I moved onwards, trying to guess at which paths Haido might have taken. Down? Deeper into the mines? But he was hardly going to dig them out of the ground himself, was he? Depending on how quickly the fall of the empire had progressed, there might have been a store of stones kept awaiting sale… or they might have been cleaned out completely.
The volume of the music was making my head pound, and it was hard to think, like standing in the front row of a concert and trying to do math.
Then I heard the sound of raised voices echoing along a corridor, and realized I had found my answer. I couldn't make out the words – it was too indistinct for that – nor who it was that was shouting, but there could hardly be other people here at this time, could there?
I darted into the room just in time to see Kahiko stab Haido with a small dagger.
Kahiko, of course. I hadn't seen him outside, but I'd assumed he'd just hidden when the fighting had broken out. But no, of course he was getting himself involved.
Haido yelled, a wordless roar, and threw the old man backwards. I moved to intercept; around the central plate we were standing on, the floor fell away, stairs circling the walls and descending far downwards. If Kahiko fell from that, he wouldn't survive.
There was a small dais on the wall opposite the entrance, with an empty pedestal. I had the feeling that it hadn't been empty a few minutes ago, and the greenish glow visible from Haido's hand seemed to confirm that.
I dropped Kahiko to the ground to keep my hands free, and hoped he didn't jump into trouble again. It hadn't even achieved anything, because the small wound had already healed with the regenerating power of the stones.
At least it's in his hand, I thought. Easy enough to cut off. It wouldn't kill him, either, unlike Fugai.
"More interruptions?" Haido said, looking at me with a sigh. "Those children really are worthless. But it's too late. I already have the first stone of Gelel, the Heart Stone, and there is no longer anything you can do to stop me."
"Yes, there is!" Kahiko snapped, and drove his little dagger into the centre of the mosaic on the floor. There was a pulse of chakra, and it rippled, surging out from the point. "This is the Chamber of Sealing, and with the royal blood, this will destroy the entire mine! These legends have been passed down our clan for generations!"
And Haido started to laugh.
Oh, that isn't good. I didn't know what he was laughing about, but it was never good when you revealed your trump and the enemy laughed. And… the seal didn't actually seem to be doing anything.
You could have told us this before, Kahiko!
"Fool! I have searched long and hard for these stones, they were not handed to me by birthright alone."
Well, it was too much to assume that they would have survived so long passed down from parent to child. It had been thousands of years. They could have been sold, stolen, traded, lost… any number of things. There wasn't even any guarantee that there were any of the 'royal blood' that still existed, nor that there actual blood would fit whatever parameters were designed into the seal. Good grief.
Metal clattered behind us, heralding Temujin's entrance into the hall. Behind him, a tiny furred face peeked out inquisitively, before churring happily and bounding through the room to curl up on the pedestal.
"Ah, Temujin. I thought I gave instructions to allow no one inside?" The reminder was sharp and biting. "No matter. Kill them."
And Temujin, wonder of wonders, hesitated. "Haido-sama? We have what we came for. There is no longer any need…"
"You always were too soft," Haido snorted contemptuously. "How many times do I have to tell you? They are noble sacrifices for a greater cause. Those who stand at the top have to make tough decisions, so the rest of the world may be drawn into a peaceful utopia."
"You mean 'so the rest of the world bows to your might'," I cut in softly. "You only say 'peace' to convince others to follow you."
"What does it matter? I have the stones now. If no one dares fight, then there will be peace."
"You will be a tyrant and people will always rise up to fight tyrants," I retorted. "Besides, those stones are not as powerful as you seem to believe. Maybe your home is different, but there are people here who could crush you, stones or no." If he thought we were the pinnacle of ninja ability, he was in for a rude awakening.
Still, I hoped it didn't come to that. Because having actual ninja get their hands on these was a far more frightening thought.
Immortal, endlessly regenerating ninja. It would be like Edo Tensei zombies come early. No, something would have to be done about it.
Haido glared darkly and raised his hand, palm facing towards me. I was moving before the blast of energy left his palm and impacted on the ground I had been standing a bare second before.
"Such power!"
"Haido-sama!" Temujin objected.
And Haido turned his hand on him. Unlike me, Temujin didn't move fast enough to avoid the blow, and it sent him tumbling across the ground, sword flying from his grasp.
"Hmm, I can't control it properly yet," Haido mused, seeming unconcerned about what he'd just done. "That should have killed you, Temujin. I really don't have any use for you, anymore, if you're just going to get in my way. Your sacrifice was appreciated."
Temujin rose up on hands and knees and was staring at Haido with disbelief. "You- you…"
There was light glowing on his breastplate, just above the heart. No, not just light, it looked like writing. A seal?
"The royal symbol," Kahiko muttered. "So it was the boy all along…"
Haido twitched his fingers, but instead of another blast of light, Temujin's swords started sliding across the floor towards him, with some speed. My jacket pocket pulled forward, the stone inside it seemingly drawn to Haido, but wasn't the target of the technique, and therefore not strong enough to pull through the material.
"This sword was one of the relics of the Empire," Haido said stooping to lift it. "This was what led me to you, in the end. Your mother fought in the battle of Fuchidoru, and there were many tales of her skills. I knew it was a power I must have. She refused to hand it over, for the betterment of all, so what happened afterwards was necessary."
Wait. Hadn't Temujin said his parents were killed by bandits?
Haido examined the sword carefully. "In the end, it was useless. The stone was corrupt, answering only to your family. But your mother also had a book, and that was much more valuable." He threw the sword to the side.
"You were the one that destroyed his village!" Kahiko said, verbalising what we were all beginning to realise. "You killed them all."
Temujin was staring in mute horror. I did feel sorry for him now. Maybe Haido had seemed reasonable, before they'd come here. Maybe the violence had crept up on them. But this was a lie right from the start, from before the start.
"But you no longer have the book," I said, carefully drawing attention back to myself. "Do you?"
That did it.
"Where is it?" Haido snarled. "You stole it, you thief!"
"If it wasn't yours to start with, how am I the thief?" I asked. I didn't actually want to provoke him into action, just distract him. I was perfectly fine with Haido monologuing as much as he liked.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Kahiko shuffling towards Temujin. I hoped he wasn't going to try the knife trick again, because I'd rather not have the entire place destroyed while I was inside it. Afterwards… well that was fair game.
I took a step forward, cautiously. My lightsaber was in my pocket, and all I had to do was cut off his hand. He hadn't mastered the stone, and so far its abilities had seemed straight forward.
"That book is the foundation for our new world," Haido said. "It contains the secrets to how to use the stones for a prosperous existence. If you return it, I will show mercy. I will even allow you to be part of our new utopia."
"Eh," I said, shrugging a shoulder. "I already destroyed it."
So much for not provoking him. I should probably have played along with accepting the offer and buying time to get closer.
I dodged the first blast, planted my good hand on the ground and flipped over the second, drew my lightsaber and deflected the third – which worked, and I didn't consider that it might not until the moment before it hit – and was close enough to swing at him when something hit me in the back and I staggered.
I blinked, confused. Temujin and Kahiko were to my side, I could still see them, staring in wide eyed horror. It hadn't been them.
My lightsaber went out, and tumbled from nerveless fingers.
I blinked again, slower and heavier.
That's not good.
My legs weren't working right. I fell forward, onto my knees. They jarred against the stone, but it was a distant feeling.
There was a shriek, like the cry of a wounded animal, and the air turned red.
Sluggishly, I raised my head – when had I dropped it? – and watched Naruto careen past me, making the air bleed. Red chakra snapped over my skin, and it should have been unbearable, but all I felt was heat.
Naruto is here. It'll be okay now, right?
"-he'll pull the place down around us!" Temari's voice said, warbling and wavering in my ears. She was holding Shikamaru by the arm, trying to drag him back out the door. But he didn't want to go, was shaking her off, and you couldn't make a Nara go where they didn't want.
"Shikako!"
I struggled to get up. Shikamaru was never so upset, never sounded so hopeless. I just had to show him it was okay.
But there was something heavy attached to my chest, and it was so hard to move, I was so tired…
I reached up to touch it, fingers clumsy. It was cold, cold and metal, pressing out through my sternum. It shouldn't have been there. It was Temujin's sword, and it was in my chest.
Shikamaru crouched in front of me - when had he moved? - eyes wide and hopeless. It looked like all the pain I wasn't feeling was hitting him. Listlessly, I raised an arm, touching his face gently. Blood smeared from my fingertips across his cheek.
It was so hard…
"'Kako, 'Kako, come on, please," he was saying, just my name, over and over again. His hands fluttered, my shoulders, hands, arms, chest, shoulders as if he couldn't decide where to touch.
And it dawned on me that I was going to die here.
I was…
I swallowed, tried to say something. But there was nothing. What could I say? I'm sorry, I love you, I failed, I'm sorry, I don't want to go.
I didn't want to go.
Because I was going to lose this.
I was going to lose Shika and Naruto, Ino and Sasuke and Chouji and Sakura… I was going to lose mom and dad. I was going to lose feeding the deer in the early morning and the dawn peeking over the tree tops. I was going to lose shogi in the living room and feet under the kotatsu in winter. I was going to lose standing on water and defying gravity. I was going to lose lightning sparks dancing over my fingers and earth trembling underfoot and I was going to lose a shadow that moved itself…
I was going to lose the chance to make a difference.
I was going to lose everything.
Again.
It didn't matter what came after, if it was nothing or everything, the end or a new beginning… I was going to lose this.
I didn't want to go.
Shika was still talking, but I couldn't hear him anymore. The song in my head was too loud, and there was nothing else, anymore. But it was beautiful, and nothing hurt, and it was dragging me away into light. The tempo was like the beat of a heart, and the melody like breathing and it was warm and almost familiar.
But I… didn't want to go.
I wanted to live.
And the light roiled and twisted inside me, filling me up, like a supernova inside my chest. I gasped, eyes flying open.
Because… it. The Gelel. It wanted to live too.
It had begun here. A long time ago. And there had been people here, always people, short sparks of life that lived and shared with it, tended to it and it grew. It lived. Maybe not sapient. But sentient. It had lived, and it had shared life with the little sparks, and they had lived longer and better, shining brighter. It had loved.
And then they had gone.
We had been alone here, and we had waited, waited for them to come back. And now they had, bright, shining life carrying pieces of us.
And then one of them cut out, candle flame guttering into darkness.
We cried out, a long note of despair. We did not wish to lose them, not to go back to being alone. We reached out, and we knew them. Shikamaru, Naruto, Gaara, Temari, Kankurou, Temujin, Kahiko, Nerugui… we knew them.
We could feel the anger of Kurama breaking against the seal. Like glass it was, clear and true, separating the two of them the way we were not separated. We touched him, soothed him – time passes – and he shone, clear and bright and alive. And we could feel the other, Shukaku, and we could touch him too, alive and eternal like us, as great and infinite as the depths of the universe.
Then… a note of discord. A shadow where there was nothing to cast it. Something that was not us, within us.
Shikamaru.
You would fight a god? We asked him, curiously. He did not hurt us, could not hurt us. We were light and life, not mortal flesh to be injured or damaged. We were. We existed.
Yes, came the reply, fierce and bright. Give me back my sister. He pushed and pulled and he was so small and nothing compared to the vastness of space, a drop of ink against the night sky, an ant trying to destroy a star.
His energy drained, little by little, fading away, life leaching out as he expended it in a fruitless struggle. For what?
Shikako, he pleaded.
My name. For me.
We were –
I was –
I was caught in the center of a storm, torn and tugged in every direction. I couldn't hold on. I couldn't let go. I wasn't who he thought I was, wasn't who he was fighting so hard to get back.
Shikako!
I had wanted to be special, hadn't I? Wasn't this… wasn't this special, precious, terrifying, to know that someone would fight a god. For you.
So that you would stay.
I didn't… I didn't want to go.
I reached for him, and it took everything I had. The Gelel pulled at me, and it wasn't malicious, it wasn't, it was safety and light and joy and life and it was so hard, so hard, but I-
-let-
-go.
Light exploded upwards, a fountain of it, a column of it, pouring out of me and into the sky. It covered the sky in all the colours of the aurora, bright enough to be seen under the noonday sun.
I choked, trying to breathe, and Shikamaru's hands were on my shoulders, and he was crying, and my body felt wrong, heavy and ungainly and imperfect. I was hollowed out, burnt from the inside, empty and too full all at the same time.
Naruto was sitting, half collapsed, eyes wide and face pale. He looked uninjured, more awed than horrified. Temari crouched beside her younger brother, a half formed shell of sand protecting them both from falling debris. Kankurou, further away, had dragged Temujin and Kahiko to safety.
The temple around us was shattered and gone, and things were unfurling from the ground, growing things, grass and trees and flowers. I could hear water burbling up, a cheerful babble, as an underground spring refreshed.
I breathed.
It didn't hurt.
Cautiously, with great dread, I looked downwards. There was no sword protruding from my chest.
I touched it. There was nothing but solid, unbroken skin. If it hadn't been for my tattered, blood soaked shirt, I wouldn't have believed I was injured at all.
"We were stars," I said to Shikamaru.
And started to cry.