The rain fell hard that night—merciless and cold, like the sky itself mourned something unseen. The Hidden Leaf slept under thick clouds, but the forest on its outskirts stayed restless.
Footsteps splashed through the mud.
Blood mixed with water.
And a small body staggered through the brush, half-conscious.
Sora.
His face was pale, skin clammy. His chakra flickered erratically, pulsing in distorted surges. His right hand was burned, fingers twitching, still clutching the scorched remains of Mugen, the blade that once felt alive in his grip.
Lightning flashed across the sky.
And Ayame found him.
---
Earlier – A Mission Gone Wrong
It was supposed to be a simple field test: tracking, stealth, chakra suppression—skills he had already mastered in training. Ayame had shadowed him from a distance, hidden, ready to step in.
She never expected Root to send something that wasn't human.
Not quite.
It had no chakra signature.
No breath.
No heartbeat.
Just a pale, masked face and eyes like glass. Not a shinobi—a weapon.
Project Ghost.
It moved silently, unnaturally. One moment a shadow, the next a storm of jutsu that shouldn't have been possible to cast without chakra. But Sora hadn't hesitated. He fought.
And that was the problem.
He didn't run.
---
The Fight – Hours Earlier
Sora had noticed the ambush three seconds before it began. That was all he needed.
He summoned wind chakra to his feet and launched backward into the trees. Kunai whistled past him—silent, chakra-coated, glowing faintly in the stormlight.
His instincts screamed danger.
The enemy appeared.
Humanoid. Silent. Wrapped in black cloth, its body flickering like static.
"Who are you?" Sora demanded.
No response.
Just movement.
Blindingly fast.
A flash of steel—
Sora parried with Mugen, but the impact bent the chakra-forged blade. Not physically—spiritually. As if his chakra was being unstitched.
"What are you…?" he whispered.
The answer came in the form of a jutsu that didn't exist—Chakra Breaker Palm. His inner coils screamed as energy surged through them. Chakra surged wild, uncontrolled.
He retaliated by unleashing what he shouldn't.
A devourer's burst.
Space folded inward, the ground swallowed in a whirl of vibrating force.
The Ghost was caught… momentarily.
But he'd burned too much.
His arm seized up. His vision blurred. Blood spilled from his nose.
He turned and ran.
---
Present – The Rainfall
Ayame crouched beside him, gently cradling his limp form. Her cloak immediately soaked through, but she didn't care.
"Sora," she whispered. "Talk to me."
He blinked slowly, pupils dilated.
"I failed."
"No. You lived."
"I… I pushed too hard. My body wasn't ready."
She looked at his burned arm. The devourer's chakra had rejected the unnatural energy it tried to absorb. His cells were still rearranging, fighting to recover.
"You need rest," she said.
"No…" He coughed. "I need more. I wasn't strong enough. He hurt me."
Ayame's eyes narrowed. She glanced at the sky. Lightning crackled again.
"Then we take the next step."
---
A Hidden Place – Hours Later
She carried him to a hidden cabin, long abandoned. She'd used it once as a girl—during a mission that went too far into enemy territory. Now, it became their safehouse.
Sora lay on the futon, covered in blankets. Fevered. Shivering.
Ayame sat nearby, gently wiping his face.
He murmured in his sleep.
Names.
Fears.
A memory, maybe… or something deeper. A past life creeping in through the cracks.
"…Akira…"
She froze.
That name again.
Not from this world.
Not from Konoha.
Who were you… before this life?
But she didn't ask.
She never would.
Instead, she reached into her pouch and pulled out a scroll marked with crimson ink and sealed by a jutsu she'd vowed never to break.
But tonight, she would.
She peeled the seal.
Inside: Forbidden Chakra Constructs. Techniques drawn from ancient Uchiha experimentation—rejected by the clan as too volatile, too uncontrollable.
She studied one in particular:
Chakra Thread Fusion: Symbiotic Layering Technique.
It was designed to bind chakra directly to bone and tissue.
Painful.
Permanent.
Deadly.
Perfect.
---
Dawn – The Bonding Ritual
Sora awoke to the scent of burning sage and bitter roots.
Ayame sat cross-legged before him, chanting softly. Ancient Uchiha words filled the room, their power rippling through the air.
He opened his mouth to speak, but she raised a hand.
"Don't talk. Just listen."
She placed her hand on his chest.
Her chakra surged—warm, heavy, protective.
"I'm going to bind part of my chakra into you," she whispered. "Not a curse mark. Not a seal. A tether. A lifeline. If the devourer's hunger threatens to consume you again… my chakra will fight it."
He blinked, dazed. "Why?"
"Because you're not alone."
She pressed a charm against his forehead.
The jutsu flared.
He screamed—softly. The pain wasn't physical. It was spiritual. Like something inside him was breaking—and being stitched together with hers.
When it was over, he collapsed into her arms.
And Ayame, eyes glistening, held him like a mother… and something more.
"I won't let this world take you from me," she whispered. "Not ever."
---
Somewhere Beyond – Root Underground Lab
The Ghost knelt before Danzo, mask cracked, one arm twitching unnaturally.
Danzo stared down at it with quiet rage.
"You failed."
The creature didn't answer.
Danzo turned to his scientist.
"Rebuild it. Stronger. Faster. And prepare two more units. I want Ayame alive… but if the boy resists again—"
He let the silence finish the command.