There was a strange feeling Toru had when he saw those two girls. He was lying on the ground, looking at them with worry and confusion. He was falling into an abyss of infinite darkness, but they appeared like a flash of light in that darkness.
It was strange, very strange. It was probably because of the alcohol in his blood, but...
They had the same eyes as Toru. They had... the Shigan.
-Days before, in some other place far, far away... in time...-
That girl, with blonde hair and silver eyes, walked a little worriedly through the corridors of that house that seemed to be so big because of its numerous rooms. A big clan like this one needs big rooms, otherwise, all the children born in this clan would live uncomfortably.
She quickly found her older sister's room. So, without any embarrassment she went in. There she saw a girl with black hair tied in twin pigtails. She was looking for something under the bed, so the golden-haired girl could only see her sister's butt wiggling from side to side as if she was really concentrating on it.
"Onee-sama...?"
"Uh? Ow!" hearing her younger sister's voice, she accidentally ended up hitting her head against the bed. Then, she got up from the floor rubbing her head and saw her little sister. "What's wrong, Eleanor, and don't scare me like that!"
Eleanor is a beautiful 11-year-old girl who looks just like her mother. She had her mother's golden hair and her father's silver eyes. Her hair was tied back with a black ribbon. She had a white long sleeved shirt and a blue skirt paired with long black stockings that reached above her knees.
"Well... uh... I heard what happened with our father, did you really yell at him? You shouldn't have done that, Onee-sama..."
The older sister, Koyomi, snorted and folded her arms. She smiled mischievously and then lifted what was under the bed.
Koyomi had black hair, just like her father and mother. One of her eyes was silver, while the other was covered by a white patch. At the same time, she was wearing a rather eccentric black dress, with many ruffles and decorations with black and gray color patterns. She also had large black long stockings covering her legs.
"Look, look. I borrowed this from our aunts" said Koyomi proud of herself. Right there, she took out a large black colored cloak that was quite worn, at the same time, after laying the cloak on the bed, she took out two gleaming thorn-shaped daggers.
Eleanor was confused and, in fact, thought that Koyomi deflected the topic very easily.
As the more responsible sister, she decided that she should talk to Koyomi. Even if it involved some petty bickering.
"Onee-sama..."
"Yes?"
Eleanor folded her arms and looked at her sister with an expressionless face. In response to this, Koyomi averted her gaze and began to giggle strangely.
"Fufufu. So you've discovered my secret" She turned around quickly covering her left eye with one hand. "That's right, something terrifying is hiding in my left eye. A beast sleeping peacefully, waiting for the prophecy to be fulfilled and Armageddon to begin."
Eleanor's reaction to this was as if she twisted her eyes to the right as if to say "Here we go again." Though she managed to muster some willpower to continue with this performance. "And tell me, Miss Mysterious, does someone who carries a beast locked in her eye have the right to yell at her own father?"
Koyomi closed her eyes, at the same time her legs trembled. "I know! I have a new jutsu you're going to like. I discovered it while training with Boruto-kun and Sarada-chan."
"Don't change the subject, Onee-sama."
"But I-"
"I said no..."
Koyomi looked at the floor and then sat there. She hugged her knees and hid her face in them. She stayed like that for a few seconds and then looked up. "You're like a bitter old woman."
12 and 11. The younger sister acted like she was the older one and, the older sister acted more childish and narcissistic.
"Tell me, Onee-sama, don't you plan to apologize?"
"Hm..." Koyomi got up from the floor and crossed her arms. "Nope. Someone like me shouldn't apologize. He's the one who has to kneel before his adorable daughter and apologize."
"That's too much..."
"Well, as I was saying. I have a really cool jutsu I discovered a little while ago, do you want to try it?"
"Onee-sama..." Eleanor grew tired of her sister easily ignoring the subject. Although, knowing her, she would soon reveal the truth, all it takes is to push her a little and play along. "Ha~ alright. Show me that jutsu."
Koyomi grinned from ear to ear and then... "Zafkiel!" a giant mechanical clock appeared behind her and her clothes, well... didn't change much. The gray patterns on the fabric changed to crimson patterns, while, since she had no shoes on, as they all live in a Japanese house, a pair of black leather boots covered her feet. In her right hand appeared a black Flintlock and the white patch on her left eye incinerated and vanished, giving way to a strange eye concealing an inorganic-looking watch. "Elohim..." she said after her clothes changed.
Eleanor saw the watch appear behind her sister and was not surprised. She had seen that kind of power on her older sister a long time ago. Koyomi's mother had it and now this eccentric girl had it too.
"Get ready..." Koyomi smiled and closed her eyes. She imagined her father's cloak and daggers and then raised her arm where she held the flintlock weapon, pointing at the number 12 on the watch. Sure enough, the watch was mechanical, old-fashioned looking, with Roman numerals. "Hidden in the darkest ocean of Chaos, it wakes up wrapped in crimson blood" A strange magic circle appeared below the feet of both sisters, which glowed red and slowly rotated.
Eleanor was unfazed by this, so she folded her arms and waited.
"Shine, disappear, be reborn and die" She opened her eyes, showing that the color of her right eye had changed, now showing a sky-blue pigmentation, with two small hands spinning inside her pupil. "I am the one who will corrupt chaos itself, I am the one who will destroy all that stands in my way" The hands of the mechanical clock began to rotate at high speed. The magic circle did the same.
Eleanor began to feel worried, as Koyomi usually goes too far when she uses her powers. "Onee-sama. I think I've seen enough, we should go to-"
"Zero Bullet: Nura" The hands of the clock stopped abruptly as did the magic circle.
Eleanor watched this as the finalized her sister's technique. She scanned the surroundings, but nothing had changed. She sighed and frowned. "Onee-sama, now if you'll have to give me an explanation."
"There..." Ignoring Eleanor and holding the flintlock weapon in her hand, Koyomi walked to the door and opened it. There, Eleanor's gaze cleared, seeing that the outside was quite dilapidated, as if the corridors had not been taken care of for a long time.
"Onee-sama...?" she looked at her older sister doubtfully.
"Fufufu..." Koyomi lowered her gaze and gently squeezed her weapon. "Kihihihihi!" and began to laugh puffing out her chest proudly.
Eleanor could no longer understand anything, yet she tried to find a quick answer. However, she couldn't as she saw her sister deactivate her Astral Dress and took her by the hand.
"Come on!"
"What? Wait. No!"
Koyomi ran along with her sister through the halls, while laughing full of freedom, as if it was really that happy moment. She led her little sister out of the house and, when they came out, they could tell that the house was almost in ruins.
"What is this, Koyomi-onee-sama?" Eleanor looked at her sister, however, she just smiled at her.
"Time rewind, throughout the multiverse."
It took Eleanor a few seconds to understand what her ears had heard. She folded her arms, thought about it for a moment and then sighed. She walked in circles for another three seconds as Koyomi looked at her in confusion and then stopped dead in her tracks. In her mind, dozens of situations where they are punished by her mother popped up. She nodded her head and then came to a conclusion.
"You're an idiot."
It was simply that. For Eleanor, being punished by her mother was worse than going to hell. So this gave her a headache, at the same time it made her body tremble.
"I'm not an idiot! Besides, what's wrong with it? We only came to visit the dinosaurs for a while" She folded her arms and nodded her head, approving of her own words. "Even if your mother catches us, you can blame me, I'll save your ass as usual."
Eleanor shook her head and sighed. "We'd better get back to our own time before anyone finds out. If that happens, it will only mean trouble. Wait... Onee-sama?"
She was gone. This caused a small vein to swell in Eleanor's forehead. She clenched her fists tightly, small tears peeking from the corners of her eyes, for just the thought of the punishment they would receive if anyone found out made her feel worthless.
Well, though... since they are in the past....
'Not that I want to get involved in this, but only Onee-sama has the power to bring us back. If I play along with her for a while, she'll get tired and we'll go back. I just hope that happens quickly' She closed her eyes and felt her sister's energy. She was close, but seemed to be hiding.
***
After a few seconds of tracking, Eleanor saw that Koyomi was hiding behind a house.
[Eleanor-chan, can you hear me? Look there, guess who it is] Koyomi saw something interesting and talked to her sister inside her mind.
[It can't be... that's...]
Eleanor opened her eyes when she saw that person. Blonde-haired and blue-eyed, next to that lazy silver-haired ninja. He was also accompanied by other familiar ninjas.
[Yes. It's the Nanadaime (Seventh Hokage) Look how young he looks. Maybe he's four or five years older than we are]
[So, are we really in the past?]
[Fufufu. Appreciate my power, the power of the future Time Empress.]
Eleanor, hearing her sister, crouched down and covered her head with her hands. 'Ha~ my mom is going to kill me...' Eleanor's mother is very strict, too much. Just thinking about the punishment she will receive for the thousandth time made her tremble.
"Now I wonder, who was the Hokage at this time?" Koyomi looked at the statue and saw that big-breasted woman. She smiled at the memory of that old woman and took Eleanor by the hand. "Let's go to the Hokage's office, it will be fun. I'll use my stealth to hide our presences."
"Ha~ you seriously are reckless" Resigning herself to her painful fate, Eleanor let her older sister lead her and, in a single second, they appeared inside the current Hokage's office.
-Hokage's office-
There, in the middle of a large pile of documents, stood that woman, working with all that stress on her shoulders.
Koyomi looked at this and was surprised. Tsunade hadn't changed at all in all these years, she was still the same in the past as she was in the future. Well, considering who is being talked about, Tsunade sure is still using that jutsu to look so young.
[It's amazing, Eleanor-chan....]
[What do you mean, Onee-sama? I know she still looks the same, but that's to be expected]
Koyomi shook her head.
[I don't mean that. Look at those things... they're weapons of mass destruction...] As if drawing an invisible line between her eyes and Tsunade's breasts, Koyomi frowned.
In response to this, Eleanor noticed this as well.
However, her pleasant visit was interrupted by the sudden visit of an albino-haired man.
It was Jiraiya, who for a second sensed someone's presence and looked around. He didn't find anything strange, though, so he continued on his way.
[I think we've seen too much, Onee-sama. How about we go back now?]
Koyomi shook her head. [I won't do that] Eleanor was a little disappointed by this. It seemed like her plan would take a little longer. [Remember that the Leader of Amegakure told us that our father was there for two years?]
[I didn't know about that. You're the one who keeps visiting everyone without warning].
[Well, everyone needs a little bit of the beautiful and fun Koyomi in their lives. Otherwise the world would be pretty boring, don't you think].
[Only you think that sort of thing] Since she was being dragged into this, together they left the Hokage's office and appeared a second later above the first Hokage's head.
"It all looks so ancient, nothing compared to our present..." Eleanor already knew, they were in the past. If the Nanadaime was between 15-17 years old, obviously her father was too. Besides, Koyomi mentioned that her father was in Amegakure at this time.
"Same here. They probably still don't have internet, that's pretty sad" She folded her arms and shook her head. Then she looked down at her feet and realized she was barefoot. So, taking advantage of what she said about her father in Amegakure, she activated her Astral Dress and imagined that village. Then, she grabbed her sister by the waist with her right arm and pulled her close to her chest.
"What are you doing, Onee-sama!"
"Let's go see the world for a while. This is a lot of fun, if you ask me, of course" She smiled, it was obvious at a glance that she was having too much fun with this situation. Unlike Eleanor, who was suffering thinking about what would happen to them when they got back.
"Let go of me already. We have to go back home. Surely your mom noticed that you rewound time. You two have the same power, after all."
"Not yet. I want to see more things. This has me so excited" Koyomi smiled, as the death light showed in her right eye, at the same time an inorganic looking clock showed in her left eye. The Flintlock appeared in her right hand and then she pointed it at her own head.
Bang!
-Amegakure-
Eleanor saw how in the blink of an eye she appeared in the middle of a rainy place, with many people using umbrellas. The clouds were gray, full of water that was falling heavily in this place.
Koyomi looked at this and deactivated her Astral Dress, then, she covered her left eye and immediately a white patch appeared. "Maybe people of this era will find my eye strange" Well, this wasn't something Koyomi really thought. Actually she... 'This way I'm going to look really cool...' Yeah. Exactly that.
"Now we're in front of everyone" Eleanor felt overwhelmed. Now everyone nearby could see them. Still, despite their strange appearance, no one paid them any attention and they went on about their business.
This impressed Koyomi. Also, she felt that someone was watching every corner of this village, so her stealth could eliminate that problem. "I don't think that's so bad, Eleanor-chan. You should just let yourself go and then- Ow!" Suddenly, Koyomi felt something hard hit her shoulder, which made her fall on her butt. "Ouch... it doesn't hurt, but.... ¡¿?!"
Eleanor saw her and rushed over to her. "Are you okay, Onee-sama?" She thought it was strange that her sister was staring at nothing with a shocked expression.
"Are you all right? You're not carrying umbrellas, besides, you two don't look like you're from here" A boy's deep voice was heard, so Eleanor looked at the one responsible for this and her eyes widened in shock.
Because she was crouched down shaking hands with her older sister, she turned her gaze upwards and saw a boy. He was wearing a black robe with red clouds embroidered on it and a conical hat with strips of cloth covering his face, but she still recognized him....
He was...
'Otou-sama...' Eleanor knew who she was by that dull, emotionless look. That 16-year-old was her father, it was Asahi Toru.
Due to the shock of seeing her father as a young man, she started to stutter trying to find a solution to this. So, she squeezed Koyomi's hand as tightly as she could, stood next to her older sister, who was still in shock, and bowed obligingly to Koyomi. "We're really sorry, oto-...I mean, onii-san..."
After that, Eleanor fled the place together with her sister somehow or other.
-Forest near Amegakure-
"Hah... hah... hah... hah..." Eleanor took a tired breath, since after leaving Amegakure, she used everything she had to appear far away from the place.
The two took a few minutes to calm down. Now Eleanor thought things over and decided it was time to leave, she had already seen too much. Still, that empty look that Toru, her father, had was very different from the look he had in the future.
"Onee-sama... this was a bad idea. We have to go home."
Koyomi took a few seconds to respond. "Otou-chan... it looked really cool, didn't it?" She smiled excitedly. "That cool robe along with the hat. He looked so mysterious and dangerous!" Her eyes sparkled with excitement. In the future she didn't have a good relationship with her father. "Ha~ who knew that bitter old man would be like that in his youth. Besides, there was someone next to him. I think he somehow resembled Uncle Sasuke."
Eleanor thought so too when she saw him. The man accompanying Toru looked a lot like Sasuke, but in reality he was quite the opposite. Sasuke looks like that man, after all he is the older brother, Itachi. They just didn't know much about it.
"There's also something that struck me as odd..." Koyomi folded her arms and nodded her head. "Otou-chan had both eyes the same, silver... that's weird. I always thought he had one crimson eye and one silver eye since he was born..." That doubt suddenly arose. In the future, Toru's eyes are completely different. One is silver and the other crimson. However, neither Koyomi nor Eleanor knew how this is possible.
"Well, this era is very different from the one we live in today. Maybe Otou-sama went through something that made his eye change color" It was the most logical. Eleanor knew, why her mother talks from time to time about Toru, that in their youth, they went through many hardships. However, she would only limit herself to saying that.
"If you think of it that way it makes sense. Now, are you hungry, Eleanor-chan? We have all the Time in the World."
Eleanor sighed tiredly again. "Seriously, this has my brain cells burned out already. We'd better get home, we've seen too much already."
"I don't want to. Let's see some more and then go home. But first let's eat something. I'll fast forward the time until tomorrow after that."
'At least she's made up her mind...' In her mind, she wished this was over. If the situation got out of control, surely that Organization would show up to forcibly return them home.
***
"I can't believe they came to this place. Onee-sama... Nee-chan..." That blonde boy narrowed his eyes as he hid in the bushes. 'I just saw a light in Onee-sama's room and went in to see what it was and suddenly it brings me to the old Konoha...' The boy, 10 years old, smiled imagining the trouble his older sisters have gotten themselves into. 'When I tell Otou-chan this... no, he doesn't get mad, it's hard to make him mad. Maybe I should tell Nee-chan's mom or... I can decide to hide it in exchange for some special favors'.
He smiled with a greedy glint in his eyes. Using his ninja stealth, he could hide from his sisters, it's what he was best at, running away and hiding, then taking advantage of people. So is Haru, who, when discovered, does what he does best, run away.
'Well, leaving that aside. Maybe I can ask Onee-sama for some money in exchange for keeping the secret. But first I'll have to keep watching'
After that, the boy's body became translucent, until it disappeared completely.
***
At the same time, that mechanical clock appeared behind Koyomi, whose hands turned clockwise. The night ended in a second and the sun rose over the horizon. Although for that rainy city, the sun's rays are almost non-existent, as rainy clouds covered the entire sky.
"Let's see what I was able to spend on this day" Koyomi smiled and summoned her Astral Dress. Then, she looked at her sister and took her by the hand. "Come on, don't wait around."
Eleanor, of course, tried to refuse, but with someone like Koyomi the situation was already becoming almost impossible. As the most responsible sister, she tried to guide all her siblings, but Koyomi was a special case.
"I'm not even going to bother anymore" She resigned herself to accept everything and disappeared together with her sister.
-Amegakure-
They appeared in the middle of the lake. The day in this village seemed to be just like any other, but when Koyomi looked up at the sky, her eyes widened as she saw the young version of her father jump out of the building.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
That boy's deep voice echoed in Koyomi's ears, who glared at the boy.
Eleanor was also surprised. Suddenly, a gigantic beast with the appearance of a wolf appeared, but suddenly, both Toru and the Wolf stopped in midair as if time had stopped.
"Who is that guy? It looks like he has a Rinnegan" Thanks to her excellent vision, she could see in detail the eyes of that man who stopped Toru.
"Onee-sama, look over there, that's Aunt Konan!"
"That's right. So in this place Otou-chan met Konan-san."
Koyomi and Eleanor had no time to react, as a clone of Toru passed by them at high speeds, apparently heading for the land of fire.
After that, the situation seemed to calm down, as Toru returned to the building along with Pain and Konan. Which left these girls thinking. Even Eleanor was curious about this, she also felt that she shouldn't care about anything anymore. If her older sister takes responsibility, then accepting the situation a little is not bad.
"Let's go into the building, Eleanor-chan. I know you are also eager to know what's going on with our father" Koyomi felt excited about this. She was seeing a side of her father that she had never seen before, and she liked it very much.
Toru, at least in Koyomi's eyes, looked extremely cool and dangerous. He had this air of mystery and aggressiveness that somehow made her happy. The same couldn't be said for Eleanor though, as, although she was curious, she felt like she was invading her father's secrets.
However, she no longer had time to think, because, as always, Koyomi took her by the hand and dragged her into trouble.
-At the present time-
Toru walked in the rain. He no longer had his hat on, as it was no longer needed if his identity was only recently discovered. Still, he continued to walk in silence, his eyes on the ground, a gaze lost in thought.
Inside his mind, in his heart, he felt shattered. Toru very rarely felt this way. He still remembered how in his past life he lost his ability to feel emotions after that event. He thought that this inability must have returned when his memories were unlocked, but it did not.
Now he felt that gut-wrenching feeling in his chest, again, like that night when he lost what little he had.
"... ¿?" He saw something that looked interesting in the middle of this rainy day.
It was a tavern called The Cat's Tail, and it seemed to be full at the moment.
Toru didn't understand what went through his head at that moment, but he didn't think about it and went in right away.
When the doors opened, all the drinkers looked at the boy who entered and recognized him instantly. Obviously Toru ignored all those looks and sat in front of the bar waiting in silence.
A girl with a headband simulating the ears of a cat appeared and looked at Toru. She felt nervous for a moment, but then took a breath and got ready to serve her customer.
"Welcome to The Cat's Tail. How can I help you, Shi no Tenshi-sama?"
Toru touched his head painfully. His clothes were wet, but he didn't feel cold. He looked up and saw the girl, then looked behind her and found a bottle with that slightly translucent liquid.
Again, Toru did not understand his own actions, as he timidly pointed to the bottle. "I'll take that one..."
The girl's eyes widened slightly in surprise. The tavern was not allowed to sell whole bottles, only small drinks to avoid trouble, but the one in front of her was the Angel of Death himself, he was an exception.
So, she resigned herself and took the bottle, to put it on the bar a second later.
Toru looked at this and took out all the money he had kept in his scroll. He handed it to the girl, took the bottle and then walked out.
The girl saw that the money was too much, so she tried to give Toru the change, but he was already gone.
***
There was an alley nearby. It was lonely, quiet and strangely cold.
He found himself in that place as the rain poured down. He walked over to a pile of wooden boxes in front of him and sat down there.
He looked at the bottle in silence...
...
He stared for a few minutes not knowing what to do.
That bottle somehow brought back memories of his past life.
There were images flashing before his eyes like painful flashbacks. That woman who drank to excess, that woman who mistreated him for so long.
...
...
He was a child, an innocent child who wanted to make his mother happy. What did he do wrong? He had no idea. And that bottle in front of his eyes was showing him things he didn't want to remember.
Blood...
Loneliness...
Misery...
I had everything and at the same time nothing...
Toru opened the bottle with trembling hands and brought it to his lips.
The smell of sake was quite strong and made him feel dizzy. That smell was exactly the same smell that woman had.
His hands trembled, Toru hesitated....
But then, those people who are no more, in that bright place appeared.
The light in his eyes was lost and then....
*glup*
He took a big gulp of sake and sent it to the bottom of his system. Right there, he let out a big sigh because he felt the alcohol burning his throat, but after that, a strange feeling of satisfaction invaded his heart.
He looked up at the night sky and felt his tears mingle with the rain.
"Why am I doing this...?"
To be continued...