Chapter One
I remember.
Somehow.
At the back of my mind, there is a darkness that threatens to pull me inside.
Glittering fangs, red eyes. Breath of a demon.
Don't know what it is.
(Lies. I've always known what it was.)
If I close my eyes and think, I can remember.
Texture of human fat through layers of fire and destruction. Screams of anguish and the cries of the weak.
It was dark.
And cold.
Amongst the darkness, I could feel the fear of my blood. Clammy fingers caressed my forehead. Bloody prints marked my flesh.
I could hear voices.
Two stars.
Bright and beautiful and twinkling like fireflies amongst the blackness.
But even the stars dulled and decayed.
After the death of the stars, I could feel the eyes of a demon.
Many demons.
Thousands of them.
Their voices trembled with hatred and ice. Sharp. Sharper than any sword.
Their bony fingers reached for my body and I wailed.
Something wet and withered reached out with shaking hands and took me.
I was cradled against something solid and soft. Heard the thumping of life inside a box. Felt the horror and dismay and slight disgust emanating from its core.
Even the God of Shinobi did not want me.
Can't blame him.
I spent decades not wanting myself either.
"And my dream… is to be the next Hokage!"
