When Darkness Turns to Light

Sullied by Secrets

Recappy from the Last Chappy: Suddenly, turning into their path, was the said rabbit. He was white as snow, with red eyes and pink sclera; small round eyeglasses were on his pink nose. Dressed in grey pants, a yellow button-up with a high collar beneath his red jacket, and carrying an umbrella, he appeared to be in quite a hurry.

"I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date!" He yelled. "I'm here, I should be there! No time to say hello, goodbye! I'm late! I'm late!"

Hikari did not seem concerned about his pace, as she hastened only a little. He was on his hind legs, while his kind was generally supposed to run on all fours, so he was actually of a speed manageable for her and Kurenai to follow; at least, he remained in sight.

Chapter Eight: Sullied by Secrets

The White Rabbit crossed through what appeared to be a painting, though it was large enough to be a wide door. It was a parallelogram, as wide as it was short, with a rather ornate blue frame surrounding it. Within the painting, Yakumo's back was turned toward the viewer as she painted more. The White Rabbit seemed to disappear.

Hikari and Kurenai stopped within a few feet of the portal, looking into the other side. The image was still, with Yakumo appearing on a circular white surface. The space around that surface looked as if it were space itself; the universe with its stars and vast blackness. Akamaru cautiously sniffed the portal.

Kurenai frowned with resolve and lifted the younger kunoichi's arm from her, taking a few steps forward. She seemed fine enough, currently, to walk on her own a little. Realizing this, she told Hikari, "You should turn back. She wants me, not you."

Hikari opened her mouth. "Normally, I wouldn't care. But . . . you aren't the only one she's attacking. You aren't fit to fight, if it comes to that." She raised her chin a little. "And you can't just let her darkness take you, either. If you, her light, is gone then so is her hopes and possibly her desire to come from the darkness."

The genjutsu specialist clicked her tongue, glancing out of the corner of her eye. "Fine."

Hikari nodded. "Let's go, then. I don't think there's any way to prepare for this Lion's Den, really." Both she and Kurenai then proceeded through the painting; Akamaru was a step behind them.

On the other side, they found themselves standing on the frame of a portal lying on a gigantic circular white table. Yakumo was only a few feet away, but did not seem to react immediately. A slew of paintings were suspended in the space around her full of disturbing images, much like the ones that had sat in the chairs of the Tea Party Garden.

They took a few steps forward, walking off of the painting portal, and it melted away into the table. Yakumo continued to paint, almost as if she did not realize their presence. Tables on either side of her had been there to hold her supplies; however they too were suspended above.

Kurenai took her eyes from where the exit had disappeared and looked at her former student. She placed a hand over her twisting heart, and closed it to a fist. "Yakumo. . . ."

There was a long silence as the brunette paid meticulous attention to the painting before her. It was a panoramic picture of Kurenai with a seemingly shocked expression on her visage. Hikari looked at her now; her current expression was a hard, stoic stare.

"Kurenai-sensei," Yakumo said in a nearly unsullied tone; but one could not mistake the underlying darkness. "What do you think of my paintings? Wonderful, aren't they?"

The woman ignored the inquiry, providing one of her own. "What are you doing to everyone?"

Yakumo frowned. "This world is unstable, led by a queen too unaware of her darkness to lead rightfully. When she discovers I tried to take her heart, she will be upset, don't you think? I'm hastening the inevitable." She continued to face forward, but glanced from the corner of her eye. They were a different color now; changed from a yellowish hazel, they seemed to be a yellow almost as bright as Hikari's. "But I have business with you, first."