My Lovely Prison

"Rise and shine, sister," a mocking voice rattled in her ears, echoing loudly into her mind. Her eyelids fluttered under the sunlight's insistence. As she stirred lightly, a sudden jolt of excruciating pain made her whole body tense up. "You've been asleep for a whole week, you know?"

She momentarily ignored her brother, too focused on the sensation of the heavy handcuffs biting into the delicate skin of her wrists. She couldn't feel her chakra's flow anymore.

"Where are we?" she croaked out, feeling as if she'd just swallowed a whole box of needles. She'd willingly give up her soul for a simple cup of water.

"Welcome to Suna's five-star hotel," her brother replied flatly. The blond lifted her head towards the sound of the irritating voice, and acknowledged her brother's sitting form in the cell next to hers. His chapped lips stretched into an empty smirk. "If I were you, I'd stay away from the stew. The meat has a strange taste."

Her nostrils flared as it inhaled the pungent odor coming from their prison. She precariously rose into a seated position, and the handcuffs tightened around her wrists in response. Her brother lazily decorticated the piece of rancid bread on his platter, and nonchalantly started to feed the rats. She slowly blinked, focusing her attention on the tiny squeaking beasts. Even after three years of living in Suna, she didn't even know they had rats in the desert.

She gulped down the cup of water from her own platter, trying to ignore its yellowish color. Her trembling hands clumsily dropped the cup on the floor. She sighed loudly. Mirroring her brother's posture, she sat on the thin mattress with her back against the cell's wall. The anguished screams of Suna's people suddenly echoed into her mind, and a wave of crippling remorse crushed her windpipe.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled as she nibbled on her piece of dry bread. "I messed up."

"Again," he pressed.

She felt her brother's glare burning a hole through her body. She'd failed. The hard realization almost stopped her heart on the spot, inconceivable. They no longer had the scrolls. The guilt sat heavily on her chest. She grimly contemplated their prison. We're going to die here. Game over.

She laid her head against the mattress, briefly closing her eyes. She could feel her brother's glare burning her forehead. "You're angry."

"A little bit." he huffed. She opened back her eyes. His nose scrunched up out of annoyance. "You've managed to lose our mother's scrolls twice."

I'm sorry. She hoped he could read the silent words into her eyes. I'm deeply sorry. She stiffened as a thought crossed her mind. She swallowed the urge to puke, searching for her brother's reassurance. "Do you know if Himari-"

"I sent a clone to check on her before I left the hospital to look out for you," he cut her off. Even if his face wasn't betraying anything, he'd always mention the dark-haired girl with a subtle hint of fondness in his voice. He probably didn't even realize it. To him, their relationship, however brief it was, had never been a part of the lie. "She wasn't hurt."

A wave of relief knocked the air out of her lungs. Her head started to feel dizzy. Her sight blurred, and a sudden heaviness draped over her body like a blanket. Before the darkness engulfed her, she prayed the gods that they'd take her away from the pain. Away from the guilt slowly eating her alive.

But her prayers remained unanswered.

…

A month had passed. Or so she thought. She'd counted the moons, but she might have lost count after a week or two. She stretched her body, the heavy chains rattling against the ground as she moved around her cell. Her muscles hadn't yet forgiven the overuse of chakra. She'd sometimes feel the burning sensation of the scroll's unbounded power under her fingertips.

"Are you planning to get us out of here by befriending the rats, brother?"

He scoffed, throwing his last piece of bread at a white rat that'd visibly fattened up ever since they'd started to occupy their prison's cells. "That's actually my plan B."

"What's your plan A, then?" she inquired.

"To teach the ants how to pick a lock," he dryly replied.

She sighed. They'd told them everything. She didn't feel any need to protect her village's secrets. They'd been betrayed first. And it wasn't her home anymore. It hadn't been for a while. But Suna's Council wasn't convinced by their confessions. The old councilmen believed in a higher threat against the village, and wouldn't stop trying to squeeze out more intel from them. But they'd told them everything. They'd also never asked a single question about the scrolls. It worried her. It meant they already had all the answers needed. The chances of seeing her mother's scrolls were almost inexistant. And she couldn't live with the thought. She refrained from a sudden urge to puke her organs out, shaking from head to toes.

Her brother grabbed the prison bars separating their cells. She didn't miss the look of concern on his face. She had barely eaten any food recently, unable to keep it down. The handcuffs had loosened around her wrists over the course of the weeks.

"Breathe, sister."

But she wasn't. And she'd felt her mother's presence for a second as she communed with the scroll's power, only to lose her all over again. She could barely sleep at night, consumed by guilt. A pair of dark eyes kept her awake, haunting her dreams. Full of pain and mistrust. She still hadn't figured out her feelings towards the puppeteer, a mix of unstable emotions. And she couldn't muster the courage to ask the guards about Himari. Her friend. She'd lost everything. And all the lives they'd taken. You killed them, whispered a voice inside her head. You don't deserve to live.

"Asuka," yelled a panicked voice. "I beg of you. Stop it."

She snapped back to reality, dropping down the hands that'd been choking the air out of her windpipe. Her own hands. Oxygen rushed back into her lungs, replenishing them. Her neck hurt. She raised her head towards the source of the commotion, seeing a streak of red sliding down her brother's forearm. The sound of his fists urgently pounding against the metal bars resonated within their cells. Asuka.

A name she'd almost forgotten. Her name.

"Thank you, Hiroko," she mumbled, breathing hard. Her brother's name strangely rolled off her tongue. He seemed taken aback too by the mention of his old name.

"Don't scare me like that again," he sighed, sitting back on his mattress. "I was screaming, but you wouldn't hear me."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"We'll get out of here, sister. I promise."

"You can't make such a promise."

The prison's main door suddenly opened. For once, it didn't slam roughly against the prison's wall. It wasn't the guard's usual visit. The rats hastened to hide as the Kazekage of the Sand swiftly walked up to their cells – alone. The Grim Reaper had finally come. She couldn't read the man's expression. His mouth opened to speak.

"How did you end up in the possession of the Twin Scrolls?" He didn't waste any time with banalities. When neither of his prisoners answered his question, the redhead let out an annoyed sigh. "Those scrolls once belonged to a powerful clan. One that no longer exists."

She stiffened. Their mother's clan had been wiped out a long time ago by another clan that coveted the power of the scrolls. Only their mother had escaped the massacre. Young and scared, she'd become the last guardian of a power that'd been left behind by ancient gods. A power that asked a lot of sacrifices in order to be used.

Her brother chuckled, full of false arrogance. "You tried to unseal them, didn't you?" he accused. Hiroko shifted in his cells, the chains of his handcuffs rattling against the floor. He scoffed. "But you failed."

"My archivists attempted to, but the seal isn't one that can be broken by an outsider of the clan's line," Gaara admitted. His eyes showed a firm resolve. "They strongly advised that such power shouldn't be in anyone's hands."

Asuka nervously ran a hand to her hair. Drier than a stack of hay, it'd lost its luster. Suna's archivists must have been experienced enough to recognize the two scrolls from archaic transcripts. She licked her chapped lips. She'd once witnessed the destruction of scrolls that had been deemed too dangerous. She couldn't let them destroy her mother's heritage. If she had to resort to begging, she would.

She opened her mouth, grabbing her cell's bar tightly until her knuckles whitened. "Please-"

"I want you to leave the village," Gaara cut her sharply. Her mouth shut tightly. She couldn't read his expression. He crossed his arms over his chest, and his gaze hardened. "You'll take the scrolls, and go."

Her grip on the bars loosened. Too stunned to speak, she blinked dumbly. Is he messing with us? Her brother seemed to share her trail of thoughts. His eyes narrowed suspiciously, unsure of the redhead's intentions. "Why?"

A heavy silence fell in the room. The Kazekage's features softened lightly as he thought of the person who'd stolen his heart, and Asuka simply knew the answer. Himari. Of infinite kindness, the young woman didn't wish for them to rot behind bars for eternity. Even if they deserved it.

A horrible feeling gnawed at her insides. Tears prickled the corner of her eyes. She hadn't shed a single tear since their mother's death. She'd bottled everything up in order to complete their mission. Now, she doubted if the scrolls were really worth losing everything they'd gained over the years. Friends. A home. Even it'd all been based on a lie.

Would you be proud of us, mother?

"People died," she murmured.

Guilt choked her. They didn't deserve to be exempted. Gaara's voice interrupted the loud, harsh whispers in her mind.

"The village surprisingly didn't suffer from any casualties. It's mostly structural damages," the redhead explained. He threw her a pointed look. "The villagers spoke of great golden birds in the sky whose feathers healed wounds."

She lowered her gaze to the ground. "I see."

It'd been worth not feeling her own limbs for a week straight, in addition to the horrible muscle cramps that kept torturing her. Without a warning, their shackles fell loudly on the floor, leaving behind reddish marks on their wrists.

Gaara spoke again. "It's time for the two of you to leave."

…

In the middle of the night, they were standing in front of Suna's gates in the company of the redhead and a handful of tensed guards. Asuka swallowed a sigh. Himari wished for them to be freed; Gaara wanted them out of his village. Far away. She knew they'd never return. They'd leave by the same doors they'd crossed three years ago. The darkness of the night enveloped them. A figure moved into the poorly lighted streets, and she caught a glimpse of a hooded head – with ears shaped like one of a cat.

Her heart started to beat loudly into her chest. She wanted to call out his name. Before she could think, it weakly slipped off her lips. "Kankuro-"

"Don't mention my brother's name ever again," Gaara cut her off sharply. His features hardened with a certain protectiveness. "Leave."

For a moment, Asuka couldn't move. She wished to explain. She'd left a letter for Himari, but she hadn't left anything to him. Not a word. Not even an apology. She needed to-

"Asuka." She froze at the mention of her name. It hung heavily into the air, strangely ringing into her ears. Her brother's feet shifted into the sand, turning around. Ready to leave. He sighed. "Let's go."

Asuka nodded, reluctantly following his steps. As she passed by the fearful Kazekage of the Sand, the words left her lips in a low murmur full of regrets.

"I wished it would have gone differently."

The gates closed behind them, and the blond forced herself to not look back. Not even once. Once they were far enough, in the middle of the desert lands, she dropped on her knees. Her brother stopped. A strangled cry escaped her throat, and she let out a cry. Salty tears dropped on the sand, rolling down her cheeks. Her brother didn't say a word, standing silently by her side.

So she screamed until she'd couldn't anymore.