My Immortal

Tori had walked back with Talon as the rain became heavier. The maids smiled and welcomed Tori by name as though her arrival had been mentioned beforehand! They had prepared her food and a room. She hadn't eaten in quite some time, so the food was something she needed! First, she went upstairs to her room and bathed to get cleaned up. Then, back downstairs to eat with Talon, and hopefully, Dante would show up. The rain intensified into a storm outside as she sat down to eat. 

Suddenly, she swore she saw Dante walk by as the maids spoke to him! A maid had covered her mouth as they looked towards Tori and Talon and then whispered to one another. She already knew what this was about; Sephora didn't return with them. Tori could guarantee that the maid ran to tell Someone else and report that Sephora didn't show up. Hopefully, she was okay! 

Tori and Sephora had a history, but there wasn't any bitter blood left between them! They built a village together and did missions, not to mention that she helped the group that saved Tori when she almost lost her and Zaled's son!  Over time, Sephora and Tori rebuilt their friendship. 

“Talon, do you think Sephora is okay? It has been about three hours since I got here,” Tori asked, showing serious concern for her teammate. Amikiri wouldn't have kept her this late, especially in this weather.

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Talon had walked into the house with Tori, and almost immediately, two maids showed up at the door as though they were expecting them. They had welcomed the young Uzumaki by name. One maid approached Talon and began speaking to him in a whisper.
“Sir, where is Sephora?” she asked, looking concerned. Talon sighed as he answered her.

“She was speaking with a gate guard, but she should be back shortly.” He said with a reassuring tone.  He knew Dante would be down eventually to talk to them, so he sat in the dining room, eating a snack and drinking a cup of coffee as he waited for Tori and Dante to enter the room. As she returned, the cook was making some food for Tori in the kitchen. When Tori entered the room, she looked much better than when she had arrived! 

It had been a while; now, he was concerned! He has seen Dante come downstairs, and several maids flock to him. Shortly before that, he thought he had heard the front open quietly and shut. But he assumed the maids were taking out trash after the cook had been in the kitchen.

“You're right. I wonder where she is!”Talon replied as Dante entered the room with a concerned look.

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Dante had been waiting for Talon and Tori to get back to the house. He knew Talon had followed Sephora so he wasn't too worried. The maid had said Sephora didn't come back with them and relayed the message of Sephora talking with the gate guard, and it sounds about right for Seph!

“Good move, Talon!” Dante laughed! He trusted Talon and knew that if he had an idea in mind, it was in Sephora's best interest.
He heard a door slam shut in the hallway, and suddenly, the maids were all in a state of panic as Dante headed downstairs.

“Dante, there is a trail of blood from the door to Sephora's room!” The maid had told him! Dantes's eyes widened as he saw the blood behind the maid! 

“ I'll notify the others. Thank you!” Dante said as he rushed into the dining room. 
“We have a situation; There's a trail of blood from the front door to Sephora's room!” Dante said as he looked at Tori and Talon. 

“You guys, go check on Sephy. I am going to get Ayato. He needs to know. I am sure he's already aware she left! Meet you in her room. Don't knock…just go in there!” Rude? Yes, but a trail of blood isn't a good sign! Dante left and headed towards Ayato's office.

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Exit

“What?! Come on, Talon, let's go! Meet you up there, Dante!” Tori said, jumping up and following the trail of blood. The trail was a gruesome reminder that something had happened to her friend and teammate, Sephora.  

“Please be okay…” Tori thought as she approached the door. She didn't hesitate to enter the room. There was a small puddle of blood in the center of the floor, then a smaller trail leading to the bathroom.

“Sephora, it's Tori; I'm coming in!” Tori noted. The girl was dressed and signaled for Talon to enter the room. Immediately, she began looking over the girl's wounds, even if she was protesting. Unfortunately, she wouldn't be able to. Heal her because of how serious they were, but she could bandage them.

“What happened? How did you get this injured? You look as bad as you did when Haru turned you into a ragdoll…you're going to need stitches in your shoulders!” Tori said, sitting on a bucket. She turned it over and made it into a chair. “ As much blood loss as you have had, you're looking very pale and probably feel tired and dizzy,” Tori said as she began working on the girl! She noted some broken bones that weren't healing very fast. “I take it you used your Kaguya jutsus, using those will slow the healing of your broken bones, the reason for that is, Your Hyuuga DNA is prominent, Kaguya is your secondary, this causes you to heal slower, especially using any jutsus related to your Kaguya bloodline. They WILL heal. It may take a day to heal, however the bones you used for the jutsus probably already regenerated.” Tori said as she wrapped Sephora's arm with a bandage to hold it in place.

 “I can stitch those up, but you will need someone who can do more advanced healing than I have at the moment or go to the hospital! However, going to the hospital wouldn't be smart because they know your Ayatos cousin, which could start rumors! Let's start with you telling us what happened as I stitch you up…and this will hurt…I have no way to numb you.” Tori said as she dug through the medical bag the maid had given her.

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“SHIT!” Talon said as he ran behind Tori to Sephora's room. Tori followed the instructions not to knock to enter her room, and they did just that! Poor Sephora looked rough! She had her ass kicked, no doubt about it! A dead decaying animal looked better than Sephora - okay, maybe that'd be stretching the truth, but she looked terrible!

He listened as Tori talked to her, and when she mentioned giving her stitches, he offered to help.
“You can use my threads. They have sharp tips, and I can cut them off after the stitch is completed. No worries; you won't end up with a Tau from a couple of stitches. However, it WILL hurt. But at least you won't be bleeding anymore,” Talon said, releasing threads from his upper arm. 

If Sephora allows the move to go through, a thread gently pierces the skin around the holes in her shoulders, stitching up each hole! Using a shuriken, he cuts the threads, leaving Sephora or Tori to finish working on the wounds.
“Yes, Sephora, do tell us what happened!” Whatever it was, hopefully, the other person did not walk away unscathed. The rain outside began picking up again, intensifying the situation.

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Sephora was sitting in her bathroom trying to fix her wounds when her door opened, and she heard Tori Uzumaki's voice! Damn! The trail of blood must have either spooked the maids or her teammates had seen it! Either way, the cat was out of the bag! Tori just walked into the bathroom, and while Sephora was thankful Tori was here, she wished she had at least knocked. And, of course, who else but Talon, whom Sephora was slightly irritated with for leaving her with Amikiri at the gates?

“What the deuce?! Have you two ever heard of knocking? This is an invasion of privacy! However, I am glad you're here! What happened is a long story– OW MOTHER FUCKING SON OF A BITCH!” Sephy hollered as Tori talked to her and began to assess her arm, touching it. She knew she had to turn it and try to move it, but the pain was so severe! Tears had formed in her eyes. Yeah, she was also a Kaguya, but Tori was right! Her spinal cord had reformed, as had the tips of her fingers. Yet the arm, leg, and foot wouldn't be healed until tomorrow evening. 

“Wow! Be gentle!!! That fucking hurts!!” She roared as Tori wrapped her leg and foot! Well, needless to say the whole house was awake at this point, she was sure of it, she was in so much pain that all she could do was practically scream! Yeah, picture yourself in a hospital emergency room, getting patched up without anesthesia! That is what was happening to Sephy. 
“Yeah we don't need rumors started, I am in severe pain, do what you must but be careful and fast! Is that possible?” Sephora asked. More pain? Geez! “Talon, do it quickly.” She gritted her teeth in pain as the threads pierced her skin. She was crying because of the pain. Tori put patches and ointment on the shoulder wounds for her as she stood up.
“ I need to get to my bed and lie down!” She said, still teary-eyed from the pain. A maid fixed her bed to make her more comfortable and left some hot tea on her bedside table!

“Okay, here's what happened: the kid in the attic made a pit outside to trap me, and I fell into what appeared to be a deep 10 ft hole! Strange thing why this kid attacked me…Tori…he attacked me because he was avenging you…you never told anyone you and Haru Hyuuga had a kid together! I knew you guys were together…but when I attacked you at the gates of Tengakure that day, you were pregnant! Of course, I would normally assume that's why Haru…made a ragdoll out of me that day…but that's my fault for not walking away when he gave me the option and blatantly bashing our clan! Anyways, your brat in the attic attacked me to avenge you! The kid has no idea, but you and I have already patched things up! And I have a suggestion..go patch him up; I had to knock him back with bone bullets to get away from him.”  Sephora had no idea Tori didn't know her son was staying there. His clan and kin took her in! She leaned back on her pillows, which caused her arm to jerk!

“ Damn it!!!” She hollered again. “ I broke the bones falling into the pit! Never Again…never again will I be so absent-minded not to observe my surroundings.” She said through tears.

WC:600

You know the old saying, ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer’? Well, Zatoichi has decided to apply this to his current situation. Despite the painful injuries inflicted by his cousin, he stood up on his balcony and looked down. That was Ayato's office. Based on the shadows cast by the light onto the balcony, he saw movement in there. 

“That's not good; I must cross that balcony to get to Sephora's balcony!” Zatoichi whispered to himself. He slowly descended his stairs and noticed the curtain was pulled as he got to Ayato's office! He sighed in relief as he quickly and quietly dashed across the balcony, he climbed onto the edge of the railing and stepped onto the next balcony, then the next one and finally to Sephora's balcony. As he stepped onto her balcony railing, at this point in intense pain and leaving a trail of tiny droplets of blood on his current pathway, he heard a scream from Sephora's room, startling him to the point he almost lost his balance, and fell off the second-story balcony! But managed to regain his balance.

“That was a close one!” he whispered, noting her door was open, but the screen and curtain were closed. No one would notice him if he sat there quietly. And boy, did he hear a lot! He couldn't help but notice Sephora talking about him! Had he not mentioned his name? And did she call him a brat? How rude! 

He looked down and noticed one of the injuries on his leg was still bleeding! Nothing he could really do, this bone bullets was literally stuck in his leg bone, he'd have to figure out how to get it out later. For now he would continue to listen in on their conversation. 

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Tori went pale when she mentioned Zatoichi! Her son was here in Hoshigakure? Wait, she knew he would be placed with family within his clan, and the nearest ones were in Hoshigakure. Ayato took him in? That was the cousin the lady at the orphanage had been talking about! Which meant Sephora, Haru, and Ayato were all three…cousins? Oh man, these clans can get so confusing! Especially when they are so closely related! It was like figuring out who was related to whom and how in the Prim family! Lucky her…she ended up marrying Prim's dad and had to deal with the headache of who's who in the Uchiha clan! The Hyuuga clan was just as confusing. Uzumaki was relatively easy, and so were Nara, Hozuki, Terumi, etc.

No one was ever supposed to. I know about her pregnancy and Zatoichi, but not yet, anyway. Unfortunately, the beans have now been spilled! How does she explain this one? And to make matters worse, he attacked Sephora! How long had he been planning this? More importantly, how had Sephy not noticed her cousin in the attic? She was sure Ayato would have introduced them at some point, but if he hadn't, he knew about all of Fuku and their connections. He hadn't said anything yet because he was trying to figure out how to do it without triggering an event like this!  Zatoichi knew who Seph was, but she had no. Idea who he was…until now.

“Look, Seph, I never told anyone when I found out I was pregnant. Shinji Uzumaki knew, the Harus family knew, and the Hyuuga clan knew, but I never told any of you! I'm sorry, it's just the bad blood between you and Haru then; it was best not to say anything. Haru disappeared before I could tell him, so I had a mini hiatus from our team; I went to Kiri, had Zatoichi, and then returned two months later. With Harus's family having been murdered, it looks as though this was the closest branch of his clan and the next of Kin… you and Haru were cousins!” Tori said, feeling a little faint! Shit, how does she even explain her absence to Zatoichi?

She had heard something on the balcony of Sephora's bedroom. As an academy student, Ichi is not very quiet or discreet yet, especially to those ninjas trained to hear and sense movement, so his unmistakable appearance on the balcony was noted.

“Talon, can you bring him in here? Now, Sephora, you need to play nice and behave for once! Not only is he your family, but he's also way younger than you, and you are in no condition to be up and moving around! Stay put and stay still and keep your mouth shut, or I will ask Talon to see your mouth shut as I bin you with chains! Am I understood? Good! Glad we could have this conversation.” Tori asked as she walked over to her son if Talon had brought him in (Which, since this was previously discussed, he did).

“Wow, you've grown up since we last spoke. I had no idea that they took you here, Ichi. I'm glad you're okay. Anyways let me help you- Damn! Those bone fragments are buried in your bones. I can't get those out, but I can sew the wounds shut! You shouldn't have attacked Sephora! You guys will have to get along whether or not you like it! I’m going to tell you, like I told her, she is your family, and you're not in any condition to be up and moving around; I honestly don't know how you're walking now! I was hoping you could stay put, stay still, and keep your mouth shut because you're as mouthy as she is, or I will ask Talon to sew your mouth shut as well! Understand? Good!” Tori said as she set to work on Zatoichi's wounds, sewing him up and closing the wounds so they would heal.

“By the way, You're brilliant for an academy student. Tracking her movements to the point where you could put a hole that size in her path is good for a student. Proud of you for that but I am not happy with you for hurting her, the past is when your father and I made amends with Seph.” Tori stood up as she finished wrapping his wounds up and kissed the top of her son's head. She had missed him!

“You guys know Dante went to get Ayato, and I'm sure what I said isn't anything compared to what he has to say to you two. Hopefully, you both learned your lesson and at least you didn't kill each other.” Tori said, putting all the medical supplies back up. “Sephora, thank you for only firing the bone bullets at him; I know you could have done a lot worse; from the looks of where his wounds are located, and knowing you, you were defending yourself and trying to get away!” She said she was ensuring she had bandaged everything up on Sephora.

[873]

Well damn! Talk about a mountain of information; these two bickerings pushed out so much information it would blow the average person's mind! Tori’s son? Ah, yes, it was the one she had with the Hyuuga kid from Tenga! The one that initially put Sephora in her place. Yeah, there was a dramatic change in Sephy after she met Haru! Or, truth be told, after Haru Hyuuga showed Sephora that she wasn't as strong as she had thought. Tori's secret was just that, for 11 years, and it finally came out tonight.

As Tori practically scolded Sephora, Talon stepped outside to get Zatoichi. He looked down at the child and felt so much pity for him. Sighing, he began to speak to the child.

“Hey, let's get you inside. You're safe, and she won't attack you. I can't leave you out here like this!” Talon said to him. There was no way he would torment the kid and make him walk. He bent down, picked the kid up, and sat him in a big, comfy chair in the corner of Sephora's room. He pulled up the footstool and put Ichis legs across it. So this is the kid who attacked Sephy? This academy student took down a former B-rank missing-nin? He wanted to laugh! But he couldn't because that would cause more problems, he honestly couldn't believe his eyes! The kid was lucky that all Sephora did was fend him off with Bone pellets. Even though it caused a lot of damage to him, she could have done way worse.

“All you have to do is ask Tori. I once sewed Kurais' mouth shut—easy to do, but it's painful to the victim!” Talon added to Toris' threat, hoping Sephora and Ichi wouldn't argue. He didn't like to use his threads in such a threatening manner. He was pretty calm for a Tau, considering their genetics carried bloodlust! But Talon never gave in to the urge like most others.
He looked from Sephora to Zatoichi, trying to watch over the two along with Tori.

The maids were trying hard to get the massive puddle of blood out of the middle of the floor while another was on the balcony trying to get the small puddle up that had been under Zatoichi! Both Zatoichi and Sephora looked terrible! Bruised up with lots of cuts and stitches. Except poor Sephora had broken bones from the fall.

“Can you at least say ‘I'm sorry’ to each other?” Talon said, looking from one to the other. ” It's the least you guys could do for each other, considering you're both at fault!” Talon suggested as he stood between the bed and chair. He honestly felt they owed each other that much. Playing mediator seemed to be a little more challenging than he had expected. He walked away and sat in another chair against the wall in Sephora's room, wondering if there was something else he could do to make peace between them.

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Sephora was in much pain, but at least the bleeding had stopped. Tori seemed in a state of shock! Her son was meant to be kept a secret. So much for that! Wait, Sephora was related to Haru?!?!

“WHAT THE DEUCE? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? HOW IS HARU, MY COUSIN?” She asked. Then again, it did make some sense. “Very Well, I will keep my mouth shut…however this isn't over! You have explaining to do!” Sephora added too tired and in too much pain to argue or fight anymore! That took energy, energy she didn't have! Talon had given her a look and said she had to listen to Tori or something else. And Sephora, one better than to cross a Tau! Besides, sewing her mouth shut was quite an uncomfortable thought, especially in her current state! She had to face defeat at that point.

Talon brought Zatoichi inside. The poor kid looked pretty bad! Sephora sighed a hefty sigh at the sight of him. Sephora didn't have another choice. He had her trapped, and she had to get away! Bone bullets were her only option at that time. She didn't want to fight or hurt him, and believe it or not, that was the only way she could get away from him.

Just looking at him, Sephora felt… guilty. In the past, she wouldn't have cared; she would have said he got what he deserved—this new version of her thought is pity and empathy. Despite the intense burning anger in her, she knew she had to get over herself and do the right thing. Besides, she was in enough trouble for the stunt she had pulled that night. Right after Talon mentioned apologizing, Sephora spoke up!

“I'm sorry for blasting you with bone bullets! I saw no other way to get away from you.” Straight to the point, and a sincere apology! That felt good! She felt this odd warm fuzzy feeling…yes, that was weird. “I'm sorry I called you a brat. I was annoyed and in pain, but this is as much my fault as yours.” Okay, that was a bit harsh, but it made her feel better emotionally anyway. She still wasn't fond of the kid from the attic, but at least she understood she was in the wrong as much as he was. Had she not been outdoing what she shouldn't have done, she would have never fallen in the hole in the first place! Lesson learned!

“I'm waiting…hello…” she said as she looked at him expecting an apology! Even though an apology wouldn't fix her bruises, cuts, or broken bones, at least they would be making peace. “When I am wrong, at least I admit it, so I admit I made a mistake tonight…however, I do want you to know…I know what you are up to, kid…keep in mind…out of our clan…I'm the one, and there can be only one. That hole you dug, the entire speech you spilled out there….yeah, that was a page out of my book!

 I commend you for your cleverness, but you will NEVER be on my level. Just remember that I will ALWAYS have the upper hand because, after that show tonight, I realize you and I are more alike than anyone else would ever understand! So let's agree to disagree on that note!” Sephora said as she looked over at Zatoichi. “Never forget that little cousin.” And she isn't wrong. That was something she would have concocted in her younger years! She was a criminal mastermind and knew how to incite fear into the hearts of those who unfortunately fell prey to her wicked ways in the past! She wasn't like this now; she was trying to change, but still, Sephora held a title, and no one would take that from her, no matter who they were!

Sephora could tell that it was early morning as the clouds outside began to lighten. She was dizzy and tired but also in a lot of pain. She knew that at any point, Dante and Ayato would be coming into the room! She would have to answer a lot of questions and probably be reprimanded for what she had done. This whole event started because of her actions!

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