Hey everybody! I know you hate cliffhanger's as much as I do, which is why I waited to publish chapter three until chapter four was finished!

I hope you enjoy!

Chapter Four: Broken Silence.

After his attack, Mato's mind slowly started to cease functioning. He remembered that he was doing something important, and then there was a searing pain, and then there was just confusion. He was aware of people gathering around him, and a gentle warming instead of pain. He felt important suddenly, and also very relaxed. His muscles tensed up suddenly and he felt a sense of chaos in his mind, before everything went blank. All of a sudden, he was standing in an endless field of white flowers. The sky was the color of a lotus petal, and he looked around. He was alone in this place for a moment, before a shining figure appeared before him. He couldn't look into its eyes, but it had a feminine figure and it was smiling at him.

"Sweet Mato...you saved her you know" The Shining Woman said in a booming tone.

"Saved who?" he wondered aloud before it all rushed back to him. "Huurin-sama?" he answered his own question.

"Yes...she would have died without your intervention. As would you have without mine. You went into shock and were pronounced dead. I sent your soul back into your body and helped the medics revive you fully..." The Spirit said, still smiling.

"Oh...Thank you! " he said,bowing down on his knee's to the spirit. Inwardly, he started to feel resentment towards the spirit. He was finally free! He would have cleared his family name! People might stop hating him if he died heroically! This also would have been a release from his suffering in that world! He was now very troubled inwardly, but he was still very respectful.

"Ahh...don't think like that little one...your suffering will not be in vain..." The woman said in a softer tone, walking gracefully over to Mato and lifting him to his feet.

"We expect great things from you...your life so far has been nothing but the overture...you still have an entire symphony to compose with it. I am sorry to say it, but when you wake up, the people will not treat you differently. Your blood will continue to stain you in their eyes for a great deal of time. And I am also sorry to say that your sorrows, your suffering, and your troubles will not end either, but they will continue in a different way. A new way. You have had no one to tell you why the village resents you. Your clan was one of the founding clans of your village. They did the dirtiest work of the entire campaign. And they wanted power for it. But then they tried to take it. They were overthrown and disbanned. Enraged, they went on the most terrible murdering spree the village has ever seen. They killed men, women, and children. In the streets. Over one third of the village fell from their attacks. That is why they hate you. There are also some new things you need to know. The one that you saved will not be told who her savior was. No one will know of your deeds, save the one who saved you. Her older sister Samui was the one, and she alone knows that you are different. That you aren't the same as your relatives. That your father's sins are not your own. She will be the leader of the Shinobi Team you will be assigned to. Your other teammates will be Ekiro Etsuna and, the one you saved, Huurin Tenrikyo. Only Samui will know of your deeds, and the other two will only know you by what they have heard. You will be looked down upon. People will hate you. But don't you give in to death Mato. As long as you want to live, you will."

"...with all due respect Lord Kami...why would you tell me this? I didn't want to go back when things would have been the same, let alone when they get worse in new ways! Please! Just let me go!" He begged, throwing himself at the Goddess's feet, pleading for mercy.

"Stand up Mato" he did so. "I told you this for one simple reason: Your life will also improve in one special way: love. If you persevere, I promise you that the one that you love will return it fully, and happiness will follow you the rest of your days when you achieve this. And when you wed this one that you love, people will start to see your deeds, not your parent's deeds. You will not only be respected by the people close to you, but by entire villages. The world will change because of you."

"...I don't know these words...love...respect...change..." Mato said sullenly.

"You will, Young Hero, you will..."

Mato returned to the living world with a blinding flash. He was in a hospital bed, machines beeping all around him.

"So...I survived after all...was it just a dream?" he wondered aloud. A single dove flew in through the open window. It landed on his arm and handed him a small slip of paper. He took it and the dove seemed to glow as it flew away. He unravelled the paper and read the only word written on it : Hero.

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Thanks so much for reading chapter Four! This offically ties the number of chapters I have written in one sitting. In honor of you guys, I will break that record NOW!

Enjoy chapter 5 now!