The Last Avenger and the World of Omni: Homecoming

[Sasuke Uchiha]

“I don’t miss this heat.” the Dante’s Abyss champion muttered, as he trudged up a bank of sand, against a sea of ochre. Sweat glistened off the ninja’s brow, dry and cracked lips parted into a smile, and his eyes locked on the once grand, now tattered, sandstone walls bearing the Kingdom of Gilgamesh. A city of mesmeric countenance for the shinobi, it bathed him in nostalgia, and the gilded palace in the distance reminded him of his first ventures as the King’s Hand in Nippur; his first attempt to bring order to a chaotic verse. He had such hope then.

Sasuke shook his cloak of the sandstorm he’d defied to arrive, and pulled it close, noting the abandoned guard station as ominous, upon passing through its entrance. A coarse sand, left in the storm’s wake, blanketed the kingdom, as the shinobi walked the silent streets of Nippur’s marketplace. It was bizarre. The city was a shell of the mecca it had once been, confirming the dataverse’s accuracy on its grim reporting. With the budding metropolis now a desolate requiem to better times, the shop stalls he passed had all but withered under copious mounds of sand.

Where were all the people? It didn’t sit right with the shinobi, he needed answers, and figuring the best place to find them, the ninja took off towards the palace. Bounding the city’s passageways and outside corridors in a flash, with little need for caution of civilians, the shinobi exited the marketplace and encountered his first signs of life.

Four gruff looking individuals, armed with various swords and axes, stood deep in conversation with one another, just outside the palace gates, as though awaiting their opening. “You men here,” the ninja interrupted their conversation, “I have some questions.”

“’Ello,” one of the men blurted out, surprised by Sasuke’s sudden approach, “what do we ‘ave ‘ere, boys?” Facetious, snide, and full of contempt, the brute jeered, “Are ya lost little boy? Do ya need ‘elp?” His tone did not go unnoticed and issued a chorus of laughter from the others. “Get lost!”

“Nah, I’m not lost,” the shinobi grinned as he eyed their spokesman suspiciously, “I’m right where I want to be.” Sasuke’s eyes came alive with the bloodline of his clan, gave each of them a once over, and then commanded, “Tell me then. Do you not recognize me?”

“Should we, pal?” one of the ruffians spat before their party’s temperament faltered, a few of them put out their cigarettes, and all positioned themselves to Sasuke’s focal point. “Seems to me, it’s you who doesn’t recognize the situation, brat.” Sasuke remained silent as the four of them drew their respective steel, circled the Dante’s Abyss champion, and displayed a dastardly excitement. “Go ahead, tell me who you are,” the lead bandit cooed, “so I can tell the boss who we killed.”

Boss? I’ll have to find out who that is, the ninja thought. “You would kill me?” Sasuke demanded, flashing his teeth in anger, and drew his own steel. “For absolutely no reason at all?!”

“Sure! Why not?” the man replied, lunging forward with vicious intent, and a swing of his axe; his comrades followed.  

Mindless violence, Sasuke thought, these men aren’t worth the lives they cling to. The shinobi moved with a martial art prowess they had never seen before, orchestrating a symphony of steel on steel, and then, inevitably, of steel on flesh. Blood spurted and the ninja’s face came away covered in crimson. Three bodies hit the floor.

“Nooo!!!” The original bandit to address Sasuke whined. “Please!!!” Now a lone survivor, he dropped to his knees and pleaded for his life before asking, “Who are you?”

“Sasuke Uchiha, of New Babylon,” the shinobi spoke passionately, “Dante’s Abyss champion, avenger to the Uchiha clan, and Hand to King Gilgamesh. Perhaps you’ve heard of him?” Sasuke sheathed kusanagi, placed a heel to the bandit’s chest, and gave a kick that would injure, but not kill. The bandit hit the sands with a thud and a groan. “He rules here. When you give your boss my name, you can tell him New Babylon still reigns supreme.”

“Oh thank you,” the bandit groveled, “thank you for your mercy, your grace! Thank you so much! I’ll tell him right away!”

Sasuke smirked as the coward fled into the marketplace, but before he could give it much thought, the palace doors swung open. A husky, tall, and dark skinned male came sauntering down the steps; hands attending to an undone buckle on his pants as he went. With his manhood safely tucked away, the man became aware of the pool of blood he was standing in, and the three dead men sprawled out on the floor that caused it. Angered, the man pulled a flintlock pistol from its holster and directed it at Sasuke, “Did you do this?”

“Yea,” the Uchiha smiled, “just taking out the trash.” He tilted his head and thumbed towards the dead men slain in the sands, “Looks like the city could use some cleaning up.”

“You stupid son of a bitch.” The man said as he gave his trigger finger a good squeeze, relieved a bullet from its chamber, and knocked Sasuke from his feet. Everything happened so fast, before the shinobi could react, the bullet had pierced his chest, left a hole on the other end, and put the ninja on his back. Blood trickled down his torso, his breathing grew weak, and agony colored the shinobi’s face .The gunman stood over Sasuke, holstered his pistol, and spat, “That’s what you get when you fuck with the Deathchew clan.”

“Deathchew?” Sasuke’s voice came from behind the gunslinger as the wounded ninja’s body vanished before the gunman’s eyes. With a plume of smoke, a piece of oak lumber had been left in its place. “Baron Deathchew?”

Realizing he’d been duped, the gunslinger reeled, brandished his fire arm once more, and opened fire. Discharge after discharge, the hand canon sought to truly slay the shinobi, but to no avail. When the smoke cleared, Sasuke was behind the gunslinger, retrieving a bloody Kusanagi from an impaled neck and shoulder. Blood went everywhere. There was so much blood. Dropping his pistol, the bandit stumbled away, fell to his knees, and plopped over dead.

“Shit.” Sasuke wiped the blood from his blade as he spoke to himself, “Deathchew is still a problem?” The shinobi sheathed kusanagi once more, stepped over the dead bodies, and entered the courtyard. He couldn’t believe he’d allowed such a loose end like Baron Deathchew to slip his grasp. “That one is one me. I’ll have to right that wrong.”

The shinobi’s excursion through the courtyard was haunted by same nostalgia as before. Once a grand courtyard, in yesteryear, it had the ability to transport you from the dry and dull colors of the dunes, today, it was a ghost of its former self. The lavish and lush foliage had been replaced with dead weed and scorned brush fire, the fountains and pools now dry or empty, and even the statues seemed cracked and dismal. It pained Sasuke to see the kingdom this way, and though his bond to the city had never been particularly strong, he felt committed to setting things right here.  

The youth felt a vibration in his garments from his communicator, retrieved the device, and read the message. “Their best tracker, huh?” he pondered. The shinobi couldn’t help but grin as his thumbs sent a response. Things were falling into place and soon he would hold the legendary artefact, Kusanagi, once more!

“H-help...”a soft, barely audible voice interrupted the ninja’s thoughts. Coming from behind some dead shrubbery, it sounded again, “P-please…” The voice was feminine, weak, and timid, “I’m… please.” The shinobi approached the voice, cleared some rubbish, and located its owner. An attractive, dark skinned woman lay strung out in the dirt. Her garments were soaked in blood and her top was ripped, shredded, and revealing her breasts. “Please,” she gasped, “I’m dying.”  

An image of that bastard gunslinger flashed through the shinobi’s mind before Sasuke went to woman, knelt down, and scooped her head into his lap while covering her with his cloak. “I’m not a medic.” The ninja stammered, uncomfortable with the situation, feeling out of control, and powerless.

“Golden Cross,” the woman panted, collecting her energy to even muster the words, “they can help. T-“

“Shhh!” the ninja reassured her, stood, and swooped her into his arms, “I’ll take you.” Without sparing another moment, they were off, “Save your strength, you just point. Let me do the heavy lifting.” The woman nodded and wrapped herself closer to him, her exposed breasts pressing tight against his chest. Flustered, his cheeks became scarlet, his mind raced, and his heart felt like it was going to explode out of his chest. Mighty Uchiha or not, he was still fourteen, and no match for boobs.

“There.” The woman said, indicating where to stop with her finger. Setting her down as gently as possible, the ninja ran into the sandstone building, and returned with a flock of people and a gurney.

“She’ll be alright, you were right to bring her here.” One of the attendants assured Sasuke, butting in to get a better hold on the woman, and pushing the ninja aside. “We can take it from here.”

The shinobi looked after the woman being hauled off inside and started after her when a booming voice, coming from the palace, stopped him dead in his tracks. “People of Nippur!” the voice thundered. Sasuke could tell that voice from anywhere, “I, your rightful King, Gilgamesh have finally returned.” With that the ninja became a blazing blur of cobalt, streaking back towards the palace.

The boys were back in town.