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Recherche	By : Eggburtshamslice Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male > Kakashi/Iruka Views: 4188 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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Recherché Chapter Twenty-One: Through a Glass Darkly
At the clang of metal against stone, Maito lifts his eyes. When pale yellow fingers of light scratch under the vault door, the scent of his master’s blood calls him from the glooming. Eons of obeisance did his knees make bend, ere he caught the underlying scent of his nemesis.
“That’s right,” Kinoe said as the door creaked open. “Bow before your betters.”
And as the shadows enfold him once more, Maito let loose a growl of warning, its timbre fearsome as it ricochets round the room.
Kinoe kicks closed the door behind him, proudly bearing a small container of master's blood. “Oh, come now … how long will you linger there, snarling and glowering at me? Up, let us be quick to the task.”
From the other side of the room, the smudged blood on Kinoe’s lips illumines his face, and Maito rises from a crouch. He watches as the swinging lantern is secured in place on a hook above the waist high apothecary cabinet in the center of the room, holds his breath as the receptacle of blood is reverently placed on the counter and grinds his teeth when Kinoe beckons him.
“For my Lord will I do anything,” he said, “even if means working by your side--”
“It’s settled then. Where are the other ingredients?”
Emerging from the darkness with mortar and pestle in hand, glass vials clink together in his pockets as Maito draws near. “My work is already done,” he snaps.
“And the incantation … sure you remember both parts of it?”
This time the power of his roar pushes Kinoe back on his heels. “Spineless cur! You doubt me?”
“Course I do … a walnut sized brain can only hold so much before bursting.” As Maito bristles, he adds with a laugh, “A joke only, calm yourself. We must work as one … Lord Hatake wishes it so.”
The invocation of Master’s name and the beguiling smell of his blood cools his anger. Without another word does Maito place the compounding equipment on the table as he gingerly empties his pockets. “How much time have we?”
“Twenty-five minutes only; surely we can lay aside our differences for that long.”
“You willingly seek amends? Maito looks askance with a snarl, “Spit it out. What is it you desire of me?”
The other man made a show of searching through the lower drawers, a faint smile playing over his lips. “Master speaks often and very highly of one named Jiraiya. I want to know who he is.”
A hoarse chuckle filled the space between them. “The all-knowing Kinoe asks this of a beast? Then it’s true ... curiosity maketh strange bedfellows."
“I’ll have none of your impertinence. That vial at your right hand, extract nine leaves and crush them into the bowl.”
“Jiraiya … close friend and advisor to Lord Sakumo; mentor to Lord Kakashi--”
“Mentor you say? Well then, I look forward to meeting with him at the upcoming soiree.”
Maito paused for a moment, shaking his head. “Best pray your paths never cross Kinoe; even Master’s blood won’t keep him from tearing you limb from limb.”
“Don’t be ridiculous! I’ll not fear him or any other man on your say so--”
“Then are you the biggest fool who ever drew breath. Jiraiya is a creature like unto me … a hundred times wiser and a thousand times more powerful. And like the Master, he can see clean through to the heart. He’d devour you at first sight--”
“Our Lord would not permit such a thing,” he hissed slamming shut one of the drawers.
“Our Lord wouldn’t bat an eyelash for you, are an expendable. Such a pity,” he said sliding the marble mixing pot toward the center of the counter. “How desperate your desire to be Master’s right hand, yet you know nothing of his life--”
“Humph … I know one thing, his blood before us compels you speak truth.” A smug grin pulled at his lips as he arranged six blank cards around the mortar’s base. “And by the power of his blood … I command you to--”
“Silence poltroon! It is unwise to presume your words carry the same gravitas as our Lord’s presence.” The pestle clangs against the bowl as he slammed one hand against the console’s surface. “I speak to your shame," he said, folding those massive arms across his chest, “even the lowliest house servants know of Jiraiya and the important role he plays in the continuance of this family.”
“You’ll pardon me then; I’ve not served the Master as long as you and the others. Quickly now,” he said searching about for the quill, “take four leaves from the blue vial and grind them into a fine powder with those in the bowl.”
Over the noise of the pestle and the crunch of dried herbs, he heard Maito say, “It’s not often I get the chance to educate you. I’ll not forget this.”
Though Kinoe stiffened at the thought, he found himself leaning closer as the other man continued, “At a time predetermined, all Hatake heirs must sit under the tutelage of Lord Jiraiya. Through him they learn the clan’s history that they might assume their rightful place within a hierarchy of demons. Preparing the heir for his first Great Hunt is but one of his duties--”
“Great Hunt? I’ve never heard of such a thing--”
“Will ignorance and arrogance forever define you, Kinoe?”
“Time is ticking against us … just tell me what it is.”
With a sigh, Maito bent down, watching closely as Kinoe measured out the liquid components. “When numen of high order produce offspring, the babe is subjected to a ritual; the spirits of the clan are conjured and a sacrifice is offered. The babe’s first meal is the blood of that sacrifice which spills from the lips of one or both of his parents--”
“Ugh! That sounds disgusting!”
“As opposed to eating cockroaches and rats?”
“Hush now! My diet is but a small price to pay for spending eternity near the Master. Stand aside as I add the liquids.”
Each drop of fluid begins to smoke when it meets the dry ingredients. They watch as the mixture, green at first, begins bubbling as it stains the bowl black.
“Now, Maito … the first part of the incantation … do it now!”
His hands hover above the steaming container as he speaks, sparks dance under his palms as the mixture rises and falls, condensing itself into a thick tar like substance. As Kinoe dangles the quill over the pot, it leaps to the nib; with each stroke Kinoe draws, the ink, red as the blood first drawn from Master’s veins, glows above the paper.
“The spirits burn a seal into the babe’s flesh,” said Maito, “which confers immortality … with a condition. Over the first ninety-nine years of its existence, the seal will slowly disappear as the child grows. It subsists on the blood of animals delivered him monthly by the Yasha. But his first unassisted kill must come before the one hundredth year or age thirteen as human’s mark time. If the hunt is unsuccessful, the seal reemerges as a curse mark. His parents, bound by an oath, must then fasten the child to a sacred tree and watch while the Yasha destroy it.”
“Obviously, Master survived this ordeal,” Kinoe smirked as he began work on the second card.
“Only by a hair’s breadth. Lord Sakumo waited and hoped his son would manifest the powers of his ancestors, but like a night flower, our master blossomed late … the influence of his mother’s blood.”
“If she was a gaki too why would her blood pose a problem?”
Maito cast him an incredulous glance. “When our Lord was conceived … his mother was still human.”
Kinoe briefly looked up from his work. “Human? She was Lord Sakumo’s bride … under his control …he could have done as he wished--”
“A numen’s desire is mightier than the will of its intended victim, even so, the victim must yield their will and ask the numen for the gift of immortality.”
“I knew that,” he huffed. “Still, he could have mesmerized her into yielding.”
“No… never had Lord Sakumo met a woman like her; Mari … was both her name and her nature. She possessed neither talismans, or amulets, instead, hers was a fighting spirit, an inner strength which made her impervious to his charms. Lord Sakumo loved her without restraint; she was his strength and ultimately … his weakness,” he said quietly. “He would not violate the one thing which drew him to her. Intrigued and enthralled, he pined for her to the point of wasting. Only Jiraiya understood the happiness the elder Hatake found in her. Theirs was a love forbidden, fraught with many the peril.”
By now was Kinoe at work on the fourth invitation. “Go on,” he said.
“She didn’t bear Lord Sakumo’s seal and that made her fair game to renegade gaki. In this world of demons and creatures, she was an oddity; the softness of her pink flesh, the sound of the blood rushing through her veins proved an irresistible attraction to the other yokai. When it was revealed she was with child, and that she’d refused the third bite, our world was thrown into pandemonium.”
Kinoe stood, stretching his back and flexing his fingers. “Now I see where the Master gets it from. He prefers chasing after willful, cunning targets--”
“He is not unlike his father in many respects. As the pregnancy progressed, Lady Mari’s obstinacy grew. Lord Sakumo left her in Jiraiya’s care while he searched the Five Nations for any potion or spell to extend her longevity. Finding none, he returned home in time for the birth of his son. He alone subjected the babe to the ritual. So sure was he the power of the Hatake would bypass his child, Lord Sakumo and Jiraiya conspired to keep the master hidden. For years, these men defied the spirits of the Hatake ancestors, risking the scorn of the spirits to protect them. Beloved of his mother,” he said with disgust, “Lord Kakashi progressed through life as a normal human child.”
“You make it sound appalling--”
“I wouldn’t know what it must have been like for him, never had a desire to understand it--”
Finished,” came the triumphant sigh from Kinoe as he straightened from the table. Maito waved his hands over the cards, reciting the last stanzas of the incantation while the ink turned a glistening ebony as it soaked into the paper.
Gathering up the vials, he said, “Months passed, the gaki grew in number with each full moon as they surrounded the manor. They knew the seal and its protection were vanishing from the master’s body. They waited for a chance to strike when lady Mari and the child were unguarded. They would have tortured him--”
“Thought protecting the Master was your job too.”
“Even then, I was still under the protection of my father; the gaki would’ve torn me to pieces as well. However, one week shy of the hundredth year did his powers awaken while Lords Sakumo and Jiraiya were away.”
“I knew it! Master defeated them all, didn’t he?”
Maito left the question hanging in the air as he walked to the other end of the room. “Our master went on a killing spree, that much is true, but it was contained to the manor. In one night, he slaughtered ten of his servants.” As he returned the vials, mortar and pestle to their places he said, “Next morning did our Lord awake screaming at the top of his lungs as he stumbled over the bloodied and broken bodies littering his bedchamber. He ran to the safety of his mother’s arms. Lady Mari had no idea what was happening to him and Lord Kakashi had no memory of what he’d done.”
“Surely you lie Maito! Are you saying the Master was unaware of his destiny until that night? Why couldn’t you have stopped--?”
“He’d shown no signs of his heritage beforetime; that night was the master beyond reason and I, no match for the fury boiling inside him. Lords Sakumo and Jiraiya sensed the turmoil as it reached its peak within the young master, arriving from the Land of Earth in time to prevent further destruction. Jiraiya only had a few days in which to teach our Lord to channel his instinct to kill. The night of the Great Hunt found Lord Kakashi ill prepared for the challenges which lay ahead. And yet … the Fates smiled on him and the spirits of his ancestors guided him successfully. That same night, lady Mari who feared for her child, relented and received the final bite, though she would not live to see her son come through this rite of passage.”
Removing a wide slender container from one of the drawers, Kinoe broke the quill in several pieces, dropping them into the ash box and setting them aflame. “Well … what happened to her?”
“She pushed Lord Sakumo from her side, insisting she’d greet him and Lord Kakashi as they returned home victorious. He left reluctantly, so I was told. But lady Mari was beyond the age where the third bite would have given her necessary strength,” he said bracing himself against the far wall. “Her determination was not sufficient and in her weakened state, both she and her handmaids were defeated before she could quit herself of her chambers; they dragged Lady Mari from the manor--”
“Who? The other gaki?”
“The third bite sealed her as Lord Sakumo’s true bride; they could not raise a hand against her. The assailants that night were human … of the Hyuga clan. Armed with talismans most powerful, they pierced through her heart as she prepared to join the hunt; they tied her body to a tree with ropes intertwined with the same talismans.”
“No wonder I’ve never heard the Master speak of his mother.”
“It was a terrible loss. The power of the third bite made her vampirical as was Lord Sakumo. A note left in her chambers, a frantic search through the woods; her screams of pain as the rising sun ate through her body, guided Lord Sakumo to her location. It was for naught. The place where she’d stood was marked only a silvery pile of ashes.”
“Ah, I understand … Hitomi … she was sacrificed for revenge?”
“Her sacrifice set right a heinous wrong,” he said walking back to the center of the room. Maito turned his back on Kinoe, leaning against the console. “I remember the frustration my father felt; the elder Hatake, inconsolable over lady Mari’s death … my father unable to comfort him. For months, Lord Sakumo couldn’t bring himself to explain her death to his son … they grew distant, the elder Hatake wallowing in the belly of anguish, blaming himself, the resentment of our Lord growing toward his father as time passed.”
“Maito … you knew all of this, you should have told him--”
“I learned the truth the same night as our master. At Jiraiya’s urging, Lord Sakumo sat us down and explained everything. Such news was too great … Lord Kakashi lost control of himself … went prowling beyond the manor gates, seeking vent for his anger.”
“Who could fault him? Aggrieved he was--!”
“Yes … but by the time he learned the truth, other factors were coming into play. The power of his ancestors was taking root, sorrow aged him and the rapid changes in mind and body adversely affected him--”
“I was once human and I know exactly why he changed,” Kinoe boasted. “You said a gaki’s one hundredth year is equivalent to thirteen human years … that’s the age when mortals enter pubescence.”
“Puberty … I’ve heard of this phenomenon. It is powerful indeed. Before the Great Hunt, master was possessed of equanimity, studious and obedient; afterwards, did his temper flare quickly and burn hotter, he became foul of mouth and dark of mood. He killed not to feed, but for amusement sake, skinning alive his victims as they pleaded for death. Lord Sakumo allowed him free rein, living vicariously through the rage of his son …until the night he killed three young women. Their bodies brutalized, torn asunder by his repeated sexual assault. Dumped in the forest like so much garbage they were, all because four witnesses happened upon the ritual intended to destroy the evidence.”
“Why didn’t the gaki destroy these interlopers?”
“On the master’s word, they would have. But as he stood in the center of the ritual circle, he recognized one of the men gaping at them through the trees; that man was Senju Hisao. And as the master was in his human form, Hisao recognized him as well. Lord Kakashi fled, confessing his transgression to his father and receiving the brunt of his wrath.”
“You mean that scar over his eye … his father did that?”
“No. The night Lord Sakumo met his end, Umino Tadashi swung his dagger, intending to kill the master as well. The master leapt out of way, yet he will forever bear the scar.”
“So that’s what happened. When he came back to claim me as his servant, I was too afraid to ask about the bandages he wore.” He swept his hand over the surface brushing dried stems into the ash container. “So, this Senju, he was an ancestor of the current Governor I take it?”
“Had they killed Hisao that night, the Hyuga or Shimura clans would have torn the land apart in a struggle for control. Allowing Hisao to live and tell his story would have implicated Lord Kakashi ... had anyone believed him. In the end, Lord Sakumo decided it best for all to quit Konoha. A month later, we set sail for Cornwall where Jiraiya had numerous contacts. We lived in peace … the master sat under Jiraiya’s teachings, honing his skills on the moors and in the bogs and Lord Sakumo branched out, establishing a home in London where he worked as an anatomist. That’s where he met Yamada Kenichi. Because of Yamada’s interest in the occult, they formed a bond; through that association, Lord Sakumo came to know Umino Tadashi.”
“Cornwall ... that’s where I met Lord Kakashi. I was working as a night clerk at the hospital where he was training. You’re right … he was different back then; kind of heart, an ever-present smile on his lips and I was--”
“Smitten, like a silly, love-struck girl. You fawned over him, having desires unnatural … I detested your very existence from the first time I laid eyes on you--”
“Goodness, do I detect a hint of jealousy Maito? You act as if he’s never turned to you for physical comfort--”
“You gave him your body,” he sneered, “hoping for a measure of control over him … he took your soul. Be no longer deceived Kinoe. The master has never suffered want of a bed warmer; you were nothing more than an escapade into depravity … a toy he used till he grew tired and cast you aside. I am joined to the master, mind, spirit and soul, and as his property, I am a valuable tool which serves higher pursuits--”
“Is that so? Humph … once a month he lets you off the leash like a dog and you tear through the forests, an irrational quadruped, baying at the moon and devouring the flesh and fat of men. You dare look down on me, Maito?”
“I do. But as we live under the same roof, we want what’s best for the master and we would do whatever he asks to please him, I could learn to respect you … give or take a few thousand years.”
Kinoe bent down, searching for something beneath the cupboard. Standing, he sat the heavy iron case between them. “We don’t have to be friends, but we needn’t continue as enemies either. Master needs the unique skills we both possess; I too could learn to respect you…eventually.” With the invitations stowed away, he returned the container to its place. “Now then … I’ll hear more of this tale, minus the insolence if you please.”
As he reached out for the lantern, it cast an eerie glow over Maito’s face, its flame flickering when his breath ghosted over the aperture as it sat on the cabinet top.
“Our last six months in Cornwall, Jiraiya started receiving reports about the gaki in Konoha. They were multiplying at an alarming rate and would continue to do so without a leader to focus their energies. At the time, Lord Kakashi was too weak to control an entire territory, so the elder Hatake dispatched Jiraiya to keep an eye on them.” He picked up the lantern and started for the door saying, “Two months before he was killed, Lord Sakumo summoned the master to London for he knew Umino was plotting against him. During the final month of his life, over a three-night phase of the full moon, Lord Sakumo transferred his memories and three quarters of his power to our master. My father likewise bequeathed his wisdom and strength to me.”
“I always wondered why it was so easy for a human to kill him,” Kinoe whispered. “Lord Sakumo had already given up the ghost.”
As the door slammed closed behind them, Maito turned and said, “His powers were a parting gift to the son he loved more than he could say. Now is Lord Sakumo joined with the woman he loved too much; I trust their spirits will continue to guide our Lord.”
“I’ll ask one thing more. Master’s eye. I’ve seen it only once; it was blood red with tiny black circles that swirled about. Can he … see--?”
“Farther than you could comprehend, Kinoe. The dagger Umino used was coated with a poison which eroded the tissues surrounding his eye. And what should have been a liability, instead proved another blessing from his ancestors. The son Lord Sakumo never thought would come into the power of the clan, now possess a trait which lay dormant since Hatake Kama’s time.”
“This Kama, who was he?”
The swinging lantern cast wide their shadows as he and Kinoe walked side by side down the long passageway.
“Ah, Kinoe … you’ve so much to learn.”
Notes:
Obeisance: a movement of the body expressing deep respect or deferential courtesy, as before a superior.
Glooming: total or partial darkness.
Askance: with suspicion or distrust.
Poltroon: wretched coward, craven; marked by utter cowardice.
Gravitas: importance in manner causing feelings of respect.
Bedfellows: temporary allies.
Mari means "obstinacy" or "rebelliousness".
Aggrieved: afflicted with pain, anxiety; feeling resentment over having been treated unjustly.
Equanimity: mental or emotional stability, especially under tension or strain; calmness.
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