Chapter Text
He was running.
He was running as fast as his legs could carry him. Humid air was burning in his lungs, the cold tearing through his insides. But he couldn’t stop now. His arm was hurting and he was clutching at it, nails digging through the soft fabric of his blue haori. He stepped on a stick and slipped, tumbling to the ground. The earth was moist from the afternoon rain and clung hungrily to his clothes. Sasuke pushed himself upwards and forced his feeble legs to run. He could hear shouting behind him, someone calling out his name. But he continued running. Suddenly, his foot twisted. Sasuke crashed to the ground, mud and leaves sticking to him as he struggled to get up.
He had to. He had to run. The voice inside his head was screaming at him.
Run. Run. Run.
Sasuke jolted awake with a gasp, heart pounding in his chest. His breathing was going rapid. He turned around to scan his surroundings. Where the hell was he?
The sky was pitch black above him, with a few separate stars illuminating it. The moon was visible, but it was partly obscured by the thick, black clouds floating by. Sasuke was resting on a wooden bench inside what appeared to be a mountain town. There were no people around, no lights shining inside the houses. The air was still and it was eerily quiet.
One thing he noticed was the fog that had crept up all around him. It was terrifyingly dense, making it progressively more difficult to make out anything in the distance. How did he end up here? He remembered running through the forest, someone calling out his name. The next thing he knew he awoke here. Had someone found him and dragged him here? But where was this place? He hadn’t gotten that far from his home. It shouldn’t have been difficult to spot him. Memories came to him in short bursts, but nothing consistent. Nothing that could help him piece together the events that led up to him awakening here.
Sasuke pushed up to his feet. He cursed inwardly as the sudden movement made his head spin. He caught himself on a wooden post placed right beside the bench, getting his breathing under control. Don’t panic, he told himself, just look for someone you can ask for directions. Sasuke took a moment to get used to his dizzy state. Once he made sure that his face wouldn’t collide with the ground as soon as he let go, Sasuke pushed off to walk down the street.
The fog circled around him. It must be my imagination, Sasuke thought, but it felt like ice-cold hands tightened around his neck, making him hitch and gurgle to get some air in. Sasuke stopped walking. He braced himself with one hand against the wall of a house, coughing extensively to get it out of his system. After a while, he started to feel better. Was it because he was so high up? Because of the thin mountain air that he had such difficulty getting his breathing under control? Sasuke had traveled over mountains before, but he had never struggled like that.
Right then, Sasuke noticed a lone figure in front of him. A shadow in the wane, foggy air. Gaining new hope, Sasuke immediately went for it, shouting, “Excuse me? Hey, I just want to ask something.”
There was a lantern poll on the right side of the road, casting a light over the figure, a man, Sasuke realized as he approached him. He was clad in a beige kimono with golden and black patterns sewed into the fabric. His hair had a striking, blonde color. When he turned around to meet Sasuke’s eyes, his own widened in what could only be described as pure shock. Sasuke halted, suddenly hesitating. Why did he look at me like that? What’s wrong?
“What are you doing here?”, the man asked him.
“What?”, was the only coherent thing Sasuke was able to get out.
The man had three symmetrical stripes on either side of his cheeks, resembling whiskers. His eyes were as clear and shining as sapphires.
“You’re not supposed to be here. Don’t you know he’s looking for you?” His voice was rising in volume, anger, disbelieve.
“He?”, Sasuke asked, confusedly. His head was spinning again. “Who’s he? What are you talking about?”
The man lifted his face to look up at the sky. “The fog is getting thicker. But it’s still not too late. If we hurry, we can make it.”
Sasuke couldn’t even get his question out, because the man grabbed him by the arm and pulled him along, running. Sasuke stumbled over his own feet, but caught himself thankfully, trying to keep up with that insane speed. “Hey, slow down!”, he shouted. “Why are we running? Who’s coming after me?”
“No time to explain!”, the man shouted back. “We have to get out of here!”
The fog coiled around them, tightening his hold on Sasuke’s throat once more. He couldn’t help but gasp and splutter, swaying unsteadily. If that continued, he was going to lose consciousness. “Slow down”, he pleaded. His voice felt unnaturally strained, heavy with effort. His tongue felt as though it had become swollen. “I can’t keep this up.”
The man didn’t listen, he dragged him around the corner, pulling at his arm. Sasuke’s vision blurred from the motion and he crashed straight into a wooden cart. The man lost his hold on him. Sasuke staggered to the side, where a waist-high fence was placed to prevent people from falling off the edge. Sasuke caught himself on it, his upper body leaning forward. The world faded in and out of existence. Sasuke felt a nice breeze caressing his face, whispering softly to him. Sasuke swayed and let gravity pull him downwards.
Luckily for him, he didn’t fall far. A stack of hay softened his fall. Otherwise, he might have cracked his skull open on the pavement. Sasuke shook his head to get a hold of himself. He looked around. Seemed like he had fallen to the lower street. But there was no sign of that blonde man from before. Sasuke took a deep breath and noticed that it was much easier to breathe now that he had come down here. Weird, but helpful. At least, like this, he didn’t have to worry about keeling over all of a sudden.
The fog began creeping in on him from all sides. Sasuke scurried down from the hay stack and decided that it was best to keep on moving. He took one last look up to the railing from which he had fallen, but had difficulty spotting anything since the fog thickened up again. It was as if the man had evaporated into nothingness, just puff, and he was out of existence. Sasuke took a deep breath and started walking. There had to be someone he could ask for directions. Surely, there would be at least some people hanging around the town.
There were a lot of houses built in close proximity to each other. Sasuke contemplated knocking on one, but when he did, nothing happened. Sasuke knocked again and listened for whispers or footsteps behind the sliding doors. Nothing. How could there be nothing? Sasuke would be up and about, in a rush even, when he’d hear a knock at this ungodly hour of the night. Were these people lulled into a sleep-like coma or had they nothing else to worry about? Sasuke let out a frustrated sigh, followed by a raging coughing fit. Shit. Was it the fog again? But why? Sasuke had never experienced a fog giving him this much trouble to breathe. It wasn’t normal.
Instead of standing there like an idiot and inhaling more of the smokey air, Sasuke started moving again, hoping to get out of the fog quickly. He came to a water canal with a bridge going over it, leading to the other side of the town. Sasuke was half-way through crossing it when he heard the clicking of sandals on pavement. He immediately stopped and turned around to find out where the sound was coming from. Under the street lanterns bright lights, there was a woman walking, taking deliberate and elegant steps. Her kimono had a lovely, unsaturated pink color like Sakura blossoms. She was holding a red paper umbrella leaning against her right shoulder. Her stunning black hair was partially tied up, held together by a golden comb, while the other part flowed freely over her back like a glistening river.
The joy of discovering another human being overrode every fear and rationality Sasuke should have mustered at this bizarre and clearly unnatural scene. But before his mind could catch up with what he saw, he had already sprinted down the bridge, onto the road and in the direction of the woman. “Excuse me? Miss?”
Neither did the woman stop, nor turn around to look at him. Now that Sasuke got a closer look, her head was hanging low, jerking with every step of her tired feet dragging over the ground. “I’m very sorry”, he apologized, thinking that the woman must be tired, “I just wanted to know if you could point me to the main road leading away from this town?”
The woman halted abruptly, lifting her head up. Something felt off about her movements. Sasuke’s nerves began to prickle until they were screaming at him, telling his legs to run. But he suppressed the feeling, fearing he might lose his only chance of help if he let the delusional part of his mind win. He labeled it as paranoia, nervousness. He was at an unknown place, without any recollection of how he’d gotten here, so of course he felt slightly on edge. This feeling was temporary and it was going to pass.
The woman turned around to face him. She was hiding her face behind a folding fan. “Am I beautiful?”, she asked.
Her voice was gruff and hard, the exact opposite of what Sasuke would have expected from hearing such a delicate looking woman speak. It didn’t fit. And it made his stomach churn in a way that made him feel lightheaded, knees trembling as he took one cautious step back.
“Am I beautiful?”, she repeated, moving with him as Sasuke tried to back away. Her eyes didn’t blink. They were staring as if they’d been glued open. “What about now?”, she asked as she put the fan down.
Sasuke gasped. Her mouth had been torn open, a split ranging from one cheek to the other with blood spurting down her chin, dripping to the ground.
Sasuke turned to run, but she was already behind him, lunging at him with unnatural speed. Sasuke dodged to the side. Her claws got caught on the side of his arm and ripped through the fabric, leaving three bloody streaks behind. Sasuke tumbled to the ground, scratching his knees on the rough surface. He scrambled quickly upwards and started running. The woman with the torn-open mouth laughed behind him. He could hear her footsteps, but she didn’t jump this time. Sasuke focused on running.
He leapt over the bridge, sprinting fast like never before in his life. Houses moved past him, the dimly lit street, a few sign posts at the sides, but all he could think about was to run. His blood was pounding in his ears, his legs twitching and giving him difficulty standing upwards. The dull pain in his right arm developed into a sharp sting, making it feel like someone was dragging a blade along his veins, cutting him. Sasuke heaved and gasped for breath, having put all of his stamina into that insane sprint.
But he couldn’t stop now. Not with the looming possibility of that woman following him. His strength was waning – gods, how he despised this useless body – and he staggered, right into the arms of that blonde man from before. “There you are”, the man exclaimed. “Thank god, I thought I’d never find you again.”
Sasuke took one look at him and clutched at his arms, body trembling. “What was that?”, he rasped.
“Hm?”
“That… thing… with the torn-open mouth?”
“Oh, you’ve met one of those, huh?”, the man said in a way someone would talk about the weather. “They’re nasty, but not much of a threat if you know how to deal with them. But that’s unimportant right now. We have to get a move on.”
“No”, Sasuke tore himself away from the stranger, creating a safe distance. “I’m not going a step further until you tell me what’s going on.”
“I can’t. We have to hurry. If we don’t, he’s going to find you.”
“Who’s he?”, Sasuke howled, poison filling his tongue. He was panting heavily, his fists shaking by his sides.
“Please”, the man said with an urgency in his voice. “I’m just trying to help.” He stretched out his hand, carefully this time, but all the same demanding and resolute. Sasuke slapped it away fervidly. “No”, he said. “If you honestly want to help me, give me directions and let me do it myself.”
“I can’t do that”, the man said, rubbing his smacked hand. “You won’t make it on your own.”
“And why shouldn’t I?”, Sasuke asked. “Or rather, why should I trust you?”
“Because I’m a friend”, the man answered. With outstretched arms he took a step in Sasuke’s direction. Even if it was meant as a friendly gesture, Sasuke didn’t take it as such. He whipped back immediately. The man’s smile faltered as he realized it didn’t have the desired effect and lowered his arms. “Sorry”, he said sheepishly. “But I’m really only trying to help you.”
“I don’t believe you”, Sasuke spat in the most unkind way he could manage. And he was right in doubting him. Nothing made any sense to Sasuke. How did he get into this town? Where was this place even supposed to be? Why was it vacant except for this monster he had met near the bridge? Had his adoptive father finally decided to make good on his threat and dumped him here? Was that what all this was about?
“I’d love to idle on”, the blonde man said. “But if we don’t hurry, there will be nothing I can do for you, Sasuke.”
“How do you know my name?”
It was a simple question, but it was packed to the brim with sickening dread. How could he know? Sasuke hasn’t introduced himself. And he certainly hasn’t met this man prior to this day. With a prominent feature like the whiskers on his cheeks he would have remembered him. No, he was a hundred percent certain that they’ve never met before. But then again, how could he know his name, if that was the case?
The man gulped loudly, fidgeting with his hands like he didn’t know where to put them. “Let’s say I’m sort of an old acquaintance of yours.”
“What?”, Sasuke asked, voice hard. “I’ve never seen you before.”
“I know”, the man acknowledged, but didn’t go further to explain the meaning. Sasuke was getting unsteady, feeling as though he was trying to play tricks on his mind. “What do you mean, you know? Do you hear your own contradictions or are you just stupid?”
“I know it’s all a little confusing, and I don’t know how to make it make more sense to you, so can we just skip over it and get a move on? Please?”
The man was getting desperate, but he was still beating around the bush. Sasuke didn’t trust him and him not being authentic with him gave Sasuke even more reason to be doubtful. He was a little naïve at times perhaps, but he wasn’t stupid. Just as Sasuke was about to retort something he got interrupted by a screech.
Both him and the blonde man turned around to see the woman with the sliced-open mouth staggering in their direction. “Great”, the man said, letting out an exasperated sigh. “Seems like it followed you.”
“What is that thing?”
“A vengeful and dangerous spirit. We need to get rid of it.”
“How?”
The man scanned the area, clearly looking for something that could serve as a make-shift weapon. Sasuke followed suit, but they were on the open road. What were they going to find here? Even if they managed to find a sword or lance or anything, Sasuke would have to regrettably inform the other man that he was not suitable to fight with it. “Ah”, the blonde man proclaimed excitedly and went up the short stairs to the veranda of the house behind them. Sasuke, who didn’t know what to do and who didn’t like being left at the front of the battleground, went up after him, staying close. The woman with the sliced-open mouth set one careful step after the other, approaching them slowly. At first glance, it seemed like they had all the time to prepare, but Sasuke knew at what abnormal speed she could jump.
“Help me”, the man prompted. It took one look for Sasuke to realize what he was trying to accomplish. There was a loose plank. Sasuke grabbed it at the upper edge, while the man kicked at the foot until it broke off with a loud crack. In that exact moment, the woman lunged at them, screaming. Sasuke took a swing with the torn-off plank, hitting the woman straight in the head. She crashed to the ground, shrieking and kicking. But the moment of feel-good superiority rapidly ended as the impact of the strike shot up Sasuke’s right arm, pain ripping through his nerves like poison. He couldn’t hold on to the plank and let it tumble to the ground, gritting his teeth to bare the consequence of his incompetence. “Watch out!”, the blonde man shouted.
Sasuke couldn’t move. Not yet.
The woman got up on all fours like a spider on its legs, head hanging downwards, her hair draped over the floor. Sasuke cursed inwardly. The pain wave hasn’t passed. He needed a moment. Just a short little while to get his wobbly legs moving.
The woman was not giving him that moment.
She charged at him. A leg kicked her in the gut, making her fly down the stairs and roll over the rugged pavement of the street. Sasuke looked over to the blonde man. He had taken on a fighting stance, his muscles tense and his fists balled by his sides. He was huffing strongly, when he asked, “Are you alright?”
“Yes”, Sasuke replied, breathless. He felt ashamed for being limited like this in his physical capabilities, turning out to be a nuisance in battle. But the other man didn’t comment on that. He grabbed the plank that had slipped out of Sasuke’s hands. The woman was jittering like a swatted fly. With shaking arms she tried to hoist herself up. The blonde man got right up into her space, not hesitating a second as he thwacked her in the head with the plank. Blood splattered on the ground, when the body finally collapsed and all movement ceased.
Sasuke’s heart was still pounding in his chest. He couldn’t believe what has happened right now. Had they murdered that woman? No, it was no woman. That thing. That monster. But it had been in self-defense, otherwise it might have ripped them to pieces.
“Are you hurt?”, the man asked as he came to kneel down at Sasuke’s side.
“I’m fine”, Sasuke said.
The man held out his hand and this time, Sasuke took it. The man pulled him up on his feet. But as soon as he was standing, Sasuke fell into another one of those horrible coughing fits, scratching at his throat in panic. “Gods”, he rasped. “I feel like I’m suffocating.”
The man watched him intently, saying, “And that’s exactly why we need to hurry. Now come.”
All of Sasuke’s complaints had died on his tongue as he let himself be dragged down the street to where the exit gates awaited them. Sasuke noticed they were standing wide open for anyone to walk through, which was another thing that struck him as odd about this place. The blonde man didn’t have to say anything about it, so Sasuke didn’t either. He pulled him up a mountain pass, where the fog started to envelope them more profoundly than ever before. They went all the way up until they reached the top of the mountain.
There, on the top, stood a single Torii, a gate which was commonly found at the entrance of a shrine. But what it did here, Sasuke didn’t know.
“No”, the man beside him suddenly said, shaking his head. “No. No. No. No. You’ve got to be joking!”
“What’s wrong?”, Sasuke asked as he didn’t understand much of what was happening.
“We’re too late”, the man replied. “The gate is closed.”