Alone I am Nothing

Chapter 5

Tenzō swam lazily in a large expanse of clear water. Its temperature had been pleasantly warmed by the heat of the sun that burned brightly above. The water soothed his aching body and eased the pain from his tired joints. Recently he had travelled far longer distances between stops than usual. His body began to protest against the strain. Even his chakra levels were dipping and so he decided to stay in the area for a few days. The land surrounding the lake was wild and untouched: a beautiful private haven. So far from any village or town, he was almost guaranteed to be left alone and undisturbed.

Turning fluidly in the water, he swam for the shore feeling refreshed and relaxed. As he sat on the pebbled bank, he dried his body and pulled on his dark blue slacks. Water dripped from his hair down his bare back and chest, cooling his skin as the sun continued to beat down. He wrung the water from his hair, swept it back, then got to his feet. If he was going to spend some time here, he would need somewhere to sleep.

He chose a spot in a grassy area close to the bank. A simple motion of hand signs and a touch to the ground created a shelter more robust than the one he had left in the last village. A dome-like structure, it was tall enough to move around in, but not so large as to seem out of place. The entire object was created by many tightly twisted branches, adding to its natural appearance. Fresh leaves opened from tiny jutting stalks, covering the dome in luscious greenery. Inside, he had created a far more comfortable bed that he usually did and layered the floor with planks of smooth pale wood that seamlessly merged with the wall of the dome.

He stood back to evaluate his handiwork and smiled; it was perfect. His stomach growled loudly, so he took some of his rations and sat by the lake. Content to just be still for a while, he enjoyed listening to the various sounds of wildlife as he watched the hypnotic movement of the water. Time passed by unnoticed and only when the air cooled substantially was he pulled from his reverie. As the sun began to set, he built a fire to keep warm. He lay himself down beside it and watched the colours of the sky move through a myriad of blues and yellows until it deepened into a dark indigo flashed with purple. With his hands tucked comfortably behind his head, he watched as familiar constellations were revealed as light gradually faded from the sky. In those tranquil moments, it was as close to peace as he had ever felt.

Long before night had fully darkened the sky, a heavy blanket of sleep had fallen over Tenzō. As the fire continued to burn brightly beside him, Tenzō dreamed of his past. People he had loved and lost haunted his dreams, as well as curious strangers that danced through his mind. A woman with large dark eyes held her arms out for him as a man looked on with the proudest smile. Perhaps one day he would recognise them as the family he had forgotten.

But the dreams quickly took a vicious turn, becoming nightmares from which he could not waken. Soon he was fighting horrors that he had lived through, some more recent than others but all of them frightening. Some were not even fully formed memories. They were merely fractions of seconds captured by a mind that had flitted in and out of consciousness when captured. Whereas others were pure fantasy born from a real memory, and these were the most terrifying of all. As a crescent moon rose in the sky, he shivered in his sleep despite the warmth of the fire.

Trapped within the body of a great tree, he found himself staring up at a mindless living clone of the very man whose cells resided within Tenzō's own body. No struggling could release him from his imprisonment beneath the great clone and he yelped as it moved its head to look at him.

 You are nothing compared to me.

 In his mind Tenzō thrashed his body in an attempt to escape. In reality, he twitched and shuddered by the fire as low moans sounded in his throat. The nightmare changed and he found himself in a dark forest. He sensed something hunted him, yet he did not know what. A massive chakra invaded his senses and like a terrified deer he ran, his heart threatening to burst in his chest. The chakra moved swiftly and soon overtook him and he skidded to a halt to gaze up at a towering snake. As a blood red tongue flicked from its mouth, the features of the snake changed, morphing to become the face of the man who had ruined his life; Orochimaru. The monstrosity coiled its enormous serpentine body and hissed.