The nameless girl bit down on her lower lip. "Are you pitying me?" Her fists clenched tightly, nails piercing her skin, drawing bright red blood. Drops of it splattered onto the ground.
Uchiha Sogetsu shook his head and slowly took off his coat. He said nothing, letting his actions speak for him.
He gently draped the coat over the girl's shoulders, shielding her from the harsh sunlight. The coat was a bit worn and dirty from battle, but to the girl, it brought a touch of warmth into her otherwise cold and dark world.
The nameless girl was taken aback. Her expression became complex, and she lowered her head. She gripped the coat's cuffs with her slender, white fingers, feeling the fabric between her hands. A faint scent caught her nostrils.
Uchiha Sogetsu noticed her disheveled hair and reached out to push a strand away from her face.
"No. I don't need your pity!"
The girl recoiled as if she had been touched inappropriately. She pushed him away with a sudden burst of strength, her voice full of hostility and fear as she glared at him.
But from Sogetsu's perspective, her reaction seemed like that of a scared cat, all fur and hissing, trying to appear tough to mask its vulnerability. Beneath her messy black hair, her eyes glistened with tears.
Her darkened heart felt a jolt, and as she met the young man's gentle gaze, she experienced a warmth she hadn't felt in a long time.
"I'm not telling you to let go of your hate, and I'm not pitying you," Sogetsu said, taking a step forward with a soft smile. He raised a hand to smooth her messy hair, his voice gentle yet firm.
"I can't understand the suffering you've endured, so I won't ask you to forgive anyone. If you want to take revenge on the Uchiha clan, I won't stop you. That's your choice."
"If you think the world is broken, then you should fix it."
His voice was calm, but to the girl, it resonated deeply, like a bell tolling in her soul.
"You're not going to stop me?" she asked, her voice tinged with disbelief.
The unnamed girl bit her lip involuntarily. "Don't you think I'm being too harsh?"
"Why should I tell you to stop?" replied Uchiha Sogetsu, looking at her intently. "If someone urged you to let go of your resentment and forgive those who caused you pain, who would atone for the crime of sealing you in a dark underground chamber for decades?"
It's easy to preach kindness when you've never experienced suffering yourself.
If it had been him, sealed away by the Uchiha clan for decades, his response would have been far more radical than the girl's.
"Thank you," she said, her voice low, her head bowed. Her black hair cascaded down, obscuring her expression. But the quivering of her shoulders hinted at the turmoil she felt inside.
"What will you do with me?" she asked, after a moment of visible emotional struggle. She took a deep breath and raised her gaze to meet his. "You've seen what I can do. You know my power; it has a high value."
Uchiha Sogetsu smiled and shook his head. "From now on, you're free. No one gets to decide your future for you."
"Freedom?" The girl was taken aback, as if the concept were entirely foreign to her.
"That's right. You're free," he reiterated with a gentle chuckle. "From this moment on, you can live your life however you choose—whether that means seeking vengeance against Konoha and the Uchiha clan, or finding a way to release your hatred. This is your path; no one can dictate your future."
"Are you lying to me?" Her eyes widened, skepticism and uncertainty etched on her delicate features.
"Why would I lie?" Uchiha Sogetsu asked calmly.
"But aren't you afraid of me?" Her voice faltered as she locked eyes with him, her large pupils trembling with doubt. "You've seen my Eye Technique. It lets me control someone's thoughts and memories. Doesn't that scare you?"
She was well aware of the threat her Eye Technique, "Shin'en no Shoumei," posed to anyone who knew its power.
Because of her formidable abilities, the Uchiha clan joined forces with the Senju and Uzumaki clans to seal her away in a dark underground chamber.
"Your pupil technique is impressive, but it's not enough to affect me," Uchiha Sogetsu remarked with a confident smile.
Sogetsu was a Beyonder of the Spectator Pathway. As such, even the most powerful genjutsu, Kotoamatsukami couldn't manipulate his will.
"Am I truly free?" the girl asked, looking down at her hands in disbelief.
"Yes, you're free," Sogetsu replied, repeating himself to reassure her. "From now on, you can do whatever you like."
"But I don't know what I want to do," the girl said, confusion in her eyes. Her life had been so dominated by revenge that she had never considered what she'd do once she was free.
Sogetsu thought for a moment before offering a suggestion: "How about taking a bath, putting on some fresh clothes, and sampling the delicious food of this era?"
"Am I really allowed to do that?" she asked, her interest piqued but still uncertain. "Can I really do anything I want?"
"Of course," Sogetsu said with a playful smirk. "If you want, you can even fall in love."
A trace of longing appeared in the girl's eyes at the mention of love. Perhaps she'd lived in darkness for so long that she could barely believe in the possibility of light.
Yet the warmth in Sogetsu's gentle gaze seemed to break through the icy walls around her heart, offering her a glimpse of serenity.
She had endured the darkness because she had never known the light. Cruelty and coldness had been like a protective shell, shielding her fragile heart. Anger and hatred had been her hard armor and sharp sword, defending her fragile sense of self.
But she still yearned for redemption. The deeper one is submerged in darkness, the stronger the desire for light becomes. It is like a drowning person clutching a thin straw in a turbulent sea. Even if it seems hopeless, there's a spark of hope in that final grasp.
The girl's wavering heart steadied, her resolve solidifying in that moment.
She was desperate to grasp that ray of hope, that glimmer of light.
Just like a moth flying towards a flame—even knowing it could end in ashes—she wanted to feel the warmth that the "flame" could offer.
"Can I come with you?" she asked hesitantly, clutching at her tattered clothing.
Her cautious eyes held a mix of hope and deep-seated fear, like a stray cat who longs for a home but fears rejection.
Uchiha Sogetsu observed her, seeing the reliance in her eyes.
After a moment of watching the girl grow increasingly anxious, he nodded with a gentle smile and said, "Sure."
Everything was unfolding as he had anticipated.
The more desperate someone is for salvation, the easier they are to manipulate.
Like a person dying of thirst in a desert, even a small sip of water can rejuvenate their parched spirit—the price is simply offering them "hope" that costs almost nothing.
"Hikari," the girl whispered as she gathered her courage, tugging on his sleeve with her eyes downcast.
"What?" Uchiha Sogetsu didn't quite catch her soft, mosquito-like voice.
"Hikari," she repeated, this time looking up, tears flowing freely down her delicate cheeks as her nose twitched and she sobbed, "My name is Uchiha Hikari!"
********
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