Recalling the time that Sasuke had once invaded Naruto's inner space to meet Kurama, Suguru pondered on how he would go about his meetings with Matatabi and Gyuuki. Given that the two jinchuriki were likely more aware of their inner space, he planned on politely knocking on the door.
At least... as polite as he could possibly be.
With his Kaisugan's [Clairvoyance] and the Sharingan's [Eye of Hypnotism], there was a clear limitation concerning being polite.
Being any friendlier would only work if he wasn't from an enemy village.
'The Sharingan has always been overbearing,' Suguru lamented his predicament.
Given that Yugito and Matatabi would instantly recognize the Sharingan, he even felt a bit hesitant to make his presence known.
***
Yugito was meditating on a raised stone platform jutting out of the mountainside when she felt someone looking at her.
"..?"
However, upon looking around, she couldn't sense their location. Even after expanding her senses, no one was around the mountain peak she called her home.
Nothing was out of the ordinary.
—Whoosh.
A soft breeze disturbed the tranquility of her mind, yet no wind caressed her skin.
Instead, like a small flame forced to flicker by the air currents, there was a peculiar movement within the depths of her mind.
Her gaze drifted over in a certain direction.
And then—
'Sharingan!'
A pair of crimson eyes with black spinning tomoe, appeared before her while floating in midair. They were static and unmoving like a stain on space itself.
The clear gleam of the Sharingan wasn't something that Yugito could easily forget.
"Who..!?"
In an instant, she was locked into that very gaze.
***
The first one to sense the Sharingan's intrusion was the beast held within Yugito's body. Even before the jinchuriki herself was aware of it all, the floating gaze manifested within the depths of her consciousness.
A pair of malevolent crimson and flat heterochromatic eyes observed each other in a threatening moment of silence. Neither spoke, and both merely regarded the other's presence.
"..."
—Swoosh.
As if noticing Matatabi's neutral reaction, the Sharingan shimmered as the figure of a child slowly bled through. First appearing ethereal then slowly gaining tangibility with every passing breath.
Soon, the child's shoulder-length silver hair cascaded down dainty shoulders, framing the soft yet lethal features adorning his face.
Suguru's expression was one of calm and tranquility. His gaze was free of ill will and fear. It was an unusual pair of eyes, as Matatabi had never felt such a benevolent gaze directed at her before.
Even Yugito, with whom she had certain tacit agreements, hadn't gazed at her with such innocent curiosity. There was always that lingering hate beneath the jinchuriki's strict façade, like unseen currents beneath the surface.
Perhaps it had been due to the harsh training she had to undergo all because she was a jinchuriki of Kumo, Yugito always held Matatabi in a certain light.
Never growing too close nor too hostile.
It was a civil relationship built on professionalism.
Thus, the words that the child would speak were a resounding mystery to the Nibi.
"Hiryu Suguru of Konohagakure greets the Two-Tailed Beast, Matatabi." Suguru tucked his hair behind his ear and lowered his head.
His words were packaged with a graceful bow and a sparkling smile. Furthermore, the boy somehow knew her name.
A name she had never spoken of to anyone... Not that the humans had cared.
"Hmm," Matatabi's hum was more akin to a growl while she pondered this odd moment.
She decided to address the boy similarly in return. A gesture of respect for the recognition she was given.
"...Child of the Uchiha, what might bring you here?"
"Hm?" Suguru seemed to hum in reply, tilting his head in a questioning manner. "Perhaps there has been a misunderstanding — I am not born of the Uchiha Clan."
If Matatabi had any eyebrows, she would've raised one. She was familiar with the descendants of Hagoromo's sons. To bear the Sharingan and use it like this necessitated certain blood ties.
At least, that was what Matatabi believed given her experience all these years.
However...
All it took was one glance beyond Yugito's subconscious plane. Looking at the floating pair of eyes, Matatabi realized that this child was someone unique, even throughout this world of shinobi.
Though she had quite a few suspicions already, Matatabi would never have gotten close to the truth.
Thus, certain assumptions were made as the conversation evolved.
"You!" A sudden exclamation echoed throughout the blank space.
Yugito, having broken out of the Genjutsu that controlled her mind, jumped like a frightened cat.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
Yugito's questions, although born from a certain level of surprise, were still laced with what pride she had as a Kumo-nin.
"Are you a ninja from Konoha? Is the Hokage truly planning to wage an all-out war?"
It seemed like she had heard the latter part of Suguru and Matatabi's exchange. The Nibi's name had eluded her even now.
"War?" Suguru tilted his head to the other side. The pull of this singular action made Matatabi tilt her head too.
With the Nibi and the child both tilting their heads, Yugito resisted the urge to do the same. She, who was looking straight into the boy's supposedly hate-filled eyes, was surprised to see a completely different emotion.
"I'm merely here for a conversation with the entity within you, sister." Suguru made a vague gesture to regard Matatabi's giant feline form.
"I don't have time to wage a war. In the first place, I've long gone rogue. Konohagakure has no power over me."
"...I see... But, a conversation?" Yugito scrunched her brows. Whether it was because she was so sweetly called sister or because she was genuinely confused by the situation, the other two did not know.
"With... the Nibi?" Her gaze deepened for a moment, yet she still couldn't comprehend what that meant.
"Mhm," Suguru's gaze then returned to Matatabi, leaving Yugito in disregard.
Looking into the Nibi's eyes once more, he spoke.
"I would like to use this opportunity to interview you as I have done with your sibling and attempted with the other."
"Hoho," A sly cat-like chuckle leaked out of Matatabi's mouth, amused by intentions unlike any she had seen from the humans who had enslaved her.
"Suguru-kun, was it?"
Honorifics flowed out, in line with her character.
"Very well," Matatabi nodded, leaving Yugito lost for words. "If you don't mind doing so in her presence..."
The Nibi eyed Yugito, who was slowly being excluded from the conversation.
"...Then let us talk, young human. I'm quite keen to discern whether your words truly bear the truths they so speak of."
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