Chapter 93 - The Return Home

In real life, Itachi closed his eyes. Ekyt, still in his guard, fell forward slowly. He landed hard, now unconscious.

No one moved until Azami reached for Ekyt. The temple’s inhabitants came alive, but were silenced by Itachi’s shadow clones. No one was harmed seriously, however. Just enough to make sure Ekyt couldn’t be helped.

Taking a hypodermic needle, Azami gently put it in Ekyt’s arm. Once she had taken a sufficient amount of blood, she backed off for a moment. Then she touched her hand to Ekyt’s arm, healing the small insertion wound. Ekyt never stirred.

“I’m sorry you all had to see that,” she told the crowd. “He’ll be fine, but I would suggest taking him back to the Hidden Leaf. He’ll need advanced medical attention if he is to come out unscathed. I wish him, and all of you, luck.”

A giant shadow, controlled by Azami, swallowed Azami and Itachi. That was the end of the conflict.

The Miko was the first to reach Ekyt. There was no blood, no nothing. But Ekyt was lying face-down, unconscious.

“We have to take him to the Leaf Village!” she announced.

“Here, put him in this. It was my mother’s, before she died…” one priest offered, pushing a wheelchair toward her. The Miko took it gratefully. Two monks helped her heft Ekyt into it. She bent down and smoothed his hair, pulling it away from his eyes. It was painful to see his young face so…still.

“You should go alone, Asuna Hideyama-kun.” The elder priest had limped out of his home, slowly making his way toward the bewildered shrine maiden. “It would be in the boy’s best interest. An entourage to sneak him into a home he had to leave…that would not do.”

The Miko, now known as ‘Asuna’, understood that logic.

“He told me once about the man he just fought,” Asuna said quietly. “He said it was a horrible experience, and that he truly feared him. But Ekyt…he’s so powerful! How could he be defeated so easily?!”

“Answers may be found at his home, Hideyama-kun. We won’t expect you back until the boy has recovered.”

Asuna nodded, quickly ran to get her naginata, prayer beads, and chakra sealing tags, then began to push the motionless Ekyt toward the Hidden Leaf.

--

Ekyt was wheeled hastily by Asuna to the Hidden Leaf. The guards, Izumo and Kotetsu, gave no trouble. They, in fact, called nearby jonin Kakashi to escort them to the hospital. Kakashi, in turn, ordered a small group of chunin to keep people away. If Ekyt was hurt this bad, someone might try to finish him off. A murder on the Leaf’s streets would prove troublesome.

Kakashi shook his head sadly upon hearing what had happened. “If he had been at full strength, he could have fought harder. Tsukuyomi is terrible, but after being on the run for six months, and his mental condition already deteriorating… It was too much for him, I guess.”

Asuna cocked her head curiously. “Mental state? Weakened? He was alright when I spoke with him! Until that dog came!”

Kakashi made eye contact with Asuna. “It wasn’t something he was aware of himself. He wouldn’t have known how to express it, even if he was willing to. It’s his anxiety, plus a sense of loss when it comes to his first love. And then when you add the stress of being on the run for a crime he’s most certainly innocent of… It’s mentally taxing.”

“I suppose it would be,” the miko admitted, speaking thoughtfully. “But why did she put a needle in his arm?”

Kakashi was a trained shinobi, and a very good one, so he didn’t freeze at the question. Nor did he blurt out the truth right away. He considered his options carefully. But, ultimately, he decided the girl who had gone to so much trouble to help Ekyt should know. He turned his head toward her so that his good eye was facing her, and he spoke in a low voice.

“The group that attacked your temple twice now needed Ekyt’s DNA. They plan to create a living weapon, and something about him makes him a desirable…father, for want of a better term.”

“But the girl!” Asuna sputtered, suddenly feeling sick to her stomach. “I mean, she didn’t…she didn’t seem like she wanted to do this. She seemed to regret all of it. Even her partner wasn’t horribly vicious. I just feel like…well, if they wanted him dead, he was like this (points at Ekyt) when I found him. They could have just killed him then and there.”

This was important information. Kakashi glanced at Ekyt. The boy had to wake up and remember everything. His information could make or break the Akatsuki’s next plan.

“Asuna, thank you for bringing him here. Please do me another favor and don’t tell anyone that he’s back. It’s better for Lady Tsunade not to know. That way, she isn’t lying if the Mist authorities come and ask for Ekyt.”

“But what if he dies?!” Asuna exclaimed. “He needs medical help! And his good eye-!”

Kakashi smiled, even a little proudly. “Don’t worry. We can safely work with Lady Tsunade’s apprentice. She won’t tell if ordered not to by me. And the Mist ninja won’t think to grill a subordinate. And even if they do, she won’t sell him out.”

-

Team Seven was having an impromptu meeting when Ekyt was wheeled in. Kakashi immediately silenced them. But Ekyt lit up. His eyes were still closed, but he brightened, and he reached out. But he grabbed- Sasuke?

“Huh? Me?” Sasuke said, thinking it strange that a guy he didn’t particularly like would be so desperate to reach out to him.

Ekyt couldn’t quite talk yet, and he couldn’t motion for a brush and ink. So, instead, he bit his thumb. (Quietly, Sakura and Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief- Ekyt’s mind was still there if he could think to do this. His mental state was still a question) They all gathered around as he scrambled around, feeling for a flat spot on the floor.

Using his right arm to move his left hand, he spelled out ‘ITACHI WANTS: SASUKE AND EKYT VS HIM” in his blood on the floor. He desperately tugged at Sasuke’s arm, willing him to understand the blurred writing.

Sasuke nodded, taking Ekyt’s hand and hauling him back up into his chair. Sasuke’s teammates were shocked at the sudden display of compassion. Sasuke kept his hand clasped around Ekyt’s.

“We’ll handle this. You rest, and when you’ve recovered, we’ll take him down. Now, relax. We’ve got your back here.”

Ekyt didn’t have any choice. His brief moment of consciousness was gone, and he slipped back into darkness. He didn’t notice that his good eye was functioning, which would have eased his psyche a little. But nothing was ever easy.
-

Sasuke clenched his fist, angry at the situation. “I’ll kill Itachi. I’ll rip him into tiny pieces. I’ll do it RIGHT NOW.”

“Sasuke, wait. That isn’t right. See if Ekyt lives to fight with you, as your brother wants. Ekyt’s involved in this now. Your brother’s…well, ‘wife’, I guess, is Ekyt’s problem. And you saw what she can do.” Kakashi tapped his chin thoughtfully. “If Ekyt neutralized her, then you’ll have your chance at revenge. And Ekyt will have his chance to get some closure.”

“I’m not going to wait! Whether Ekyt lives or dies is none of my concern! Only killing Itachi! That’s all I have left. I need to kill my last memory to my clan, and I need to do it now.” Sasuke was set in his ways. Ekyt would simply be collateral damage. Small change when you think of an entire clan being wiped out as something like ‘collateral damage’.

Kakashi shrugged. “That’s great and all, but your bother made the terms of the fight very clear. He won’t show himself until his terms are met. Look, just wait a week- if Ekyt hasn’t shown any improvement in a week. Then I won’t stop you from going.”

Sasuke still didn’t look convinced, so Kakashi played his other ace in the hole.

“Some special Sharingan training, then. I’ve recently discovered something more, and I think you would benefit from it, too. But it takes a week.”

Sasuke sighed in resignation. “Fine. One week. Then I’ll have my revenge.”

Asuna had stayed quiet throughout all this, instead tending to Ekyt. She bandaged his thumb, sat him upright in his chair, and even straightened his hair. It was unnerving to see such a shinobi so totally destroyed. And with a move that had taken a single second to perform.

“Where do I put him?” Asuna asked. “I know you said he can’t go to the hospital…”

Kakashi thought for a moment, but immediately designated Sakura to lead Asuna to one of Ekyt’s favorite places.

“Take him to the library. No one will disturb you there. If you can get him to the upper levels, so much the better. Less chance of anyone stumbling across him.”

--

(Sounds of walking through water)

“What is this?!”

Ekyt heard his own voice with a repeating echo. In the pitch blackness, all he could do was feel his way around with his feet and hands. He felt water. But was this a stream? A lake? A river? None of those?

There’s no sound here. Nothing but walking and my own voice.
Even the thoughts Ekyt kept quiet were resonated.

“Inside somewhere? But where? The mountains, maybe? An echo?”

Distantly, Ekyt heard something else. Cries for help. Mostly girls, screaming for any kind of help. Reacting instinctively, Ekyt ran towards the sound. He ran for hours, but he never got any closer. The cries for help didn’t cease; didn’t let up. It was killing Ekyt. But things became more damaging.

The voices became familiar. Sakura, Tenten, Temari…all of them were yelling. The sound of chains groaning was added to the mix soon. Then more came. More sounds. Sounds of Ekyt’s parents, sounds of Lady Tsunade. There was too much noise. Too much to process. He couldn’t keep up with it! It was maddening!

“No! Stay calm! CALM!” Ekyt shouted to himself. He tried to force open his eyes. When that didn’t work, he frantically tore at his eyes. The eye that was covered with a patch would only show a small yellow line for vision. But his other eye-
It wasn’t there.

“Summoning Jutsu!” Ekyt called weakly, planning to use Holly to navigate in the darkness.

Nothing happened. Things were hopeless. It was all hopeless. The endless noise continued. The darkness stretched on and on. The water continued forever. There was so much to process. So much…so much…[/b]
--

“Waking him up is the easy part,” Sakura explained to Asuna. “See, this is more or less a genjutsu. Or, maybe an after-effect would be better. Either way, he just needs my chakra to interrupt his long enough to break the hold on his mind.”

But Sakura frowned. Something was bothering her about this.

“Ekyt could normally break this on his own. The fact that he’s trapped in a genjutsu and doesn’t realize it…it might a sign of what Lady Tsunade was afraid of. His mental condition…it’s deteriorating.”

“Can anything be done?” Asuna asked, a hint of desperation in her voice.

“Yes. Ekyt needs to stay here. Studying seems to help him, so if he’s in this, which is theoretically a therapeutic environment for him…he may recover.”

“ ‘may’?”

Sakura gripped Ekyt’s hand. “There’s a chance that he’ll never be the same man again. He won’t be an empty shell, but…well, he’ll either come out of this at his strongest…”
Sakura paused, but finally said “Or he’ll be weaker than he’s ever been, and he won’t recover.”

Sakura put her hand on Ekyt’s shoulder. For a moment, she just held that position, focusing her chakra and her mind. Then, she injected her chakra through her fingertips and into his tenketsu. Her chakra coursed through his body, attacking Itachi’s opposing chakra and breaking it’s connection with Ekyt’s brain.

Ekyt woke with a start. Instinctively, he kicked forward, spinning in a circle to face his ‘attackers’. His good eye was still closed.

“Open your eyes!” Sakura shouted hoping the command from her might just jar him into unconsciously listening to her. But Ekyt didn’t listen. He kept it squeezed shut, gradually sinking down to his knees as his adrenaline pulled back. It was clear he was still under the influence of Itachi’s genjutsu.

Sakura had seen enough. She strode over to him, speaking slowly and calmly, in soothing tones. The boy didn’t yet have his mind about him, so he was more or less running on basic animal instinct. The chance that he would attack her was high.

“Ekyt, listen to me carefully. You’re okay. It was a genjutsu, that’s all…”

“No! That bastard tore my eye out!” Ekyt shouted, backing away. His back hit the railing of the topmost level of the library. He felt it, trying to judge where he was. Sakura kept trying to calm him, but it wasn’t happening. Sakura finally had no choice but to cut his muscles, then leap on top of him.

“Hold still!” she snarled, grabbing his eyelid and forcing it open.

Immediately, Ekyt stopped fighting. His ragged breathing started to calm. He took in his surroundings as his mind began to reboot. Finally, he slumped over, exhausted and ashamed of himself. He was supposed to be an expert on genjutsu, and he had fallen for this?! After seeing Tsukuyomi at least twice before?

“…I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Ekyt asked timidly, not facing Sakura or Asuna. “I…I’ve never…I don’t understand why…”

Sakura and Asuna sat on either side of him. Ekyt didn’t even respond to the female’s touch.

“I…I just lost it. I didn’t even think- I mean…What kind of warrior am I? To lose it like that. And I went down without a fight! I know better than that!”

Gently, Sakura explained everything to Ekyt. The fight, Sasuke, and then, finally, the hardest part- his deteriorating mental condition. It was hard to watch her stoic friend actually become fearful at the end. It was so unlike Ekyt that it even stunned Sakura. But she had to finish delivering her message. After she reminded him that Lady Tsunade didn’t know he was here and couldn’t find out, she added the more urgent points.

“I want you to listen to me carefully, Ekyt. You need to stay here, in the library, and study. You cannot go into combat right now. Your mind can’t handle the stress. That’s why you blanked out against Itachi. Now, your condition isn’t very advanced, so you can make a full recovery. But you MUST GET SOME REST. And consider that an order.”

Asuna had asked Sakura if it was okay to mention something to Ekyt. Sakura had to be present. Other than that, they could speak freely.

“I wanted to apologize to you, Ekyt,” Asuna said, running her hand down the spines of the many books that were behind them. Thin layers of dust formed on her fingers, but that beat turning around and facing Ekyt. Apologies were never easy.

“For what?” Ekyt had wracked his brain, but couldn’t think of any reason for Asuna to need to apologize to him.

Asuna finally had to face him. “For getting you to kiss me. I shouldn’t have done that. It meant a lot that you were the first boy to kiss me. But I shouldn’t have pressured you. And beyond that, I need to thank you for being honest with me. And…”

Asuna was gathering courage now, and could speak her mind in a strong voice.

“And I know there wasn’t a spark between us, but I want us to stay friends. You saved my life twice now, and it will take me a lifetime to repay that debt to you. But I promise you, I will repay it in full, if you’ll just tell me how.”

Ekyt didn’t know what to say at first. This was something of a love confession mixed in with a love denial, and that made his head ache. But after some thought, he managed to say something useful.

“You don’t owe me anything. Just live a happy life, and stay as honest and brave as you are now. It sounds corny, but that’s the best favor you could do for me. If you enjoy it, keep training. And remember that you can always come to me for help.”

Ekyt tried to keep on a brave face, but what he meant to keep hidden came bubbling to the surface.

“Listen to me spout that crap! What am I saying?! How can I ask you to come to me for help when I can’t even help myself?! I may have damned this whole village because I let myself fall in love!” Ryouko clenched a fist, lowering his head. “But it won’t happen again. I won’t love again, if it means putting the others I love in danger. I won’t be that selfish!”

Sakura opted for the gentle approach. “Ekyt, falling in love isn’t selfish. You couldn’t have known that Azami would do that. And besides, you know she didn’t have a choice. Maybe she still loves you.”

When that didn’t work, Asuna stepped up the plate. She grabbed Ekyt’s shirt collar and yanked him close. She wasn’t a huge girl, but Asuna had plenty of power. She actually had Ekyt up on his tiptoes.

“Oh, get over yourself! Whining ‘cause your little crushes didn’t work out! Aren’t you a man? You’re gonna let some woman knock you on your @$$? If you can’t come back from this, then you aren’t a man. You have no spine. You have no guts. Go ahead, stay in here until you think the world’s a fair place! Don’t fall in love. Deny your feelings. Deny that you have emotions. Deny that you’re a person; a person who has every right to love and hate. Go ahead and deny that you’re a warrior, and that overcoming the odds is what you do.”

Asuna let Ekyt’s shirt fall from her grasp. She almost regretted the approach she had taken with him, but knew that it was necessary to play the bad guy here. Sakura couldn’t do that job.

Ekyt didn’t even try to process that. Not the way he was now. Instead, he asked “How long do I have to stay here? And are there any other rules I should know?”

Sakura hesitated, then held out her hand. “I’m so sorry, Ekyt. But…By order of Lady Tsunade’s chief apprentice, under our article 24 of ‘Shinobi unfit for duty’, you are relieved of your duties as a shinobi of this village until further notice. When you receive that notification, then and only then can will you be allowed to resume your duties. It’s for your own health and safety. I’ll need your vest.”

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