[Konoha Hospital]
Both women shook their hands after their first collision; the shockwave alone was enough to give the old Hokage a heart attack. He slowly waved his hands to the two Anbu who rushed in after hearing the commotion inside.
Tsunade and Izumi didn't care about it one bit, both still had their eyes locked onto each other like two predators ready to pounce.
"For an old lady, you sure pack a punch." Izumi grinned, cracking her numb fist with a look that invited another shot.
Tsunade barely held herself back from following through with another attack; the Uchiha girl gave her a very strange vibe.
"Old man, you sure she's a Uchiha?" Tsunade, for once, didn't think so.
"Last I checked, she was." Hiruzen sighed internally, happy that he didn't have to stop two kunoichi from duking it out. Though it sure would be fun to watch.
"She doesn't act like it."
"That's the problem, you see. She used to. Her personality seems to have changed after, well, dying and coming back to life."
"You two know that I can hear you, right?" Izumi asked, deadpan.
"If it mattered to you, then you would long have acted otherwise…" Hiruzen sagely pointed out.
"Point." Izumi, for once, had no comeback.
"You think she isn't Izumi Uchiha?" Tsunade finally dragged her eyes off Izumi's infuriating grin and asked.
"We can't say. For once, she came back to life—that alone was alarming enough—but then all her wounds were healed, and she grew a new pair of eyes as well.
We sent her to interrogation, and besides the change in personality, she seems to be Izumi Uchiha through and through. From blood tests to genjutsu detection, she passed all of them. We even asked some personal questions and general questions about her past, and she knows everything. All of Izumi Uchiha's memories.
Even Yamanaka Inoichi tried to enter her mind but couldn't. Her mind is too strong for any Yamanaka to invade." Hiruzen said with a tired puff on his pipe. In all his years, this was the first time he was experiencing a case like this.
"Then ask her directly. What is your excuse to be alive?" Tsunade shot Izumi a glare, now personal vendetta from earlier mixed in.
"Mangekyō."
"And your wounds. How did they heal?"
"Mangekyō."
"…And your eyes. They were gone, right? How did you even use your Mangekyō?"
Izumi paused for a second, likely thinking something through before once again giving the same answer.
"MANGEKYŌ."
Smash.
A crashing sound came as Tsunade broke the table beside Izumi in anger. "Stop saying that. Explain before I make you use that Mangekyō again." She gritted her teeth.
"Oh… but that I can't do." Izumi didn't seem fazed at all. In fact, she still acted nonchalant.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't have it. The Mangekyō. That masked man stole it."
"…What! Wait. What do you mean you don't have it? You have your eyes."
"I mean literally what I said. I no longer have the Mangekyō eyes. They were stolen, and these here are ordinary eyes which I regenerated with my Mangekyō ability I used before that masked man attacked me." She shrugged.
"And you expect us to believe that."
"Well, that's all we got until either one of us comes up with a better explanation, don't we."
Tsunade felt her blood pressure rising.
"What do you want from me, old man? What am I supposed to do here?" She finally turned to Hiruzen.
Hiruzen paused for a second, pondered over the question, before finally saying, "Just find out whether this person is really Kiyomi Uchiha or not. That's all."
Tsunade then knew that her life was going to be a lot more complicated.
—<>—
[Konoha Outskirts, near an abandoned training ground]
"Please teach me."
Said the girl because of whom Sukuna was needlessly declared a scumbag by his own mother, a recent memory which he wished to forget as soon as possible.
That entire ordeal alone took an hour to sort out. Finally, Sukuna had the time to actually listen to the girl after proving his innocence.
Knowing the nature of their conversation, he decided to bring her a little away from any prying ears.
"Teach you what?"
"Curse! Teach me how to curse. I wanna get strong!" Kiyomi said with almost fanatic zeal, which made him wary before committing to anything. If she was anything like her brother, then this was a headache he could do without.
Upon getting no answer, Kiyomi gritted her teeth and blurted out. "I'll do anything in my power. Just teach me how to get strong."
Sukuna was a bit speechless; the girl almost said it in a way that made him sound like a devil out for her blood.
"Geez, I'm not some sort of demon who'll demand your virginity in return. Relax." He rolled his eyes dramatic effect, but then paused.
"However...it's an entirely different matter if you're ready to offer it, then I don't mind..." Sukuna paused midway, observing the increasingly dark features of the girl.
"If... if that's what you want, then be it. I'll do it."
"Huh!" Sukuna thought he heard wrong.
"When do you want to do it? Where!" Kiyomi said with gritted teeth and clenched fists.
'Dude, that was a joke... Geez... okay, okay... no joking with a revenge-obsessed Uchiha.'
Sukuna paused first, composed himself, now more serious before saying, "No need. I was just fooling around. But tell me, why do you wish to get strong?"
Kiyomi's clenched hands loosened slightly upon hearing that, but the tension in her shoulders was still intact. "I want to kill Itachi Uchiha." She said it with hatred hot enough to char the very earth she stood on.
Being sensitive to negative emotions, Sukuna could sense the curse energy spike inside her.
'Interesting, her curse energy is stronger now…' For the first time, Sukuna felt honestly surprised. He didn't know the details, but this was only possible when the amount of curse energy itself had increased inside a person, which doesn't happen outside some very specific circumstances.
Sukuna looked into her eyes. Beside the overwhelming hatred for Itachi and a destructive longing for power, there was something else in them.
"Let me guess, you awakened your Mangekyō, didn't you!"
Kiyomi's unwavering eyes shot wide open in shock. "H-how did you…" she stammered, earlier anger and determination fading into frustration and confusion. She originally didn't plan to tell him; this was kind of her reassurance against him if it resorted to violence.
Sukuna smirked at his blind dart hitting the mark. "I didn't, but you just confirmed it."
'But to think that awakening the Sharingan or Mangekyō could make someone's curse energy pool increase. Really, those eyes are cursed.'
"However, your changed attitude and sudden confidence told enough. Uchihas typically become suicidal upon opening those eyes." He shrugged, earning a glare from the girl.
"So, now you know I awakened them. Now what!" She crossed her arms under her chest, still glaring, like daring him to say something.
'See… suicidal.'
"What abilities did you get?"
"What do you need to know that for?" She narrowed her eyes, already suspicious of him.
Sukuna immediately replied with a fake cheerful tone, "'Cause I'll write an article about which Uchiha got the best eyes on Reddit…" Immediately after, a roll of his eyes made it obvious he wasn't.
And the fact that he can make this joke since she's the only one who will understand the reference in this internet deprived world.
"You want my help, don't you? Then tell me."
The girl didn't look impressed, but ultimately had to get over it, since she was the one asking for help.
"I don't know."
"Huh!"
"I don't know! Haven't used either of them yet."
"For real? Isn't the power supposed to magically appear in your head?" Sukuna wasn't buying it.
"And since you've become the foremost expert in Uchiha anatomy." She shot back.
Sukuna shrugged. "Only two professions have any right to claim they understand anatomy: doctors and cooks. And I happen to be both…"
Sukuna could practically see the rising irritation inside the girl. It was surprising how the awakening of the Mangekyō changed a Uchiha's personality. The Kiyomi he remembered was someone who kept her distance from him as much as possible, with bare minimum interaction only when the need arose.
And now look at her, basically quarrelling with him over small stuff.
He saw the girl click her tongue once again, though this time much more discreetly, and calm herself. "I don't know. I only know their names."
Sukuna still didn't buy it but let it be.
"…And their names are…"
"Amanozako and Ameno Koyane." She finally relented.
This was the first time Sukuna was hearing these names. However, thanks to Ryomen's strong mythological knowledge, he had some idea which gods they were and what possible outcomes he could expect.
He didn't say anything for a while, making Kiyomi stare at him restlessly.
He finally nodded, saying, "Okay…"
"Okay what?"
"It's okay. You have Mangekyō now. It's cool. And if my guess is right, then your MS ability might be just what you need. However, my philosophy is also to learn how to handle a hand knife before pulling out the big guns." He said sagely.
Judging by the girl's face, she didn't understand.
"What I mean is that we'll start with the basics. Say… did you know your curse energy reserves have increased…" Sukuna helpfully pointed out to the clueless girl.
"What!" She blinked, this time completely caught off guard by the revelation.
"Indeed. So, give it a test, shall we, before we actually come to the good part." He grinned.
If earlier he wasn't sure whether to help her or not, then now he was completely into it, especially after knowing about her Mangekyo.
xXx
A/N : Okay, finally some focus on our other reincarnator, honestly I thought I'll never reach upto this point of the story at how slow the pace of the story was.
But we are finally here. Now before everyone started to shout about pairing, let me tell you, him interacting with every female doesn't mean they are in the Harem. In fact, calling it Harem is kinda wrong since I didn't intent to have more than 2 girls for him, or perhaps 3 if you guys instead. NO MORE !
Of course, there is always space for MORE STONES in my garden. You know what to do folks. Come on, throw them over like I'm your noisy neighbour. Promise I'll won't call police.
Oh also, comment and review. If you got any questions.
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