Fuyu Yukino opened her eyes.
The dim light of a candle cast an unpleasant glow on her eyes. The small snowflake used her hand to shield the light source, allowing herself to adapt to this unfamiliar space.
This place was completely unfamiliar to her.
Yukino touched her body and felt that the wounds on her body seemed to have disappeared.
But there was something else.
An inexplicable feeling she couldn't explain.
Footsteps echoed. Although faint, it still startled Yukino. It broke the silence of this space, making a newly awakened person like her feel uneasy.
Yukino looked at the people who had just entered. They wore strange clothes, with armor on their faces and masks.
There were weapon pouches wrapped around the legs of each person. Some had weapons tucked at their waists, while others were empty-handed.
Among them, there was someone who stared at her with blood-red eyes.
A man with platinum hair stepped forward. Yukino silently reached for the weapon she had hidden in her sleeve.
But all she touched was air. Yukino couldn't understand why this position was so empty. Despite trying to control herself, the surprise was evident in her eyes.
The platinum-haired man spoke, breaking the stillness of the room and the oppressive feeling between her and them.
"We're here to pick you up. From today, you will become a citizen of our village. Don't look for weapons anymore, they won't be there!"
Yukino stopped, then looked up at the group in front of her.
"Are you trying to capture me?"
He immediately denied it. "I'm just here to pick you up."
Yukino was silent. She looked at the three people standing in the same room with her without any sympathy. Perhaps she had been captured here, or perhaps she had been picked up here.
Because no matter how you looked at it, they had no intention of letting her go:"Where am I going?"
Yukino took the old, worn cloth on her head and tied back her seemingly messy white hair. She asked but didn't expect an answer.
"Konohagakure in the Land of Fire!"
She paused, a few strands of her hair snapping under tension. Delicate white hairs fell onto the cold stone bed beneath her.
The man with red eyes spoke. His voice was deep and warm, making a good impression on Yukino.
He said, "Perhaps we should leave now. Captain, we won't have much time!"
The man with platinum hair looked straight at her:"Come with us?"
Yukino felt a lump in her throat. She wanted to say no, but the cold of the stone beneath her feet held her back.
A chilling sensation was creeping over her skin, bringing Yukino's reason to the forefront. It was a disadvantageous situation, so she could only go against her conscience.
"Fine, I agree!"
The platinum-haired man stepped forward, appearing beside her in the blink of an eye. His deep, husky voice carried a coldness in the air, similar to the stone beneath them.
He whispered softly, "Get some sleep."
Then, a sudden pain surged through her body.
Yukino managed only one gasp before the pain forced her to fall forward. The man caught her and stood up gently.
Yukino's eyelids felt heavy. She was plunged into darkness once more. Unconscious again.
Her only remaining thought was why her body felt so heavy? Oh, and there was also the pain and the unwillingness.
The pitch-black night enveloped her. The howling wind and the clanging of iron chains.
Yukino chuckled.
"Bound by chains this time?" she thought. "Not bad at all!"
Yet her mood sank. What was binding her? What was relentlessly shackling this body?
Yukino didn't remember why she was in the cave, nor what she had done before that. Now, she didn't even know where the chains and the uncomfortable feeling came from.
Yukino touched her shoulder, sensing something moving constantly. It stretched and spread all the way down to her ankles.
It was both hot and cold.
Alternately hot and cold, like ants crawling on her skin. Yukino felt extremely uncomfortable.
She shifted, her hand clutching her shoulder. A small light immediately appeared on her skin.
It looked like part of a formation.
Oh?
Yukino was a little surprised by this thought.
Why did she think it was part of a formation? Was it a natural reflex? Something that had been forcibly engraved on her body, leaving a strong impression? Or was it the key to her lost memories?
Yukino wasn't sure. But her hand had let go. The glimmer of light faded back into the darkness.
Yukino looked straight ahead. The dim gray darkness didn't reveal a single object, but even if there was, she wouldn't be able to see it.
Even though she couldn't see or touch it, she still knew something was surrounding her, binding her hands, feet, and body tightly.
She tried letting her body go limp.
Immediately, a suffocating feeling came, clutching her heart as though some force was pressing her down, submerging her entire being under a thick layer of mud.
Like a person being buried alive.
At first, Yukino struggled, but she began to sink deeper. She chuckled softly, her laughter growing louder and clearer, echoing with rage, then turning to madness in this space. She pulled her arm hard, feeling something stretching in response. Yukino tried to stand, but it felt as though her entire body was stuck below. She had no foothold or strength to escape this muddy trap.
She didn't know if this was a nightmare or a reality from her memory.
Opening her eyes wide, she ignored the pain in her skin and limbs from being restrained, gritting her teeth and forcing herself to stand. It felt as if something snapped, but she couldn't see it. She could only stretch forward, struggling to sit up. Even if her skin tore, bleeding or ripping away, she didn't hesitate anymore.
It hurt so much!
A sudden light shone, covering her vision, plunging her eyes into temporary blindness.
"Are you awake?"
Yukino heard someone ask.
She shut her newly opened eyes. A few involuntary tears wetted the corners of her eyes. After a few minutes of adjusting to the light, Yukino observed the person sitting beside her.
It was the man with blood-red eyes who had come to take her that day.
He still wore a mask, his voice as deep and soothing as ever, putting people at ease. This time, his eyes were as black as night. No, upon closer inspection, they were a dark gray.
Yukino parted her lips as if to say something, but he cut her off.
"You've had a severe fever. Your illness has persisted for seven days. You've been in and out of a deep coma. Our medics say this is a natural reaction of your body, but if you hadn't woken up today, you would have died."
This room was clearly a hospital room. She glanced at her clothes, which were also hospital gowns. Perhaps after being knocked unconscious by that man, she had been brought here.
And during that time, she had fallen ill.
A fever that persisted for days.
In and out of a coma, sometimes delirious. She looked at her hand, there were a few needle marks but they had been carefully bandaged.
Yukino spoke, surprised by the hoarse sound of her own voice, like the voice of a dying person.
"Am I in Konoha?"
He poured her a glass of water after seeing her dry, cracked lips. She looked much more frail than when he had first met her.
He said, his tone as if explaining a mission to a client: "You're in the village hospital. We brought you here, and you'll stay here."
Yukino took a small sip. The warm liquid soothed her parched throat. It was like a light enveloping the heart of someone who had just been submerged in the darkness.
It seemed like she had been in the dark for too long. But why did she have such a strange thought?
Yukino chuckled to herself, then she looked up at the sky outside.
White clouds and a few trees were swaying gently. A soft breeze blew, carrying old leaves far away.
The man standing not far from her spoke, interrupting her wandering thoughts.
"I'll have the medics examine you. Now you rest a little, and then the Hokage will come to see you!"
He finished speaking without waiting for Yukino's reply and left. She watched him through the window, seeing the door slam shut behind her.
Suddenly, a sense of emptiness filled the room. It was so quiet, so still.
The suffocating atmosphere reminded Yukino of the nightmare she'd just had. A dream where the darkness of night enveloped her soul.
Then it dragged her body down into a layer of mud and plunged her head underwater. Yukino pondered her situation for a moment.
It seemed she couldn't remember anything. Besides her name, the little girl had no impression of anything, not even her age.
Fuyu looked down at her hands and feet, guessing she might only be a few years old.
Her hands and feet were small, her skin was as white as someone who had never seen the light. If you looked closely, you could see the veins and tendons.
Yukino turned to the outside. A vibrant scene was just beyond the window. Her bed was placed nearby so she could catch a few rays of sunlight from outside.
Yukino reached out to open the two panes of glass in front of her.
But her hand couldn't reach the transparent glass right in front of her. An arm reached out from somewhere and grabbed her arm just as her tiny fingers were a few centimeters from the latch. Yukino was surprised to see her white hand being held by someone else.
"What are you trying to do?"
Someone appeared behind her and asked cautiously.
His clothes were different from the people she had met. It was a dark blue uniform with a jacket over it.
Yukino pulled her hand back but couldn't. He held her slender wrist very tightly.
No matter how gentle she was, his action made her uncomfortable.
"Let go of me!"
He was startled for a moment but loosened his grip slightly. His tense face now had a guilty expression. He observed her for a while as if he were probing.
Even so, he didn't let go of her hand.
"I'm the village's medic so please cooperate with me."
Hearing that, Yukino quickly pulled her hand away, then showed no sign of discontent. She simply said slowly, "Sorry, I was just going to open the window."
Perhaps unable to find anything unusual in this room and in her attitude, the medic didn't continue to make things difficult for the little snowflake.
Yukino sat on the bed facing the medic and answered all his questions obediently.
After a thorough examination, the medic looked at her for a long time before speaking.
"Your condition has improved a lot compared to a few days ago, but you probably still need to be monitored. I suggest you stay here for a while. After you've fully recovered, we'll arrange for you to be discharged. You can rest assured and recover, if you need anything, just tell me. The Hokage has instructed that when you are well, he will have you come to his office."
She nodded, then didn't ask why she was allowed to meet the so-called Hokage. Nor did she ask why she was being kept here.
Yukino looked outside for a while, then asked him, "Can I open the window?"
He hesitated and looked at her. Then he shook his head and said, "You've just woken up and need to rest well. The outside wind is so cold, it won't be good for your health."
Hearing that, Yukino just blinked. The medic observed her for a while, causing the little snowflake to reluctantly lie down and pretend to want to rest. Seeing that, he didn't feel comfortable staying any longer so he left. She closed her eyes even though she wasn't sleepy.
In her mind, only one thought lingered.
Even opening a window, they're afraid I'll try to escape. It's like being inside a small, cramped cave, only now it's replaced by the vast Konoha. In the end, there's no freedom.