Lying on the hills, looking up at the sky, Aethir was lost in thought as his lips were moving. He wasn't saying anything, rather, it appeared he was chewing. Inside his mouth, he was biting the thick skin on the inside of his mouth while thinking. Small streams of blood formed inside the mouth, oozing out of the multiple bite wounds he created out of being lost in thought. The wind blew gently as he continued this, the boy narrowing his blue eyes as he continued to eye the clouds. 'What is it that you hope to gain from all this...?' Aethir closed his eyes as the voice of the past came fluttering into his mind, 'If you know what the hell you want, don't trip and dance around it! Spit it out!!' The boy took a deep breath as his mental thought ended... And as he's been doing since the morning he's been lying here, he rewinded the memory as if it was a movie, playing the memory over from the start... 'What do I want...?' Aethir sighed, still not recieving an answer from all of this thinking. 'Why am I like this anyways...?' The gentle breeze grew stronger, as if answering the boy's question. However, unfortunate for the wind, Aethir cannot understand the aero wind's language. 'If someone's trying to kill me,' Aethir began as he looked off to the running nearby stream, 'Do I show mercy...?' The light from the sun shimmered as the river's water ran past the boy. 'If I know they'll just kill again if I let them go,' the boy looked back up, this time staring at the sun directly, 'Do I show mercy still...?' The boy took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he saw the sun behind his eyelids. With the light shining onto his eyelids, he saw nothing but red, with a rainbow-like circle in the center. 'Why show mercy in the first place...?' the boy began to ask himself, 'I'm a ninja, right? It's to be expected of me to kill.' Taking another deep breath, as if expelling all negativity through carbon dioxide. He continued to have his eyes closed, seeing nothing but red, the rainbow circle pulsating where it was. 'But I'm not their robot. Their tool. I'm not a tool... I have my own way of thinking. My own way...'

The boy sat up, groaning as he looked down at the rippling grass due to having his eyes closed from so long. "My own way of doing things. But...is it the right way? Ah...!! What's the right way?! What does right even mean anymore?!" The boy, annoyed, stared at the grass, clenching tightly at a random bunch. "All my life, as a child, I'm taught not to kill. But as a ninja, this goes against all that I'm taught!" The boy reeled his fist boy, soon tossing the bunch of grass forward. "Why am I even a ninja anyways?! Maybe I'm just not cut out for this stupid job!!"

The boy stared as he clenched his teeth, the grass dancing in the wind before him. "Maybe I'm meant to kill...Not meant to be a ninja... So then  why...?" The boy made a fist with his dirty hand, pushing it against his forehead, eyes closed. "Why did I even become a ninja...? Why-" As the boy had his eyes closed, his continued to see the red behind his eyelids. He still saw the rainbow circle dancing in the same place, the boy's eyes quickly snapping open. "...I know why..." Aethir said, his voice shaking a bit as he closed his eyes. "I remember why." The red behind Aethir's eyelids grew brighter, soon the veins thickening as it soon waved and danced before him. The circle began to grow as brightness of some sort began to make it self apparent. Aethir was thinking back to the night he decided to become a ninja.


A peaceful tranquil night, the Lamdem household active as always. A two-story house stood, bright clicking on and off as the people within entered and exited rooms. Some decided to call it quits early, going to sleep earlier than usual. Others, like a certain pair of boys, were awake and chatting about...nonsense. "So the potato was the killer?!" a shorter boy that resembled Aethir a lot blurted out. Another boy who had his eyes closed smiled to Aethir, nodding. "But how?! How can a potato kill?! I don't understand this puzzle! Waaaaah!!!" the boy rolled on the ground, creating odd noises of frustration, "Well Aethir, I'd imagine even you forget to chew your food sometimes, right?" Aethir laid on the ground while looking over to the boy, "Well if it's something I like, then yeah- WHOA!!"  "And if it's something you REALLY like, I imagine you'd...choke? Hmm~?" Aethir stared wise eyed as the boy stared with a huge grin, leaning close. Aethir felt...pretty uncomfortable with his smiling blind brother smiling like this. "U-Um...Yeah...I'd...I'd imagine I'd....choke! Yeah~ ....WAIT A SECOND!!!" The boy sat up, staring wide eyed at the walls of his room. The brother smiled, wondering if his brother had gotten the riddle. "The man...He...He choked on the potato?!"  "Yes!"  "WHOOOOOOOOA!!!" Aethir leaned close to his brother with a look of awe, "HOW DID YOU- ...HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO MAKE THAT?! HOW IS IT SO QUICK?! WHOA!!! TELL ME ANOTHER ONE!!"  "E-Easy, Aethir, Easy!" With a huge grin, Aethir hand both hands into a fists, the boy bouncing anxiously as he awaited another riddle.

Almost nearing a total of seven seconds, the brother immediately clapped his hands once. Aethir continued to guess who killed who, eventually Aethir throwing a tantrum again. "The killer was the dog~!"  "HOOOOOOOW?!" Aethir shook his breath, soon falling to his knees, feeling defeated. "Ah, it's simple. You see the man was allergic to dogs and..." The boy continued to explain as Aethir screamed, dawning on the answer. "A-Ah...I see you got it...?"  "YES! SO! SO! THAT MEANS...!!" the younger brother explained the riddle back to his older brother, the boy nodding to every answer. "NO WAAAAY!! ...THAT'S SO CRAZY! HOW CAN YOU MAKE THOSE INTRICATE RIDDLES IN SECONDS?!?! HOW?! HOW?! HOW-" The older brother put a hand over the younger Aethir's mouth, chuckling. "I'll teach you it one day. It's a skill you develop." Aethir stared, then nodded with a smile, the hand being removed from his mouth.

Time passed, the boys chatting more as more lights of the Lamdem household turned off. "Aethir," Aethir, laying on his back, looked over to his brother, "Since you're not becoming a ninja, what do you plan to do once you're eighteen? You know you have to move out once you do." Aethir nodded, looking back up at the ceiling. 'Eighteen's almost right around the corner...Meaning I'll have to either pay money to stay here longer, or get out there...and do something...' The boy took a deep breath, then sighed. "Why is that a rule anyways...?"  "Well Lamdem looks at you as an adult, thus as an adult, you must support yourself." Aethir grumbled, looking over to his brother. What would he do once he turned eighteen...? Aethir thought for a moment. "I don't know...Maybe I'll just...explore."  "Explore you say...?" Aethir nodded to his brother as the brother tilted his head, "Yes. The land of fire was it? And that water place over there. That way..." The blind brother chuckled lightly, Aethir looking blinking while staring at his brother. "Don't you know the town names, Aethir? Konoha at least? We've been there, remember?"  "O-Oh!!" Aethir sat up, smiling, "I remember Konoha! Wait...that isn't the country's name, is it?" the brother laughed as Aethir tilted his head. "Isn't the water town...thing...called Ettagakuro?" The brother soon broke into loud laughter, Aethir staring, soon blushing while looking away. "H-Hey, I don't study this stuff, okay...?"  "S-Sorry...Sorry!!" The blind boy wiped a tear from his eyes as his chuckle soon slowed. "N-No...Kirigakure is the water village. Konohagakure is the village of fire." Aethir nodded to his brother. If he was going to travel, he'd have to at least know the town names. Aethir was silent, causing the brother to feel slightly bad for laughing. "Look, how about we go get a drink down at the town? I'll pay." Aethir looked at the brother, soon nodding with a smile.

The boys left Aethir's room, walking through the halls of the house, most kids asleep except for the older siblings and residents. "Aethir, are you sure?" Aethir turned to his brother, continuing to walk down the hall, "Are you sure...? About not being a ninja I mean." The boy nodded quickly, not having to think about it. "I can't bring myself to hurt anyone or anything you see...You know that, don't you?"  Aethir sighed, thinking back to the night of the killed squirrel in the kitchen, how he tried his best to hide his 'pet' ...but it was killed by this very person he was talking to. "Ah yes... Ninjas must kill..." Aethir nodded to his brother as he turned forward, soon turning around a corner. "So I can't do it...And that's just that..." Aethir sighed as his brother nodded. "I...can't bring myself to hurt anyone you see-" Aethir paused as his brother halted his movement, looking up as he caught a scent of something...burning. Something of fire! Aethir blinked at his brother soon smelling the same thing. "What's...What's that? Is that...?" His brother soon broke into a sprint, Aethir gasping and began following his brother.

As Aethir and his brother went down the steps, they were both greeted with raging flames, ready to engulf them. Aethir, able to see this, shouted at his blind brother. "Watch out!! There's fire-"  "I see it!" Aethir  watched as his somehow created...water! Water from his mouth! "But...But how?!" Aethir stared as the brother smiled up to Aethir, "I've peeked on some ninjas practicing it in Kiri one day-"  "No, how can you even see it in the first place?!" The blind boy simply chuckled, then frowned, running down the hall on the lower level of the house. "Hey! Wait-"  "Wake up everyone you can! I'll be at the front door!" Aethir stood where he was, soon nodding to the brother as he ran off. As Aethir did what he was told, he rushed down the hall with a small army of kids behind him, soon arriving to a blocked exit of the home. The ceiling lumber had blocked the way, flames fanning and whipping around on said lumber, making it impossible to move. "Water trumpet!" Aethir heard someone say, water flying across, onto the thick lumber. However, the flames refused to die. "Damn it..." Aethir stared at the flaming lumber, feeling helpless. The only person here who could actually do anything was his older brother...! And even he couldn't put the fire out!

"Step aside!" Everyone turned to see an elderly man with gray hair, some splotches of black still available, but mostly gray hair. As he did some odd hand signs, Aethir watched as the fire within the home accumulated into one spot, near the man. "Father, what's-" The blind older boy was about to question what his father, Lamdem, was doing...but soon he decided to shoo everyone away from the wreckage. The fire became a purple tint, the kids staring in are as it took the shape of a Ram, letting out a strained roar. "Go!!" he commanded the flaming ram as it galloped quickly to burst through the lumber. The kids stared for a moment, trails of purple fire still left over. As the kids slowly, but sure, leaped through the purple fire, they noticed it didn't inflict burns! ...But in fact, it actually cured any burns they had!

Outside, Aethir panted, looking behind him to see the whole house was indeed on fire. Flames poured from all the windows, the kids shouting different names of the kids, possibly kids who owned the said rooms. "Look!!" Aethir heard a kid shout, a piece of the second floor wall bulging forward. Bursting through the wall was the boy who'd beat him up constantly, who he now considered his brother. On every inch of his body, kids clung, staring wide eyed as they saw a large purple flaming ram with kids tugging at it. "Over there! Go over there!" the blind brother directed the kids as they ran over, the flames healing their wounds. "What the hell just happened?!" the brother shouted at the other blind brother who was slowly joining the small triangle they formed. "We were just talking...and then-"  "I don't know how the fire started, and I'm sure Aethir doesn't know either." Aethir nodded to the brothers, the hotheaded brother growling a punching the ground. "Damn it! When I find the song of a bitch who-" A loud cry escaped the burning house, everyone looking at it. "Who's that?!"  "I don't know!!"  "Didn't you get everyone out?!"  "I...I thought I did!!" The blind brother grabbed the hotheaded brother by the collar, a first for him to lose his temper. "THOUGHT ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH IN A SITUATION LIKE-" The brother looked up at the source of the cry, a dreaded look appearing on his face. "No...Not her..." Aethir stared at his brother with a shocked look on his face as his other brother commanded to know who it was he forgot. The kids around Aethir soon began to question where a specific child was... Angel... The girl who had shown nothing but kindness to even an outsider like him.

Before he had the chance to cry or feel remorse, everyone heard an annoying laugh, everyone turning to the source. "Serves you freaks right anyways! Living in the boonies like this!!" Aethir didn't react as he simply continued to remember how kind Angel was... How precious of a person she was to Aethir. "What'd you say?!" the hotheaded brother shouted, the man laughing. "Hey man, I was just practicing my fireball jutsu! Can't help it if your stupid house got in the way!" The blind boy was silent, frowning angrily to the man as Lamdem continued to stare at the fat man. Aethir...still didn't react. "Well hey! Look on the bright side! Everyone's out of the house, right~?" no one responded as the man snickered. "Ah well... Less mouths to feed, am I right~?"  "Ergh!! You bastard!! I'll-" the hotheaded boy went silent as he heard...breathing. Heavy breathing near him. He turned to see Aethir breathing heavily, his eyes wide. They weren't as innocent as they were a few seconds ago...They had more of a hateful look in their eyes. He suddenly glared at the man while panting, his heart pounding stronger, showing through the pulsating skin around his chest and throat. The man stared, soon backing away, staring at the large blue glaring eyes... It was as if the color in the area was being sucked away and only the blue eyes held any color in the night. The flames practically dimmed in comparison... As the man took off running, Aethir gave chase. The boy's brown hair began to slowly change to a white, his blue eyes changing as red...crimson red began to bleed in. His skin grew incredibly pale as the fat man grew closer and closer to him. 'End him. I'll end him...I'll end him! I'll end him...' The changed boy clenched his teeth, his newly sharpened nails yearning to tear through the man's flesh. As if asking...begging for such a person's blood. As if they were starving to feast on the man's-


Aethir's eyes shot open, the boy panting as he was covered in swear. 'End...What...? Damn it...That's not what I was supposed to think back on...' The boy sat up ,feeling like he needed to exercise, still a bit absentminded as he casually attempted to create water clones...from no water supply. It was here that Aethir assumed that he made the mistake of focusing raiton chakra instead of suiton...But in all actuality, he was focusing on water from the start. The boy began to focus on raiton to create clones. This soon hit him as he saw lightning take his shape, the four clones staring at him. "What the- W-Wait a second!! You guys aren't water clones!!" the clones blinked at Aethir, looking at each other, then back at Aethir, shaking their head. 'So...these are...raiton clones?' Aethir stared in awe, soon looking at his hands. "So I can make water and lightning clones...? What...can you guys do?" Aethir asked as the clones looked at each other again, all of them soon pointing their index fingers at the boy. 'Wait, that looks like- UH OH!!' The clones began to fire shock bullets at Aethir, the boy quickly dodging, leaping, and rolling out the way of the bullets. "O-Okay! Okay!! I get it!!" the boy cried, dodging, ducking, and hopping over the last of the clone's bullets. 'I guess that training at Naka river was worth it...' Aethir stared at the clones smiling to him. '...This would have been...hard to dodge if I hadn't trained...'

Moments later, Aethir paused his drinking from the river to smil to his raiton clones. Then he turned to smile at his newly made suiton clones. "Okay, so you guys can use raiton," Aethir nodded, soon looking over to suiton clones, "And you guys can use suiton jutsus." the boy nodded, continuing his quick drinking. "Alright then!" the boy quickly stood up, smiling to the clones. He began to focus suiton chakra from his chest into his mouth, preparing to fire a water ball from his mouth. "Now let's some trai-" the boy suddenly belched, large bubbles flying out of his mouth from the suiton chakra. The boy blushed, staring at the rising bubbles as he covered his mouth. With the suiton chakra still in his throat, the boy continued to burp, gas probably created from drinking too quickly. "Oh my...T-That's was supposed to be a water ball, but..." Aethir watched more bubbles rise into the air. 'Wait a second...Maybe this isn't an accident...!' As the clones of both kinds began to use these bubbles as target practice for their ranged jutsus, Aethir burped with his mouth closed. He then blew the air out of his mouth while focusing suiton chakra near his throat, soon watching small balls of water formed in front of him. "Whoa...!" The boy gasped, tilting his head to the small water glob. As he slowly raised his hand to poke the glob, the glob soon exploded, foam flying towards the boy. He froze for a moment, startled from the sudden foam, his heart pounding quickly. "O-Oh...It makes....bubbles..." Aethir laughed, slowly falling to the ground, panting. The clones smiled and laughed at Aethir, the boy looking over to them, still covered in foam.

"Finally..." Aethir sighed as the suds began to pop and fade. "Alright! Now I'm going to fire a water ball at you, okay?" the suiton nodded to Aethir as he formed the tiger handseal. "Now!" Aethir stared with a determined look, soon blinking trying again. "Now! ....N-Now? Now! Now!" The boy dropped the tiger sign, soon just focusing on suiton chakra and a projectile just...hitting...his clone! "NOW!!" he roared, water suddenly surging from the river. It plowed through the ground as it headed right for the clone, piercing right through his clone. "What...the...?" Aethir stared wide eyed, soon rushing into combat position, fearing he was under attack. The left over clones got ready for combat as well, soon Aethir thinking for a moment. 'What if...this is a new jutsu too...?' Aethir blinked, repeating what he'd done, another jet of water rushing through the ground to another clone. "S-Sorry! Sorry!" Aethir bowed to the pierced clone's direction as it dispersed into lose raiton chakra. "So that was me..." Aethir smiled, soon walking over to where he was lying.

As the clones dispersed to their specific element, he checked where he was lying, picking up his mist ninja headband. "This thing falls off of me more than anything..." the boy sighed, tying the bandanna onto his shoulder. As he began to walk back to Konoha, morning now being dusk, he thought back to his earlier questions. 'I want a world rid of hate. I know that...but...How many bodies will it take to get that world...?' the boy went silent, soon taking a deep breath, sighing. The answer had finally hit him. 'None. At least, no innocent body. I will, however, attack those who are in the wrong.' Aethir smiled, walking towards Konoha faster. 'I won't murder. I am not a murderer. I am not a killer. But I will kill.' the boy pledged to himself, taking a deep breath, 'If I must kill, I will kill those who are wrong. No mercy for those who know wrong from right...Those who have been taught right from wrong properly.' The sun continued to set, Aethir's blue eyes looking relaxed after so long. 'All humans know right from wrong. No mercy to those who kill or try to attack me. Animals protect things they own. Mercy will be given to them.' Aethir nodded, gaining the right mindset. 'Kill killers. Don't kill innocents. You're not a murderer unless you kill without reason.' the boy told himself as he took another deep breath, the golden skies soon darkening. 'If I want a world of piece...I won't rule it by fear...' the boy shook his head, looking up to the night sky, 'I won't rule it at all. But I will put a hand in cleansing it. A ninja kills...right? They kill...not murder...' As the boy entered Konoha, he bowed to the people of it. 'I am still me. But I kill with reason. I kill those who know right from wrong. I kill those who choose to do wrong. I am still me. Just...' As Aethir rose from the bow, he waved to the guard ninjas, soon walking into Konoha, 'Just a killer. Not a murderer.' he took one last deep breath before heading to his apartment. "I'm a ninja. And no ninja can be a ninja...if they don't kill." he finally spoke, feeling a weight lifted off of him. "I'm a ninja because I want to help. And I'll help in any way I can, even if it's killing murderers. I'm still good. I'm still me." He stretched as he walked further and further into the village.


... 671/???