I slept a little that night, exhausted from our emotional breakdown. But it was worth it. I felt lighter, more like myself. I didn't feel the need to fake being so happy. Sakura was a true friend. It was nice to have a night just with her.

I woke early, before the sun had even risen, and left Sakura with a note, explaining that I had gone home to unpack. I sighed. There was going to be a lot of cleaning to do. That house hasn't been walked in for over two years. It was going to be dusty.

I traveled in the dark to my apartment.. These streets, I used to run as a child. That shop, where I bought my twin daggers, even though they were terribly expensive. That rooftop I fell off of, nearly breaking my ankle. Nostalgia thickened the air and greeted me on every corner.

I pick up some groceries for breakfast from one of the few shops open this early. I knew there would be no food in the house for breakfast. And I was hungry.

I walked up the stairs to my door. I stood outside it, breathing in deeply. I had returned to Konoha, my home, but this was the first time I seemed to realize it. I was home. This was my apartment. This was my door. This was my home.

I was surprised to see that there wasn't any dust on the furniture. In fact, it looked pristine: The windows washed, the sheets tucked, the floor polished. How... how was this possible? I didn't understand... it should have been filthy.

That's when I realized. Naruto. God, that boy. He was one of the kindest people I know. He truly cared. You don't come by someone who cares like he does very often. I was overwhelmed by this simple gesture of kindness.

I took a long shower, allowing it to wash my worries away for the short time I relaxed in it. Then I got dressed and began to cook breakfast. I cooked a huge amount, then carefully placed it in a basket and covering it with a cloth.

I ran all the way to the hospital, checking in quickly. I hurry to Naruto's room, sliding open the door. He was still asleep, along with Sai. I walked in quietly, placing the still-warm food right under Naruto's nose. 

I snicker to myself as he rolls over, groaning. "It's just a dream, Naruto," he muttered to himself, "They have no good food in the hospital,"

I can't help but laugh as his stomach growls loudly. He sits up, eyes still closed. "Keira?" He grumbles. "I heard you laugh," He finally opens his eyes, then gasps as he sees the arrangement of food I made for him.

Steamed rice, miso soup, tamagoyaki, broiled fish, and--

"RAMEN!"

He grabs that first, shoveling it into his mouth. I cross my arms. A gourmet breakfast, and he goes for the ramen. Then I shrug it off. He was Naruto. Of course he'd go for the ramen first.

"Thanks Keira!" he grins, helping himself to more food. I make up two more plates of food, one for Sai and on for myself. I walked over to his bed, shaking him slightly to wake him. His eyes snap open and he stares at me with startled eyes, then he relaxes and accepts the food from me.

He furrows his brow for a moment, as though thinking, then smiled. "Arigato, Keira-chan," He smiles fakely. I smile back. At least he was trying. Sakura explained to me last night about Sai and the ROOT, and his attempts to be polite.

I sit down on the stool and eat with them. "Naruto,thank you so much for taking care of my house," I thank.

He looked surprised. "All this for a little dusting just before you came back?" He asked.

I close my eyes, smiling. "But it conveyed so more. It showed that you believed I would come back. It showed that you cared. Just.... thank you for being a good teammate and friend,"

He grins, throwing a hand behind his head. "It's no problem," he insisted, though he looked pleased. We ate together, chatting occasionally as we devoured all the food. When we finished, I stood and picked up the basket. 

"You're supposed to start training today, right? I'll leave you to it," I wave goodbye to them, walking out of the hospital and dropping the basket off at my house. I left my apartment, locking the door behind me and jumping down to street level. There was something I had to do.

Well, there's several things I have to do. Train, relax some, train, visit the others, train,  try to recover  mentally, train, buy more groceries, and train. Did I mention that I need to train?

But there was one thing in particular that I needed to do.

 I began to walk towards the Hokage tower as the sun began to bleed over the horizon. Everything was slowly waking up; the birds were begining to chirp, people were beginning to move, and stores were beginning to open.

I smile as I continue to walk along. Walking was so slow. Then I realized: everyone important to me knew about my wings. I might as well fly. I took a running start, throwing myself into the sky and pumping hard as I catch the air with my wings. There wasn't a much simpler joy in the world then flying.

I land outside the window to the Hokage's office, tapping on the window. She picks her head up from her desk and gazes blearily at me. Then her gaze focuses and she gets up, walking hover and opening the window so I can swing myself inside.

"You know what I've never learned?" I commented as I walk into the room, "The teleportation jutsu,"

Tsunade sighed. "Why can't any of my Shinobi use the door?" She muttered to herself. I half smile. It was true: almost all Shinobi teleported inside the room, jumped in through windows, or used some other way to enter the Hokage's office. Never the door. "So, what do you want?" She asked.

I look her in the eye, completely serious. Tsunade straightened as she saw the look in the eye, her own demeanor changing to a solemn one. "I want to look through records of the Fuma and Hagoromo clan. Specifically Yasushi Fuma and Kana Hagoromo," I requested.

She tilted her head, confused. "Why those two clans? And why those two specific people? I've never heard of them before..," She puzzled. "Who are they to you?"

I took a deep breath in, then let it out. "They're... my parents."

Her eyes widened fractionally. "I thought you were an orphan," She leaned forward, hands folded together.

"Yes," I said, "I am. Before, when I said that I was an orphan, I was really saying that I'd never met my parents. But now I know who they are, and now I know that they're dead," I told her.

"Explain." She said shortly.

I nodded and began my explanation.

***

I lifted my heavy head as the door creaks open. My dull eyes glare weakly at Orochimaru as he makes his way to me.

"Keira-chan, we're going to relocate towards a different hideout!" He told me gleefully as he crouched down to look me in the eye.

"Go to hell," I choke out through my parched mouth.

He chuckles. "I'd tell you the same, Keira-chan, but you're already there!"

He plunges a needle into my arm and everything fades to black.

***

When I wake up, I have chakra cuffs on my ankles and hands. Orochimaru forces me to  me to my feet. "You know the drill," He smirks, gesturing down the hallway filled with doors. "They're all the same. You choose a room," 

I begin walking down the hallway until I'm at the very end, then push open the last door on the left. No matter what hideout we went to, I always chose the last door on the left. 

He lifts my hands over my head, chaining them to the wall, and takes off my ankle cuffs. An idea suddenly strikes me, and I buffet him with my wings with the little strength I posessed. He hissed, and a sharp pain shoots up my leg and I go limp.

He leaves the returns, and I stare in terror at the sharp rods in his hands. He slide one wing up the wall, a malicious look in his eye. Then he stabs the rod through my wing. I arch my back, shrieking in pain as my eyes roll back into my head.

He does the same to the other wing, and only a weak, garbled scream makes its way past my lips this time. When I find the strength to open my eyes again, he's still standing there, looking at me with interest.

"I wonder how fast you can heal?" He had a look of dark curiosity on his face. He picked up a chair from the corner, placing it in front of me and sitting on it. "I've tried to break you, and I've nearly succeeded. But I get the feeling that further physical torture won't work. I think I may delve into your emotions more,"

I shudder, More torture, new torture. The blood from my wings was slowly drying, caking my feathers together. "Now, Keira-chan. Would you like to hear a story?"

"Once there was a rogue Shinobi named Orochimaru. He experimented on many different things for many different reasons. One day, he comes across a young woman. She's from the scattered Hagoromo clan. He knows that there are next to none left of pure Hagoromo blood, so you can't blame him for being unable to resist such a tempting specimen.

"So, Orochimaru capture the Hagoromo. Kana Hagoromo. But she has a disease that will kill her soon. So, to preserve the line, he does what he has to. He... harvests her possible children. Killing her in the process, of course."

I stare at him in horror. I knew Orochimaru was a sick, twisted bastard, but what he was saying... that was beyond horrible. That was disgusting.

And I was the result of it.

"And then, Orochimaru sorted through every egg, while they were in a controlled environment, keeping them alive. He found the perfect one, the perfect half. It held the genes for strength and intelligence and speed. Everything you would need for the perfect Shinobi.

"Orochimaru needed the other half of this Shinobi, though. So he went to the Village he founded in the Land of Sound. He chose the Fuma clan, noted for their agressive fighting style. They're also renowned for their skills wih the Fuma shurikan, and with bows and arrows.

"So Orochimaru chose a powerful shinobi, Yasushi Fuma. Orochimaru's way of aquiring the other half of the shinobi was more... pleasurable, let's say, for Yasushi Fuma. Someone was in need of the corpse of the Fuma, so Orochimaru graciously allowed him to have it.

"Orochimaru now had both halfs of the Shinobi. Under a controlled environment, within a test tube, he brought the two together. Orochimaru had been facinated with the thought of crosbreeding for quite a while, so he spliced the tiniest amount of hawk genes into the DNA.

"And that's how he got his specimen. A girl with wings. Succesful, he went on to make the child stronger and stronger, experiment after experiment being performed on the toddler. She could read minds. Orochimaru increased the fast twitch muscle fibers to the point of superhuman speed. He increased her retinal display until she had amazing vission. He created her.

"What about... what about my singing?" I asked hoarsely.

He looked at me strangely. "Singing?" He asked.

I shook my head, a a slightly warm feeling in my stomach. He didn't create everything about me. "Nevermind," I mumbled. "How did I escape?" 

He chuckled. "Now, this is the fun part. You didn't."

"Orochimaru wanted to know how the girl would survive in a less controlled environment. So Orochimaru wiped the girls memory. He placed a genjutsu around the four year old, making anyone who saw her not see a little sweet four year old, but as a dangerous, diseased, uncontrolled orphan who lived on the streets. He wanted to know how she would survive on her own,

"But Orochimaru wasn't stupid. He knew a four year old couldn't survive on her own. He kept tabs on her, placing food in locations he knew the girl would find. She was always so pleased, thinking that she had found food herself! But no; it was always Orochimaru in the shadows,

"But then, at one village, Orochimaru lost the girl. He lost her when several men surrounded her. She panicked and killed them all. Then, in her fright, she ran, ran quickly and ran far away. After only a year of study, Orochimaru lost his specimen.

"The genjutsu broke once the girl was far enough away. Orochimaru was sure that the girl would die on her own. A failed experiment. But he always kept an eye out for her, just in case... and his efforts payed off.

"And here we are, me an you. Together at last. Don't you see? I created you, I controlled you."

I'm horrified. "So... all that time... when I was surviving on my own--"

He grinned that sickly, twisted grin of his. He was taking absolute pleasure in seeing my foundations crumble away beneath me. "You were never on your own. You weren't surviving. I was keeping you alive. You had the semblance of freedom but in reality, you've always been in chains."

And then I broke.

____________________________________________

DUN DUN DUUUUN!

Did ya like it?

Guess what? I was going to end the chapter right at where she told Tsunade they were her parents, but it would have been way to short of a chapter. So I wrote a really long chapter instead!

You guys thought I would forget to tie off all those loose ends like her parents, huh? Nope, EVERYTHING is going to be explained! 

Hope ya'll enjoyed! It's so twisted :'O 

Comment! Vote!

Bye!

gaara119