II

━━━━━━┓༻❁༺┏━━━━━━

Arc II Chapter 4

━━━━━━┛༻❁༺┗━━━━━━

A squad of ANBU arrived at the scene. They were dispatched to investigate the source of the explosions and who was behind the giant purple lightning bolt that illuminated the nightly sky

The lightning wasn't a natural phenomenon. The lightning was the product of chakra. Someone created it, someone powerful.

Total destruction greeted the ANBU. The mansion was gone, replaced by a field of lifeless debris.

Kunai lied around. Craters and scorch marks everywhere. Splintered wood littered the ground. Numerous little fires burned in macabre delight, only waiting to be extinguished by the falling rain.

This wasn't just destruction. This was a battlefield. A sight Kakashi was deeply familiar with.

"Captain, what happened here?"

Kakashi picked up one of the kunai on the ground, inspecting it. "I have no idea, Tenzo."

An ANBU appeared. He reported, "Captain, we have found a potential survivor. A girl, but she is unfortunately unconscious."

Kakashi discarded the kunai. "Bring me to her."

They reached her location. Judging by all the degree of destruction, they were close to the epicentre of the lightning strike.

The characteristic scent of oxidized iron and burned human flesh permeated the air, announcing death and carnage. But there were no corpses to be seen. They found a little unconscious girl, soaked in blood. She clung to the body of a dead woman, hugging her with all her force, all her love.

Kakashi retained his sober composure. "How is she, Yugao?"

Yugao attended the girl, "As far as I can tell, her condition seems stable. No wounds, no cuts, no injuries.“

“Just a few light scratches and bruises here and there together with signs of chakra exhaustion. All in all, it's a miracle she has survived this inferno so well."

"A miracle indeed", Kakashi murmured. Chakra exhaustion? Curious.

"Yugao, what do you mean by chakra exhaustion?" The implications were clear.

They had a destroyed mansion. They had a mysterious purple lightning. And they had an unconscious girl suffering from chakra exhaustion. The conclusion was obvious.

Yugao maintained her medical ninjutsu. A green aura surrounded the hugging girl. "Her chakra reserves are completely depleted. From what I can tell, her reserves are enormous for her age. Minimum high chunin level, potentially Jonin."

Chunin? Jonin? Kakashi fell silent. He focused his eyes on the unconscious girl. He had to inform the Hokage about the girl, immediately.

━━━━━━┛༻❁༺┗━━━━━━

Asami opened her heavy eyes. She stared right into the bright sun.

Asami averted her head to shield her sensitive eyes. Stupid sun.

She finally woke up after what felt like a small eternity, surrounded by an arrangement of beeping machines and monitors. Her bed was hard as stone and the sound of the nearby cardiogram annoyed her.

But otherwise, she was fine except for her eyes. They kept itching for some reason.

Asami rubbed her eyes. No matter what, the uncomfortable itching didn't disappear.

Ignoring her eyes, Asami scanned her surroundings.

Judging by the white interior of her room and the pleasant odour of alcohol, Asami concluded she was in some kind of hospital, which was hardly surprising considering her condition and what happened …

Asami murmured," Happened ... Happened ..."

There was something important about the word. Something related to her present condition, but Asami couldn't remember. Her memory failed her. Mysterious, truly mysterious.

Trapped in a state of helplessness and disorientation, Asami scratched her, wondering. Where was she?

Asami searched for useful clues. Was this a hospital? All the equipment and the fragrant smell of alcohol suggested so.

But why was she in a hospital? Did she fall ill? Was it something serious? What happened?

Asami didn't know. Her memory didn't give her any answer. Her head felt dizzy. Her mind spotty.

Was something wrong with her? After all, she was perfectly fine, wasn't she? But why was she here then? This place looked like a hospital.

Asami turned toward the window. It was early in the morning. The playful rays of twilight shimmered on the horizon. Dawn greeted her and she returned the greeting.

A cheerful Asami waved at the sun. She kept waving, and waving, and waving, and waving, and waving.

Something was seriously wrong with her. She was a natural airhead from time to time, but not to this degree.

She suffered from some kind of shock? It would explain her dizziness, her blurry vision, her headache, her periodic memory losses …

Asami tilted her head. What did she want to say again? She forgot.

But it couldn't be that important, otherwise, she would remember.

Still tired and weakened by yesterday, Asami yawned. She grabbed a nearby pillow and tucked herself in with a warm blanket. Slumber came easy to Asami.

━━━━━━┛༻❁༺┗━━━━━━

A few hours later, a sleepy Asami awoke once again. The thick fog in her mind cleared up. Her memory returned and Asami remembered the fateful night. She lost okaa-san. She lost her forever.

Tears rolled down her face. Asami felt the sadness inside her heart, the pain, the desperation. But Asami endured. She was strong and strong girls didn't cry.

Ignoring her pain, Asami directed her attention at her own body.

Asami closed her eyes. She couldn't move. Her limbs felt heavy, stiff, numb, sour. Hopefully, didn't shred all of her muscles. She used a lot of chakra last night, probably more chakra than her weak body could handle.

Asami replayed the fight in her mind, analysing her performance. There was always room for improvement. Nobody was perfect.

She made mistakes, but they weren't the reason she failed.

Asami clenched her fist. Her knuckles turned white. She was weak. Her body was weak, disappointingly weak. For too long, she had remained idle.

She failed because she lacked power. She lacked the power to protect okaa-san, to guard her, to save her. She lacked the power to destroy them, to kill them.

Asami paid a bitter price for her own weakness, a price she would never pay again.

Asami rubbed her eyes, but not because of being tired. The annoying itching persisted. Her eyes went crazy last night, nearly blinding her in the middle of the fight.

Her entire vision changed drastically. Her aim, her movement, her timing were thrown off because her magical eyes intervened without a warning.

Asami sighed. She had to ascertain what was wrong with her eyes, what caused this phenomenon. A mirror would be useful ...

Asami noticed the hand mirror next to her, placed on a commode.

Asami grinned. “Speak of the devil.“

She took the mirror and stared right into the polished glass to stimulate her eyes. She waited, and waited, and waited, with little success. Nothing happened.

Asami scratched her head. Did she forget something important? Did she need an activation sequence? An ancient spell? Blood? Human sacrifices …

Asami eyes widened. Two black tomoe surrounded by a wonderful luminescent red greeted her

Her eyes. She possessed ... She possessed ... There was no doubt, she was an ...

Unseen by anyone, Asami laughed with manic glee. She was indeed special. She was an Uchiha.

━━━━━┛༻❁༺┗━━━━━━