Atsuo helplessly watched Keina leave, the strange double vision he’d gained fading along with his Sharingan. After she vanished beyond the clan entrance, he ripped his shoulder from the suddenly loosened grip that held him in place. He turned to face the clan leader with an accusing stare.

  “What now?”

  Eito held Atsuo’s stare for several heartbeats before saying anything.

  “Now? Nothing. You will do nothing.”

  The father and son continued their staredown. Several Uchiha, adult and otherwise, began to back away from the tense situation. Eito turned away from his son to glance at Tan, who stood a distance behind him.

  “Tan, I need you to watch Atsuo for me. I need to do something.”

  Before Atsuo could protest, Eito left the area in a blur that had many of the younger Uchiha looking around in confusion.

  Tan had not seen the clan leader in such a state for a while. In fact, he could count the number of times he’d seen Eito like that on one hand. Moving to follow his leader’s last order, he pulled Dan along with him as he marched toward Atsuo. The young adult had the look of someone waiting for an opportunity to do something reckless. Before such an opportunity could arise, and before Tan could reach him, Fui stepped from the receding crowd to pluck Atsuo away.

  Atsuo’s hope of disobeying any orders died when his mother spoke to him.

  “You need to take a break. Let’s go before you do something regretful.” Fui said in a quiet, measured tone. Her fingers dug into his shoulders, letting him know that she would not take no for an answer. Atsuo could only follow his mother along as they pulled back from the clan entrance.

  —

  Eito landed with a grace he normally only had in battle, his mind rushing through countless things he had to do. Hastily walking toward a specific tent, he pulled an adult to the side and spoke quietly in her ear. The woman turned to look at the clan leader, surprised for a moment, before their face turned cold with realisation. She nodded after a moment of silence, following shortly behind Eito as they moved to Keina’s tent.

  The woman was one of the non-related Uchiha, having married into the clan several years prior. Her name came to Eito a moment later. Chisao glanced back at Eito before moving within the tent, conveying a message to stay put. So that’s what he did, standing still, waiting. His buzz from the earlier drinks was long gone. And now with the electricity pumping through his veins, he wouldn’t be looking at even sitting down anytime soon. Eventually, Chisao stepped out of the tent, holding a rucksack.

  “This is everything essential. I know you said to include some of her shinobi tools as well, but she had a dedicated pack for all of her weapons already set aside.” Chisao spoke, handing a bulging bag and a smaller pack to Eito.

  Eito glanced down at the two bags for only a moment before slinging both to his back. Before he could take off, Chisao grabbed his sleeve. He turned to look her in the eye.

  “No matter what’s happening with Keina… please don’t let her hurt herself.”

  Eito felt a weariness firmly weighing him down as he prepared for what he would have to do next. Without words, he nodded back at the matronly woman. Then, without further delay, he flickered out of sight.

  —

  Keina made her way out of the camp, past the adults whose eyes followed her as if she were a criminal with sketchy intentions. The younger Uchiha looked on in sadness, anger, fear, and varying levels of confusion. Confusion as to why Keina had to leave, and why none of the adults seemed to care. For her own part, Keina’s stomach was twisted into knots that threatened to expel her light breakfast. She barely held it together as she made it past the gates, out into the forest, and beyond the final sightline of her home.

  Leaning against a tree with one palm, she bent over and threw up. At the same time, she felt the familiar receding shift of the Sharingan deactivating. Her body suddenly felt several times heavier. She crashed to her knees, unable to keep upright from the sudden loss of a sizable portion of her Chakra. The Chakra cost came at a surprise, as she had not even done anything with her Sharingan.

  She stayed like that for a while, just breathing. It wasn’t like she had anywhere to be. Not wanting to be that close to her previous breakfast, she twisted and sat on the opposite side of the tree she had leaned on. Her head thumped as she let it fall back against the tree, and she pulled her knees up to her chest.

  Keina stayed like that for a time, just trying to breathe. She wanted to cry. There was no reason not to, she considered.

  Then, a shadow fell to stand before her. Keina almost panicked, before recognising the clan leader’s form. She glared up at him with weary eyes. Neither spoke for several seconds, then without warning, Eito kneeled and bowed low to the ground. Keina found herself locked in shock, unable to speak at the sudden act.

  “Please forgive me, Keina. I had to get you to leave the camp. I am sure you are confused, so please-”

  “Con…fused?” Keina blurted.

  Eito did not stand.

  “Please… let me explain.”

  He remained kneeling, bowing to her. She didn’t know what to do, or say, or even what the hell was going on. After a few seconds, she registered that he was waiting for her to respond.

  “Uh- alright.”

  Eito brought himself up, not meeting her eyes. His expression shifted from weary to something like acceptance. He took a deep breath before matching her stare.

  “I need to tell you about the one who truly owns our clan.”

  Keina numbly listened as Eito began to relate his story.

  “22 years ago, our clan was culled by something. The Uchiha clan of that past had been much different to how we are today. Our elders spoke of an event, something they had to prepare for. Many of their eyes, some of the younger adults’ as well, were just like yours.”

  Eito’s face sagged to something that resembled neutral as he spoke.

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  “My father… he was one such person. But it doesn’t matter.” He shook his head.

  “The younger Uchiha, like me, only knew bits and pieces of the clan’s secrets. One of those secrets that we became privy to was the Mangekyo Sharingan. The rightful power of the Uchiha, which many of the adults strived to possess.”

  “The ability itself… is an evolution of the Sharingan. It is the peak of the Sharingan, a mark of strength for an Uchiha. Or, at least, it had been.” He recounted.

  “I must admit, even now I am not entirely sure of the history of the Mangekyo. I was only 14 at the time, you see.”

  He paused for a moment. His eyes had left Keina to wander the forest surrounding them. He glanced back at the teenager, then sat down cross-legged where he stood. His legs vibrated with nervous energy.

  “It was a cold winter night. The ground was damp, and we packed ourselves into tents for warmth. Dodging elbows and feet while trying to get a good night’s sleep is harder than you think.”

  Eito didn’t even crack a smile at his own poor attempt at humour.

  “Then, just like that-”

  He snapped his fingers.

  “-I was standing outside. My body was covered in blood. A single fire left burning in the cooking pits was all that lit my surroundings. Even with that light, I could barely see the dozens of them, the… corpses.”

  He didn’t speak for a moment, staring into the dirt between the two of them.

  “I eventually recognised them. I honestly don’t know how long I had stood there, just staring down at the bodies. They were Uchiha. All of the adults, our elders, and even a few children, we discovered later.”

  He no longer saw Keina, only witnessing the memory that haunted him.

  “Suddenly, something moved over the top of the bodies. I-”

  He choked.

  “-I couldn’t see. It made no sound. There was nothing there, I couldn’t see anything. Not even a silhouette. I didn’t even know if they were a person, or just a thing. Until they touched me.”

  Unaware, Eito reached up with his right hand to lightly touch his cheek. He could perfectly remember the feeling of dry blood.

  “They caressed my face with their hands, softly cupping my head like a parent calming their child. The only thing I could distinctly feel was the wet blood on their palms. And then…”

  “...They spoke to me… I think. You must understand, I cannot remember a voice, or a sound at all. I only know the words that must have been spoken.”

  Eito’s attention snapped up from his fingers, having pulled them from his face. He looked Keina in the eye as he became the harbinger for words she would never forget.

  “Our heritage is war. When you are ready, I will return to claim that heritage.”

  Keina felt a pull on her mind. After relaying his message, Eito appeared to stare off into the distance, his mouth still moving unintelligibly without sound.

  Then he blinked, focusing back on Keina, unaware of what he had done.

  “That is why you have to leave. After that night, the rest of the children and myself were left to pick up the pieces of a broken clan, with no plan or clue as to how we would survive. But… we all made a promise to each other.”

  He took a moment to swallow, soothing his suddenly dry throat.

  “If any of us awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, we would leave the clan without question. It was the only way we could think of to prevent this from happening again. And so that is why you must leave.”

  Once again, his head bowed forward as he moved to a kneel.

  “Please forgive me… forgive us… for not telling any of you. We did not want our children to grow up knowing that something vile hung over our heads. Now that I have told you, do you understand?”

  His head lifted slightly at the last statement.

  As Eito had relayed his story, Keina had sat and listened as best as she could. The feelings of dread and despair from being kicked from her home had been firmly replaced by a creeping terror. Her body shook as she sat backed against that tree, her mind unable to come up with any valid response. In her fit of shock, a thought pushed its way through the fear and pulled for attention.

  “What am I supposed to do now?” Keina questioned, nearly tripping over her own words.

  Eito only took a second’s hesitation before answering.

  “Hide. You must go into hiding, remove yourself from the world of Shinobi. Become someone else. Anyone else.”

  “Just like that?”

  Eito kept his eyes on hers as he answered.

  “Yes.”

  Keina didn’t even have a proper response. The last two weeks of her life had left her emotionally drained, to the point of not having any care for what she would do anymore. She paid little attention when Eito slowly walked over to gently place her bag next to her, before stepping back again.

  Eito had no idea what he was supposed to do now.

  “Keina.”

  She stayed completely still, her gaze locked on the top of her knees.

  “Keina!”

  Eito bent down, grabbing her shoulders and shook. She vaguely looked up at him. His face held concern and worry, but something else too. In the midst of her panic attack, she could not parse the expression.

  “Keina, breathe, please breathe…”

  Her vision tunneled in on his face, and her breathing grew fast and shallow. Eito dropped to his knees and pulled the teen off the ground into a hug, trying to get any sort of reaction. In the back of her mind, she finally processed his expression. It was…

  “I am so sorry… I am so… I should have saved your father… I should have saved Hazuki…”

  Eito rambled on while Keina sat loosely in his grasp.

  “I should have been there, I should have done more for you… I am… I should not be the clan leader… I don’t know what I am doing…”

  Her hyperventilation calmed slightly, and she reached up to grab his arms.

  “...Keina? Are you okay?”

  She squeezed. Slowly, she stood to her full height, her grasp pushing Eito to his feet. He attempted to pull his arms away, but relented. Eito’s height placed him roughly a foot over her, but that did not seem to matter in the slightest as she exuded a sudden dangerous presence.

  “What are you-”

  Without warning, she kicked Eito square in the stomach, using his arms as leverage for only a moment before letting them go. She watched the clan leader fly backward several meters until he slammed into a tree, its bark crunching under his weight.

  “You’re… sorry?” She heard herself mutter as she made her way toward the fallen clan leader.

  The expression she had seen on him was relief.

  “It’s all of your faults… Your incompetence…” She spoke through gritted teeth.

  Relief, because she was not Atsuo. Relief, because no one had to suffer like her.

  Eito grunted as he pushed himself off of the tree, clutching his gut.

  “Wha– Keina, I don’t… I don’t understand, what-”

  “Shut up.”

  Keina’s voice had gone cold and flat, sending a shiver up his spine. Eito felt his body tense up as he felt a killing intent wash over him for a moment, before vanishing. There was no longer a presence. Turning his head up, he found no Keina marching his way. She was just gone, as well as her bag.

  Once again, Eito felt a cold shiver as he stood to his feet, glancing around in every direction.

  “K… Keina?”

  But nobody answered.