Scroll 1: The Aftermath
It was late evening when the night shift nurses were roused from their complacent efficiency by the sound of screaming. It was a rattling sound, one that struck like a slap to the face and continued to seep into one's bones like the progression of a plague and made the poor night shift nurses feel sick. They immediately responded, ignoring their misgivings and near sprinting to the room it was coming from.
A little boy thrashed on the bed, shrieking as though the devil had descended upon him, clawing at the needles stuck in his arms, little hooked fingers flashing to his face and leaving raw stripes of red behind them as he seemingly attempted to rip out his own eyes.
"MOTHER! FATHER!"
The nurses attempted to subdue him, trying to console him in soft murmurs, calm cooing. The little boy screamed more, a raw, aching sound:
"ITACHI! ITACHI, I'LL KILL YOU! I SWEAR IT! I SWEAR!"
"Hush now, Sasuke-kun, calm down. He's not here. He's not-"
"MOTHER! MAI! ! I'LL KILL-"
Doctors rushed into the room, another nurse then striding in with a large needle that was instinctively recognized by every trained professional in the room as being a sedative. Sasuke sobbed into his little clenched hands, gritting his teeth as wild, vicious spasms racked his small frame. The doctors exchanged worried glances, and a nurse ran out of the room to be sick. It was disturbing, the age and the hatred reflected in the eyes of a mere slip of a boy.
"Mai…Mai…you-"
He broke off, choking, and renewed his attempts at getting to his eyes with his thin fingers. A nurse approached cautiously, quietly, preparing to administer the sedative.
"Why, nii-san, why did you have to kill…"
He started crying for his mother and father and "Mai" all over again, thrashing violently against the hands restraining him-really, it was quite fortunate he was barely yet enrolled in the academy, or he would have been seriously capable of hurting someone, thought a doctor-and before he had the chance to draw in another disconcertingly shuddering breath, a needle was plunged into his pale arm and he was quieted.
"Miss! You're awake! How are you feeling?"
The woman's soft black eyes stared ahead of her, blank, unseeing, causing the cheerful nurse to pause, her smile fading.
"Miss?"
There was no response, just barely parted petal-soft lips, a strange emptiness in the patient's eyes that was entirely foreign to the clipboard-toting woman and shallow, disquieted breathing. The nurse pursed her lips and tried again.
"Miss? Miss…Mrs. Uchiha?"
The last word was said so lowly that it would have been impossible for a civilian to hear it. But the patient was no civilian, and she did. The nurse stopped for a moment, watching worriedly as the woman continued to stare ahead of herself, seemingly no longer breathing.
"Mrs. Uchiha?"
She had been warned not to mention names-it was the first thing that every staff member had been told when the woman and the boy arrived three days ago. A bad feeling blossomed in the pit of her stomach and then, without warning, tears began to spill onto the woman's cheeks, her eyes unblinking, her face emotionless, but the monitor displaying her heart rate going berserk. The nurse panicked.
"Doctor? Doctor!"
Low heels clicked frantically across the floor as the nurse hurried to attract the attention of any of her superiors. A small alarm sounded, causing a red light to flash above the door belonging to the elder Uchiha patient. Footsteps clattered down the hall.
And Uchiha Mai tuned an unearthly shade of white and lost consciousness.
"This is not the wisest idea you have suggested to us, Lord Hokage. We do not approve."
The Third Hokage looked at the pair that stood before him, the Village Elders.
"They are the last. It would be cruel to separate them, and it isn't as if they will put a drain on the village's resources. They are the sole heirs to an entire clan's wealth."
The man and woman exchanged a dark, unyielding look.
"The boy needs to be given to a foster family. He is too young. And the girl-"
A scathing look was directed at the leader of all the Hidden Leaf Village ninjas.
"She is an invalid. Not a shinobi. Not anymore."
The Hokage stood up, placing his palms flat on his desk, his voice low with tremendously restrained fury making his words resonate in his small office.
"They will stay together. I have arranged for an apartment for them to stay in, as I doubt it would be in their best interests to return to their compound. The boy is young, yes, but capable. To separate him from her is cruel, and to take from her what could be a reason for living is condemning her to her fate. The boy is already enrolled in the academy and she is very well-liked among the jounin of our village. As the Third Hokage, I am the sole power over our village's shinobi. Uchiha Mai is one of them. In a few years, Uchiha Sasuke will be as well. That is my decision."
Opulent kimonos crisply swished behind their turning owners and the Third Hokage, once he had sensed their presence fade entirely away, put a hand to the bridge of his nose, thinking of the two survivors of what would from then forever be known as the Uchiha Massacre, and cried.
"Don't touch her-"
A nurse stopped at the acid dripping from the young boy's furious tone. Well! She had never heard of such disrespect! Why, that boy's parents should have taught him better! Imagine speaking to a stranger, an adult, in such an insolent, hateful way!
She stopped in the middle of her train of thought at the look on the boy's face, pursing her lips and stepping away from the wheelchair at once. The boy elbowed past her.
"The Uchiha need help from no one."
And at that, her blood ran cold. Uchiha. She had heard that…she had heard horrible things. The Uchiha. She had no idea that the two she was assigned to assist were those two. The last of the most prestigious bloodline in the Hidden Leaf Village…
Sasuke, scowling, snatched the paper with his new address on it right out of the woman's hands and, with considerable effort from his eight year old form, began pushing the woman in the wheelchair away.
It was the beginning of a new life. A new existence. And seeing those blank eyes, the detestably sickly whiteness of her face, and the bandages around her throat made little Sasuke's hands tremble on the handles of the wheelchair. He would kill his brother. For his mother and father. For his clan. And for Mai.
"We practiced throwing shuriken today. Iruka-sensei praised my skill in front of the entire class. The other boys were jealous, and the girls annoying as usual. It doesn't make a difference, though, because we are of the Uchiha, and we excel. Right Mai?"
Sasuke watched for any reaction, but there was nothing reflected in the eyes that had always been so soft, so warm…he put the spoon to her mouth and made sure (with not some satisfaction) that she swallowed. There. She had managed to finish an entire bowl of soup!
"I'm going to keep getting more and more powerful. And next time, I'll be strong enough to protect you. I swear."
His little fingers brushed carefully at the now exposed scabbing at her throat. He was due to take her in to get her stitches removed soon…
"I won't let him hurt either of us again."
The boy left the bowl he had been feeding her out of on the table and instead pushed her chair out onto the little balcony connecting to their apartment.
"Some fresh air will be nice, right? You used to love sitting outside after training. And soon you'll be better and then you'll help me train, right? You should be the one to help me! You're way better than anyone else. You're one of the fastest ninjas ever! Just like-"
And there Sasuke spoke no more, because the fastest ninja in the village had always been Shisui…who people suspected was actually killed by…Itachi. His black eyes darkened and his knuckles turned white from how fiercely he gripped the handles of the wheelchair.
He wouldn't cry. Not anymore. Not in front of Mai.
"I'll get stronger. I will."
She didn't speak for a year. And Sasuke, too, as if in honor of her silence, withdrew into himself, becoming cold and unapproachable. It was only when Sasuke, losing faith in his own gentle methods and careful avoidance of anything that would remind her of the night they had lost everything, became desperate that there was a change.
"I've mastered it, Mai. Just as well as he did. You'll see."
He locked the wheels of her chair for safety and, standing over the lake, made a handsign. He took in a deep breath, and, feeling secure in their surroundings, used the largest amount of chakra he had ever used before and spewed a fireball of immense proportions over the lake. It was so excessively large, it seemed to swallow up the entire body of water beneath it. The night sky around them was set ablaze like day, and Sasuke knew, he simply knew that the raging inferno that he had created was visible even in the village.
It was the first time he had attempted that jutsu since that night.
"I'll surpass him, Mai, and I'll avenge our clan. I'll make him regret killing mother and father…Shisui…Auntie…everyone! I'll make him regret trying to kill you."
And then, hearing a shallow intake of breath that was entirely irregular, he turned and nearly stumbled in surprise. Those eyes…they were soft again, filled with tears. He was quiet, waiting. Barely daring to breathe. And then-
"Sasuke!"
Her voice was hoarse, barely intelligible even in the quiet of the evening, but he heard it and hardly dared to move as she burst into tears.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry."
And he bounded over to her and tossed his arms around her and pulled her thin frame into a hug-feeling disturbed at the ease with which it came to him, ignoring precisely how thin she was. He almost smiled, though, because she was back.
It took another year for Mai to recover to the point of being able to walk on her own.
"Mai! I'm home."
With a smirk on his face, he reached up and straightened his brand new headband. Having passed his test-as he was entirely sure he would-he was one step closer to fulfilling his destiny. He tossed his bag on the floor, glancing around. Could she be out?
"Sasuke! I'm in the kitchen!"
So she was. He calmly, collectedly strode into the aforementioned room, where Mai was apparently preparing dinner. Even though he was used to it-she did it every night, after all-he still felt a small twinge of grief at the familiarity of it. After all, it was his own mother who had taught her how to cook when she had first joined their family as a young…
"Sasuke, you're home early…oh-"
She broke into a wide grin that nearly made her look as she had before, when she had taken him training, bought him candy, lived with him and his family as…But no, she wasn't. Not anymore. In name, perhaps, but that could be changed. Her face was still gaunt, and even her joy subdued. He fought off a shudder at the dark scar at her throat-he hated it and he loved it all at once. It had almost killed her, but it was proof that she was alive.
"I'm so proud of you, Sasuke! Not, of course, that I ever doubted you could do it. If I did, I certainly wouldn't have gone to the trouble of making such a large meal. I even made sweets!"
She laughed and danced over to him, her smile wide and her arms as inviting as they had always been. He rolled his eyes a little at that, because he knew her love of sweets-he himself didn't particularly care for them, but when she made them, he'd enjoy them, simply for that reason. She pulled him into a tight embrace.
"You're a genin now! Have you been assigned to your squad yet? Who's your teacher? Do I know him? Oh, I probably do! Maybe!"
She released him and went off humming into the kitchen, leaving Sasuke to follow, amused. "No, I haven't, and I won't find out who my teacher is until tomorrow," he started, settling down in a chair to watch her put her long black hair-characteristic of all the Uchiha-in some sort of twisted up-do with chopsticks. He took notice of a plate on the counter top, with season-appropriate sweets on it, his eye immediately drawn to skewered dumplings, pale pink, white, and machta green.
"You made dango. I remember you used to love it so much. What was the name of that tea shop? The one you used to go to almost every afternoon?"
He regretted so foolishly mentioning it, because in that very instant, Mai stiffened and stopped in the middle of stirring a pot. Her face had become blank again, and it scared Sasuke more than it would have if she had begun screaming or crying or anything but that. A whole year, he had tried to break her out of her shell, and he was terrified of the thought of losing all he had left in the world to that empty, hollow husk again.
"Mai, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"
She shrugged very carefully, making what was clearly a Herculean effort to return to some sort of normalcy, turning and smiling as brightly as she could at him. He felt sick.
"It was the Kanseina Aka Chashitsu. The 'Quiet Red' Tearoom. And I still love dango. Always."
He didn't say another word, not until much later that evening.
"I want to be reinstated."
The Third Hokage looked at the pale woman in front of his desk with not a little surprise. She was still sickly looking, and he knew better than anyone else about the great pains young Sasuke Uchiha had gone to in order to make her more herself. He knew that it had taken her a year to speak, to feel. Another to walk on her own two feet. She was capable now of moving about on her own entirely unassisted, even at great distances, and he knew that her chakra had settled. It was all in the medical report he had received.
But reinstatement?
"I apologize, but I cannot help but feel that it would not be wise for you to return to the field-not yet, at least. And I do not know that the elders will agree to have you reinstated."
"Why? Haven't I always served honorably? Haven't I defended the village?"
The Hokage sighed, wearily pinching the bridge of his nose as he mulled over how to handle this particular case with care.
"Of course you have. That is not the issue. Consider your history. I think that-"
He stopped when he felt the temperature in the air change and looked up, face grim, to see her eyes cold, her expression seemingly cracking-until she composed herself.
"With all due respect, sir, I trust that you aren't questioning my allegiance to this village? That my personal life and my surname are not the basis of your decision?"
The Third Hokage looked her quite evenly in the eye. It was…difficult…to keep quiet. He knew exactly what her thoughts were centered on, or, more accurately, who her thoughts were centered on and wished that he could set things right by revealing the truth…
Of course, that was impossible. But it didn't stop him from wishing all the same.
"No, Mai. I am not. My decision is based entirely on the fact that I do not believe that you are fit enough for duty yet. I am not saying that I will not reinstate you, only that this is not the time. Do you understand?"
Mai's expression became desperate.
"Lord Hokage, I would respectfully request that you reconsider. The body is only a single aspect of one's being, and it is more for the sake of my mind that I beg you to reconsider. I need to return to my work. It kills me to be here. Please…"
She bowed at the waist until her forehead touched her desk, and the Third Hokage sighed. Unfortunately, he understood her poorly worded meaning and sighed.
"You will not be an ANBU. You will need to work your way up in the ranks again. You will prove yourself capable or you will be discharged or permanently demoted."
Mai, wrung her ever-patient hands, closing her eyes and sighing, nodded.
"I understand. If that is what it takes…"
The Third Hokage exhaled slowly. He wasn't sure yet, if he had made a wise decision or a foolish one. Perhaps in time his choice would be rewarded.
"Very well. By my authority as the Third Hokage, I reinstate you, Uchiha Mai, as a shinobi of this village and grant to you the rank of genin. You will not be required to take the chunin exam to advance, but I will require the recommendation of a jounin prior to your private testing. You are dismissed."
It hit Mai like a slap to the face. Genin? She had once served the village as an elite ninja, a member of the Special Assassination and Tactical Squad, and now she was worth no more than an Academy graduate? But she squared her shoulders and held her head high, uncaring of the dark scar along her throat, and nodded, just once.
"Thank you, sir."
The Third Hokage lifted his head, then. There. There it was. In that lonely, broken woman, was the Will of Fire. It had returned to her. And so would she return to herself. Out of respect for her strength, he decided to put off no longer what had burdened him since her name was announced.
"Wait a moment, Mai."
She did, standing tall as she could, feeling more herself than she had in what seemed like an age. The Third Hokage looked her evenly in the eye.
"I wasn't planning to speak with you so soon…"
When he considered what the past few years, it seemed like it really was too soon.
"But I have been asked…by your young charge…"
Mai tried not to wince, but it was nearly impossible, given how inaccurate that statement was. Sasuke kept her alive for a year, fending both for her and himself, and then spent another year helping her return to some sort of working state. The Hokage continued.
"On the night that your family was massacred…"
Mai closed her eyes.
"You received that scar on your throat, the very same one that led young Sasuke Uchiha to believe that he had lost you as well as the rest of his family. By some miracle, you survived."
Indeed she had, Mai thought with a soft bitterness, fighting to keep her fingers from touching the dark slash across her throat. To this day, she didn't know how she had survived, against a ninja of his caliber, against such honest killing intent.
"I will speak plainly. Sasuke Uchiha has requested, in his capacity as Head of the Uchiha Clan, that, with your consent, your marriage to Itachi Uchiha be annulled."
The Aftermath/End.