Amaya Uzumaki POV
Kyuubi, Monster Fox, Demon, Nine-Tailed Fox...
Those were some of the names given to that immense orange being trapped within Kushina's subconscious. My mother is a jinchuriki, with a creature called a 'bijuu' sealed inside her body to stop it from destroying everything in its path.
Maybe for a layperson like me until that moment who had no knowledge about the existence of such a being and what it was capable of, that initial information would have been enough to consider it a danger to be feared.
But curiosity has always been one of my biggest problems.
I asked Kushina a few questions, trying to appear calmer than I felt after all, I was a little anxious about that fox, but I didn't want to make my mother more uncomfortable than she already was.
She explained that the villagers hardly ever talked about the Kyuubi's existence, thanks to all the years it had been sealed and hadn't managed to return to the physical world.
Mito Uzumaki, wife of the First Hokage, was the first jinchuriki to contain the fox in her body. At some point in ninja world history, the Kyuubi was used as a weapon against the village, and the Shodaime, fearing what this being could do if left loose, decided to imprison it.
That's how I found out my mother was brought to the village to be the next vessel for the bijuu when Mito was approaching her death.
Thanks to their chakra strength, members of our clan were the first options considered to become receptacles for the fox, just like the Senju and Uchiha though the latter only managed to control it and use it as a weapon.
And, just like the Kyuubi, it seemed other beings like it existed around the world. No one knew how or even where these beings, masses of pure living chakra, had originated.
I couldn't say how long I spent without looking at Kushina after she finished telling me what she knew about the Nine-Tailed Fox, not from shock at all the information, but from assimilating it all as one thing.
Liking to learn things or even hear stories has always attracted me, it was almost like a way to escape reality while bringing something important into my own life, no matter how small.
With the Kyuubi, it was no different.
For some reason, which not even I or Kushina could understand when I explained it to her, I was connected to that bijuu. Whether it was exclusive to it, I couldn't say, but my body, my birthmark, seemed to resonate with the presence of its chakra.
And, even though I wasn't sure, it seemed to me that the Kyuubi was bothered by this mark. That led me to deduce just one thing: It reminded the fox of something familiar.
And that worried me.
How could I carry a birthmark that reminded an ancient being of something from its life? What exactly did it remind it of? And what could have made it return to the state of hatred it lives in when it was gradually calming down?
I pressed my hands on the table. Thinking about that worried me. A lot. As few things could, precisely because I couldn't find a way to deal with it.
– I'm sorry for not telling you this before – Kushina's words pulled me from my thoughts and I looked at her, seeing her with her head down – From the first time you told me and Minato you could feel the Kyuubi's chakra, we agreed it might be better to spare you from knowing about this... Thing – The redhead clenched her own hands, which were also on the table – But nothing justifies us lying to you all this time.
I didn't need to try hard to know what my mother was feeling at that moment. Her chakra was unstable, it didn't radiate the usual positive energy, just like her expression that now conveyed all her regret to me.
I released my hands and reached for Kushina's, holding them carefully. The redhead's eyes immediately met mine and I gave her the most sincere smile I could.
– There's no need to apologize, okaasan – I said – You didn't lie to me about the Kyuubi at any point, after all, I never asked anything about her or even about that black chakra I felt during our first meeting – Namikaze's expression softened a bit with that.
– So... You're not mad at me? Or at Minato? – Kushina asked with a still worried tone and I shook my head.
– Not at all – I said and lightly squeezed her hands between mine – Besides, I can understand that you and otousan didn't want to give me another burden on top of the ones I already carry.
Although it was low, I could hear the sigh that escaped my mother's lips. She turned her hands upward, holding mine with hers, keeping a weak smile on her face.
– I was worried you might have been hurt by this, since you had such a serious expression until just now – And I ended up giving a weak laugh at that.
– Sorry, I was thinking about so many things I didn't even notice I looked like that – I looked at her – But I'm still curious to know one thing – The redhead signaled for me to continue – How can no one know where these bijuu came from? They couldn't have spent much time out of sight of us humans. There should be at least an idea or maybe a legend...
– Well, there are some, but most don't make any sense – Kushina said.
– Can you tell me one of them? – I asked, letting my curiosity show, and the redhead brought one of her hands to her chin.
Third Person POV
Kushina pondered for a moment, really trying to remember a story she could tell Amaya right then, one that would hold the redhead's attention though anything said by the older woman would capture her daughter.
And since it was her daughter there, wanting to listen to her, only one story came to mind: A narrative Kushina had heard as a child, when she still lived in the Land of Whirlpools with her parents, and her own mother had narrated it.
A story passed from mother to daughter, which Kushina could now pass on to someone who, without a shadow of a doubt, was a daughter to the woman.
– Yes, this one is perfect, 'tebane! – The older redhead said suddenly, animated, and turned her gaze back to Amaya, who watched her attentively – This story is called "The Tale of the Moon" and it begins like this...
"Once upon a time, there was a woman who was the most beautiful in the entire kingdom where she lived. Her name was Selene. She was tall, with long hair as black as the darkest nights ever seen, blue eyes that had the power to see the soul of those she looked upon and offer redemption to those who showed remorse. It was a time of many battles, and much blood was seen on the dirt roads every day, so her gift was more than welcome in those eras. In those days, some fought for power, others to survive."
The first thought that crossed the younger Uzumaki's mind related to the similarity between the time in the story and the very reality her world had lived until recently. Endless wars and battles, with each seeking what drove them to fight...
"One day, while her handmaidens combed Selene's hair, she heard knocking at the door. It was her father, she knew as soon as they answered. Her father was already very old and in poor health; her mother had died when she was just five. He approached his daughter, who was now having her hair braided by one of her handmaidens, and confessed that he was already dreaming of his departure. In those times, the lords of greater wisdom always knew when they were about to die. It was a gift granted by the gods so they would have time to organize things for their departure.
Selene felt very sad when her father confided this, but she didn't have time to express her feelings, because her father still had much to say and seemed to have little time.
In the following minutes, he told her he had already finalized preparations for his death, that he had internally organized the transfer of his assets to her and that these should be managed by her husband when she married. That he had already promised her to Ágdes, a praiseworthy gentleman from a neighboring kingdom who had heard about his daughter's beauty. The wedding would be next week, he said. The handmaidens should begin preparations immediately.
The stars would bear witness to that wedding, he finally told his daughter. Before leaving her chambers."
Amaya felt a bit bothered by that. An arranged marriage... Although the young redhead didn't know everything about marriages, from her experience with her parents' wedding, she believed such a ceremony should only occur when the feelings of both involved were mutual, not forced.
And soon she noticed she wasn't the only one bothered by it...
"Selene didn't think it was time to marry yet, to inherit all her father's assets, nor was she willing to let someone who didn't even belong to the family manage everything her father and his predecessors had protected for ages with so much sweat.
It should be noted that when Selene thought of everything protected by her father's ancestors, she didn't only think of the physical, but also the abstract. The surname, more precisely. There was no one in her family who joined it and didn't have the same surname. It was customary for cousins to marry each other, whatever the degree, to the point of siblings marrying if there was no other option. All for Selene's priceless family surname and the many blue, supernatural eyes, capable of staring into people's cores, inherited when genes didn't mix with those who never possessed them.
But when she expressed her apprehension to her father, he looked at her with his eyes of the same color and ability to see beyond the visible, and told her the stars had already written that story even before she was born, that the gods had communicated this to him as comfort for the brevity they gave him to organize so suddenly after informing him so late of his departure.
Ágdes only arrived at Selene and her father's kingdom one day before the wedding. The kingdom's handmaidens prepared a good bath for him, as well as providing a meal worthy of delight before resting in the quarters reserved for him. He had a wonderful night lying on silk sheets and pillows made from the best wool the kingdom's sheep had ever provided.
The wedding, according to the gods' information to Selene's father, should be at dusk, without guests, witnessed by the stars, and the bride and groom would only meet that night, when the vows were about to be spoken. Selene almost thought she was marrying a monster, such was the mystery surrounding the wedding."
At this point, Amaya shared the same opinion as the character in the story. And Kushina could notice all these nuances the story brought out in the Uzumaki before her, after all, she herself had felt them when she first heard the story.
"When night fell and Selene was already dressed in her best gown, the handmaidens guided her to the banks of the small stream near the palace where she lived. She was so distressed along the way that she crossed it with her eyes closed, only allowing herself to open them when she felt a touch on her face.
That was when Selene saw Ágdes for the first time. He was beautiful, with brown hair and eyes of a very vivid green, capable of bringing hope to the difficult times they lived in. The girl felt her heart melt in her chest when she saw him, and she knew, as soon as her father declared them husband and wife, and then her husband kissed her, that their story could only have been written by the stars."
The girl's mind tried to justify what she was hearing. It wasn't love at first sight... Selene's eyes had the power to see the soul of those she saw, and at that moment she had done so when she looked at Ágdes. Their souls were in sync at that instant, and that attracted them to each other...
"Ágdes carried his wife to their chambers, and Selene's father walked to the stream, drinking from that starlit water one last time, and then went to his own chambers, awaiting the death that would come for him at dawn.
Selene had a son a few months later. He had eyes less blue than his mother's, but with a brilliance similar to his father's. It wasn't known if, like her eyes and the generations before her, the baby's eyes would be capable of seeing people's souls, but Ágdes and Selene swore to that child all the love they had to offer, and he could not only feel it, but see it."
A mother's and father's love for their child... Amaya and Kushina couldn't help but each smile. They both knew that feeling, felt it, and held onto it tightly every day to get through any bad moments that might arise.
"From the palace, Ágdes controlled well the entire kingdom that was once Selene's father's and also his own kingdom; peace gradually circulated in the air. Everything seemed fine.
Until one day, evil came to the land."
Until hearing that phrase spoken by Kushina, Amaya hadn't even remembered that the story she was hearing related to the Nine-Tailed Fox, a being that caused only chaos and destruction.
"It began by devastating the kingdoms around the ones they lived in, including the one Ágdes once lived in, and finally began destroying the one they were in. It was an enormous fox with nine orange tails and very red eyes. It was a demon that defied the gods and destroyed everything it touched.
When the people around Ágdes and Selene began to die, the young woman made a very important decision in her life, to prevent more bloodshed. She walked barefoot to the banks of the stream where she had married and implored the stars to help her. If her story was written that way, let them witness her plea and rewrite it!
Just as the giant shadow of the fox reached Selene, however, she fell unconscious, and only the grotesque sound of the nine-tailed demon howling along with the somewhat muffled scream of Ágdes, who had followed Selene secretly, could be heard."
Kushina felt the light squeeze of her daughter's hand, which still held hers, and the girl felt herself fearing what would happen next.
"The stars levitated Selene's spirit, and fragments of them descended silver from the skies and lodged in the eyes of her spirit, changing their color. She still floated when she faced the nine-tailed demon, looking deep into its red eyes, and after staring at it for a few seconds, she reduced it to dust. An energized dust that rose to the sky in the form of a star.
Ágdes called for Selene after watching what happened. But Selene wasn't paying attention. She knew she had been taken by the stars and would need to leave the kingdom, leave Ágdes... She just couldn't bear the idea of leaving her son. In a final whisper to the stars, she asked to be allowed to see him one last time. And it was granted.
Selene gazed at her son for a few brief seconds, loving him for long ages even in those fractions of minutes. Loving him so much that before joining the stars in the sky, she left a bit of the stars there, with her son. She touched the little fingers of the child sleeping in what was once her kingdom, and sparks of stars fell from her eyes in the form of tears and reached his. Turning silver those that were once bright blue.
Selene let herself go then. Taking her place beside the stars. Becoming the Moon, which at that time was not yet a natural satellite of Earth."
That last part of the tale moved Namikaze more than her daughter, after all, the girl couldn't measure how much it hurt a mother to even consider leaving a child behind.
Kushina didn't quite understand it either, but the mere idea of something, one day, happening to Amaya scared her like nothing in the world could along with the idea of losing Minato, the only other person who strongly occupied her heart.
– And the silver eyes she once shared with her son would accompany future generations, as a mark that Selene would always be watching over them, like the moon itself covering everything in silver at night – Kushina finally said, ending her narration.
And the woman herself gazed into her daughter's eyes, surprised by their shine. It wasn't necessary for the girl to tell her what she thought of the story; the answer was clear in her greenish eyes and joyful smile.
– The Tale of the Moon is about the members of the Hyuuga clan, and it was told in our clan due to the alliance we once formed with them for mutual benefit in a battle. My mother told it when I was very young, but it has always been meaningful to me – The older redhead smiled – It's like having a part of her with me whenever I remember this tale – She looked at the Uzumaki – And she also told me something important about this story when she narrated it.
– And what was it? – Amaya asked, still captivated by everything.
– That I should only tell it when I could understand the same feeling that led Selene to sacrifice herself – Surprise took over the younger Uzumaki's expression, and Kushina stood up, approaching Amaya where she was sitting and crouching in front of her, holding the girl's face between her hands – Being your mother made me see the value a life can have when it is meaningful to us in a way no other can be.
A mother's love wasn't something a specimen produced in a laboratory would have in its life or even yearn for. But Amaya Uzumaki was a unique existence from the moment they combined her Uchiha and Uzumaki genes to create her.
The redhead felt.
Like and, at times, more than a normal human.
– So, this time, it's me who thanks you for letting me and Minato be your mother and father.
The warmth in the Uzumaki's chest couldn't be measured at that moment, nor the joy that overcame her with Kushina's words. And so her daughter wouldn't have to decide how to react, the older redhead took the initiative by hugging the young girl.