Aicirret stayed in the shadows close to the Hokage's building. Men and women on both sides were being massacred at an alarming rate, and Aicirret wanted to use her ability on several occasions but sat idly by instead. She could not jeopardize an entire mission because of hurt forces. Causalities were to be expected. But to see the massive onslaught of murder made her unnaturally queasy.

A cool metal tapped against her neck, and a warm embrace withheld her ability to move. There was silence between them for several seconds until sharp calloused nails dug into Aicirret's skin. A deep burly voice spoke firmly into her ear, "Now what are you doing here? Showing fear is the quickest way to die in a battle like this."

As he began to slice her throat slowly, Aicirret realized that she had only way option to get her out of this tight situation, but it meant jeopardizing her mission. But as a demon, her life was more valuable than any plan they had in place. She closed her eyes tightly, and pounded the ground with her foot as hard as she could, blasting a large amount of chakra into the area. Just like before, the boom persisted through the town.

The one who had held her captive was knocked out by the impact. It appeared to be a head injury from hitting the wall too hard. It was amazing how fragile the human body could be. However, as Aicirret moved forward, she saw the dripping gush of blood falling in front of her. She touched her neck where the kunai had been and realized the cut was deeper than she had anticipated. Although demons bled out much slower than humans, the sheer amount that covered her hands was frightening.

The booming sound attracted attention, and Aicirret acted accordingly. She headed back to the only person who could protect her: her uncle. She ripped a part of her shirt, wrapped it tightly around her neck, and applied pressure with her hand as hard as she could. Aicirret sprinted along the outer edge of the wall until a kunai flew into her back. She was so close to safety and so close to the savior she needed right now. Yet, still too far away.

The burly man from before sounded off to her again, "Little bitch demon. You underestimated me and the rest of us."

The young demon collapsed due to all of the blood loss. Like he said, she had underestimated him, and as a result, death was inevitable. As the man spit on her and kicked dirt on her, Aicirret slipped into darkness.

Sesoni felt the ground rumble, and the boom echoed into the air. It made him immediately nervous for his niece. She was capable, but Sesoni sensed that call was a message of personal distress. As rebels dwindled in their area, he told Kaizu to take over and glided into the darkness, following her initial footsteps.

As he turned the corner to head down the outer wall, he saw Aicirret, lying face-down in the dirt. A tall, heavy-set man stood against the wall near her, mocking her lifeless body. Cooley, Sesoni did hand signs that locked the man's conscious into a state of terror. With a small waltz forward, Sesoni stood in front of the man and grinned. "You messed with the wrong demon."

As Sesoni glared into the terrified eyes of the burly figure, the man was reduced to tears. Horrifying images past through his memories, and at the climax of the constant dread, Sesoni released the jutsu and slit his throat. Sesoni was well aware that he had matured. In his youth, Sesoni would have left the man to live in agony. That was how he became known notoriously as the "Demon of Dreams".

He returned his focus to Aicirret. He pulled the kunai out of her back, thankful that it didn't hit anything crucial. Carefully, Sesoni then flipped her onto her back. Thankfully, she was still alive, but her breathing was fading, and young demon was covered in blood from her neck to her torso.

Sesoni closed his eyes to concentrate. Blood transfusing by chakra stream was a delicate art that he prided himself on perfecting, but in actuality, he had never used the applications of the skill on anything larger than a dog. He never imagined his first non-animal subject would be his precious niece.

He manipulated his chakra into thin and glowing blue thread-like lines and weaved them into her sustained injuries. He used the thread like stitches to prevent even more blood loss. A transfusion would be useless if she just released the blood back out. In his chakra stream he then pushed some of his blood into the chakra flow, and the blue lines turned red. She needed more blood than he was able to give her, but since she used her ability earlier, reinforcements would be able to help him. Still, this amount of blood would sustain her for the time being. Once completely finished, he released his hold on his blood and chakra lines, and Sesoni picked the child up into his arms. All things considered, he was glad she was still warm. That meant he had been successful.

The building behind him had a back door entrance, so without hesitation, he checked to see if it was unlocked by pushing against it. To his surprise, he was able to push it ajar without any resistance. He placed her body down, leaning it against the building's back wall for support and turned on a small lamp on the kitchen table nearby.

Aicirret had fought vigilantly for her life. Even if in the end the mission failed, Sesoni wanted his family to live through the night. As Sesoni walked through a villager's forgotten home to find something to keep Aicirret warm, he noticed how similar everyone could be to each other. The pictures of the little family lined the walls. Their smiles reminded him of the time his comrades stayed at Akaya's place, gleeful and content. After all the violence had ended, he hoped he could experience the one emotion he longed to feel now: happiness.

Sesoni found a spare blanket on the couch and decided to drape it over Aircirret. He quickly moved the small kitchen table back to hide her from direct line of sight. Sesoni turned off the lamp and moved outside. He hoped she would stay hidden, and more importantly, stay alive through the night. Helplessly, Sesoni slipped back to his squadron and wanted for his help to arrive shortly.

()

Tajek reached the ladder that led into his old home. Like most Kage buildings, the Hokage's also had a full-functioning home attached coherently to it. As he lifted the hatch, Tajek wasn't sure which room he would be entering into. Akaya knew it was on the west half of the structure but couldn't pinpoint where. Her memory of that detail was clouded on that detail because at the time she hadn't focused on something that wasn't going to affect her. Tajek liked to think that the over-analyzing girl actually didn't look over something close enough. It was impressive enough that she remembered the blueprints at all. The hatch was blocked by a rug, and as soon as he pulled it back, he stood in his old bedroom. It was untouched, and everything was where he left it. Except for a letter was set gently on his desk.

The night his father forced him to flee was mostly a blur because of confusion and sheer panic of the events. Even so, he knew that letter had not been there when he left. He had debated taking his headband that night but decided to leave it where the letter was now. As he turned the envelope over, he saw his father's seal. It was a harsh reminder that the former Hokage was gone. His father was all he aspired to be now, and his parents were the testimony he used when being with Akaya. And now, in this moment, a stupid seal made his stomach turn.

He opened it cautiously. If his father left a note that night, Tajek had to read it. If anything were to kill him tonight, he needed to have closure about this part of his past. As he pulled out the letter, he noted that it was a messier version of Danter's handwriting. It was scribbled onto the paper and was done in an obvious scramble to get the thoughts written down. But in the dim moonlight, Tajek began to read the last thing his father ever wrote:

Tajek,

There's not enough time to write everything I want to say to you, but I'll jot down the important ones. One, I am beyond proud of you, my son. You will do great things, and I wish I could see them. But this is my time. Next, protect her. I have always been fond of Akaya, and she'll need protection, not only physically but emotionally. It'll be trying times for you both. If you're reading this now, I'll say that you came back for the sword that's been promised to you. Tonight I slid it under your pillows. The safest place to hide it is where no one thinks to look, am I right?

I so wish you didn't end up like me. I never wanted you to have to follow in my footsteps. Everyone should be able to choose their path in life, but I know you are stripped of that. I never said that I loved you enough, kiddo. But know that I do and that I believe in you now. You can do this. -Dad (and I guess you mom does too)

()

Tajek chuckled. Even in the face of death and defeat, his father tried to be as light-hearted as he always was. Still, his son was taken back by the notion that Danter never wanted him to be Hokage. That pressure came from other people, and more importantly, himself. Tajek was grateful now for all of the faith gave him. His father helped him grow into the Shinobi he was and was destined to be. Something about the letter made him stand silently for a few moments to appreciate his father.

This village depended on him now though. He shoved the letter into the desk, and as he slipped the envelope into his trash bin, a set of pictures fell out. One fell face-up, and it was of his parents laughing and smiling. They had to be eighteen or nineteen, dressed in new Jounin attire. He flipped the other picture over to see the same happiness from his parents' smiles in Akaya and himself.

Tajek remembered that moment in their photo perfectly. They had just gotten back from their first mission at the Waterfall Village, and every detail was still rose-colored from him. They got ice-cream as a treat and sat on the same bench that he had seen her sitting on from his father's office. They had sat there for hours, and he learned so much about Akaya that day. That talk on the bench fully solidified his feelings for her. And as he marveled at both pictures, Tajek stuck them in his pockets as a good luck charm: not only for tonight but also for the future.

He turned and lifted his pillows on his bed, revealing the sword that would sway the battle in his direction. Tajek pricked his finger with a kunai and splattered the small amount of blood on the sharp blade. It lit up with a red tint around it, and he visualized how his father's famous ability worked as he sprinted out of his room and towards the front doors he had always walked out of at his lazy pace. He revealed his Montair smirk, clutching the sword tightly. "Here goes nothing, am I right?"