Chapter 33 - The Mind's Burden

Got to make this as flashy as possible…then that means breaking out those jutsu…no choice. Damn it, where’s my back up? I’ve never fought Orochimaru, not like this- I’m not TRYING to win, and I’m not protecting anyone…I’m just fighting. Because I’m the only one able to. The one with so little to lose it doesn’t matter if I fail…no, this melancholy shoot has to stop! My life means something, if only to myself! That’s it! That’s the feeling I needed! Here we go!

Ekyt bit his thumb, then ran it across the back of his neck. “Summoning Jutsu! Umisu, I need all the water you can give me!”

The small water dragon winked. The he expanded until his beady little eyes were mid-level with the mountain-sized Shuurai. Then, from his body, water flooded out, sweeping away parts of the landscape. It also gave Ekyt what he needed.

“Koryuu: Rain Dragon’s Wrath!” Ekyt shouted. The water below him began to take shape. Ordinarily, the water molded around Ekyt, forming a dragon. Ekyt couldn’t put himself in that position, so the water took shape by itself. Orochimaru’s snakes were nearly dead between the sword wound and the strangulation, and the water just added to that. Ekyt didn’t even aim for Orochimaru- he aimed for the three-headed snake. The water struck successfully, sweeping the snakes away, off into a gorge.

“So, you killed the weakest of my summons? I’ll show you more than that! You’ve gotten in my way too many times now, you pesty little child!”


“HOLD IT!”

Ekyt sighed. ANBU had finally come.

“Good work, Ekyt. We’ll take it from here,” one jonin assured him. But Ekyt shook his head.

“No, I’ve fought him more times than anyone here. And…where’s Kabuto!”

A female agent screamed, causing everyone to look at her. It was Hayate’s lover, but she had been caught off-guard. Kabuto held a knife at her neck, smirking away.

“I see…so this battle of yours, Ekyt…it was all a big, flashy cover-up to get ANBU here to grab Lord Orochimaru. That’s very impressive, and I’m sure the plan was yours. You’re very clever…” Kabuto said, speaking in his ‘I’m a nice guy’ voice.

“Not clever enough,” Ekyt spat angrily, “If I’d been MORE clever, then I would have killed you and your retarded master when I had the chance. Then again…even my strongest sealing jutsu might not have been enough to contain both of you…my chakra pool isn’t fully developed yet…”

“Stop stalling for time!” Kabuto demanded, seeing through Ekyt’s plan. “Now, I’ve got this girl. An ANBU agent. Someone who meant something to someone…”

That hit home with Ekyt. He watched the girl struggle slightly, trying to position her neck away from that knife. In his mind, he saw Hayate kissing this girl. Before he had died, Hayate had told Ekyt he was going to propose.

-(Flashback)-

“Yeah, (koff) I’m going to ask her to marry me,” Hayate said happily, showing Ekyt a box. He flipped it open, revealing a ring.

“Congratulations sensei,” Ekyt said simply. At fifteen, he looked to be twelve, but acted like he was twenty most of the time.

“(koff)Always so formal? We’re practically brothers now, right? (koff)”

Ekyt rolled his eyes mockingly. “Sorry. Congratulations, Oniisan.”

Hayate put a hand on Ekyt’s head. He had seen how attention-starved the boy way when he first came to the village. Hayate didn’t warm to people easily, but when Ekyt had come to him after seeing him practice his ‘Crescent Moon Dance’ jutsu, a sword in hand…well, Hayate noticed the cold shoulder others gave the kid. Hayate had gotten that too, when he was younger. So he kind of took Ekyt under his wing.

“Listen, Otouto…I know it’s a strange thing (koff koff) to bring up, but if something happens to me, I want you make sure (koff) she gets the ring.”

--

Ekyt put up a hand. This was his fight, and even though he wasn’t the ranking member, it was his decision- this was his mission. The other members stopped moving.

I remember now…all too well…the feelings of acceptance I had for such a short time…from Hayate, from the Third Hokage…and from a few others…(thinks of Lee, Naruto, Sakura, etc)now that feeling is gone…only my parents left, and I can’t get them involved in this…this lifestyle…that means I’m the only one here to make this move. All the others have families, and friends…I have only a few promises, one of which I can fulfill now…Hayate asked me to give that ring to this girl, from him. It’s funny how things turn out…

Ekyt began walking over slowly, his hand inside a summoning scroll, reaching for the box Hayate had left him.

…I was supposed to be at that wedding, just a little while after he died. I still remember what Iruka said at the Third’s funeral…about how when someone dies, that’s all. The only thing left are memories…That led me to ask…

Ekyt dropped his weapons and ended his summoning jutsu.

…how will I be remembered? What will define me…Now is when I will define myself. I want to be remembered, and I want to be remembered as a hero…someone who would do anything for his village…there was nothing the Leaf couldn’t ask of me…that’s the memory I want…and now I’ll make it.

“A deal.”

The sharp words echoed. Kabuto and Orochimaru froze, as did everyone else. Ekyt’s eyes were downcast. (In an anime, he’d have shadows all around his eyes, indicating doom)

“What kind of deal? You’re hardly in a position to bargain!” Kabuto sneered, holding the kunai closer to the girl.

“Kabuto, if you kill her, I’ll kill you. That’s it. I won’t even bother trying to seal Orochimaru’s soul. It’ll be just you and me in the death god’s stomach for eternity, reliving our final battle. I don’t want that, and I don’t think you do either. I’m not trying to swerve you, or trick you…I just want to make things…better, for at least one person.”

Ekyt nodded toward everyone, then gave them the signal to back off. A rain started to fall, drenching everyone.

“All I want is for you to let her go. Let me give her something that my brother asked me to pass on…” Ekyt asked, no emotion in his voice. He saw the purple-haired girl’s head perk up when he said ‘brother’. “…After that, everyone leaves except me. You and your lord can do what you like. You can say you killed the ‘Dragon Boy’- you can boast that you took my body over- you can even kill me and reanimate me. And for allowing me one request…I’ll make it easy for you. I’m unarmed, and how much chakra do you think I have after pulling those stunts?”

Kabuto looked at Orochimaru. Orochimaru nodded, already knowing what he would do with Ekyt.

“This is insanity! Damn it, Ekyt! You aren’t following procedure!” shouted one jonin.

“Procedure be damned. If you want to play by the rules and get killed, that’s your damn business!” Ekyt snarled, suddenly feeling terribly angry. “If you had moved faster, this could have been avoided! I should have handled this myself and just killed these bastards! Instead, I ask for backup and follow the rules, and I wind up like this! Don’t explain strategy to me! Just get the hell out of here, and don’t waste any more of my time!”

After that temper tantrum, Ekyt went completely void again. “Do we have a deal? Just let me give the girl something, and let her go. That’s it, no tricks. My chakra is gone, my weapons are out of reach, and you outnumber me.”

Orochimaru gave Kabuto a nod. He shoved Hayate’s lover to Ekyt, who caught her around the waist. Between the rain and wind, it looked as though they were the lovers. Ekyt sighed again, wishing that was the case. But it would be a betrayal of Hayate’s memory to do something like that. Instead, Ekyt gave her a gentle hug, only so he could whisper his intentions to her.

“Yukao…before he died, Hayate asked me to give you this, should anything happen to him. Now is the best time, I think…so, please…take this ring, in the name of Hayate’s memory…and in the name of his love for you.”

Ekyt heard a sharp intake of breath from the girl.

“Of course…yes, I will. Thank you. Please, be safe,” she whispered back. Ekyt didn’t answer- safety was too much to hope for. Instead, he let go and stood in front of her, arms out defensively. When she hesitated, Ekyt simply said ‘go’.

When she finally ran off, Ekyt stood still, waiting for Orochimaru and Kabuto to come to him. His fight was long gone. For once, with no one to protect, his will to fight was nonexistent. It was as if, by fulfilling that promise, he could let himself go. His troubled mind knew that wasn’t the case, but his tired body just let it go.

--

The purple-haired girl looked at the ring as she and the others rushed away, home to the Hidden Leaf. They had a report to give. But the girl’s thoughts were elsewhere.

“Ekyt…did he propose to you?” asked one of the nameless ANBU agents.

“No…this was from…Hayate…” she responded. She formed a memory of him in her mind, one she could hold on to. The first time Hayate had kissed her. That served to warm her, at lest for a while.

(NOTE: More will be revealed about Hayate soon)

--

Orochimaru walked around Ekyt in a circle, licking lips with delight.

“Quite a prize, Kabuto! The Dragon Boy, to be used for whatever we want! Isn’t that…just perfect! After all, he so rudely took his student away…the least he could do is be our substitute host…”

“Lord Orochimaru, that’s not going to be for two and a half years. This one is too dangerous to contain for that long! We should kill him now! He’s been a thorn in your side for too long!”

“I don’t recall asking for your opinion, Kabuto. Your advice is most certainly offensive to the poor boy! Can’t you see he’s upset? Have some consideration of his feelings!” Orochimaru laughed, rubbing Ekyt’s cheek with his hands. Ekyt didn’t move, despite hating this very, very much. Orochimaru knelt down in front of him, trying to get Ekyt to meet his gaze. He put a hand under Ekyt’s chin.

“It’s not like you to just let us do what we want with you. What’s the matter? Did Kabuto strike a nerve when he told you that you were all alone? Don’t feel bad, lots of people are alone…but, then again, most DO find someone who cares for them, don’t they? But you haven’t. Instead, you worked to make yourself strong. But now you’re understanding…” Orochimaru slithered near Ekyt’s ear to whisper the last acidic words.

“…that strength alone won’t fill that void.”


“THAT’S ENOUGH!”

Ekyt vaguely looked up, seeing Naruto and Sakura charge in. Behind them was Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji, followed by three Jonin- Kakashi, Asuma, and Yamato.

“Wood Style: Four Pillars Prison!” Yamato said, clasping his hands together. Wood suddenly grew around Ekyt, separating him from Kabuto.

“We have him,” Asuma said into a headset.

“Time to pull out,” Kakashi added. “Naruto, Sakura, you’re up.”

“Right!” They said together!

“Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!” Naruto screamed. At the same time, Sakura struck the ground, creating a barrier of earth that the clones held up. A few smokebombs, and everyone disappeared.

-

“Should we follow, Lord Orochimaru?” Kabuto asked, waiting for a sound of displeasure from the twisted Sannin.

“No. That one isn’t suited to be my host body, he’d only reject me with those annoying jutsus. No, my way was effective…the mind is a powerful, as you know, Kabuto. All I did was speak the truth of his reality, his existence…and he fell like a house of cards. If he doesn’t kill himself, the grief will take him over. Either way, he’ll no longer be a threat. Come, it’s time to leave.”

--

This was beyond depression. That was clear. Ekyt hadn’t reacted to anything anyone had said or done. Orochimaru’s words were still rattling around in his head.

He might be a bastard, but it’s true…training was partially to fill that void…only partially, as I truly love my training, and getting stronger. But the way he said it…it was a truth I should have recognized before now…

--

“It’s not genjutsu, he would have broken it himself. Sakura’s attempt to dispel it didn’t work. If neither of them could break it, it doesn’t exist. That just leaves the question of what happened to make him this way,” Yamato read to Tsunade, not troubling to lower his voice in Ekyt’s presence.

“I see…alright, I want someone with him around the clock. He doesn’t study, bathe, or even pee without an escort until further notice. Is that clear?” Tsunade asked. Everyone nodded, their minds on Ekyt right now. Asuma, who had been the first to arrive, had heard Ekyt’s shouts to ANBU.

They were disrespectful. That right there clued the agents in that something was wrong. Ekyt’s know for his courtesy. For him to say something so harsh, especially to ranking members of ANBU…he either had a plan and it failed, or whatever it was Orochimaru said really hit home. With this kid, one is as likely as the other.

“The last one to talk to him was that purple-haired kunoichi in ANBU. She hung around with Hayate.”

Tsunade blinked for a moment. “Hayate…I guess it’s time to confess…he hasn’t died, at least not yet. Whatever caused his cough is a legitimate disease. I informed everyone he had died, because recovery was so unlikely. But he’s taken a turn for the better. He’s well enough to talk to this girl, and get some answers. Let me see…Naruto and Sakura, take the first watch with Ekyt. Sakura, you’ll guard the door and be the lookout, in case Orochimaru isn’t done with Ekyt yet. Naruto, you’ll be the one to watch him. DO NOT take your eyes off him.”

“Come ON, Grandma! I don’t wanna watch another guy shower!” Naruto groaned.

“Then let Sakura watch for all I care!” Tsunade shouted back. “Just do what I say!”

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