As Kouga passed out on the chilly stone ground of the underground torture chamber, Kotetsu suddenly awoke on a temperate wooden floor. The word that died on Kouga's tongue continued its way out of Kotetsu's mouth.
"...power."
Slowly, Kotetsu's senses mellowed out as the seconds passed. He was unsure if his vision remaining dark was due to being unable to open his eyelids or otherwise. He eventually registered that the source of this darkness came from the wrappings covering his entire body, which also kept him relatively still. Inside his head, he processed the revelation made to him by Kouga's memory.
"Chakra… is…"
It wasn't something he was oblivious to, but something that had never really clicked for him. Somewhere in the back of his head, he still associated Chakra as being the thing that fueled his Ninjutsu. It was a mystical force, something he assumed he wouldn't be able to understand. During his discussion with Taisei however long ago, he had basically told Kotetsu the exact same thing about Chakra, just in a complicated way.
"Chakra is the energy used by shinobi to perform jutsu and enhance themselves."
While he knew the words, he had not truly comprehended the meaning. Until now, as he recited the simplistic answer through muffled lips yet again.
"Chakra is power."
It was so simple. Once more, he found himself feeling sorry for everyone that had tried to teach him anything.
In the middle of his introspection, a near imperceptible noise brought him back to reality. It was the creak of wood. At that moment, several thoughts flashed through his head, and he began to panic. Where was he? Of course, he failed to prevent the thoughts from traveling to his mouth.
"Where… am I?"
The creaking of wood abruptly stopped some distance from where he laid. Now, whoever was nearby knew he was awake. Before the panic led to him doing something erratic and possibly life-ending, he remembered he could see willpower, and pulled on his sight. Nothing changed at first, until he glanced down to his feet. Roughly three meters from where he sat, a figure stood completely still.
"Uh… hello?" His mouth traitorously asked, forgetting to ask his brain for permission first.
The figure was covered from head to toe in purple, and hunched in a posture that he recognised after a moment. As he watched, it appeared as if the matriarch's fingers began to extend beyond the boundary of her hands, creeping toward him with malicious intent. He noted her apparent lack of any need for handsigns. At the same time, a thin wave of purple willpower ebbed out from her body, seeping into the floor, walls, and ceiling.
He decided that he had observed for long enough.
Focusing on his feet, he grabbed the floor with Chakra through his heels and used the connection to leverage himself up. At the same time, he flexed with Chakra-empowered joints, breaking the thin wrappings and leaping straight into the air. As he did so, he watched the finger-sized tendrils of will shoot forward where he had been, missing him by only a few inches. Luckily, the purple willpower now covering the room provided a convenient outline for him to follow, allowing him to see the roof he was about to hit. Twisting midair, his feet roughly collided with the ceiling, where he remained.
Ripping at the bandages still covering his face, Kotetsu was momentarily blinded as his vision adjusted. Glancing around hurriedly, he laser-focused on the first thing he spotted, that being an open window on the other side of the room. From below, the purple-doused vines he could now fully see whipped his way, forcing him to begin his exit strategy. Right as he jumped for the window, a crushing force pinned him in place right in the window frame, squeezing the air from his lungs. He squirmed to no avail. Finally, his legs were punctured by what felt like dozens of angry bees, all looking to tear his skin apart with their giant needles.
The last thing he saw was the calm sway of trees as the evening sun peered at him between their branches. Then, his vision was once again consumed by darkness as an errant thought shot through his head.
"I really need to stop passing out…"
—
A jolt woke Kotetsu from a dreamless sleep. There was no transition, his awareness simply shifting from nothingness to fully alert. His eyes snapped open, and he found himself sitting in the room he had just tried to escape from, now blanketed by vague darkness. On the wall opposite of him was a desk, and the corners of the room were filled with various pottery and other shapes that seemed to undulate in the gloom. The window he'd seen earlier was now shuttered and locked.
Upon finishing his perusal of the environment, he moved to inspect himself. His body was bound up by thick wooden strips, a much more durable restraint than the previous cloth wraps. He could barely wiggle at all beneath the wrapped wood. Movement out of the corner of his eye brought his head snapping up to find a shape moving out of the darkness, slowly resembling the ever familiar hunched form of the matriarch.
Before he could do much else, her voice softly echoed around the room.
"I can be reasonable."
Despite the calm tone in her voice, Kotetsu did not plan on listening to it. He began to plan a way out once again.
"I can even be kind, and caring…"
Taking a deep breath, he began to infuse his limbs with Chakra, intent on bending and breaking the wooden planks that held him.
"What I cannot be…"
The wood began to creak as he strained against it with his Chakra-infused might. As he did so, the matriarch lifted her right hand. He blinked, and suddenly a thin jagged spear of wood had sprouted from a finger, frozen in place an inch from his left eye.
"...is forgiving."
The creaking ceased as Kotetsu released his hold over the Chakra in an instant. Just like that, she had given him a golden reason to stay put. As he did so, he also realised that maybe his planning had not been as thorough as he thought. For instance, he had no clue of his sword's current whereabouts, nor did he have any way to track it beyond the vague sensation he had when it was nearby.
In the midst of his revelations, the matriarch continued.
"Perhaps you are more willing to have a civil discussion, now that you are aware of your situation?"
Gulping, Kotetsu considered her words very carefully. He could remember the manner of their previous 'discussions', and he did not want to give her a reason to repeat them. While he pondered the situation, the jagged spike removed itself from his vision, shrinking back into the darkness where it vanished into her hand.
"You… wanted to know about Asuras… right?" His voice dryly cracked, making him painfully aware of the thirst that permeated him.
"That is one such topic I am interested in, yes… Are you capable of giving such information to me, boy?"
Her tone made him want to back away with haste, but the bindings kept him in place. After taking a few moments to get his thoughts in order, and to wet his lips, he answered.
"I… think so."
Kotetsu stared at the matriarch. She glared back. He was about to say something else when something vague tickled at his awareness. At that moment, she spoke again.
"What about seals, boy?"
"Uh… sure, yeah, probably."
He immediately regretted his flagrant response as her expression darkened. Simultaneously, a sensation like a single hair dragging across his throat made him shift in place. Nothing itched yet, but it began to annoy him.
"I mean- uh, if I am capable of it, I will… tell you whatever I can." He stammered out as his fear spiked.
Her expression returned to a semblance of neutral as she inspected him.
"What is your opinion on my interrogation methods, boy?'
The question threw him for a loop, and her face revealed nothing. Was it a trick question? Maybe she really was just looking for an excuse to kill him, as there was no way he should answer it honestly. A second hair joined the first in tickling around his neck, and his annoyance began to bubble into frustration. Right as he decided to answer rhetorically, a thought occurred to him.
The hairs weren't tickling his skin. He had not recognised the distinct feeling at first, on account of not being very perceptive. They were touching his will. Or, if the last few months worth of memories were correct, then they were touching his soul.
His eyes shifted into soul sight, as his grandmother Koyu had called it.
"Do not keep me waiting for your answer, boy…"
The matriarch's words brought him back to reality. His eyes focused back on her, where his new sight caught several incredibly thin purple wires arcing away from her body towards him. Two of these strands were placed right under his neck, and the rest seemed to move beyond his immediate line of sight. They floated in the air like loose strands of hair. As he continued to watch with his mouth half agape, he noticed the purple colour began to grow darker as the strands almost seemed to sharpen…
Glancing back at the matriarch, her own purple bodied soul had grown darker. With it, her expression became pointed and her eyes grew hard. That's when he realised that he still had not answered her question.
"Uh- good! Your… methods… are good. Very… effective." His eyes had widened to the point he thought they would pop out of his head. A bead of cold sweat rolled down his forehead, dripping off an eyebrow.
The two strands sitting below his chin came too close for comfort. He could barely make out an edge, like needle tips. He did not want to find out if they were sharp.
The matriarch smiled. It did not reach her eyes.
"Good. I am glad you understand… now, shall we begin?"
He kept his rapid nods tight, willing to do anything to get the wiry needles away from his body.
As suddenly as they appeared in his vision, the needles vanished into thin air. At the same time, his wooden prison fell away, each strip falling with a hard clunk. Beneath the wood, he noted that he was still relatively naked, save for some grey-green cloth wrapped around his midsection and legs. The immediate effect of being released left Kotetsu breathing in deeply, his body bending forward slightly. He clenched and unclenched his hands, rotated his shoulders, and grinned.
For some inexplicable reason, he felt truly happy. It didn't have anything to do with the old cranky lady, that was for sure. He didn't feel happy because he was free to move, or because he could tell her whatever it was she wanted.
He felt happy because he could now spend more time getting to know his father.
—
Taisei Senju walked a path through the woods around the clan. That early morning, he was out to inspect the defences and traps set up by his father, and repair or refresh their seals if necessary. Unlike the region where he had found Kotetsu caught in one of his personal traps, these traps were placed in several loose circles layered around the clan. That way, if someone unknowingly got past one trap, they might fall into another after some distance. If someone knowingly got past a trap, that was where he came in.
Touma Senju sat at the only table in the cabin that belonged to him and his son. He held a loose scroll, reading and re-reading the paper, trying to get his tired brain to comprehend the words it contained. His son would be back from his morning duty soon enough, and he needed to be ready so as to begin their next instructional session on sealwork. It had taken a long drawn-out argument with the Matriarch to convince her to let him teach Taisei advanced techniques, and he had not squandered the opportunity since. After nearly five years, Taisei could now comprehend and work with most seals he came across. No other male Senju in the entire clan could boast such a feat, other than himself.
Finishing his circuit, Taisei's pace picked up as he made his way back to his cabin, where he knew his father was waiting. Today, he would finally begin to learn about how to craft the lesser-known static seals, which were the type his father tended to employ. His feet found easy perches among the messy forest floor, and eventually, he was at the base of their tree. His expression dropped from slight excitement to concern as he found someone standing in his way.
Aina Senju had been summoned to her mother's cabin too early in the morning by the usual gust of wind through her window. Thinking she would be handed a mission, she found herself surprised to find the now awake Kotetsu and her disgruntled mother… talking. What began as surprise morphed into astonishment as she heard her mother's orders. Walking to the edge of the clan, she found the base of the watchguard tree, where she could sense one person in the cabin above. Even though her orders mostly involved Touma, she waited for Taisei out of respect, and nothing else. Either way, she didn't mind waiting for him for nearly half an hour.
Taisei slowly approached Aina, who watched him expectantly. He didn't feel any instinct to run away when he looked at her, so he was likely not being roped into something crazy. She began speaking when he got close enough.
"I'm here to tell you about a uh… a task."
Her hesitation changed his concern to dread. Dutifully keeping his face neutral, he replied.
"What kind of task?" The slight shake to his voice betrayed his outward calm appearance.
Smirking, Aina answered simply.
"The babysitting kind."
His dread dropped to confusion.
"Uh…"
"Come on. I need to explain it to Touma as well."
She gestured for him to follow, then casually leapt far up into the air. Taisei didn't even bother holding back a sigh as he followed.
—
The matriarch and Kotetsu had talked for several hours into the early morning. Early on, Kotetsu had been given some more green and grey cloth wraps similar to what he saw Aina and the matriarch wearing, which he had poorly wrapped around his own body. Even though he missed his Hyuuga robes, he didn't think it pertinent enough to bring them up in this conversation. The subjects of their discussion were ever-changing, leaving Kotetsu trying to work out possible connections between each new topic with increasing frustration.
"Do you understand the workings of dormant Chakra?"
"Nah."
"What do you know about Chakra negation?"
"Nothing."
"Do you know how the Chakra network strengthens itself?"
"Uh… not really."
"What about the difference between static Chakra and active Chakra?"
"No clue."
At first, the matriarch's questions sounded advanced enough that Kotetsu didn't feel any shame in his responses. Aina had stopped by at some point an hour or so into their conversation as well, until the matriarch ordered her to leave and do something else. The two continued their questioning, with each such question becoming less complicated than the last. He began to see just how hopelessly clueless he was after a while.
"Are you even vaguely aware of how handsigns function?"
"No…"
"What about the natural order of elemental Chakras? Surely, you must know this."
Thinking quickly, Kotetsu felt like he actually knew this one. Without second guessing himself, he rapidly answered.
"You mean, like- how fire beats water?"
The matriarch glared at Kotetsu in disgust for several heartbeats.
"Or is it… water beats fire?"
He felt like she wanted to hit him with something. He resolved not to give an answer unless he really knew what he was talking about. In the middle of his resolution, something in his mind bubbled to the surface.
"Oh, wait. I remember something."
Throwing a dubious glance down at him, the matriarch responded.
"...Yes?"
Handsigns have names. I know… six of them."
Like a proud toddler counting off his own age, he held up six fingers while reciting each one. He wouldn't do the handsigns, as that may cause him to lose his hands.
"Horse, tiger, dragon, snake, dog, and ram."
Belatedly, he also remembered the handsign his father had used to infuse Chakra. He didn't know its name though, so he kept it out of his recital. He knew that the horse sign was super important to his ninjutsu, since it was always the first one used in his fire techniques.
Staring back in disbelief, the matriarch took several seconds to look at him in dumbfounded awe.
"Do you know… how many common handsigns there are?"
Sitting with a vacant grin on his face, Kotetsu answered.
"Nope."
This time, the matriarch was unresponsive for nearly a full minute, just letting her gaze bore down into Kotetsu's face. He grew restless as the minute dragged on.
"How are you so impossibly stupid?"
Kotetsu's smile faltered, and his eyes darted around the room, looking anywhere but at the haggard Senju.
Closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose, she waved him away.
"I need to think in peace. Sit outside, boy."
Perking up, Kotetsu stopped himself before standing. Was this another trap? His face must have reflected something, as she looked back at him and frowned.
"Go. Now."
Not waiting for her to change her mind, Kotetsu dipped out of the inner door and past the reeds draping the entrance, where he was hit with the cool morning breeze. Cascading beams of sunlight fell through the trees like curtains off a window. Breathing deeply, he was struck with how fresh the air smelled. The smell inside the old lady's cabin was like sticking his nose into one of the elder's tents back in the Hyuuga clan, but even more musty. He relished the moment, taking a few steps forward to get a better view.
Until one step found his foot hovering over nothing, and he plummeted off the side of the treehouse.
—
Mutsue settled into her chair while rubbing her temples. Her 'conversation' with the idiot boy had been productive in a way she did not anticipate. She initially thought that by introducing various topics, the boy would draw upon the blade's knowledge to understand what she was talking about. However, each topic he failed to understand only left her more confused. After a certain point, she had become purely curious as to just how little he truly knew. Now, with her curiosity satisfied to an uncomfortable extent, she contemplated her next move.
At first, she considered that he simply didn't understand enough about the topics to trigger any latent knowledge. If that was the case, then he just needed to brush up on the basic foundations. However, again, if that was the case, then he should have had some sort of reaction after being asked something as mundane as how many general handsigns there were. There should have been a similar reaction to the order of elemental Chakras, and even Chakra negation. All of these subjects were fundamental aspects of Chakra and ninjutsu, even if he didn't know the exact terms. Since he clearly had no reaction to those questions, there must be a secondary prerequisite necessary to trigger the flow of knowledge, as she had theorised earlier.
Lacing her fingers behind her head, she mentally reviewed her conclusions. She didn't need to think too hard about what the potential trigger could be. She was not blind to the boy's goals and motivations. He clearly did not want to be here, or to be answering her questions, no matter how much he might try to convince himself otherwise. When it came to breaking free of his bondage, fighting back against her clan and reclaiming his dignity, those were proper motivators. He clearly relied on the sword's knowledge to accomplish that goal. Whether he did it consciously or unconsciously doesn't matter now, as he surely had to be aware of its effect by that point.
The first trigger, then, was to need or want the knowledge. He needed the knowledge to break free of his bonds. For his current situation, he only needs to want to know about her questions. Of course, that aspect of the trigger was merely speculation until she confirmed it. In order to get this knowledge, she needed to activate the second trigger– he needs a goal, to be motivated to use this knowledge.
Mutsue had considered much of this during her conversation with the boy. She had come to this conclusion early on and, acting on a hunch, had summoned her daughter to prepare accordingly. Those preparations should be complete by now. While she generally agreed with Touma's arguments for teaching his son, especially after the incident with the boy's mother, she did not agree on the level of education the boy had been taught. With her latest decision, that education should be delayed.
A petty smirk crinkled Mutsue's already wrinkly face. Touma had always been a thorn in her side, and she enjoyed taking any opportunity to remind him of his position. Now, she could strike two birds with one stone. The boy would be properly motivated, Touma will be inconvenienced, and she gets exactly what she wants.
—
Kotetsu's stomach lurched up into his chest as he plummeted. He had just exhaled when he began to fall, so he had no wind to screech with while the ground slid up to greet him.
Before he could splatter against the forest floor, his torso found a bendy rope to smash into instead. His body bent like a hinge as his downward momentum transferred to the bridge rope, his hands moving rapidly to keep hold onto the lifesaving makeshift guardrail. With speed, he pushed himself backward, sliding off of the rope and down onto the gently swaying wooden bridge, where he remained lying for several seconds catching his breath.
After what felt like an eternity, his brain caught up to the situation and he glanced around to take in his surroundings. The bridge he was lying on seemed to connect to a large circular platform built around a giant tree in the distance, and several more bridges extended off in random directions only to vanish somewhere amidst the forest. Looking up, he saw that the matriarch's cabin was attached to the tree this bridge led to, yet the bridge did not connect directly to it. Instead, the bridge sat several meters below the base of the matriarch's cabin.
His breathing slowed as he finally regained some mental control, and pushed himself up with shaky limbs. He had barely considered his next move when a barrage of smells hit him all at once. Almost immediately, his attention was captivated by the all-consuming need to… well, consume. He smelled simmering carrots, potatoes, leeks, onions, steaming rice, bread being baked, and seared meat. Not just any meat, he realised. He would never forget the tantalising aroma of… bacon.
Clutching his gut, he almost heaved a cry as he realised how much he missed food. All he had really eaten in who knows how long were berries both ripe and unripe, various bugs, and probably a few sticks. Oh, and those nuts that Taisei had passed him, and that strange rice he woke up to. All in all, it would be apt to say that he was famished.
Following his nose, he made his way to the source, intending on getting his hands on some food no matter what. The smells grew stronger, until he eventually heard a cacophony of voices somewhere nearby. He snuck across bridges, jumped over gaps and clung beneath platforms as he crept up on his target. Down on the ground, surrounded by immaculate wooden buildings, he spotted it. Lined up in the middle of the clearing were a dozen pits of fire, all with various cooking instruments installed around them. He spotted pots of stew over the open flames, tables with cutting boards, boxes with plates, bowls and utensils, stone baking ovens with smoke pluming from their chimneys, as well as tables with plenty of occupants already lined up and eating away. Kotetsu could not stop his mouth from watering at the assortment.
Now that he was here, though, he could not figure out a way to get in and take something without being spotted. He sat for a painful minute as he watched everyone else stuff their faces.
Could he just… go in? But then, they would ask questions. Or they would try to capture him. Was he even supposed to be here? The matriarch had only dismissed him from her cabin, but did that actually mean he was allowed to wander? What if she was searching for him? If that was the case, would she ever feed him, or continue to starve him until he gave her whatever it was she wanted? It wasn't like he hadn't actually tried to answer her. When he prodded his mind with her questions, he didn't even receive a vague response from his not-so-horrible thoughts.
A hand slapped down onto his right shoulder, ripping Kotetsu from his spiraling thoughts. Turning slowly, he found a large masculine tanned hand weighing him down. His eyes followed the arm to find it connected to a large familiar form. With surprise, and an involuntary shake, he looked up into the ear to ear grin of Rata's face.
"Hello, brother."
Kotetsu's face ran through a series of gymnastics that must have amused Rata, as he somehow grinned even wider and chuckled.
"I've been wondering when you would be let back out into the world. Don't worry, I won't hurt you right now… unless?"
Kotetsu found his voice after a moment, staring up into Rata's madly grinning face.
"Thanks for the uh, offer. But before anything, can you… help me get some food?"
Rata's face stilled as he glanced past Kotetsu toward the ongoing breakfast taking place just behind him. After a moment of what appeared to be intense thinking, he nodded to himself, then flicked his attention back to Kotetsu.
"That would be no problem to me, of course…"
He folded his arms while he considered his words.
"...for the others, however… I am certain you will need to assert yourself as you did last time."
The words hung in the air over the pair. Kotetsu turned, looking back out over the gathered crowd. He gulped. Kotetsu wasn't sure how he would handle the situation if it devolved that far. His stomach growled, and he grasped it in reflex. It didn't matter how the situation went, he decided. He was hungry. He will get something to eat.
Without giving himself any more time to think, Kotetsu turned and marched out from where he and Rata hid slightly above the treeline, straight down into the breakfast assembly. As he came into the small clearing, it seemed that everyone paid him no mind, more occupied by their own food. Kotetsu began to breathe a small sigh of relief, glancing around while he casually approached one of the tables with pastries and bowls of what seemed to be rice porridge. Before he could reach his target, a voice echoed out from somewhere to his side.
"Hey!"
He froze for half a step, but tried to play it off cool. What were the chances of the voice being directed at him, after all? He tried to reassure himself, but a few people in front of him glanced his way and spotted him almost immediately.
Everyone turned to look at the intruder who now stood in their midst. Kotetsu felt the peeling gazes of dozens of Senju, some of which he was almost certain he had met on the sparring yard however long ago. Turning slowly so as to not draw any unwanted reactions, he caught the expression of each person arrayed around him. Somewhere behind the crowd, back the way he came, he could barely make out Rata's smiling face. He gave Kotetsu a thumb's up.
"Uh…"
The sound escaped Kotetsu's mouth unbidden. Before he could think of anything more intelligent to say, someone stepped into his personal space. Someone much, much taller than himself. He turned and tilted his head up to find a rather muscular tan-skinned man standing over him, glaring down at him with a rigid expression.
"Are you the one who caused such a commotion earlier this week?"
Kotetsu tried to keep his face neutral while he considered how to respond. After a moment, he decided to stick to the truth.
"Yeah." He maintained eye contact with the man while he answered.
The surrounding tension appeared to remain steady while the confrontation played out. Slowly, the man raised both of his hands. Kotetsu prepared himself for whatever he would do next. Even with his attention on the situation, his hunger would slow him significantly.
Then, the man clapped his hands on Kotetsu's shoulders, sending a jolt down the boy's body. Before Kotetsu could process the action, the man shouted a single word into the morning air.
"WARRIOR!"
All around Kotetsu, dozens of Senju echoed the sentiment. Men, women, and children, all of whom raised a fist into the air while shouting in return.
"WARRIOR!"
Kotetsu was completely and utterly stunned. The surreal moment was unlike anything he had experienced, except for maybe his full introduction to the Uchiha. He grew lightheaded as the chant continued for several seconds. He didn't even realise when the man removed his hands from Kotetsu's shoulders, and it took him even longer to register that something was being offered to him. When he finally looked down to observe the object, he suddenly recognised it as… a wooden tray filled with food.
The buzzing noise around him continued while he took the tray with one hand, and the other moved to the first thing his eyes had tracked. He plucked the pastry and brought it up to his face in reverence, taking a moment to savour its smell. The moment his teeth sunk into the buttery flaky treat, the world seemed to regain colour he had not even noticed was missing.
As he chewed the bready goodness, everything else melted away. Before he knew it, the pastry was gone. He hadn't even bothered to wonder what kind of pastry it was, but he was definitely going to ask later. Eventually, he remembered that there were people standing around him. Many of them were dangerous. He tried to balance his attention between the shinobi and his platter of food, tending more toward the food in his face. As the noise died down, he really did force himself to pay attention to something other than his food, looking around to assess the potential danger to himself.
The older man who had clasped his shoulders stepped back as Rata came forward, grabbing a bowl of something for himself before standing beside Kotetsu. Rata's presence clearly commanded some sort of respect, as the small bubble of space around the two of them widened with his appearance. Kotetsu didn't know how to feel about the situation.
Taking one final look around the group, all resuming what they had been doing before the interruption, Kotetsu decided that he couldn't predict what might happen while he was among these people. So, he would do as they did, and simply go with the flow.
Following his own advice, he dug into his breakfast.