She didn't have a name like other people had, but she had a purpose nonetheless. A task that was expressed by the name her master gave her: Ni - Two. She was the barrier in the middle. The wall that would hold back any approaching tide. Master Hiruko claimed the Shinobi world for himself and Ni would do everything she can to serve him and his goals; even if it costs her her life.

Two Fates - The Story of Ni

Truth

"Well, it's about time. My two cuties and I have been waiting practically forever for you to arrive!" - Ni

The air down here was humid and muggy. But Ni was already used to it. After all, she had spent her whole life down here. At least the life she knew. The life she could remember. If there were other types of air, they were completely unknown to her yet. Thankfully, her body stopped sweating a few days ago, although she wasn't sure if that was a sign of her body getting used to the stuffy air or she herself getting used to her body. Her body felt strangely alien and familiar to her, at the same time, like...like... She didn't fully understand it yet. It felt like the body was hers, but also not. She didn't have to vomit anymore either; unlike her companion: San. He laid sweaty at her feet, covering his mouth with his fist to hold back whatever threatened to erupt from his body.

"If that gets on my boots, I'll kill you!" Ni warned the man casually, not looking his way, but still in a thoroughly serious, menacing, and cool tone that San, despite his battered state, seemed to acknowledge and took seriously, as he then turned his head away from Ni.

Her gaze, however, was fixed on the closed, iron door that lay at an angle on the other side of the corridor. Small lanterns hung on the walls at wide intervals, illuminating their surroundings. Although "illuminated" wasn't really the most accurate term, because despite the numerous lights it was still very dark. A green tinge merely caused the shadows to retreat a little. Fireflies - a subtle source of light. She didn't know where she was, but apparently her master was very careful not to let others – meaning outsiders – know either. Hidden from the eyes of the outside world - and also from their eyes - Master Hiruko carried out his... machinations, experiments. Whatever. She didn't know exactly what he was doing there. The white-haired man with the haunting, red eyes rarely spoke to the two. Not to mention that as he passed by, for example when he left his laboratory (or whatever the purpose of this room was, regularly locking himself in for several hours) he neither glanced at his two subordinates. At least Hiruko claimed that the two were his subordinates. Ni wasn't entirely sure about that, but until now she hadn't seen any reason to doubt his words. After all, she didn't know anything or anyone else, except for him and San. After all, she was here - wherever "here" might have been. Eventually they learned their names from him and at least had an idea of themselves.

Ni.

A short name, she realized as she thought about the term Hiruko had designated to her. Short and simple. There wasn't much to interpret and think about though. The meaning was unmistakable, clear and numerical; Two. A number that was literally written on her face in the form of two purple bars - one above the other. It was similar with San, with the difference that he had three bars standing on his forehead.

"What do you think he's doing in there?" San asked while following Ni's gaze he caught. Apparently he got himself under control again.

Ni was silent for a moment, until realizing that thinking alone wouldn't provide her with any answers - neither regarding herself nor Hiruko's work, assuming that the two mysteries were almost certainly related to each other. She had a feeling. It was more than a fleeting sensation, she was sure of that. But to be certain about it she simply lacked the information she needed and with which her mind could have worked. But that circumstance could be changed.

"I don't know," she said, shaking her head. Her long, spiraling hair vibrated in the windless air. "But I'm willing to find out."

"The master hardly even notices us.", San objected. "Let alone that he talks to us. How are you going to convince him to let us-"

"I don't intend to do that.", the pale-skinned woman said, interrupting her equally pale-skinned comrade. She nodded, her eyes still fixed on the closed door. San wasn't stupid. It didn't take him long to understand what she was trying to say.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why?"

"Because there may be a good reason why we're not allowed in this lab. Master Hiruko has strictly forbidden us to do this – maybe it's dangerous."

"So you also think it's some kind of laboratory?"

"It's obvious, yes. He spends a lot of time in there, and sometimes wields scalpels and other tools with him when he enters the room."

"And you don't care what kind of experiments he does in this lab?"

Ni pronounced the last word almost derogatory.

"For sure. I want to know, but-"

"What if whatever he's doing in there, he had done to us too? Any experiments carried out on us?"

San stared into her eyes thoughtfully. Ni returned his gaze. She had never seen anyone other than him or Hiruko - that, or her memories punished her with cognitive silence. And she, like San, recognized the similarities between them. Same skin tone, same eyes; this couldn't be a coincidence. Her mind thirsted for answers.

"You've probably noticed that we're not little kids. We have adult bodies - how is it that we can't remember anything except what we've been able to experience and see in the last few weeks?"

"I am-"

"Don't you want to know who you are? What you are?"

"I-"

Suddenly the door sprang open. Or rather; it creaked and squeaked and wound slowly as the dark metal scraped the hard floor and a scrawny figure emerged. But then something unusual happened; Hiruko's red eyes grazed on Ni's face - and for a brief moment her breath caught in her chest. Hiruko closed the iron door then. He slowly walked towards the two with long strides. Ni's lips parted and only closed again when she had to swallow hard. He walked past the two of them in silence. When the figure had disappeared into the shadows of the corridor and her ears could no longer hear the echo of his footsteps, Ni and San looked at each other.

"Do you think he-"

This time San interrupted Ni.

"No, I don't think so," he replied to her unfinished question. "Otherwise he would have said something."

Ni's gaze returned to the iron door.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Ni nodded, determined but not fearless. Her will forced her body to move. Her feet slowly tapped toward the door. A few steps later she stopped. She glanced back to make sure her mate was following her. But San hesitated.

"What is it?"

"I'm not sure."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure I really want to see what might be waiting for us in there. What if... what if we're not going to like the answers we're going to find?"

"That doesn't matter.", Ni replied. "We still have to go through this, San. We have a right to know. We need to know - if there's anything to be learned."

"What if he finds out?"

"What difference does it make? If he tries to do harm us, we will overpower him."

"We don't even know how strong he is."

"He is small and frail, and wrapped in bandages from head to foot; how strong can someone like that possibly be?"

"I know you're just saying that and actually think otherwise. You could feel it... You know what I mean; this hatred, this feel of revenge in his aura..."

San's eyes fell on the dimly lit ground on which his feet were standing. Ni's gray eyes also turned to the ground. She could understand his hesitation and she knew what he was reffering to. And also: What if San was right? What if she didn't like the answers she received? What if those shocked and upset her? What if Hiruko would punish her for it? Its ailing appearance is deceptive - that too was almost certain to her. No! She had a right to know the truth. The truth about themselves. The truth about the nature and reason of their existence in this world. That was worth every risk, because without this knowledge everything else seemed completely meaningless. But she didn't want to go through this alone. The dark red leather covering her hands contracted audibly as she clenched her fists and walked towards San. Almost frightened, San stared at the approaching woman, who didn't hesitate to grab the man on his neck and push him against the wall.

"Listen: You either come with me or I'll drag you in there!"

San's shock left his face just as quickly as it had appeared when he met her large, gray-brown eyes. It was as if he could feel her insecurity and fear, almost as if Ni's feelings were somehow being transferred to him. Or something like that. He didn't quite understand yet. All that was certain was that there was some connection between the two. And whatever was in there might provide the answer as to why. But no matter what the reason for their connection was; his feelings towards her were there. They were real - at least they felt like that. He wouldn't leave her alone. They were siblings after all - or at least there was a chance they could've been.

San nodded and Ni's grip loosened. Though her features still looked angry, San felt her relief; he felt it inside himself. She turned away from him again. Together they ran towards the door. Ni found the door to be lighter than it first appeared, and she pulled it open with ease. They entered the room. Ni and San had to cover their eyes with their hands. The light here seemed brighter than in the room where Ni woke up a few weeks ago. As her eyes slowly adjusted to the new light, she lowered her arms again. The room was smaller than she had expected - and emptier. Six cylinder-like receptacles were in the room, ranging from floor to ceiling. However, these were not pillars whose function was to support the ceiling. They were apparently made of metal and glass. Ni turned her head to San as if to make sure he was still there, even though she knew it. He answered her timid look; now he seemed to exude the confidence she had just lost. The calm expression on his square face couldn't fool her though; Ni sensed his nervousness – but not being alone in this situation gave her the courage to keep going. Their eyes turned away from each other again.

"What do you think?", she asked him, but Ni didn't get an answer. San was filled with the same cluelessness as herself. He walked towards one of the containers. The outer glass seemed opaque and thick, which is why it was not possible to see at first glance what might be hiding inside. However, these containers gave off a green glow - similar to the lanterns in the corridor. Ni ran to another of the containers. Her eyes stared inside. Suddenly she felt a sensation on the back of her neck. She startled and looked at San, who gave her the same look at the same time, as if he had become aware of Ni's emotional world at the exact same time that she felt this discomfort, before she did or say anything.

"What is it?" he asked in surprise.

She was getting hot, sweat was forming on her pale skin and she didn't understand why. Then that feeling again. It was... pain; but not her own, she knew that. But this agony seemed very familiar to her. Her legs grew weak. She fell to her knees.

"Ni!"

San ran towards her, but then he stopped abruptly.

"What the...!?"

Ni lifted her gaze and looked at San; he stood there without moving. Like frozen. His eyes trembled. She traced his gaze back into the milky glass; two cold eyes poked out from the inside of the containment.

"AHH!"

Panicked, she crawled away from that demon's silhouette, whose gaze made her blood run cold. Then she looked back at San, who seemed to make little effort to run away or anything. He seemed to have regained his composure. Ni also tried to calm down. She took a deep breath; San's calm calmed her as well. She was glad he was here.

"It's dead," San stated as he stepped closer to the container that Ni was standing in front of before. "Whatever it was."

Ni got to her feet and stood next to San. Then her eyes widened.

"It... it has..."

San nodded in confirmation. His lips parted.

"Yes I know."

The container with the corpse seemed to become clearer, as if of its own accord, as if it wanted to reveal itself to the two of them. Inside was... San. At least face and shape was very similar to him, but... it was oddly deformed. Misshapen, with strange growths sticking out of its body like foreign objects. Ni's eyes turned to the other five containers; they, too, have now revealed their contents. All seemed to contain a viscous, glowing green liquid with a... San inside. All with this strange, unnatural looking dark matter sprouting from their bodies. One more missshapen than the other. She turned her head back to San. She barely knew him, but she already felt immensely connected to him, apart from the undeniably real, almost measurable connection she had with him that she couldn't explain. She could clearly feel the confusion and shock in his mind. She lifted her left arm to put it on his shoulder, but then decided against it. Nothing Ni could say or do now would help him and that's why she didn't say or do anything. Right after she noticed another object she hadn't seen before. At the end of the room, near the wall, was a kind of... work place. It was just a long counter, without a chair or stool in front of it, but crammed with all sorts of items. She left San with himself and his thoughts and walked towards the counter. The scalpel San had spoken of earlier was on it, but it was... dirty. No - that wasn't dirt... It was dried blood. Ni pinched her nose before her eyes saw and her mind realized the purpose of this counter; it was an operating table. It smelled of death and decay, even if, apart from the scalpel and a few knives and pliers, nothing seemed to be left on the... work station. This... aroma had apparently clung to the wood - or whatever material that counter was made of - even though the parts that had given off that smell had already been removed. Parts of organs and corpses, Ni guessed, before she couldn't help but support herself with both hands on the edge of the low table and – at least almost – vomited, but nothing came out except for a few drops and wisps of saliva; she hadn't eaten all day.

"Didn't I strictly prohibited you to come in here?"

Ni startled.

"I thought I made myself clear."

Her nausea gave way to sheer terror, almost like... almost like she had been conditioned to show that reaction to that voice. She didn't dare turn around. She... couldn't either. It almost seemed like her body was out of her control; not wanting to obey her, but wanting to obey someone else.

"I'm sure you have some questions."

A grating sound made Ni's body tremble, followed by a dull bang; the metal door closing behind Hiruko—there was no escape now. His feet, protected only by white bandages, began to move. Step by step his gait grew louder, and it was as if the rhythm of her heart was adjusting to his walking pace.

"But before that... you'll receive your punishment!"

"Soon we shall meet again, Kakashi!"

Kakashi - the last link in their chain of victory. Like a puppeteer, Hiruko made sure that his victim willingly entered the spider's dense web. The missing Kekkei Genkai - the last thing they were missing. The key to their triumph. After Master Hiruko incorporated Kakashi's Sharingan, he would be immortal and invincible. He would rise to the next level of his existence and break the shackles of material, physical reality that were holding him back from becoming God. The god of the Shinobi world; Hiruko. Ni understood the historical duty she was being given in this matter. It was a privilege not only to witness this as an outsider, but to be actively involved. To participate in the transformation process of an entire epoch, an entire world.

"The three of you should go welcome our honored guest."

Ni also had a personal reason to look forward to meeting Kakashi. She knew that he wasn't himself at the moment, since his mind was being manipulated by Hiruko's Jutsu, but she wouldn't mind that much. He resembled a mindless puppet, but the thought of watching Kakashi die as her master ascended to godhood was a refreshing bonus, regardless of whether Kakashi himself realized what was happening to him. Ni would see and enjoy it - after all, this wouldn't be their first meeting, but it would certainly be their last.

"If anyone tries to get in your way: eliminate them! I don't care what it takes."

Ichi, Ni and San stood next to Hiruko - Ni even the closest, right to his right. She was certain that Master Hiruko assigned her a very special role. After all, there was a reason why he had hired her to guard the Serpent Dragon Gate.

"Right!"

All three subordinates answer at the same time. Ichi and San rushed ahead. Ni caught another glimpse of Hiruko, whose mind's eye was still fixed on Kakashi Hatake. His white hair fluttered and the mark on his forehead that resembled an eye glowed light blue in the middle and red on the outside. Then Ni followed her siblings to stop Hiruko's enemies. She would not disappoint him.