Never Let Go [Hiatus]

Part II, Chapter 5- MADARA

The boy's POV

'So... what are your plans, child? Michiko and I have already discussed about it and now that it has come to this...' he paused, maintaining eye contact. ' Would you want to salvage for your own survival in the wild, or would you like to join our creed?' my eyes widened at his suggestion.

'To be fair, I'll tell you who we are, and the decision is yours to make.' He took a sip of green tea before continuing. My heart pumped.

'We are a band of mercenaries who earn our living through assassinations and spy work. It is both dirt and ugly work. Dirty because we always stain our hands with the blood of fellowmen. Ugly because we are forced to face the monsters caged within the hearts of our kind. We see firsthand what despicable measures people resort to for power, wealth and status, their faces shamelessly guilt-free as they stand amongst those they've harmed. We see how easily people betray even their closed ones and forsake the lives of others for their own. We see the selfishness, greed and jealousy that breed deceit, despair, vengeance and hatred...' I clenched my fist as I thought of the men who had tried to murder me that night.

'...But above all, one needs courage. To carry out the end of your contract, we have to blind ourselves from the fear on their faces and mute their desperate pleas as we deliver death with a heart of steel. Sometimes, even at the verge of death, these people say things that make my blood boil. Pleas to spare them at the expense of others, to spare them if they gave us money or women. Their arrogance and belittlement of others. These are the people who I kill without qualms. But most of the time, we need the courage to kill innocents, to kill people we know have been wronged.'

'Then, why are you guys still doing it?' I asked innocently. 'Why do something that you think is wrong?' Perhaps the men could be redeemed with Kaede's answer.

'Because... sometimes there is just no right or wrong. Everyone is cooped up in their own reality, entangled in a web of realities created by others. Often, their realities clash. Say, when two countries are at war with each other, it is difficult to determine who is right and who is wrong, for everyone are all victims of war, drawn to act in ways to protect their homeland and survive the ordeal. There is nothing wrong in fighting to survive, but there is also nothing right in surviving by sacrificing others.'

I listened intently to his deep philosophy, brooding over the subject.

'There is so much pain and hatred in this world because we are but men of emotions. We hate to protect love. We seek revenge in the name of justice. But if there was justice in revenge, that same justice will breed only more revenge. If one were to take a step back, one would realize that the hatred and pain are all caught up in this endless cycle, neither with a start nor an end. And that's why those killings and suspicion, those plots against one another and wars between kingdoms, never end. We only have ourselves to blame.'

Somehow, this sad truth about the world I live in unsettled me and I grew uncomfortable from the fluttering pain in my heart.

'There is nothing much we can do about it, though. The cycle of hatred has been triggered, and there's no stopping it now.'

Kaede cleared his throat. 'To be honest, child. I see potential in you. I've seen your courage in facing uncertainties.' he moved back to our original topic. 'So, life lessons aside... after knowing all these, do you still want to join?'

That was straightforward... But deep down in my heart, I already had an answer. Everyone... Hide, Gin, Michiko.. they had treated me like their own even before I was recruited. For the past few days, I lived in simple bliss. The comfort of having people who cared about me, the joy of just being together... like a family I would wish to have...

'You don't have to go back to your past if you can't remember. You can always live and build a new future here, with us!' the image of Hide reaching out for me filled my mind.

Again, I thought of the night on the cotton fields. I thought of the men as they held me down, their fingernails digging into my flesh. I thought of how my pleas had fallen on deaf ears and how mercilessly one had stabbed me. How they had chosen to easily forsake my life for theirs. How they took advantage of the weak. A note of resonance struck within me. Kaede was right. Humans are indeed ugly creatures. And I, with no name and no past to look back to, was ready to feel nothing. I will just be another piece in this domino of hatred.

You're right, Hide. It's time for me to move on and live the life your master had given.

'Yes,' A wave of resolution swept over me. No longer will I be deterred by my forgotten past. What is lost, is lost. Regardless of who I might have been, the fact remains that I will never get my life back. What mattered more was my future, something I could create with my own hands. Kaede was taken aback by my prompt response, but he gathered himself rather quickly.

'Very well. On that note, we have to give you a name to call by. A name to signify your new life.' he paused. 'Welcome to Crimson Feathers, Madara.'

Madara? So that was my name? Ma-da-ra.. The name rolled smoothly over my tongue. I liked it. I looked up to face my master.

'Hai, Kaede-sama.'

My new life has just begun.

By collating and rephrasing some of my favourite quotes by my favourite characters, this chapter was meant to be a little dedication to my baes from Naruto- Madara, Itachi and Pein. We do have to agree that they had taught us much, don't you think so?