6. Kazuma

Shiro opened his eyes slowly. His head hurt a little, and he rubbed it, trying to soothe the pain. His memory was hazy, and he looked around blankly, wondering where he was.

"Where am I...?"

The place looked like a cave, with rough, damp walls and a low, rocky ceiling. The air was musty and filled with the scent of damp earth.Faint purple glows emitted from mushrooms growing in the corners, casting eerie shadows on the walls.

As his gaze wandered, Shiro noticed a small, flickering purple flame dancing in the center of the cave. It seemed warm and inviting, yet capable of obliterating anything in it's path.

"A purple flame...?" Shiro stared at it for a while, then the events of what had happened rushed into his mind. They were all knocked down in the middle of their fight with Osamu, by a purple wave of energy.

Jumping to his feet, he searched around for his ninjato.

"Tsk!" He clicked his tongue in frustration, as he remembered Osamu had snapped it in half. He was defenseless now. No, not defenseless! Shiro dipped his hand into his pouch, and brought out a knife. He was a ninja, even though a weak one, but he was a ninja nevertheless, he was never unarmed!

"Oh? You're awake already? I've been wanting to meet you, Shiro"

Shiro jumped in alarm as the voice startled him. He turned around and saw the silver haired man sitting on throne carved out of stone.

The silver-haired man's piercing blue eyes seemed to bore into Shiro's soul as he sat motionless, his back straight and his hands resting on the arms of the throne. He had a little frown on his lips, and Shiro couldn't help but feel a shiver run down his spine as their gazes met.

"Who are you? What have you done with the others? Where's this place?!" Shiro asked all at once. He also wondered how the man knew his name.

The frown on the silver haired man's face deepened. "As expected for one brought up in the Kage clan, lack of respect for elders.

"Answer my questions!" Shiro was getting impatient.

"Well, maybe if you ask them one by one, I might." The man said.

"Who are you?"

"Hmmm... Who am I? You can call me Kazuma Odoki. Or better still, uncle Kazuma."

"Uncle? Don't joke around..." Shiro tightened his grip on his knife.

"Joke around? And do you plan to use that knife on me? Go ahead then, I really want to see how strong a hybrid is." Kazuma said, getting up from his little throne.

Shiro was getting more and more confused. He couldn't make sense of what Kazuma was saying.

"Hybrid? What do you mean?" He asked.

Kazuma rubbed his head, "The Kage clan really kept you in the dark huh? Pitiful. However, that's as much as I can tell." He brought out a ninjato from behind him and tossed it to Shiro, who caught it.

"This... This is Koji's!" Shiro stared at the ninjato in his hand.

" I picked this up from a ninja, thought you might need Don't worry, your friends are alive. If you need any more information about anything,you'll have to force it out of me. Who knows, the fate of your friends might as well be in your hands."

Shiro's heart skipped a beat as he heard this. Although he wasn't on good terms with the others, except for Koji, he didn't want them to die because of him. Koji had always been kind to him, and as for Akira... well, he couldn't bear the thought of his cousin dying. They were still family.

Gritting his teeth, he rushed at Kazuma. If the man wanted defeat, he would taste one. Kazuma folded his arms and looked on interesting as Shiro approached him. A few meters away, Shiro jumped high and slashed down him. Kazuma moved camly to the side, avoiding the attack. Shiro spun around and slashed towards his head, but Kazuma simply bent his head backwards. Shiro unleashed a barrage of slashings and stabbings, but none could reach Kazuma, who evaded each attack with incredible speed. The attacks seemed to pass through him, as though he was a ghost. Shiro attacked even faster, and began getting frustrated on seeing the huge gap between his skill and Kazuma's, but he continued his attack nonetheless, hoping to at least land an attack. Suddenly, Kazuma slid backwards and aimed a kick towards Shiro's head.

Shiro did a backflip avoiding it, then jumped backwards, giving a little distance between him and Kazuma.

Kazuma stared at Shiro in surprise for a while, then he smirked. "I see... Kid, did you know?"

"Know what?" Shiro's eyes didn't leave Kazuma's face.

"Your kekkai has been sealed. That's probably the reason you've been unable to use shadow Gi. It's not a lack of talent as everyone thinks." Kazuma said.

"Ehh?" Shiro froze. "What...what are you saying??!"

Kazuma didn't answer. He disappeared from his spot, appearing half a second later Infront of Shiro. Before Shiro could react, Kazuma's palm descended upon his head. Shiro tried to recoil, but a crushing energy pressure pinned him in place, rendering him immobile.

"Don't move kid." Kazuma said. "I was right after all, your kekkai has been sealed, and the one responsible for it, is my younger sister, your mother."

Shiro's eyes widened. "M...mother?"

"Yes. She probably did it to protect you. So you could live a normal life. You have the powers of both the Kage clan, and the Odoki clan running inside your veins. That's why I said you're a hybrid. That's a power that if used carelessly, could destroy you and the people close to you. Makes sense if she decided to seal it, however, that was also a mistake. The powers may decide to erupt one day, and that would not be a pleasant thing for you.

Shiro didn't say anything. He couldn't say anything. All these information were rather too much to be processed in such a short time by him. Different thought raced through his mind, but he asked one question.

"Is... Is my mother still alive?"

Kazuma's face was expressionless. "I can't answer that, whether she's dead or alive, is something you should find out on your own. Now, hold still."

Pressing his hand against Shiro's head, he said,"Kai!"

Shiro felt the sound of glass shattering, then his body became very light. His mind felt very refreshed and clear, as though a stream of water was flowing through it.

Then suddenly, an intense pain engulfed him. Shiro screamed and fell to the ground, almost blinded by the pain. His insides felt as though it was been set on fire. He rolled on the ground in agony for minutes, unable to bear the excruciating pain.

Kazuma watched him for a while and sighed,"Your body is reacting to the energy that has been dormat for too long, and is sure not taking kindly towards it. If this continues, your body would explode, and you would die a really horrible death. I'm sorry Shiro, I didn't know you were this weak. Your mother was right after all. Your body is not strong enough to withstand the two energies. Allow me to put you out of your misery then." Kazuma reached to his waist and drew out a katana. Raising it above his head, he said, "Goodbye, Shiro. I'll apologize to Ayame later." Then he brought the sword down.

*Clang!!!*

There was a loud noise of steel clashing. Kazuma stared at the one who had blocked his blade, and his face twisted in shock.

It was a handsome man, dressed in black ninja robes. His black hair was arranged neatly behind him, and his thin eyes were expressionless. His body emitted dark energy, and his ninjato was brimming with killing intent.

"You've gone too far, Kazuma."