Konoha's Blind Dragon (Under Revision/ Rewrite)

Chapter 14. Little blind child

Uncle filled his cup with tea and drank in silence for a while. None of us talked. Uncle was choosing his words wisely in the stillness, whilst I was too confused to follow. It was I who broke the silence.

"Uchiha Madara was one the village's founding fathers, Uncle. He should be..."

"Six feet under? Misayo, I know that what I am telling you now sounds absurd, but Uchiha Madara was unlike any other shinobis. Some even refer to him as a shinobi God."

Uncle paused. Filled another cup of tea and turned his face turned away from me. I noticed that his chakra was growing smaller and smaller. It had some irregularities to the flow. Uncle! If his chakra became any weaker, it would extinguish. Uncle would die.

"Please rest, Uncle!"

I put my hands on his frail hands, cursing at how small illness had made them. My willpower the only thing preventing my tears from falling. Breathing became difficult. It felt as if the air in the room had vanished.

Uncle placed his hand on my cheek. "I want to spend my last moments with you, Misayo. Your parents wished that you were told about your heritage."

I let the tears trickle down my cheeks. Uncle's finger caught them. He stroked my cheek and let me cry on his chest. He ran his fingers through my hair and rubbed my back. The tea was cold by now, but I could not care any less.

Uncle cleared his throat. "There is more for you to hear."

I nodded.

"My mother was a strong member of our clan. When her civilian cover was seen through, she immediately left Konoha and never came back. I had just married Mai when she left and Sister was pregnant, and I have not seen her since."

He let out a shaky sigh.

"As Mai and I were no exceptional shinobis, never conceived a child and I was of use as an engineer, we were left in peace. On the other hand, Sister immediately confided in Michi. He was a loving man, Misayo. Never doubt for a second that your father was kind, but he was not brave. He confided his anxiousness in alcohol and fell into a depression."

I shut my eyes and winced. Memories of the strange drunk adults in the market filling my mind. I grit my teeth and clenched my fists in my lap. I felt my whole body tense. I felt Uncle caressing my hair.

"I'm sorry. I know that this must be painful, but it is the truth." I gave one nod. Uncle continued.

"A month before you were due, Akemi and Michi desperately tried to escape from the village. Under the order of the village leaders, an ANBU squad was forced to track them down. The Third Hokage tried to negotiate with the elders, but his pleas were overlooked. Your parents were found in a secluded forest in a cave. They held a newborn baby in in their arms and begged, but the orders were merciless."

Uncle remained silent. He was hesitating.

"Uncle, what did they do?"

"They presented them with an ultimatum; kill the child or be killed."

I could feel my tears behind my eyes. "My parents chose to die?"

"That day, an entire ANBU squad and two Jonins were found dead. Only a little, blind child, wrapped up in a torn sweater, was heard crying furiously beside the dead bodies."

I felt my heartbeats throb through my temples. Once, twice.

"Misayo...only you survived that day."

It felt as if the ground beneath me was moving. When I finally found the right words, I asked.

"If it really was Uchiha Madara who killed my parents and the police squad, then why did he not kill me? All the knowledge I have about that man, about how powerful he is and how heartless he could be...it does not make sense."

My pulse was wild, and my palms were wet with sweat. My temples were throbbing, and my head felt so heavy. Before I knew it, I was on all fours panting and puking. My pulse did not slow down, and my cheeks became uncomfortably hot. Uncle laid me down on the floor and pressed a cold wet cloth on my forehead. He cleaned the spot where I had puked and sat next to me.

"Uncle, you should rest. You are overdoing yourself." I croaked.

"No, you should rest." He replied.

"But you are ill. Rest. Please."

Your chakra is fading.

"I have spent time meditating and practicing my chakra control. I worked hard to store enough chakra so that I could tell you about our family."

"Why?"

"My time has come, Misayo."

His words made my stomach clench in despair, but his tone was gentle. Light and happy. How much time does he have left? I tried to focus my chakra and enhance my senses, but I could not muster any concentration. Uncle put his hand on head and pushed it gently down. His voice was steady as he continued.

"Don't wear yourself out, Misayo. You will be needing all the strength you have now."

He embraced me again. It was not until I noticed that I had dampened his shirt that I realized that I was sobbing. When my sobbing had paused, I asked him through hiccups. "How can you be so calm?"

"Hehe, because I'm with you, Misayo." I stilled.

"You give me so much strength without knowing it. My biggest regret is that I won't be here to see you grow." His voice broke and I felt his tears dampen my forehead, mixing with own.

We held each other like we had done throughout the years.

I thought about all the times I had leaned on him during my childhood, my training and my kunai engineering apprenticeship. I thought about our walks to the graveyard on Sundays, our shifts together at the factory, our dinners at home and our evenings at home when he taught me calculating and designing optimal custom-made weapons for shinobis.

I felt blessed that I could serve him during his illness.

That he could lean on me after all the years I had leaned on him.

"I'm not leaving you forever, you know. I'll always be with you. I'll always love you. No matter what."

He kissed my forehead.

"I love you, Misayo. I love you so very, very much." His voice was calm, held no fear and was so earnest.

"I love you too, Uncle." My voice was raspy, but steady. I meant each word.

"You will leave as soon as you are able to stand up. You will leave Konohagakure and not return."

"Why?"

"You and I, Misayo...are now wished dead by the village elders."