Conclusions

The first thing Akihana remembers noting with any amount of calm detail about Sanctuary is how time seems to carry on differently in Den's dimension. When the blonde had first arrived inside this pocket of space and time, she had been under considerable duress. Right after, there had been dragons and mythical toads and then, well, after some hurdles, there had come something the young mother found a little disconcerting after everything they had been through: peace. Everything seemed quiet and harmless in Sanctuary now, and while Akihana still wasn't completely assured of her captor's intentions towards her, she was certain that at least they didn't mean her any immediate harm. Her reasoning fro this being that had they meant to, they would have harmed her already. In the past few - hours, days, weeks, years? - she had been treated less like a captive and more like the awkward guest one was inclined to offer hospitality to but not especially carry a conversation with. Den was not rude, not by a long shot, but that didn't make the kunoichi any more comfortable in his presence even if only for the great power he wielded. Strong men liked to parade their strength but truly dangerous men, Akihana had found, kept theirs under wraps. The raven haired doctor fell into the second category.

The room she had been offered as modest yet comfortably furnished complete with a bed, dresser and closet, Maku's brother had even made sure to leave plenty of food for her should she get hungry, the food that somehow always remained fresh no matter how long she neglected it. At first, Akihana hadn't indulged in it for fear of poison, then simply because her appetite had grown smaller in this world, or at least that was what she told herself. The bed she slept in sparingly as well, as though taking up more space would somehow make her position here more determinant. Always, the fear of feeling too at home in this dimension lurked in the recesses of her mind, and she had to remind herself this wasn't home, this would never be home regardless of how beautiful, peaceful and calming Sanctuary could be. Akihana could imagine how hostages would happily spend their lives here and not want to go back, but she had something to return to, something that reminded her way day like a sharp thorn prickling at her skin.

Mom! When will you be home?

The decision to summon Arata here was one the kunoichi had been wrestling with for some time now. Since the one brief mention of Den knowing of him, he had been polite enough to never bring her son up in conversations they’d had, probably guessing correctly that it stirred up immense fear in the blonde. He had indicated that the boy would be in no danger from him but now he was attempting to show it to by leaving the matter altogether. Of couse, it was easier for him then here. The choice between summoning her son here and making him a potential captor too or simply going on without not seeing him was not an easy one and the only reason she had been able to make it was because she now knew things she hadn’t before. With each passing hour, Arata was devoid of his mother and what was worse, she was devoid of him, the one person Akihana could never imagine her life without. People said love, like everything else, had an expiration date but the young woman strongly suspected that people who said such things had never really loved. Each moment away from Arata was another moment digging into her flesh like the handcuffs she had been subjected to upon first arriving here.

Watching him sleep now, his small dark head on her lap, the medic recalled when she had finally decided to summon him to her. Lilia had brought him safely, his eyes heavy with sleep and his small mouth formed in an expression of surprise, the tip of a question already on his lips.

“Where are we?”

“We’re in a space time jutsu, sweetie,” the blonde had replied, doing her best not to let the tears shimmering in her bright gold eyes make any progress down her face. Arata wouldn’t know why it was such a relief for her to see him again, and he didn’t need to. He didn’t need to know anything about being captured, or mind readings, or dragons or toads or friends who were enemies and enemies who were friends. As far as her baby boy was concerned, everything was right with the world and this was just a cool surprise his mother had arranged for him. Later, when he was pacefully asleep, limbs sprawled all over the bed she took care not to take up so much room in, the young woman had asked Lilia of Kumo, the news making her grow weary as though she carried a great burden on her shoulders. It truly pained her to see her beloved village fall prey to the evil of mankind, and yet all hope was not lost. Akihana was inept in many things but having faith was not one of them. And even if she couldn’t explain how, she knew things would turn out okay.

“So this is farewell,” the fox spoke, her tone not unkind and for the hundredth time, Akihana thanked whatever deity looking out for her that she had chosen Lilia as a summon. There had been younger, sharper looking foxes in that moment but Lilia had been the only one who hadn’t immediately come to watch the two humans, too busy breaking up a fight between her two cubs. Akihana had known then that this was the perfect summon for her just as Lilia knew now that as mothers, both their jobs was first and foremost to do right by their children. “Lady Inari thought as much,” the white fox added, extending a sandy paw to the medic with a rolled up parchment appearing on it for the briefed moment before it dropped to the floor. Retrieving the scroll, Akihana opened it to see the very summon contract she had signed so many months ago, her eyes searching for her own name, and not finding it.

“Would you please tell her that we’ll never forget everything she did for us?” the blonde asked, reaching down to softly pat the fox’s head, scratching Lilia behind the ears fondly. “She took us in when we had nowhere else to go, she protected Arata on so many occasions, I wish it didn’t have to be like this.”

Instead of a reply, the fox simply waited, knowing that there was more to say though the kunoichi herself couldn’t find the words. A good two minutes later however, Akihana made the attempt.

“And please tell Yaju… he will tell all of them… that it wasn’t their fault. I got myself into this, no one else can ever be blamed. I need you to tell everyone this, as a last favor to the both of us.”

“The message will be conveyed, good luck Akihana, it was an honor being your summon.” Lilia vanished in a puff of smoke before the blonde could mention that it was she who ahd ben honored, but somehow, she was sure Lilia already knew.


The gardens of Sanctuary were as beautiful as they were unreal. They looked like they had been created by someone who knew what a garden should look like in book and pictures but not someone who had actually ever done any gardening. The smell of the earth, the sweat dripping down your arms and legs as the sun beat down upon you, the fragrance of not only flowers but of freshly cut grass, all these things were off. The flowers here were plentiful and diverse, in reality, few of them would have been able to grow sustainably on the same soil but in Sanctuary, reality was distorted and with each passing day it was getting harder for Akihana to tell what was real and what was a product of Den’s imagination. Which was why it was more important than ever to focus now. Arata was here and perfectly at home now, never having been told that this was not a position his mother was in by choice. At first she had been reluctant to let him run about the place, afraid of what he might run into, but captive or not, little boys found it in their nature to explore and as a result, he now came and went freely, or as freely as he could within the rules Akihana had set. He had to be back for meals, he had to stay in during mornings and study with her, he had to be home in time for bed, not speak to strangers, the usual rules parents set. Though the last had kind of came back to bite her as Arata simply befriended those he met, thus arguing that they were no longer strangers. The idea of other people living in Sanctuary was strange to the blonde at first but slowly she had gotten used to it. Her son had adapted much more quickly and seemed to know more about the dimension than Akihana did.

Perhaps the gardens were her favorite part of this dimension, unreal as they were, they brought a semblance of beauty and comfort to the young woman. Even an illusion was peace was enough to soothe the mind and this was where she felt the calmest, calm enough to walk, have picnics with era son and even to train now and then to remind herself that she was still a kunoichi, stuck here as she was. Once her contract with the kitsune foxes had been cancelled, the first order of business had been to determine a different summon race and it was right here in these gardens that she had an idea of what race to engage with next. Den in his attempts to create as realistic a garden as he could had included all the standard garden variety pests and the snail Akihana had found casually lounging on and biting the edge of the same leaf had made her smile for the first time in ages. She had named him Cookie even if he didn’t appear to be highly receptive to training, and had kept him with a marked seal even when she had found him eating the remains of another snail. The act had disturbed her but not enough to give up on the little guy, using him to primarily learn more about snail anatomy and potential uses. Today though, she was going to attempt a summon for real.

In the end, it turned out to be a snail no bigger than her finger, only slightly bigger than Cookie, but on very adept at teleporting. She should have known given the eager way in which it teleported to her upon first summon. The snail seemed to possess a natural ability to teleport, only needing basic instructions and little training to allow it to understand Akihana and her chakra The summon scroll had been signed a while ago but only now as she worked with the second one she had named Cream – so Cookie wouldn’t feel the odd one out – that she felt a real connection forming with the race, one that she knew would last her entire lifetime, no matter how long or short her life may be. Returning to her rooms for dinner that day, Akihana wondered how, despite everything, circumstances were settling down? Was this placed making her more placid or was she simply accepting her fate. Did she feel kindly towards her captors or the act of capturing her, no. But she was grateful that they had made no move to harm her, and she was even more grateful that they had made no move to harm her son.

“Mommy, where were you?

“I went down to the gardens to look at some slugs.”

“Slugs? Cool!”


“Alright Cream, let’s see if your brother can help you,” Akihana said softly as she sank to her knees, looking at the exhausted teleporting slug who had been sent all over sanctuary for the sole purpose of draining his energy. Akihana didn’t want to do it, snails had feelings too and they hurt just as much as anyone. But exhaustion was a part of training and this would ensure that both snails were coming along well. “Fondant, try to transfer your health to Cream. And Cookie, you know you can do more than watch right?” The blonde’s words were not acknowledged by the first slug she had ever come across in Sanctuary’s unrealistically real gardens, he simply remained where he was, not even bothering to chew on blades of grass surrounding him. Reverting her attention back to Cream and Fondant, Akihana watched with weary eyes and a ready hand, fingers already glowing bluish green with medical chakra should Fondant fail. The idea to transfer health had been his rather than hers, she had simply been able to understand it and had commenced the training, teaching the slug how she used techniques like basic medical ninjutsu and mystical palm to rejuvenate and heal the hurt. The snail of course hadn’t been able to access jutsu but through a connection, been able to donate some of his own health to those in contact range. This was the first time they were trying it out in actual field settings.

“Slowly,” the kunoichi murmured, not even sure if Fondant understood or could control the pace. Watching him transfer health to his brother was nonetheless an uplifting moment, making her belief in the selflessness and giving nature of the world even stronger. Akihana had to work hard to maintain her positive view of the world and all those who dwelt in it and it was moments like these that confirmed she wasn’t just a naive little child playing at being a functioning adult. The world was kind, nature was altruistic to its core and it was only misguided people who preached all that was wrong with the beautiful world they lived in. Watching one little snail drain its resources to rejuvenate another while a third watched lazily at his kin’s success was truly one of the most remarkable things she had ever seen.

“Great job,” Akihana praised, reaching to rub the snail’s little head with her index finger, a motion that left her digit slightly sticky but she had long since stopped minding that. Stickiness was bound to happen when one worked with slugs, and it was more important that little Fondant knew he had done well. “Now please rest, you did fantastic.” She watched the little snail disperse back to its territory. Her work for the day done, Akihana made sure both other snails were doing okay before dispatching Cream to Arata with a note to be back at their rooms in time for lunch.

[Exit]

TWC: 2505 + 2K for slug contract from here

Claiming 12 stats converted to 1200 Ryo
Trained Summons Cookie (500 words), Cream (1, 000 words) and Fondant (1, 000 words)

Approved