Akina

Water. It drips across my face, pulling me into the conscious world.

Where the hell am I, I think, lifting a hand to my head.

I glance around the dimly light room, noticing the clutter scattered around it. Something crunches under my hand as I rise into a sitting position. I glance down, spotting the broken figurine under my palm. I'm caught off guard by a sudden stir in the corner of my eye.

Who…?

The figure rises slowly, glancing around curiously before their gaze falls on me.

"Akina?"

I recognize the voice immediately. She stands, moving towards me. Her arms wrap around my neck in the next moment, pulling me towards her. I lift my arms, wrapping them around her waist. That's when I notice the missing glove on my right arm.

"Why are you here, Miki?" I ask.

Miki pulls back, staring at me incredulously. "Why am I here? Where the hell is 'here?'"

I glance around, noting her point.

"What's the last thing you remember?" she questions.

"I was in a mansion," I begin, trying the pull together the fuzzy pieces of my memory. "I was supposed to steal something…I don't remember what."

I close my eyes, racking my brain for any other information, unsuccessfully. "What about you?"

"Nothing," she says. "I can't remember anything. I know it had something to do with Lady Hokage, but I…can't think what it was."

"Allow me to shed a little light on the situation."

I nearly jump out of my skin at the sudden emergence of the foreign voice.

"You're here because you have misbehaved," the voice continues. "You have allowed yourselves to indulge in mortal sins and you must pay for your crimes. Here, you will have the opportunity to be re-educated, and reborn."

"No thanks, I'm not interested in joining your creepy cult," I call.

Miki reaches over, pinching my arm until she draws blood.

"Shut up," she hisses.

"Around your necks you will find shock collars. In exactly 60 seconds from the end of this message, they will activate, and send enough electricity through your body to kill five elephants."

My eyes widen in shock as I reach up, feeling the chunk of metal around my neck.

"How do we get it off," Miki asks. I can hear the panic creeping into her voice.

"Somewhere in this room is a button. It will release the collars around your neck. Your time starts now. Good luck."

The sound fizzes away, leaving nothing but the beep of the collars around our neck. The two of us jump on our feet, scouring the room for the button.

"Could he have been more vague?" I shout, ripping open a cabinet door.

"Just search for it," Miki shouts in response.

I fumble around, tossing the door when I find nothing in the cabinet.

30, 29, 28… The beeps continue at a steady pace. I spot the mirror on the wall out of the corner of my eye.

Couldn't be…

I walk over to it, pressing my hands against the smooth glass. I push a little, surprised to feel it give in a small part of the center.

"Got something," Miki calls. She has her hand stretched inside a pipe on the wall.

I bring back my hand, smashing it clean through the mirror. My hand falls almost immediately on the button.

"I got it here too," I say in response.

"Which one do we press?" she asks.

10, 9, 8…

"Both," I cry.

I press down my palm, holding my breathe. The beeping ceases, followed by the click of a lock. The collar tumbles from my neck, crashing to the ground. I glance over at Miki, smiling with relief. She returns my smile, leaning her head against the wall in exhaustion. As I move to pull back my hand, something rips across my skin, slicing ribbons across my forearm. I pull it back, cursing as blood drips down my arm and pools on the floor.

"Was that your button or mine?" Miki asks, moving in front of me to examine the wound.

"How should I know?" I retort, gritting my teeth in pain.

She sighs, unhooking the cloak around her shoulders.

"Arm up," she instructs.

I lift my arm, squeezing my hand against the largest portion of the wound. She rips the cloak in half, then into fourths, then into eights.

"Give."

I lower my arm, allowing her to take it. She carefully wraps the cloth around my arm, securing it tightly to stop the bleeding.

"Just like when we were kids," I comment.

She chuckles, nodding. "You had a knack for getting hurt."

"Are you doing okay, Miki?" I ask, studying her face.

"What's with the serious tone in your voice all of the sudden?" She chuckles, looking up at me.

"What the?" She reaches out, touching her fingers to my blackened, bruised eye. "What happened to your face?"

"I'm a shinobi, Miki," I remind her. I push away her hand, turning my head.

"No shinobi I know has hand prints on their neck," she retorts, lifting my hair from my neck.

I slap her hand away, locking eyes with her. "It's none of your business."

"If you tell me who it is, I can—"

"No," I say, interrupting her. "No, it's alright. It's nothing to be concerned about."

She stares at me, wanting to say more, but remains silently. "Be careful," she advises.

I light flickers on, revealing a door across the room. "Always am," I reply, walking over to it.

A/N: Here it is, the sequel to Twilights Angels. Forever Lived.

The events in this story all take place after the time skip, just to avoid confusion.

Please review!

Ary