Quite a few minutes had passed since Inoichi had started the examination before he released his light grip of Sachiko’s cranium.
“Huh, that’s odd.”
Just after finishing an examination of her daughter for mental trauma or manipulation wasn’t the best time for him to be saying that, Mikoto thought while hiding an eye twitch. “You found something?”
Inoichi silently nodded in response, cupping his chin in thought while he watched Sachiko shake her head clear of the aftereffects of the mind reading technique. A moment passed before he started his explanation, “Think of memories like books. Each one records a specific event and each person, like an author, has a specific style that they write these memories with.”
“Alright.” Mikoto accepted, waiting for the Jounin to get to his point.
Moving back to sit in his chair across the table, the blond man further explained the situation. “When I first started the dive into Sachiko’s mindscape, I read the most recent ‘book’ covering our meeting here. Since it was the freshest memory, it held the most details and could be used as an ‘author’s proof’ to compare any other memories with.”
Taking a sip of tea, he paused to formulate his next words while wetting his suddenly dry mouth. “To cut to the point, using that, I found undeniable evidence of tampering of your daughter’s memories.”
“What?!” Said girl jerked rigid, eyes flashing wide at that statement.
“How bad is it and can you repair any damage?!” Mikoto questioned, leaning forward with an intent look in her dark eyes.
“I… I think further explanation is needed.” Inoichi stated, a little intimidated at the look he was receiving from the more than concerned mother. He couldn’t blame her, he’d be the same way if something had happened to his little Ino-chan. Coughing into a hand, he continued speaking, “You see, I found an… anomaly that prevented me from reading the memory of anything that happened between twelve and twenty-four hours ago. I can see the memories are there but whenever I try to pick up the ‘book’ to read them, it just slips through my grasp.”
He looked directly at the daughter with a confused expression. “Every time that happened, I kept getting the mental image of a laughing black cat. Does that mean anything to you?”
“No, it doesn’t… but we never saw the Kami who changed us.” Sachiko hesitantly stated, trying to remember.
Hearing that, Inoichi sat back in his chair, stunned with the thought. “Uh, a Kami?” He wondered in a mild daze before regaining his wits and thinking about it. “I guess that could explain everything else I found.”
“Which would be?” Mikoto asked, glancing towards her daughter with an evaluating gaze.
“While I can’t view anything within that time span, everything before it shows Sachiko and Kushina’s daughter both as boys, while everything after shows them as girls but with a male thought process.”
Mouth suddenly dry, the raven haired mother thickly stated, “And Kushina and I are dead in those prior memories.”
Inoichi just nodded in answer.
“As I explained earlier, each memory has a style which identifies the maker. Both the before and after memories, they are a perfect match in style. They are true memories, with no tampering as far as I can tell and I’m the most experienced in this in Konoha.”
“I know, that’s why I requested your help.” Mikoto stated in recognition of his expertise, still looking towards her daughter who was looking back with a wary air. The Uchiha mother just let out a breath before wrapping her son turned daughter into a one armed hug. “So there’s nothing to ‘fix’, if I understanding you correctly.”
“That is the case, yes.” Inoichi answered with a nod, taking another sip of his cooling tea.
“Then I’d like to request your secrecy in this matter.” Mikoto requested but added in a slight warning, “But know that your expertise might be required again soon.”
Inoichi just nodded again, reading the hidden words that the Hokage probably would be calling on him within the next few days, most likely to examine Sachiko’s teammates for the same signs of this ‘laughing black cat’.
(Posted Mon, 22 Sep 2014 20:15)
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