Arc X Chapter 18

X

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Arc X Chapter 18

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Author's Notes:

This may be irrelevant for those who never read or watched Naruto and merely enjoy this fanfic standalone. It will prove to be less irrelevant for those who have. This story will take, from here onwards, a stronger AU direction as the entire Kaguya/Otsutsuki clan background story of late Shippuden will be effectively thrown into this trash bin of terrible writing, where it belongs. Rewritten from a more grounded perspective, more properly based on Japanese mythology with significantly lower power-scaling and a different order of events presented. It would be otherwise impossible to lead this fanfic to a satisfying end.

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Asami smiled at her sweet, sweeter, sweetest sister. “Come, Yuki-chan~. Time to explore some ancient ruins~. Together~.”

“Understood, Nee-san~.” Yuki nodded, bouncing after her like the faithful little sister she was with the light steps of a newborn kitten-kitten and Katsuki tightly enclosed in her cuddly embrace. Doubt and hesitation were concepts alien to Yuki, whose judgement was decisively clouded by her eternal love for her sole and all-important Nee-san.

Meanwhile, Someone else of lesser spirit hesitated. Raiden stared at Asami with a mixture subtle distrust and speechlessness. His posture was impeccable. His back straightened. His hand folded behind his back. Yet his blank stare told her everything she needed to know. It was the immense weight of history that finally dawned on a common man of his birth, a man of humble origins . The endless thoughts and questions crossing his mind lay before her readable like an open book.

Asami gifted Yuki with a radiant smile before turning towards her loyal guide. “Raiden, what's the matter? You seem troubled.”

“...”A calculating stare met her, a stare filled with neither hostility, nor animosity, but rather with hints of surprise, confusion, and even curiosity.

Extending her arms, Asami offered an invitation to her comrade in arms. “What are you waiting for? Follow me.”

His hesitation persisted undiminished, yet his composure slowly returned. Raising his hand, Raiden cleared his throat. “... My apologies for my delay, Lady Asami, your recent actions … distracted me. I would love to, but I can see nothing inside.I think that this is a matter of illumination, or rather the lack of ... it …”

A series of floating flames appeared around Asami to light their way in their purple glory.Their flickering light illuminated the hall, piercing the darkness of the subterranean chamber.

Asami beamed. “I guess, this should resolve our little illumination issue to a sufficient degree. Time to go~.” 

Taking a happy Yuki by her hand, Asami led her intrepid, little sister through the ruins. Raiden quietly followed after some brief consideration. His watchful eyes never left Asami’s back. 

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Her flames guided them onwards, as they navigated through the dark corridors, meanwhile her Yuki-chan was beaming and humming along. Yet uncomfortable silence reigned due to one certain man.

Asami turned her gaze behind her. “Unless I am mistaken, something seems to trouble you, my friend. You have gone quite silent.”

“Do you think so?” Raiden responded.

Asami giggled. “I would say so. Your reticence is rather obvious. Hardly inconspicuous.”

“... I guess so”, Raiden admitted.

“Do tell me, what weighs on your soul? You can ask me anything.”

...

...

...

He took her at her word. “Considering your little speech, I assume that you must be a descendant of Indra, aren't you?”

An amused smirk crossed Asami’s face “I am indeed. I am the last living descendant of Indra.” Aside from Itachi, and Sasuke, but those were of course minor technicalities.

Raiden studied her. His glazed eyes scrutinised her every gesture. “Which in turn, makes Your Highness the last living heir in the imperial line of succession, doesn't it?”

Asami giggled in response. “Why ask what you know by yourself, Raiden? I think you know the answer as well as I do.” 

“...” Raiden fell silent. His question was answered, leaving him with merely more questions unanswered. “So the legends are true ... What a surprise. Judging by your …”

“Judging by what?” Asami maintained her smile undiminished.

“Never mind, it's nothing.” Raiden diverted, but Asami didn't mind. 

“Nee-san~, Nee-san~.” Yuki tugged at her sleeves, her voice musical.

“Yes, Yuki-chan?” Asami beamed.

Yuki's eyes began to sparkle brighter, and brighter, ever brighter, “Does that mean Nee-san is a true princess?” Obviously, someone as perfect as Nee-san must be! It would be only a title most befitting her.”

Asami chuckled. “I guess so. Technically speaking, I am a princess.”

“Oh~.” Yuki reacted in surprise, her admiration for Nee-san soaring even higher, if that was even possible.

Katsuki nodded in perfect unison, her ears twitching, her tail wagging, and her whiskers satisfied. Her feline mind shared mirrored Yuki's sentiments. As it turned out, her mistress was a genuine princess. An imperial princess, no less. 

Her kitten chest swelled with the immense pride inborn to the most supreme feline race. No wonder that fate chose Asami as her mistress, considering her noble lineage. Now with Asami's pedigree revealed, continuing submittance to her mistress was only a matter of course. It was a most logical decision, a most natural decision on her part to serve her mistress. Of course, a princess of her stature of the proud and venerable cat clan would only ever accept a mistress of noble birth, a princess of comparable stature and standing.

Raiden, meanwhile, pinched the bridge of his nose. Like big sister, like little sister ... He was certain that the two sisters would be sooner or later his end.

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Time passed before their arrival at the end of the tunnel. An ancient stone altar greeted them. An altar, serene and pristine, proud and magnificent to the point that the very air fell into a stupor of sudden deference and awe. Steles, or pillars, of black stone surrounded an eight-petalled lotus cast on the ground, leaving no doubt about their origin.

This place was ... special, a place where time stood still. The steles ... The stone ... The lotus ... A strange, celestial aura inhabited these ancient walls, a spirit close to the realm of the divine, far removed from the profane qualities of the mundane, physical world.

This altar was the place where the sacred treasures, the imperial regalia, were stored throughout the centuries. Forgotten by man and history, they were meant to be returned to their rightful heir, or rather their rightful heiress. Such was their preordained destiny. Yet reality, as so often, disagreed.

Asami's eyes fell upon three venerable podiums. Judging by their placement, she intuited that they were supposed to harbour what was hers. Two of three podiums were conspicuously vacant. Two of the three imperial regalia were missing, leaving her behind, much to her personal displeasure, or rather empty handed. “...”

Her mysterious thieves appropriated the sword and the mirror, yet the perpetrators ignored the magatama. Untouched and seemingly neglected, the jewel of jewels lay before her, unclaimed and at her disposal. That was at least something, and most certainly better than nothing, as her uninvited visitors could have easily left her with less.

Inspecting the altar, Raiden noted, “I guess our hunch was correct, we are not the first who have entered this room. Someone beat us here.”

“... Apparently ...” Asami commented with a hint of annoyance, “... but I guess not everything is lost. At least, our thieves had a shred of decency left and didn't steal all of them.” 

Raiden raised an eyebrow. “What did they take?”

“Judging by their absence, both the sword Kusanagi ... along with the Yata mirror ... are both missing, but I suppose they mean little to you ... The three imperial regalia ... Have you ever heard about them, Raiden?

Her subordinate shook his head negatively. “Not until recently. Based on the inscriptions and from what I heard, they are supposed to be some kind of sacred treasure ...”

“They are that ... They are,” Asami sighed and lectured, “... And yet they are so much more. ‘The Sun in her radiant glory banishes the consuming darkness of the longest night, and the Moon, ever increasing, ever decreasing, illuminates thy way in the face of obscurity. May my jewels guide thee like a lamp through the darkest night, armed with the steel of my sword’.”

Asami mustered a subdued giggle in response, enunciated each of her words. “Do not worry, Raiden. I don't blame you for your ignorance. The regalia are objects shrouded in mystery, as knowledge about their existence has waned since the disappearance of the imperial line. In fact, ‘the matters of the age of the gods had long been forgotten so that no one knew them any longer.. “Even the emperors, those who guarded the three sacred regalia, handing them down from one generation to the other, forgot their meaning. One day, the emperor asked the wisest of all schools in the kingdom, yet their meaning even eluded them. Saddened, the emperor one day prayed to the kami to answer his questions, and from the waters of the imperial garden a woman dressed in blue emerged, an emissary of Tenshō Daijin, to teach the emperor the word of the kami.’ So you are certainly far from alone in your ignorance.”

“...” Raiden refrained from commenting.

Asami continued, her momentum unabated, “The imperial regalia are items of extreme importance, symbols of power and authority, of particular religious and spiritual significance. The regalia predate the birth of the empire and the era of Indra and Ashura ...” They even predate the time of Hagoromo and Hamura, along with the reign of princess Kaguya. “It was the Sun Goddess herself, the one who bestowed them as gifts upon her blessed children. It is her blood that flows through my veins, the last descendant of Amaterasu omikami, The imperial regalia are thus central to the legitimacy and authority of the imperial throne. As such, they all must be acquired by my hand to reclaim what is mine.”

Raiden remained silent. Imperial regalia ... Amaterasu ... Imperial throne ... His mental image was growing clearer and clearer. “How ... How do you know all this?”

A smirk crossed Asami's lips. “Trust me. Raiden, I have my sources by virtue of my blood and my extensive studies, yet even I lack the finer details. We are talking here about an era bygone. Much knowledge has been lost. Perhaps too much.”

“... ... ...” Her words elicited an uneasy smile from his lips. “I will be honest, Lady Asami, why me? Why are you disclosing all of this to me?”

“In the great of scheme of things, it doesn't matter whether you know, or not, as, sooner or later, the day the world will know will come regardless. So take it as a token of appreciation in your person, as I confide in your secrecy.” 

Asami stepped forwards, prepared to claim her prize. “‘This shall be the land upon which my descendants shall found their reign. Go forth thou, my child, thither and rule it in my stead, as decreed by my will. May prosperity attend thy dynasty, and may it endure for ever like Heaven and Earth.’”

The magatama was hers, hers alone, and so was the imperial throne.

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