Bird In The Cage
Disclaimer: I own nothing besides the plot.
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The moon was full. She was large and bright, illuminating those who lived under. Tonight however, she was adorned with a red silk dress as she loomed over the night quietly. The lady wind danced about her gracefully, and with her she carried the strong scent of copper.
Tonight, they danced to the blood he spilled.
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He pulled his blade out with a harsh tug, his vision glassy as he watched the small young body fell limp onto the ground. There was too much blood. It was too strong, too disgusting, the stench made his nose numb. He could still hear their screams even when the air was still. He could still feel the tearing of their flesh even when none lived anymore.
Sasuke, what had he done?
"Kagome, Kagome..."
His eyes snapped open as the whisper of voice pierced through the phantom screams. His eyes, the same hue as his surrounding searched for the sound, and they landed on a small figure standing behind him.
Looking barely older than his youngest brother, the little girl would have hardly reached his chest. She was dressed in a blue yukata, embroidered with white birds. And it looked so wrong, to have such an innocent-looking girl standing in this blood splattered field.
"The bird in the cage..."
She whispered in monotone, her deep blue eyes staring at Itachi unblinking. Her skin was pale white under the full bright moon, and Itachi had thought, for a moment, that she was an illusion.
Her eyes were large, and would have looked "cute" had it not been for the lack of emotion displayed. Her voice, soft, quiet and still, was loud in his ears.
She would have continued had it not been for the person who appeared beside her, placing a palm on her shoulder. She did not turn to the figure, her line of sight glued to the blood soaked teen several feet before her.
"It's time to go, Itachi." The masked man's deep voice stated.
The teen, now known as Itachi, blinked as his eyes shifted to the man garbed in a large black cape with red clouds. He nodded slowly, pushing himself to his feet. He was exhausted, both physically and mentally, but he knew that he had to pull this to its end.
And it had barely begun.
He followed the older man as he started to walk away. As he walked pass the unmoving girl, he wondered if she too was the man's plaything.
Just as he was.
"When will you come out..." he heard her mutter softly as he passed.
He did not pause in his steps.
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Their next meeting was unplanned.
It had been five years, and he had never thought much about the blue eyed girl till he walked upon them.
No more innocent-looking, for this time she was propped up against a tree by his so-called mentor, bare to the night. Her skin was the same pale white, her body sporting curves, yet still looked undeveloped. The eyes however remained the same. The deep sapphire blue, they were dark and emotionless.
Haunting.
Her eyes were on him, her expression unchanging despite the rough treatment by Madara. It was revolting, watching that self-obsessed "ancestor" rutting with a girl barely a tenth his age, or any girl at all. Yet he found that he couldn't look away, couldn't turn from the scene, and most of all, he couldn't turn from her eyes.
They were beautiful.
The deed was soon over, and he heard Madara laughed. It was not a happy laugh, for they could never attain happiness. It was not a cruel sadistic laugh either, which was much more common among them.
No, it was a bitter, sad laughter. Had he not known Madara he would have thought that the man was in pain.
Itachi looked on, watched as Madara buried his head in her chest.
It did not look right.
Finally, the girl released him from her eyes to look down at his mentor. Slowly, she reached up to touch his face.
Madara jerked away, and he raised his own hand, slapping her on the cheek hard. The impact sent her head to the side, and a growing bruise was immediately visible.
He moved back, and she fell to the ground in a loud thud.
"I am not Izuna." He stated coldly, "I will not hesitate to kill you again."
Again? Itachi thought as he watched how Madara bent down to grab her chin up roughly.
"You are bound to me, to these eyes," he continued, his voice stoic, his countenance a mask of indifference, "Isn't that why you seek me out even as a reincarnation?"
Even though the words were meant to hurt, Itachi did not miss how he caressed the forming bruise with a thumb.
Letting her chin go, Madara dressed himself. He glanced at the tattered yukata nearby before throwing his cape at her.
"I'll get you a new one." He told her as he put on his orange mask. Turning around, he leapt off into the forest.
She took the cape and lifted it up to her nose, hugging it closely to her naked chest. Slowly, she raised her eyes to meet his once again.
"When will you come out..." her whisper repeated itself in his mind.
Right then, he knew that they were the same.
.
He had made a miscalculation.
One do not make a miscalculation in this organization.
He had cling on to life, knowing that he could not go yet, not before all the pieces were put in place. He could not die. No, not yet.
As he gazed up at the reddish sky, he wondered what life truly is.
He had been washed down to a riverbank, his wet and tattered cape sticking to his body uncomfortably. He had managed to push himself to his back, and have no more strength left. Now he would rest till he regained enough energy to move.
"You are broken."
He heard her haunting, husky voice before he felt and saw her. A short while later, he could feel her undressing him, and using a dry cloth to wipe his body. Had she came for him? Despite highly doubting the notion, he thought that she was quite well prepared, seeing that she had covered him with a dry cape.
It smelt of him.
Suddenly he wondered if her words were referring to just his wounds.
"So are you." He muttered.
He felt her motions still for a second before continuing. It was a while later that he saw those blue eyes looming over him. her face was sharper, with slight baby fat left. She looked beautiful, and it seemed wrong to have her in this blood-filled organization, in this hate consumed world.
She stared at him, and quietly she raised her hand. She had pricked a finger it seemed, for there was a drop of blood oozing out of the wound.
The drop fell into his slightly parted lips.
It tasted no different from any other. Strong, coppery and repulsive. Yet Itachi's reaction to it was instantaneous. He tensed, and then his eyes shut close as intense pain washed over him. Burning, searing and hot, he could feel his wounds stinging, could almost hear them sizzling. There was so much pain, yet throughout the agonizing pain, he could also feel his wounds closing.
A fitting punishment, for all of his sins. He had thought before his world went black.
Something had changed between them then.
.
It will all end soon. All the pieces had been put in place, it was time to execute the plan.
"You're leaving."
Again, she was there, and as usual, he could not sense her. He could not see her either, and was only able to make out her pale skin, dark hair and black yukata. Yet as she stepped closer, he could see the vast blueness that was her eyes. Or perhaps he was just recalling them from memories.
He nodded to her question, his eyes closing as searing numbness rushed through his body. He didn't have much time, he had to go, this all have to end, and there was no turning back.
"You will not make it." She had stated softly, and he knew, deep in his heart, that she spoke words of truth. Still, he couldn't turn back now. He had to end this, even if his body was destroyed into many pieces. He must make it, even if by sheer willpower alone.
She stared at him for the longest moment before she pulled out a kunai. Holding it up awkwardly, she made a straight cut down her left arm.
The smell drifted to his nose immediately, the horrible stench of fresh blood.
This time, he welcomed it.
It wasn't painful this time, or perhaps he was too numb to feel any more pain. This time, he could feel the thickness, the disgusting copper taste, the sickening feeling as it flowed down his throat.
He would do anything for this final moment.
Soon, she pulled back her arm, and handed him the kunai she held. He took it, keeping it within his large sleeve.
"Itachi" he stated his own name, though he didn't know why himself.
Her eyes held his for a while before she replied,
"Kagome"
As they stared at each other fully for the first time, they knew that something had always been there between them, something that was never said out loud.
For the first time, Itachi hesitated.
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He couldn't see, not anymore. It had all came together perfectly, as how it should have been. Slowly, he forced his destroyed body to his dearest brother, the sole purpose for his existence. It was all going to end now.
He couldn't hear his brother's distress shout for him to back away, no, not anymore. Yet somehow, he could hear her voice, and the song he had long forgotten.
"In the evening of the dawn..."
He smiled in relief. It was all going to end, it was finally over. Raising his arm, he reached out to gently touch his brother on his forehead, transferring what was left of his power to him.
"The crane and the turtle slipped..."
They said that your life flashed before your death. Yet why was he remembering sapphire blue eyes? Why is he wishing to have a second chance? If reincarnation truly happen, he would hope that perhaps in the next life, things will be different.
Perhaps in the next life they would meet again, so that they could figure out what was it that they have between them.
Perhaps in the next life he would ask, who was she truly singing that song for.
Perhaps in the next life, such fate will not befall them.
Perhaps next life.
"Who stands right behind you now?"
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Full song:
かごめかごめ
篭の中の鳥は
いついつ出やる
夜明けの晩に
鶴と亀が滑った
後ろの正面だあれ。
Kagome Kagome,
Kago no naka no Tori wa
Itsu Itsu deyaru?
Yoake no ban ni
Tsuru to kame ga subetta.
Ushiro no shoumen daare?
Kagome, Kagome,
the bird in the cage,
when will you come out?
In the evening of the dawn,
the crane and turtle slipped.
Who stands right behind you now?