There were rumours in the small town of ghosts, witches, and hauntings that occured around Halloween every year. Children gathered around the edge of the forest, the gaping mouth of the woods looming before the giggling, frightened forms as each dared the other, in turn, to enter and stay, and to see if they saw anything, and to see if they would return again. Nobody was ever that foolish.
People claimed they could see red eyes glowing in the forest. The sounds of footsteps, the sharpening of a blade. A scream. A cry. A moan. Gasping and crying of the names of the deceased. The sounds of flesh tearing, blood splattering, children laughing.
The children who gathered around the mouth of the forest would listen closely, trying to hear the footsteps. A brave boy would wander a step forward, another, another, a hand cupped to his ear as he listened intently, holding his breath. He would shriek and be pulled into the shadows. The girls would scream, the boys would hollar. Then the child would jump from the shadows with a "Boo!", scaring the others into a laughing fit, only to find when he returned home that his vision had begun to fade slowly. A week later, he would go blind. Another, and he would go mad. He would wander into the woods. And never return.
They used to call them the "Eye Stealers", descended from one of the founders of the village. The story was that the older brother, the founder, had gone blind and mad, ripping the younger brother's eyes from his sockets and replacing them in a desperate attempt to regain his sight. Nobody knew if he really did or not. All they knew was that they found the younger's body deposited and undecomposing in the woods the next night, missing his eyes with a smile fixed upon his bloody mouth as he lay on a bed of darkly colored flowers. Nobody remembers why they stopped calling them that.
Even so, to that very day, the elders would place talismens over their grandchildren's eyes as they slept to protect them from the curse of the Eye Stealers, the one many didn't quite remember until the day Itachi and Shisui Uchiha disappeared.
-o-
"Itachi, come play in the woods with me!" the fourteen year old had chirped, light brown eyes transfixed on Itachi, one shoe already on one foot as he stood by the door.
"Mother says that we shouldn't go in the woods this late," the ten year old had murmured in an obediant, accusing tone, not looking up from the book in his lap.
"It's not even all that late, cousin," Shisui chided, "Now, come. We'll have fun. I love you, don't I?"
Itachi blinked twice, closing the book and pushing himself to stand, slipping on his sandals at the door as Shisui grinned, kissing the younger on the lips, drawing out a beautiful flush. "As long as we aren't out too late."
"Never, cousin."
"And promise me that you won't leave me behind in the forest? I would be frightened without you there."
"Never, cousin," Shisui repeated, taking the child's hand. "I'll never leave you behind. I'll take you with me."
-o-
It had taken three days for anyone to start investigating. They all believed that Mikoto was mad anyways.
-o-
"Where's older brother?" Sasuke chirped.
Mikoto only wrung her hands as she sat by the window, mumbling beneath her breath as her puffy eyes were masked by her untended hair.
-o-
"Itachi, do you like games?"
"Sometimes," Itachi had responded as they walked on the common footpath in the woods.
Shisui had suddenly turned off into the woods on a path that hadn't been taken often. "Where are you going?"
The messy-haired teen only smiled, "Let's go this way."
Itachi followed obediently, glancing back at the path they were taking. "You know the way back?"
"Of course."
"What's that?"
-o-
The bodies weren't even decomposing when they were found. Just as Izuna's hadn't been. They blamed it on witchcraft. On the curse.
The work of Satan himself.
-o-
"Why are you so beautiful, Itachi?" a deep voice behind the seven-year-old made him turn.
"What do you mean, father?"
-o-
"Play hide-and-seek with me," Shisui had urged, only to be rejected. "Then play tag with me."
Rejected again, Shisui went unabashed, a small smile forming as the wind stilled. A breath was held when Shisui suddenly pressed his palm to Itachi's shoulder. "You're it!"
Itachi furrowed his brow slightly. "I refuse."
"Chicken. Are you afraid?"
"I am not."
"Then chase me!"
Itachi got up, chasing the older teen in a desperate attempt to catch him to be done with the game. "I want to rest!" he yelled.
"Relax! It's fun!" Shisui called back, darting in and out of the trees. Itachi's head began to pound with the rush of blood as he chased his cousin through the trees, feeling suddenly dizzy and fatigued, his pulse rushing through his veins. He pressed forward, his hand outstretched as he chased Shisui, attempting to grab him in any way he could so this would be over, so this would end.
"Shisui! Slow down!"
Shisui didn't. Itachi scowled slightly as he sped up. He stretched out his small hand as he reached for the teen, who was incredibly fast compared to many other children. He almost seemed to flicker from Itachi's sight periodically. An irritated growl, and Itachi lept forward, grabbing the cloth of Shisui's shirt in his tiny palm.
-o-
Mikoto smiled as her husband came downstairs. "You look so much younger now, Fugaku. Why is that?"
Fugaku shrugged absently. Mikoto batted her eyes lightly, sitting down beside him at the table. "You must be getting more sleep recently."
Shisui walked into the kitchen with a young Itachi in tow, glancing at Fugaku, then smiling at Mikoto, who kissed him goodmorning before reaching down to take Itachi from him, earning a hidden glare. "Itachi's pretty," Shisui said simply. "I want to plant him a garden. But I don't wanna wait for it to grow."
"But doesn't waiting make everything better? It makes it so much sweeter in the end," Mikoto ran her fingers through Shisui's messy brown hair, smiling sweetly.
"Blood is bitter, Auntie Miki," the curly-haired child smiled, rubbing his aching eye.
-o-
"You're pretty," Shisui said simply. "I want to plant you a garden. But I don't like waiting for things to grow. So I want to love you now."
Itachi had blinked only once before a pair of young, smiling lips were pressed to his. The seven-year-old pulled away in shock, earning an irritated look from the curly-haired teen. "What?"
"I..."
"I am impatient, cousin. And you are far too grown for your own good. I see what your father does to you. Why can't I? But I won't make it hurt," A delicate finger traced down Itachi's cheek, earning a slight blush. "Do you want to make him stop?"
With a look of utter disbelief, Itachi whispered, "You can do that?"
"Yes I can, little brother," Shisui encouraged Itachi to lean closer. "Tell me when. Kiss me, and I'll plant you a garden of shadows."
-o-
The child could swear the windows were fogged. The room was hot and muggy and smothering. His hand was held by the older one as they lay in the same bed. He remembered the scorching kisses, the aching, the screaming. He didn't know why he was screaming. He just knew it wasn't really all that bad. He knew he wasn't screaming for a bad reason. It made his insides burn in a nice way, his knees jerk involuntarily as his head thrashed back and forth, screaming. But not screaming. It was breathy. And not too loud. And it was dragged out, not forced out. It was natural. He didn't know what it was. He knew that he liked it, however.
He knew it was nothing like what his father did.
-o-
Shisui liked to listen to the stories of his great-great uncles, how they died, how they lived. He particularly enjoyed the rumours of a curse that claimed Uchiha late in the year. He would laugh as they stared at him with frightened eyes. He would look into such terrified gazes and smile as he stated clearly, "Go jump off a bridge. Don't survive."
Shisui liked to pray to his great-great uncles, to thank them for the gift that they gave. They were the trees in the Garden of Shadows that Shisui had began when he first discovered that his eyes weren't really all that brown anymore.
-o-
"You said you'd plant me a garden of shadows," Itachi murmured softly, "But how?"
"Look into my eyes," Shisui smiled his charming smile, and Itachi complied.
-o-
Shisui sat on the sofa with his aunt, a mug of tea in his hands as she read, her jaw clenched with nerves. Mikoto couldn't name the unsettling feeling that swirled in her gut, but she knew it wasn't good. She knew it had something to do with her sons. One of them. But which one? Shisui's legs swung childishly over the edge of the sofa as Mikoto caressed her swollen belly. A slight movement drew her attention to her stomach as she smiled gently. What was there to worry about? Her new son was due any day now, her oldest son was perfectly fine, it was a beautiful day, and her charming nephew was spending the day with her. She just had to relax. A deep breath calmed her nerves, when her nephew turned to her with a pretty smile.
"You know, Aunt Miki," Shisui began, looking her dead in the eyes. "I never did like Uncle Fugaku much."
-o-
"Shisui?" Itachi asked as they walked along the trail. "What happened to my father?"
"I promised you a garden, Itachi. What is a garden without a tree?"
-o-
"Mama," Sasuke chirped. "Where's father?"
Mikoto screamed.
-o-
"I love you, Itachi."
-o-
"I simply enjoy getting my way is all."
-o-
"I am very impatient, Itachi. I enjoy things fast and transient."
-o-
"They kept saying I'm 'not all there'. You, too. Your garden is coming together beautifully, by the way."
-o-
"I promised."
-o-
"I love you, Itachi."
-o-
An irritated growl, and Itachi lept forward, grabbing the cloth of Shisui's shirt in his tiny palm. Suddenly, the older turned, a knife wielded in his right hand as he raised it above his head.
"Want to see your garden?" he asked, driving the blade down to the hilt into Itachi's shoulder, drawing it out with a squelch! just as quickly. With a cry, the child fell, clutching the bleeding wound. Shisui pinned him to the ground, his knees on either side of Itachi's hips, knife still raised as a calm, charming smile spread across his face.
Itachi's pupils trembled, heart racing as he realized his quickened pulse only drove the blood from his shoulder in thickened spurts, squelching between his fingers and running down his shirt into the grass. He looked away, as Shisui moved to stab through his chest. He only felt lips against his ear as Shisui whispered enticingly, "Don't be so scared, pretty 'tachi. It's just a game. I love you, don't I?"
Itachi had to force himself to open his eyes, looking up cautiously as the older teen sat above him with a sad, caring smile. "I won't let you go alone, cousin. Never. I promised you a garden. "Give me a kiss, and I'll plant you a garden of shadows, dear cousin."
With a flash of unrecognative fear, Itachi squirmed, groaning as the wound in his shoulder tore and ached, crying out in pain as Shisui pressed his palm to the wound, stemming the flow temporarily. Itachi's heart raced with adrenaline. He needed to get out of here. He needed to escape. Where was Shisui? Who was this? The knife was lowered slowly as Shisui smiled again, his brows furrowed, understanding. "I know you're scared," he murmured, running his fingers through Itachi's hair. The young child thrashed, the ripping flesh in his arm forcing tears out of his eyes, squeezed shut against everything. Shisui scowled lightly and placed his palm to Itachi's forehead. "Look in my eyes."
He didn't.
"Itachi!"
And Itachi's eyes snapped open, knowing the voice, no longer denying it as he looked back at Shisui slowly, meeting the lightless obsidian orbs suddenly, making him forget the pain and the fear for a moment. He rasped out, "What happened to my father?" Shisui only chuckled in response.
"Dear cousin, what is a garden without trees? They aren't terribly tall, but enough to block the light from your pretty eyes," Shisui's smile melted into a honeyed adoration, his eyes half-lidded and relaxed, as if this were a game like he said.
"What game is this?"
Shisui stopped smiling suddenly, a contemplative look coming over him. His brows furrowed slightly. "My shoulder hurts," Itachi whispered, and Shisui laughed mirthlessly, as if his cousin had just told a funny joke, watching tears stream from the corners of Itachi's bloodshot eyes with an almost maternal gaze. "It won't soon. Once we get there, everything stops hurting. You can see whatever you want to see. Nothing blocks the light if you cut down the trees. But you and I won't do such tedious work, 'tachi. It's our secret garden after all. Our Garden of Shadows. Where everything is so dark that you see everything perfectly." With a chuckle, Shisui continued, "It's lovely. So don't be so scared, pretty 'tachi. I won't hurt you. It's a game we've been playing for years. And I love you, don't I?"
Itachi nodded, first hesitant, then more confident, kissing Shisui gently as he lent down, running his fingers breifly through Shisui's messy, jet-black hair before laying his head back as he felt the knife plunge several more times into his heaving chest, the blade sliding through his lungs as they cracked through his ribs, spearing his beating heart, his blood bubbling at his lips as he felt another kiss pressed to them, feeling a tongue swipe at the bittersweet red between them, smiling as he looked up at Shisui, only to notice that one eye was slightly out of focus, paler than the other, which wasn't as dark as before, either, for that matter. He wondered why distantly as the last thing he saw was the knife with his blood plunge into his cousin's sternum, meeting those kind eyes once more as a shadow overcame him.
He was right Itachi thought quietly, vision failing. This is lovely. This is lovely.
-o-
Their bodies were found a few days later, the blood looking fresh, the flesh looking alive. Their fingers were interlaced sweetly as they lay side by side, their eyes dripping with blood and their mouths fixed in sickly sweet smiles. The scene was honeyed in a macabre tone, the knife laying between the cousins innocently. Some made the sign of the cross. Others turned and walked away as soon as the sight was seen. Some clutched Bibles, some garlic, some talismen. All were frightened. None wanted to see who the curse had claimed next in the deranged family. But they stared anyways. A man looked dead at the older one's left eye. A week later, he was blind in the same eye. A woman looked at Itachi's smile. Her child killed herself that evening. The police moved their bodies the next day, finding them looking still fresh and alive with a chill. The photographs of the spot revealed the same anomalous effect. In the spots where they had lain for who knew how long, black, blue, and violet flowers bloomed, tiny as arm tracks and as threatening as a porcelain doll on a dark night, they remained untouched for a while...
Until a raven-haired child reached the age of ten, visited the spot, and plucked a blue flower from the smaller patch, bringing it home to his mother, who came out of her psycosis-enduced withdrawel at the sight of it, brushing her hair from her face and smiling as a healthy flush colored her pallored cheeks. Her eyes gazed down to the child distantly, her son a blurring darkness, resembling his older brother painfully, his dark bangs framing his face in such a way. She reached down and caressed one of the soft cheeks, smiling as she felt the texture more clearly than before, than ever. Sasuke looked confused. And upset.
"Where's older brother?" he asked quietly.
"In the garden, Sasuke," she smiled.
Sasuke ran out to the garden in the backyard to seek his older brother's attention. Though as he saw the uninhabited field of flowers behind their home, he somehow understood that Itachi didn't want to come back from where he was. His eye began to ache gently. He covered it with his small palm and returned inside.
"Mama?" he asked quietly as he returned upstairs.
"What is it, Sasuke?"
Sasuke rubbed absently at the ache in his eye and said simply, "I want a garden, too."
-o-
A/N: My attempt at a mild horror story. And because somebody as psycho as me can't write a decent one, I think the entire world must've gone mad. Anyways, this had quite a few revisions. It is three-thirty in the morning, I spent the half the process of writing this thing looking at creepypastas, and I am bothering my best friend constantly for her thoughts. So, here's the fruits of our labor. Many thanks to xXxLynnexX for helping me. Because without her, I might've given up and made my own Garden of Shadows. With only one plant. Me.
So yeah. Enjoy! And reviewing is important too. The box is right down there. Just tell me what you think. I promise Shisui won't kill you. Promise.
...no promises :D
P.S. I've always wanted to write a few different variations of Shisui. This is the mildly psychotic. Just wait until I get my horrific muse back. As soon as I get over that Smile picture from CreepyPastas. Seriously, if you scare easily, DON'T look at it. I mean it. Seriously. Don't. :D
Goodnight from the Nakano~