Mila wrung her hands distractedly, the ear-piercing shrieks still echoing in her head. Her eyes cast idly to the side.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," Toru muttered sympathetically.

She didn't know what to say; there were too many questions to ask but she wasn't sure if she really wanted to know the answers.

"The medics are still working on it, they… don't know what's wrong with her yet."

"..."

"Are you ok? You don't look like you've been getting enough sleep."

"...yea. Yes, I'm fine," she paused for a moment, "Did something… happen?"

Toru's expression wavered slightly and he shifted in his seat.

"This is all a mystery to me, too."

"...why was she tied down?"

"Oh, she's been manic whenever she's awake, it's to keep her from hurting herself."

"You said they've been sedating her?"

"Yea, it's the only way to get her to calm down."

"Why… why is she like that?"

"They say it's probably nothing physical, she's most likely having some sort of 'mental break', as they call it."

"She was fine just a few days ago, everything was normal, I was with her the whole time. Nothing unusual happened, what in the world could have caused this?"

Toru's eyes lowered to his hands and he sighed, "I wish I knew more."

Mila glanced over at him: he had a sickly complexion and slight bags under his eyes. His brows were permanently furrowed, making him look years older than he was. He seemed tired.

"Go get some rest, she wouldn't want you to worry like this," she urged, standing up gracelessly.

Toru smiled up at her, "Thank you, you should too."

Mila managed a smile of her own before excusing herself and making her way out of the office. Twiddling her thumbs outside the treatment room wouldn't do anyone any good, she decided to head back to her own room. Sleep would help.


"What?!"

The sound reverberated throughout the Hokage Tower, drawing concerned glances from passersby.

"Do you have to be like this?" Tobirama rolled his eyes as he entered his brother's office, a stack of documents in hand, "What could possibly be so-"

"You need to see this," Hashirama cut him off, handing over the scroll he was reading. The grim look on his face told Tobirama this wasn't one of his usual antics. The scroll had a unique pattern on its back, making it easily identifiable as a Communications Scroll: one half of a pair that allowed text written on either scroll to appear on the other as well. It was one of Tobirama's own inventions, currently the only one of its kind.

The younger Senju took the scroll and read it over carefully.

"This is…" his brows knit sharply, "What?"

"It's vague but... something's happened to Aroka."

"When did this appear?"

"Just a few hours ago, I didn't notice it until now."

"I'm going over there."

"Hey wait a-!"


Knock knock knock

Mila awoke to a tapping at her door. She rubbed her eyes and squinted at the bright light streaming through the window; that's right, she had been unable to fall asleep until the early hours of the morning; it must be nearing noon by now. She never used to sleep in so late.

Knock knock knock

She padded quickly towards the door and slid it open.

"Hi!"

"Oh, Misora, I didn't know you were coming today."

"Sorry, are you busy? I just wanted to ask where Kazue-nee is, she wasn't in her room."

"Aroka…" Mila hesitated, "She has some things to do today. She told me to tell you she's sorry for not being able to play."

"Really? What's she doing?"

"She's meeting with some important people right now."

"Oh, ok. Mom always says Kazue-nee is busy."

"Ah… your father brought you here, right? Why don't we go find him together?"

"Ok!"

Misora led Mila by the hand, heading towards the part of the compound where her father could usually be found.

"Dad!"

"Misora? What are you doing? I thought you went to play with your sister?"

"Kazue-nee is busy today and mom said not to bother her when she's busy."

"I see. Do you want to go home?"

"Mhm!"

"I can walk her there, I know you're working right now," Mila offered mildly.

"Ah, that would be very helpful, thank you. You know the way, right?"

"Yes, sir, we'll be going then."

"Bye bye!"

The pair turned back the way they came and started towards the main exit of the compound. Misora hummed softly while swinging their connected hands, a carefree bounce in her step.

"Do you think Kazue-nee will be able to play tomorrow?"

Mila glanced down at the girl warily. She couldn't tell her the truth; she was just a child, it wasn't something she should know.

"I think she's going to be busy tomorrow too. How about this, next time your sister is free we'll go to your house, that way you don't have to keep coming all the way here."

"Ok! Mom wants to see Kazue-nee too, we can all play together!"

"Then it's a deal," she smiled.

As they neared the outer parts of the compound, Mila noticed a familiar face she didn't expect to see.

"Lord Senju...?" she muttered in confusion.

Misora looked up at her curiously.

He looked a bit disheveled but otherwise as stoic as ever. He must have spotted them as he approached the two with an unusual urgency in his step.

"Where's Aroka?" he asked directly. He looked more imposing than she remembered.

"She's…" Mila glanced down at the younger girl, "...busy right now. I didn't know you were coming, Senju-sama."

Tobirama's eyes followed hers and he seemed to notice Misora for the first time.

"You know Kazue-nee? Are you friends?" the girl, whom he noticed bore a notable resemblance to Aroka, asked with round eyes.

"Kazue?" he repeated questioningly.

"Yes! This is one of your sister's friends from Konoha," Mila smiled, "Misora, this is Senju Tobirama. Senju-sama, this is Misora, Aroka's sister."

"I see," he nodded, seeing the 'just go along with it' look Mila sent him, "It's nice to meet you, Misora."

"Nice to meet you too!" the girl grinned.

"I'm about to walk Misora home, if you could wait here I'll be back soon."

Tobirama nodded and the two continued on their way, stepping out of the main compound.

'Just what was going on?'


"Senju-sama!" Mila called after arriving back at the compound. He was waiting outside Aroka's room; no doubt it's unusual emptiness was not lost on him.

"What happened?" His voice betrayed no emotions but she doubted he was as calm as he seemed.

"I'm not entirely sure but… I know something's wrong."

She retold everything that had happened these past few weeks, starting with the first day of Aroka's hysteria up to what she saw a few days ago. She tried her best to explain the situation but she could only tell what she knew and, admittedly, she knew very little.

Tobirama remained silent, brows drawn in thought. Mila noticed his hands were curled into fists. His knuckles were white.

"I wish I knew more but it seems the medics don't know what's wrong with her yet…"

"When did you last see her?"

"When I accidentally went into the treatment room; four days ago, I think."

"You haven't heard anything since then?"

"No, I've asked Toru and the medics but they haven't told me anything."

"Where is Toru?" he asked, suddenly standing up.

"Wait! Hold on, I… I don't think you should speak to him."

"Why?"

"I… I don't know… It's hard to explain but…" she trailed off momentarily, her eyes lowered, clearly conflicted, "I don't want to think badly of him but I think he knows more than he's letting on."

Tobirama narrowed his eyes and slowly sat back down.

"Why is that?"

"It's… Well, he goes into that room with the medics every day and stays for hours but every time I ask he says they haven't found out anything new. Also, he's almost always in meetings these days, he's always been busy but never like this. And then there was the day Aroka first went… well, you know… when he got here he was panicked but he didn't seem… surprised? I don't know, I just… I think something's off."

"You suspect he's hiding something?"

"Yes, and I'm worried he'll react poorly to you being here. I want to find out what he's not telling me first."

"Very well, but I will not leave until then."

"That's fine, there are plenty of unused rooms we can hide you in." She paused for a moment, considering what she would do before deciding, "I want to try getting back into the room she's being kept in. I think it might be helpful but it's always locked."

"Who has the key?"

"It must be one of the medics, it's always them going in and out."

"Where is the medical wing?"

"I can show you," Mila offered, standing up.

She led him through the winding halls until they stood at the end of an all-too-familiar corridor that looked much the same as all the others.

"The doors along the right side are treatment rooms, the two on the left might be offices but I'm not entirely sure. There are more treatment rooms around the corner there, Aroka is in the furthest one."

Tobirama nodded, "Are the medics likely to be in there now?"

"They usually are around this time."

"When will they leave?"

"Around sunset, I think."

"Then we will come back then."


The hours dragged on until finally the blue sky changed to vibrant orange. They returned to the medical ward and watched as a medic stepped out of the room where Aroka was being held, locking the door behind him.

"Is he from your clan?" Tobirama asked. The man walked off in the opposite direction making it impossible to see his face but something about him seemed familiar.

"I'm not sure, I don't think I'd ever seen him before all this happened."

"I see. Go wait outside the room."

Mila glanced over to him only to see no one there. Looking back down the hall she saw the office door close silently. Shinobi really were something else, huh? She carefully made her way towards the familiar treatment room door, on high alert for anyone else who might be nearby. Just a few moments after she reached the entrance, Tobirama appeared beside her with a silver key in hand.

The door unlocked with a soft click and the two stepped inside.

It was worse than she imagined.

There on the plain white hospital bed lay Aroka, unconscious. Her wrists and ankles were bound with thick metal restraints built into the bed, the skin around them were a mess of dried blood and bruises. Deep purple blotches overlapped sickly yellow ones, the areas where skin had been scraped away were caked in old blood. Two padded restraints secured either side of her head and she wore only a plain white underdress, lightly stained with blood in some places, with one sleeve rolled up to her shoulder. A needle pierced the vein under her elbow, the clear tubing it was attached to was kept in place with medical tape, leading up to an IV drip hanging nearby. Her wrist, above the bruises and scabs, showed no less than a dozen needle marks in various stages of healing: no doubt where they injected the sedatives. Her face was drained of color save for the barely noticeable dark rings under her closed eyes.

Her eyes…

Over time, Mila had convinced herself she had seen something that wasn't there; it must have been a trick of the light that made Aroka's eyes seem green that fateful morning. There was no way it could be true, yet she found her hand drifting closer to her friend's face. There was no harm in making sure, right? She would open Aroka's eyes and see the same cloudy brown gaze as always.

If only it were so.

Mila nearly jumped out of her skin when she was met with light emerald eyes instead. She pulled her hand back as quickly as if it had been burned and stumbled backwards, hitting a rolling table behind her and sending a tray of medical tools crashing to the ground.

She flinched at the sound and cursed under her breath.

"We have to go!"

Tobirama didn't seem to hear her, or the crash for that matter, his eyes were fixed on Aroka's motionless form. Mila hurried over to him and urged him towards the door.

"They might have heard us; we have to go!"

This time her words must have reached him seeing as he turned and followed closely as the pair fled from the room.


Mila shifted in her seat, nervously wringing her hands, trying to make sense of what she had seen. How was it possible? Aroka's eyes were brown, they had always been brown, did the sudden change have something to do with her condition? Was it a part of the progression of a seer? Like slowly losing her senses, maybe this was just another inevitability? Maybe the change in eye color was just some kind of strange side effect? Whatever the case, Mila was just about ready to crack with anxiety. Toru had never mentioned anything about this, they couldn't possibly have missed it considering how much time the medics spent locked away in that room. There was no way Toru didn't know, so why didn't he tell her?

What was he hiding?

Mila rubbed her eyes and let out a slow breath. She glanced over at Tobirama who sat across the room, staring blankly at the empty table in front of him. He hadn't spoken since they left the medical wing. She didn't know what to say, if she should say anything at all, to console him; after all, she was still shaken herself.

The sky was clear that night, the moon cast its pale glow into the partially obscured courtyard. Winter was here in full and, though it was still early in the night, no one dared step foot into the bitterly cold outside. Perhaps it wasn't all due to the temperature, though. This part of the compound had always been rather empty, most living quarters were a ways away from here. It was usually quiet, Mila and Aroka had always appreciated that much, but now the silence no longer brought peace as it once had, instead it brought with it a bubbling dread that weighed at the pit of her stomach.


Morning came quickly the next day.

Mila rubbed her eyes and sat up drowsily. She flinched as she registered the aching in her back; she must have fallen asleep at the table last night, no wonder everything hurt. Glancing around the room, she noticed she was alone.

Mila stood and pushed open the door, scanning the hall for any sign of Tobirama to no avail. She went to Aroka's room but he wasn't there either.

'Maybe he left the building,' she thought, heading towards the main entrance. There was no sign of him on the way however she spotted a familiar silhouette a little ways outside the compound.

"For a second there I thought you'd left," she greeted upon reaching him underneath a small tree.

He remained silent.

"I was afraid you might have gone to confront Toru."

"If you hadn't asked me not to, I may well have."

Mila smiled slightly.

"How are you doing?"

"How are you doing?"

"...I don't know if you saw, yesterday, but… the… her-"

"Yes, I saw her eyes."

"Do you... have any idea how that could have happened?"

"I believe they may have been transplanted."

"Transplanted?"

"If that's the case, assuming they're functional, her vision may have been restored."

"She… can see? Could that have caused her panic?"

"Perhaps, though there's almost certainly something more to it; it's difficult to say considering her situation."

"It must have happened the night before this all started, after I left her room. But she would have seen it coming if a stranger were responsible…"

"Could Toru be behind it?"

"...it's… possible."

Tobirama's frown deepened and he began walking back towards the main compound; Mila followed close behind, warily, but made no immediate attempt to stop him. If there was any argument in his mind against confronting Toru before, it was gone now.

"Wait!" Mila called, straining to catch up with his rapid steps, "What are you going to do?"

"Get answers from him, what else?"

"We don't know for sure if he's involved, maybe we shouldn't go just yet?"

"He is involved, whether or not he's responsible is another question."

"What do you mean? How can you be sure?"

"We discovered he was behind the-"

"...hold on…"

Tobirama paused, her voice sounded further away than it should have. He turned to see Mila standing a few feet behind him, eyes fixed on something in the distance off to her right. He stepped towards her and turned in the same direction.

From where they stood, they had a clear view of the familiar courtyard and, beyond it, Aroka's room, though partly obscured.

"Wasn't that door closed just earlier?" Mila frowned, tilting her head.

Tobirama recalled the last time he had passed by it.

"I believe so."

From their limited view, the double doors appeared to be partially ajar.

Something seemed… off.

Mila, having all but forgotten what they originally intended to do, turned and began heading towards the room. She briskly made her way across the courtyard, reaching the wooden stairs leading up to the door in no time.

She was right; one side of the screen door was indeed slid half open. She vaguely noticed Tobirama following her up the stairs. Mila pushed the door open a bit wider and cautiously glanced inside.

Odd... there didn't seem to be any-

"Aroka!"

In a far corner of the room sat the seer, head resting against the wall, facing away from them. The pair was by her side in a flash. Her matted hair was splayed messily, partially covering her downturned face. One arm lay across her lap while the other rested idly at her side, her knees bent partially and she was slumped over as if asleep. She wore the same white underdress, now much more disheveled, which failed to cover any of her wounds. The bruises and scrapes encircling her wrists and ankles were worse than before, flushed red and bleeding in numerous places. There was a thin trail of blood running down her right arm from where the IV had been, some stained medical tape still clung around her elbow. The most concerning of all, however, were her hands, newly coated with blood.

"Aroka, are you alright?" Tobirama asked urgently, gently gripping both her arms.

She didn't respond but the slight movement of her head told them she was at least conscious.

"Can you hear us? Please say something!" Mila pressed.

"...I can hear you…" the reply came as a raspy whisper, just barely loud enough to hear.

"You're awake!" Mila breathed in elation, "What happened? How did you get out?"

"...I don't… know..." Aroka spoke slowly, almost as if it were a strain, "It was unlocked..."

"How are you feeling? For the past two weeks you've been… incoherent whenever you were awake, do you remember?"

Aroka remained quiet, only drawing her arms and legs closer to herself as she began to tremble. Her breathing became ragged and the pit pat of falling tears sounded.

"I-I'm sorry! F-Forget I said anything!" Mila hurriedly apologized, her voice shaking with panic and worry. She quickly put a hand on her friend's back in an effort to console her.

Tobirama frowned as he noticed the drops of blood along the front of Aroka's clothing. He could have sworn they weren't there just a m-

Another drop.

He froze.

Slowly, Tobirama reached out, gently lifting her chin up to face him.

Trails of bloody tears streaked down her cheeks, dropping down onto her skin and clothes.

A wave of sickness came over Tobirama yet he couldn't pull himself away from the gruesome sight before him.

As more dark red tears fell from her closed eyes, it became obscenely clear.

Aroka's eyes were gone.

Aroka had gouged her own eyes out.