Naruto: Mind over matter

-one month later-

Pov: Naruto

Sasuke woke up an hour ago, I get up and put my clothes on, sighing into the mirror... I need a haircut... Kakashi-sensei just talked me through moving on and I know I have to but...

*slap*

I slap both sides of my face and shake off the negative feelings, Riku is dead but he wouldn't want me to mope around and be all sad... any longer...

I get up and head to the hospital, Sasuke is going to freak out when he gears the bad news and I need to be there for him.

Jumping over the roofs I land in front of the hospital and I walk in, I head straight for Sasuke's room and I walk in- Kakashi and Sakura are here.

I look towards Sasuke who is holding a letter... so he knows.

His eyes bulge and his body trembles lightly as Sakura hugs him... Kakashi-sensei watches over them in silent contemplation.

I walk up to Sasuke and he looks up to me from his bed.

"He died... saving me...? Why did... how am I still so powerless..." He looks at me and asks a genuine question, as if I had any idea why we aren't strong enough...

"Sasuke... you are not powerless... Riku just encountered an enemy we didn't know anything about and had powers never seen before..." I tell him and he grips Sakura's back, as if it had offended him.

"Sasuke... its going to be alright" She tells him... Sasuke doesn't like that and flares his mangyeko, his entire face crumbling and frowning in disgust.

To his credit he does not lash out at anyone... even worse he closes off and stares out the window.

...

Everyone stews in the silence and it breaks five minutes later by my stomach grumbling... worst timing.

"Lets eat..." Sasuke says and everyone agrees, he gets out of bed and puts his usual outfit on before we head to Ichiraku's, once we arrive there Ayame lowers her gaze at me.

"Naruto... you eating a normal amount today...? I don't want to cut you off like last time" she says with worry and intimidation.

"Ah! Haha- no, I brought Sasuke and Sakura and Kakashi-sensei!" I scratch the back of my head and give a weak smile.

She shakes her head before looking at Sasuke and smiling.

"Congratulations for getting out of the hospital, I will make sure to give you a discount~" she says in her most comforting tone.

We all sit down and eat some ramen... delicious!

After half an hour we all head to Riku's grave and pay our respects, Sasuke after seeing his grave grips his knuckles and takes a breath... all tension leaves his body and he turns to leave, we follow him to our training ground and he sits there meditating.

"All right... Sakura do you want to look after Sasuke today?" Kakashi-sensei asks and she nods, he then turns to me.

"Yamato is waiting in the usual spot, we are late... again. Lets go get that new rasengan down" I nod and we start heading towards the other training ground where Riku's sensei is helping me suppress the Kyuubi...

---

Pov: Ace.

Alright.

*crack*

Not alright.

*clink* *click*

...

Alright.

I am currently finishing the fix on Jaunt, a lot of his systems where fried and the wooden outer layer gone completely... spent some money getting new claws and metal spine...

But now he is fixed!

Almighty was repaired ages ago and Anchor just needed a maintenance check.

I also need to upgrade Anchor and started implementing Sasori's system of shooting his belly chain on Anchors wrist, he wont have to waste chakra on shooting them anymore and they will impale and slice harder on exit, plus pulling in will be faster and allow for better shots and tricks, Sasori was a master with puppets so much so that using his system has freed Anchors space by a lot... in fact I can place more stuff in him now, and I am thinking of filling him with shifting weights.

Using these weights he can pull things in and throw punches that hurt- bad. More importantly he will have a much easier time having his chains hit and do more damage, this may seem simple but with how much weight he will be throwing around he will go from a chuunin level threat to a genuine special Jonin for mid-ranged combat.

And the more Jutsu we know the higher he ranks, I believe that if Riku was alive he would be a Kage level threat and have three Elite Jonin Sentinels in another years time, his learning pace was increased by eight times and he is very diligent on top of that.

Anchors plans are good, now I can work on him and make sure he is great... I can work on the travellers next too.

...

The year is closing in, I have only 11 months till I falter... I will follow my priorities.

The travellers and the Augmenters will be upgraded by then... actually I might be able to get them all done in just a few months.. or less.

*crack*

Not alright.

I start repairing Jaunt again and ensure that all the pieces are there... I am missing one... I expand my Telekinetic sense and see Eiko waiting on the loungeroom couch with the piece held in her hands, I ascend into the living room.

"Took your time" she mutters in annoyance.

"That piece your holding is needed to repair Jaunt-" I am interrupted.

"And you can grab it to fulfil your priority after I am done, there are new rules... no entering the house after ten o'clock do you understand? Its creepy when you unlock the door and enter while I'm in bed or showering, I need safety and that's getting in the way of it..."

I can manage that, I suppose I should sit on the library roof and read via Telekinetic sense or maybe head to the training ground and practice with Telekinetic sage mode.

"Of course, I can do that for you" I reply.

"Thank you, here is your part" she throws me the piece and I catch it, nod to her and then head back downstairs, she heads to the bedroom and I stop expanding my Telekinetic sight.

She is warming back up to me.

...

I want to be me again but I don't have the... necessary components to do so, or understand why- it is like my emotions are muted not silenced while in this not-puppet.

*click* *clank* *tink*

Alright.

---

Pov: Sasuke Uchiha

I enter into my mindscape and look around... no snake anywhere and my house is tidy and clean, no blood or anything.

Outside my Mangyeko is in the sky and hovers over the great lake, through the doors is the usual and I strangely seem serene... its so calming in here now, before the cursed snake felt like a constant rope burn on my emotions and the blood made me feel cloggy and horrid... but now I feel free...

Riku died.

He helped me in so many ways and yet I am still powerless and unable to help him.

I have to find Itachi and get the next step of the mangyeko... this has gone on long enough, I will ask for my team to go on the hunt for him and I will request to fight him alone... and if it doesn't work out then they are there to help me.

Exiting my mind I am greeted by Sakura who hovers near me.

...

Damnit Riku, taunting me from the grave.

His letter was different then what he apparently said at the funeral...

'Sasuke! Turn that frown upside down! You have a dream to fulfil and places to go! Let people hug you! or whatever counts as an Uchiha intimate moment! Hn! As of writing this letter I know you to be reliable and trustworthy,  never compromise and be true to yourself! Also hurry up and fulfil that second part of your dream dumbass, I saw how your looks to Sakura have changed and you should give her the feelings she has been giving you!!! If I am dead I want you to be happy, so screw embarrassment and be true to yourself!'

Haaa-

How did he know... sure she was annoying at first and there were times that I hated her more than liked her... but she has been slowly warming up to me.

Her smiles... her looks... the way she treats me so kindly...

Damn Riku, getting in my head!

Haaa-

I look over to Sakura who realises I am awake and she sits next to me pats my shoulder, giving me a consoling smile...

Damn Riku.

"Riku didn't read everything on the note at the funeral did he?" I say...

"Yeah, yours looked way longer than what was said... something personal? Anything good?" She asks.

Haaa- damnit my face is heating up... how can he be dead and still messing with me.

"Do you know my dream Sakura? Do you remember it? From our first meeting as team seven..." she nods her head.

"Yeah... restoring your clan and killing... that man" she says.

I turn to face her fully taking her hand and placing it in mine, we sit facing each other and I say.

"I want to go out with you Sakura... with the intent to restore my clan... and... and have a family again... I want you Sakura"

...

Sakura hasn't moved a muscle and her face is tomato red... nice *cough*

I blush heavily, but I don't look away- she eventually smiles and cries before jumping into a hug with me.

It seems I will have to teach her some Uchiha style intimacy... this is a bit too forward for me.

She squeezes me tight and yells to me.

"Yes! Yes! Of course!"

Okay maybe this isn't that bad...

I hug her back and she shakes in happiness, though after five minutes she sits back and wipes her tears of joy.

"... may I ask what brought this on? I mean- you don't have- I am just-" she starts flailing around and I chuckle before handing her the note.

"Riku may be dead but he is right, he lives on through his word... even from the grave he can shake my mind and rattle my emotions... I would surely collect as many golden pinecones to get him back... but the dead are dead and I have been through this before, I dont want to be stuck in the past I want to be stuck with you" I say the most words I have said in quite some time and-

My lips are sealed with hers... they have quite the taste...

"Sasuke... want to go to your apartment..?" Sakura says under her breath as she unlatches from my lips and hangs her arms around my neck...

I gulp and a million thoughts race through my head...

"Hn." The Uchiha classic slips through my lips and she beams at me before kissing me one more time and feeling my chest up... never have I felt so exposed...

...

We rush towards my apartment without delay and the rest of the day is spent together... doing some private training... at least that's what we will tell everyone else...

Her lips... her eyes... her blushing face...

Riku was right.

I think I accidentally fell in love with her.

---

Pov: Riku

Searching aimlessly is both stupid and a waste of time... not that I have much sense of time here...

How can I cover more ground?

...

I can split my minds right..?

But that was based on my chakra... the splitting of Yin chakra, that's why they aren't technically me in a sense as they split off and we start having two different souls and memories, only when reconnecting and joining together do we make ourselves the same again...

How can I split myself without the use of chakra...

What is my soul made of? That's a good question.

If souls are made and based from chakra in the elemental nations, what is it on earth?

...

Let's make it simpler, what is used to describe our souls on earth.

A spirit.

Our shadows.

Morals and faith.

Our true selves.

The means behind the method.

The passion and the art that machines cant compete with.

Emotion? No that's not right... maybe...

Emotions are part of it however, my split selves where muddled and greyed when separate from me...

Shadows and morals... faiths and spirit...

Basically what makes me Riku instead of Luke, my shadow casts a different silhouette than Luke, my morals are certainly different from the city man as I go and kill for a living, my faith? The old man if that counts for anything... other than that nothing else... my spirit? What is a spirit? Is it like the true self?

What is Riku's true self?

What is my true self...?

...

A tough question...

Warm and Hopeful, Diligent and Uncaring.

Is that it? The four main things I am? But that doesn't make much sense... I am more than just that...

Maybe its multiple pieces...

Emotions + Four main directives + ???

Thoughts? Why not, this math isn't actual math after all, I could add gargoyles into it and it will still add up...

Then something else... my thoughts and emotions are me, my four directives are my true self and that means I need a glue... something to stick it all together..

I am missing a lot of pieces but I am not here for enlightenment, I am here for the glue.

Chakra was that glue for those of the elemental nations...

...

Earths glue...

...

The only thing I can think of is that Humans kind of ruled over everything and overcame every obstacle...

The indomitable human spirit...

Spirit..!

Is the glue my will? Is earths glue the will and mind of those that inhabit it?

It makes sense right???

Love and war... two things that humans excel at... passion? Art?

Its not everything- but its the glue of earth.

If humans have no will on earth why are they even there? What's the point?

Chakra is just an ingredient for the soul glue in the elemental nations, I am almost certain that who I am- my passion is the foundation of me... the foundation of souls...

If I can control that foundation, then everything will be better, greater and under my mind.

Mind over matter as always I suppose.

...

Okay. Nine minds... how do I split myself with only control over my foundation? How do I control my foundation- never mind that actually, through pure spite and willpower I can change it...

Pieces...

What if I create puzzle pieces out of my soul so they connect and disconnect easily?

Each piece needs there own smaller foundation that links up with mine... so a will for each piece.

Lets make them, here are the plans for me and my terrors... they wont need to be as big as me, smaller and better... maybe take one part and add another...

--

Riku = Warm and Hopeful, Diligent and Uncaring.

Rock Sage = Diligent and Calm.

--

Ace = Diligent and Humourus.

Almighty = Uncaring and Cold.

Anchor = Diligent and Curious.

--

Javelin = Hopeful and perceptive.

Jaunt = Uncaring and Gluttonous.

Jewel = Warm and Shameless.

--

Emrys = Uncaring and Resilient.

Edge = Diligent and Agressive.

Ezra = Uncaring and Audacious.

--

Ten selves.

One true whole me.

Nine terrors to do my bidding.

I split myself piece by piece and I make sure that everything fits perfectly... there is a clean line between each small ball of light that orbits around me and that's one of my four directives given to each of them... my greatest parts of me and my self... the split soul is then a mixture of both that connecting line and a smaller part of me... each forming a unique self purely from my own self, meaning that they are entirely me and separate- for example I couldn't make one Diligent and Violent because I am not a Violent person at all... kind of... its so small that I couldn't separate and mix it to be clear.

How am I splitting myself?

Because I am Riku.

The balls of light rush of into nine different directions... the lines extend as I go my own way, I am like a hive mind of nine different Riku's now, some less then a normal soul but a soul nonetheless...

If the past technique was [Split self], then this one is [Split soul].

It is an all round better upgrade, always connected, ten thought processes that don't interrupt or overload each other and capable of action without my acceptance...

Just wait Madara Uchiha... Tobi, or whoever you are. I. Will. Find. You.

Mark my words as they are my greatest ally.

Mind over matter.

I will find the Elemental Nations once more.

---

Thanks for reading :)