After what felt like forever, I finally saw something. A light, finally!
No, there were several lights. Around eight lights surrounded the area around me, each a different color: cyan, orange, emerald green, crimson red, a bubbly pink, dark blue, brown, and even magenta.
For some reason, I felt that orange was the most appealing color of them all, even though I clearly disliked it. It was almost as if something were compelling me to choose it over the others.
So, I began to gradually approach the orange light, getting closer and closer, the light growing brighter with each step. Once I was finally near it, I mustered all the strength I could and grasped the light with the grip of a vice, desperate for an escape from this cursed, hollow place.
Slowly, the brightness died down, and I finally started to see something.
----Somewhere in the land of water.----
Two years had passed since the Civil War in Kirigakure began. A woman dressed in a pink, torn kimono, with long dark hair flowing down to her waist and onyx eyes, could be seen sprinting through a damp forest to the east, her hair flowing with the wind as she ran.
She was carrying a baby wrapped in cloth in her arms as she rushed for something, being careful not to drop her baby or bump into trees. She panicked as she thought about her daughter's future.
'I won't allow them to get you too; I won't let them kill you like the rest of my family! Bloodline being your only worth? Having to kill fellow comrades to get a chance at succeeding? BULLSHIT! Even if you support them to the very end, they will still get rid of you because they fear the power we will gain when we fully mature. You won't suffer such a fate, Amai; I'll make sure you don't.'
And she kept sprinting through the forest until she eventually saw a boat filled with other Kiri clan orphans. I slowly opened my eyes and barely saw anything. It was so blurry, and I couldn't move an inch. I felt something moving, something taking me somewhere at a really high speed, but... where? I looked up, and there seemed to be a woman—at least that's what I figured from what I saw. She kept muttering things that I barely heard, something like... "####### Mamooru, Amai." I don't understand. Not a single thing.
I kept getting further and further into what seemed to be a large forest until I saw what appeared to be a boat, with some adult figures at the front and quite a few child-like figures on the boat.
The woman who seemed to be my mother (or possible kidnapper) engaged in a short conversation with the tall man whose figure I couldn't make out, before handing me over to him. I felt the warmth of her embrace disappear, and I instantly craved it again, my instincts taking over as I started to wail and cry.
The tall man tried to calm me down, and he succeeded. My vision was slightly clearer, and I could tell he had a headband. But what kind? I can't tell! Damn this cursed infant body of mine!
He took me into the boat and waved goodbye to the woman who had been carrying me in her arms, then fed me what seemed to be milk, before leaving me in a room with other infants. Why? What the hell is happening?!
Ah, I'm feeling sleepy. I struggled and struggled to keep my eyes open, but eventually, I gave in to the warmth of my crib.
Darkness covered my vision.
The void is going to give me nightmares for years to come, huh?