Basking in her Light

[Ace Trainer]

Indra pushed his shoes off of his feet, digging his toes into the sand and then falling backwards, sitting on the ground, resting against the large palm-like tree he had stopped at. Wind Country was dotted with little oases like this all over its deserts. They weren’t large enough to become full settlements, so many many years ago the Daimyo had set decrees that prevented land ownership of these little oases, which reduced people commodifying or privatizing them. The underwater cisterns that fed them would remain undisturbed, which allowed them to remain for travelers to access and utilize for their survival.

Typically, Indra was adorn with jewelry and minimal clothing to survive the desert heat and matched his flashy style. But now he wore no jewelry, a tan cloak wrapped around his shoulders, a once white shawl over his head that was sand colored from it’s exposure as Indra had traveled. He’d been in the desert for three days now by his count, his first days of travel had been southward, with the intent to then head east towards Konohagakure as Ikinari had instructed him to do. He had moved quickly initially, but once he’d created distance from the warring Sunagakure, he slowed in order to pace himself. He had fled without any rations, no water, no supplied except his gear. The large scroll for his puppets still strapped to his waist, at the previous oasis he’d stopped at there had been surface water, and he’d managed to quickly repurpose one of his puppet’s parts to be able to store water and then resealed it. Fortunately he’d also found some food along the way, and was able to minimize having to hunt and break his vegetarian lifestyle.

After sitting for a moment, Indra would lift himself up onto his knees and then bow his head forward, touching his forehead to the sand. Even still, he would pray the Sun. She had saved him; or at least that’s what he had decided. He didn’t know how he got out of the bunker, but he did.

---

”Its time”

”We’re stuck in here. I don’t know how he even expected me to do that if that’s what he wanted me to do. This safe house is sealed.”

”He didn’t tell you. He told me.” Indra’s brow furrowed together, confused and frustrated. ”The only reason he is your guardian is because I allowed him to be. That Ikinari-boy is a smart one, and he knew working with me was better for you than some weaker shinobi working against me. He’s a worthwhile guardian.”, the genma explained. ”I can get us out of here. You just have to surrender control of your body to me.”

Indra’s brow came together even deeper, his intuition telling him not to trust the genma. This intuition was only further reinforced by the laughter of the genma in the back of his head. ”I’m not giving you control. You’ll just break yourself free.”

”Don’t fool yourself into thinking you have a choice.”, the genma spat back.

Indra considered it carefully. Could it be true that Ikinari and the soul genma were working together somehow? Ikinari would never do that, right? But Ikinari had become his lead guardian rather quickly, if Ikinari knew something about the genma, that might help in explaining how that had happened. When would they have even communicated without Indra knowing? What did the genma get out of this even? Though, Indra did realize that these circumstances did not fit the Genma either. He’d been dealing with Sunagakure for a millennia at this point, and was well aware of how Sunagakure operated. Iwagakure was a threat to Suna, but perhaps it was a threat to the soul genma as well. What if they had sealing methods that would restrict him further? The Devil you know after all… Not to mention that if Indra was fleeing Sunagakure, the Soul Genma would be free of both its old captor and a new one. Could this be a trick? Indra knew, despite all his speculating, above all else he could not trust the soul genma. ”No. I won’t give you control.”

”Like I said. You don’t have a choice.”

Suddenly Indra would feel two hands on his head, icy cold, the nails on the long fingers sharp as they cut into his cheeks, and then a quick snap; and nothing.

---

That was all he remembered before blacking out. When he came back to, he was in the middle of the desert, the sun beating down on him, the battlefields around Sunagakure far in the distance but just barely visible by eye.

And so he kept going.

He didn’t know what the genma did. How it got out the bunker, how it got out of the village. When he had came to, he’d noticed a copper-like taste in his mouth he had to tell himself wasn’t blood, and he wasn’t sure what he even could have been doing that would have gotten blood in his mouth. But one thing was for sure, the sound of the souls in Sunagakure were behind him, not able to be sensed anymore. The voice of the Genma was not in his ear. And now, Indra was alone in the deserts of wind country.

It would take him likely another week to get to Konohagakure — Ikinari had given him clear directions of how to get to the hidden village, and while normally the trek was only three days for most shinobi, Ikinari had been clear that Indra should take a longer route that would have minimal risk of him running into anyone, especially Iwagakure shinobi. He’d been instructed to avoid any villages, not to stop and sleep in any inns. The first time he should interact with another person would be when he approached the gates of Konohagakure. So after 10 days alone in a bunker, Indra faced another week of elective solitary confinement as he trekked to Konohagakure.

That had been the plan at least.

Finishing his prayer, Indra would push himself to his feet. He would look straight up into the sky, then pull the shawl that had fallen around his neck back up over his head and around his face, showing nothing but the bridge of his nose and his black eyes. He would continue to trek for another bit, and then he’d be at the point where he would transition to moving east. The sand in wind country was soft, thousands of years of erosion and relatively little human intervention had allowed the sand to be fine and undisturbed. On occasion as he walked Indra would see some animal in the distance, rarely anything larger than lizards. There would be some birds in the sky, vultures and other desert dwelling avians that preyed on dehydrated victims of the elements. Rarely, if ever, was there anything to look at. Outside the few oases, there was little in the landscape, indicative of the unforgiving nature of the desert of Wind Country.

So the tall, sandstone pillar reaching out of the sand in the distance was certainly enough to catch Indra’s attention. It was perhaps 3pm, maybe even 4, based on the placement of the Sun; and while Sunset would be soon, it was far enough that having reprieve from the sunlight for a moment would be appreciated. The long shadow of the pillar was perhaps more enticing and inviting than the curiosity of the pillar itself, so Indra would alter his direction ever so slightly to head towards it.

As he got closer, Indra realized that the pillar was not just just a random pillar, but in fact an extension of some ruins. His increased pace would slow as he realized this, hesitancy washing through him. Underground ruins like this were not seen as good places in Yuumegure, and only very specific followers of Yuumegure blessed to do so were encouraged to explore them; others taught to be wary and stay away. But as he continued forward nonetheless, a new sense came to Indra. It was a hard feeling to explain, and as he closed in on the pillar and placed himself opposite of the sun to stay in the shade, his eyes would fall to a small plaque on the base of the pillar.

’Reach out for her Light
And it shall reach you

He cocked his head to the side, running his hand over the plaque curiously. That had not been a verse he’d ever heard before, but it was one that stood out to him. If there was anything he needed to hear right now, it was that. He would mouth the words, not uttering them out loud but seemingly testing them on his lips. Touching the plaque once more, he would feel it move slightly, causing him to press on it a little harder. With relative ease, the plaque would push in, and a large group of bricks would fall inwards, revealing a doorway into the pillar. Still cautious, Indra would pull the door open and look inside of it. As the door opened, candles lining a descending stairway would light themselves, revealing a spiral staircase that went down farther than he could see. On the wall opposite of the door, at the top of the staircase would be another plaque that simply stated.

Shulsaga Temple of Yuumegure

And without hesitation, Indra would make his way down the stairs.

[Ace Trainer]

[Stat Training Filler post]

[Ace Trainer]

In his first trek out into the desert since coming to the temple, Indra had found a small nomadic group of traders that he’d gotten some food from. It wasn’t until he only a few meters off from them that it had occurred to him that he might be better suited not being identified as a shinobi. Taking off his headband had been…not emotional, but sobering. The realization that being tied to Sunagakure at this point was not in service of the Sun was not an idea he loved. After having gotten some food and returned to the temple, Indra had to spend some time thinking about the feelings he was having. The food he had gotten would be enough to last him a month, it was all vegetarian foods. Meat wouldn’t stay in the temple, it had no cold storage, or at least none that Indra had found. It was known that Yuumegure once encouraged a vegetarian diet, though that had been lost as a standard through the years so perhaps there was no cold storage because when this temple was active there had been no need to store meat.

It didn’t take long for Indra to reach a conclusion, but it did take a few days for him to come to accept it. In truth, it was the only conclusion he could come to. Returning to Sunagakure was not an option. Even more, being recognized was a risk. It would not take long for Iwagakure to establish that one of the most important assets of the village was missing, and once they did, even less time would pass before they identified Indra as the person carrying it and placed a priority on finding him. He was well hidden, but he would need to collect resources on occasion, food, supplies, the basics, and interacting with people out in Wind Country writ large would only further risk the chances that he would be found. For now, Indra would need to do everything he could to prevent himself from being noticed, and to prevent people from sorting out who he was.

This started with bleaching his hair. The noble women in Sunagakure loved to do all sorts of dyes, many of them doing fantastic colors if not multiple colors, and changing throughout the year to match the seasons (or at least when the season would change if they didn’t live in a desert). As the son of a diplomat, Indra had been occasionally exposed to them and had learned all about their noble fancies on how to feel good about their looks. Yuumegure had no rules against tattoos or dyes or piercings, and in fact many devout followers would adorn themselves in fantastic ways to reflect the rays of her Light, to include bleaching their hair white. In this practice, a quite natural appearance had learned to be obtained, and Indra now was going to put that to work.

The water ran down his face as he did the final wash through, white streaks from the dye on his cheeks as he ran his fingers through his long hair. Now a cool snow white, his long hair was in stark contrast to his warm olive skin tone. The long strands of hair hung haphazardly around his face and shoulders, and Indra would release a heavy sigh staring at himself in the dusty mirror. As much as he loved his hair, dying it white simply wasn’t enough. He would need to cut it too. Taking the ribbon he usually used to tie it back to his teeth, Indra would begin sweeping the strands of hair into his hands, pulling up all his hair into a tight high pony.

Pulling the ribbon from his mouth, Indra would tie it tight onto the ponytail, all of his hair pulled together. Carefully, he’d grab the knife off the ledge of the sink and hold it up to the pony. With a deep breath, Indra would release a heavy sigh and a quick motion with the knife and the ribbon and hair would fall away. Shaking his head to allow the hair to fall naturally, Indra would look at himself in the mirror. Already, he felt like a totally different person. He had not had hair this short in likely a decade, having basically never cut it since he joined the academy. The hair clung close to his head, framing his face in a very different way than his longer hair had. Already he missed it, and he could feel the tears welling up in his eyes. This shorter, white hair was confirmation that he was now, irrefutably, a missing ninja.

Taking another deep breath, this time to calm himself rather than to steady his hand, he would sweep away the fallen hair with his foot for a moment before placing both hands on the sink and staring directly into the mirror. The other thing he would have to remember was his eyes. While he was outside of the temple, no one could see his eyes. It was surely the trait Iwa would tell people to keep an eye out for, and he would need to keep them from being seen. If Indra was outside the temple, he would need to appear as if he was blind.

He looked down at his arms, the many bracelets he wore still adorning them. Those too, would need to go. Walking out of the small bathroom he was in, Indra would return to the study he had turned into his temporary bedroom. Looking through the few clothes he’d collected on his previous excursion, Indra pulled up a large cloak from the pile, holding it up. Sweeping it around his body, Indra would let it fall onto his shoulders, sliding his arms through the sleeve. Reaching up each sleeve he’d pull the many bangles and bracelets, letting them fall to the ground unceremoniously. Pulling the necklaces from his neck, the earrings from his ears, they fell into a pile of gold and silver until Indra was left with nothing but the cloak. When he was outside of the temple, he would need to be an entirely different person. Someone the rest of the world would not be concerned with, someone they would not be interested in following or finding, or even asking questions of. Outside of the Temple, Indra was as good as gone.

”For now. Teishi.”, he said to himself.

[Ace Trainer]

”Such an odd boy”

The two traders watched as the young, white-haired disciple found himself a seat under the palm tree, pulling out a mango after rifling about in his sack and finding the fruit.

”How he finds his way around the desert like that is beyond me…”, the second responded. Indeed, he was a strange looking boy. His ragged and torn clothes were frayed at the ends, small holes along the back and sleeve that had been clearly patched up by a gentle hand, but patched up nonetheless. His white hair hung loosely around his face, which was largely obscured by the bandages that were wrapped around it, revealing nothing but a single ear, his nostrils, and mouth. Clearly blind, the traders concern was not misplaced, but misguided.

”And where do you think he found…”, they diverted their eyes from him, instead down onto the small cache that they had just gotten from him in exchange for some gold pieces, a couple of different spices, and a promise of good will. The cache had a couple of idols in it, relics of yuumegure that would fair well on the market. But also a couple of books that were clearly quite dated, though they couldn’t tell from what. ”Probably a thief or fence.”, he posited.

”A blind fence?!”, the other exclaimed, laughing both incredulously and dismissively. ”Something tells me that is not his story.”, he retorted. ”Whatever he is, whereever he got this with all it’s splendor, I hope he has more.”.

The traders gaze would return to the white haired boy, ”Did he give a name?”, he mused out loud, seemingly half asking genuinely and half simply making the statement.

”He did. Just Teishi. Surely he’s just some nomad.”, he posited in response. ”Guessing he’s part of a pretty small group and they just like to send out one to do all their representative work.”, that wasn’t unusual for the nomads. Many of them moved in large groups, but the more reclusive ones had a tendency to stick to only a hand full of their full party actually engaging with the larger world. The rest stayed in the caverns, in hidden oases, and other secret locations that kept them protected from the dangers of the world. It afforded a distinct advantage when the tribes faced off against each other, not knowing how many warriors another nomadic group had made it difficult to defend against them if they raided you.

”I suppose if he’s blind, having him do their representative work really makes it hard to know their numbers. He didn’t give a tribe?”, he asked.

”They never do. And loot like this? I don’t ever ask.”, that was a good point.

They would both watch as he ate the mango, taking small bites and occasionally lifting his head as if he was looking around. Even from this distance, they could see the soft smile on his face that displayed the pleasure he had with his circumstance. Whoever this kid was, he was a happy one at least. He didn’t seem to down in the dumps about his situation, granted the amount of gold he’d just gotten for his cache, it was hard to believe anyone would be in a foul mood about life. He had it figured out real well.

”Teishi is a bit of an odd name don’t ya think”

”Uh, sure, but your name is Beiyo thats not really a normal name either?? Who are ya to judge the poor kid, look at ‘im!”, he kicked back. His tone simultaneously hushed and exclamatory. ”He seems gentle. Just a happy guy. Making the most of what hes got and allat.”, his eyes would break away from Teishi, instead reaching down and taking the cache, heaving it over his shoulder and turning away. ”Com’mon. We’ve gotta go take all this junk back.”, he encouraged.

”Ah, yea. Guess so. Hope that kid stays safe…”, the nomads voice trailed off, leaning over and picking up a small idol that had fallen out the cache. Inspecting it closely, he’d look back at a moment at Teishi, surprised to find the boy’s face looking directly back at him. For a moment, he felt almost as if he was looking right at him. Shaking the thought, he laughed at himself for how silly it was. ”Yea, lets head off.”, he murmured.

[Ace Trainer]

Sometimes, it was hard to tell if it was day or night within the temple. Indra’s circadian rhythm had been disrupted having spent so much time underground, and instead he found he simply slept when he got sleepy and ate when he got hungry. Only once now had he trekked up to the surface to go trade only to find that it was night time and he’d have to wait until the morning to head out, but that once was enough for Indra to realize his life was very different now. Soseki had arrived at the temple just under a month ago by Indra's count, though that month could have actually only been 2 weeks, or it could have been two months. Regardless, the company of the young shinobi had been welcomed. While suspicious of his presence at first, Soseki's company had made Indra realize just how lonely being in the temple had become even in the brief time he'd spent in it. Having a companion, and better yet a friend, was not only welcome, but necessary.

For now at least.

Soon, Soseki would be leaving, and as Indra laid on his bed in his room alone, his mind would not let him sleep as he instead pondered about his companion. Soseki’s leaving carried a degree of complication with it, sure he was a shinobi going on missions, but Iwagakure would be on high alert with Suna ninja. How could they be confident they wouldn’t be probing his mind, or using him as a sleeper agent? How could Indra be confident their location and security wouldn’t be compromised? How many trips could Soseki take before a squad of Tenkujutsu users from Iwagakure descended down that spiral staircase? It was hard to know, it was hard to feel sure the day would never come.

Then came the other factor. For 3 weeks prior to Soseki’s arrival, the Soul Genma had been silent. Even after Soseki’s arrival, the sound of the demon in his mind was suppressed…until Soseki was in the room. Perhaps the lack of company had given the genma little to work off of, and Soseki’s presence was a convenient tool for the Soul Genma’s own machinations. It was indeed a mercurial creature whose ends were difficult to fully understand. And yet, even in Soseki’s presence the soul genma did little beyond laugh in the back of Indra’s mind, seemingly taunting him with some type of insight into the situation that Indra lacked.

His teeth clenched together in frustration. 4 years ago Indra had been a simple genie, would have one day been a temple Lucent, and likely training to be a diplomat like Ikinari. Instead, he was tortured by a demon beyond his comprehension, a nukenin, and lacking in friends and family except his solitary companion in Soseki. This had been a lot. But, Indra could not let the frustration of the moment take hold, and instead he focused on the Sun and her Light, knowing that whatever path he was on had been illuminated by Her will. Despite knowing this however, Indra found himself plagued with a thought that he struggled to place on the path. Perhaps in his gut he already knew this was what he needed to do, but it felt…wrong, and he had a hard time believing the Sun would guide him this way. But, even Indra knew that the Sun dealt with darkness in many ways, sometimes head on.

Indra’s interactions with the Soul Genma thus far had all been against his will. Indeed, every conversation he’d held, every laugh in the back of his mind, even hallucination and vision, had all been at the whim of the soul genma. Now, though, Indra realized he needed to call upon the devil within him to learn what he needed, and what the devil offered. Closing his eyes, Indra sighed, taking a moment to pray to the Sun for guidance in his moment. After a few deep breaths, Indra would nod, his eyes still closed as he shifted his focus. Pausing for only a moment, Indra would begin searching his mind for the soul genma, calling out to him mentally and then he would open his eyes.

”Hello.”

Indra would jolt up to a sitting position, resisting the urge to shout in panic. As he had opened his eyes floating above him was the young red haired boy that appeared to be the Genma’s chosen form. Indra would close his eyes again, centering himself after the scare, and then would open them, crossing his legs and looking at the genma across from him emotionlessly. ”You said you had a solution”, Indra only wanted one thing from this demon and then it could disappear again, but he anticipated it would not be that easy.

”Hihihihi”, despite the boy being in front of him, the laugh seemed to echo all around Indra’s head. ”While I bring you solutions, your Goddess brings you to me. Remember that boy.”, it sneered at him, his lips pulling into a wide unnatural grin. ”Do you understand what my power is? What our power is?”, the genma asked.

”Something evil”, Indra retorted.

The genma just laughed again, ”Your human life is immeasurably short compared to mine. The number of containers they’ve placed me in…I’ve lost count. You are the first among them to deny my power wholly. Others have attempted, but they fall nonetheless. Once you get a taste of it…you’ll be mine to play with.”, the young boy cooed, practically singing at the notion of his manipulation. ”And I have a taste for you right here.”, he grinned again, this time his wide smile revealing rows of jagged, sharp teeth.

Indra shook his head, ”Perhaps I’m not interested then.”, Indra was being defiant, partially out of annoyance and partially out of self preservation.

”BUT YOU ARE”, the genma surged forward, launching his body across the space between them and putting his face directly in front of Indra’s. Indra’s would tumble backwards, and the genma would position his body over Indra’s, staring down into the boys black and golden eyes with his own, the two locked in a stare. ”The soul is the very essence of the human experience. And it is my domain. You want security in this place? You want your dear friend Soseki to be able to come and go as he pleases? Take. His. Soul.”

The genma lifted his hand and then placed it on Indra’s chest, pulling out a silvery white form as he did and holding it in front of Indra’s face. ”Simply take what is yours. And don’t let him have it until he comes back.”

The genma’s breath smelled like sulphur, despite not actually touching Indra, his presence directly above him felt like an enormous weight pressing him into the bed. Indra couldn’t let him ‘win’, though and would do his best to ignore it. His body felt…empty, without whatever the soul genma had pulled out of him, he felt the blood draining from his face as if he’d taken some grievous wound. Reaching forward he’d snatch it from the space between the genma’s hand and thrust it back into his own body, the action being met with more laughter from the soul genma.

”I’ll tell you this boy…I don’t want to be in this temple.”, the genma would stand, spreading his arms out, the walls around Indra would begin to melt, revealing a vast backdrop of nothingness. ”Your pathetic little village is preferable to this…holy graveyard. So, I have an interest in seeing you return to it.”, the genma turned its back to Indra, walking off into the expanse, the distance between them growing far more than the pace the beast was walking in. ”I’ll give you a taste. Just a little. Of the power. I’ll allow you to manipulate souls to achieve your ends. To keep you and your little temple safe.

Indra stood with his arms crossed, watching as the genma went further and further into the vastness. ”And how can I trust this?”, he asked, more to himself than to the genma.

Suddenly, two hands would grab onto his shoulders and he’d feel a force pushing him towards the ground as the genma leaned over, once more smiling widely. Blood would seemingly begin to pour from his hands over Indra’s body as he laughed, ”You won’t! But you NEED THIS.”, he growled, ”YOU NEED ME”, as the blood poured over Indra, hands would begin to sprout from the ground, grabbing onto Indra’s body, pulling him into the earth, ”You have no choice, my little vessel. I am the path your SUN has guided you to, right? RIGHT?”, the genma stood over him, his body seemingly growing larger and larger as Indra sunk into the ground. He attempted to claw at the air to pull himself from the ground but the hands simply tugged at him, pulling him further, ”SO TAKE MY POWER USE IT ON YOUR FRIEND, YOU WANT SAFETY? HERE IS IT. HERE IT IS.”, the laughter was maniacal, it filled Indra’s ears as the world went black around him, the ground swallowing him whole.

Suddenly Indra would jolt upwards, sitting upright back in his room, his body heaving up and down as he attempted to catch his breath. _{”Enjoy the taste of power.”}

And then the laughter would echo through his mind again before fading.

[Ace Trainer]

The past few months had been complicated. The empty temple had gone from being a haunting place occupied by no one but Indra and the ghosts that seemed to follow him, to several people calling it their home, either temporarily or seemingly permanently. Soseki had left to return to the village, Indra having taken a sliver of his soul before he left and pocketed it away. Soseki’s was the only soul Indra kept on him, tucked away into an anklet he wore within the temple. In the short time Soseki had been there, Indra had become quite fond of the young Hizashi. He was bold, and while his confidence wavered at times, he knew what he wanted and seemed willing to seek it out. The two of them had bonded very quickly, and Soseki’s insistence on leaving was as scary as it was admirable. Nonetheless, the small bit of soul around Indra’s ankle that hummed with the soft sound of Soseki’s soul was a reminder of his dear friend and a hope that he’d soon return.

Several others had been invited - that strange girl Katsu, Soseki’s half-cousin in Seiji, and then Sakaze had arrived like a storm. A few random nomads had found their way, seemingly called by some unknown force like Indra and Sakaze had, all of whom were given hospitality as they deserved from the Sun. Sakaze’s arrival had been the most jarring. Like Soseki, she had strong feelings about what to do in response to Iwa’s incursion. Her soul reverberated like a war drum, and it was clear she wanted more than to free their village, she wanted vengeance for the injustice it had faced. While Soseki seemingly shied away from the conflict with Indra, willing to push it into the future, Sakaze had stood firm in her ground. She wasn’t going to falter in her beliefs, and that was troubling.

For a moment, Indra wondered how far underground they were, his eyes fixated on the ceilings above him. Every room he had uncovered so far had tall, rounded ceilings at least 20 feet if not further. He’d managed to get down three stories, but there was clearly still far more below him than that. The central atrium which was the library was the only room that went from the bottom floor to the ceiling, and Indra had made the intentional choice not to go down there after having sent down his puppet and found nothing but total darkness, and columns of sand and collapsed walls. He wondered if the temple had fallen into a sink hole, or if it had been brought underground intentionally, but either way exploration of it had become quite difficult without the ability to properly clear out everything.

In an odd sort of way, he was far from the light yet he felt closer here than ever.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Indra would pray, trying to find guidance on what he was supposed to be doing. Sakaze had intended to bring her followers, allegedly over 200 people to come stay in the Temple with them. The nomads that had found the temple told him they had their own tribes that would want to call it their home. What exactly were they being guided here to do?

When Iwa had first started the invasion of Sunagakure, Indra had offered to join the battlefield which had been met by resistance from Ikinari who insisted he not. Indra had been too much of a risk. Instead, he was locked away and his guardian had conspired with the Soul Genma in order to give Indra a way to escape had the worse come to pass. When it did, Indra found himself in the desert and called to this place, rather than going to Konoha where he had originally been directed. While the knowledge and power within this temple was as great, Indra didn’t know what he was to do with it. Was he truly being called to lead a rebellion? To murder people in the name of his village? Was that truly what the Sun asked of him?

He sighed, a long, slow exhalation coming from his lips. He was only 16, this was a lot for him to be responsible for. He didn’t even know truly where he was. None of the texts he’d discovered so far told him anything about what this temple was or where it had come from. While he understood it to be a holy place, he didn’t have more information just by spending time here. As more people arrived, he’d be just as responsible for them as Sakaze would be. He wondered briefly if he should just leave. He could still go to Konoha, he could try to find Ikinari. Even if he couldn’t, Konoha would keep him safe or help him get stronger.

War seemed inevitable though.

Tears would begin to well up in Indra’s eyes as he laid there, pooling around his lid until they would escape to the side. Could he kill on behalf of Sunagakure? Could he fight a war in its name? Sunagakure was chosen by the Light and yet the Sun offered no protection in its final hours. Now it was hidden under a storm of Stone and Indra couldn’t help but wonder if it had forsaken its duty in some what. Between Hito, Kiyori, and Sueatsu, had one of the former Kazekage that shuffled between the position brought about Her ire? Would waging another war not bring it about again? Sunagakure was chosen in the Light, it was a beacon of peace and prosperity in the desert, no different than Sunanada was. To enact violence in her name was not…holy. It was wrong. Indra was sure of this. Nothing in the teachings of Yuumegure taught violence, in fact it was much the opposite. Purity, sanctity in blood, vegetarianism, abstinence from impure toxins, all of this was taught in Yuumegure. How would spilling the blood of enemies acting at the will of a dictator be allowable under this?

His face would soften, his resolve seeming to come together. No. Indra would not allow Soseki, or Sakaze, or anyone else to come to this place and undo the sanctity of it. He would memorize every page of every book if he needed to. If he was brought here first, it was for a reason. To ensure that the people that found it would not be brought down the wrong path. Whether Sunagakure was lost or not, it mattered not to him. He would ensure that the chosen children of Yuumegure were not lost to this violent vision of Yuumegure that the darkness in their hearts would conjure up.

So long as Indra was here, he would be the Light they needed.