, had carried.
Unfortunately, she said “I refuseâ€, instead of “I cannotâ€. Anybody with a brain could tell what that implied. Discontent quickly spread among the present, both human and youkai. Only the kitsune of Shionzaki, who were not present during the battle; Higashiyama Yuri, who did not know what to make of her best friend anymore; Higashiyama Yurimi, who simply kept her emotions in a deep corner of her mind; and Mayuri, who simply understood, remained impassive before Sayoko’s refusal. Kiba looked up at Sayoko with a mixture of desperation, grief and rapidly growing, animalistic rage. Hyuuga Hinata and Yamanaka Ino felt for him, and both took a step towards the aching boy, but they were stopped by Neji and Shino, respectively. The Hyuuga genius looked up and to his right side, where a moderately bandaged Hiashi nodded in approval of the action.
This was not only about Higashiyama Yuriyo, or even about Tsume. The Emissary of Oblivion had killed a number of brave shinobi as well. Fubuki would have killed a lot more were it not for Kougon’s protection.
Noting the latent hostility in the air, Sayoko sighed. A moment later, she was seated not on the boulder, but on the ground right in front of Kiba.
“Sit down.â€
This time it was a request. The boy, and everybody present, realized that the Void kitsune cared none for their boiling rage, nor did she intent to return it with hostility of her own. Those who had watched humiliate the Kyuubi and those in the know of the things discovered in the Oblivion Castle knew she simply did not need to. Hostility is a sign of wariness; a response against believable threats. There was no a single threat to that person in that place…except perhaps Higashiyama Sayuri.
Speaking of Sayuri, it cannot be said that her presence was unnoticed. Sayoko drew a lot of attention, but not enough for the present not to realize the nine-tailed kitsune was there. The same nine-tailed kitsune who had fought together with Uzumaki Naruto against Kuromiya Fubuki, and defeated her.
There was a lot of awkwardness at the riverside that morning. Sayuri was all smiles, however, nestled against Naruto’s chest after claiming his lap as her seat.
Sayoko made a gesture with her hand, which Kiba interpreted as a wordless repetition of her request. He sat down, quickly followed by his sister and Yuriko to his right. The ANBU, the Hokage and the Toad Sage remained on their feet, standing by the boulder and getting their feet soaked. The Sandaime was keeping an eye not really on Sayoko, who he simply knew was pretty much harmless, but on Danzou and his other aged “advisors†standing on the other side of the stream.
“I do not have a habit of explaining how my jutsu work, but I shall make an exception,†Sayoko said, looking like she really did not want to have this conversation at all. No, rather than exasperated, it would be perhaps more accurate to say she looked a bit depressed.
“Kuuton Jutsu, the power to manipulate the Void, is one of the Four Aeons of Reality: Nothingness. It is the annihilation of everything that exists. It is the negation of all concepts…including itself.â€
That was the first important statement. But, before the knowledgeable among the presence began to make weird hypotheses based on it, she furthered her explanation.
“However, even if it is possible to annihilate annihilation itself, that does not mean the things which were annihilated can be brought back, because there is no ‘place’ they can be brought back from. That which is consumed by the Void simply ceases to be, no matter whether it is a physical object, a living being, or an abstract concept. This is a step further from Sayuri-sama’s Aeon of Destruction. Even if she reduces matter to ashes of ashes, that which she destroys can be remade by the Aeon of Creation, and granted persistent presence and actuality in spacetime by the Aeon of Existence. Things are created, exist and then are destroyed; this is the natural order of all things. A never-ending cycle.â€
“But, didn’t you just…?†Yuriko, who could make slightly more sense of what Sayoko was saying that Kiba, insisted. She was desperate, she wanted her sister back; how could she not cling to hope?
“The paradox of the Void,†Sayoko replied. “Even if all things in Reality were swallowed by Oblivion, there would be something left, wouldn’t it?†She gestured with her open right hand, as if urging somebody in the audience to answer, before providing the answer herself.
“Nothingness, the absence of all concepts, is a concept itself. For there to truly be ‘nothing’, Oblivion would have to devour itself. As to what would happen afterwards, that is beyond my knowledge, although I do have a hypothesis. It matters not at the moment.†She tilted her head from side to side for a second or two for no real reason. “Regardless, the point is the following: the Void can only annihilate. It cannot destroy in a way that leaves the possibility of reparation. It cannot protect existence—jutsu like the Void Aegis work by annihilating that which steps into their path; protection is not their purpose. And most of all, it cannot create anything—there is such a thing as Shape Manipulation, but you cannot call ‘creation’ that which is made of ‘non-substance’.â€
“Spare us the lecture, kitsune,†said Shimura Danzou, having crossed the river with Shunshin to stand next to the Third Hokage. His sole eye looked down at Sayoko with disgust. He had witnessed her power, and it disgusted him that such power existed and did not belong to Konoha.
“Can you bring back the dead?†He demanded to know. Sayoko expelled the most silent of sighs.
“They are not dead; they are simply not. Allow me to ask you in return: can those eyes of yours, powerful as they are, gaze upon the sun up high?â€
A woman snorted behind Naruto. Perhaps the only person besides Sayoko who could tell the full significance of the look on Danzou’s face at the moment.
“Damn that woman, is there nothing that eludes her? How broken can she ge—guh!â€
“Setsuna!â€
There it was: that insufferably ecstatic face Naruto always made when she appeared before him. To be looked at in that way, with such delight, such endearment, such gratitude…
“Bwa-whuh-eeeehhh…†the four-tails blabbered nonsense while her face travelled the spectrum from pink to red to something closer to purple. It made Naruto rather worried.
“Uhh, mistress, you okay? You choking on somethin’?â€
“Silence!†The small kitsune quickly retorted, smacking Naruto’s head with a single tail. She was looking at everywhere but him. “Speak to your mistress with more respect!â€
“Ah, um,†Naruto quickly acquiesced. “As long as Setsuna’s okay.â€
“Of course I’m okay, idiot.†She ended the conversation with that, although a very quiet “sacrebleu†could be heard from her lips right afterwards. Whether it was aimed at Naruto or at herself is anyone’s guess. The boy instead directed his gaze towards the person standing next to Setsuna. An exchange of words was unnecessary; Naruto’s and Kotonoha’s eyes told the other everything they needed at the moment.
Meanwhile, Sayoko continued addressing Danzou. Sayoko had no intention of taking the current discussion on an awkward tangent, so she drove it back to the issue at hand.
“I wield Nothingness. Do not ask of it things beyond its purview.â€
“But you still haven’t explained how you gave Kiba-kun and Kuromaru their voices back, Sayoko-san,†the Third Hokage intervened, sending Danzou only a passing glance.
“I did not,†Sayoko replied. “I keep repeating myself: that which was claimed by the Void no longer exists. What I did was annihilating the event of ‘Fubuki annihilating Inuzuka Kiba’s and Kuromaru’s capability to make sounds’. This created a contradiction Reality itself fixed.â€
“Then why can’t you do the same with my mother!?†Kiba all but screamed on Sayoko’s face. The eight-tails remained unnerved, but Hana still cautiously pulled her brother away from her. Sayoko sighed again, and this time looked straight at the Genin.
“I will tell you what would happen if I used Mushoku Saisei to remake your mother, my child.â€
Again, the lazy, bored expression on Sayoko’s had changed. If anything, she looked somber.
“At first, you and your family will be overjoyed. Your mom is back, and you will eagerly restore your former lives together. It will truly seem like a miracle.â€
Her somber carried a burden of resignation, defeat and disappointment.
“But quickly enough, you will start noticing things. Odd things. Small things, like, perhaps, the food she cooks doesn’t taste she same it used to. Maybe she no longer laughs at jokes that would have made her bark in laughter in the past. Her handwriting is different. She favors other hairdos; she holds the chopsticks differently; she develops a tic or a quirk she did not have before. Small things, really.â€
Sayoko’s head leaned forward, as if it were just Kiba and her, and they were exchanging scary stories in a dark room.
“You would try to ignore those things—your mother is back. She looks like your mother; she has your mother’s memories and jutsu. And most importantly, she still acts like a mother and loves you.â€
There was a darkness in Sayoko’s eyes that made Kiba want to become smaller, invisible.
“But she doesn’t smell the same.â€
The Inuzuka Clan shuddered as a whole. Mayuri shook her head sadly. She knew; she clearly understood what Sayoko’s Mushoku Saisei truly did. And she could only feel for the woman who was speaking from experience.
“The more you try to pretend it’s her, the more things you notice: a sensor would notice that her chakra is also different; her girlfriends would notice her taste in men has changed. She likes different foods; she wears different colors; she walks different; her posture is different; her voice is a little graver, or perhaps slightly more high-pitched. When she smiles, it just doesn’t look the same anymore; when she holds you in her arms, it doesn’t feel as warm as it used to be; when she tells you she loves, you are not sure it carries the same conviction as before.â€
A considerable number of people were crying by this point, especially among the Inuzuka clan, who were coming to terms with the fact that their hopes would be horribly crushed.
“And then, one day, you would realize that you cannot stand looking at that fake.â€
Kiba, who had been gritting his teeth for a while, trembled and looked away from Sayoko, looking almost as defeated as Sayoko herself.
“Mushoku Saisei annihilates the happenstance of an annihilation event consequence of the use of Kuuton. That, however, does not change the fact that everything that comprises the existence of that which was annihilated no longer exists. To fix the contradiction, the World itself remakes that which was extinguished. But no matter how closer the results looks like the original, it is in principle different because the materials are different.â€
Her hand reached for Kiba, but hesitated before touching his hair. It was not Sayoko’s role to offer succor.
“Everything that was your mother; everything that was Higashiyama Yurika—the matter that made their bodies, the energy that fueled their biological processes, and the soul which defined their unique, irreplaceable identity—; all those things no longer exist.â€
In other words, the total amount of matter and energy in that universe was permanently decreased whenever the Void devoured something.
“Mushiki Saisei forces the World to build something with different blocks. When it’s something relatively simple, like a shoulder, or something vaguely abstract like ‘the capacity to emit sound’, the result is all but indistinguishable from the original. Even things like trees can be remade with no noticeable difference. But a living, sentient, self-aware and intelligent being is such a complex, amazing thing…â€
Sayoko shook her head. What was she remembering as she spoke these words?
“When you mother was claimed by the Void, Kiba-kun, the World lost some very important, unique blocks. These blocks cannot be replaced or remade, never again. It is a lamentable loss, as lamentable as the pain her departure has caused you and your clan.â€
She looked one last time as the suffering young ones: Kiba, in the arms of his sister, who would be shouldering a terrible burden now that they had lost both parents; and Yuriko, embraced by the wonderfully empathic Higashiyama Yurine. The cursed five-tails, normally prone to bawling like a small child, was crying in silence along with her half-sister.
“So I refuse,†Sayoko conclude. “I absolutely refuse to replace your loved ones with strangers.â€
It was the right choice. The only choice.
This, Kurosaki Sayoko understood better than anyone.
*********************************************
Next Time: Fubuki, Kougon, the Yuriyo issue, and Yuria gets a new surname.
