I sat on the top of the first carriage, a pair of binoculars sitting beside me. Shun was walking beside the last one, keeping one of the girls company while we made slow progress down our current path. The other two, of course, were sleeping in the carriage that I sat atop of. It had been three days since we started on this quest, taking turns with watches, and talking to the elders and their maids.
It had been so boring. The elders had no real shinobi experience, just in the position 'cause they lived in the village for so long. 'They're wise.' Was what Taji told me. Yeah right. They're just old as hell. I huffed to myself, braiding different strands of my hair together, trying to keep myself occupied while waiting for the other two to wake up and take over.
The flap to the back of my wagon opened up, revealing a very dishevelled Shisui, which I guess was just Shisui in general. I grasped his hand and hauled him up to the top of the wagon as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes with a lopsided grin.
"Hey there, sleepin' beauty. Have a nice nap?" I asked him ruffling his hair to its proper state. He yawned in response before taking a seat next to mine. He glanced at me before making a face, and then grabbed one of the braids that I had made. "What's with all these?"
I shrugged my shoulders, "I was bored. Shun is talking up one of the few maidens over there, so I've been up here by myself." He gave a snort before looking at the boy in question. As I told him, Shun was talking to the girl, while she blushed madly. I shook my head before turning my attention to the road ahead of us. I sighed to myself, resting my head on my hands while lazily scanning the horizon. We were approaching a steep mountainside, where we would have to slowly make our way down the side on a very very narrow path, one that barely fit the carriages.
When we reached the edge, we saw the grand valley below, and the many rivers than ran throughout the land. It was quite beautiful, to be honest. It stretched out for miles.
One of the maidens called us over to talk to our squad. Shun winked at his female friend before grabbing Taji from his slumber. Shisui and I jumped down and walked over as she patiently waited for the other two to join us. She waved her hand over the vast land before speaking.
"This is the Land of Rivers. Quite breathtaking, isn't it?" "Very." I responded. "But as beautiful as it is, this is the most dangerous part of our journey, aside from the constant threat of bandits. The path down the face of the mountain is unfortunately very narrow; therefore we need to take it at about half the speed we've been going." She explained with a pained expression. "And we need to be extremely careful. There is a group of bandits that tend to use this to their advantage."
"So we'll need everyone awake and aware for this portion of the trip. Sorry Suchiru and Shun, looks like you guys get to pull a double shift." Shisui told us, taking charge. We all nodded, getting into our positions. I stayed at the front of the caravan, while Shun and Taji watched the three middle carriages, and Shisui brought up the back.
The maiden took the lead, guiding the lead ox down the path. I walked beside her, keeping my eyes open for any strange movement. My eyes landed on the woman beside me, and I looked her over. She had a kind face, always smiling. Bright blue eyes, and her lilac coloured hair was done up in an extravagant bow. The clothes she wore reminded me of a shrine maiden, the classic white top and red pants. I was brought back to the present when I heard her voice.
"Are you not a little young to be a shinobi?" I blanked at the question, "Well, no, not really. At least not where I come from?" I tried to explain. "Most people begin their training at a young age in Konoha. And some even younger than others. I started learning when I was barely three. It's a bit odd, now that I think about it." She seemed to be deep in thought over my answer.
Then she stopped. Just stopped walking. I looked over to her, and noticed she was staring in front of us, eyes squinted. I looked in the same direction and noticed a few odd bumps on the side of the mountain. I immediately jumped to the top of the first carriage and called out for our squad leader.
"Shisui! Come'er!" He jumped over the carriages and next to me as I pointed out in front of us. "What are those?" He squinted, trying to see what it was. "Not sure, give me a sec." He then activated his sharingan, "They're definitely shinobi. Their chakra networks are too defined for anything else. And they happen to be sitting right over the path."
"Well what are we going to do?" I asked him as he deactivated his eyes. "I'll stay up front with you just in case. Excuse me, miss?" He directed his attention to the woman in the lead. "Would it be ok for us to lead the caravan at this point? I'd rather have everyone inside and protected than out in the open." She shook her head, much to our confusion.
"I can be useful. I am not just a guide for this caravan, but also a medic. Besides, Shida only likes when I guide him." She explained to us while stroking the nose of the ox. Shisui looked at me to say something, and I just shrugged my shoulders. "As long as she stays to the back of the action, she should be fine, I think." He considered his options, but decided to let her stay.
"Alright, I'll let the others know what's going on. When we move, you stay with her, Suchiru. No arguments." I nodded and our guide smiled kindly at us. I jumped down and stood beside her. "I never did ask. What's your name?"
"My name is Michiko." I nodded with a small smile. Shisui then appeared in front of us, nodding. "Alright, let's keep going then." The caravan started back up again, everyone on their guards. No doubt that the shinobi in front noticed us stopping, but with any hope they weren't raiders. So far we haven't run into any, and I don't want our luck to change.
We inched closer, the shapes getting clearer. I inwardly groaned. They were Iwagakure shinobi, and they were armed to the teeth. I laid a hand on the handle of my tanto, and took another step in front of Michiko, trying to keep her behind me without being too suspicious. Shisui put his hands behind his head, trying to appear relaxed, but also having his hand near the handle of his own tanto. I looked over to Michiko, smiling at her gently. She nodded hesitantly, knowing that I was warning her to be on her guard.
As predicted, they jumped immediately into action. One of them caused an avalanche using earth ninjutsu. I jumped and clung to the side of the mountain and formed a few seals, then slapped my hands against it. A large canopy of earth sheltered the caravan from the tumbling boulders, and I nodded to Shisui and the others.
"We're good here, get them!" They jumped into action, taking on the five shinobi. I stayed with the caravan, just in case any of our enemies got by. I was suddenly grabbed from behind by the back of my shirt and roughly shoved off of the side of the mountain. I twisted to grab two kunai with thread attached to them, throwing them into the cliffside. I pulled on the threads, swinging myself full force into the side of the mountain, grunting at the impact.
I stood against it, using my chakra to stay in place. The others seemed to be fine with their opponents, easily taking on what seemed to be chunin level shinobi. I ran back up to Michiko, only to find her sitting against the side with a stab wound in her stomach. I grabbed a few bandages from my pack and quickly pressed them to her wound, "Are you alright?!" She nodded yes, and then proceeded to heal herself. "It's alright, I'll be ok. Go join your friends, make those bastards pay for messing with our caravan." I stared in shock at her words, but did as she told me.
I jumped into the action, swinging my tanto at one of the men going for Taji, cutting his back. He went down, and I moved on to the man who threw me off the side of the cliff. I threw a few shuriken at him, which he easily dodged. He came at me with his khopesh, swinging down and forcing me to deflect the blow with my own sword. I ducked in anticipation of his next swing, only to get a swift kick to the head, bouncing it roughly off the mountain side.
I grabbed my head, trying to stop it from spinning. The man grabbed the front of my shirt and lifted me off the ground, holding his sword back for the stab. I barely had any time to process what happened before a hot white pain shot through my side. I looked down to see his blade covered in blood. My blood. He pulled his sword away, making me gasp in pain before he promptly dropped me to the ground.
I held my side, trying to stop the bleeding, but found I couldn't. This was the first time I had gotten a wound this bad, and to be honest, I wasn't sure what to do. Of course it was easier to take care of other people; you weren't the one in excruciating pain. The man stood above me, a dark smile on his face.
It didn't last long before a sword was run through his heart. He was kicked forward, his face landing beside where I sat. I looked down at him, only to see the smile. It made me incredibly uncomfortable and uneasy seeing that expression.
But I couldn't look away.
I heard yelling beside me, and then someone grabbed my shoulders, shaking me roughly. I looked at them from the corner of my eyes, only to see Shisui's worried face. He was speaking, but I couldn't hear him. Only muffled words. I felt a warmth wash over my stomach, it seemed that Taji was healing me. I closed my eyes, trying to focus on anything but the dead man beside me. Suddenly, I felt tired.
"Suchiru, please stay awake." Taji spoke. I hummed a yes, and opened my eyes again. The man was no longer there, seeming pushed off the edge if the blood stains gave any indication. Shisui kneeled down in front of me, looking at me with concern. I gave a small smile, trying my best to look okay, but it did little to assure him.
"Are you alright, Suchiru?" he asked me. I nodded. "I'll be alright. I get worse from training with Fugaku." He gave a small laugh, but I could tell he really didn't buy it. "It's good to know even on the brink of death, you still have a sense of humour." Shun spoke as he walked over to us, the other bodies nowhere in sight.
"Of course, I have to. It's to balance out the blandness the two of you have." I retorted, pointing at Shun and Taji. My side was feeling a lot better now that Taji was healing it. I was lifted up as soon as he stopped, and carried over to the front of the first carriage, and seated on the small bench that sat behind the ox. Michiko seemed to be up and running, calming the animal from the spook it just received. The others went back to their posts, looking out for any more raiders that may be around.
….
We reached the bottom of the mountain in no time, and picked our pace back up. I decided that I had enough time to recover and climbed back up to the top of my carriage. Shisui was sitting and looking around when I plopped myself down beside him. He looked over at me, smiling.
"How are you feeling?" I shrugged my shoulders. "Good. It has healed up nicely, so it doesn't really hurt anymore. And while I was sitting there in boredom, I looked through my pack and discovered that I still had a few dried peach slices." I said, waving the fruit in his face, only to have it promptly swiped and eaten by him. I gave him a glare while he tried to look as innocent as he could.
Fortunately the village was only a few hours away from the border, even at the pace we were going, so we reached it just after sundown. We made the transaction with the elders, who on top of paying us also supplied us with a place to stay the night. We graciously took the offer, and made our way to the hotel.
We entered our rooms, setting everything away and just taking time to relax. I flopped down on my futon, letting out a breath I didn't know I was holding. The door slid open to reveal one of the employees with a cart of food for us. We thank her and dug in, relishing the warm food.
"So, that wasn't really a B-rank. At least I don't think it was." I spoke while the others ate. "Well," Taji started, "that's coming from the only one of us who was stabbed. I think that Iwagakure really skimped out on their shinobi." I stifled a laugh, swallowing the rest of the stir fry I was eating before answering.
"That, or we aren't out of the clear yet. We still have to travel back. And that will take at least two days from here." Shun commented before I could. I shrugged my shoulders, stuffing my face again. The others finished their food quickly, then headed off to the hotel hot springs while I stayed behind and finished up my own food then cleaned up the room a bit.
I grabbed a towel from one of the cupboards, and an extra set of clothes and made my way down to the springs. I stripped down and removed my bandage from around my waist, wrapping a towel around me and walked out into the small bathing area. It felt like a huge weight had lifted off me as soon as I sat down and enjoyed the water. I let out a deep sigh, sinking into the water so just my nose was above the surface.
A few other women came in and joined me, talking amongst themselves as I kept to myself. They were loud and rambunctious, to the point where I had finally had enough and decided to get out. I quickly wrapped myself and made my way into the small change room, wrapping my wound and getting dressed. I walked back to the room, but the boys weren't back yet, so I relished in the quiet, getting comfortable in my futon and grabbing my book.
….
I was woken up before the sun came up the next morning. We ate a quick breakfast and were out on the road as soon as we could. The majority of the trip was spent in silence, which I thought was really out of character for someone like Shisui and Taji, given the two were quite loud most of the time. I guess them in their free time was different from them on missions.
We passed the big cliff we had our battle on the day before, quickly scaling it in only a few minutes, then passed the border into the Land of Fire, back into familiar territory. Only, it was eerily quiet, even more so than normal. I felt a cool air wash over me, and a wave unease settled in the pit of my stomach.
"Shisui-" I started, only to get cut off by a barrage of kunai. I whipped out my tanto, deflecting what I could, but still getting cut from a few. Someone dropped down in front of me, catching me by surprise. I flipped backwards, landing on the ground and getting ready for an attack. But none came.
"Uchiha Suchiru?" The cloak clad figure asked, his deep voice sending chills down my spine. I didn't answer, only looked up at him with slit eyes filled with confusion and anger. My team was gone, either not noticing I'd been attacked, or busy with this guy's friends. I gripped my sword tighter in my hand, my other ready to reach for my weapons pouch.
He flickered away, appearing right in front of me instead. He held a kunai to my throat, but I didn't budge. We would have had a stare off, but unfortunately I couldn't see his face, covered by his mask. That was when I realized that it looked exactly like one of the anbu masks that the black ops or the Foundation members wore back in Konoha had.
The Foundation…
"You're here to take me to Danzo, aren't you?" I asked the masked figure, taking a slight step back. He didn't move, and he didn't speak. That was when I knew I was right. I turned tail as soon as I could, using my wind style to speed myself up. He was almost silent in pursuing me, and I knew this was not the time to skip out on speed. I pushed myself hard, harder than I did when even Obito was chasing me.
I saw light between the trees, a clearing coming up. All I needed to do was get there, and hopefully, if my thinking was right, he wouldn't follow me out into the open. As I approached the tree line, I turned around, tanto in hand and braced myself for the landing. But I didn't land. Maybe I overestimated how high I was?
That notion was quickly dismissed as I watched the edge of the earth pass my line of vision.
"Suchiru!" I heard as I plummeted towards the forest below me. I quickly glanced towards the voice and saw my team watching over the edge of the cliff, then disappearing as I fell below the treetops, hitting every branch on the way down, and a sharp pain on my head.
Then nothing.
….
Wow my head hurts so goddamn much. Oh god, am I dead? I attempted to open my eyes, but the bright white light forced me to close them again. I groaned in annoyance, rubbing my eyes furiously. Over the course of the next two minutes, I slowly opened my eyes and allowed them to adjust to the light. I looked around, noting my surroundings. I was in a hospital room, the window open next to me and Taji sitting in the chair next to my bed.
"Taji…?" He looked over and closed his book, a sigh escaping his lips. "Where are we?" I asked him, trying to see out of the window.
"We are back in Konoha." I hummed in response. "What happened? After I fell off, I mean. The last thing I remember was seeing you guys at the edge of the cliff then nothing." He rubbed his eyes and crossed his legs in his chair.
"After you hit the trees, Shisui jumped down after you, even though he could have very well ended up in the same situation. Shun and I took a more rational way to get down before meeting up with him. When we got there you were out cold, cuts all over you. Then we picked you up and brought you home. Took us another day, but we got here." I blinked, wondering how long I was actually out for.
"It's been six days." I coughed, looking away in embarrassment. "Eeh, sorry for the inconvenience." He gave a short laugh. "Trust me, you were not the inconvenience." I raised an eyebrow at his statement, and opened my mouth to ask what he was on about, but the door to my room slid open, cutting me off. A tired Shun walked through the door, a take out bag in one hand, a box in the other. Shisui walked in after him, a bit gloomier than his usual self.
"What's with you two?" I asked with a smirk. Shun only sighed exasperated, while Shisui's head immediately popped up and a huge smile broke out of his face. I returned the expression, albeit not as enthusiastic as him. He walked over to the side of the bed, and I opened my arms with an eye roll, knowing well what he wanted. He wrapped his arms around my waist, burying his face in the crook of my neck, squeezing the daylights out of me. I hugged back, laughing.
"I thought you were dead." he said quietly to me, so the other two didn't hear. My eyes widened in surprise before I hugged him tighter. "I told you already. I won't go that easily." Shisui pulled back, a goofy grin on his face. Taji coughed beside us, bringing us to the present.
"If you two are done, I have a question for you, Suchiru." I gave him a little finger guns. "Shoot." He rolled his eyes before speaking again. "What exactly led up to the moments before you went sailing over the cliff edge?" I thought back, a hand on my chin.
"Well, we were on our way back to the village when a barrage of shuriken came out of nowhere. I deflected most of them, and then landed on the ground." He nodded along, the other two listening intently. "Some guy in a cloak and mask-" I decided to leave out the whole 'anbu/ foundation' part. We don't need that. Yet. "-asked my name. I didn't answer him. Instead I elected to run away from him, and when I looked ahead I saw what looked to be a clearing, but unfortunately wasn't. I turned to see if he was following me, then off the edge I went."
"He must have been with the guys that attacked us then." Taji muttered. I raised my eyebrows at him, urging him to elaborate. "After we got split up, two guys came out from nowhere and attacked. We dispatched of them easily thanks to Shisui, but it was quite odd. They almost looked like anbu or something." I furrowed my brows, thinking of the possibilities. Could they be coming after me because Danzo knows who I am? Or is he already making his move on Shisui? I wouldn't doubt the possibility of the former, but there is a chance of the latter, if Shisui's eyes have the abilities that Danzo is looking for.
"When am I allowed out of the hospital?" I asked, changing the subject. Shisui's face lit up, "They said when you wake up. All they have to do is check and see if everything is good, and then we can leave." I closed my eyes in relief.
"Thank the gods."
….
I sat at the kitchen table, tapping my finger on its surface, accompanied by an impatient Sasuke, and Fugaku, who seemed to be deep in thought. Mikoto was moving around the kitchen, finding anything to keep herself busy while we waited on the Uchiha prodigy. I huffed, leaning back and sprawling myself on the floor, legs still crossed. The youngest groaned in annoyance, the now seven year old getting quite impatient with his older brother.
"Mooom, I'm hungry! Do we have to wait for him?" Mikoto sighed, bringing the tea to the table and sitting down herself.
"No, Sasuke. We have to wait for your brother. It's only fair." I leaned back up, resting my elbows on the table only to get a swat from Fugaku. I grumbled, removing them to my lap, and instead resting my chin on it instead, only to get the same treatment. My head just fell to the side, but quickly snapped up when I saw the glare I was receiving from him. Sasuke snickered from across the table, and I only glared at him in return.
The front door slid open and then closed a moment later. A few moments passed before the eldest child walked through the doorway and graced with his presence. He sat down quietly, smiling gently at his parents before opening his mouth to speak.
"I have some news." My eyebrow rose, and his parents sat up attentively. "I've been promoted to captain." Mikoto clap her hands excitedly while Fugaku congratulated him with a slap on the back. Sasuke stared up at him in admiration and I kinda just sat there. I stared at him, wide eyed. I completely forgot that this would happen. Now it kinda just feels surreal. I gave him a smile before congratulating him.
The rest of the dinner went by, Sasuke raving about how great his big brother. I sat in a silence, only responding when asked a question. Itachi noticed something was off, but left it alone until he met me in the backyard as I sat on the edge of the porch. He sat down beside me, saying nothing. I swung my legs, swiping my toes across the blades of grass.
"Is everything alright?" His voice cut through the silence. I hung my head low, not really knowing what to say. "I'm not too sure, to be honest with you." He gave me a sad look, "Is it that problem that you had a while ago?" I couldn't believe he remembered that. I laughed quietly.
"Not really. I mean, it's kind of a part of it, but I'll be fine. I promise." I told him, holding out my pinkie. He sighed, but lifted his own pinkie to meet mine. I gave him a grateful smile, and he returned it after a moment of hesitation. These next couple of weeks are going to be a bit rough, and knowing what is about to happen, if it does, might actually kill me inside. I'm going to have to keep a close eye on Shisui, knowing that his suicide is what triggers the main event. I don't even know if they've been having the meetings either, and if they have, then I was seriously out of the loop.
"Is there anything weird you've noticed going on? Something that I'm not in on?" I asked him, turning to fully face him. He was surprised by the sudden question, "I'm not sure what you mean." I exhaled through my nose, turning away from him.
"I mean like, Uchiha only kinda deal." His eyes widened in realization, then smiled softly. "We consider you an Uchiha. If there was anything of the sort, you would be included, no question about it." I rubbed my forehead roughly, trying to get the growing sensation of oncoming tears to go away.
"Father is proud of you. Once you left for your first mission with your team, he talked about how much you've grown since you've arrived. Mother thinks the same way and Sasuke… thinks the world of you. You're as much of his sibling as I am." That was it. The tears started streaming down my face. Itachi stood up and walked in front of me, awkwardly opening his arms. I gave a short laugh before embracing him, crying into his shoulder, thanking him a dozen times.
….
A few days passed, and everyday I had found myself an excuse to tag along with Shisui, not that he necessarily minded. Today, we were out training our swordsmanship, out in one of the isolated training grounds. Our swords clashed with a screech, and I pushed him away and cart wheeled backwards.
"Come on, Shisui, at least put up a bit of a fight. I can handle it." I said to him with a smirk, getting back into a fighting stance with my tanto out in front of me. He let out a low chuckle, "Don't ask for things you don't want." I flickered in front of him, bringing my weapon down in a wide arc, forcing him to block. "Now when did I say that?" I asked before flicking him in the nose. He pushed me off of him, grabbing a kunai from his pouch.
Then he froze.
I raised an eyebrow at him, unsure of why he suddenly stopped. "Shisui what's wr-" He raised his hand to silence me. I watched his face, and then notice his eyes. His sharingan was activated, and he was looking directly behind me. I didn't move, not one inch. I felt someone behind me and immediately flickered away, landing in a crouch beside Shisui. Where I was standing moments before, three Foundation shinobi stood, weapons drawn.
"What are you doing here?" Shisui asked them, venom laced in his tone. They didn't answer, only throwing a barrage of kunai at the two of us. We both dodged them, heading into the trees for quick cover. The others were quickly upon us, throwing kunai and shuriken in barrages at us, yet only aiming for our lower bodies. One of them threw a paper bomb in front of us, and it activated just as I passed it. I was sent sprawling to the ground, burns and cuts littering the left side of my body.
"You idiot, he said to aim for the legs, we need their eyes." My heart dropped upon hearing the words, but my surprise was cut short when Shisui appeared in front of me, quickly grabbing my arm and hauling me away.
"Shisui, they want your eyes!" I quickly informed him. He grimaced at the thought, and quickly dove down behind a tree. I followed him down, standing in front of him. "We need to get out of here. Back to the compound." I told him as quietly as I could. He shook his head, "They won't stop." He pushed me behind himself, Danzo appearing out of the woods in front of us.
"Danzo… I knew it was you." I hissed at him, hating the man with every fibre of my being. He only stood there stoically, one arm in his shawl and the other holding his cane. The Foundation members stood behind him, making this quite the uneven battle.
"The Uchiha," He started, staring spitefully at the two of us, "are not to be trusted. They started the attack on the village, with the nine tails, only to 'save' it, making themselves out to be the heroes. And I know I'm not the only one who feels this way." He took a deep breath before waving his subordinates off, and they disappeared. Though I knew they weren't gone. They were just waiting. Waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. I kept my guard up.
"There are whispers in the village, what people say when they don't think anyone else is listening, that the Uchiha are going to attempt to take over the village," I choked, covering my mouth, and looked up at Shisui, who visibly tensed. Did he know? "And that is not acceptable. Your little suggestion to the Hokage- should it ever happen- will not solve the problem. It will only delay the inevitable." I started shaking, there's no way that this could be happening! Danzo must be speaking lies. There haven't been any signs whatsoever, not until this very moment.
"The distrust of your clan grows among the village-" Shisui finally spoke up. "I know. It's not hard to see the way people look at us. But given the time they'll see-" Danzo interrupted Shisui, not wanting to hear anything from him.
"Once someone is suspicious like me, they don't change. So what's your decision?" He asked, taking a step forward.
"L-Lord Danzo-" "When the time comes, will you use your Kotoamatsukami on Suchiru too?" He moved forward again, inching closer with every word he spoke. I grabbed the handle of my tanto, ready to intervene if necessary. "I-I'm-"
"Your sharingan will be safe with me!" He launched himself at Shisui, going to grab his eye, but Shisui was too fast. As soon as Danzo looked into his sharingan, it was too late. But I knew it wasn't over. There was no way he was going down that easy. "It's only genjutsu. He'll snap out of it quickly. But before he does we need to leave Suchiru." He spoke quickly, but paused when I didn't move from my spot. I knew what was going to happen. There was only one way to save him from losing his eye, and it was a bit unfortunate for me. "Suchiru we need to go now."
I saw the miniscule twitch from the corner of my eye, and waited for my opportunity. Danzo disappeared from between us, re-appearing to punch Shisui in the stomach- c'mon- then the head- just wait for it- then kicked him upward, giving himself enough time to take his eye. But it didn't happen. I quickly shoved Shisui out of the way of the man's outstretched hand placing my head exactly where Shisui's had been. I felt his fingers surround my eye, press behind then rip it out, the pain immeasurable. I let out a strangled cry as I hit the ground, one arm barely supporting myself and the other pressed against my empty eye socket. I jumped back to give myself space, and looked up at the bastard. He deposited my eye into a jar, and then quickly stashed it away.
"Girl, your eyes are not the ones I want, but I can always add new sharingan to my collection. Once I take your other one, I will come for yours next, Shisui." He growled from behind me, and then used a fire style to attack. Danzo's lackeys were back, shielding their master with a water style. Under the cover of the mist, Shisui grabbed me and supported me as we escaped.
We kept going for a few minutes, neither of us saying a word as I tried to stifle the pain, but failed miserably while tears poured down one cheek and blood down the other. He sat me down behind a large rock, leaning my head gently against it. I hissed, the pain in my socket getting worse. He quickly searched his pouch for some bandages, taking my hand away from my injury and replacing it with a gauze pad with ointment on it. I bit down on my knuckles to stop myself from screaming out, only letting out a small whimper.
"You're gonna be okay, Suchiru. I promise you'll be okay." He said to me in a hushed tone, pulling me into his chest. I gripped onto his shirt, trying to keep my voice down as much as I could, though I couldn't do much about the sniffling. I heard a soft thud behind Shisui and froze, but he only continued to sooth me.
"What happened here?" I heard Itachi voice speak out quietly. Shisui looked up, shaking his head. "Not here, we need to leave the area." My arm was lifted around his shoulders, leaving my left to try and attempt to sooth my aching skull. Itachi looked at me with concern, but did not say anything until we reached the training grounds by the Naka River. I shuddered at the thought of being here at this point. Shisui lowered me to the ground, allowing me to lean on him.
"What happened to you two?" Itachi asked hurriedly, concern showing on his feature quite evidently. "It was Danzo." I spat his out, absolutely disgusted with him. Shisui hushed me, knowing I wasn't exactly helping the situation.
"Danzo sent members of Foundation after us. He wants the Kotoamatsukami. She sacrificed her own eye to save mine. He believes that she has the sharingan, which may save us some time." Itachi looked incredibly guilty, and it made my heart ache. "Stop it with that look, Itachi. None of this was your fault. You couldn't have possibly known." I told him, but he only looked to the ground, making me think that there was something more going on then I knew.
"A few days ago, you asked me if there was something that we were keeping you out of." I nodded, knowing exactly where this was going. "There have been a few of the clan that believe that because it was the Uchiha who stopped the attack, that we deserve more recognition in the village. Father has been trying to defuse the situation, but I fear that at some point it may get out of hand." He explained to me, somewhat afraid of my reaction. I sighed, grunting as I lifted myself off of Shisui.
"Thank you, for telling me. I appreciate it. But I kinda already had a feeling that something was amiss. I wasn't sure what, but lately the air has been a little colder."
"So you're not mad at us?" Shisui asked me, curious. I gave a small laugh. "No, I'm not mad at you. I could never be mad at the two of you." His posture relaxed, and Itachi let out a sigh of relief. "Anyway, let's get back home. We have to let Fugaku know what happened." I said to the two boys as I got up. Shisui offered me a piggyback ride, which I gratefully took, and we made our way to the compound, making record time.
I slid off of him, and we entered the front door, brushing my fingers through my long hair in attempt to make it somewhat neat. I peeled my bloody shoes off of my feet, the boys following. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and Itachi gave me a smile before walking in before me. Shisui offered me his arm, and I grabbed it, allowing him to be my guide for the evening. Fugaku and Mikoto sat at the table; Sasuke was in his room, being later at night. Their expressions read confused as Itachi entered the room; he was supposed to be on a mission. Then a small gasp left Mikoto's lips as she saw me with bandages wrapped around my eye and forehead.
Fugaku immediately stood up, "What the hell happened?" he demanded from the three of us. Shisui helped me sit down beside Mikoto, and she undid the wrapping around my head, tears escaping when she removed the gauze pad covering my empty eye socket. She quickly grabbed a few ointments from the cupboard, and then came back to me, attempting to heal the gouge with medical ninjutsu. The two boys- mostly Shisui- informed Fugaku what happened, and his anger kept building with every sentence that was spoken.
"Mikoto," he spoke quietly, "prepare her." She ceased her healing right away, helping me up and to a room down the hallway I don't ever remember seeing. As the lot of us entered the room, Fugaku lifted up a floor tile, revealing a set of stairs. I hesitantly walked down them, using the wall and Shisui as support. Even the two boys were as confused as I was.
"Mikoto and I have been discussing this for a while now, Suchiru." he began, searching through various drawers that lined the walls, picking out different medical equipment as she opened a small chest that sat beside an operating table. I couldn't say anything. I was scared. I gripped onto Shisui's sleeve a bit tighter as he set an almost glare on the clan head.
"You've been with our family ten years, and it was only a matter of time before we brought it up." he continued. "Think of it as a sort of… initiation, into the clan. We planned on transplanting the eyes when you became sixteen, but it seems like fate wants to push things along a bit faster than we wanted." I was shaking where I stood. This wasn't like the two of them at all. I looked between the two of them, Fugaku looking as professional as he usually did, and Mikoto standing by his side, the jar with a set of eyes in her hands.
"Why?" I asked shakily, fear set in my eyes.
"Because as far as we are concerned, you are an Uchiha." My eyes widened, and now I realized just how much of an impact I've had on this family. I nodded, letting go of my human crutch and walked over to the table, lying down on my back. "You two need to leave." Fugaku commanded the two boys. Shisui stepped closer to the table, "I'm not leaving her." he said defiantly.
"It was not a suggestion."
"Shisui, please. I'll be fine." I told him, trying my best not to cry. He let out a low growl before turning face, Itachi following closely behind him. I took a deep breath, and nodded my head.
"Alright, let's do this."
…
alrighty then back from my little hiatus. uuh lots of stuff going on in this chapter, I'm trying to speed things along to the main storyline. Let me know what you guys think of the eye transplant. Either she keeps the eye but doesn't have super spectacular powers with it, or she doesn't keep it and she becomes a badass pirate.