[fic] And The Rest Is Silence
Title: And The Rest Is Silence
Characters: Jiraiya, Mikoto, Yahiko
Genre: Angst
Rating: T
Summary: Jiraiya, two of his students, a lake, and a conversation.
Hands pull him from the water. He's fading in and out of consciousness but he can still hear.
"He will be fine, he just needs to adjust."
"You sure?"
The voices are familiar and he tries to open his eyes.
"Rest, sensei."
There's something about the voice that makes him want to obey it so he does.
-------------
She glances at him. He's not looking at her as he stares across the lake.
"He will have questions."
"For both of us."
"Are you prepared?"
"Are you?"
She skips a stone across the water idly.
"No. I am not."
He looks at her, surprised by her admission and his eyes widen.
"You're shifting!"
She examines herself briefly.
"Yes. You are as well."
He realises that she's right and he seems troubled by it.
"Is this hiding?"
"Conforming to expectations might be a better way of thinking of it."
"Words."
"They have power."
"Yeah, I figured that one out."
He throws a stone into the lake, a bitter smirk twisting his face.
------------------
He wakes by the lake. The pain is gone and he wonders if this is death, why there aren't any beautiful women around?
Getting up is easy but figuring out what to do next is harder. He looks around. The lake is unchanged and the rain still pours down steadily.
Voices. There had been voices, he was sure of it, and they'd sounded familiar. He'd find their owners, he decides, and perhaps they'd help him.
----------------
He hasn't gone far when he spots two people sitting close to the water's edge. They're not facing him as they skip stones casually. They don't look at him until he's right behind them and they make a space between them for him to sit down.
He glances at them. They're exactly how he remembers them. Mikoto's wearing her jounin outfit and looks about twenty while Yahiko's clothes are the same ones he'd worn to training so long ago and he still appears to be a teenager.
Surprisingly, Mikoto speaks first.
"Are you feeling better, sensei?"
"Yes."
There are a lot of things he wants to ask them but he can't do them all at once.
"Why are you here?"
"We're waiting," Yahiko answers.
Mikoto's hands are folded neatly in her lap and he knows that she will only participate in the conversation now if she feels it's necessary or if she's asked a question directly.
"Waiting? For what?"
He studies their surroundings. Rain is not a particularly attractive country, even now when the war has ended, and he has no idea why anyone would want to wait here for any reason.
Yahiko's eyes are on one of the towers in the distance though and he realises abruptly why he's here. Yahiko glances at Mikoto and she gets up to leave silently. When she's out of earshot, Jiraiya speaks.
"That was Nagato, wasn't it?"
"Yeah."
"What happened?"
Yahiko closes in on himself and he's silent for a long time. Jiraiya begins to think that the question was too personal. Suddenly he starts speaking again though.
"I was young and stupid. There was a trap I should have seen coming a mile away and Hanzo told us to make a choice. I chose for Nagato and ended up here."
Jiraiya's not sure how to respond to that.
Yahiko's voice is lower as he mutters, "I wanted to change the world but I couldn't even change my country."
Mikoto returns then and lays a hand on Yahiko's shoulder briefly.
"Walk with me, sensei?" she requests.
He glances at Yahiko.
"I'm not a child any more, sensei, I'll be fine."
---------------------
They wander along the shore for a while. The silence becomes awkward quickly though so he decides to break it.
"So who are you waiting for?"
"I would have thought that was obvious."
He sighs. It hadn't been much of an issue when she was younger but as she'd grown up, Mikoto had begun to play the word games typical of her clan far more often than he liked.
"Your sons?" he says, guessing.
"Yes."
There's a lot of meaning in that word but he chooses not to press her yet so his next question changes the subject completely.
"Shouldn't you be older?"
"Perhaps, but so should you."
He glances down at himself and realises abruptly that he's wearing the jounin outfit that he'd worn through both wars. She smiles faintly at his confused expression.
"You have conformed to our expectations as we have to yours."
-----------------------
They're almost back to Yahiko before the conversation resumes.
"You know, Minato-kun was Itachi's hero and he tried to emulate him."
He snorts. Itachi? Like Minato?
"They are more alike than you think. They both chose the village over their family."
His eyes widen. Did she just imply what he thought she had?
She's looking east towards Konoha and her eyes are distant.
"I will see you in Konoha, sensei. Take care of him, Yahiko-san."
As she walks away, she changes. Her hair becomes unbound and her jounin outfit transforms into one more appropriate for a housewife.
"Come on, sensei. We have places to be."
He turns around. Yahiko's standing there, looking much more like his body does. Did? He's not sure of the correct tense.
"Konoha?"
"Yeah."
He follows Yahiko into the distance.
Characters: Jiraiya, Mikoto, Yahiko
Genre: Angst
Rating: T
Summary: Jiraiya, two of his students, a lake, and a conversation.
Hands pull him from the water. He's fading in and out of consciousness but he can still hear.
"He will be fine, he just needs to adjust."
"You sure?"
The voices are familiar and he tries to open his eyes.
"Rest, sensei."
There's something about the voice that makes him want to obey it so he does.
-------------
She glances at him. He's not looking at her as he stares across the lake.
"He will have questions."
"For both of us."
"Are you prepared?"
"Are you?"
She skips a stone across the water idly.
"No. I am not."
He looks at her, surprised by her admission and his eyes widen.
"You're shifting!"
She examines herself briefly.
"Yes. You are as well."
He realises that she's right and he seems troubled by it.
"Is this hiding?"
"Conforming to expectations might be a better way of thinking of it."
"Words."
"They have power."
"Yeah, I figured that one out."
He throws a stone into the lake, a bitter smirk twisting his face.
------------------
He wakes by the lake. The pain is gone and he wonders if this is death, why there aren't any beautiful women around?
Getting up is easy but figuring out what to do next is harder. He looks around. The lake is unchanged and the rain still pours down steadily.
Voices. There had been voices, he was sure of it, and they'd sounded familiar. He'd find their owners, he decides, and perhaps they'd help him.
----------------
He hasn't gone far when he spots two people sitting close to the water's edge. They're not facing him as they skip stones casually. They don't look at him until he's right behind them and they make a space between them for him to sit down.
He glances at them. They're exactly how he remembers them. Mikoto's wearing her jounin outfit and looks about twenty while Yahiko's clothes are the same ones he'd worn to training so long ago and he still appears to be a teenager.
Surprisingly, Mikoto speaks first.
"Are you feeling better, sensei?"
"Yes."
There are a lot of things he wants to ask them but he can't do them all at once.
"Why are you here?"
"We're waiting," Yahiko answers.
Mikoto's hands are folded neatly in her lap and he knows that she will only participate in the conversation now if she feels it's necessary or if she's asked a question directly.
"Waiting? For what?"
He studies their surroundings. Rain is not a particularly attractive country, even now when the war has ended, and he has no idea why anyone would want to wait here for any reason.
Yahiko's eyes are on one of the towers in the distance though and he realises abruptly why he's here. Yahiko glances at Mikoto and she gets up to leave silently. When she's out of earshot, Jiraiya speaks.
"That was Nagato, wasn't it?"
"Yeah."
"What happened?"
Yahiko closes in on himself and he's silent for a long time. Jiraiya begins to think that the question was too personal. Suddenly he starts speaking again though.
"I was young and stupid. There was a trap I should have seen coming a mile away and Hanzo told us to make a choice. I chose for Nagato and ended up here."
Jiraiya's not sure how to respond to that.
Yahiko's voice is lower as he mutters, "I wanted to change the world but I couldn't even change my country."
Mikoto returns then and lays a hand on Yahiko's shoulder briefly.
"Walk with me, sensei?" she requests.
He glances at Yahiko.
"I'm not a child any more, sensei, I'll be fine."
---------------------
They wander along the shore for a while. The silence becomes awkward quickly though so he decides to break it.
"So who are you waiting for?"
"I would have thought that was obvious."
He sighs. It hadn't been much of an issue when she was younger but as she'd grown up, Mikoto had begun to play the word games typical of her clan far more often than he liked.
"Your sons?" he says, guessing.
"Yes."
There's a lot of meaning in that word but he chooses not to press her yet so his next question changes the subject completely.
"Shouldn't you be older?"
"Perhaps, but so should you."
He glances down at himself and realises abruptly that he's wearing the jounin outfit that he'd worn through both wars. She smiles faintly at his confused expression.
"You have conformed to our expectations as we have to yours."
-----------------------
They're almost back to Yahiko before the conversation resumes.
"You know, Minato-kun was Itachi's hero and he tried to emulate him."
He snorts. Itachi? Like Minato?
"They are more alike than you think. They both chose the village over their family."
His eyes widen. Did she just imply what he thought she had?
She's looking east towards Konoha and her eyes are distant.
"I will see you in Konoha, sensei. Take care of him, Yahiko-san."
As she walks away, she changes. Her hair becomes unbound and her jounin outfit transforms into one more appropriate for a housewife.
"Come on, sensei. We have places to be."
He turns around. Yahiko's standing there, looking much more like his body does. Did? He's not sure of the correct tense.
"Konoha?"
"Yeah."
He follows Yahiko into the distance.