Kabuto's poor attempt at humor was enough to cut through the gloomy atmosphere surrounding them; Nonou laughed, almost uncontrollably. It was a release of the pent-up tension which had been steadily building over the past few days; locking her spiralling mind in a vice grip. Suddenly, she fell to her hands and knees; shrill laughter turning into a coughing fit so intense, her eyes blurred as blood and bile was wrenched from her searing throat. Perhaps laughter really wasn't the best medicine after all.
It was achingly clear to Nonou that she was running out of time, and she needed to get inside the abandoned shelter right now. Slowly, pale and weak, she stood up. Gently grabbing Kabuto by the hand, she led him down a hidden, rocky path; eyes scanning for a rusted metal hatch in the ground. It was beginning to grow darker, and the cemetery had grown eerily silent. Only the sound of dead leaves crunching beneath the heels of their boots could be heard. "I don't think I would have shown you any of those letters anyway, not if I could have helped it. They're only memories of a distant, forgotten, era. There's no sense wallowing in it." Nonou murmured, trying to ignore the silent atmosphere which was beginning to play tricks on her mind.
Finally, they found it buried beneath a patch of dying grass and overgrown weeds. Nonou gazed at it cautiously. "I didn't only come here to reminisce, Kabuto. The night of the fire, Danzo had his underlings spray the perimeter with a new chemical they had invented, designed for biological warfare. I breathed it in, and now the infection in my body is slowly spreading." Nonou explained, adjusting her glasses. "This...wasn't a nice place after you left. It was less of an orphanage, and more of a cruel sanctuary for Danzo to contain his experiments. But I'm sure you're aware the Leaf Village isn't as benevolent as they would have us all believe."
Wearily, unsteadily, Nonou pulled open the rusted iron hatch with a loud grunt. "I have to know what Danzo was keeping locked away down here like a dark secret; the image of this shelter has plagued my dreams for years, but I was too much of a coward to find out."
"I couldn't protect my children, I couldn't keep them safe from that monster. I... I was his research assistant, and I can't face the vile sins I've committed. I thought... I could ease their pain, if only a little bit, if I was the one to care for them; to torture them..."
Feeling faint, Nonou leaned against Kabuto; her mind desperately trying not to splinter. Above all else, she hoped God would forgive her for the awful things she had done in the name of nationalism and "progress."
A black abyss loomed ominously below, with a steel ladder designed to guide their descent into Hell, and Nonou's worst nightmare.