After Kenji calmed down, they were both sitting beside a stream of red water away from the settlement.
“I’m sorry” I spoke first breaking the silence. “I don’t know what took over me. I-I didn’t mean to do it.”
Hakai placed his hand above my head and ruffled my hair. “Don’t worry I already know that. It’s not your fault we are born like this. Your horns they’ve already started growing. We have malevolent chakra inside our bodies that can be used through our horns. They cause erratic and unpredictable behaviour and make us easy to anger and rash.”
I clutched at my clothes in frustration. These horns really were causing me problems. “but I heard from Hiraku that I can’t become stronger if I don’t have them.” If I didn’t have any hope of becoming a ninja, would I just be some common man hiding in a hole somewhere until the world would be normal again? And what would I do after that? What was my purpose even in life? Why was I sent to this world?
“That’s right, you won’t be able to ever control chakra well enough without them to even practice taijutsu correctly and eventually your chakra would become inactive. You keep saying you want to be strong, however, strength isn’t everything. Strength is more often than not a curse.”
“You still have it though.” I pointed at his head. “I can’t see it now but I know you still have it.”
He laughed lightly at my comment pointing out his hypocrisy. “I guess you are right but I only have one of them now so it’s a little manageable.”
We sat in silence again for a while before Hakai started speaking again, “Thanks to your grandmother, the horns…. they can take over you… control you…. You become like an emotionless husk that merely exists to complete a task. A task that she decided for us. For all her descendants. We can’t go against it. We are destined to be powerful and massacre others. To cause pain and suffering. It is the very reason we were made.”
“That is the reason that day, when the Kyuubi attacked Konoha, I decided to end you. To stop this cycle.”
***
I still remembered that day like it was yesterday. It was one of the most awful moments of my life. My infant body had been struggling to breathe trying to wriggle as much as possible to snap out of the paralysis that had been caused by fear. I couldn’t even control my tears that day as they fell uncontrollably. I felt like I was on a knife’s edge almost about to die at every second.
At that moment I saw Hakai walk towards me. He had taken care of me for a while now so I began to trust him a little. I sought solace in his presence. I was just calming down a bit when he placed a hand over my mouth. My lungs that were already struggling to breathe the tiniest breath of air were now completely restricted with no air coming in. Each passing second made the world darker, each second felt like an hour.
Just when I though I was about to die again air started bursting into my small body again. He had let go. He had let go at the last moment. He was going to kill me and had decided to let go. Why? Why would he have done this? What wrong had I committed?
***
“I won’t apologize for it. What I did cannot be forgiven. I know that you don’t like me but I have realized my mistake and it was I who had been irresponsible, that is the reason I decided to be better. To take responsibility for my actions and to not let you walk the same path I did. Even if you refuse to believe it, in the end I am your father. I only want to help you.”
If he had told me all of this back in the village, I wouldn’t have believed him. Maybe I would even kill him off with when I was strong enough. I really didn’t want to trust anyone in the world right now. It had let me down too many times. Just like he said, I still didn’t like him maybe I even hated but now that we had been through so much together and him revealing the truth about myself had mended some of the damage between us. Me stabbing him multiple times also made me feel a bit better.
However, I still didn’t want to lose the horns and my path as a shinobi even after hearing everything. I proceeded to tell him about Hiraku’s proposal and solution to my dilemma.
“You are truly stupid. He doesn’t actually want you to do it. You are just a kid.” Haikai mocked me. “Just go to sleep for now, I’ll handle it.” Hakai picked me up noticing I was too exhausted to even retort. Before I even knew it, I dozed off.
….
….
Hakai carried Kenji backed to the settlement and found the woman who had led them here. “Hello. Please take care of him for me. I’ll be back after settling some matters with the elder.” He handed the sleeping Kenji over to the woman.
“Oh, please don’t worry and take your time, I’ll take good care of him.” The woman smiled and took Kenji away.
Hakai then went over to Hiraku’s house and walked in. Hiraku was still sitting in the same position, still in grooming his beard as if he was expecting his arrival. Hakai went over and grabbed his collar before lifting him up.
“You… have you obtained your so called ‘inner peace’ already that you are ready to die? Why would you say such a thing to a kid, knowing what would take place?”
Hiraku merely laughed at him before activating his dojustu: Ketsuryugan. “Calm down I don’t intent to harm you or the boy.” He put some of his chakra onto an alarmed Hakai’s fresh wounds closing them to heal them faster. “Besides didn’t it all work out in the end.”
Hakai Tsked before harshly throwing Hiraku on the ground. “If you pull something like that again, I’ll kill you. I’m only letting you go because of the past.”
Hiraku didn’t pay any heed to him words. He merely adjusted himself and continued talking. “I’m dying Hakai. I’m losing my vision. I don’t have the strength to do what I did for you in the past. It takes too much strength. I would die before even completing the process. No one else in the village is capable of doing it as well.”
“So that’s why you made an alternative solution?” Hakai questioned.
Hiraku nodded. “Yes, it is the only way. The closer I get to death the more I see. I saw the destruction of my clan and my death is the spark to it. I am the only thing holding the clan together. The people here, they are dissatisfied with our way of life. Some have seen the outside. Some want to leave for better life and others want to get revenge against the Uchiha. No matter what route we take the outside isn’t safe for us. Once the world knows we have left our hiding space we will all be killed. We hold too much power. But the young ones don’t understand that.
The future however isn’t always set in stone. There are always variables. Even the tiniest action can change the future into something else entirely. When you and your son arrived, I saw it. I saw a future where we could be saved. You must do it, it’s for the best.”
“Your idea of saving someone sure is grand.” Hakai sighed loudly. “Will killing them really save your clan?”
“Yes, I have seen it. They are the ones who are the seeds of dispute. Taking them out will finish it and with your influence and my interference we can avoid my clan’s fate. Kill their families too. It must be done to avoid conflict.” Hiraku replied with conviction.
Hakai eyes radiated tiredness. “Does it have to be now? My kid hasn’t slept for a while.” He had long abandoned this way of life but it looked like that life wasn’t ready to abandon him.
Hiraku smiled at him. “The sooner it is the better.” He handed over two scrolls and two small bottles to Hakai. “Give the scrolls to your son, he will know what to do with them.”
Hakai took the items and stashed them away.
“I’m sorry Hakai.” Hiraku knew the task wasn’t one that Hakai would like especially more so because of his past yet he had put this enormous burden onto him.
A horn had gradually grown onto Hakai’s head. He channeled chakra into his wooden katana before piercing through Hiraku’s chest cleanly. No noise was made. There was no struggle. Just like that a man’s life had ended. Hiraku fell onto the floor dying it red.
