Alright, this is currently undergoing a huge rewrite! I have about 40k of this written so far. All the way until Part I the early years ends and begins Amaya's journey as a ninja. I split up the two chapters of about… 30k words into many smaller chapters anywhere between 3-7k words. I'm actually expanding on each chapter right now, adding more story line, detail, and dialogue.
To any new readers, HI! This is my only OC fic I have ever and probably will ever write. I'm normally not a fan of OCs, but I couldn't resist after the whole "Itachi had to kill his girlfriend" business. No, she will not be a Mary Sue… Amaya is written to be a rambunctious child, and a much mellower teen. I tried to make her disposition as opposite as I could to Itachi's in this fic. As far as her skills and what not, she is only about average for her clans standards in her all around abilities, but the things she excels in, her specialties, give her higher standing among kunoichi in her clan. So please, don't worry about that.
Also, the prologue is long. Like, almost 10k words type of long. Also, seeing as how I wrote this in late 2010 it obviously is not up to date with recent events. I will try to incorporate them into this as much as I can, but there will be things I just can't change. Mainly to do with Obito. Anyways, enjoy.
Disclaimer: All familiar characters, settings, plot lines, and events are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. I do not own Naruto. I am just a fan.
Whispers from the Grave
I always hoped I would die an old grey woman, my grandkids and children surrounding me. As a ninja, I knew the possibility of being killed in action was a large possibility. But my name never went on the memorial stone. I never even lived to see twenty. My life was ended due to arrogance and politics. This is the story of my short life. Ended by the hands of the man I loved the most. I am Amaya Uchiha, and this is my story.
Chapter 1
Prologue
Being born into the Uchiha clan is being born into the Elite. The name itself demands respect. We are elite ninja, bred for excellence. Our blood makes us noble compared to others. ..At least that is what we Uchiha are taught from birth. Of course I believed everything the Uchiha instructors taught me, at least for a while. After all, why wouldn't I?
Being the only daughter of two of the top jounin in our clan should have made me proud. In all honesty, it wasn't easy. Especially when you should have been a son… But, everything worked out for my dear father, especially after I was arranged to marry his good friend's son.
The next heir to the Uchiha clan.
That title in itself doomed me to all the pressures to succeed. After all, the wife of the clan leader couldn't be weak. I learned that in my clan, there was no such thing as failure. I learned it at a very young age. But, for the most part, I was a happy child. Sheltered by my mother, and pushed by my father.
I always tried to impress my father. I worked hard, and I got good results. I was not a super genius like my fiancé was. But I was a genius in my own right. I grew to be an exceptional chuunin, and a very good medic nin, my sharingan made it possible for me to learn and excel in the art of saving lives, as well as ending them. I developed my sharingan at an early age, learned how to handle my weaponry with precision at an even earlier age. I was always studious, and eager to learn. Other members of the clan always approved of me. But to my father, I was always just adequate, never to my full potential. Even though I was always the top of my class, one of the best kunoichi in my age group, my father always called me soft. Soft because I would rather save lives then kill. Soft because I didn't do without question… Soft because I didn't agree with what he was doing.
I wasn't soft. But I was miserable within the walls of my clan. My greatest joy was in my work. I loved my life as a ninja. I was good at it, well on my way to becoming a jounin. I had the potential to become a much respected medic nin. But most of all I enjoyed the time I spent with a certain quiet shinobi who owned my heart, literally since birth. He understood all the pressures of our clan, for it was worse on him. But in the moments we had together, I always felt happy and at peace.
We grew up together, Itachi and I. With our mothers close friendships, we spent a lot of time together. Whether we wanted to or not. But we always understood each other. And we fit well. I held the kindness he didn't show... and he held the wisdom I didn't have. But the biggest thing we had in common was our desire for peace. Peace within the world, within the hidden villages, within konoha… within our clan. We both knew of the evils within our walls.
The greed.
The hunger for power.
And we hated it.
We hated it so much, we did something about it. Itachi became a double agent, with all the information we had. But alas, the results were nothing like what we had wanted.
Which leads us to my story; it's not a happy story, for any of us. But it teaches a lesson. A lesson of how greed and wrath truly do kill. In history, the hunger for power has proven to be self destructive time and time again. This is just another example of that.
I wasn't always bitter, I can promise you this. I used to be happy, full of laughter and life. I was always the optimistic one… always the dreamer. I used to dream of my wedding, my children, life with Itachi. Changing the clan… But now, I'm bitter, I'm resentful, and I'm sad. It may have to do with the circumstances of my death. But until I move on, all I have is my story. To be whispered time and time again, to you, to no one, to the wind.
Silver hair flashed in the dim rays of sun flowing through the trees. It was that time of year again when the one eyed masked nin would come to this place. It was one of the quietest places in konoha. The cool breeze surrounded the man as he continued to his destination. Birds sang as the morning rays woke them from their peaceful sleep. But there was no sleep to be found for Hatake Kakashi today. Today was a day of respect, a day where he would take the familiar trail taken so many times before to the Uchiha cemetery. It was a day where the silver hair nin would spend his time to mourn the loss of a comrade, and share the stories from the recent year. Not that he didn't do the same thing at the Memorial Stone every morning, but it was special today.
Today was the anniversary of his dear comrade's death, the death of Obito Uchiha by the hands of Rock nins.
Every year to this day Kakashi would walk the overgrown trails of the cemetery. Each year it collected more and more headstones, until one year it collected it all. Every last living Uchiha save two. Shortly after that the beautiful graveyard grew over. The plants growing large, the headstones growing dirty, and the graves void of flowers or visitors. People tended to avoid this cemetery, due to fears of angry spirits, or just plain bad memories. Years ago, Kakashi remembered hearing that the children thought that if they stepped foot in the graveyard, Itachi Uchiha would show up at night and slaughter them just like he did to his entire clan. It was sad, but a reality. Visitors were few and far in between. But Kakashi preferred it this way. He liked to be alone on this day. And at least he could stay here due to the lack of living presence.
As Kakashi neared the all too familiar stone he began to think of all the things he wanted to tell Obito about this year, and the apologies he's told him thousands of times. He wanted to tell him all about his two remaining students, although he never was a very good sensei.
And sometimes, while telling Obito the stories of his favorite hyperactive blonde ninja, he swears he could hear Obito's laugh. Just like at times, when he was apologizing to Obito for all his past failures, he'd hear Obito reassuring him.
Maybe it was all in his head, but maybe not. Kakashi has been a ninja long enough to know that in this world, almost anything was possible.
"Obito… Another year has passed since your death"Kakashi thought. "You may be tired of hearing this, but I still think about you and Rin, think about how much I failed you two. I've failed so many people. But I know if you were here you would remind me of all the people I've helped… Naruto, he reminds me of you so much. Always smiling and wiser then anyone would ever believe first glance. He's officially been named successor to Tsunade. In the next few years I'll be doomed to take orders from my obnoxious former student. But I'm proud of him Obito. And Sakura, I'm proudest of her; she's exceeded far more then I ever thought she would be. She's the number one medic in this village, and an elite kunoichi. I believe she's a bit too much like her shishou though. Her monstrous strength and awful temper scare me at times… she's like a pink haired Tsunade. A few months ago I walked into the tavern with Genma and Gai for a few drinks, and found the place in a wreck. Gai immediately assumed his student had been there. Until we found Sakura in the corner, drunker then a skunk, goading on a man that she could kill him with just one finger. It took all of us, plus her little friend Ino to convince her that the man who owed her money really wasn't worth all the damages she was causing… She was so furious we had to….."
Kakashi went on with his stories in silence for a couple hours before he finally sighed and decided it was about time to leave. As he got up from his spot he had been sitting on he began to walk the familiar path to the entrance of the cemetery. It always made him feel a certain amount of peace to visit his friend who saved his life time and time again with his most treasured gift. He felt comfort to hear his voice, even if it was all in his head. He owed Obito; he owed him everything, so he would always honor his memory and visit him. Even if Obito never knew the difference, Kakashi felt comforted. But deep down Kakashi truly believed Obito watched him, and enjoyed the visits just as much as Kakashi did. After all if he knew Obito, Obito was probably laughing at how old he was beginning to get in whatever afterlife he was in.
Obito was so different from almost every other Uchiha he had met. Almost all of them were quiet and reserved, and after Obito's death, cold towards him. Not because they blamed him for Obito's death, oh no. They had long before lost their hope in the drop out Uchiha. It wasn't because he was a bad ninja; no he was chuunin by age 11. It was because he was "weak". He didn't even develop his Sharingan until he was 13. Which no one in his clan ever saw…until Kakashi showed up with the very same Sharingan in his left eye. That was the problem. The Uchiha clan hated him for being able to wield the Sharingan when he was not an Uchiha. The clan even went as far as to go to the Hokage and demand that the eye be removed and buried with Obito. Of course the Hokage refused to disrespect the wishes of a dead man. But among a smaller amount of Uchiha, there were whispers that Kakashi had stolen the eye from Obito in his last moments of life. Both he and Rin were considered thieves in their eyes. It didn't bother Kakashi though; he didn't hold much respect for the clan as a whole anyways.
But there were a select few of them that he respected, and even was surprised by due to their friendliness, kindness, or respect. Obito was one of them, as well as one of the old weapon sales men.
The old man was always kind to him and even gave Kakashi a few pointers on how to use the minimal amount of chakra possible while using the Sharingan. He was a retired shinobi, and back then Kakashi thought he was ancient. He sold high quality weapons at a reasonable price, and always cut Kakashi a deal. It wasn't until years after meeting the man that he told Kakashi that he had Once worked with his father when his father was a young Chuunin, and that he held a large amount of respect for the man all the way until his death. It surprised Kakashi to hear that the old man knew his father, but it nearly floored him to hear the man praise his father for his decisions that most of the shinobi population of his time looked down on him for. Hearing this from an Uchiha was the biggest shock of them all. He continued to buy his weaponry exclusively from the old man all the way until he was killed. To this day he misses the man, and his high quality weapons.
Itachi Uchiha was also a man he held a deep respect for. During Itachi's life in Konoha, Kakashi remembered working with him a few times. The boy truly was proficient in what he did. He also was kind. He never seemed to mind that Kakashi had a Sharingan; he actually seemed somewhat interested by it. He looked out for his team mates, which to Kakashi was not only surprising due to his position in the clan, but also bonus points in Kakashi's book. He also avoided confrontation, and only did things to a minimal extent. He was extremely calm and collected. He hated to admit it, but when the boy did what he did and left, underneath all the anger and disgust, he was disappointed to not work with him anymore.
Then there was the young medic nin he met the day of the massacre. He only spoke to her once, but her words of kindness and overall friendliness surprised him and pleased him. She had offered to help him ease the pain of his sharingan, and worked with his eye with nothing more than a smile and a childlike curiosity for it. She claimed she was one of Obito's distant cousins, and that she remembered him from her childhood. He couldn't remember her name, but he remembered exactly what she looked like, and even that she smelled like rain. She had long waist length black hair that looked shiny and silky to the touch. She was pale, and pretty, with a soft face and a small curved nose. Her eyes were what caught his attention first. Because instead of the normal dark grey or black eyes he was accustomed to seeing on an Uchiha, they were a soft grey, that seemed to sparkle as she spoke. Her eyes held her biggest expressions and truly were like a window to her soul. He remembered wondering if her long dark lashes ever got in the way of concentration during a surgery or examination. It wasn't that meeting her was so significant, it was the fact that just hours after he met her, her young life was taken from her along with the rest of her kin. It was 16 years ago when he met her at the konoha hospital for a special appointment for his Sharingan.
Sixteen years ago
"Hatake Kakashi?" A younger Kakashi looked up from the book he had been reading. They had become his favorite book series in the past few years. Published by his own Sensei's Sensei, and Legendary Sannin Jaraiya.
"The Medic is ready for you Hatake-san, please follow me I'll take you to the room." Said a cute little nurse with short red hair and red rimmed glasses. Kakashi gave her a smile and read her name tag.
"Ahh, Akako-san, this appointment really is not necessary. The Hokage is going over-board in his worrying. Really there is no need to see a specialist." He said to the nurse hoping he could talk her into letting him walk out of the cold hospital.
"I'm s-sorry Hatake-san... but I cannot allow you to leave. T-this appointment is a d-direct order from Hokage-sama and U-uchiha-sama will have my name tag if I don't get you into the e-examination room right away!" The little nurse said in a panicked type of voice. She must have heard of Kakashi's infamous ability to disappear from the hospital, much to the Medics displeasure.
"Hai Akako-chan, I'll be good, lead the way." Kakashi said and he waved a hand in front of him. Akako blushed as she led him down a long bright hall towards some of the examination rooms. As he got closer towards the examination room he assumed Akako was taking him to he heard some commotion coming from the room.
"AHHH! Amaya-chyyyaaan! Please! Don't poke me with that needle! Jun swears that it doesn't smell infected!" A panicked male voice rang out loudly.
"ISAMU INUZUKA! If you don't SIT. DOWN. RIGHT NOW I swear on our whole long and annoying friendship I WILL shove this needle into your eye!" He heard a feminine voice cut through the door.
By the sound of whimpering and silence Kakashi was led to believe one of two things, A This "Amaya" character had gotten her way and the Inuzuka she spoke to had gotten his shot, or B, the more probable one in these wretched hospital walls, the medic followed through with her threat before quickly cutting off ability for him to make all sounds and is now disposing of the body. Medics truly were a terrifying thing in Kakashi's mind. Sure, he knew that they saved lived and were essential to the shinobi population. But it didn't change the fact that the things they could do to the human body with their medical ninjutsu were a terrifying, and truly disgusting thing.
"Hatake-san… ah, t-this is your room. Your medic will be w-with you s-soon. So, pl-please get ah, comfortable. " The shy nurse said while interrupting his thought of how exactly this "Amaya" person could be currently disposing of body down the sink.
"Thank you Akako-chan. Is there any chance I could open a window or two, I feels rather stuffy in this hospital don't you think?" Kakashi replied with an easy eye crinkle. She immediately got a dark look in her eyes and spoke with a stern voice.
"Hatake-san," she said while opening the door and ushering him into the room. "As you can see, there is one window in this room, and it is sealed. If anyone without the proper combination tries to open this window, an alarm will go off. It was suggested to me to take you to a room with a seal on it. Furthermore even if I DID know the combination, I wouldn't open it anyways, because as I'm sure you can understand, I do NOT want to lose my job." And with one last withering look she continued. "Uchiha-sama will be in shortly to see you. Good day Hatake-san" And, with that she stomped out.
"Red heads" He thought. But then his mind quickly turned to the fact that she had said "Uchiha-sama" would be his acting medic. Theoretically, sending another Sharingan user in to work with his eye would be the logical answer. But as far as Kakashi knew, No Uchiha's would be caught dead helping him out with the sharingan he "stole" and "had no born right to have". No it made no sense unless said Uchiha was ordered directly from the Hokage to check it out. In which case he shouldn't hold his breath for any progress to actually be done on his eye. It will probably just be charted that his body is rejecting the sharingan and nothing can be done.
"Hatake Kakashi I presume." He heard a soft… familiar feminine voice say to him. When he looked in the door way he was surprised to see how young the girl walking into the room was. She couldn't be older than sixteen. She had long silky looking black hair, and long black eyelashes. She wasn't tall, but not short either. She looked very serious while looking down at the chart in her hands, and Kakashi immediately wondered who exactly this girl was.
"The one and only, but may I ask who you are?" Kakashi said politely.
The young girl smiled, "I'm Uchiha Amaya" she said while leaning on the counter across from the bed. "Your assigned medic nin. I'm sorry it took me so long to get to you, I had to deal with a minor problem in the other room. I have to say after looking through your files, as well as your recent hospital say I'm surprised I didn't have to hunt you down."
Kakashi was shocked to hear she was his "specialist" the Hokage has sent him to. He was also a bit put off by her kind smile and sweet tone; after all, not many Uchiha's were friendly with him. While he was thinking about this he also realized she was the "Amaya" who had threatened the Inuzuka.
Kakashi actually did start sweating, as well as feeling rather claustrophobic.
"Ah, Uchiha-san. If I may ask… you didn't kill the man that was screaming in the room next door?" He said while sweat dropping and holding his hands in front of him.
The young girl looked shocked for a second, which was when Kakashi realized she had grey eyes that weren't in any way dark like her clans-men normally possessed. The girl quickly broke into a large smile and clutched her hands to her stomach while letting off a sweet laugh that sounded like ringing bells.
"Hahaha! Oh that? That was just an idiotic teammate who's a little baby about an antibiotic shot!" She said while trying to calm down her laughter. "I assure you Hatake-san, he is perfectly fine, although his leg may be sore for a day or two, maybe three if I did things right. And please, just call me Amaya. I'm far too young to just be known by my last name."
Kakashi immediately felt himself begin to calm. This girl seemed genuine and kind, so unlike the normal Uchiha you met on the street. She had an aura of friendliness and mischief that Kakashi couldn't help but like the girl.
"Very well Amaya-san. But in return just call me Kakashi." He said giving her a small nod.
The girl smiled again and began flipping through pages in his chart. "Well Kakashi-san. It says here that you are twenty-two years of age, over-all healthy, mentally and physically. You've been a ninja since you were five years old, a chuunin since the age of six, and a jounin since the age of thirteen. You have received extensive injuries during your career, none of which are life altering except one, which appears to be your main problem. It has to do with your left eye which you received via transplant done by your medic teammate nine years ago. The eye is on the left side of your face." She stopped reading and put the clipboard down. She eyed him for a second before continuing as if she already knew this information. It wouldn't surprise him; after all it is common knowledge.
"The eye you received is the Sharingan, and it came from Uchiha Obito. The very day he awakened the Sharingan." She finished quietly. Kakashi didn't really know how to respond to that, it was kind of awkward to him. He did not know if she disliked the fact or why she sounded a bit saddened by the last part.
"Obito," she said while looking out the window. "he was my second cousin. I was only four years old when he died, he was much older than me. But he was a really nice person and a lot of fun. He wasn't like everybody else. He used to come and play with me and the other kids just because we asked him too. He would always let us catch him when we played ninja. I remember the adults didn't think much of him. But when I was little I thought he was the coolest. He used to talk about his team, The pretty girl Rin, and stick in the ass "other guy". He obviously cares about you very much to have given you his eye." She finished before she smiled a small smile at Kakashi.
Kakashi still did not know what to say to this girl. This time though, it wasn't due to awkwardness, it was more of the subject. It was a sensitive subject to him that he never talked about. Plus he was also surprised the girl had brought it up. This young girl seemed to be doing that to him a lot today. She was nothing like he would have expected. The way she talked about Obito warmed him to her immediately and he felt himself completely relax to her presence.
Normally he would have avoided the subject, not bothering to answer. After all it wasn't anybodys business. But Kakashi surprised himself with his desire to at least answer her on the subject. It may have been because she was indeed related to Obito, but probably more because she spoke fondly of him. So, Kakashi took a deep breath."Yes, Obito and I didn't always get along. But I really was a jerk back then. Obito taught me a lot about life. I'd consider him my best friend." He replied honestly. Even though he was always rude to Obito when they were younger, he had always cared about the boy, no matter how much he used to annoy him with his constant tardiness and excuses. His main regret was not treating Obito better while he was still alive.
"I'm glad to hear that Kakashi-san. After all, Obito got a hard enough time from the clan while he was alive. The clan elders really were rather harsh on him. But I know he would have been glad to die protecting his friends." Amaya said again before looking out the window for a few seconds.
Kakashi couldn't help but notice the way she said "clan" and "elders" in a harsher tone then he'd heard her speak in since she'd walk into the room. He wondered what reason she would have for disliking her own clan. But he figured it might have to do with her conflicts in her personality, which seem to differ greatly then the normal Uchiha.
"Anyways," The dark haired girl said while looking over at him. "We need to hurry and get your eye taken care of." She seemed to second guess what she was about to say before she said it. "And also, ah, I'd like you to know I don't hold anything against you for having it you know. I think it was a great thing Obito did. And you certainly seem to be adapting to using it quite well. You're famous now, Copy-nin Kakashi." She said with another sweet smile. Kakashi couldn't help but notice how white her teeth were. She must not have taken many hits to the mouth yet. Most nin have chipped teeth or are missing teeth. The ones who don't are most likely long range fighters, or just extremely talented in the art of evasiveness.
"Thank you Amaya-san. That does mean a lot coming from not only an Uchiha, but somebody who was closely related to Obito. I know the clans view on me, and my ability to wield the Sharingan is not high." He said quietly but sincerely.
"Well, what does it matter what that bunch of uptight assholes think anyways. They don't matter as much as they think they do, they're just a bunch of stuck up arrogant idiots. They think they are so above everybody else. It's a shame they have as much say in things as they do, but in all reality, they aren't as great as they seem to think either. I know most of them aren't even that strong!" Kakashi wasn't going to pretend he wasn't shocked. After all, every single Uchiha he had ever met took great pride in their "elite" Uchiha blood. And no one usually ever dared to bad mouth the Uchiha, especially one of their own. They took their love for clan, almost to a cult-like state. At least to outsiders, they were very cold towards outsiders, and tended to stick with their own. What shocked him even more was the angry tone she seemed to use while speaking. But before he could ever reply, she quickly recovered and began to question him on what the situation on his eye was.
"Well, It takes a toll on my body every time I use it. The more I train it, the less chakra it takes. But either way it still uses up a lot of my chakra. Plus, it takes a long time for me to train it because of how much chakra it actually does take up. I'm sure you can see that I can't turn the Sharingan on and off, that's why I keep it covered. Overuse of my Sharingan always seems to have me bedridden for days to weeks at a time. The main problem is the more I use it, the more I seem to be getting headaches, sometimes full blown migraines. It's also very sensitive to light and burns each time I use it." He told her as she wrote everything down on the chart.
"Well" Amaya said while setting her chart down and walking towards him. "There's absolutely nothing I can do to teach you to turn it on and off. Since you aren't an Uchiha your body is always going to be strained when you use it. It's actually amazing that you can even use it at all, let alone master it the way you have. If I may ask how many tomoe does it have?"
"Three." He told her. "And I already knew that you wouldn't be able to do anything for my eye. I was told a long time ago I was lucky for the transplant to even be successful."
The girl looked at him with a cocky smile. It was then he decided, yes, she definitely was an Uchiha.
"When did I say I couldn't do anything about it? Don't get ahead of yourself Ha-ta-ke-san." She finished with a playful smirk.
Yep, definitely an Uchiha.
"Furthermore, I really am shocked that you have developed it further. But I guess if anyone would be able to, it would be a genius like you huh?" She smiled while Kakashi felt a blush flow up his neck. He didn't know what it was about this girl. But she really did keep him guessing.
"Anyways, while I can't do anything about deactivating it, or making it consume less chakra, I can recommend you keep training it, because I'm sure it will continue to improve while causing less strain. In the end you still shouldn't use it unless you have to." He nodded, this was something he whole heartedly agreed with.
"But, as for the headaches, I can treat that. What I'm about to tell you is classified so I can not leave this room. I have been experimenting with Sharingan related problems a lot recently and have developed a way to ease the pressure on the optical nerves from overuse of the Sharingan. Unfortunately my data is no where near finished, but if I schedule monthly appointments with you, overtime I may have you completely cured of all those problems, maybe more. This is my baby I've been working on you know. And it's still brand new. But I do have enough information and experience that I can at least ease the pressure temporarily for you."
She stated with a proud voice that reminded him again that this girl was an Uchiha in both intelligence, and pride, although she didn't seem to be overly proud. He was also shocked that this girl had all this information and the ability to do this. He knew now he would have to look into her background. She had to have been at the top of her class. He was very curious to know her abilities as not only a medic, but a kunoichi as well.
"I would appreciate it a lot if you did that Amaya-san. When would you like to schedule that?" Kakashi asked in a very sly tone. Maybe he could get out of here soon and go have a few drinks with Asuma.
She smiled at him again, but this time it seemed to have a very mischievous tone to it.
"Ah ah, Kakashi-san, I'm not letting you get out of here that easily." She said as her face started to darken into a smile that Kakashi felt himself begin to get uncomfortable with.
"We're doing your first session today, right here, right now. I also would like to recheck the surrounding tissues to see how well the transplant was done and if there is anything I can do to improve on it." She said.
To say he was stunned would be an understatement. After all Kakashi, was not only not mentally prepared for this, but he was also extremely uncomfortable with the thought of anyone probing around with his greatest weapon. He not only did not know this girl but she was only a kid in his eyes. There was no way she should be competent to be able to do this kind of procedure.
Well he knew that was a lie. Rin had probably been younger then her when she had been able to do the transplant. He also heard amazing stories about Tsunade-hime's abilities as a teenager. Plus, if he thought about how efficient he was around her age it nullified his earlier excuse to be afraid.
Also, he remembered her earlier words of how she had been doing this for a while, and also the fact that the Hokage assigned her to him gave him a bit more confidence in her. After all the Hokage wouldn't want to lose such a great asset he had to his forces.
Deep down in his mind the natural paranoia each shinobi has began to bubble up. What if she was just using him to destroy his- Obito's eye? What if the Uchiha had decided to eliminate the blasphemy they felt in his left eye socket? This sweet girl act did seem most un-natural for an Uchiha. Plus he HAD heard her yelling at that Inuzuka when he first got here….
"If you're done contemplating conspiracy theories and ways to escape would you please lay back on the bed Kakashi-san." She said with an impatient- but extremely amused voice.
"I promise you Kakashi Hatake, I will do nothing to damage your eye. I give you my word as a ninja."
Kakashi couldn't help but feel all his fears and doubts melt away at her soft tone, and determined, honest face.
"Hai, Amaya-san, just please be gentle with me. This is my first time after all." He said with a joking voice and winked at her. He couldn't help it. He wasn't trying to be a creep, but really he wanted to see how her reaction to a little playful banter would be. She giggled at him and began to wash her hands.
"Now," she said while walking over to him. "This is going to feel a little strange. Foreign chakra always feels strange, but especially when it enters your head or eyes. Your eyesight may temporarily go in and out, in which case I'm going to need to you te-"
"I don't think we should do this." He said quickly as he sat up. She gave him an exasperated face before grabbing his shoulders and quickly pushing him back down. He struggled against her in honest panic and discomfort. This girl was really fast… and strong.
"I PROMISE you, no damage whatsoever will occur to your sharingan. The flickering will just be a result of me probing in there. Relax." She said in a low soft tone while releasing green chakra from her fingertips into his shoulders. Kakashi immediately began to feel his muscles and body relax from her chakra. It felt warm and soft, almost like silk caressing his insides. Kakashi couldn't help but feel his fears begin to ebb away. Damn hypnotizing, annoying, calming, warm, relaxing, evil, controlling, medic chakra!
"I'm going to need you awake to tell me how your eyesight and head are doing. So let's begin alright?" He confirmed with a nod and began to breath in deep slow breathes.
She pulled his hitai ate off of his head and put one hand above his eye, while the other one went to his temple where she pressed her fingers against it.
"Kakashi-san, I'm going to use my right hand to get a chakra visual of what's going on in there, and use my left hand to actually treat the problem. I'm also going to activate my Sharingan to get a better visual of your chakra flow. So don't be alarmed when you see that." With those words he saw her activate her sharingan.
It really was a sight to see, and he had to say she possessed a beautiful Sharingan, when put together with her features it just… fit. Her Sharingan itself contained three tomoe and seemed to be almost a dark blood red, much darker then the Sharingans he normally saw. The fact she had three tomoe showed him just how adept she truly was on her clan's kekkei genkai. He supposed it would make sense she would be adept at using it since she was apparently a specialist with it. But again the question of how powerful she was bit into his mind.
"Amaya-san, I'm curious." Kakashi stated. Amaya hmm'd in response as she activated her chakra. It felt much different then the last, instead of being warm and soft it felt cold and numbing. He felt panic for all of two seconds before he started to relax. He was immediately feeling numbing relief to the headache he had.
"Ahh, that feels good actually. The headache is starting to go away." He said.
"I'm sure it does. You seem to have a chakra blockage in here. A result of so much chakra being pushed out each time you use it. I'm going to ask you to open your eye now. Please keep it open until I tell you to stop. I'll work fast." He did as she told him and opened his eye and immediately began to feel the pull of chakra. He began to feel her fingers move on his temple. As she did he began to feel the pressure behind the chakra dissipate therefore flowing out in a smoother, non painful way.
"I'm going to test your sharingans responses now. Stay relaxed for me and keep your eye open please. What were you curious about Kakashi-san?" She said to keep conversation going.
"Well," he began. He began to feel dizzy as his sharingan began to spin on its own accord. It felt extremely strange to have no control over it at all.
"I was wondering, what rank are you Amaya-san and do you work strictly in the hospital, or do you work in the field often." He stated while watching her concentrated face. He saw her smile and look away from his sharingan eye to his right eye.
"Actually," she said as she looked back to his left eye. "Close your sharingan now, thanks. It works perfectly, its amazing. I want you to keep it closed for a few minutes while I work the chakra blockage some more, and then ill have you open it again to test its sight while I check the tissues and nerves. Anyways, I'm a Chuunin. I've been one since I was ten. I'm actually planning to take the Jounin examinations here in a few months; I've been training really hard and am pretty confident in my abilities to pass. Ah, open your eye real fast. Thanks you can close it again. I considered ANBU for a while, but I don't think I'm suited for it… it doesn't really fit into my "master plan" if you get what I'm saying. Plus, someone close to me is in ANBU, and he's always gone. I wouldn't want to be away from the hospital that much… I might miss the opportunity to save one of my loved ones life."
He listened to her speak with surprise. He didn't expect that she was on that kind of a level to be honest. Chuunin at age ten was quite an accomplishment. Of course he was a Chuunin by the age of 6. But he was a special case. Chuunin by ten says a lot about her skills, not to mention the fact she spoke of the Jounin exam in two months. Becoming a Jounin at her young age would group her as elite, if she was able to pull it off it would be an accomplishment to be extremely proud of. Hell, Kakashi knew plenty of people who were in their twenties and having trouble trying to get the Jounin promotion. But how she spoke of ANBU caught his attention the most. ANBU was the best of the best, extremely talented and skillful ninjas who all worked directly under the Hokage on the most dangerous missions there were to offer. If she had the ability to become jounin now then she surely was ANBU potential. But ANBU isn't always a good thing. In ANBU you are nameless, and face-less. When you die, a body never returns home. Emotions can not ever rule any decision in ANBU. You are like a shadow that doesn't exist. In ANBU, there wasn't pride only the mission. The life expectancy was a good sixty percent lower then a regular shinobi, and their life expectancy isn't high to begin with. But ANBU has a way of killing a person from the inside out if the missions don't. He truly hoped she didn't join ANBU.
"And yes, I am often in the field." She continued while focusing on her hands and his eye. "I'm a very proficient field medic, thanks to my sharingan I learn medical jutsus extremely fast, and I can see and treat injuries faster then a non sharingan wielder."
"I can see where that would come in handy." He stated in discomfort.
"Am I hurting you when I do this?" She asked in a concerned voice.
"Ah, yeah it hurts right there" Kakashi said as he grit his teeth.
"This is a remarkable transplant for being done on the field, but there are a few spots I can improve for you." Amaya said in an all business tone.
"I was told when I returned that I was a perfectly done transplant and they couldn't do anything else to it without risking ruining it"
Amaya smiled at him. "Well, Medical jutsu improves every single day. It's nowhere near being perfect. Nine years ago that may have been the case, but these days there is a lot I can do to perfect this. In ten more years there may be more. Who knows, the possibilities truly are endless." She spoke in such a passionate voice kakashi couldn't help but feel confident in her.
"You truly are going to be a remarkable medic nin one day. You may even surpass Tsunade." He said with a grin. He couldn't help but chuckle at the blush that rose up her cheeks.
"Oh no, I wouldn't say that, Tsunade-sama is my idol. If I could get anywhere near as good as her I'd be proud of myself. She's a medical genius. I own all of her medical books. I only wish she would come back to Konoha. I'd love to meet her one day." She spoke fast in embarrassment.
It was rather endearing to see. Kakashi couldn't help but want to continue talking to her. She was just too interesting.
"You know, I used to be in ANBU. Those weren't my happiest days. I'm not saying you couldn't do it. But I don't think you should. You'd come out completely changed, and probably not for the better." He stunned himself that he'd even told her this.
"My vision just went out" he said in a startled tone.
"Okay, hold on, is it back yet?" She asked while working the fingers on his temple quickly. When he nodded she decided to keep talking.
"Yes, I know this. That's what someone close to me always tells me. 'Ama-chan, ANBU is not all it's made out to be. I wouldn't want to risk losing you, nor would I want you to lose yourself. I like you just the way you are and ANBU tends to kill people from the inside out... blah blah blah' It's really rather annoying. But I know it's true. Plus I'd just be happy if I become jounin and improve my medical justsu." She said with a grin.
Kakashi couldn't help but wonder who that person she spoke of was. Who ever it was who was in ANBU, and felt the exact same way towards it as Kakashi did. He also couldn't help himself from agreeing with the person that Amaya shouldn't risk losing herself. It was funny, he just met her, but he already liked her a lot. He inwardly was already looking forward to his next appointment because not only did his head and eye feel remarkably better, but he enjoyed talking to the younger kunoichi.
"I'm almost done for this session Kakashi-san, just a few more minutes."
He heard her speak, but didn't feel the need to reply, he was so comfortable just sitting there. The relief to his head was so immense he felt he could just fall asleep. And, all thanks to this young Chuunin with long black hair and sparkly grey eyes.
"I'm done Kakashi-san. You can sit up now and test it out." She said while backing away from him and picking up her chart. Kakashi did just that as he opened his eye. Yes, he still felt the strong drain on his chakra. That much hadn't changed. But what he didn't feel was the pressure behind his eye has lessened, his sensitivity to light had been greatly reduced, and it didn't cause him sharp pains anymore to shift his eye around. The sharingan vision also seemed to have sharpened a bit, he hadn't even known it wasn't at its full potential.
"I had to fix it a little bit, and remove some scar tissue." Amaya explained while leaning on the counter with her arms crossed. "I'm sure with time I can find more ways to improve your comfort while using the Sharingan. But in the mean time I am going to schedule you to come in once a month to relieve the headaches. So ill need you to come in on the seventeenth of next month alright?"
Kakashi nodded and began to walk towards to door. He hesitated before speaking.
"You know Amaya-an, you aren't what I would expect out of an Uchiha."
Amaya looked up at him with a shocked expression on her face. She stared at him for a few seconds before a wistful smile appears on her. As she turned towards the window he heard her speak in a low voice.
"You know, not all Uchiha are so bad." She said with a far away look on her face. "And even the ones who are, are taught to be that way from birth. You can't blame them all. Most of them are just terribly misguided or delusional."
Kakashi looked at her, and noticed the deflation in her cheery mood. She looked troubled and serious. So with an eye crinkle and a wave kakashi spoke in what he hoped to be a cherry voice.
"Ahh, well I hope you're right Ayama-chan. Thank you for your help, and I'll see you soon."
She didn't even seem to notice, she just kept staring out the window in the same spot with a troubled expression on her face. Kakashi took this as his clue to leave, but as he walked out the door, he didn't help but hear her last words spoken in a low voice completely to herself.
"They'll learn their lesson soon enough… I just hope there's enough left to pick up the pieces…"
Of course he never made it to that next appointment. Later on that night it was discovered that the whole clan was massacred by their golden boy himself, Itachi Uchiha, the pride and joy of the Uchiha clan. He left only one survivor, and that was his younger brother, and Kakashi's former student Sasuke.
Now Sasuke was a subject he didn't want to even think about. It pained him to know he failed the child and wasn't able to help him in any way. His only consolation is He, Naruto, and Sakura were able to finally bring Sasuke home. But not in the way they had wanted to. At least the boy was at peace now. Surrounded by the family he loved so much he was driven insane. No longer did the boy need to seek out revenge for the Uchiha clan. It was gone, dead, and never to be seen again in the ninja world.
It took Naruto and Sakura a long time to be able to move on from the decision they made. Naruto never fully agreed on it. The whole journey towards Sasuke was spent with him arguing with Kakashi and Sakura. He couldn't understand how they could have given up on Sasuke, how they could want him dead. He remembered Sakura snapping at Naruto, and asking him how the hell he could allow Sasuke to continue on this path any longer. That the boy had truly succumbed to darkness and insanity and that the longer he was allowed to live, the more he was tarnishing the memory of the Sasuke they once knew and deeply loved. The longer he was allowed to live the longer he was left to suffer.
In the end the battle was grand. All three of them nearly lost their lives fighting Sasuke. He never once tried to hold back, and truly intended to kill them. The very last moments of the fight consisted of Sakura using the last of her chakra to punch Sasuke in the chest and collapse his sternum, allowing Naruto to swoop in and end it with his Rasengan.
In the end, Sakura collapsed next to him crying, and Naruto sat at his feet crying and asking Sasuke why. He remembered Sasuke's last words to them he looked up at them and let out a bitter laugh, then as his eyes started lose focus he smiled, and thanked them. Before breathing his last breath.
It was a dark and miserable day for the former Team 7, and it changed them, each and every one of them. Naruto grew more serious. Behind his happy smile and goofy exterior you could sometimes see a shadow n his eyes. And Sakura, she was devastated. She threw herself into her work in the hospital, almost working herself to death. Her only spare moments that she wasn't sleeping she would spend at the bar. Sometimes she would go with the other girls from her age. But most of the time she was alone. Sometimes drunken fights would break out due to the mix of her temperament and the alcohol. But it always ended the same way. A very inebriated Sakura would drag herself home for a few hours of shut eye before returning to the hospital mere hours later. Kakashi felt guiltier then ever. He always questioned himself if there had been anyway he could have steered Sasuke away from the path of Vengeance. If only he had tried harder. They were all changed due to the decision they made, but deep down they all knew it was the right one. The only comfort they all found was the knowledge that Sasuke no longer suffered.
As Kakashi walked he pulled out his favorite book and began to read. It wasn't long before he was walking past an overgrown rose bush when he heard something.
A voice, a woman's voice, it was dim. But with his enhanced hearing he could still faintly make it out. Kakashi wouldn't hide his surprise at the thought of someone visiting one of the graves; after all, it was so rare to see anyone here. So his curiosity got the best of him and he decided to see for his self.
As he began wandering towards the voice he decided to extend his senses to find the person. As he closed his eyes and opened his senses up he was shocked into opening his eyes.
Nothing. He felt nothing. No presence, no heartbeat, and no chakra signature. It was eerie, and enough to make his adrenaline pick up.
But the voice continued, traveling in the wind towards him. He continued to follow it until he was able to start making the words out that were being said. It was very faint, quiet, almost how it sounded when he heard Obito's voice. It was sweet, and young, and sounded like bells.
"The next heir to the Uchiha clan.
That title in itself doomed me to all the pressures to succeed. After all, the wife of the clan leader couldn't be weak. I learned that in my clan, there was no such thing as failure…"
Kakashi held in his surprise as he searched for the source of the voice. He continued to walk around as the voice got louder. He couldn't shake that he had heard that voice somewhere before.
After he confirmed that there was no one around he decided to sit down on the bench and test his options. Clearly he was either insane, with a very over active imagination. Or the voice truly belonged to a ghost. As Kakashi listened he began to make out more words.
"…I wasn't soft. But I was miserable within the walls of my clan. My greatest joy was in my work. I loved my life as a ninja. I was good at it, well on my way to becoming a jounin. I had the potential to become a much respected medic nin. But most of all I enjoyed the time I spent with a certain quiet shinobi who owned my heart, literally since birth. He understood all the pressures of our clan, for it was worse on him. But in the moments we had together, I always felt happy and at peace…"
The words began to ring bells of familiarity in his head. So he sat back and listened while looking around. He saw trees, headstones, some so aged you couldn't make out the names, and some not. As he started looking at the ones closer to him he stopped short on one he recognized.
"Amaya Uchiha, beloved daughter and protector of lives."
He thought for a few seconds, trying to remember why the name looked so familiar. He knew he'd heard it before, if just in passing. But as he thought he continued to listen to the words in the air.
"We grew up together, Itachi and I. With our mothers close friendship; we spent a lot of time together. Whether we wanted to or not. But we always understood each other. And we fit well. I held the kindness he didn't show... and he held the wisdom I didn't have. But the biggest thing we had in common was our desire for peace. Peace within the world, within the hidden villages, within konoha… within our clan. We both knew of the evils within our walls."
It was at these words Kakashi decided to lay back on the bench and get comfortable. After all, he didn't have anything better to do today.
Well! That's chapter one of Whispers from the Grave! This IS going to be an Itachi fic! I promise! I just had to throw some Kakashi in there! Sorry to all you Kakashi lovers, but he is only going to be in 3 chapters in this story! This one, one towards the end that shows his flashback, but from Amaya's point of view, and then the very last chapter as he hears the end of Amaya's story! I truly hope you have enjoyed this chapter! I wasnt going to post this at all until i got almost done with this story but to be honest i just had to go ahead an post it! Especially seeing as I have so many complete chapters I'm just editing to post now.. Reviews are incredibly appreciated, especially if they can help me to improve this chapter. Mistakes unfortunately do slip by, and no matter how many times I edit this, I always find mistakes here and there. Which in all honestly drives me completely insane.
My original layout for this story was to have each chapter over 10k words long. While I got close to it in the prologue I shortened the second and third monstrous chapters into many smaller chapters in which I am expanding on. Either way, I plan to make this story well over 100k words.
ALSO, i am going to be continuing my one-shots and three shots on the Leaves of Change series, as well as my newest story "The Proud". Right now, im working on The Proud and this in my spare time, which sadly isn't that much.. I usually write in the middle of the night between my college/work/parenting schedule. Haha. I cant seem to keep away though right now. :)
So please review, anything. Constructive criticism is always key to me improving this story! If you see any mistakes feel free to point them out to me! I'm sorry for any grammatical errors in this story, I'm much better at editing other peoples writing then noticing the simplistic flaws in my own... -.-
Anyways! Hope you enjoyed this as much as i did writing this chapter! Next chapter goes into Amaya and Itachi's childhood together! Dont miss it! :3 LaurieHime
Preview-
Tsubaki smiled at her sweet daughter. She truly has no idea how important this day is for her… Tsubaki thought. "Amaya, today we're celebrating the engagement of you and Itachi." She smiled at her daughter as she scrunched her nose up.
"E- engashment? What's that mean mama?" Amaya said thoughtfully as she almost tripped over her feet. "Can we slow down mama; I can't walk as fast as you." She added.
"Engagement. And no we can't, we're already late and your father is going to have my head! All it means is one day you and Itachi will be married." Tsubaki replied with a smile.
"Married?" Amaya questioned while scrunching up her nose. "Like you and daddy?"
"Yes, just like your father and I" Tsubaki said.