Where am I? The afterlife? No, it's a hospital. I'm in a recovery room; it's too white for me.
??: "Do you feel okay?" Kotachi: "Who are you?"
My voice is sleepy. I can't see well, but I can make out a nurse with pink hair.
??: "I am Sakura Haruno."
Kotachi: "Am I in Konoha?"
Sakura: "Yes. What's your name?"
Kotachi: "Kotachi Uchiha."
Sakura: "Uchiha!?!? That's impossible! Only my daughter and my husband are Uchiha!"
Kotachi: "I am an artificial being. They put the DNA of Itachi Uchiha and Konan in me."
Sakura: "Artificial?"
Kotachi: "Made from scratch without using parents, just genetics."
Sakura: "Well, in any case, you'll be out of the hospital in 2 weeks. Do you have any family?"
Kotachi: "No, do you really think I have any?"
Sakura: "No, but since you're an Uchiha, you could maybe live with me."
Kotachi: "If it doesn't bother you."
Sakura: "Very well! Now, let's move on to the more delicate subject with the Hokage... where do you come from?"
This subject is indeed delicate. The Hokage enters the room with a stern look full of uncertainty, or is it doubt? Anyway, he seems to want to know everything.
Hokage: "Where do you come from? This question will be crucial for you because you came to Konoha armed with two daggers!"
His tone was cold, and he tried to scare me.
Kotachi: "Do you think you can scare me?"
Hokage: "No, but it's worth a try."
Kotachi: "From a tank in a lab in Ame."
Hokage: "Interesting."
Kotachi: "I fought my way out, but it's over. Whether I'm in a hospital or not, I'm done running."
Hokage: "It's not a matter of running but a matter of trust. The war ended not too long ago, even if more than a decade has passed. I want to protect Konoha."
Kotachi: "Don't worry, Lord Hokage. I mean no harm to Konoha."
Sakura: "Well, we'll let you rest a bit. You need it."
They both leave, leaving me in an empty room with nothing to distract me. Well... how about making some origami? That could be nice, right? Let's start with an eagle. I've always loved making origami; it's so beautiful in the end. I can't do anything else but that. Still, the Hokage is right; I'm a bit of a danger to Konoha. Argh, my origami is already finished! I started with the hardest one to make, and now I'm done too quickly! I'm so bored! Next time the big forehead with pink hair comes back, I'll ask her for some books to pass the time. I pull out more sheets from my body, but this time in greater numbers. Well, why not make a model of my memory when I arrived in Konoha? But I need all my memory for that. But wait, how long have I been here? I'll ask that too. I need to know how long it's been; I didn't think to ask.
??: "You've been here for a week and 5 days."
Kotachi: "Huh!?" ??: "You heard me right, kid."
Kotachi: "Excuse me, but you scared me. I thought I was alone." ??: laughs softly "Am I that silent?"
Kotachi: "Yes, you are very silent... why are you here, and what's your name?" Sai: "I am Sai from the police, a former member of the Root."
Kotachi: "You heard my name, so why are you here?"
Sai: "A criminal case. A guy I was chasing stabbed me."
Kotachi: "Sorry for you... Ino Yamanaka is your wife, isn't she?"
Sai: "How do you know?!"
Kotachi: "The mind is an easy door to open for me."
Sai: "Oh! Are you a sensory type?"
Kotachi: "Not at all. I'm more action-oriented, but I've been trying to remove a memory from my head for two years."
Sai: "Can I know this memory?
Kotachi: "When I came out of my tank, I woke up on a surgical table, and next to me were two boys' corpses, also out of their tanks. It must have been 3 years since I was born and put in that tank for scientific experiments on me. I was so scared that day that my Sharingans evolved way too fast for my liking. I went from nothing to one tomoe, then 0.5 minutes later, the second, and finally, 1 second after the second tomoe, the third, the last stage before the Mangekyō Sharingan." Sai: "Oh, that's a bit hard to hear, even with all the atrocities I've endured myself."
Suddenly, Sai's family arrives with a young boy my age, a little blond with a ponytail, his skin as white as snow. He looks like his mother; there's no denying it, it's the same person with a few different details.
I lie down on my bed and close my eyes to sleep a bit. Talking to someone other than Amado about what happened feels good.
Sai: "Inojin, let him sleep!"
I open my eyes and see his son in front of me. I lift my head and see that it's already dusk. I see many people in front of me, looking at me with a bit of contempt.
Kotachi: "I don't even want to know."
I lie back down on my bed, but I feel someone grab my foot. I look and see someone I identify as Choji Akimichi.
Kotachi: "What do you want from me?"
Choji: "Nothing, just let it be."
Kotachi: "Let go of me, old man."
Choji: "I'm not that old."
Chocho: "It's true, Dad, you're old."
Sarada: "So, you want to mess with us?"
Sakura: "Sarada!"
Sarada: "Sorry."
I throw a paper shuriken that grazes Sarada's face. The wind created by the shuriken slightly cuts Sarada's facial skin.
Sarada: "Ouch! Can you aim?" Kotachi: "I wasn't aiming at you."
The shuriken transforms into the eagle I made earlier and flies around the room.
Kotachi: "There."
I lie back down; I've had too much interaction for today.
