"...And thusly, I have come to the conclusion that all humans will die not because it is natural, but because we BELIEVE it to be natural, a part of the cycle that we accept at birth," a young man with large glasses finished, grinning excitedly as though he had made a break through in science. The red-haired sensei sighed with irritation before thanking the student and calling forth the next speaker, his grey eyes scanning the room hopelessly as he took in the apprehension of each student; if this was how his speech classes were going to act for the rest of his career, he might as well resign now. His eyes lingered on a caramel-haired girl with pale skin and striking aqua eyes who always sat alone in a corner while doodling away and he shook his head as he recalled her being a part of his class, unable to grasp why she was so hard to remember; it took seeing her to place a name with the face, and seeing her name on paper to recall even something that simple to remember.
Ama stared and sighed with irritation as she waited for her name to be called, the doodles on her paper turning into a small cartoon in which she hit the sensei in the head with a ball and he exploded into a thousand sticks of dango, much to her amusement. Their assignment was to take a major event from their lives and turn it into a lesson that could enlighten others and perhaps enhance the outlooks they had on life; Ama had taken multiple from throughout her seventeen years of life and managed to create a theme, one that was both depressing and crucial to understanding her general attitude and outlook on the world.
It had been six years since she had seen Itachi, and six years since she had received any word from him. The young woman had grown to be beautiful and intelligent, yet she was so easily forgotten to those that she had met since her days in Konohagakure and she had found that she preferred being forgotten to being remembered. "Amaterasu," her sensei called out, earning a sigh as the girl rose from her seat and walked to the front of the room gracefully, her long lashes veiling her sad eyes from the judgemental stares of her peers as she struggled to open her mouth.
"From the time I was young, I had wanted to be a kunoichi to please my parents. I was neither strong nor fast and I did not have accurate enough aim to be trusted with a kunai or a shuriken. I hailed from a small family of unknown shinobi; my parents were chunin whose resourcefulness was the only attribute that had impressed anyone, but they were kind and affectionate. However, I returned home one day and found that they were not there despite the mission having been completed and I had seen some of their teammates at the academy. I waited three days for them to return, but they never did. I received a visit from the hokage and was informed of their deaths, and so I immediately quit the academy and I rarely saw the friends I had made after that.
"I was an outcast to the civilian children because I hailed from a family of ninjas and had attended the academy, and I was a disgrace to the shinobi children because I lacked the will to fight. Eventually, I forced myself to move on and have nearly forgotten my parents' faces," a lie, an ugly lie that refused to show itself in her expression, her eyes veiled by her long bangs and thus not revealing the truth; the loneliness, the sorrow, the heartbreaking silence that threatened to consume her sanity every day when she returned to an empty home. "I survived without assistance from others, withstanding their pity and refusing to bow to authority if I did not feel they had earned it. Years passed and I befriended a boy from a powerful family; his mother became my mother, his brother became my brother. He was more precious to me than my every breath and I realized too late that I had loved him. His best friend and I became close as well after I was nearly burned to death in a forest fire," that tragic fire that continued to terrorize her, the flames that had stripped her bones of flesh and seemed to continue to burn within her, "and he committed suicide months after I had left the village; the pressure of being a prodigy proved to much for him. Slowly my world collapsed around me and I eventually lost all contact with my former life. The lesson that has been repeated over and over again is quite simple: to fear the world is to fear the dark because even when your eyes are shut, your back is turned, every light is on and you're surrounded by friends, it is always there, lurking in the corner, in the closet, behind your eyelids and in their hearts. Fear nothing and prepare yourself for the future and you may live to tell a tale or two," she finished quietly, her voice ringing in the heads and hearts of the students in the room with her as they gazed with sudden awe at the strange girl who they couldn't recall having ever paid attention to.
The red-haired sensei nodded his head and continued and eventually everyone began to forget her story, began to forget the quiet girl who sat alone in the corner and scribbled on paper.
"UFAGU eh? Wonder if they're all rich kids whose parents paid their ways in? What do you think, Itachi?" Crimson eyes glimmered as they turned to their partner, a dark foreboding seeming to reach into the older man's soul and threaten to tear his deepest secrets out by force, nearly sending a shiver down his spine. Itachi turned away, his only reply a nearly inaudible, 'hn' as they continued to journey to the school. The tall man with blue skin and hair of the same color but darker grinned, revealing his sharp teeth as they journey in silence as he lazily carried his monstrous sword Samehada on his back.
The two Akatsuki members were feeling rather apprehensive as they approached the elite school, both unwilling to saunter into an area so heavily guarded for such a seemingless worthless target: a rich boy whose parents owed the organization quite a bit of money for an assassination job carried out by the zombie duo. Itachi allowed his mind to wander for a moment, curious as to whether or not he would see that girl again, the same one who had managed to drag the child inside of him out without any effort on her part...
Ama slumped in the chair at the desk located in her small apartment, content to have finally completed the mountain of homework her sensei's had assigned and was eager to relax after the long day. She peeked an eye open and stared at an innocent-looking journal she kept on the desk for several long minutes before sighing and grabbing a pen and flipping the book open. Channeling her chakra into her hands and then the paper, the blank pages were suddenly filled with the letters that would never be sent, turning them into a twisted sort of diary, one that she couldn't abandon no matter how many times she tried to tear herself from it.
She began to write, filling a page with the details of her day, her thoughts on conversations overheard and the lessons taught, and finally asking the questions that would never be answered. The woman stopped writing and sealed the words away once more, ensuring that a nosy intruder would be unable to delve into her darkest secrets and uncover her motives for studying so hard and acting so shy, not that anyone would dare enter the home of the girl who was always being forgotten. Her soft caramel hair fell over her shoulders as the child stood and stretched lazily, excited at the prospect of relaxing the next night in town when all the other students would depart the following evening and spend their holidays at their parents' and friends' homes, some to not return at all.
She had finally done it; her six years of schoolwork and lonely nights during times when she should have been out with friends was finally complete and she would be able to leave the wretched place. Ama glared with piercing eyes at the clock on the wall that was silently telling her to prepare for bed, tempted to defy it and stay up late willingly for the first time since she had begun to cease having nightmares. She sighed in defeat and gathered her clothes, suddenly eager to bathe and relax with a book before laying down and entered her small bathroom, completely unaware of the dangers that would await her awakening come morning.
Itachi awoke early as he always did, sparing a single glance at his sleeping partner in their shared room in the overpriced inn just outside the campus gates. They had agreed this would be the most opportune place to rest for the night; behavioral patterns of the average young teen showed that the target was unlikely to attempt to leave early in the morning, and if he did, they had already grown acquainted with his chakra signature, as pathetic as it was, and were fully capable of tracking him and preventing him from escaping their clutches. The Uchiha's sharingan eyes were deactivated and he felt strangely restless as he tried to remember something disconcerting that he had encountered the previous evening, a stray face that he couldn't place a name to, signaling it was no one of importance, but yet had recognized and been unable to picture even a moment after disappearing from sight.
He was unaccustomed to being forgetful and instinct told him that this was a result of a fuinjutsu, one that he was unable to recognize. Itachi sighed and walked outside in the early morning, disregarding the chakra signatures around him as the town began to awaken from its slumber. He wandered lazily, in an uncharacteristically good mood as he wandered the town in hopes of entertaining himself before his loud partner awoke. An out-of-place chakra signature approached him, strong compared to the weaklings around it and he turned in time to see the face he couldn't recall from yesterday, the long caramel hair cascading gracefully down her shoulders as she moved. Ama did not see the stares she was receiving as the town's inhabitants looked at her as though this was the first time they were seeing her, already accustomed to the peculiar looks she would receive. Itachi stared in awe as the woman moved silently, almost gliding across the land as she walked to a quiet cafe not far from where he stood, and that's when he realized that this girl had managed to stop him in his tracks effortlessly, much like... No, he would never forget Amaterasu, not for a single moment. This strange woman was simply a powerful fuinjutsu user and would receive no more attention from him.
Nonetheless, he followed her into the shop and ordered a green tea as she sipped a cappuccino quietly, her regal appearance simplified by the plain clothes she wore on her lithe frame. Ama chose to ignore the man following her; after all, he would not remember her as soon as she slipped out of sight. It was simple to evade perverts with her seal of concealment and she rather enjoyed the peace day after day, ignoring the moments where she felt unhappy as people she thought potential friends forgot her as soon as she was gone.
'A gift and a curse,' she thought quietly to herself as she enjoyed the warm beverage in the peace of the cool morning. Ama smiled bitterly and left the shop, striding confidently into a busy section of the marketplace with Itachi hot on her trail. He followed her quietly until the short girl slipped between a throng of people and vanished from sight. He glanced about as he looked for a familiar face and was surprised to find that he could not remember hers at all, much to his disappointment. He returned to the room as Kisame stepped out of the bathroom, a wide grin on the taller man's face as he stared into the cold eyes of the Uchiha. "Who pissed you off? Want me to remove a limb?" he asked, his eyes wide with bloodlust. Itachi simply shook his head, unwilling to explain his conundrum or why that girl mattered.
"You can't hide it forever, Itachi-san, so you might as well tell me now," the man stated, giving an amused chuckle at the thoughtful expression on his partner's face.
"There... is a fuinjutsu user here, a powerful one. Whoever it is has made their face impossible to be memorized; I forgot their appearance almost as soon as they left my sight," he replied finally, earning a raised eyebrow from his partner. "A low-profile being kept in a place where status is everything? Think there's a large bounty on this one?"
Itachi shook his head in confusion, his brows knitted together in confusion. "No, I feel as though this individual... Is a personal case, one that pertains to me."
Kisame nodded his head and set about to gather their few belongings that lay about the room, or rather, his as Itachi kept everything important to him on his person and would never make a mess or allow his belongings to be strewn about when there was a distinct possibility that they might have to leave without notice. This little field trip to a big school might turn out to be more interesting than he origninally thought.
Amaterasu grinned coldly at her perfect test scores, the brightness of her smile not reaching her eyes as she realized unhappily that she had no idea what to do from this point on; she had no one to return to, nowhere to return to, and no personal references. She was honestly alone and it scared her to realize that for the first time in her life, she was lost and had no guide to assist her. She threw her report card into her small bag and returned to her apartment to wash up before she would go into town and enjoy some of the sweets the bakery sold. Soon she was clean and refreshed and, in a spur of the moment idea, grabbed her journal and left the apartment.
Itachi and Kisame looked up as they waited for their meals to arrive; the target had been captured without hindrance and they had agreed to eat before they set out for the base once more. Coming through the doors was a small frame with long, wavy brown hair and clear aqua eyes, a face too beautiful to be forgotten, yet the woman's eyes seemed to see through everyone around her and soon many of the patrons in the building had forgotten she had even entered. The two s-class shinobi shared a cold look as they glanced at the girl who pointedly ignored them: that girl was definitely a fuinjutsu master. They stood and approached her table cautiously, unwilling to startle her too bad lest she have some sort of deadly offensive seal on her. Amaterasu was startled by the two men who were cornering her and knew that her seal of forgetfulness would backfire if these two men decided to do anything... rash.
She glared at the blue man who only grinned back and then chanced a look at the other one, the quieter one, and gasped. Before her stood a very-much grown up Uchiha Itachi and he obviously could not recognize her. Ama choked back a yell of joy as the two men seated themselves across and next to her, signaling the waitress to bring them their plates which were just arriving at their now-vacant table. "Care to explain the concealment seal? Or the forgetfulness seal?" Kisame began as Itachi stared apathetically at the girl, still trying to place her significance with his past. Ama shook her head, her hands twitching in fear as the large figure glared darkly at the small woman.
"I do it... So I do not have to form bonds with others," she whispered suddenly, startling herself. "I have lost too many people who were far too dear to me to allow it to happen again."
Itachi took her journal suddenly and forced his chakra through it, not hesitating as he opened to the first page.
Dear Itachi,
You still haven't replied to me, I wonder why that is. Have you gone and gotten yourself killed? No, you're far too strong, too intelligent for that. Ignore this, not that you're going to get it.
Ama
Dear Itachi,
Do you remember me? It's been a week since I last wrote, so I assume that you do. It's lonely here...
Every journal, every entry was a letter addressed to him and Itachi felt some form of selfcontrol in him shatter as he looked up into the clear aqua gaze that belonged to the one person he swore he'd never forget but would never again contact.
"Ama."
Whew! Ama and Itachi are finally reunited! But what'll happen next? REVIEW TIME CAUSE I LOVE !
YOUR REVIEWS!
I'm crying. This was so sad! Oh! Oh, post the chapter you were talking about! Pleeeaasee! Nyahahahahahaa- Oh, and I do love you! We are now friends! Nyahaha- *cough* Hm, thank you for chapter 8. I liked it very much. I LOVED reading this. Update soon!
Sorry I couldn't review earlier. I'm on vacation so wifi is hard to find.
Aanyway, watermelon candy is green because the outside of watermelon is green. We color fruit candy based on the outside look, not the in.
Great chapter. What ever happened to the wolf?
Oops. I'm on vacation so wifi is hard to find, otherwise I'd have updated my review by now.. Hmm, now; your chapters are amazing, as always... If we colored fruit candies by the inside, apple would be peach colored, and watermelon'd be red. I love you to. And, please update soon! Nyahahahahaaa.
1) I am sorry about the late-ness of this reply, and 2) LET THEM BE JUDGED BY THEIR DELICIOUS INTERNAL ORGANS!
I hope I haven't disappointed you! Where are you vacationing? I'm so jealous cause I can't go anywhere cause I have to woooooooork! I think you mean the antelope cause the wolf stays with her. Ama decided to change the animal, no big deal. YAY FOR AWESOME FRIENDS! THIS IS THE HAPPIEST DAY IN MY FANFICTION CAREER! All what, week, two weeks of it?
Nighty night!