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The problem onsets quickly and suddenly, without warning.
Actually, there were several warning signs. Isshiki, unfortunately, inexplicably, had failed to look for them.
“Be wary, Isshiki.” his branch head had said to him, at least two thousand years ago, very early on. “The Otsutsuki are above all other beings, but we cannot always best them. We cannot even best ourselves. Temper your pride, lest it grow unchecked.”
Isshiki had presumed he had taken this warning to heart, but evidently not.
He lays in the astral plane, rotting. Even here, he has sustained damage. Only through the slimmest, faultiest ties does he cling to life.
His form flakes around the edges, crumbling away ominously. What little physicality has manifested is unbearable. He cannot move his legs, his left arm.
“Amado,” he hisses aloud. It seethes and burns. “To think you, of all people, would betray me.”
There had been signs. There had been drawbacks in Amado’s loyalty. But Isshiki had truly believed, in the end, the other man would not quite bring himself to it. Some semi conviction would at least hesitate his finger on the trigger, give Isshiki some time to dodge.
There had not even been a hint of it the last time they saw each other. They passed in the hallway, late in the evening. Jigen had requested a glass of wine. Amado laughed wryly, and he found it in his room when he returned. And then, evidently, mere hours from this exchange, he had used Kashin Koji’s summon to escape Kara’s grasp.
Not a slip. Not a blink. Completely resolute.
But that was the way Amado had always been, wasn’t it?
Isshik is gripped by a wave of nausea. His throat suddenly feels tight, constricting. He rolls over onto his side and spits blood.
The feeling worsens. It’s like something is clawing at him from the inside. There’s a huge sharp lump in his chest. He exorcizes it through several more bloody, painful coughs.
It’s a flower.
-
“Put that away.” Jigen says. “Come have a drink with me.”
“Hm?” Amado glances up..
In lieu of repeating himself, Jigen holds out an empty glass in front of him expectantly.
Amado sighs and sets down the book he has been studying. He keys in a passcode and the desk it is on folds back into the wall, sealing tightly with an audible hum as the jutsu and electric field installed activate defensively.
“I don’t have a lot of time for this tonight.” Amado grumbles. He accepts the glass anyway. “This Otsutsuki guidebook has set me way behind on everything else. Just decoding it has overheated my processor twice.”
“Have you finished yet?”
“I’ve got barely three pages.”
“Hm.” Jigen says, displeased. “What were you doing over there, then? Looking at the pictures?”
Amado snorts.
“Yes, actually.”
“Really?”
“Well, more like graphic diagrams.” Amado says.
Jigen holds out his hand and summons a bottle of wine to full size on the table. Laying next to it is a bottle opener.
“What we do have so far doesn’t seem to be relevant at all.” Amado begins opening the bottle without any sort of acknowledgment of the task. “Just extraneous medical information. Something called Hanahaki.”
“Ah, interesting.” Jigen says. “I had almost believed that was a myth. It’s so exceedingly rare.”
Amado glances up from where he has been pouring the wine into their glasses. “Oh?”
“It’s a truly ridiculous disease.” Jigen says thoughtfully. “One of the more humiliating blights upon our species.”
“‘The uncontrollable internal growth of plant matter within the lungs, triggered by unrequited love and exacerbated with exposure until death.’” Amado recites. Jigen inclines his head.
“Yes. That.” he takes a sip from his glass. “Can you imagine dying from such a thing? To demean yourself to another so inconsequentially, and yet so persistently as to kill yourself.” he shakes his head. “A fool’s affliction.”
Amado makes a noise of vague agreement.
“Is there a cure?”
Jigen shakes his head.
“Not that I know of.” he thinks for a moment. “Well, let me amend that. There’s a cure, but no one I know of has ever taken it.”
“Oh?” Amado says. His eyes furrow in a very particular, curious way.
“The jutsu is as rare as the disease.” Jigen says. “I doubt many know it. It eliminates the growth in the lungs, but as it is intrinsically tied to the unrequited emotion, it removes that as well. That is to say, the afflicted will only survive if they lose all feelings and memory of the object of their desires.”
“Doesn’t seem like too hard of a decision.”
“And yet no one has made it.” Jigen says. “Isn’t that odd. I suppose it takes a weak mind to be afflicted with such a disease in the first place.”
“Weak or stupid.” Amado takes a drink. “The fact it’s only induced with an unrequited love should speak for itself. If whatever sort of perverse, one sided ‘love’ you have is killing you, better to kill it.”
“Ruthless.”
Amado shrugs. “I prefer pragmatic.”
Jigen smiles as Amado takes yet another drink. He reaches out and stills the human’s hand, lowering the glass from his face.
“Don’t you have more work to do tonight?”
“Seriously?” Amado says, raising an eyebrow. “You invited me to drink.”
“Maybe I was testing you.”
Amado rolls his eyes and raises his glass again. “I don’t know what’s with this playful side of yours recently, Jigen.” he grumbles. “No one would ever believe me if I told them.”
Jigen smiles to himself and runs a finger across his own glass, gently around the rim. He only presses slightly, collecting a little pressure against the thin, fine line of it.
“Don’t get too comfortable.” he warns.
Amado laughs dryly, but genuinely. When it’s real, it comes from his chest, and he resists it as it comes out.
“I’m sure that won’t be a problem.”
-
Damn him.
-
Faintly, a voice reverberates at the end of the hall.
“I’m sure you know, it’s a very severe and prominent threat.” Shikamaru, Konoha’s second in command. “Sort of a damned if we do, damned if we don’t, sort of thing.”
“I understand.”
In his cell, Isshiki’s eyes narrow.
After a few passcodes and security measures, the gate lifts and Isshiki’s visitors are able to walk into his line of sight.
“Don’t get too excited. We’re just here to talk.” Shikamaru says.
“Of course.” Isshiki holds his hands out placidly, demonstrating his restraints. “I’m an open book.”
Amado looks much the same as always. Maybe the cut of his beard is a little cleaner and closer than usual. He holds himself tightly, as if under great duress.
“I find that hard to believe.” Shikamaru says.
Isshiki inclines his head.
“He really turned himself in to you? Voluntarily?” Amado says to Shikamaru.
“Walked right up and knocked on the door.”
“He’s always been threatened by Eida, but to this extent…there must be something else he knows.” Amado frowns.
“Well, don’t ask me .”
“Yes, don’t be shy now, Amado.” Isshiki contributes. “They brought you down here to gauge my sincerity, isn’t that correct?” he leans forward in his seat. “You must know me so well.”
“What I still don’t understand is how you’re even alive.” Shikamaru says. “We sacrificed a lot to get rid of you, and here you are, unscathed.”
Mildly scathed.
“I’m willing to believe there’s some Karma backup I didn’t know about.” Amado says to Shikamaru. “Isshiki has always been cautious. There’s a lot I was never able to learn.”
“Well, that’s the first question of the night, then.” Shikamaru says. He points at Isshiki. “If you can’t answer this, you’re going to hate the rest of them. How did you survive?”
“There is another iteration of the Karma that I am linked to, yes.” Isshiki smiles. “It has nothing to do with Kawaki, and it’s nothing Amado would know. That’s all I can share. And believe me, I have no interest in lying to you right now. It’s in my best interest to help you defeat Eida.”
“Why?” Shikamaru says, prudently not pressing the Karma. No matter how open anyone has expected Isshiki to be, this minute leverage of his is to be expected to remain. As long as he holds it, they can’t really be certain they can kill him again, therefore they can’t leverage his cooperation as harshly as they would like.
“Otsutsuki are immune to Eida’s enchantment senjutsu.” Amado contributes. “Her other power must have progressed to a point that Isshiki can no longer beat her even without that. And more than that, she must have something that he wants.”
“Don’t hypothesize about me like I’m not here.” Isshiki snaps.
“Is it true? What does Eida have?”
“A better question,” Isshiki says. “Is what do I want?”
Silence.
“What do you want?”
Isshiki shakes his head. “I’ll only answer if Amado asks the question.”
Shikamaru glances askance at Amado, whose gaze is averted downwards studiously. His arms are crossed, he looks for all intents and purposes very mellow, very thoughtful.
“What do you want?” he says blandly.
“Amado.” Isshiki says, watching the muscles jump in his jaw. “That’s not good enough.”
The hostility writhes in the air, to the extent that Shikamaru raises an eyebrow.
“He asked the question.”
Isshiki ignores him.
“Amado.” he says again. “Look at me.”
Internally; look what you’ve done to me.
Externally, it takes a full thirty seconds, and Amado’s eyes slowly peel off the floor, to meet Isshiki’s.
It doesn’t seem to pain him, it’s only a discomfort. Not a fear, but a wariness. Isshiki becomes aware of the presence in his chest. A couple leaves tickle his throat, which he stalwartly swallows down.
“What do you want, Isshiki?” Amado says, in a very put upon way.
Isshiki feels that the violence of his stare could burn holes through the other’s head. Sure enough, for a second, Amado averts his eyes, then sends them right back, unwilling to jeopardize the interrogation for too long. Pragmatic of him.
He very carefully fields his mouth into a small, disingenuous smile.
“That’s better.” he says. “Do you remember the Book of Shibai?”
-
Jigen makes a point of watching Amado work, for at least as long as it takes for him to lose interest. Entertainment is so difficult to find, after all these years of biding and planning. Amado always provides some sort of it.
It had clearly irritated Amado initially, early on in their collaboration, but he had always been too judicious to say anything about it. Now, after several years of it, he doesn’t seem to mind.
“How long are you going to breathe down my neck today?” Amado snaps over his shoulder, hunched over circuits. Well, he doesn’t seem to genuinely mind.
“Indefinitely.” Jigen says.
He’s actually given Amado plenty of personal space today. Amado is at the center of the table, rewiring the rocket thrusters for Delta’s boots. Jigen is leaning against the corner of the table casually, a few feet away, very politely.
“You’re a real piece of work, you know that?” Amado grumbles. This is something he’s taken to saying when he’s in a bad mood.
“I might take your disrespect to heart one of these days.” Jigen says. “Don’t forget about the air ducts in the main hall. They’ve clogged again, it’s truly insufferable. When you’re finished here, take a look, please.”
Amado doesn’t acknowledge beyond his eye twitching slightly.
Jigen presses.
“It also has become apparent that we should upgrade some of the side gate security. It almost took Boro’s head off yesterday, which while amusing, is hardly ideal. Speaking of Boro-”
“Jigen.” Amado glares at him. “This is very critical. Please. I don’t need distractions.”
“Of course.”
Amado zeroes back in on his work. Jigen walks a few steps forward to get a better view.
Whatever he’s doing, he’s very precise with it. His jaw is clenched, but he moves with careful self assurance. It’s within his control.
He loosens the end piece holding down a long red wire, and pulls it out delicately with a pair of tweezers. The exposed metal part of the wire sparks slightly, and Amado takes care not to touch it to anything else, even the sides of it’s own casing as he pulls.
Jigen’s gaze drags on Amado’s hands and up his forearms. They are a little dirty, lightly scuffed and scarred. Very…organic.
Suddenly, Amado starts. The wire drops from his grasp, back into the fray of the rocket boot, where it immediately begins sparking and smoking.
“Shit-!” he says, frantically turning to the power output dials on the side of the boot.
“What happened?”
“Delta in my earpiece-I forgot I had it in. It’s going to-”
Without further delay, the mess of wiring explodes violently. The room fills with white smoke.
“Sukunahikona.”
Before the damage can spread, much less to Amado, Jigen sub-atomizes the entire table. For good measure, against the projectile shrapnel, he grabs Amado by the collar and spins him around. They slam into the metal wall, with Jigen’s back to the explosion, shielding him.
Hands flat on the wall, framing Amado’s head, Jigen looks into his eyes, unimpressed. Amado returns his gaze, with a rather uncharacteristic expression. Before Jigen can further observe it, Amado covers his face and begins coughing loudly.
He pushes Jigen away by the shoulder, stumbling forward.
“Goddamnit.” he supplies harshly.
“Hm.” Jigen agrees.
“It should be fine now, can you,” Amado gestures with his hands, “bring it back up.”
Jigen undoes his jutsu. Amado puts his hands on hips and sighs, surveying the charred mess.
Jigen comes up behind him.
“It’s not like you to make mistakes.”
“Well, believe it or not, it does happen sometimes.”
“Mm.” Jigen narrows his eyes. “You seem distracted today. Something on your mind?”
“No, I just-” Amado turns, and stops short, confronted by Jigen’s sudden proximity. He can actually see the words die on the man’s lips. “I…something like that.”
Jigen raises an eyebrow. “I see.”
Fascinating.
Amado’s earpiece crackles to life again. Within this range, Jigen can hear Delta’s voice through it.
“Amado! Pick up, dammit! My tablet won’t charge! Fix it!”
Amado winces at the volume, pitch, and general resonance of Delta. He reaches up to respond, but Jigen stops him.
Leaning forward, face parallel to Amado’s, he activates the earpiece in Amado’s stead and speaks into it softly.
“Not now, Delta.” he says. He removes the earpiece entirely and sets it to the side. Then he draws back minutely so he can look at Amado head on.
His eyes find Jigen’s immediately. It takes a moment to discern through his glasses, but his pupils are blown wide. He glances down, then back up.
“Don’t be shy now, Amado.” Jigen says. “I sense there’s something you want to-”
‘Tell me’ is immediately swallowed by Amado’s sudden kiss.
Jigen is a little startled. Amado’s hands, gripping the collar of Jigen’s robes tightly so as to pull him within range, loosen and flatten down on his chest.
After a few seconds, they separate.
Jigen brings his own hands up from where they were hanging by his sides to touch his lips delicately.
“Interesting.” he says. “I had never tried that before.”
He leans forward again, not interested in any sort of response other than the one Amado gives.
Oddly gentle, Jigen observes. He hadn’t thought it of either of them.
He’s not entirely sure if there’s more to it, but he places his hands on the back of Amado’s neck by way of encouragement. Amado seems to like that.
He puts his fingertips on Jigen’s jaw, sort of ghost like.
“Here.” he mutters to Jigen’s mouth. “Let me just-”
Jigen obligingly parts his lips. This provides a different experience.
His hips bump into the table, rattling the machine carcass. He hadn’t even realized he had been moving backwards, bending to Amado’s pressure.
The man’s hand burns a hot trail down Jigen’s exposed chest, now ducking inside the robe. His other hand grips the edge of the table, boxing Jigen in a bit. For his part, Jigen has a hold on the base of Amado’s skull, locking him in place. After some deliberation, the other hand goes on his chest.
“Hm.” Jigen hums as Amado pushes at him again, shaking the table. His kiss is not quite lewd, but very thorough. Quite indicative of his character. He leaves little to be desired.
Jigen pushes him back gently, allowing them both some air. Amado’s eyes, which had been closed, blink open, then closed again.
Jigen kisses him one more time.
“Fascinating.” he says aloud. “You never fail to intrigue, Amado.”
Amado looks at him frankly, with a sense of judgment that seems to forget his hand down Jigen’s collar.
“Do you have to be so talkative?” he says.
But still, he breathes heavily, and his eyes are blown out in such a way that takes Jigen aback momentarily. He seems to be inappropriately resolute.
He almost doesn’t want to look at Amado’s face any longer; just to see it.
His chest tightens uncomfortably.
“Always.” he responds.
-
In the time between Amado’s betrayal and reviving into a clone’s body, Isshiki has a lot of time to think. This is generally the case for him.
That was the first instance he can recall any sort of vague ‘symptoms’ of the Hanahaki, but he finds it hard to believe of himself that that’s what it was. That was years ago after all, shortly after Eida’s supposed destruction. And Amado had undoubtedly initiated.
Which only means, Isshiki surmises, that that was how long Amado had lain in wait.
That’s the sick twist of it all. Clearly, Amado had correctly presumed that engaging Isshiki in that manner would lower his suspicions of him. They had always gotten along well. It had always felt there was some sort of perpendicularity, some sort of pull. If Isshiki believed Amado harbored some attraction for him, god forbid, some fondness for him, he would easily underestimate him.
It was a truly underhanded play. Not only that, it was executed to perfection. To even dare to play Isshiki like that, to touch him, to pull at him in such a way, for such a time, with such precision. It is the most humiliating thing that could ever possibly happen. And it was executed to ruthless perfection, in a way only Amado would be capable of.
That’s the sickest part of it all. The conclusion Isshiki is able to reach about his own disgusting affliction.
Hanahaki onsets upon the victim’s realization of their own unrequited love. One might assume it manifests once the love is no longer returned.
Contrarily, the requital is not within their grasp or knowledge until the disease’s onset. How could a person ever hope to accurately surmise that? Although the seed may have been planted all those years ago, the roots would not begin to encroach upon his lungs until the onset of the apparent heart of the matter.
Amado’s betrayal did not confirm his lack of feeling for Isshiki. It confirmed Isshiki’s feelings for him.
In this manner, Isshiki can only furiously assume that he is doomed.
-
Regardless of this harrowing scenario, it is still pivotal to keep the final piece of the Book of Shibai from Eida. The girl, spurned by her youthful naivete and hatred of Amado and Jigen, her veritable creators, poses a tremendous threat. With all three pieces, her abilities will evolve well behind human understanding. Her DNA has been flawlessly, artificially constructed to conduct Otsutsuki chakra and jutsu. She will be able to see right through the little trick that had brought Isshiki back from Naruto’s attack.
Isshiki takes mind not to lose perspective on this matter, although clearly, his thoughts are no longer his own.
He embarks with a group containing Shikamaru, Amado, and a handful of Konoha’s ‘elites’ to the place where Amado had hidden his final backup of the third book, deep in the hidden ‘Otsutsuki’ city inside of the moon. Yet another one of Amado’s schemes Isshiki had overlooked. He has already reflected more than enough on the past ten years with Amado. It doesn’t matter, at this point, when he had the wherewithal to make a copy and hide it there.
As part of Isshiki’s failsafe, he has a perfect replica of his now destroyed Jigen body to inhabit, with a similar mild Karma resonance. Luckily, his current variant allows him to possess it more thoroughly than before. He no longer deigns to maintain the more human appearance of the body, however.
Before, it had taken too much chakra and simply been too inconvenient to manifest his Otsutsuki appearance within the body. Isshiki, although prideful, is not incredibly vain. It had presented well for it’s purpose.
For some reason, however, the minute he is within the body, and sees his own reflection in the mirror, next to Amado’s, he is seized with disgust. The smooth skin, the high cheekbones, the cutting eyes-the face Amado had seen. The body that Amado had touched.
He activated the karma and shed this skin, which alarmed his captors/collaborators greatly. The collar they had installed on him to restrict his chakra output and keep track of his whereabouts had beeped wildly in warning.
Amado had calmly turned off the sound.
As they travel, the two have hardly had a second glance for each other. Isshiki, still uncertain of his prognosis, finds it hard to say whether the proximity-and-contact or proximity-and-ignorance has a worse effect on his symptoms.
Although it is barely manageable, no one has noticed. Or, if they have observed any weakness or shortness of breath, they assume it is due to his prior injury or limiters.
The travel to the hidden city is six days. On the fourth day, Isshiki finds his condition less than manageable. On the fifth he realizes something must be done about it.
On the sixth day, once they have set up camp outside the entrance to the city, a majority of the group immediately enters for reconnaissance. Although they must move quickly, there is no room for error, and thus no haste. Eida has been working with Code, but his ability does not allow him any shortcuts to this city, much less past the fortifications at the entrance established by Konoha. They are in a good position to monitor anyone who comes from this point. Even if they are already inside, they will not have the advantage of Amado’s intel in locating the book.
At this point, it’s uncertain if even Konoha has the advantage of Amado’s intel. Although he is treated with more respect than Isshiki, it’s hard to say that in the time since his defection he has earned their trust.
Isshiki has not been privy to all of the conversations held during the travel, but he has been able to understand that Amado is withholding the book’s location in exchange for something to do with Kawaki. Typical.
It doesn’t concern Isshiki at the moment though. His only concern, he has decided, is locating the other two pieces of the book held within their camp. Not the original copies, but he knows scans have been made and are held on Shikamaru’s laptop.
Currently, it is only the four of them at the camp; Amado, Isshiki, Shikamaru, and a woman named Sakura. Though they watch him carefully, it is not constant. The collar on his neck restricts any extraneous chakra output, as well as greatly weakening his physical strength. At any time, any member of the party with a controller, including Amado, is able to activate a shutdown code which will force a neurotoxin deep into his veins and send him unconscious. Additionally, they have set up seals around the perimeter of the camp that would have the same effect on the collar. While Isshiki has no plans to escape, it would be quite difficult for him if he did.
As it stands, though, these security measures offer his wardens a degree of misplaced comfort. They allow him free roam of their meager base of operations. There’s not a lot of damage that can be done. Isshiki certainly has no such intentions. All he wants is access to the laptop.
It’s hard to believe this will be granted just by asking. Luckily, Sakura and Shikamaru are focused on monitoring communications from the shinobi moon-side. Isshiki finds it very convenient to slip away to the ‘command’ tent, where he has last seen the device in question.
He sits down at the table and opens it up. He has seen Shikamaru enter the password before; he recreates his movements faithfully. However, nothing happens.
Isshiki furrows his brow. After another failed attempt, he wracks his brain. It must be coded to register chakra signatures.
As he considers this problem, the tent flaps open up. Amado steps inside. Isshiki’s gaze immediately zeroes in on him, then leaves.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Amado says, which is more words than he has said to Isshiki up until this point. Isshiki takes the opportunity to ignore him.
By way of leverage, Amado pulls out his controller and makes it visible. “The laptop recognizes chakra, you won’t be able to get in.”
“I had realized.” Isshiki says, and pushes it to the side resignedly, now undergoing this confrontation. “Was there something you needed from me?”
Amado shakes his head. “What are you planning?”
He sounds so firm, approaches so warily. Isshiki stands up suddenly and makes to leave, but Amado grabs his arm at the interception.
Isshiki shoves him off; even with his weakened state, it moves Amado. Seeing this, the other man presses the controller and activates a harsh shock. Isshiki winces and nearly drops to his knees, grabbing at the collar in a misplaced attempt to stem the flow.
“Why are you in here?”
To have Amado, even slightly a head above him, fingering the button of this leash, blots Isshiki’s mind with rage.
He pushes through the pain and lunges towards the man, grabbing his wrists and forcing his arms down to his side. In this way he can loom over him. This form is slightly taller and broader than Jigen’s, intimidating in it’s difference.
He could do more, in terms of attack, but stops short at this. Amado, too, stops short, his thumb right on the release for the neurotoxin. It’s like he’s trying to match Isshiki, call his bluff, waiting for the other to violate the pause.
Isshiki scowls.
“You should be more cautious, Amado.” he says. “Do you think you can underestimate me, the way things are now? Just because you obtained the upper hand on me once, doesn’t mean it will ever,” he swallows down a thorn, “happen again in your meager lifetime.”
Amado doesn't say anything for a moment, but he looks annoyed at the shift, yet still unwilling to knock out Isshiki.
“It’s a diplomatic effort.” Amado says. “If you don’t tell me what I want to know, I’ll hit it and pass the interrogation on to Konoha. I have to say, I appreciate your quick turnaround. Saves us a lot of waiting and wondering when you were going to revert to your own self-interest.”
“Helping with the book,” Isshiki hisses, “is well within my self-interest. So is this laptop. Don’t think too much Amado. That’s always been a bad habit of yours.”
“And I’m supposed to…trust you, instead?” Amado says blandly.
Isshiki snorts. “Trust has never been a factor.” he says. “Make the calculation. You know they don’t like you any more than they like me. You’re slightly more pampered, but you’re still their disposable dog. And aren’t the circumstances too convenient, you finding me here alone? Once they’re through with me, it won’t take many excuses to be through with you.”
“Just tell me what you’re doing with the damn laptop.” Amado snaps. “If I’ve always thought too much, you’ve always talked too much, Jigen.”
The name is uttered subconsciously, habitually. Isshiki’s grip on Amado’s wrists tightens significantly, and he winces.
There are a lot of accusations and curses he would like to level at Amado, but it’s hard to settle on just one.
“Look at me, Amado. Look at me.” he hisses, shaking the other man. “You should have never spoken at all, just to show that you’re still thinking about me. I am Isshiki Otsutsuki. I am a god . If you never understood the difference between us, you should at least learn today!”
Never before has he lost his temper like this. With the pressure in his chest, it feels like it is surging out of him. Amado pales in the ferocity, so distinct from their past interactions. It might as well be a different realm, a different universe, where Jigen would placidly gaze at him while he worked.
“Your arrogance is laughable! A moment of my suffering will be a lifetime of torment for you, I promise you this! I’ll help Konoha with this damn book, but when I am done, my only remaining goal will be you , Amado.” he leans in, furious. Amado’s pupils are blown wide, his lips slightly parted with no words, his fists clenched. “You can create a million Kashin Koji to send after me, you can create a million Eidas, you can scheme a million schemes, I will destroy them all. Compared to a god, you are nothing, Amado.”
After saying this, there is no sound in the tent, and then their lips meet without any warning.
Although in the past, there had been a startlingly gentle nature to this sort of thing, this is not the case now. Isshiki bears down with all the violence and strength available to him, twisting and biting.
In a frenzy, he slams Amado down onto the table and pushes him on his back, looming over him.
If he takes a moment to observe him here, hands fisted in Isshiki’s collar and controller long since thrown to the side, Isshiki will likely come to his senses, so he instead initiates another carnivorous kiss.
In the past he has held the back of Amado’s neck, carefully pulling him closer, now he just exerts bruising force into pinning his wrists to the side, against the table. At this point, Amado has lost any excuse not to struggle; with Isshiki the way he is now, he has a good chance of being able to push him off through some effort. He just makes some sort of frustrated sound, inconsequentially muffled.
With this body, they don’t fit together the same anymore. Every touch is at once familiar and alien. Amados grip on his collar tightens. He seems to fight the control, almost slowing it down, pushing it deeper.
Isshiki all of a sudden cannot breathe at all. They pull apart and he leans over to the side and vomits blood, right next to Amado’s ear.
He remains there, pressed on his elbows, chest heaving, for a minute, struggling to get it back under control. Amado does not say a word.
Damn him.
Equally wordlessly, Isshiki sits up, still straddling the man, and wipes his mouth.
Amado stares up blankly at the ceiling. As awry as he looks, his expression is equivalently unaffected.
The smell of rotting flower petals from the blood permeates.
“...Hanahaki?” he says at last. Isshiki’s lip curls.
“So you remember.”
“Enough.”
Isshiki feels a great violence. He stands up sharply.
“Even so, you could not begin to understand. Don’t think you know anything about this.”
Amado pushes himself up and stares plainly at Isshiki. His face is completely humorless. He has no particular instinct to reassure, only rubs his forehead after a while.
“And it’s-”
“Of course it is.” Isshiki snaps. “Who else-” he inhales and chokes on another damn flower. “Who else in the world, could even come close?” he wheezes.
Amado thinks on this, then shakes his head.
“It’s difficult to believe.” he says. Presumably supposing this is a comparable vulnerability. In fact, it actually makes things worse, because it is a reminder of how well Amado understands Isshiki’s prideful nature.
Isshiki is assaulted by another wave of pain. With great effort, he expels first three petals, then a complete flower.
Up until this point, it has only been petals. Isshiki feels that this development is not ideal. He tosses it carelessly to the ground.
Seeing this inner reflection, Amado is able to piece it together.
“So the laptop…you wanted to find the cure within the Book of Shibai?”
Isshiki’s lip curls. In lieu of response, he coughs up more petals.
“You won’t find it there.” Amado continues, shaking his head. “The scans I gave Konoha have been significantly cut. I could only bring so much data with me; unnecessary pages got deleted.”
“Thank you for your help.” Isshiki says acerbically. Feeling that he has reached the peak of his humiliation, he storms out of the tent. Amado makes no moves to stop him.
Now that the cat’s out of the veritable bag, Isshiki doesn’t care about leaving his mess behind. Let them wonder at the dead, gorey convolvulus blossoms littering the ground behind him.
It’s almost dusk now, with Shikamaru and Sakura in much the same position as earlier. Isshiki finds a dark corner of the camp, some sort of hollowed out earth space within the wall, to sit. As much as he would like to calculate his next movements, it is with a distinct, repugnant helplessness that the pain overtakes him. It is all he can do to focus on breathing that night and into the next morning.
-
Perturbed by the mysterious appearance of the flowers and blood, on the seventh day Shikamaru makes the executive decision for the entire group to descend upon the city. Although negotiations have not been completed with Amado, it is still better than nothing. Certainly, he is thinking privately that they will be able to scan Amado for any subconscious clues or hints as they search. Isshiki laughs at that idea; only he knows how cold and efficient of an actor Amado can truly be.
At the entrance to the city, Shikamaru and Sakura turn to them. They are at the mouth of a yawning pit, with only a faint green light at the bottom.
“There’s a powerful genjutsu here,” Sakura warns. “I’ll break you out as soon as I can, but be warned. It can feel like days, or years.”
Isshiki is unperturbed. As they proceed, although the genjutsu tugs at him, it is not able to invade his Otsutsuki mind. He simply observes the others floating aimlessly for a moment as it hits them.
Shikamaru and Sakura, naturally, as shinobi, break free after a minute or so. Amado does not. To his credit, at least his expression seems perpetually fraught, as though he is fighting it.
When Sakura touches him, he jolts awake. His eyes immediately, nigh instinctively, find Isshiki’s. Isshiki doesn’t bother to prolong this moment at all. He moves forward through the cave.
At this point, without the cure hidden in the deleted pages of the bok, the only thing he can manage is distance. When he had initially revived, before his ‘reunion’ with Amado in Konoha, the disease had certainly progressed slower. It’s not certain whether he had reached a point of no return yet. Last night he had coughed up several whole, fully intact flowers, and attached were their scraggly roots.
He knows this much from legend; after the flowers have bloomed, it’s only a matter of time before the roots grow out of control and close in around his heart and lungs completely. The result will be a gradual, painful suffocation, infinitely more excruciating than what he has already endured. However this continues, he is absolutely certain that any more contact with Amado will be no help at all.
Amado doesn’t seem to feel the same way. The entire walk through the hidden city, he feels the man’s eyes burning into the back of his head. Even this simple premise turns Isshiki’s breath thin through the flowers.
Very juvenile hatred rises within him. After all that he’s done, can’t Amado just leave him well enough alone? Can he bring Isshiki any lower?
-
Not far into the city, the party is overtaken by a deep, primal fog. Seemingly out of nowhere, Isshiki only realizes when the others vanish completely from his periphery.
Some sort of peaceful solitude, he reproaches.
Whether or not they make it through this layer of genjutsu is none of his concern. He continues through the city, Byakugan lending him access to the skeletal layout as he progresses.
A flare of chakra to his right draws his attention. It’s not from any of the Konoha shinobi; rather, it becomes familiar as Isshiki draws nearer.
He curves his eyes, mildly pleased. Code.
Although the sycophantic freak seems to have allied himself with Eida, Isshiki is not entirely uncertain he can’t use his loyalty to his advantage. It thoroughly depends on what Eida has been pouring into his gullible mind.
He follows the signature to a shallow courtyard. The fog recedes slightly here, allowing some visibility to the scene before him. Code and Eida stand in the center of a chipped, circular dais, emblazoned with the Otsutsuki crest. It’s not hard to guess what has them scratching their heads.
Isshiki scans the area cautiously before stepping out.
“You didn’t deign to bring your brother?” he says, in lieu of pleasantries. Eida doesn’t even glance over her shoulder.
“He caught cold.” she says dismissively.
Code stands to full attention at seeing him. He moves to step forward, but Eida’s sharp “Code.” stops him instantly.
Isshiki sighs internally.
His last interaction with Eida, shortly after his physical resurrection, had made it clear he was not on her side, and vice versa. Even with the limiters, he is immune to her enchantment ability, and, even moreso than Amado, aware of her limits and weaknesses. He remains the only threat to her. But, she needs him for this.
Just as with Konoha, Isshiki has his advantages in the situation. Less than he would like.
“I don’t need to read your mind to surmise this is going to be a difficult sell.” Eida says wryly.
“Clever girl.” Isshiki keeps his distance. “Now that you’ve revealed the location of the book to me, I can access it whenever I want. As I see it, you’ve already done me a tremendous favor. But I have no interest in returning it.” he tilts his head. “I feel there’s some bad blood between us.”
“Your blood.” Eida reminds him. “Unfortunately.”
“Isshiki-sama, don’t do this.” Code says. “You only have so much time; you have to let us help you.”
Isshiki blinks.
“It seems you two are in more of a rush than me.” he says. Eida’s lips twitch.
“I may not be able to see your mind or fate, but I can see around you.” she says. “I know about your… disease , Isshiki.”
“Do you, now?” Isshiki says darkly.
Eida nods pleasantly. “Would you like to know who told me?” she tilts her head, listening. “I think he’s here with us now. Code, chase our little rat out of hiding.”
“Yes, my lady.” Code drops into a portal, and then crawls back out with Amado in his grasp.
Isshiki swallows back some bloody vomit. Fantastic.
He walks more towards the center, drawing level with Eida’s youthful, nonchalant form. To her side, Code manhandles Amado into a restrictive hold, one claw poised at his throat. He has always had a respectable hatred of Amado.
For his part, the man looks suitably alarmed. Unlike Isshiki, he does not even have a meager defense against either of these test-tube creatures, nor an ounce of their favor. His face bleeds from where Code has cut him slightly.
Isshiki’s eye twitches.
“Even so, I’m more than capable of outlasting you for this book, Eida.” he says. “Don’t underestimate me.”
“Nice try.” Eida says. “You can’t bluff me. What he knows,” she puts a delicate finger on top of Amado’s head, “I know. And I know you won’t make it through tomorrow at this rate.”
This is news even to Isshiki.
“Ji-Isshiki.” Amado says, voice drier than usual. “I have to tell you-”
“Sh.” Eida says. He immediately shuts his mouth. “Don’t start that yet.”
Amado tries desperately to make eye contact with Isshiki. Isshiki knows furiously that the moment he does he will lose composure, so he stares resolutely at Eida.
“You picked a poor hostage.” he sniffs. He would like to continue to say that he doesn’t care if Amado lives or dies, but he can’t bluff Eida. Not with the Hanahaki sitting there.
Blood trickles further and further down Amado’s temple. He sits there humbly like a man. Isshiki wants to strangle him. He’s not a man, he’s a liability.
“Your one greatest weakness.” Eida says bemusedly. “I think he’s the best hostage I could dream of. Not that I need him; he’s already given me an even better weapon to use on you.” she taps Amado’s head again, absentmindedly at this point. “Don’t you want to know the cure?”
Everything freezes.
It takes a moment.
Isshiki finally looks at Amado.
The man suddenly doesn’t want eye contact anymore. He looks down abashedly, which instantly sends white hot rage through every part of Isshiki’s body.
What hurts more than that is the nauseating squeeze over his heart. He can feel the roots seizing hold for good.
The world continues on.
Code is talking, for some reason.
“You don’t have to suffer under his jutsu, Isshiki-sama.” he pleads. “You can break free of whatever he’s got you in. Eida can save you. Just get the book.”
“Don’t tell me what to do, Code.” Isshiki snaps. He clutches his head. “The cure…this whole time,” he focuses on Amado’s guilty face, “this whole time, you know the cure?”
Code’s grip tightens on Amado’s neck, mirroring a fraction of Isshiki’s feelings.
“You’re much crueler than I’ve ever given you credit for,” he sneers. “You think you’re so upstanding, protecting your planet from the parasites . And yet you’re a more vile creature than me.”
“Don’t be too harsh, Isshiki.” Eida says. “Do you want to know why he kept it to himself?”
Isshiki does not, in fact, want to know anything else. He spits a mouthful of blood inadvertently.
“Isshiki-” Amado starts, and stops himself.
Eida smiles. “Go on.” she says. “Tell him in your own words. It’s more romantic that way.”
Isshiki spits more blood, to the point where he staggers to his knees. He feels it pouring out of him.
“I didn’t want you to know…” Amado says faintly. “This doesn’t have anything to do with the World Tree. it’s only…” he stops. Eida stares at him expectantly. Isshiki stares at the flowers at his feet.
“It’s only me. The cure is a surgery; not too complicated, highly invasive. I could complete it in an hour. It extracts the Hanahaki from the heart completely. All you need is to find the seed and destroy it. However, when the seed is destroyed…” he sighs resignedly. There’s a strain to his voice Isshiki has never heard before, across years and years. “So are your feelings for the other person. Not just the feelings. Everything about them is erased from your memory.”
Isshiki retches.
“I wanted the leverage,” Amado says. “But also, selfishly. I didn’t want you to be cured.”
“...” working his way around the flowers in his mouth, Isshiki manages to get out “You’re…unbelievable…you worm… ”
It’s impossible for him to think around the pain. It literally suffocates him, in every conceivable sense. Amado says something more, but his voice is already fading out.
All Isshiki can hear is the sound of his own muffled heartbeat.
Then everything fades to black.
-
“I didn’t want you to forget me, Jigen.”