New stories are always fun, right? Of course. I decided to go with my otp for this story because I clearly don't give them enough love. The idea popped into my head in the middle of the night. I'm still fleshing out parts of the story but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Let me know your thoughts about it or any possible suggestions if things seem unclear. Enjoy the read and I'll see you at the end of the chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.
Chapter One
"Come on boy, the Father is waiting…"
Unable to see the route I was headed due to a blindfold obscuring my vision, I relied on the steady hand on my shoulder to guide me to my next destination. The one I presumed, would lead me to the man known as, Father. I didn't like the sound of that, the name unsettling me for some reason. I wasn't sure why I was wary of meeting this man.
However, the more I attempted to think about the familiar term the more my mind resisted.
From the moment I'd entered the facility, a series of sharp pains in my head prevented me from furthering my thoughts.
It was hard to describe what I was feeling. I suppose the best way to explain it would be that it felt as if I was in a continuous loop of feeling deja vu yet at the same time, remembering nothing. I couldn't remember my name or what I was doing prior to this moment. There was only a small window of time that I could recall, a syringe being plunged into my neck before a blow to the head knocked me out cold.
So now, I was here.
Except...I didn't really know where here was.
The hand disappeared for a moment before it gripped my shoulder once more and guided me through what I believed to be a door. We came to a stop as the hand pressed me down to sit in a cold metal chair. Suddenly, the old raspy voice of a man invaded my ears as he politely ordered,
"Remove their blindfolds for me."
Immediately, the hand returned, slipping under the binding as it tugged over my head.
The relief I felt in having my vision restored compared little to the nervousness I felt upon seeing several other children bound and dazed as I was. My eyes rolled around the room slowly. There were twenty-six of us in total, an equal ratio of boys and girls. I wasn't sure if I knew any of them but the longer I tried to figure it out the pounding in my head returned, forcing me to push the thoughts to the back of my mind for the time being.
The scratchy noise of a man clearing his throat caught my attention.
Abruptly, my eyes landed on an old figure sitting in the middle of the room.
How had I not noticed him before?
He simply sat there, cane in one hand as a disgusting smile crept across his face. Wrinkles and brown spots were everywhere on his tanned skin. He only donned a white robe and sandals and his hair was choppy and brown in color, same as his cold eyes. With a huff, he rose from his seat and began a casual walk around the room. He eyed each of us before coming to a stop in front of me. I could smell liquor on his breath with the dwindling space between us.
His hand reached for me, resting on my cheek as he whispered, "It's alright my son. All will be explained soon."
He pulled away but I could still feel the lingering cold touch of his skin on me. And I hated it.
Sitting in his seat once more, he waited for our attention to focus on him before he spoke. "Welcome my children, you all may call me Father. I will be taking care of you all from now on. Over the next few weeks, we'll come to know each other and hopefully, we can become one big happy family. Would you all like that?"
An involuntary movement forced my head to nod as I noticed everyone else do the same.
"Wonderful," he grinned, "Now...while you're waiting to come to your senses, some of you might have come to the realization that you have very little recollection of your memories. In short, the reason for this is that the serum you were injected with targets neurons in the brain cells associated with your memory. Specifically, we were able to pinpoint the exact memories containing information such as your names, your families, where you're from. Essentially, we have borrowed your identities."
Borrowed our identities? What did he mean?
Almost as if he had heard my thoughts, he grinned and mumbled, "Go on my son, try to remember. What's your name?"
I parted my cracked lips, expecting my name to roll off the tongue as usual. Instead, I was rewarded with another pained throbbing in my head. I winced, tugging on my hands on their restraints to soothe the pain but they were still bound behind my back. With a soft chuckle, he answered, "You can't remember, can you boy? That means it's working. However, all is not lost, I assure you."
Clapping his large hands, a figure emerged from the shadows. A man, silver in hair made his way to the center of the room.
Immediately, my eyes were attracted to the long scar running along his left eye. It must've been pretty bad because it seemed as if the eye was permanently shut.
He wore all black and kept a stoic facade the entire time. Coming to stand beside Father, he cleared his throat before he began speaking. "I will make this quick children. You all have been taken from your homes and families to participate in...a game of sorts if you will. You all have been chosen individually by the Father to participate in this game."
"A game? What kind of game?" A boy with striking blonde hair and deep blue eyes asked.
Keeping a stern face, the silver-haired man continued, "A puzzle, I suppose. There are twenty-six of you here so that will be the magic number for this game. This will be your new home while the game is in progress. You all will be provided with the opportunity, once a week to visit The Room. In The Room, you will be presented with twenty-six different puzzles. Each one corresponds to a memory that is key in discovering who you are. Assuming you can remember all twenty-six facts, your memory will be restored and you will be allowed to return home."
The nervous voice of a violet haired girl asked, worry heavy in their voice, "And...if we don't?"
"Simple. You'll be given a new identity and will remain here and be a part of our program. You'll be trained in the art of assassination and will become some of the world's greatest that have ever lived. However, for those of you who can't meet our expectations, you'll be executed," he finished, stating it as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
A wave of silence rushed over the room.
He wasn't serious...he couldn't be...could he?
Yet the look in his lone eye removed any traces of doubt in my mind. He was serious. Very serious. My stomach felt tight and my throat dry. I'm not sure when exactly my vision had cleared up so vividly but I was now aware of everything around me. I looked to my right, my eyes landing on the figure of a girl. Her hair was an obnoxious pink and her eyes, a sea colored green. Her hair obscured most of her face but I was able to make out the trailing tears and the tensing of her jaw as she clenched her teeth. Her body was shaking, perhaps with a combination of fear and rage.
I pulled my eyes from her trembling form, slowly rolling them along the floor before locking with the lone eye of the silver haired man.
Running my tongue over my cracked lips, I voiced out hoarsely, "How does it work...this game of yours?"
The man remained silent, turning to face The Father expectantly.
Wrinkly fingers gripped onto his cane as he stared me down, "This game of mine, my dear boy, works like this. You each will be given roughly a little over a hundred days to figure out these puzzles. Completion of a puzzle will come with one hint towards your next puzzle as well as rewarding you with a piece of your identity."
"A hundred days...twenty-six puzzles. That's just under four days per puzzle," a brown haired boy to my left called out, "And if we only get one day a week to work on the puzzle, it means we'll already be at a disadvantage."
"The game is meant to be more challenging depending on the information you're attempting to figure out. Memories such as your name and your age will be a lot simpler as opposed to trying to figure out the names of your parents and information about your family. As all games, this one is not without consequence. Aside from your possible impending fate, I will occasionally require you to do things for me. Should you complete them well, I'll grant you either a wish, an extra day or another hint. The hint or extra day will always be approved but the wish can go either way and if it is not approved, you don't get another chance. However, if the task is deemed incomplete or you do not fulfill it well enough to my standards, you will lose a day depending on the severity," he said, bringing his speech to an end.
Shakily bringing himself to a stand, he mumbled, "Brother Kashi here will inform you of the rest of the small details. You all will become very closely acquainted with him so be sure you play nicely."
With those parting words, he waved his hand and slipped out the door.
The silver haired man, now known to be Brother Kashi stepped to the center once more.
"Some other details to include today. This game isn't meant to be particularly difficult but it also isn't meant to be easy. The Room works with you, aiding you in your attempts at the game by granting partial access to everyone's memory storage. You must distinguish for some puzzles if memories are yours or another's. Should you choose another's memory by mistake, you can return it to them or remove it from the storage for a day to prevent them from finding it in exchange for a clue. Should you aim to help them, it will cost you half a day," Brother Kashi stated, rubbing his neck with a sigh.
"Unfortunately, to make things a little more...interesting for Father, The Room is essentially your only way out. The Room contains a barrier that prevents partial memory from escaping. Simply put, if you don't finish the puzzle, you won't remember what you learned outside The Room until it's completed. However, you get a small window of ten seconds to try and get the information written down some way to take with you," he added, studying each of our reactions as his words continued.
It was a lot to take in.
As I glanced around the room, I noticed the look of turmoil on everyone's faces.
There were tears. There were bowed heads. There were looks of absolute shock and dumbfoundedness. I could relate to them, yet I couldn't bring myself to react to any of it. I needed as much information about the game as possible so I could get the hell out of here.
"What else should we know...Brother?" I asked him, watching his grim look relax only slightly when our eyes met.
"Father is generous my brother. During your stay, you will be treated with the utmost care. Luxury accommodations have been established for each of you. Anything you need that is not related to the game, simply ask me and I will see to it that it is given to you," he finished. With a clap of his hands, more people entered the room. One by one, they escorted us out, leading us somewhere that I didn't know.
Kashi took me personally, holding onto my arm as he guided me around a corner following the others. Soon, a single door came into vision. Releasing me, I watched as Kashi brought his thumb to his lips, biting the flesh and effectively breaking it. Swiping his blood in a circular motion down the wall beside the door, it turned a dark color before fading into the wall.
Pressing the door open, we stepped inside and into a large lobby.
Once we were all in, our bindings were removed. I instinctively massaged my wrists, scowl pulling at the corners of my lips upon seeing the reddish marks forming there.
"This is your home. Feel free to explore and make yourselves comfortable. All of your rooms will be located on the second floor of the estate. You may choose any for they are all the same until you claim then. After which they will adjust depending on our collected data of you. However, you must use the same method of entry that I used to claim a door. You will write your number in blood on the wall beside it. Your numbers will now be given to you, be sure you don't forget them," he finished.
Leaning into my ear, in a smooth voice that flowed like silk, he whispered, "You are number one, my brother. Take care you live up to it. Father has high expectations of you. Remember this as well, it will save you in the end. The men know not that there is nothing to know but to know nothing is to remember everything. Let no one else know this information. When the time comes, you'll understand."
His hand dropped from my shoulder and with a confirmed nod, he left with the others.
It was just us now.
The game had officially started.
I wasted no time in dawdling about or trying to get to know the others. I claimed the steps, two at a time, taking a left when the path had split. I walked to the end of the hall, staring at the black door in front of me. Breaking the skin of my thumb, I winced and drew my finger down in a vertical line.
Immediately, it had faded into the wall and the number appeared right above the door.
Twisting open the door, I stepped into the room.
I didn't waste time in admiring the exterior, instead heading straight over to the desk in the corner. Ripping open a drawer, I fought a pen and a random book. It was an empty notebook with my number written on the front. Flipping to the very back, I took the pen and immediately began writing.
I'd need to keep this hidden. It could potentially be the only thing that would save me.
"The men know not that there is nothing to know but to know nothing is to remember everything."
Perhaps it was too soon to speculate what that meant but every day was crucial. Shutting the book, I slipped it under my pillow and tossed the pen back in the drawer. Collapsing onto the bed, I ran my fingers through my hair with a sigh. A series of clenching and unclenching my hand before my face was the last thing my eyes saw until the next morning.
These next hundred days were going to be the most trying of my entire life. For now.
So here it is, the first chapter. Again, let me know how you guys feel about it so far. I apologize for any grammatical errors that I might have missed and I also apologize if the first chapter isn't that great. Clearly it's a work in progress but I have high hopes for it! See you in the next chapter.