Renewal [Rewrite]

~6~

~~~~~

It was the next morning (or evening, you can never tell) when the panic started to spread.

Guards ran around left and right barking out orders to each other. Things like: 'grab them!' Or 'hurry up!' Were tossed around by several people.

The man with the yellow eyes was running around, telling his men who to get ready for transfer and who to leave.

I had no idea why they were acting so panicked, but I didn't care once his eyes connected with mine.

"How much time do we have before they arrive?" He asked a man standing next to him.

"They'll be here in less than five minutes! They're rapidly closing in on us!" The nervous man beside him replied.

"Shame, it seems I don't have any more time." He frowned. "Maybe we'll meet again."

I spat at his feet. "I never want to see you again."

The spit never reached him, but the intent was clear. He simply grinned that sick twisted smile and walked off.

The complex cleared out fast, leaving only a few people behind who were either dead, near dead, or considered as failures. I was left among them, wondering about who had everyone in a frenzy before they fled.

It wasn't long before I got my answers. 

The door at the end of the hallway flew off its hinges and a group of about twenty masked men and women barged in.

"Is there any survivors?" A gruff voice called out into the darkness.

I tried to find my voice, gathering up the courage to speak up, however I found myself afraid. Absolutely terrified of their reaction of me.

"I-I'm here," I called out in a weak, high pitched voice.

A head turned in my direction, walking closer and closer until they were no more than a gray and white blur. The cell door flew off its old, rusty hinges and I ducked as the bars flew over my head and smashed into the wall.

"Come with us," A sweet and calm voice said. "You'll be safe."

I weakly pointed to my tail. "I'm a little stuck."

"Ah, right," She nods (I think they're a she). "One moment please."

Through my blurry vision, I manage to make out a blue glow that surrounds what I assume is her fist. She smashes her hand onto the chain holding my tail in place and unwraps the tight bandages, allowing it to wriggle around freely.

"Thank you," I mumbled, standing up onto my weak legs.

"Come on kid, follow me." She says, beginning to walk away.

I scurry after her just to run into a pole, making me stagger backwards until I land on my ass. Real graceful.

"Sorry, I can't see very well." I sigh, squinting at her blurred figure.

"In that case, I'll carry you." She decides, scooping me into her arms.

She must've expected more weight though, because the moment she scooped me up, I almost went flying out of her arms.

"Shit, you're light kid." She gasped. "You eating right?"

I awkwardly shrug. "I'm just light I guess."

"No kidding." She said.

The seemingly nice woman carried me for a while until we rejoined with the rest of her group. From a distance, I could roughly make out a mask that resembled a cat, with green and red stripes along the cheeks, but as we got closer, it became increasingly hard to make his mask out.

"Captain," The woman holding me said, nodding her head as a sign of respect. "I found this kid in a cell."

The masked captain turned to me and looked me over once, saying nothing of my strange appearance. I scowled at the name, 'kid.'

"May I know your name?" He asked.

"Yuuto, Yuuto Tatsumi." I replied.

"And how old are you, Yuuto?"

"Seven, I think. What day is it?"

"June third." He answered.

"Then I'm seven." I nodded at the blurry outline.

"How would you like to come back to Konoha with us?" He asked.

It really hit me hard there. I had my doubts before, but there was no way I could deny it now. The facts were irrefutable at this point. 

"Well, I'm not staying here." I attempt to chuckle, but it comes out like more of a dry cough.

"Can you walk?" He asked.

"Technically yes, but my eyesight isn't the greatest." I honestly replied, trying my best to not swear and be polite.

"Well then let's start walking and go from there." He chuckles. "Is it alright if I guide you outside?"

I nodded my head. While I could see through the darkness, I couldn't see where I'm putting my feet. Total pain in the ass. While I didn't like the idea of trusting someone I couldn't see, I didn't have much of a choice.

The masked captain takes my hand and begins leading me out of the dark cave I despised so much. Finally, I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. No, I'm not dying again. 

I'm not dead. I know because I pinched myself to be sure. I hadn't even realized that my tail was swinging back and forth until a random guy yelped and yelled something about my tail. I mumbled out a sorry but continued forward, pulling my hand away in the process.

My wings seemed to have a mind of their own, stretching out to their full wingspan and flapping.

I heard a collective gasp from behind me but ignored it as my instincts took over my body.

One flap, two, three. I lost count of how many times my wings beat against the air, making me rise higher and higher off the ground until the shinobi beneath me were no more than gray specks. I spiralled upward before stopping my desperate flapping, allowing gravity to take over. The wind flapped through my long unkempt black hair.

I didn't know how I could know to do all this, but somehow I just did.

Before I could hit the ground, my wings sprung open again, catching the air and allowing me to safely land on my feet. I stumbled a bit, but nothing could make my grin any smaller.

"That was amazing." I awed to myself, almost forgetting there were people behind me.

"Freedom is an amazing feeling." The captain said. "Or were you talking about flight?"

"Both actually," I said, turning to him with a grin.

"Well, are you ready to get going then?" He asked.

"Yes, I am." I nodded, pressing my wings against my back.

"Good," He replied, reaching into his pack for something. "Here, take this."

He tossed a large gray cloak at me, one that had a single fastener at the front. I took the cloak and swung it over my shoulder, taking note of how large it was on me.

I was both happy and sad to receive the cloak. Happy because I finally could wear something that covered my chest, and sad because I understood the second meaning behind it.

Wherever we were going, I would never be fully accepted the way I am now; broken, deformed, repulsive. The cloak was a subtle way of telling me to hide my... Extra additions.

While I was happy to be out of that dank and miserable cave, I knew that I could never truly be free.

Free to be myself at least.

A/N

What'dya think? I think this rewrite is going well.