Chapter 43 - Arc VIii: Deep Inside- Chapter 2

Ryouko walked through the doors without opening them. Shoki paused, putting a hand out to touch the doors. But his hand went right through. He yanked it back out, counting his fingers, then took to staring wide-eyed at Uzume.

“It’s okay,” she told him, giving his hand a squeeze. “Nothing in here will hurt you. But it might scare you a little. Just be brave, because I promise you- Ryouko is more scared than you are.”

Shoki looked at the ground, ashamed of his fear. But a question was on his lips, and he couldn’t resist asking it.
“But why would he put something so…so…so scary into his sanctuary?”

Uzume looked at the doors, a serious expression on her beautiful face. A wind from nowhere kicked up and tossed the long part of her hair. She took a moment to phrase things a way that might make sense to the baffled youth next to her. He was young, yet so mature beyond his years, she shouldn’t need to dumb it down too much. Just make it relatable…
“This is a perfect world, isn’t it, Shoki?”

“It is.”
An instant reply.

“If you could stay here forever, would you? Never being hurt, or sick, or even thinking about anything like that. A world where anything you want, you can have. Instantly.”

“It sounds perfect.”

“That’s why this is here,” Uzume said gently. She ran a hand down the door, just barely touching it. “It’s easy to lose yourself in a daydream or a genjutsu. They can be much more pleasant real life. This room reminds Ryouko that there is another world- the real world- that he can’t leave behind. Because if everything was perfect, there would be no reason to live. People can only aspire to perfection. To attain it is impossible, and with good reason.”

“What’s that?” Shoki’s twelve-year-old mind couldn’t grasp what was so bad about perfection. Isn’t that what you strive for in everything you do? Everything worth doing?

“We’d all think we were gods. No one would have to work. Our race would never evolve. We’d never become anything more; we’d just delude ourselves into thinking so. And we would never procreate, or take care of our physical bodies. We would all die. As much as reality may hurt, avoiding it will hurt more. Because when you die, no one will remember you. You’ll have lived and died for no reason, contributing nothing. And wasting a good life…well, that feels like a sin to me. Life is for living, and striving for the perfection you can never reach. And in that, you become stronger. Some stronger than others. And the strongest-” Uzume paused, sweeping an arm around to indicate the world around her “-can learn to control temptations like this, and become even stronger. Now, let’s go in.”

They both stepped through the door. Inside, they found Ryouko pressed up against the glass barrier, staring at himself. Shoki gasped, and nearly vomited. Apparently, this genjutsu paradise wouldn’t allow that, as he felt better physically right away. But all the same, the shock didn’t disappear right away.

The chained-up Ryouko looked bad. In addition to the continually appearing and healing cuts and the locks and chains holding him in place, one of the chains strained at his neck, lifting him onto his tip-toes. Choking him. The place was almost completely dark as well. The only light came in from a small window in the stone wall behind Ryouko. The walls, in the light you could see, had blood smeared on them. Some was dry and brown; some vibrant red. There were claw marks with them. Rather, fingernail marks. A desperate plea…

Ryouko pressed his hand to the glass. The chain around the other Ryouko’s neck began to loosen, until he was on the ground. The cuts even stopped for a moment as the other Ryouko dragged himself forward, pressing his hand against his counterparts.

“Are you closer? Can you free me yet?

“I’m getting closer. I think I can ease your suffering,” Ryouko told him. “The pain I’ve felt in real life…the ‘letting go’ you talked about…I did that. And it might have helped. Even though my physical body is battered, my mind healed a little. Hold still.”

Ryouko cocked his fist back and punched the barrier. To his surprise, it shattered. For the first time, he could walk up to himself and feel the chains. Two keys were floating around, and they worked themselves into two locks. One of the chains read ‘Anxiety’; the other ‘doubt’.

Shoki and Uzume could see both Ryouko’s faces ease. They looked at each other, happy to see their beleaguered friend get a measure of relief. But Uzume knew his relief would be short-lived. Sure enough, Ryouko turned on his heel and walked out. His only parting words to himself were:
“The next time I meet you, I hope I can end your suffering entirely. Or at least ease it so that you don’t hurt anymore.”
-

Back outside, Ryouko set his face into a stern expression.
“Lady Uzume, please explain something.”

“How was I able to force Itachi’s jutsu to activate?”

“That’s it exactly. I shouldn’t be surprised you know.”

“You know mythology, yes? Yamato. Kusanagi. All things from legend that have a basis in reality. The same goes for the story of Amaterasu. When she could bear Susano’o no more, she hid in a cave. The other gods tempted her to come out, but failed. Then, one began to dance and sing. The other gods began to enjoy themselves. Their merriment carried so that even Amaterasu’s anger quelled. Curious, she came out of her cave.”

Ryouko had heard the story, of course. Mythology was one of the few things he read that didn’t have a basis in the fighting arts. But a legend was a legend…wasn’t it?
“So…it’s the same thing?”

“Think of it this way,” Uzume told him. “All the ninjutsu that exist. Fire, earth, water, wind, lightning. Physical, mental, spiritual, ocular, forbidden. Shadow, sound, animals, transformations. All these amazing things that people can do. It’s all gifts, of course. Some are gifted in other ways. Some can’t do ninjutsu, but some can cook. Some can’t use jutsu, but can learn to fight. And some of us…some of us can use ninjutsu without knowing how. It’s just something we can ‘do’. And legends have a basis in reality.”

Ryouko had to think about that. Orochimaru’s jutsu was the best example in his mind. Forbidden, nature-defying…and yet it was possible…

“The first one to use the Uzume name was a…shaman would be the best description. She could summon the shinigami, and even quell his killing instinct so that the living could speak with the dead. The second Uzume could even call souls back for a brief time. Once someone has died, it’s unnatural to bring them back, and to some religions, it is blasphemous to attempt it. But to ‘borrow’ a soul and then return it quickly, without sacrificing it’s purity, isn’t a sin.”

Uzume smiled at Shoki, who was wide-eyed at hearing these feats. She had never told him about this for her own reasons. But now as good a time as ever. Feeling her death was impending, Uzume wanted as much of her knowledge as possible to be imparted to the right people.

“The third Uzume was a hero. She was very much a warrior. You would have liked her very much, Ryouko. She was brave; upstanding; strong yet feminine. It is she who invented chakra wards and seals. And she devised them with combat in mind. Her technique, duplicated by only one of all the priestesses, saved this temple from destruction. That was during the last Great Shinobi war. She ventured onto the battlefield herself, and used her chakra seals to incapacitate the enemy. Wielding a bow and arrow, and then a dagger, she betrayed her own vow to never take life by killing no less than fifty enemies to defend those weaker than her. She would have retained the Uzume title, but she felt she had broken a code, and passed the title on to her successor. The fourth Uzume. Me.”

There was a pause. That was a lot to take in. Ryouko wasn’t sure, at first, why she was telling him all this. But somehow, he could make out that she had a reason to want to speak to him. And he sensed that she needed to talk to him alone.

“Shoki…I need a favor. My body can still get dehydrated. Will you make sure Sakura administered some kind of IV or something? After that, if you’ll continue your training…”

Shoki sensed that this was a request he COULD refuse, if he wanted. But he chose not to. He trusted Ryouko and Uzume.

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