Replies to Reviews:
Believing in tomorrow,
Thankyouu! I'm glad you're liking it and I'm glad you don't think Itachi is out of character.(: I know. It's like losing the person you cheat off of! Hahahha. As for your guess, one, it's not lame hahhaha, and two, I won't say if you're right or wrong, but, don't worry, you'll find out sometime during the next few chapters.(: Oh, and, don't worry, this one is longer! XD Well, not much longer . . . but I do believe it's a tad bit longer . . . maybe . . . Hahahahha.
gaaragirl202,
Thankyouu!(:
Kuro Shinen Akuma,
Exactly. And thanks!(:
White Lioness Rin,
Oh noes! Here's the next chapter! I hope you didn't diiie! D: Hahhaha.
Scatter Inner Sakura,
Honestly, I can't wait, either! Hahhaha.
Chapter Song: One Small Year – Shawn Colvin
One small year
It's been an eternity
It's taken all of me to get here
Through this one small year
Chapter Eight – 365
(The following takes place in Kimi's point of view.)
Kimi let out a deep, tired breath. She was finally done. Boy, did she hate housework! Though, she did have to admit, the house did look much better. She just wished hadn't had to get down on her hands and knees, scrubbing it down with a bucket of water and a rag for it to be better. As she lazily plopped herself down next to her husband on the bed, she noticed he was looking particularly down. Kimi's expression softened as she snuggled into his side, wrapping one around him while using the other to intertwine their fingers, and resting her head on his shoulder.
"How long has she been gone?" Kimi asked quietly.
His reply was even quieter. "Exactly one year. I haven't seen my little girl, heard anything about or from her in three-hundred and sixty-five days." His voice went even quieter. "I just wish they would have kept an eye on her so I could at least know she's safe . . . or even alive," he said.
One lone tear escaped from his left eye, trailing down his cheek. Kimi knew there were many more just like it that Fumio was trying to stop. She hated seeing him in such pain, but, in all honestly, she had completely agreed with Jun . . . Emiko needed to do this and nobody should be sent after her.
"I'm sure she's fine, Fumio-kun. Emi knows how to take care of herself."
(The following takes place in Jun's point of view.)
Jun rubbed the black fibers of the torn fabric between his fingers, then brushed the back of his fingers against the cool metal attached to the fabric with Konoha's symbol engraved into it. He traced the engraving with middle finger, smiling lightly. He would never forget the day he gave this to Emiko, or the day it tore.
Six years ago . . . that's when she first received it. Deep inside the forest, Jun had handed her this ninja headband. He was amazed with her . . . she found all of them with no trouble; no trouble at all. Even as time went on, she never ceased to amaze him, every mission they got, and every day they were still in Konoha. She did everything to the fullest. Whether it be out on a mission, training, studying, or caring for Sasuke.
This very headband had been tired around her thigh until three and a half years ago, whilst out on a mission. As they were running through a forest outside of Konoha, the headband got caught on a try branch. Emiko, who normally pay attentions to even the smallest details, oddly enough faild to notice it was caught. So, she ran, causing it to rip completely off. As soon as we returned, we got her a knew one.
"You know, Jun-sensei, I'm actually glad it ripped," Emiko had said as she tied the one around her thigh, in the same spot the old one had been.
"And why is that?" Jun asked, chuckling lightly.
"Because, I think I much prefer this purple fabric over the black. It seems to even out the outfit more."
Even out the outfit. That's what she had said. Though, Jun had to admit, she was right. Purple beanie with a black rim, purple shirt, black shorts, and black shoes. With the black fabric, it went purple, black, purple, black, black, black. With the new one, it kept to the purple, black pattern. Jun laughed quietly. Emiko had rubbed off on him.
"Three-hundred, sixty-five days," he said, putting a little X in the corner of today's date on the calender. "Still not home. Though, I wonder . . . have you found him, yet, Emiko?"
(The following takes place in Sasuke's point of view.)
Sasuke walked to the edge of the cliff and sat down, allowing one leg to dangle off the edge while using the other to rest his arm upon. His eyes moved from the ocean below to the sky above. The sun was shinning brightly – too brightly for his taste – and there were only two clouds in the sky. One looked as if it was only inches away from the sun while the other was much, much farther away.
"Three-hundred, sixty-five days," Sasuke said quietly.
Emiko definitely was closer to Itachi than he was, if she hadn't found him already. She had had a head start. Even a year later, Sasuke still had mixed emotions about this situation. He loved Emiko, and didn't want to hurt her. However, his hatred for Itachi was stronger than his love for Emiko. He knew he was going to kill Itachi and he knew it was going to hurt Emiko, but he had to do it. Just as she had to try and find Itachi. Which, Sasuke had a feeling, she hadn't quite accomplished, yet. He wasn't sure why he felt that way . . . Perhaps it was just the simple fact that he hoped she hadn't found him, yet.
"I wonder . . . if she's doing any better? Or will she only be happy again when she finds him?" he asked himself.
"What are you talking about?" a voice called from behind, interrupting his thoughts.
Sasuke didn't even have to glance back. He knew that voice . . . it was Orochimaru. Sasuke ignored his question.
"Are you ready to get back to training?" Orochimaru asked as he chuckled lightly, realizing he wasn't getting an answer to the first question.
Sasuke, again, didn't answer with words. He simply stood up and turned to follow Orochimaru. He took one last glance back at the sky. The one cloud had finally caught up to the sun, blocking some of it's light. In the past year, Sasuke hasn't once seen a cloud pass over the sun, something that was quite unusual, especially during the winter months. Today was the day Emiko would find Itachi.
"And she doesn't even know I left . . ."
(The following takes place in Emiko's point of view.)
Emiko leaned against the tree she was on, breathing heavily as she stared at the ground far below. She had to keep going. She couldn't just give up now. Though, she knew she was exhausted. Using the Level Four Tracking Jutsu non-stop for a year? Within a couple days, it uses more chakra than normal ninjas use within a couple years. She was amazing she had lasted this long. She wasn't even sure how she was still alive, let along still running around using the jutsu. All she knew is that she can't give up . . . not yet – not before she finds Itachi.
Emiko closed her eyes and tried to keep from falling or passing out, her breathing sstill jagged and heavy. Through her noisy breathing, Emiko could hear two pairs of feet walking casually below. They passed under her and continued on. Then one stopped. The other seemed to walk ahead a little more before stopping. Guess it took them a second to realize the other had stopped.
Emiko forced her eyes open, squinting from the sun, which had been covered by a cloud, but still made everything so bright. Not too far from the tree she was standing on, she saw two people. Just like she had heard, one was a little farther ahead of the other. Both were dressed in black cloaks with red clouds on them. Emiko looked at the one farther ahead.
He was carrying a big sword and he . . . well, he looked like a shark. There was no other way to describe it. He had blue skin, gills on his cheeks, and blue hair that was only a shade darker than his skin. He was looking at his friend with a smile on his face, yet his expression questioning. Then Emiko turned her gaze to the one closest to her . . . and gasped.
Itachi. The other man was Itachi. No doubt about it. He didn't look much different, just older, obviously. His eyes were just as lifeless as they were the last time she had seen him. There was just one problem . . . Emiko couldn't tell if he was real or not. Hell, she didn't even know if his partner was real. Her vision was blurry, she hadn't slept in god knows how long, and she was completely and utterly exhausted. Itachi, she tried to call out, but she found she had no voice left.
Suddenly, her body caved in to the exhaustion and collapsed. The last thing she saw was Itachi's lifeless eyes, the last thing she felt was a gust of wind as she fell from the tree, and the last thing she thought was, "He wasn't real."
