16 Chapter 15 (1/2)
We arrived immediately at the outside of Sarutobi-sensei's office. There was no one guarding the door save from a blue toad with some sort of saddle on his back. The toad paid us no mind as we knocked at the door and entered. The first thing that struck me was the smell. My sensei smoked too much for today. Sitting on his desk was another smaller toad in green that was cloaked by a dark grey cloth. Sarutobi-sensei was passively looking into a document but I knew him long enough to know that he was in deep thinking. One thing I was impressed by him was regardless of how distracted he was, he always knows when his attention is needed.
”Ah, Hikari-kun, you got my message and Kakashi-sensei too, you need to hear about this as well,” Sarutobi-sensei greeted us as we made our way to the desk. We bowed at him.
”Hokage-sama, there is an important matter that you need to know first,” Kakashi-sensei began and Sarutobi-sensei hummed for him. Kakashi-sensei continued explaining everything I said to the Hokage. When he was finished, I noticed that his face was surprised, but not too surprised as Kakashi-sensei was. Then, he scrambles through some folders and peeled out a piece of paper and placed it in front of his desk.
”Have a look. Thanks to both of you, I now know the answer to the puzzle on this paper,” Sarutobi-sensei said cryptically. Both of us bend over and looked and we found out that it was Gaara's mission data. Kakashi-sensei was greatly surprised.
”This rap sheet is astonishing for a genin and he even came out unscathed from every? Every mission? Not a single scratch?” Kakashi-sensei commented.
”That's what it said,” Sarutobi-sensei replied, ”tailed beast had always been protective over their Jinchuriki. It made sense considering how the sand protected him.”
”Sarutobi-sensei, you have to increase the precaution needed in case the boy loses control. The one who could subdue the beast is Naruto and that is if he got control over his which is not the case,” I urged.
”Such precautions had long since implemented. Shodai-sama's Mokuton could subdue the Kyuubi's chakra and who's to say that the same can't be done on other tailed beasts. Perhaps, I could have Tenzou teach you the necessary jutsu later,” Sarutobi-sensei said, ”now, back to the order of business, Hikari-kun, meet the current Toad Sage of Myoboku-zan.”
”Hikari-kun, my name is Fukusaku. I am the disciple of the Great Toad Sage. May I please see the eye?” the toad said. I untied my headband and bowed at him.
”Hyuuga Hikari, it is an honour to meet you, Fukusaku-sama,” then I rose with the Rinne-Sharingan opened. The toad exhaled a deep breath.
”So this is the most elusive Rinne-Sharingan,” the toad muttered. I rubbed the back of the head.
”The eye was just a hassle for me. Please, do get straight to the point, Fukusaku-sama,” I said. The toad swallowed and seemingly not knowing where to begin.
”The mission you are about to go is a request from Myoboku-zan. This cannot wait until Jiraiya-chan's arrival,” he began, ”a legendary Sage is demanding to meet you personally.”
”Is it the Great Toad Sage?” I interrupted.
”It wasn't, but the Great Toad Sage was ordered to send you to her,” he went on.
”Who?” I asked, puzzled. The Sage was taking orders from him. I couldn't remember anyone else.
”The Phoenix Sage. The mere mention of her made Gamamaru-sama shivered in fear,” Fukusaku-sama said.
”Eh, Gamamaru? The one who taught my brother's senjutsu, he's still alive?” I said, surprised and the green toad nodded.
”Gamamaru was around the same age of Rikudou Sennin when they met but the Phoenix Sage was the worst. She was immortal, had neither interest in mortals nor pity for anything or anyone even us summoning animals,” Fukusaku was visibly in fear as he said this, ”Gamamaru-sama said that he remembered how ruthless and cruel she was and how she cared for nothing but herself.”
”Then, why is she interested in me?” I inquired.
”I don't know but all she said was to meet you or she will destroy Myoboku-zan with her wind. Gamamaru-sama was forced to obey because none of us Sages could compete with such power that rivalled even the Kami. Plus, her wrath was not something one should take lightly,” Fukusaku-sama answered. I swallowed the bile that was rising to my throat as I considered the fact and then exhaled nervously.
”Judging by the nature of this mission, it is considered as above S-class mission. Do you accept the mission?” Sarutobi-sensei asked.
”If I refused, the Sage will destroy Myoboku-zan and Konoha is next on her target? To get me?” I asked and there was no reply. Kakashi-sensei looked away, he knew that I wasn't even ready for an A-class let alone something above S-class. The mission was suicidal. I nodded, certain of my next words.
”Well, obviously my answer is I accept. But the condition is that no one else will know the nature of the mission. Especially the Hyuugas and the rest of team 7 and if I died, tell them I am sorry for not saying goodbye. But when do I leave?” I said. Fukusaku-sama snapped his fingers and a glowing golden scroll appeared from a puff a smoke.
”Phoenix Sage left instructions. You are to write your name in blood in here and she will know and that's when the mission begins,” he said. I grabbed and opened it to read it but I was immediately surprised. There were a lot of names signed in blood and all of it was Otsutsuki but the latest name was none other than my mother, Otsutsuki Kaguya. From this, I had a small hunch of why this Phoenix Sage was demanding to see me.
”Hey, this is my mother's name and this is her handwriting,” I announced and all of the hovered over the scroll.
”There was no record of Kaguya made a contract with a summoning animal,” Sarutobi-Sensei commented.
”Please, not even us have any record about it as well. It was never known who were the other summoning animals were contracted to with,” Fukusaku-sama said.
”This is the first time I've seen this scroll written with this kind of language and intricacy. I don't how summoning would work with this contract. Do it need Gyaku Kuchiyose?” Kakashi-sensei wondered.
”What do you meant by that?” I asked.
”Gyaku Kuchiyose is used by the summoning animal to summons humans they were contracted to with into and only to their dwelling,” Kakashi-sensei explained. ”With this, the Phoenix Sage might summon you everywhere and anytime she likes. There's no way of knowing this for a fact.”
I was silent as I considered this and then I bit my thumb and signed my name in one go.
”I'm going with my guts in this one. Or else my family could die,” I announced.
”There was one more thing,” Kakashi-sensei said, ”the contract could be a one-way ticket for each party. It is possible for you could not return after you were summoned.”
I fell at his words and stood up with veins pulsing in anger.
”Sure, tell that after I signed my blood to a mysterious contract,” I yelled. When I finished the words, I was somewhere else surrounded by smokes from a Kuchiyose no Jutsu. The first thing I felt was cold.
”Hello, Hikari-kun,” a girl's voice monotonously said, ”it's been a long, long time.”
I looked around frantically for the source and then I noticed a golden-haired girl was peeking at me from a distance behind a rock. She was waving when my eyes made contact with hers. What struck me as odd was how she was glowing. Not just in beauty but her entire body was emitting a soft light.
”Hello, do I know you from somewhere?” I asked. The girl blushed at my words. A few seconds afterwards she finally answered.
”The question is not where,” the girl waved me to come near her, ”but when.”
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I walked forward for a few steps until she suddenly yelled stop and pulled her head down behind the rock. Then it clicked in my head.
”When?” I gasped, ”I don't remember seeing you in my past. Are you a ghost or something?”
”You and I met when you were still a baby,” the girl monotonously said behind the rock, ”and I am not a ghost. I'm still alive.”
”No way,” I said disbelieving her, ”you're just a girl.”
She then peeked out of the rock blushing without opening her eyes. My heart was struck by her beauty, it beat erratically when I saw her.
”I am more than that, you are not the only being that transcends the border of time,” she said like she always did and blushed even further, ”did she ever told you? Kaguya-Hime's family did not need to eat chakra fruit to reach immortality because her family was closely tied with me. She brought me here with her to help her protect this world's God Tree from them.”
”Immortality?” I was puzzled.
”Yes, Otsutsukis are the longest living celestial beings that thrived on chakra fruit of the God Tree to obtain immortality,” the girl continued explaining, ”of course, Kaguya-Hime's family was against this notion and formed a treaty with me. I gave them immortality in exchange for one of their prince to be wed with me.”
”Wait a minute, just how could you give someone immortality?” I asked sceptically. The girl opened her eyes and looked at me in the eyes. I was greatly surprised because both of her pupils were red with a darker shade of red as irises. She then slowly morphed into the largest animal I have ever seen. I fell down trembling in fear. It was a golden feathered bird with red eyes. The glow was still there astonishingly while the air grew hotter and hotter by the second.
”It's one of my powers. I give life,” the large bird monotonously said.
”You're... You're the Phoenix Sage,” I muttered in fear that she would squash me in an instant. I was too close for comfort.
”Correct,” she then morphed back to her previous form peeking from behind the rock, ”sorry, if I scared you.”
”No, it's okay,” I breathed. There was no exchange of words but suddenly she blushed pink.
”What?” I mumbled silently.
”Wait, you said that, the condition of the treaty was one of the princes to be wed with you?” I asked and on cue, she blushed red. I scratched my head.
”I made the treaty millennia ago with your grandfather and he only had a daughter. Do the math,” she said while still blushing. What that was unnerving was how she can stay monotonous throughout the conversations. I began to think that it was the way she talked. After I fully digested her words, my face too grew red.
”H-how... W-we... I-I, w-we don't even know each other,” I stammered and then she giggled. That was the first time I heard it and I had to admit that it was the most beautiful thing so far in my existence. Something at the back of my mind, it ticked, I recognized the voice. My heart also seemed to skip a beat just then.
”I told you, we've met when you're a baby,” she said, ”your soul and mine, they sing for each other.”
I swallowed as my heart was pounding after I heard that. Despite her monotonous way of saying, she said only the most beautiful of things and I blushed yet again.
”My name is,” she said, ”Hitori. You don't know how many millennia that I have searched for you. Your mother too but she...”