Chapter 3: Cheating Death---------------------------------------------------------------
Part 1---------------------------------------------------------------
...from the end of the dark horizon the sunlight beamed across illuminating the city of H&E.Another morning, another day here at H&E. Father's trail has lead me no where, and everywhere I go no one will talk to me, or even want to talk to me about him. Much less it's like no one here knows of him, or who he is. I'm beginning to question whether or not the stories he told us were true or not. And whenever I've tried to meet with one of his old friends, they are either too busy to be conversed with, or they are no longer here in the city. I'm starting to feel hopeless in finding anything here, much less even finding out what has happened to my sister.
"Tou-san...Nee-san...where are you."
I got up from my bed and got ready to go out on another attempt of trying to find clues and answers to questions. Today I meet with Nate River, formerly "Shriner". From what I've heard, he's been an exceptional leader since he got inducted and promoted to a higher position. But reaching him lately hasn't been very successful. Even Nick Soapdish stepped down, although father left him the old club over at NarutoForums, which no one believed. There are so many question I want to ask, so many things I want to say, and so many feelings want to express.
I made my way to the Council Hall and waited patiently for someone to stop by, but the entire day, it was just people going in and out. Not even a lower ranked official stopped in, I began to wonder if this section was even used at all. Although I did see people go over to the name changing booth to drop in their requests. So someone must come and check it. All day I sat there just waiting for Nate River to show up, but still no show. Perhaps he forgot we had an appointment, I don't know. And just as I was about to give up and go, two officials had walked in. One had a beard and horned helmet, while the other was wearing an ANBU mask on his side. The two of them were doing a rock-scissors-paper to see who would open up the Name Change box to do paper work. Almost immediately I knew who they were, and walked over towards them.
"Come on man, it's your turn!" Said the beard.
"Yeah right! I did the last three times! Besides we're the only ones lately who've been actually checking." Said the ANBU mask.
"Derock! Vyse!" I called over to them.
"JAN KEN PO!"
Derock had pulled a rock, and Vyse had pulled a scissor. Derock did a fist pump as he had won, and Vyse threw his hands into the air with disappointment and started to open the box as they both heard their names being called. They both looked over to see it was me ... again ... and had gave me the same response from last time I ran into them.
"Look kid, we don't know where he is. He left us too remember? That's all we can tell you." Derock said to me harshly.
Vyse was opening the box and reviewing over the forms submitted, and looked up. "We have strict orders from him to NOT let you follow him. Why can't you just go home and live your life until you're older? You shouldn't be out at this age going on your own."
"Yeah but-" I tried to speak.
Derock immediately cut me off. "Hell you're not even supposed to be allowed into H&E, you're not even 16 yet. You're only in allowed here because you're his son. And just because you're his son doesn't mean you get the right to bark around causing trouble!"
"Please! I just want to talk to him!"
"No more questions! Come back when you're older kid. Then MAYBE we'll talk." Vyse finished approving the forms and filed them into a cabinet. "Go home!"
The two of them left me in such a cold manner, I didn't know what to say. I don't understand why they don't want to talk about him, or even want to help. Does their loyalty for father deny me the truth? Or is it fear of him that they dare not speak of him? I just want to find my sister, but to do so, I have to find him first. I gave a heavy sigh, and sat back down where I was before and put my hands onto my head in frustration. Just then a man came and sat down next to me.
"I know what you're thinking. Why won't they help me? Is it loyalty or fear? Perhaps both. What happened between him and Team F.U.T.A. I can't tell, because I don't know. But something happened that made him leave himself, and for those four that he hand picked himself, leaving was the hardest thing they had to deal with. Especially since they didn't go with him."
I looked up and it was Nate River. He took off his hat, and placed it on the side of the bench.
"I'm sorry I'm late. But you know what little free time we have lately. We are a growing city, and there are always new people coming in. I don't have the free time as we used to to talk to you."
"Thank you for coming. I've tried every old contact of my father's but everyone leads to a dead end. I've even tried going to Smiter, but even he's harder to reach than anyone else."
"Yes, we all thought Smiter would have retired by now, but he's probably the last of the original left. Well technically it is his city anyway. We're just here to run it for him. Anyway, I came to give you this."
He handed me a two books. One of which was entitled "HMS NaruSaku" it was a copy of the original manuscript that my father had written back in his younger days. And the other was his personal journal, one that was left in Nate River's keeping.
"Although Team F.U.T.A. has orders from him and they are honoring him. He did give me other instructions. He told me to give you a copy of the book should you come looking for him, and to give you his journal, to better understand him. Both of those books correlate to each other. To understand it, you read the HMS first, and the journal after. If you can decipher the code between both, you'll better understand the man that is your father."
I flipped through the pages of both books, and none of it made sense at first, but there were many references to an actual HMS ship, and the old NaruSaku War.
"I can't give you his 'You're all grown up now' speech. But perhaps on this journey, you'll find what you're looking for, and the answers to what you are looking for as well. As for your sister, that is also something that I do not know anything about. Follow the book, and maybe you'll find both."
And so from that point forward, I followed the book. Followed the book to Narutoforums. Followed it to Bakakage. Followed it to the old H&E island. Finally to the last known location of where the HMS NaruSaku was last sighted. It was in the final chapter that he says goodbye to my sister, as if she died, but it was not the same. Did I have another sister before Onee-san? One that father and mother had named after since they lost her originally? But she went by another name, a different one. He speaks of her almost like onee-san, but differently. It's been three years, and now I'm finally sixteen. I can go back to New H&E and become an official member and resident, and maybe after this time, Team F.U.T.A. will answer my questions. But for now, I need to get to that ship, the ship that he labeled the "Ship of Dreams", the HMS NaruSaku.
In his notes he and mother used to frequently visit this spot to pay homage, and their respects. This "Yoko" that father speaks of is almost like my onee-san, but there are subtle differences. In here she uses two "Niten Ichi-ryu", the two-sword style of kenjutsu, versus fathers Koryu traditional style of kenjutsu. But according to him, she would have been his successor if not for her sacrifice. But if not for her sacrifice we would not have had peace. How I reflect upon that now I suppose it was honorable. I wish I could have met her to see how she would have compared to my onee-san. Was she the same calm and soothing sister, or would she have had the same temperament? Father gives her the title of "Bloody Angel", and then "Angel of Death", I don't think these titles would have been fitting for my onee-san. But we were both trained in the same art of swordsmanship, despite father never picking up his blade again. He did use a bokuto only and had us use swords, but he never did pick up steel. And even though he taught us to use both hands, he always used one handed styles. I wonder what this person would have done in my place as well.
In any case I needed to get down to that ship. And it should be possible now. Times have changed and I know back then they didn't have the same technology to salvage the HMS NaruSaku. But at least now I can go borrow a submersible and get to the ship and see it with my own eyes. And hopefully walk this once fabled vessel that was the flagship during the great pairing wars.
After I had went back to H&E and became an official member and resident, still no one would volunteer to go on my excursion, much less even be paid for their services. I tried going to see Nate River again, but he to busy to lend me resources. I even tried going to Nick Soapdish over at NF, but even he couldn't spare a helping hand. Even after becoming a member, no one would come to my aid. I came this close to the end, and now it will take longer for me to even get my own mini-sub.
I made my way over to the main tavern in H&E, and sat myself in the corner trying to think of alternatives. But the only way to get to the bottom of that area was by mini-sub. I didn't quite have enough to rent one, much less buy my own. And stealing one was out of the question. I could possible work on a ship that has one, and then borrow it. But then it would take time to build relations and enough trust to actually let me borrow one, and by myself. It was hopeless, here I was at the end of the trail, with possible answers on that ship, and all for nothing. As I sat down in despair, the door opened up and another character came in. Everyone at the bar stopped to turn around and look for a moment, then went back to their own business immediately. The man came walking over to me, placed his rifle leaning against the table, and sat down across from me. His rifle had "Salvation" engraved on it, and it was one of those bigger semi-auto high powered rifles. Clearly it was customized to his fittings. Only one person in down used such a rifle, and I knew this person.
"True." I said in surprise as he actually came to me after denying any audience when I had tried to meet with Team F.U.T.A.
True pulled a chair out and sat down, he was wearing a poncho type cover, and kicked his boots onto the table, the spurs on his boots chinking, as he removed his hood and crossed his arms.
"So." He said to me in a very plain, but expecting voice and looked at me.
"So." I responded in kind.
He removed his feet from the table and sat normally, his arms still crossed.
"Still hunting him down I see. And now that you're a full member you think we'll just help you all of a sudden?" He then put his hands onto the table and leaned closer. "Where are your manners? Obviously you didn't learn them from him, otherwise you would have fit in around here perfectly normal. But no, you run around the city like a lost child, causing unnecessary trouble for everyone, and demanding help simply because you're the son of Hokuten."
I sat there with mouth shut as I was being scolded at.
"Times are different, kid. You can't walk in here and think you'll get treatment based on someone's reputation. You have to build relations, build a reputation, establish your standings, and be someone. Your father is a different man than he was back then. He's not the kind, lovable, happy person anymore. And when the Boss doesn't want to be found, he damn sure doesn't want to be found. Not even I know where he is, and believe me I've tried to find him myself."
I lowered my head in despair and disappointment with these words from True, who was considered father's right hand man, and probably the only other person who could stand toe to toe with him in battle. At least that's what I've heard from everyone else, probably the only other person besides this "Yoko" he mentions in his journals.
"But now that you are of age, and because he made me promise him. I will help you now."
My head shot up with surprise and confusion, why is it father likes to play these hypocritical games? He wants me to follow him, but at the same time prevents me with these challenges and roadblocks. I didn't matter anymore, finally someone would help me, and it was True!
"I was sworn not to help you until you became 16 and joined H&E officially. But because of all your trouble, the other members of F.U.T.A. are not bound by the same promise. If you want them to help you, you'll have to prove yourself to them. But you know the only way to do that is by bring back the Boss."
"I will! I'll show them all that I can be just as great as he was!" I jumped up from my seat and raised my fist.
True sat there still with his arms crossed again and shaking his head. "This is not a free pass, and you are NOT apart of Team F.U.T.A. and I am not your companion. I am only your escort and guardian at this point."
"I don't need protection! I was trained by my father too! And I have this!"
I pulled forth the legendary katana that father used during the great Pairing Wars. The powerful yet cursed family sword that has countless names spiritually engraved upon it's blade written in blood. I tried to pull forth the blade from it's sheath, but it would not release. I struggled with it for a few more minutes, but could not pull the blade out. True sat there laughing at me, and I looked at him with disdain.
"Even the blade does not accept you yet! Only those worth of it can draw upon it's strength! Even I know that!" He continued to laugh at me, but then stood up and placed a firm hand onto my shoulder. "Come on kiddo, we'll take my ship and use my mini-sub. We might even get lucky and make some money off of this excursion of yours! Hahaha!"
I put the sword away and we made our way to the docks.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Part 2---------------------------------------------------------------
A week of preparation, and another three weeks out at sea to get to the last known location of the HMS NaruSaku. The two of us set out on our own, and True told me the stories of how him and father would have so many adventures, and all the countless times the two of them loved to cause trouble and make fun of the troubling situations they would get into. But what amazed me more was that these stories sounded nothing like what father was. And even more shocking was that True told me that he had abandoned the way of the sword, and picked up a gun. Since I was born, and ever since I could remember training, father abhorred firearms. He would always lecture about how it didn't take much for a man to point and shoot, where it took years upon years to master a sword. More of this hypocrisy I keep seeing from him, I'm beginning to wonder if everything he's ever taught me was a lie, or if nee-san really was missing and he just let me alone for nothing. Well whatever the case, all the answers will lead to whatever is on this ship of his.
We had finally made it to our destination, set the anchor down, and prepped the mini-sub. As the sub disengaged from the bow of True's ship, and began making depth slowly. The sonar beeping every five to ten minutes giving us range to how much further until we hit something. The decent was long and cumbersome.
We had reached the 20 fathom mark, the point at which this "Yoko" had sacrificed herself to save father and crew. It says here in both his journal and in the copy of the HMS NaruSaku manuscript that he wrote her name onto blade, and as she saw her name become part of the many, she ejected the escape pod, and went down with the ship. It was the last time he saw her, and continued to come every year with mother to lay flowers at sea. And from that point on, he never used his sword again. I put both books away and kept looking out the window of the sub as we went deeper.
The thankfully True's mini-sub had insulation, so that we weren't freezing from the cold depth of the deep sea. As the water became darker and darker, and the sunlight from above was starting to fade away, we had turned on the flood lights to get a better view of where we were. There was nothing but black all around us. We saw some turtles, and a few schools of fish still swimming, but as we went further into the abyss, the creatures became more and more strange. There were fish with light bulbs on their heads, snake like fish with glowing scales, giant jellyfish dancing about, and we even came across two whales who were signing as they swam past us.
After another hour of diving the sonar gave off a large ping, and nearly half of the screen glowed green, as if we were about to hit rock bottom. True immediately stopped the sub from diving further, and tried to stabilize our bearing. He checked the sonar correctly and the shape of the image didn't look like ground, or like any canyon type crevice, but actually a ship! It was the HMS NaruSaku herself! True moved the sub so that the flood lights would shine upon it, and before us was the great ship, the ship of dreams, the flag ship of H&E and all NaruSaku members! From first sight, I was completely speechless, father's description of the ship was almost just as accurate, but didn't compare to when looked upon. It was magnificent, beautiful, and despite having damage done to it from when it was ambushed by enemy ships, it still carried a certain awe and mystical feeling to it.
"So this was his Moby kitten?" I said.
"No. He was not obsessed with vengeance on the ship. This was his unicorn, the ship that he could never obtain. Except he did get it, but at the cost of many lives. I don't know how many times we've tried to salvage the ship, it just wasn't possible. Although ever chance he could get to see it, he would dive down just to look at it. Sometimes I wonder for every time he went into the deep, he lost a bit of himself when he came back up. But I never thought about it until now."
I looked at True who appeared to have a sort of remorseful face, but continued taking the sub in closer to the ship. Then I pointed out a hatch where we could dock the sub and possibly board. True drove the sub right into what looked like an indentation that a sub could fit and dock onto the ship. The boarding hatch locked on, and pressurized so that we could go in. But before we opened the door, True pulled me to the side.
"Remember, this ship is older than you and more. No one's ever boarded the ship before, not even your father. It's only now that we are able to do so, and it's just the two of us. Pay respect to this ship, and do not disturb anything. We don't even know if the inside is stable, or completely flooded. Find whatever it is you're looking for, and find it fast. But if I say it's time to go, don't argue with me, or I will shoot you myself and drag your body back to the surface. Do we have an understanding?"
I nodded my head quickly and let him go first. He opened the hatch and the air hissed as the pressure equalized. He took a wrench and hit it against the other hatch to the HMS NaruSaku, and the sound that came back was hollow. A good sign, meaning it was not filled with water. He then took a flashlight and shined it through the little circular window to try and look inside. It was completely dark, no light, no sign of any power either. He put the wrench away, and then pulled on the manual release to open the hatch. I went over to his other side to help and we both pulled the hatch release free. As the hatch door slid open, a rush of cold stale air blew in our faces. As we both took our first steps into the HMS NaruSaku, something felt unsettling, as if we were being watched, or something was standing in the darkness. Just at that point, father's sword began to glow. It was almost as if something in the room was triggering the effect, but I had never encountered this before. True grabbed two flashlights and handed me one. We searched through this small room for any type of light switch or some kind of panel that we could access the computer database, but there was nothing in here. The air was thick and heavy, it almost smelled of old stale ...
"Blood..."
I softly said to myself, as I shined the light onto the floor, there was a dried up pool of blood, and a trail that lead towards the only other sealed doorway. It was at that moment that the unsettling feeling just became real. True shook off the feeling and grabbed his rifle, and attached the flashlight to the rifle.
"Something isn't right. I don't remember the Boss saying anything about a blood trail."
Just then I had remembered the last part in father's book. "It was her. Yoko, she probably dragged herself away from this spot. But to where? And how far?"
"With that much blood loss, I don't think any human could drag themselves very far. She's probably a dried up corpse on the other side of that door."
"Well she wasn't human, at least not the way anyone back then was described. Almost everyone had some kind of superhuman power, or skill that made them who they were. I wouldn't be surprised if we find her body some where further in the ship."
True scoffed at the idea of "super human" qualities. But it was a different era back then, and anything was possible. He came during the time when super powers were no longer needed. And people wanted each other to be "real" with each other. It was a time about being normal, and dealing with reality, instead of fantasy. But hear we were on a legendary ship that was apart of history, apart of what helped pave the way for H&E to become where it is now. I had to admit that I too felt skeptical about this all, but I had to remain focused. I needed to find the answers to where father was, and ultimately find out the truth behind my sister as well. Just at that moment True had found a control panel, but it was non-responsive, and there wasn't any power being supplied to the console. He tried finding a panel to where he could open the wall and try to hack into the console, but it seemed like there wasn't really any output, or any part of the wall where he could break open. I stepped over and touched the screen when suddenly it came online.
CODE
Welcome fellow NaruSaku. If you've made it this far, we will take you the rest of the way. Long ago, we your pre...de....cess...ors.....built..........this..........en......ti...rrrrrreeeee
....................
The automated voice had booted up temporarily, but suddenly slowed down, and came to a dead repeat. The power came on only momentarily, and the lights flickered only briefly, before going back to completely dark.
"Well that was kind of creepy." True said out plainly.
I tapped the screen again, hoping maybe it was just the power trying to boot back up after so many years of being dead in the water (almost quite literally).
"Maybe the power to the ship finally fizzled out after all these years. I wouldn't be surprised since no one's been aboard for years. I think we're lucky that we still getting some kind of oxygen supply being pumped into the ship."
"I got a bad feeling about this."
Just as he said those words auxiliary power had just kicked in and we could hear the doorways behind the one in front of us slowly open one by one in succession. And just before our door had opened, the both of us jumped back and True had readied his gun at the door. But as the door opened, there was nothing. It was still pitch black, nothing appeared in front of our flashlights, we also noticed that there was no dead body lying before us either.
"See? I told you, she probably crawled a lot further than just beyond here. Probably some where in the next...."
And before I could finish my sentence, the floor path lit up, illuminating the hallway, showing us the blood trail that extended further into the darkness. It didn't stop at just the next room, but kept going further.
"...section."
At that moment the console came back online, but there was no automated voice. But it didn't matter, all we needed was just the main computer. True had accessed the terminal and found that we needed to get to the main bridge to access any information, or archived data left. But that was not the only thing.
"Huh...it says here that there's a faint source of energy still being supplied to the Captain's room. I think that's where all the power is being diverted to. Strange."
"Well? We better head to the bridge quickly, and then get the hell out of here!"
Funny as it was now I who didn't really want to stay long anymore, especially if it meant we were on limited life support power, and we didn't know how much longer the generator would last. And so we travelled through the decks, following the light path and the blood trail. It was almost unreal that someone could carry themselves all the way this far and hadn't died yet. Was this Yoko girl really that amazing? Or was it force of will that drove her to reach the bridge room on her own. Either way, I suppose I've gained a better respect now for this person, even if she wasn't like my onee-san.
As we had reached the bridge room, we saw that someone's coat had gotten trapped by the doorway. Probably hers as she was trying to crawl through the hatches as they were sealing up. But from here the blood trail didn't end. It lead all the way over into the Captain's room, father's quarters. True went to the main computer consoles on the bridge to pull records and access the database and download the archives. From this point, True did not enter the room with me. From this point I had to go alone, and from here I will find the answers that father has left for me. Answers to why mother left us. Answers to where he was, and why he left me alone. Answers to why he's become a hypocrite and going against everything he's taught both me and onee-san. But more so, answers to what happened and where onee-san is.
The room was dark, and everything was in a mess. The shelves were collapsed, the displays broken, the furniture overturned, books and papers where thrown everywhere. It looked like a bomb had went off in the room, and everything was in complete chaos. But there was something that was missing. The captain's chair and desk. There was an empty void for where the chair and desk should be. Strangely enough there was a light emitting from the floor cracks to where the desk would have been. I moved closer to the floor panel that was glowing dimly, and knelt down to touch it, when suddenly the panels themselves began to open up. It was like some kind of motion sensor went of as I came in closer. The area where the desk was revealed itself to be some sort of type of pod looking device. And where the chair was revealed to be a monitor of the pod. As I moved over to where the monitor was and checked the screen.
CODE
Status: STABLE
Vitals: STABLE
CRYOSTASIS: STABLE
REANIMATE: Y/N?
It's was a cryogenic pod! And it was still active! Which meant one thing! Someone was inside, and still alive! I touched the screen YES to reanimate the person inside and bring them back. Who was it? Was it father, I waited as the pod began powering up and humming as it brought the person inside out of stasis. It didn't even say for how long the person was in deep sleep. But I didn't care, it had to be him! It had to be father! I knew he was here the whole time! The person inside is even wearing his jacket! It has to be him! Finally I will get the answers I rightfully deserve! Finally the journey has come to an end! Finally I will know the truth about everything, and he will give me my "all grown up" speech! And finally, the truth about what happened to onee-san!
I rushed over as the pod's clear top came off, and the mist coming off blew out.
"Father-!!!"
Only ... it wasn't him ...
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"...how exactly we are still alive, and not suffocating to death..."
"...auto-hibernation program...the ship...must have...abandon it...hit...rock bottom..."
"...salvage it from the bottom...extended hibernation mode...into full lock down...stasis mode..."
"..to be trapped at the bottom of the sea. The isolation, and loneliness would be too much to bare for anyone."
"...Goodbye...goodbye...goodbye...goodbye..."
Shadows, all I can remember are shadows and voices speaking. I know the voices, but I can't see their faces. I'm unconscious, lost too much blood, and cold. All I can remember is him. He's carrying me on his back. The warmth from his body seeping into mine, knowing it's him carrying me is keeping me from falling into the darkness. He's always pulling out from the darkness and back into the light....
...but not this time.
This time...I saved him. For once in my life, I saved him.
I still remember the first day I met him, when I was just a little girl, and I'll always remember that moment.
"..your name...no I mean...your real name...hey you okay?...you okay?...okay?"
I hear a voice now, a different voice, overlapping his. Lighter hearted, younger. There's a bright light shining on me, I can't see his face, but I can see an outline someone standing over me reaching his hand towards me. I reach for his, it's has the same warmth, but it's not the same.
"Hey? Are you okay? Wow, I never thought I'd find someone still alive down here!? And especially in perfect condition!"
This young boy spoke in this excited tone, as if he had found some kind of long lost treasure, but at the same time I could tell in his voice it was slightly disappointed. My eyes were still trying to focus, I could see his outline, but it was all still fuzzy. He sat me down in a chair next to the pod he had just pulled me out of, and suddenly I saw something that my eyes had not seen since that fateful day. My name, glowing from the hilt of a sword this boy was carrying, still floating around.
"Who...who are you?" I asked him as I was trying to shake off the fuzziness. "And where did you get that sword?"
My eyesight slowly started coming back to me, and I finally got a semi-good look at the kid. He didn't appear much younger than I was, maybe fifteen, or sixteen years old, and I was eighteen? God, I don't even remember how long I've been out, or down here. He almost looked like
him, skinnier, still growing, that same dark brown hair, but his eyes were different. Not the same, but more like his mother. Just before I could ask him another question, he jumped right at me and before I knew it, he reading some journal and looking at me back and forth.
"What? What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked him, as my head was also starting to clear up.
"Because it's YOU!" He said in shock and awe. "The one my father always spoke about, the one my parents named my sister after. And the one who can probably see your own name on our family sword!"
Family sword? I thought to myself, but that could only mean one thing.
"You're her! The Bloody Angel! My father's Angel of Death! YOKO!"
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And so in turn, Part 2 will have two new central characters, one original cast member (no it's not me!), and an original character who will will act as the driving plot line. So yes, those of you who didn't make it into the first part of the journey, will get their chance to become apart of it once more! But please let me remind you that being in the story is not about popularity, or good will mentioning, or name recognition. This is first and foremost a docu-drama on H&E, and also please remember that a good portion of the story will be fiction. But fiction based on previous and True events.
