The silence was absolute in the never-ending darkness, safe for the incoherent jumble of words mingling together from different conversations.
Though they had seen through the better part of the memories and many of the illuminated squares had disappeared after they went through them, the mix of voices--his sister-in-law's, his brother's--was still loud as ever.
Or maybe, it was just in his head.
The ride through her mind was a rollercoaster, to say the least.
He couldn't always hear what was being said, and he couldn't always see what was happening. Often, the voices faded out, and he was left only seeing the lips moving.
Often, he was left staring at pitch black, everything blurring, the colours twisting and contorting around each other until it was impossible to decipher what shape they had once been.
"A person's mind is a sensitive organ." The blonde next to him had said, "It only reveals what it wants, to an intruder. Any information extracted that the mind does not want to reveal is forced out."
She had looked up at him, face solemn, "And forcing out information is a painful process. Enough so that many go insane if too much information is forced out."
It had suddenly occured to him at that time, that she was bending the rules, for the sake of the blunette whose mind they were invading.
The less they saw and heard, the less they would know. They won't be able to testify against the unconscious woman, if there was nothing to testify about.
She was being lenient on her target, and he could sense the relief of the Hyuga male at the fact.
However, it wasn't such an effective strategy because the blunette was willing to reveal a lot.
How they met.
The hospital.
Her panic.
Their fights.
Up until that, everything had been crystal clear. Then, the words had began to fade.
Their conversations.
Their jabs and insults.
His anger.
Their fights.
But, then suddenly, the words were crystal clear, the awe and breathlessness to them obvious.
Her confusion.
His confusion.
And then-
"Kami, she's beautiful."
The breath had been knocked out of him hearing those words. And he was sure he wasn't the only one.
This was where it had began.
His panic.
His secret visit.
His resignation and faint smiles.
Her surprise.
Then, more and more things had began to fade away. The words, the colours, reduced to just a faint blur.
Their deal.
The cave.
The flower.
Her tears.
And Him who had been there to see them fall.
But, he could sense her emotions to an extent, her reactions on what had been going on. And, that gave him a good enough idea of what was going on.
Her happiness.
His happiness.
Their spars.
The awareness.
Then, everything had gone a soundless black. And yet, the emotions were still there.
The realization.
The horror.
The pain.
The longing.
The blonde next to him didn't pry too much, simply letting the mind reveal how much ever it wanted.
It hadn't wanted to reveal anything that had happened next, and they were left in complete isolation, safe for the words that occasionally whispered across the breeze that blew.
Then, there was blood.
Blood. Blood.
His panic.
His alarm.
Her tears.
The colours lasted for only a few minutes before everything dissolved into nothingness again.
The next time they saw colour was in her room.
Her surprise.
Her exhaustion.
His slip.
The Massacre.
He had collapsed to his knees at that. He guessed the others were staring, dumbfounded and horrified, but he couldn't be bothered to confirm.
The bloody images and screams and cries of his slaughtered clan echoed in the silence, and he suddenly realized that this was why he could hear his brother's thoughts too.
Because she had see everything through his brother's eyes, she knew his brother inside out, knew his suffering better than he himself ever would.
There was only one thing running in his own mind--She knew. She knew everything--only one question that needed answering.
"Why didn't you stop him?"
Silently at first, before he gritted his teeth, not bothering to hide his anguish and confusion anymore.
"Why didn't you stop him, damnit!?"
He knew the others were definitely staring now, with pity or surprise, he didn't know. He didn't want to know either.
Their meeting.
Their conversation.
Her questions.
His answers.
His question was soon answered.
"After everything I have done, what would I even say to him?"
The words were so sincere, he couldn't find it in himself to hate them. But, he couldn't accept them either.
The memories that follow were brighter than the sun itself, filled with nothing but laughter and smiles.
His brother's laughter and smiles. It was an expression he had never seen on his face, not even in his faint memories of their childhood.
His chest constricted painfully, the guilt, pain and jealousy burning in it, as he realized that he had never been the cause of it.
And now, he never would be.
The regret was thick then, not only of the blood that stained his hands but of the truth that tainted his mind.
He didn't know what he had been thinking when he had decided to come here. Did he consider this his punishment for the judgement he had passed upon his elder brother?
Did the gods want him to suffer, by making him see all that his brother had lost because of him?
He didn't know what he had been thinking, because this...this was absolute hell.
How could he have lived this long without ever knowing the life his brother had lived and loved? The life outside suffering and bloodshed.
Then, he could feel the pain, the bitterness, the agony, the shock and so many more. Then, resignation and acceptance.
Then, nothing.
All the squares had disappeared, and they all were bathed in darkness again. He had thought the memories had finished, but he could still hear faint mutters and murmurs.
The blonde next to him made a hand sign, and a few more squares appeared. They were like any other, but we're shining twice as brightly and there were huge metal chains binding them diagonally.
"The most precious memories a person has." She whispered softly, taking in as the colours separated.
"They are bound together by chains to convey their importance and are rarely revealed willingly by the mind."
He looked back at the bounded square, where he could make out a mixture of red and black.
The colours separated, and a rough sound lodged itself in his throat.
It was a close up view of an activated Sharingan. The three tomoe were spinning in an endless loop, and he looked closer, trying to make out the image reflected in them.
The single eye blinked, and he could see the tears that lined them. A faint object took shape, reflected in those eyes, moving here and there.
A soft cry echoed in the silence, and he realized with a start that the object was an infant. It's hands moved about, reaching towards the owner of the eyes as the cry came again.
A sick dread filled up his heart as the image of the child became clearer and clearer, indicating that the person was moving closer.
The tomoe began spinning faster, observing, watching, memorizing everything the eyes were seeing.
Then, came the familiar soft voice of his brother, and he spoke words that changed everything.
"I want you to remember three things, Kazue. I love you, I love you and I love you."
The dam broke, just as they entered to watch the memories that remained.