Kurai's Kronicles: Return to Innocence

Kurai sat in his room on the rather large bean bag chair. He had been drunk that day unfortunately and the minute he got home he went straight to bed! Well technically straight to sleep. He wasn't feeling on top of the world either he was sick on top of it! Probably too much alcohol.
” Not to self, limit the alcohol intake.” Kurai thought to himself. He lays on his bean bag chair, curled up with a blanket around him, a fan blowing on him and the rain pouring outside. He had a large cup of ginger ale he had been sipping on to help his stomach. He wasn't sure what time it was, but he had felt his mom come in to check on him. He had a high temperature at this point. He felt his mom place an ice pack on his head to try to bring it down. He wasn't sure how much time had passed when he heard footsteps in the hallway approach his door. He heard his parents talking and then, in walked his Dad, Kiken.
“Hey, how are you feeling?” Kiken asked.
“Like you look. What kind of question is that? How do you think I feel?” Kurai answered, covering his head up! Kiken snickered at Kurai's remark. He wasn't mad at him, he knew his son was sick!
“I want you to know I am proud of you Kurai! Even though you were drunk, you completed your missions! Do you need anything right now?” Kiken said and asked.
“Yeah I have some questions for you. I have been trying to put pieces together, why do you hate Stein so much? The man is dead and you still seem to hate him. It makes me curious as to what happened to cause someone to hate someone else as much as you do!” Kurai asked, pulling the blankets off of his head and looking at Kiken. Kiken sighed as Karina walked in and patted his back and whispered something to him. Kiken nodded at Karina as she walked out of the room and shut the door so they could talk. He sat on the floor by Kurai's bean bag chair,
“As you probably already know, you and Talon were born in old Kiri. I mentioned this because it has something to do with the question you asked. Before I got my threads, I became a father to you and Talon. Your mom and I wanted kids before following our clan tradition of getting threads. Like you guys, we weren't born with our threads. They were given to us later in life. Stein is the one who brought you guys into the world and he and I crossed paths that day for the third time and he and I began to talk! You see, Stein was, and is still, a very hot topic among our clan! He offered to help me and in return I…said he could use you guys for the same experiment when you guys were old enough. Contrary to my actions at the hospital, I don't hate him. I am one of his successful experiments. I first recall meeting him on the borders of Volcano Village!” Kiken said as he began reminiscing and explaining his connections to Stein. The rain pouring outside added to this ‘bonding moment between father and son.
Kurai's eyes widened at the mention of Volcano, borders and Stein! Those three keywords in any sentence mean one thing…
“You were a missing nin…” Kurai said as Kiken sighed, crossed his arms then leaned back against the bean bag chair.
“I guess that's not a secret anymore! Most Taus are missing ninja. I got tired of that life and since your mom and I were starting a family, we decided to find a home. Kirigakure was the best bet for us, so we landed there. A few months later, Stein showed up and brought you guys into the world and then I became an experiment! I kept in touch with Stein, so when you and Talon were spotted in Volcano, I already knew, he didn't know it was you at first, but once he figured out who you guys were, it was reported to me. When Volcano was attacked, I was informed you might be returning here, and so I kept an eye out! As you see, I don't hate him, I was frustrated at the situation in the hospital and me being unable to help you.” Kiken explained hoping it helped explain things to Kurai so he would better understand.
“I guess that makes sense, but why can't I remember anything before I got my threads?” Kurai asked as he sat up and took a sip of his ginger ale. His stomach was hurting again and he felt extremely nauseous!
“I wish I could answer that question, but unfortunately I can't. Somehow you lost your memory completely and Talon had managed to keep a portion of his. Your memory seems to return either when you're knocked out or sleeping or something familiar triggers it. I know some genjutsu although I am better at Ninjutsu. When you're feeling better do you want me to try to help you regain your memory? It's up to you Kurai.” Kiken asked him after answering his question to the best of his ability.
“Why can't you do it now? I'm sick, not in a coma or paralyzed!” Kurai commented. He shifted around getting comfortable on the bean bag in case his dad offered to put him in a genjutsu.
“Very well, relax, you don't have to look at me. I can cast it while you're laying like that.” Kiken said as he moved to stand up. Suddenly Kurai opened his eyes and he was standing up in a misty forest with Kiken right next to him!
“You're pretty good, because this is very convincing!” Kurai said as he looked at his dad then around where they were. “This is only the first part.” Kiken said, touching Kurai's shoulder. Suddenly he's transported into a circular room with doors for the wall!
“What the fuck?” Kurai said surprised. “I couldn't transport myself with you this time, I can't enter your mind, but I know you can hear me!” Kiken said to him.
“Can you hear me? If so, I'm surrounded by a bunch of doors! What should I do? I'm asking because Carol Ann's parents told her not to go into the light!” Yeah even in his confusion he could make a joke!
[Poltergeist reference!]
“Yes I can hear you, go ahead and walk into a door, those are your memories!” Kiken said to him snickering as he sat down beside the bean bag again. Kurai took a deep breath and walked towards a door and opened it. He felt a rush of wind as he was transported to the hospital where they were born!
“Damn, this is pretty far back!” Kurai could hear the cry of infants, he figured it was him and Talon. As he entered the room he heard the cries from, he realized he was ghost-like and could walk through the walls. He saw his mom asleep on the bed and then saw his dad talking to a way younger version of Stein.
“That's fine, if you think it will help them then we can work it out! I'll willingly volunteer for the experiment, Stein. I owe you for helping us out and offering to deliver the twins!” Kiken said to him. Stein pulled out a piece of paper and wrote something on it then handed it to Kiken.
“Be there next week.” Stein said to him. They lowered their voices as they exchanged words Kurai couldn't hear before Stein nodded then left. Suddenly Kurai felt like he was being pulled backwards as he landed in the middle of the circular room again and the door he entered slammed shut with him on the outside!
“That can't be a memory…I would have been too young to remember that.” Kurai said as he wondered what he just saw!
“What you saw was probably something that really happened.” Kiken said as he waited on Kurai to explain what had happened to him.
“You and Stein are discussing something after we were born…in moms hospital room.” Kurai said standing up again! The next few doors he walked through were memories from his past. But the last door, a bright red one, held a vital memory behind it.
As he entered it he saw a bunch of different doors inside this one.
“Maybe all linked to a certain time in my life?” Kurai said as he opened one, he saw him and Talon talking to Stein. He was letting them know this would be their new home.
“I…remember this now, yeah me and Talon were brought here when we were fourteen, Stein had people training with us!” Kurai said as henfelt the swift pull of the wind pulling him out of the memory back to room, he entered the next one only to see Talon on a hospital bed!
“What the-” Kurai said as he quietly observed the scene. Stein walked into the room talking to the other doctors. He slammed down the clipboard and threatened to kill the other doctors before he rushed out of the room.
“Talon was injured…I barely remember this….but I can't remember how! I just remember he was seriously injured and that's why he is patched up with different skin.” Kurai said as he left the room but not the memory, as he looked to the left down the hall, he heard scuffling and screaming, and a few seconds later, Stein was coming back down the hall, his lab coat covered in blood and his threads seemed to be retracting back underneath his clothing! In his hands he was carrying human skin!
“So that's how it happened! That's where Talon got the patches of skin. Kurai said as he felt the pull again. This time he landed on his feet in the center of the room. The final door opened on its own without Kurai having to open it, and it sucked him into the memory!
“This…this was the day we escaped….no I don't want to see this memory….break me out of the genjutsu…I already know what happened…” Kurai said fearfully! This was one painful memory he hated because this is what created his fear of Stein!
“Kurai, I released you from it already, this is you reliving this yourself! You're in your own mind! I'm beside you and as long as you keep talking to me you're good, you're safe.” Kiken said. Kurai felt his dad's hand touch his arm, strange how Kurai felt comfort from that. He did feel safe! Oddly enough he heard a bunch of the scientists and doctors talking. Suddenly, a large group of missing nin literally broke down the doors and walked into the lab! They killed the doctors and somehow the experiments escaped, unfortunately some of the experiments were misinformed. It was a Tau who led the missing nin group, causing the rumor to be told that Stein was killing everyone!
“Stein was never going to hurt us! Holy fuck! This isn't at all how I remembered it!” Kurai said as he felt the pull and he landed back in the room. Suddenly everything started to melt around him! He felt like he was paralyzed and he couldn't breathe. In front of him stood himself again, only it was the negative black and white version of himself!
“Now that we cleared that up, maybe we should.. join forces? I am you, and you're me after all! Now that you know I'm not Stein, I'm your killer instinct! I wasn't repressed by Stein, I was repressed by your own willpower! YOU repressed YOURSELF! I presented myself to you like I was Stein, to try to make you understand and fear me enough to act on your instincts, but that failed! And now you unfortunately learned the truth…Stein wasn't a bad guy now was he? Aw touching moment! But now you can't run, you can't hide and you can't fight! And thank goodness you can't talk!” The negative ran straight into him as Kurai suddenly managed to speak ….
“Wa…ke…up…wake…me…up ….he…lp me…” Kurai began to speak barely audible. Kiken suddenly knew something was wrong. He nudged Kurai trying to wake him up, since it wasn't working he grabbed Kurai's arm and using a little bit of lightning chakra, shocked him causing him to open his eyes and gasp for breath! Kurai threw his arms around Kiken, thankful that he was there. Kiken froze in place for a moment, not expecting Kurai to hug him, before returning his hug.
“Are you okay?” Kiken asked. Kurai was visibly shaken!
“Yeah…I …will be…” Kurai said as he took a deep breath. So, was it his killer instinct the entire time? He pulled out of the hug and leaned back in the bean bag chair.
“I am going to sleep in here to keep an eye on you tonight, I'll take the chair if you want to sleep in your bed.” Kiken said to Kurai as he stood up and pulled the blankets down on Kurai's bed for him. Kurai was about to do something he had never done in his entire existence, to his knowledge anyways. He stood up and hugged his dad again.
“I love you…this never happened…I never hugged you and I never said that.” Kurai said as he crawled into his bed and pulled up the covers.
“I love you to…seriously…. I'm your dad….it's okay to tell me you love me…but your secrets are safe with me.” Kiken said as he turned off the desk lamp and laid on the bean bag chair. Now he knew why Kurai was lying there earlier, it was comfortable! Kiken fell asleep almost instantly!
Kurai was finally getting comfortable in his bed when he heard a ghostly whisper…
“Now that you know the truth, just know I do watch over you and Talon…”
Kurai's eyes shot open as he saw Stein's form faintly appear beside his bed before it vanished saying goodnight to him! Kurai closed his eyes again hoping that what just happened was just a dream. He drifted off to sleep as he listened to the rain hitting his window.
A lot has happened to Kurai and surprisingly he was sleeping rather well! He heard his mother come in and out of the room a few times to check on him and then on his dad. One time, he heard his parents talking about him, and his dad assured his mom that he was okay and not to worry. Kurai heard his door quietly shut each time. Luckily it was only twice. If she came in any other time, he never heard it or woke up to it! He managed to sleep peacefully, maybe it was because he finally learned the truth behind his existence, or maybe because he was at peace with his own self.
Exit

TWC: 2,524
+25 stats
8 - vigor
6 - chakra
6 - speed
5 - strength

2500 to A Rank - Black Threads

Kurai Tau wrote:
Exit

TWC: 2,524
+25 stats
8 - vigor
6 - chakra
6 - speed
5 - strength

2500 to A Rank - Black Threads

Approved