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!"