Authors Note: So, as this is my favorite story, it should be no surprise that I've rewritten it. However, this is not the ONLY story I'm rewriting. I'm re-writing all of them; Lalin, Valhalla, and even one I published a few years ago and never got around to finishing. I'm doing this for two reasons: 1. so that I can connect each and every story together to a certain extent, and 2. because once these are done, I will be done writing fanfiction for good.
This also means that all of my other stories are currently on hiatus (I'm so sorry to the followers of Lalin - your reviews are my favorite and I really hope you forgive me for this, and hopefully enjoy this just as much. But as a heads up, since I'm connecting all of my stories, Ai will appear once or twice in this if you want to stick around.)
I also want to point out that while I am absolutely terrified this version of the story will suck compared to the first, I am also very excited to write it because 1. there will be a longer, extended ending as opposed to how it ended the first time, 2. the history with Shin's mother is going to be much more apparent and 3. Itachi's side of the story will be told in far more detail.
So, to those who have returned to read the re-written version of The Raven, thank you. This version is more detailed and the ending is extended.
And to the others who have just started reading this, I hope you enjoy. :)
A Tale of Ravens
...
"His angelic wings blackened when the dark fury assailed his mind. Summoning new strength from the unholy power that ravaged his soul, grieved to drastic levels of desperation by the tainting of the holy light within him, he combated ally and enemy alike, bent on destroying both sides in order to ensure the quelling of the dark energies there and then.
For days and nights, the lone warrior bathed himself in the blood of angels and demons. And when it was over, he stood alone on contaminated land, with a contaminated soul. He was banned forever from Heaven and not even Hell had space for a creature which seemed to cherish Oblivion over Pandemonium.
The dark angel, not so far removed from his former self as his superiors seemed to believe, died on the edge of the cliffs, of utter loneliness and despair."
― T.A. Miles
...
Prologue
...
Shinwari,
There is so much I want to say to you, but lessons between mothers and daughters extend lifetimes and sadly I am only granted this notebook and an estimated twenty minutes before they come for me.
You are sleeping upstairs and my god, how beautiful you are already. You have my eyes, but they look so much better on you than they ever could on someone as ordinary as me. I am so thankful that the world has given you an opportunity to see through them; it gives me hope that maybe you will understand your mother better, and why she had to abandon you...
There are no words for the regret I feel for giving you the same life I had as a child. To grow up without your parents is such a disastrous way to live; it leaves a hole in your heart, an aching in your chest, a burning of anger and resentment that can never be truly quenched. But, if I am to be honest with you, if I had a chance to do it over again, I can't say I would. The circumstances of my death are the same ones that caused your birth, so for me to say I would change anything would be the same as saying I would chose to live rather than to have brought you into this world... and staring down at you... staring down at that mess of red hair and those beautiful black eyes... I would give my life a thousand times over.
You deserve closure, and I plan on spending my last few minutes on this earth giving it to you. So I'll start from the beginning, and I will give you all the details I can recall... I will share my memories with you, and in return all I can hope is that someday I will be worthy of your forgiveness.
...
Brown eyes narrowed as she stared down at the journal in front of her. The brunette had barely made it passed the first page before she had slammed it shut, her her hands shaking as they held on to the leather-bound notebook that had been given to her only that morning. It had been three weeks since she had become a mother - three weeks since the Third himself had knocked at her door asking her if she would accompany him on one of his many walks down Kohana's hidden paths, a walk that had turned into a life changing request the seventeen year old could not refuse, but the Third had chosen that morning to hand over Reikyo Hamiruka's last words. Had sheknown the baggage that had come along with the two month old child she would never have -
No, she would have. Because Amaya Itoru owed the Hokage her life, and she would go to the ends of the earth to repay her debt.
No matter what the cost.
...
Chapter One
...
Before
...
There was a loud crash.
Torn covers flew off of a skinny body as the child raced out of her room and into the kitchen where her mother lay dormant on the floor. Red hair fell in front of black eyes as she bit her lip to prevent herself from screaming. Without a single word the small child cradled her mother in her arms, brushing brown strands of hair out of the older woman's pale face and she inwardly pleaded to the Gods for just a little more time.
Shinwari Natasu was four years old when her mother was diagnosed terminally ill. The disease was almost unheard of at the time, and with a rare condition that attacked the lungs and heart without warning, Amaya Itoru was prone to coughing fits and narcoleptic-like episodes.
By the time Shin turned five, bringing Amaya to the hospital was no longer an option. The medical shinobi at Kohana's hospital weren't well-versed in natural sickness; they had all grown with the times of war, and were much more experienced in keeping people alive due to vital injury than their own bodies make up. They would simply hook the woman up to an IV until she awoke, and send her home with pills she could not afford.
So instead of calling for help, as any normal family would at times of trouble,Shin sat on the cold floor and brushed her mother's dimly colored hair with her hands as she waited for her to awake from her episode.
When Amaya's brown eyes opened, she was greeted by the tired eyes of her daughter. With a small smile, the woman lifted herself up from the girls lap and onto her knees. Her legs were still shaking, AS were her hands, but Amaya still refused the hands of the girl who had sat with her. Instead, the woman used the counter for leverage as she pulled herself up.
"Shin-chan, what time is it?"
"Almost ten, Kaa-san," Shin spoke, standing up immediately and resting her hand on her mother's back for extra stability.
The brunette woman nodded, placing her hand over her daughters messy hair as both a sign of comfort and as a way to center herself.
"You should be sleeping, Shin. The academy starts bright and early tomorrow, and you don't want to be late on your first day."
Shin nodded, coal eyes circling her mothers frame before falling into the woman and wrapping her arms around her waist. Amaya sighed, closing her eyes and squatting back down to the floor to fully embrace the young child. Shin did not make a sound, but Amaya could feel the warm tears on her shirt.
"It's okay. We're going to be okay, I promise. Remember what I taught you, Shin-chan? So don't cry, please. No matter what happens, please don't cry."
You must show no fear. You must show no sadness. Happiness is only achieved by those silly enough to believe in it's actuality. Just breathe, and glide through life like a leaf in the wind. That is how you make it in this world, Shin-chan.
That is how you survive.
...
I was an orphan before I had even been named.
According to the Third, my mother was a member of one of the most prestigious clans of her time. Her name was Chinsai, and she had been engaged to the head of the Itokura clan when she discovered she was pregnant with another's child. Banished from the Itokura, she had left Kohana altogether, earning her title as a rogue. She escaped to the Land of Waves, where she apparently gave birth inside a refuge home before sending her newborn child away in a wagon back to the very village she had abandoned. To this day - my dying day, twenty six years later - I do not know who your grandfather was, and I do not wish to, for he never claimed me as his own. The news of Chinsai's banishment was enough to send him running from the hills.
Was it his fault, at the end? I'm not sure. Maybe if I had grown up with a father figure I wouldn't have fallen in love with someone like yours, and none of this would be occurring. Maybe you could have been born to a normal family - a mother who cooks and cleans, a father who is strong and noble - or maybe.. maybe you wouldn't have been born at all, and I just couldn't have that.
"Kaa."
Amaya slammed the book shut, quickly tucking it under her pillow as she rolled over from her side to face the door that had just been opened. Shin stood there, leaning against the frame with an off look in her eyes. Her messy h
"What is it, Shinwari?" the brunette asked, beads of sweat dripping down her face as she prayed the small child did not see the journal in her hands. Even now, five years after both Shin and Reikyo's memories had been entrusted to her, she was still wary of telling her daughter the truth. Because she was her daughter after all, no matter what genetics or the deceased Hamiruka had to say about it, and the entries that had been written for her could drastically change her life.
Even when Shin did grow to be an age where she could better understand the world and those in it, who was to say she would be able to control herself once she knew what she was truly capable of? Who was to say she would not hate the Village for all it had done, for taking away her mother? Who was to say she wold not leave the place that had betrayed her before she had even gotten the chance to open her eyes for the first time?
"Can I sleep with you tonight?"
"Of course," and without a second thought on the matter, Amaya moved over as the girl laid down next to her, nuzzling her head into her mother's neck.
And who was to say she would still accept the young Itoru as her mother, or if she would abandon her along with the Village of Deception and Sorrow, better known as Kohanagakure.
...
"Itami Hyuuga."
"Shiro Kui."
"Present!"
"Hiroki Nagasaki..."
"Here, Sensei!"
"Kirito Nama."
"Yo!"
"Shinwari Natasu."
"Here."
The young girl resisted the urge to run as all eyes turned to her. She could feel it - the way they all stared at her, the judgement that lingered behind their eyes at the girl who was just so different from then. Not only was she two to three years younger than most of them, but there was no doubt that her torn clothes and malnourished body labeled her as an outcast to even the classmates that did not carry a clan name.
But she sat firmly in her seat as the teacher continued down the list of names, completely forgetting about the coal eyed girl and her tangled red hair for the time being.
"Like I said, my name is Kaito Yoshiro, and I will be your teacher for this year at the academy. The ranking system for academy students is usually based on age, but there is opportunity for children to excel early based on their talents..."
And there were so many talents that year. First and foremost were the three Hyuuga clan members sitting in the front of the class, all of them main branch members said to be the best of their age group. Then their was the Kui boy in the back, whose shining purple eyes revealed a bloodline limit almost as sacred as the Uchiha's itself. Which only brought Kaito's eyes to the young boy sitting in the middle of the class, whose eyes bore the wrinkles of a life not yet lived, along with the astonishing wisdom of one as well:
Itachi Uchiha.
It was said that the young boys progress out matched all of those previous to him. Kaito had been told to watch him closely, that the chance of him staying at the beginning level was slim to none and that Kaito shouldn't get too attached.
Kaito scanned the room once more, his eyes gleaming. Because who was to say Itachi would be the only one moving up early? With the way his students had lined up, at least a quarter of them would be gone by the middle of the year, and the Hokage would rain down on him with praise for his progress as both a teacher and a leader.
However, he would have never expected that Shinwari Natasu would be one of them.
How could he have, when he had never even bothered to remember her name?
...
Shin was the first to leave the classroom; she was out the door thirty seconds before the bell even rang, with her head down and her books held closely to her chest. The day didn't go as bad as it could have; sure, she had been picked on for her ratty hair and dirty clothes, but she had excelled in the basic knowledge it took to become a shinobi.
Of course, no one knew that. The girl hadn't bothered to raise her hand whenever Kaito-sensei would asked a question, but she knew that she had gotten the answer right, and at that point that was all that mattered.
Shin knew her objective well: excel past all of the grades as fast as she could, and request as many missions as she could from the Hokage once she was placed on her team. The more missions a shinobi had, the more income they brought home to their families, and though still only five years old, Shin was very well versed in the concept of money.
For example, her and her mother had none.
It was at this thought that she was met with a force, and fell down onto her backside with a small 'oomph.' The girl looked up, her coal eyes glaring up at the boy who had blocked her way. It wasn't that she was angry at him, it was the very reasons she was becoming a kunoichi at such a young age that were pounding at the back of her mind. The ground was dirty, and Amaya couldn't afford to bring the laundry to the mat more than twice a month. This meant not only that Shin would be teased, but that Amaya would feel guilty for it.
"Excuse me," the boy said, and it was then her eyes softened. His voice, though deep, was soft and concerned - so much different from the others in her class, who only laughed and taunted her as she walked by. Did they not know that she was significantly younger than they were? That, while they had to wait until they were seven years old, she passed the entrance exam at only five? Maybe she was poor, and dirty, and maybe she looked nothing like her mother and did not have a father like the rest of them but she was younger and already so much stronger than all of them.
Well, almost all of them - there was the exception of the young prodigy that had just knocked her to the ground.
Itachi reached out his hand to help her, and she said nothing as her cold hand touched his and she was lifted from the ground.
"I apologize," he said, hoping to coax some sort of response out of her as he took her in; short, blood red hair that hung to her ears, and eyes just as dark as his were. She was strange, he concluded, but not for the way the other students said. She was strange in appearance, in gesture, but everything else about her was no different then the other abnormal qualities that clung to each individual shinobi.
But still she said nothing, only nodding and walking past the boy as if he had never been there to begin with.
Itachi's eyes softened as he glanced down at the hand that had touched hers, and then back in the direction she had run off in only discover she was already gone.
...
"How was your first day of school, honey?"
Shin ducked underneath the tilted ceiling, staring down at her mother's backside in amusement. Amaya was on all fours, stuck between the crawl space in the back of the living room closet and the mess of boxes that were being piled outside the door.
"What are you doing?" she asked, her voice just loud enough for Amaya to hear. The brunette pretended not to notice the sudden change of subject, and gave a small laugh.
"Cleaning this place out," she said. "I've been meaning to do it for while, but I haven't had the time. Today's my only day off so I figured I may as well start it. Now, tell me how your day was?"
There was no answer, for Shin had already left, gently closing her bedroom door behind her and laying in the mess of sheets that were her bed.
She could only hope that the second day of school would be better than the first.
...
"Kaa! Kaa! Wake up, I have great news!"
The seven year old pulled enthusiastically on the sheets of her mothers bed, her coal eyes shining brightly as she coaxed the woman to wake up. It was her seventh birthday, and today she had graduated the Academy as second best in the class. The first was Itachi Uchiha, the same boy who had knocked her over on the first day of school what now seemed like ages ago - the same boy who had silently encouraged her throughout the years, despite her quiet nature and her reserved jealousy.
Their friendship did not automatically start after their first encounter. Shin was an introvert, as Itachi's mother described it - she preferred the solace of her own company as opposed to that of others, and her being picked on throughout the years did not help much in her transformation into a social butterfly. But for some reason her detached nature did not deter him. Had it been any one else, the young man was sure he would have left them alone, but there was something so... curious in the black eyes of the red haired child that he could not let it go.
So he remained her equally silent counterpart, helping her from the shadows as she progressed through the classes. If she had been holding a weapon wrong, he would sneak up behind her and re-position her hand. If she was having trouble with an assignment - which hadn't been more than twice, since she was fairly good at logical thinking - he would show her a different way of solving the problem, and if she was being picked on he would wait in the background for her to leave and then fix the issue himself - usually in the form of unspoken threats, his newly discovered red eyes doing the talking for him.
Itachi had come to accept Shin's lack of words, but that did not discourage him from prying. He would often try - and fail - to start a conversation with the small girl with the dark eyes, the same girl who may have been his only competition for first pick at the Academy. He had often wondered of her and her home life. Did she belong to a clan? Did she carry a kekki genki? Were her parents shinobi as well? But he never asked, knowing that some things were meant to kept private.
"What is it, Shinwari?" Amaya asked, her eyes only slightly opened as she half-gasped for air. Though Shin was still as petite as ever, if not more so, the muscle that had been accumulated around her bones made the seven year old twice as heavy as she looked.
"I graduated!" she grinned. "I took the test and I graduated early!"
It was then Amaya shot up, the corners of her eyes red with sickness, and her words cruel.
"Get out."
"But, Kaa - "
"Shin, I said get out."
And so the seven year old bit her lip and turned her back to her mother, gently closing the door behind her. She made her way to her bedroom, and it was only when she saw the small card on her bed did a few tears slip from her eyes.
'Happy birthday, Shin-chan,' it read, and was signed by Itachi Uchiha.
...
Days passed and not a single word was exchanged between mother and daughter. Amaya Itoru continued on in pain; her lungs were aching, her eyes were burning, and there were contractions in her chest she wasn't sure what from. Not to mention the mental strain she had felt when her daughter had come home with the initial paycheck for becoming a kunoichi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Shin had set in on the table and went to her room as she had ever since her graduation, not saying a single word to the brunette woman.
Amaya only spent half of it to pay off the bills and wash the laundry, and had left the rest of it for Shin to buy new clothes. She had left her a note - need something form fitting and easy to run in, love Mom, and had left for work earlier than expected.
It wasn't that she was disappointed in her daughter - the pride she felt was practically leaking out of her skin - it was that for the first time since Shin was a baby, the woman was absolutely petrified of what would become of her future. Amaya had half-hoped that Shin would drop out of the academy once she realized how hard the path she had chosen would be, but she had known all along that Shin would become a prodigy in her own right. Now, on top of fearing for her daughters life, she would have to be cautious and find a way to make sure that the child's true strength would never arise out of the small container that was her body.
If it did, not only could it possibly destroy the young child if not properly wielded, there was a chance her father would find out and come back for her.
On top of her health issues, it was just too much to handle.
It must have been the combination of stresses, along with the intense feeling of guilt for ignoring her child, that caused Amaya's heart to stop and her body to shut down as her red headed daughter showed up outside the sushi shack with a bouquet of flowers and the saddest look on her face. Her world went black as the flowers dropped to the ground and Shin sprinted towards her mother.
As fate would have it, Itachi Uchiha had just finished training with his father and was currently on his way to the market to pick up groceries for his mother as soon as Amaya had fallen. He had quickly ran over to Shin, who had been in the process of lifting her mother up, and had offered to carry her to the hospital. The girl was skeptical at first, but she had no reason not to trust him.
They arrived and Amaya was immediately put into surgery. An hour later, Itachi was gone and Shin was left with a sinking feeling in her chest.
I have to meet my Father.
She had nodded in understanding, though she really didn't - understand, that is. She didn't understand fathers, or why people had them. And she didn't understand why she had gotten so mad at Itachi for talking about his, when having a father really didn't matter, anyways.