Asuma clenched his fists beneath the covers, his nails digging into his palms. Wave after wave of pain barely kept him clearheaded.
He closed his eyes, then opened them again.
Damn this fate!
Why did it have to be so cruel?
He sat up abruptly. The blanket slipped from his shoulders and bunched around his waist. A thin sheen of sweat covered his bare chest, dull in the moonlight.
Before he could rise from the Tatami, the space inside his room suddenly warped.
No sound. No warning.
Space folded and spun beside the window like a crumpled piece of cloth. Then a figure emerged from the distortion.
A Red Cloud Robe. A Spiral Mask. One crimson Sharingan exposed.
Asuma sprang up. He kicked off the Tatami and flipped backward, his back striking the wall just as his right hand found the Chakra Blade beside his bed.
He gripped the Twin Flying Swallows and poured Wind Release Chakra into their blades. A hum erupted, and blue light flared in the darkness, illuminating half of the Spiral Mask.
"Who are you?"
Asuma's voice was sharp and urgent, his blades pointed straight at the Masked Man.
Obito stood by the window, his hands at his sides. His Sharingan turned slowly within the mask's opening. Moonlight streamed in behind him, stretching his shadow all the way to Asuma's feet.
"Who I am doesn't matter."
"What matters is that I hate Uchiha Yongye just as much as you do!"
"Let's join forces and get rid of Uchiha Yongye together!"
Asuma did not lower his blades. The blue light along their Chakra edges only grew brighter.
"Join forces?"
"I would never join forces with someone who skulks around like you!"
He narrowed his eyes at the Sharingan glowing an eerie Kurenai in the darkness.
"The Spiral