EDGE OF DESPAIR
***
Four enemies stood in front of Mio. She knew she couldn't take them all on—not head-on, at least. After all, she wasn't a close-combat fighter.
Instead, she decided to rely on her genjutsu capabilities and eliminate them one by one.
Genjutsu techniques primarily focused on disrupting the opponent's chakra flow by targeting their cranial nerves, thereby manipulating their five senses.
This could be achieved through various mediums-eye contact, sound, even finger movements or the environment itself.
Right now, Mio was casting a genjutsu to lull the enemy ninjas into sleep. It wasn't difficult, all thanks to the Sharingan she possessed.
"It's almost done," she whispered, trying to steady her breathing and calm her nerves.
"Ohh? Is that so?"
A voice came from behind her, and every hair on her body stood on end.
Before she could react, a slash came, lightning quick. In a mere millisecond, she narrowly avoided a fatal blow, thanks to the enhanced perception of her three-tomoe Sharingan.
But it wasn't over.
Slash!
"AHHHHhh–"
Mio screamed as blood sprayed through the air. Her pinky and ring finger were severed from her left hand, flung aside like broken twigs. She had survived, but the damage was done. Her genjutsu, undone at the very last moment.
Now, she had five enemies to deal with, head-on.
Victory looked impossible. But she clenched her jaw, forcing herself not to break.
'Don't collapse. Don't break now.'
She gritted her teeth, using her right hand to squeeze the bleeding stump tightly. With trembling fingers, she ripped the wrapped bandage from her thigh and tied it around her injury as tightly as possible.
SWISH!
A kunai zipped past her left ear, slicing off her earlobe. She barely dodged it, just an inch closer, and it would've struck her temple.
But the narrow escape gave her just enough time to bandage her bleeding hand.
Her casting speed had slowed from the injury, but she managed to create some distance. With a shaky breath, she formed the hand signs.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flame!"
Five flaming orbs burst from her mouth, hurtling toward the enemy like screeching birds.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!
One enemy was hit squarely, engulfed in fire, his screams drowned by the roaring flames. The others scattered, wounded but still alive.
Mio stumbled backward, clutching her mangled hand. Her chakra pool was nearly dry.
Her missing fingers pulsed with blinding pain. Her entire body ached, screaming for rest.
'If only I could just stop the bleeding…'
Three enemies surged forward again.
Slashes and jabs came at her like a storm. She dodged on instinct, her Sharingan tracking their movements, but her battered body struggled to keep up.
She was a dancer on the edge of death. One wrong step would mean her end.
From the shadows, the fifth man, their leader, watched silently. He hadn't moved at all. Amusement flickered in his eyes as he observed the battle.
"Not bad, Uchiha. Pretty eyes. Pretty body. But you're running out of juice, aren't you?"
Mio didn't reply. She could barely breathe.
Panting, she muttered, "One last try…"
With trembling effort, she began a new sequence of hand signs, retreating to widen the gap.
FLASH!
He appeared in front of her in an instant, faster than her eyes could fully register. Before she could move, he pinned her down, and his lightning-covered tanto plunged into her left shoulder.
"AHHHHH—!"
Mio's scream pierced the air as the blade drove into her flesh, stopping just inches from her heart. Her chakra was gone.
Her limbs no longer responded.
Every breath was painful.
"You survived? Tch," the man spat. "That's why I hate Uchiha. Pesky little pests."
He grabbed her by the hair, yanking her head up. With a twisted grin, he raised a kunai to her neck.
His eyes gleamed with cruelty, and his smile widened in sick delight.
"We have to check if those red eyes pop like the normal ones. But before that… let's take a look at your body."
***
'When was the last time I felt this helpless?'
Mio asked herself.
There were many such moments in her past. But the most prominent one, the day her Sharingan awakened.
'The day Mom and Dad died.'
She remembered it vividly, so much so that the memory haunted her dreams long after their funeral.
She had been powerless, unable to save them. Just another casualty of the war. Their names are lost among the countless dead.
'That was the day I started closing myself off.'
She knew it. Her cold exterior, her distant demeanor, it was all a defense mechanism. A wall she had built over time to keep others out.
'But was it worth it?'
Looking at her current situation- near death, alone, broken- she knew the answer.
Maybe if she hadn't tried to go solo, situation might have been different with Sakumo and Yuichi around.
'I was jealous of them. I hated their quick growth. I hated their freedom to express emotions that I… I never could.'
Her body was almost gone, but her mind still clung to consciousness. Tears fell from her eyes, eyes that once blazed with pride, now dimmed by sorrow.
'Please… help me…'
As the last scraps of her clothing were torn, and the threat closed in, she pleaded.
But no voice came out.