Title Credit:Already Gone by Kelly Clarkson.
This is part one of two.
And I'm really proud of this!
So, please let me know what you think. :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. Only Ayumi and the plot belong to me.
Coughing echoed throughout the surrounding area. Blood splattered on the ground. A feminine groan soon followed, along with the sound of a body colliding with a tree trunk.
"So this is how it ends…" A young female murmured to herself. She slumped further against the tree trunk, her hand pressed against her stomach in an attempt to stop the bleeding, but crimson kept pouring from between her fingers. Blue irises stared, watching as the blood flowed down and pooled on the ground beside her.
An enemy had caught her off guard. A group had ambushed her while she was traveling through the forest. While she was fighting one, another stabbed her in the stomach from behind, his blade going right through her flesh as if it were butter. She managed to fend them off long enough for her to make her escape.
"I can't believe it… That it's ending like this…" A soft chuckle escaped her lips. "And I'm talking to myself." Her eyes drooped shut, but she quickly snapped them open. She couldn't give into the darkness. Not just yet.
"It's not a horrible way to die. There are worse ways that I could die…" She whispered to herself. Her body began to go limp against the tree trunk as her eyes slowly began to close. Distant memories blurred through her mind.
~X~
"Itachi-kun!" A young girl with black hair and blue eyes called out, waving her arm wildly in the air.
A young boy with raven locks and onyx eyes turned to look at her. He had his hair tied back in a ponytail with his bangs framing his face. "Ayumi-san."
"Hi!" She grinned at him, and the grin looked right at home on her face.
"Hello." He nodded to her.
"What are you doing?" Ayumi asked, tilting her head to the side in curiosity.
"I just got back from a mission. I'm heading home now." He answered.
"Oh, cool. I'll walk with you!" She beamed, bouncing lightly on her feet.
"Alright." He turned and continued on his way.
"How did your mission go?" She asked, skipping as she walked beside him, lacing her fingers together in front of her. "Did you already turn in your mission report?"
"It went fine, and yes, I have. I just left the Hokage's office." He responded, keeping his gaze in front of him.
"Good!" She smiled. "What did you have to do for it?"
"It was just an escort mission."
"Cool! Was it difficult?"
"It was fairly easy."
"Did you have to fight anyone?"
"No." He didn't seem to be bothered by all of the questions she was asking. Some people might have been annoyed by it, but he didn't appear to be.
"Oh, okay." She nodded her head. She seemed to be done asking questions for the time being.
The rest of the walk was made in silence, but she didn't care, and he didn't seem to either. The silence wasn't awkward; in fact it seemed almost pleasant.
~X~
"Ouch!" Ayumi whimpered in pain, clasping one of her hands around her ankle. She had tripped over a tree branch while collecting some berries and herbs for her mother. Her mother was one of the people that helped make medical supplies for the village. She wiggled her ankle lightly, causing another whimper to escape her lips. It hurt a lot to move her ankle. What was she going to do now? How would she get home on a hurt ankle? It was going to get dark out soon.
"Ayumi-san?"
She looked up at the sound of the voice, relief overcoming her entire body. "Itachi-kun!"
"What happened?" He asked, looking down at her.
"I was collecting some herbs and berries for my mom, but I tripped over a tree root and hurt my ankle…" She frowned, rubbing her ankle gently and wincing as pain shot up her leg.
"You should be more careful." He spoke as he knelt down to take a look at her ankle. He was careful as he handled it, supporting it with one hand as he lifted it. Then he began to press here and there, gauging her reaction as he did so.
"Ow, that hurt!" She glared down at him, tears starting to well up in her eyes. Pain seared through her ankle each time that he pressed against it.
"Well, luckily it's not broken. It is sprained badly though, so you should stay off of it for a few days." He told her, turning around and crouching down. "Get on."
"What?" She blinked, looking confused.
"How else are you going to get home?" He inquired, raising an eyebrow at her from over his shoulder.
She was silent for a moment, before she sighed, murmuring. "I guess you're right…" She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, so she could secure herself on his back.
He reached his arms back and took a hold of her calves. Once she was completely secure on his back, he stood up straight and began walking, easily carrying her weight.
"Thank you." She sighed softly, letting her head drop against the back of his shoulder. Her bangs brushed against the back of his neck and the collar of his shirt.
He merely nodded his head as a response, jostling her bangs as he did so.
She let her eyes close and began to lightly doze off as he made his way back to the village.
~X~
"You're so strong, Itachi-kun." She stated, staring up at the sky and watching the clouds go by.
"Oh?" He glanced at her.
"Yeah, I mean… I feel like I'm light years behind you. I'm just a Chunin. You're already the Captain of an Anbu team!" She sighed, her shoulders slumping and her gaze dropping to the ground. "You're lucky that you're so strong."
A humorless chuckle left his lips. "Being great isn't all it's cracked up to be, Ayumi-san. Remember that." He told her, the tone of his voice was blank, dry.
She tilted her head, blinking and looking at him curiously. There was something about the way he said that… The tone of his voice… That was just off, but she shrugged it off, nodding. "Right…"
~X~
Ayumi walked into the Hokage's office to turn in her mission report. She had been out of the village on a mission for a few days, and she'd just gotten back that morning. It had been a really easy mission. All she had to do was escort a man back home. They weren't attacked, so the mission went along smoothly.
"Hokage-sama?" She questioned.
The Hokage glanced up at her. "Ah, hello Ayumi-san. Back from your mission already?"
"Yes, I just got back this morning." She smiled, approaching his desk and placing the mission report on it.
"Thank you." He returned her smile. "Your effort is appreciated. Be sure to rest now that you're back."
"I will, Hokage-sama. I'm heading back now." She bowed to him and left his office. While she was on her way home, she debated stopping at Ichiraku's for some ramen. Her mind drifted into the clouds as she began to day dream, not quite paying attention to where she was going. However, she was knocked out of her day dreams when she ran into someone.
"Ah!" She grunted as she nearly fell backwards onto the ground, but she managed to catch and steady herself.
"Hey, watch where you're going!" The high pitched voice of a young boy huffed.
Ayumi blinked and looked down at who she'd run into. "Sasuke-kun…?"
"Oh. It's you, Ayumi-chan." He looked up at her.
"Hey." She gave a lazy wave, glancing around. That was odd. Itachi wasn't with him. Normally he was accompanying his younger brother. "Where's Itachi?"
At the mention of Itachi, Sasuke's demeanor completely changed, and his face fell.
"What is it…?" She asked with concern evident in her voice. What had caused such a drastic change?
"…" His bottom lip trembled, his gaze falling to the ground as his bangs shielded them from view.
She reached out a hand and gently laid it upon one of his shoulders.
But Sasuke shrugged her hand off, clenching his small hands into fists and turning away from her. With that, he walked away from her.
"Sasuke-kun!" She called out, taking a couple of steps after him. But he broke out into a run, rushing off.
"What's wrong with him?" She asked aloud without realizing it, staring at his back as it grew smaller and smaller in the distance until it completely disappeared.
"You didn't hear?" A surprised voice from her right questioned.
She pulled her gaze away from where Sasuke had been to find an older woman there. Not anyone that she knew personally, but she did see the woman around the village occasionally and would greet her.
"No." She shook her head. "I was away on a mission."
"The Uchiha clan was wiped out." The older woman replied, a hint of sadness in her voice and on her face. "Sasuke was the only one to survive the massacre."
"What?!" Ayumi's eyes widened considerably. "How? I mean... Who? What?" How could that have happened while she was out on her mission? "It... Itachi was killed too?"
"Dear... Itachi was the one who killed the clan." The woman's words froze Ayumi to that spot. Her brain was still trying to process the information she'd just received. Itachi… Itachi had been the one who had taken out whole Uchiha clan…?
~X~
The memories brought tears to the corner of her eyes. And as they faded away, there was one last thought that went through her mind before she was completely consumed by the darkness.
I didn't get to see him again…
