The Curtain Falls

Silence, there was not the slightest sound in the surroundings, save for the faint sobbing of the young girl.

It was unclear how much time had passed; it felt as though it had been but a single instant.

Ueno Kei remained in the same posture, wearing the same expression, only his hands were clenched into tight fists for some unknown reason, and a faint trace of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Pain, sorrow, coldness—Ueno Kei felt as if he could perceive the very depths of Kurama Yakumo's heart.

It was a void of darkness, devoid of any vitality; despair, scars, all of it—Ueno Kei could empathize with every bit of it.

The girl's sobbing gradually subsided.

What remained were the clear tear tracks on her face, a testament to just how sorrowful and heartbroken she had been only moments before.

"Kei, you and I are very much alike. I could feel it the very first moment I saw you." The girl gently stroked Ueno Kei's cheek, her voice so low it sounded like she was murmuring to herself.

Had he not been standing right in front of her, Ueno Kei might not have heard her at all.

"That kind of pain—you must feel it too, don't you? But you are stronger than me; you aren't as weak as I am."

"I am always making my parents worry, making Teacher Yuhi Kurenai fret, and causing the members of my clan to be anxious."

"Kei, can you help me? Help me put an end to all of this. Since I am the beginning, then let me be the end of this scene." The girl's soft voice echoed in Ueno Kei's ears.

A faint smile appeared on the girl's face.

Yet Ueno Kei's hands trembled slightly; how could he not understand what she meant? How could he not grasp her request?

Looking at the innocent Kurama Yakumo before him, Ueno Kei wavered—more than he had ever wavered before.

"I had originally intended to let Teacher Yuhi Kurenai end all of this, but she seems to dote on me a little too much. So, Kei-kun, could you reach out your hand?"

To Ueno Kei, Kurama Yakumo's expression was unprecedentedly resolute, devoid of any hesitation or fear, as if those words had not come from her own mouth.

Slowly, gradually, Ueno Kei knew this was the best solution, even though Kurama Yakumo had not made any specific demands or explained why she had to do this.

However, Ueno Kei simply understood.

He slowly drew the Lingyu Blade from behind his back.

The boy gripped the Lingyu Blade tightly in his hand, looking at the girl before him; their eyes met.

The girl beamed, spreading her arms toward the boy as if to embrace him.

In that moment, the boy's eyes felt vaguely moist.

The scene before him seemed to blur. For how many years had Ueno Kei's heart not felt such bitterness? Was it the betrayal by his subordinates in his past life?

The murder of his parents in this life?

Or perhaps the various misfortunes of his life? Those things had only brought Ueno Kei endless despair and an increasingly indifferent perception of the world.

And now? The boy...

Mechanically, as if under a command, he gripped the blade tightly with both hands and slowly thrust it into the girl's heart.

A look of pain appeared on the girl's face.

With a "pfft," the Lingyu Blade easily pierced through the girl's body, and fresh blood stained the chests of both the girl and the boy.

"Ah, no! You cannot do this!" Suddenly, a voice filled with extreme panic erupted from the surroundings, or perhaps from within the girl's own body.

"Goodbye, other me. Goodbye, my... my friend."

"Ah! Ah! Ah!!!"

"Hum!" The Lingyu Blade emitted a dazzling radiance, and wisps of black smoke rose from the girl's body before vanishing into nothingness.

The girl gently embraced the boy.

"Ne, Kei-kun, if... if it were in the past, we would have become very, very good friends, wouldn't we?" the girl murmured in a low voice.

"Yes, we would. We definitely would have become very good friends!" In the final, final moment, Ueno Kei said this with a very firm tone.

"Yes, I think so too." The girl's breath gradually weakened.

Slowly, those eyes, bright as the stars, lost their final glimmer of light and gradually closed.

The girl's heartbeat stopped forever at that moment, leaving only that trace of a smile at the corners of her mouth.

Two lines of tears slowly flowed down the boy's cheeks and dripped onto the ground—drip, drip.

"Kei-kun, you... you must live on. You must live well..."

Yuhi Kurenai watched with a look of astonishment as the black tentacles stopped less than a millimeter from her eyes. "Click," slowly, the tentacles began to age and wither, gradually snapping apart.

They then turned into dust and vanished.

Just then.

"Boom!"

As if an earthquake had struck, cracks appeared everywhere, both in the sky and on the ground.

Yuhi Kurenai's expression changed; she moved to stand up, but her body swayed, and she nearly collapsed back to the ground.

It turned out that Yuhi Kurenai's chakra had been completely exhausted.

Yuhi Kurenai gritted her teeth. Although the surroundings had plunged into pitch-black darkness in an instant, and she could no longer see the fissures cracking open around her, the sounds and movements told her that this space was likely on the verge of collapse.

Though she did not know what had happened, Kurenai knew she had to leave immediately, or the consequences would be unimaginable.

However, her body refused to obey her commands.

Her vision swam with darkness, and her body, which she had barely managed to steady, trembled so violently that she could not keep her footing.

Suddenly, the ground shook intensely.

Kurenai's figure swayed, and she was about to collapse onto the ground.

With a "whoosh," a figure suddenly appeared by her side and caught her.

A deep, resonant voice rang out.

"Kurenai, are you alright?"

Kurenai focused her eyes and saw that it was Nara Shikaku who had caught her, with the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, standing right beside him.

Kurenai felt a wave of relief wash over her.

"Yes, I am fine. Lord Hokage, over there are Yakumo, the head of the Kurama Clan, and our village's ninjas. Please..."

"Yes, Kurenai, rest assured. I will handle the rest."

Hearing this, Kurenai's heart completely relaxed. She knew that with this man present, no problem was insurmountable, especially with Konoha's greatest strategist by his side.

With her mind at ease, she immediately lost consciousness.

In her hazy state, she could only hear the Third Hokage's steady, commanding voice. With this, everything can finally come to an end, she thought, as her consciousness gradually slipped into the darkness.

Inside Konoha Hospital.

In a clean, white ward, a youth with long purple hair lay quietly on a hospital bed.

A vase of lilies sat on the table beside the bed.

The faint scent of flowers filled the room, bringing a fragrant, soothing atmosphere.

The youth's eyelids twitched slightly before he slowly opened his eyes. Perhaps because the room was too bright, he raised a hand to shield them.

Slowly, he adjusted to the light in the room.

The youth sat up and turned his head to look at the cloudless sky outside the window.

"So, I am still alive," Ueno Kei whispered.

It felt as if everything had been a dream, yet the sensations were incredibly real.

Ueno Kei looked down at his own hands. Twice—he had used these hands to hurt that young girl twice.

Perhaps I really am suited for the profession of a ninja, after all, he thought, a trace of a bitter smile appearing on his face.

Ueno Kei clenched his fist.

"In this world as filthy as my previous life, I will survive! I definitely will!!!"