Chapter V

A Girl

October ?. This room is dark, so dark that I cannot see a single thing, not even miniscule dust particles in the air. I tried to run away from him, the man that would lead me to my demise. That was stupid. He knocked me out with his strong genjutsu abilities, something I should have foreseen this playing out, but I was to optimistic of my abilities. Sure, I'm strong, but I'm no Fugaku. Anyways, I was knocked out for quite some time, so I cannot tell what time it is or how many days have passed. I wish I could get out of here, but something is off. I can't seem to move myself more than a few meters ahead before finding myself too weak to continue. What is this ability? Is it ninjutsu? An elaborate genjutsu? Or maybe… maybe I'm dead. I don't know anymore. I've already got a lot to think about, and now this? Damn… I wish I could do more than write in my notebook. Signed, K.

Keiko felt hopeless once again, just as he did when he first say Fugaku. If he could, he would have committed suicide long ago. His only purpose for life was just squashed and thrown into the trash, and now his biggest threat held him captive. The only foreseeable future was one of extreme suffering and a slow, painful death from the Uchiha.

"Hey! You awake now? Good. I'll releasing the jutsu. Please don't try anything, I'm just here to help you."

It was the voice of a woman, a voice that Keiko had never heard, yet it seemed so familiar. It was soothing like a songbird's music, a piece that brought a wave of calm amongst his wild mind. He wasn't scared, even if it was the voice of his killer. He was going to test his luck and trust the voice.

The darkness began to fade around him, just like when he escaped the jutsu from the robed figure. The surroundings still weren't bright, though he could tell he was being held in someone's musky basement. Despite being under a genjutsu, the actions he committed whilst under correlated properly with the real world, which usually shouldn't be possible. Keiko knew that this wasn't some normal ninja he was dealing with.

"Perfect! Thanks for cooperating! I'm quite interested with you as well, so is it okay if I questioned you for a bit?" The girls voice asked, once again bringing respite to Keiko's mind.

"Don't worry about questioning me, I'll tell you all about what I can piece together about my life. Where should I start? Oh yeah… could you come out and at least talk to me face to face?"

Emerging from one of the dark corners was the woman, who was shorter than he was, had long, black hair, and was in an Anbu uniform. Their sharingan was still active, as he could now see its slight glow through their mask. The sight of the mask brought horrible thoughts to Keiko, who's eyes grew wide and anger flooded through his veins. He was ready to kill any Anbu in near vicinity on sight.

"Stay back. Who the HELL are you? Why is the Anbu involved with this now? What was the outcome of the Nine Tails assault? Did you guys conspire and secretly do it?" He was stressed and livid, putting his hand on the hilt of his sword to strike if they acted. She didn't move, though, and instead lifted her mask, revealing that there were tears in her eyes.

"Don't worry… I know a little bit about your past. We're not here to hurt you. That traitor was just corrupt, I promise you we're not all soulless like he was. Please, Keiko… Just listen to me. It's what Kurayami would have wanted…"

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SPEAK HIS NAME! HE DIED FOR ME! ME! MY WORTHLESS SELF! Just shut up… I don't know who to trust anymore…" Tears filled Keiko's eyes as all other feelings were dissipated from the sorrows and scars he still contained within.

"Heh, Keiko… You're just as that traitor said you would be when we met… I… I'm Kura's sister, Akarui Uchiha. Please, let's just talk for now." Her voice began to break, struggling to say what needed to be let out. Keiko understood, and indicated for her to come sit next to him.

"Well, I guess I should tell you more about myself before you suspect me anymore. I'm about 4 years older than my brother, so we should both be the same age… I was taught combat by an unnamed man from the Hidden Mist Village. Our parents died when we were young, my brother taken from the household while I was out running some late-night errands. I went through more hardships, losing friends, being abused, and almost ending up as a lab rat, but I managed to become recognized for my abilities and recovered by an undercover Leaf ninja. They were an Uzumaki just like you, and they cared for me for a little while before being killed protecting me from some Hidden Sand ninja. I guess I'm lucky to be alive!" She smiled, trying to sooth Keiko to get to know him a bit better. He began to speak.

"Sorry, then… My anger took over quickly when I saw the uniform and heard K's name… I was supposed to protect him from enemies, my first and only mission… And I failed, miserably… To the man that assigned it. We were gonna be brothers… And then my parents died, and my village destroyed. Why? What did I do… no, what did we do to deserve this discrimination? Coexisting shouldn't have been that difficult… I'm sorry, just please forgive me… I don't wanna hurt Kurayami's family."

Keiko felt a form of relief he had never felt ever since the night of K's death. This was the first time he felt legitimate happiness that he survived long enough to get to this point, and never wanted to lose grip of these emotions. Kurayami still lived through Keiko, and now he finally met the last remaining member of his bloodline, Akarui. The rays of hope shined to Keiko. Maybe life isn't all hellish. Maybe this was the method of releasing his curse. Or maybe, this was just the beginning to an even deeper hell than before…