"Condition is condition. Leave him behind and awaken mitsugan, or stay with him and .. die together. Choice is yours ...."
Their eyes widened upon hearing that.
"Asami, go ahead," Kakashi said, as he stood up beside her. She looked at him in shock. How could she do that? She shook her head in denial.
"There's no way I'm leaving you," she responded, then turned her head to look around.
"Hey, whoever you are. Listen to me," she called, her eyes making a fruitless attempt to find that incorporeal presence. "Just end this already. I don't want this mitsugan."
"It's not possible. I already told ya. You can't withdraw once you've started," said the voice.
Asami grunted, clenching her fists. She definitely wasn't going to leave Kakashi behind.
Kakashi understood well what exactly she was thinking. He knew she would never leave him, but he didn't want her to die there along with him. He grabbed Asami by her shoulders and turned her to face him.
"Listen," he said calmly, staring into her eyes. "Just go."
"Ka-" she tried to say.
"Please," he cut her off.
His visible eye was showing that he was serious. He was telling her to go and leave him to die? He, the most important person to her, for whom she was willing to sacrifice her own life, was sacrificing himself for her?
"No .. no way," she refused.
"Please try to understand. If you stay here, you'll die too. You have to live," he said, as his hands went to her face and cupped her cheeks.
"What about you, Kakashi? What about you?" she protested.
"Better one alive than none. It's better if only I die than both of us," he answered.
"No!" Asami shouted, as she pulled away from his grasp, taking him by surprise. "I dragged you into this. It's better to die with you, Kakashi, than live my entire life without you. I don't want something that will separate me from you."
"Asami." Kakashi stared at her, his expressions softened by her words.
"Hey! I don't need this power. Are you hearing me?" she yelled at the unembodied presence. "Kill us both if that's the case. But I'm not leaving him."
"Is that your final decision?"
"Yes." She nodded confidently.
"Very well then. Get ready for the consequences."
They both held each other's hand, as the door in front of them started glowing. It's light increased and increased and engulfed them both. The flood of light ended, and they slowly opened their eyes. Were they dead?
They were in the middle of a vast clearing which seemed to be infinite. Fresh green grass, countless flowers, butterflies dancing, birds chirping and a silently flowing streams of sparkling water. As for the sky, it looked like the time of dawn with shades of purple, pink, red, orange and yellow adorning the sky.
They both looked at each other in confusion. Kakashi's eye widened when his eye met hers.
"Your eyes," he said, "they have changed."
He was right. Instead of being emerald green, they were bright yellow and were glowing like sun.
"What? We failed, didn't we? We must be dead," Asami said, though she was feeling a surge of new power in her body.
"No, you succeeded."
They heard a male voice and turned their heads towards the source. They saw two figures standing a yard away from them. A male with black hair and golden eyes, wearing a dark blue kimono, and a female with brown hair and blue eyes, wearing a lavender kimono.
"Who are you?" Asami asked.
"My my, Asami. You've grown so much," the female spoke softly, smiling kindly.
Asami stared at them in confusion. How did she know her name? Did she know them?
"Took you long enough to find your Mr. Right." The man chuckled.
"Who are you?" Asami asked again, narrowing her eyes.
"You don't remember us?" the man wondered. "Well, that's not your fault. You were about an year old when you saw us for the last time," he added.
"Don't tell me." Asami stared at the couple with wide eyes. They met last time when she was about an year old? Then they must be them.
"Is that really you? Mom .. Dad?" she whispered the last part.
The couple nodded, smiling warmly.
Asami's heart skipped a beat, as she stared at the couple claiming to be her parents. A stream of mixed emotions was flowing through her body. Deep down she knew that they really were her parents, but it was so sudden for her that her reaction was out of her control.
"Lie." That was all what escaped her lips after several moments of silence.
"It's true, sweetheart," the female replied softly, as the couple slowly walked closer to her.
"No it is not!" Asami said out. "They died long ago. They .. they were killed by-"
"Danzo. Right?" the man added.
"But how--" she mumbled sadly, with misty eyes.
"Yes, he killed us," the man said, "but before that, we sealed a part of our chakras into that pendant around your neck, so we could meet you again after you succeed in activating mitsugan."
"We really are your parents, sweetie." The female placed her hand on Asami's cheek.
Asami remained silence, staring at them. They were looking at her with their eyes brimming with pure love and concern. At last, after several moments, when she couldn't control herself anymore, she threw herself on her parents and hugged them tightly.
"I missed you so much." She sobbed in her parents embrace.
This feeling of being hugged by her parents, it felt really really good. After absorbing this warmth, Asami slowly pulled away.
"It's hard to believe that it's not a dream," she said.
"It's real, sweetheart," her mother assured her.
Kakashi was observing the family reunion, standing in the sideline. He couldn't be more happy for Asami. There was a new sparkle in her eyes, the happiness, he was glad to see.
Asami's gaze went to Kakashi who seemed to be lost in his own world.
"Hey, Kakashi," she called, breaking his train of thoughts. "Come here," she added, smiling.
Kakashi hesitantly walked up to them and stood beside her.
"Hello," he greeted politely. "I'm-"
"Kakashi. Hn? We know that." Her father observed Kakashi carefully with his sharp gaze. "You better take care of my princess," he said in a bossy tone, crossing his arm over his chest.
"Yes, Sir," he responded respectfully.
"You can tease him latter," the lady said, nudging her husband. "First we should finish our purpose for being here."
"What purpose?" Asami asked.
"We're here to guide you," her mother answered.
"Guide?" Asami queried.
"Yes." Her father nodded. "About Mitsugan abilities."
"Okay." Asami nodded, telling him to continue.
"Mitsugan means 'the ray eye'," her father started. "Like sharingan or byakugan, you can trun it on or off according to your will. In first stage, it enables its user to see in every intensity of light. You will be able to see through sharingan's genjutsu too. You can use jutsus without making handsigns. With this you can blind your opponent for a short time by making eye contact unless he has sharingan. In the 2nd stage, your all these powers will be enhanced. You'll be able to see through Mangekyo sharingan's genjutsu too, and will be able to blind your opponent for a longer period. In third and final stage you'll get a summoning. Every person gets a different summoning according to their personality, and yours one will be a surprise too," he explained. "But its excessive usage can affect its own abilities. Especially in the last stage, the greater power it gives, the greater will be the side effect. You can completely loose its power too, but good thing is that it'll not affect your normal vision."
"I understand." Asami said, ut then a confused look appeared on her face.
"There's one more thing that's bothering me," she mumbled. "How did we succeed? I mean, we didn't fulfil the conditions."
"I'll explain," her father said. "Mitsugan activation requires some conditions fulfilment. Those conditions you're told during the trial were not the actual conditions. They were just traps to check you. As sharingan requires powerful emotional condition for its activation, mitsugan needs a strong and pure bond for its awakening, mostly the bond between two lovers. That's why Kiyokko clan was the clan of bonds and ties just like the way Senju clan is a clan of love and Uchiha clan is known as the clan of hatred."
"So that's why Kakashi was with me the whole time," Asami thought.
"You two did," her father continued, "but not everyone is able to fulfil the condition. Your bond must be pure and free from any kind of selfish desires. You passed those trials and didn't fall into any traps, choosing your partner over power. Many people, hungry of power, claiming to be loyal to their partner have lost their lives."
"That's why the third Hokage kept this secret up till now?" Asami said, as puzzle pieces joined in her mind. "That's why when he found out that I and Kakashi were together he told me this."
"Yes." Her father nodded. "If Lord Hiruzen had told you everything earlier and anyone would have found out about your clan identity then your life would've been in danger. Danzo would've used you to obtain this power. So, he waited till this time where you can obtain this power using your bond, so you would be able to protect yourself and this power,"
"We wanted to save mitsugan from extinction after our death," her mother said. "We wanted to pass it on to you."
"I'll protect this power," Asami smiled confidently. "And also my village with this power."
Her parents smiled proudly, but their smile soon turned into a sad one. They made a brief eye contact with each other before turning back to their daughter.
"We have guided you enough," her mother said. "And now, I guess, this is the time to say goodbye."
"But we just met," Asami complained. "You can't leave so soon."
"We're sorry, Honey. But we can't stay anymore," her mother replied sadly.
Asami didn't say anything thing in return, instead she hugged her parents to cherish the feeling of being in their arms one more time.
The hug didn't last long. Understanding that they were running out of time, her parents pulled away.
"One more thing, dear," her mother said. "The process you two went through was also a unification process," she continued.
"Unification process?" Asami queried.
"Yes. Look at your hands," her mother told her.
Asami looked at her hand and found a ring around her finger, blue, like the flames they had hold hands into. She looked at Kakashi's hand and found the same ring around his finger too.
"Your rings are connected to your partner," her mother explained. "I'm so happy that you found someone who truly loves you and whom you truly love. I wish we had some more time to talk," she added, smiling with tears rolling down her cheek, which broke Asami's heart. Her parents were starting to disappear. She could now see through them. They were going to vanish once again. She bit her bottom lip, not wanting to cry in front of her parents.
"Take care of my daughter, Kakashi," her father said in a fading voice.
"I'll," Kakashi assured, as he put his arm around her shoulders.
"Goodbye." With that the couple disappeared completely into glitters.
"Mom .. Dad," Asami mumbled under her breath, staring at the place where a moment ago her parents were standing. She had seen them after all these years and didn't get a chance to meet properly. She rubbed her eyes, wiping away the tears that were trying to escape, not allowing them to reach her cheek.
"It's ok," Kakashi kissed on her head.
The scenery around them disappeared and they were back into the locker room. Hokage was there, waiting for them.
"You're back," he exclaimed upon seeing them. "Then that means you did it?"
"Yeah," Kakashi responded.
"I knew it." Hokage smiled proudly.
Meanwhile Asami collapsed in Kakashi's arms. Her eyes were closed and breathing was steady.
"She needs rest. Take her home," the Hokage suggested.
Kakashi nodded and picked up Asami bridal style.
"Farewell," he said respectfully and left.
It was certainly a long day.