The Curtain Falls

Silence. Not a sound stirred around them, save for the girl's faint sobs.

No one knew how long it lasted. It felt as if only a moment had passed.

Ueno Kei remained in the same position, his expression unchanged. Only his hands had clenched into fists for some reason, and the corners of his mouth showed the faintest trace of blood.

Pain, sorrow, coldness—Ueno Kei could almost feel what Kurama Yakumo was feeling inside.

It was a place of utter darkness, devoid of life. Despair, wounds—he could empathize with every bit of it.

The girl's sobbing gradually subsided.

All that remained were the unmistakable tear tracks on her face, proof of how sad and heartbroken she had been just moments before.

"Kei, you and I are a lot alike. I could feel it from the first moment I saw you." The girl gently stroked Ueno Kei's face, murmuring as if to herself. Her voice was barely audible.

If he hadn't been right beside her, Ueno Kei might not have heard her at all.

"That kind of pain... I imagine you've felt it too. But you're stronger than me. You're not as weak as I am."

"I'm always making my parents worry, making Kurenai-sensei fret over me, making the people in my clan worry."

"Kei, will you help me? Help me put an end to all of this. Since I was the beginning, let me be the end of this scene." The girl's gentle voice sounded beside Ueno Kei's ear.

A faint smile appeared on her face.

Ueno Kei's hands trembled slightly. How could he not understand what she meant? How could he not understand what she was asking of him?

He looked at the innocent Kurama Yakumo before him.

Ueno Kei wavered—more than he ever had before.

"I'd planned to have Kurenai-sensei end all this, but she seems to dote on me a little too much. So, Kei, will you reach out your hand?"

To Ueno Kei, Kurama Yakumo looked more resolute than ever. There wasn't a trace of hesitation or fear, as though the words hadn't come from her own mouth.

Slowly, gradually, Ueno Kei understood that this was the best solution. Kurama Yakumo hadn't made any demands, nor had she explained why she wanted this.

But Ueno Kei understood.

He slowly drew the Lingyu Blade from behind his back.

The boy gripped the Lingyu Blade tightly and looked at the girl before him. Their eyes met.

The girl smiled brightly and opened her arms toward him, as if to embrace him.

At that moment, the boy's eyes grew faintly moist.

The scene before him seemed to blur. For the first time in so many years, Ueno Kei felt such bitterness. Was it when his subordinates betrayed him in his previous life?

Or when his parents were killed in this life?

Or all the misfortunes he had suffered? Those things had brought Ueno Kei nothing but endless despair and an ever-growing indifference toward the world.

And now? The boy...

As if acting mechanically, as if obeying an order, he gripped the blade tightly and slowly plunged it into the girl's heart.

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

With a soft thud, the Lingyu Blade pierced straight through her body. Blood stained both the girl's and the boy's chests.

"Ah, no! You can't do this!" Suddenly, a voice filled with panic rang out all around them—or perhaps from within the girl.

"Goodbye, my other self. Goodbye, my... my friend."

"Ah! Ah! Ah!!!"

"Vmm!" The Lingyu Blade glowed brilliantly. Wisps of black smoke rose from the girl's body, then vanished.

The girl gently held the boy in her arms.

"Hey, Kei... If, if things had been different, we would have become very, very good friends, wouldn't we?" the girl murmured softly.

"Yes. We would have. We definitely would have become very good friends!" At the very end, Ueno Kei answered with unwavering conviction.

"Mm. I think so too." The girl's breathing gradually weakened.

Slowly, the starlike brightness in her eyes faded until not a glimmer remained. Then they closed.

At that moment, the girl's heart stopped forever, leaving only a faint smile at the corners of her lips.

Two streams of tears slowly ran down the boy's cheeks and fell to the ground, drop by drop.

"Kei... you have to live. Live well..."

Yuhi Kurenai stared in shock at the black tendril that had stopped less than a millimeter from her. With a crack, it slowly aged and withered, then broke apart.

It crumbled into dust and disappeared.

Just then—

Rumble!

As if an earthquake had struck, cracks split open all around them, in the sky above and across the ground.

Yuhi Kurenai's expression changed. She moved to stand, but her body staggered, and she nearly fell to the ground.

Her chakra had run out.

Yuhi Kurenai gritted her teeth. Everything around her had turned pitch-black, and she couldn't see the cracks spreading through the space.

But from the sounds and tremors, she knew the place was about to collapse.

She didn't know what had happened, but Yuhi Kurenai knew she had to leave at once. Otherwise, the consequences would be unthinkable.

But her body wouldn't obey her.

Her vision kept darkening, and even as she struggled to stand, her body trembled. She couldn't keep her footing.

Suddenly, the ground shook violently.

Yuhi Kurenai swayed and began to fall.

With a whoosh, a figure appeared beside her and caught her.

A deep voice sounded.

"Kurenai, are you all right?"

Yuhi Kurenai looked closely. The one holding her was Nara Shikaku, and Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen was standing beside him.

Yuhi Kurenai felt relieved.

"I'm all right. Lord Hokage, Yakumo is still over there, along with the head of the Kurama Clan and our village's ninja. Please..."

"Don't worry, Kurenai. I'll take care of the rest."

Hearing this, Yuhi Kurenai finally relaxed completely. With this man here, she knew there was no problem he couldn't handle. Besides, Konoha's greatest strategist was there too.

As she relaxed, she immediately lost consciousness.

In the haze, she heard Third Hokage's steady voice giving orders. Now everything would finally be over, wouldn't it? Yuhi Kurenai's consciousness gradually sank into darkness.

Inside Konoha Hospital.

In a clean, white hospital room, a purple-haired boy lay quietly in bed.

A vase of lilies stood on the table beside him.

Their faint fragrance filled the room, lending it a sweet, soothing air.

The boy's eyelids twitched. He slowly opened his eyes, then raised a hand to shield them, perhaps because the room was too bright.

Gradually, his eyes adjusted to the light.

The boy slowly sat up and turned to look out the window at the cloudless sky.

"So I'm still alive," Ueno Kei murmured.

It all felt like a dream, yet the sensations had been so real.

Ueno Kei lowered his head and looked at his hands. Twice now, he had used these hands to hurt that girl.

Maybe he really was suited to being a ninja, after all. In a way, a bitter smile crossed Ueno Kei's face.

Ueno Kei clenched his fist.

"In this filthy world, just as in my previous life, I'll survive! I absolutely will!!!"