Two dark haired shinobi perched easily in the shade of the ancient trees around them sat in silence, the only noise belonging to the birds and insects around them. Itachi turned to his cousin, their eyes meeting as an unspoken agreement passed between them and the two Uchiha men raced forward suddenly with a single purpose in mind: attack the stranger who was foolish enough to venture into their hidden training camp. Amaterasu screamed as a kunai was placed against her throat viciously, attempting to wrench herself from the grasp of her attacker. Itachi's eyes widened momentarily before his faced returned to its normal impassiveness and Shisui ground his teeth together in irritation.
"Why are you here you stupid girl? This area is dangerous to a civilian, especially an ignorant girl whose head is so stuck in the clouds that she's never seen the world?" The angry young man spat out bitterly, his eyes glaring daggers at Itachi's friend as she brushed a bit of dirt off of her plain black shirt. "I'm here to search for injured animals, Uchiha. And last I checked, this is a public place that welcomes civilian hikers, stupid, so don't you DARE give me crap about being here!" Ama retorted angrily, her normally warm eyes turning cold and reflecting her resentment towards the older boy.
Itachi rubbed the bridge of his nose and patted the girl's back in an attempt to calm her and prevent the adolescent from doing anything stupid. Light filtered through the thick foliage above the unlikely trio, casting long shadows and preventing the group from noticing the storm clouds beginning to roll in as they began to search for any animals in silence. The female listened as the two boys discussed new training techniques and smiled to herself as even Shisui seemed like less of a pretentious asshole and Itachi smiled at her warmly, beckoning her forward as he pointed to a family of foxes playing in a small clearing. Shisui watched the girl intently, taking note of her suddenly peaceful demeanor as she watched the kits roll around and nip at one another and found himself almost growing fond of her friendly smile. Ama noticed him watching her and grinned cheerfully, causing him to give a quiet 'humph' before he resumed his half-hearted glare, though Amaterasu knew that he didn't mean anything by it.
Itachi watched the two and almost found himself growing hopeful that they might become friends, making it easier to spend time with both of them when he didn't have an anbu mission. Soon the trio were attempting to trip one another as they stumbled through the thick underbrush, Ama being the most frequent victim to the rough- albeit friendly- play and the two former adversaries began to laugh and talk with one another, much to Itachi's delight. The sky began to grow dark and the three began to take notice of the growing strength of the wind, causing the two Uchiha to look at one another in worry as the girl continued to push on. "Ama, we should head back home; it's getting too dangerous out here," Itachi began, stopping at the questioning glance the child sent to him. "If you guys want to return to the compound, then be my guests. I, however, refuse to leave here until I have found either an animal or am content with the idea that none are injured at this time," the girl replied coolly. Shisui's eye twitched with irritation as the stubborn girl turned back to her search and he grabbed her arm roughly. "Listen, Itachi's worried about you and dangerous weather is rolling in, so go back home to your stupid books and quit wasting your time and risking your neck in these," a light flashed through the sky, "god-forsaken woods and," a clap of thunder, "stop trying to be a hero, because you're nothing more than a stupid, ignorant little girl!" He finished as the wind screamed angrily, the earth shaking as thunder clapped around them. Lightning danced through the clouds and dirt began to blow into their young eyes, irritating them.
Amaterasu stood as strong as any shinobi however and refused to back down from Shisui's intimidating stare. "You can call me what you want, Uchiha Shisui, and treat me like a child, but do not mistake my love of life for all creatures as stupidity. I refuse to go home right now, but I do advise you to run home before your mommy and daddy start to worry," Ama said coldly, her eyes narrowing as she turned and began to move again. The elder Uchiha scoffed and turned back towards the village, glaring at Itachi. "Whatever. I'm going home now, so if you want to die out here then be my guest. Itachi, are you staying here or are you going to be intelligent and go back home like me?" Shisui asked his cousin, earning a subtle nod as Itachi followed him. "Be careful Ama," Itachi said softly as he headed home, ignoring the gut wrenching feeling as they turned away from the girl. Ama glared at their backs as they parted ways and turned away, walking again.
Cold raindrops fell on her head, blinding the girl as she struggled through the thick foliage in an attempt to find shelter as the storm grew steadily worse. Ama shivered and hugged herself as she regretted not bringing a jacket with her, the cold seeping into her bones and causing her teeth to chatter. Thunder boomed as lightning tore through the sky and split the air, making the girl jump and walk faster, eager to get out of the weather. Just as she found a small patch of earth with a rocky overhang, the child tripped and tumbled to the ground, hitting her head and sending her into darkness.
Itachi and Shisui stood under a shop's overhang in an attempt to get out of the rain for a moment, neither boys speaking as they watched the treeline for any sign that the stubborn girl had come to her senses and was attempting to return to the village. Shisui glanced down at his feet as he guiltily thought about the cruel things he had said to the sweet girl and promised himself that he would apologize and make it up to her when the weather would allow it. Suddenly, lightning struck the trees and smoke began to rise from the distant area, the same direction that Amaterasu had been headed. The cousins exchanged worried glances before the dashed away and headed for the trees, both feeling a sense of foreboding as they ran to the girl's aid.
Ama sat up and rubbed her aching head, sharp pains shooting down her body as she wearily stood up. Smoke filled the air and Ama heard the distinct crackle of fire as she became aware of the world once more. To her left, she could see the faint glow of flames and she began to run blindly, terrified for her life as the fire began to devour the green world around her. The girl tripped several times as she stumbled in the dark in an attempt to escape the hungry flames behind her, screaming for Itachi or Shisui to find her. Light appeared not only in front of her, but also on the right and she changed direction, running to her left as the storm continued to escalate and the winds picked up, carrying the ashes with it and burning her eyes with the intense heat. Amaterasu was surrounded on all sides by the angry flames and her knees buckled as fear overtook the child, tears clinging to her lashes and the wrenching sobs tearing through her frame as she felt her death grow ever closer. Her parents' smiling faces played in her mind as she squeezed her eyes shut, willing everything to just be a terrible nightmare that she would soon wake from, awaken to a reality where she could hug her mother and kiss her father's cheek happily, a world where she would attend the academy and fail miserably, content in the fact that she simply wasn't cut out to be a kunoichi.
The girl screamed as she felt the first tongue of flame lick her skin, choking on her own terror as the air grew more and more difficult to breathe. Smoke filled her lungs and Amaterasu whimpered as she began to fall unconscious, her previous head wound began to take its toll on her body and mind; she was beginning to grow delirious from the pain. Ama saw her father step from between the burning tree trunks and reached for him, no longer aware of the fire that began to burn her flesh away as she stumbled towards the illusion, no longer feeling the pain from her head and scorched skin as she saw her mother walk towards her, the older woman's arms open and ready to embrace the girl. She was only aware of the presence of two other people as she was burned alive. Ama stepped forward and hugged her dearest mother, only to be wrenched back to reality as her arms met only fire and she screamed angrily, the pain forcing her to collapse as her entire body was engulfed in flame. The last thing the girl was aware of was the dark outline of two people rushing to her side.
When Ama awoke, the first thing she was aware of was the pain shooting up and down her body. The second was the completely sterile scent of a, dare she imagine it? hospital room. She sat up and tenderly gripped her side as the monitors began to beep in warning, signaling the patient had returned to the world of the living. Ama felt a warm hand brush hers and she looked over only to be met with the sight of both Uchiha Itachi and Shisui sitting at her bedside, both deeply asleep and bearing faint burn marks. The child smiled at them and looked up when a nurse entered the room, relief flooding the woman's face when she saw the child was conscious and able to move. "How are you feeling? Wait, don't answer that. What a stupid question, of course you're in pain," she said as she began checking the girl's charts and her current condition. "What happened? I should be dead right now," Ama said quietly. The nurse smiled sympathetically and patted the younger's hand gently, their skins barely touching. "You would have had these two boys not rushed you out of the fire and brought you directly to the hospital. It's been a few weeks and I know they've been worried sick; the one with a ponytail was in fits when he was ordered to go on a mission that lasted several days. And the other boy! Oh, he was in tears when a doctor informed them that you probably wouldn't live but here you are, alive and even capable of movement. You were extraordinarily fortunate to have survived you know; it was nothing short of a miracle." Ama laid back down, her mind reeling as she thought about what had transpired and she felt her heart grow heavy as she realized the two young men beside her had risked their lives for her even though she hadn't been kind to them when they parted ways, though the exact details were fuzzy. Her head began throbbing painfully and she winced, earning another sympathetic glance from the nurse. Her kind brown eyes seemed to cry for the young girl and truth be told, it pissed the child off; who was this strange woman to pity her? Movement beside her distracted Ama and she glanced over to see Itachi and Shisui beginning to wake up, their eyes still hazy from sleep.
Itachi seemed to notice Ama had finally woken up first as his eyes were the first to widen and he grabbed her hand as though that would prove that he wasn't dreaming. "You're awake!" he exclaimed, his eyes bright and joyful as were Shisui's when he became aware of the girl sitting up. Ama nodded and smiled at them, though it hurt her physically to do so. "Yes, awake and in pain. Itachi, if you'll let go of my hand, you'll alleviate some of that pain you know," she teased him, causing the boy to release her quickly. Ama stared at her lap ashamedly for a moment, choosing to not look at either boy. "Thank you for saving me, and I'm sorry for being so stubborn; if I had listened to you two, you wouldn't have had to risk your lives for me. Please forgive me," she finished as tears began to leak from her eyes. Shisui stood and kissed her forehead tenderly, sending mixed emotions through both Itachi and Amaterasu while doing so. "I'm the one who should be sorry Ama; I was way too cruel to you before. What I said was uncalled for and unforgivable, but I hope you'll forgive me anyway Ama-chan," Shisui said with a small grin, his eyes sad and hopeful as he stared intently at the girl.
She smiled back and patted his arm, wincing at the movement. "Of course Shisui-kun," she whispered as she began to fall asleep once more, thoroughly exhausted from the effort of moving. Shisui held her hand gently and for the first time in his life, Itachi felt neglected as he watched the two make up and form a bond so different from any that he had ever had.
Itachi was jealous of his two best friends and it would eventually drive him mad.
Wow, intense huh? I spent hours trying to get this just right and it is currently... 1:32 am, so it'll be about 1:50 when this is finished uploading. I'm exhausted, so you'd better love me. Goodnight.