Promises Not Yet Kept
Chapter Twelve
Eneko hadn't even stuck around to hear the rest of Shizune's frantic report. She had been gone as soon as Shizune had finished with her initial sentence. Eneko kept on running until she was standing in front of what used to be her home. Her eyes were alight with the fire reflecting in them as she looked at the blazing inferno that had withstood so many different memories. She then remembered Pein's warning and without a second thought, plunged straight into the fire, ignoring the flames licking hungrily at her flesh. She immediately started to cough at the amount of smoke entering her lungs all at once and pushed forward, stumbling around the burning remains of memories floating about in the breeze.
"Niji! Niji where are you? Honey, it's me! Your mother! Honey, please, say something so I'll know where you are!" She yelled as loud as she could. A noise that sounded like a response came from behind the door leading to Niji's room and she tried to grasp the knob, but it was too hot. She pressed herself against it, testing its limits and coughed violently, getting ash smeared all over her tired form.
"Get away from the door, Niji!" She yelled as a warning before spinning around and, getting enough momentum, kicked the door off its hinges. Niji coughed and Eneko ran into the room. The little girl cried and latched onto Eneko's leg. She kneeled down and hugged the little girl tightly, nearly crying herself because she was only relieved that her daughter was safe. Both of them were covered with ash and soot and Eneko's hair was so covered in the stuff that it looked like Eneko and Niji were practically copies of each other. Eneko coughed violently and Niji shook like a leaf, screaming as part of the ceiling suddenly fell down.
"Mommy, I'm scared!" She sobbed into her mother's shirt. Eneko quickly analyzed the situation and thought of the best way to get them out of the blazing firestorm that was her house.
"Listen Niji. I'm not entirely sure that I can pull this off. If it doesn't then I'm going to try my very hardest to get you out of here safely, but you're going to get hurt. Do you trust me?" She asked her daughter, having to yell over the roar of the fire. Niji nodded without a second guess. "I need you to be very brave for me, okay, Niji? Even braver than you were with Akatsuki!" Niji tried to put on a brave face and nodded. Eneko smiled and ruffled her hair.
"I'm going to try hard, Mommy!" She promised. Eneko's smile grew and she performed a few hand seals. She closed her eyes, summoning all the chakra she could spare in the hopes that this would work.
"Water style! Deafening Tsunami Wave!" She yelled. A whole wave of water crashed around the two girls, but even that wasn't enough to stop the fire. It weakened though, for some of the wood it was trying to consume was now wet. Eneko panted heavily, exhausted, and picked her daughter up gently.
"Hold on, baby girl. I'm going to get you out of here, no matter what. Just hold on to me tightly." She told her daughter and held on to her tightly. As soon as Niji returned the tight squeeze Eneko summoned all the chakra that she had access to and directed it to her legs. She ran toward the weakest blazing wall and crashed into it, sailing straight out. She rolled on the ground for a couple feet before stopping and closing her eyes, exhausted. Niji, alarmed, tried to shake her to keep her awake.
"Mommy! Don't sleep! Mommy, get up!" The little girl ordered her mother, screaming. Eneko smiled and grabbed her daughter's hands, stopping the young girl's shaking.
"Don't worry, honey, I'm alright. Everything is going to be all right. Don't worry…" Eneko murmured softly to her daughter through a scratched throat. "Everything is going to get better." She promised. Niji looked back at the flaming house far away from them now and shook her head.
"But hour house is gone, Mommy. Where are we going to live now?" Niji asked, worry evident in her big green eyes. Eneko ruffled her hair again and smiled.
"We're going to be okay, Niji. When something like this happens at any time in your life I want you to remember these words, all right?" Niji nodded. "Every story may have it's end, but in life, every end is just a new beginning." Niji smiled.
"I like that." Eneko smiled and was about to reply before her eyes widened and she sat up, her hand grasping the fan in the holster around her waist.
"What loving words coming from the mouth of a loving mother." A voice sounded in the forest surrounding the area. Pein stepped out of the bushes and Eneko stood, fans at the ready to attack. She charged at him, snapping the fans open with an audible crack. Niji watched with wide eyes before realizing that her mommy really needed her daddy's help. She started running back to the fire that was her house and saw her Uncle Deidara holding her Daddy back and keeping him from going into the house.
"Deidara let me go! My wife and daughter are in that fire! You've got to let me save them!" She heard her father yell. Her uncle shook his head and kept holding him back.
"If they are in there, Itachi, there's nothing that you can do now! Just wait! Eneko won't die that easily!" Deidara yelled back at him. Niji figured that now was as good a time as any to run towards her father.
"Daddy!" She cried as she ran. Itachi's eyes snapped open to her and Deidara let him go, shocked. He ran to meet her and scooped her into his arms. He took a good, long look at her before hugging her tightly.
"Oh, Niji, I was so afraid that I was going to loose you!" He stopped and looked around. "Where's you mother?" He asked, nervously. Niji pointed back from the direction that she came and tugged on his shirt, trying to get him to go that way.
"Hurry, Daddy! I was just in the house but then it caught on fire and everything was hot and the door was hot, so I couldn't get out! Mommy came in and broke the door down so that I could get out and she tried to pour water over everything, Daddy, but it didn't work. She picked me up and told me to hang on and then she broke through the wall and we rolled all the way over there and the orange haired guy came out and Mommy tried to attack him and now they're fighting and you've got to help her!" Niji yelled all in one breath. Itachi's eyes widened.
"Where, Niji? Where is your mother fighting Pein – the orange haired guy?" He corrected himself. Niji jumped down from his arms and started trying to drag him away. Itachi looked over at Deidara. "Can you handle everything here?" Deidara nodded and motioned for him to leave. The firefighters were mostly concerned about controlling the blaze so that it didn't spread to Deidara's house nearby. Unfortunately, Deidara made a lot of sculptures with exploding clay and if the fire reached it then the whole village would go up in smoke.
"This way, Daddy! Come on! Hurry! Mommy needs your help, Daddy, come on!" Niji was yelling at her father as she dragged him along. She finally led him to the clearing where her mother and Pein were fighting. Itachi's eyes widened as he saw that, because of chakra exhaust, Eneko was now loosing the fight. Suddenly, Pein grabbed Eneko's throat and caused her to look into his eyes. He performed a one-handed seal and suddenly Eneko screamed, her eyes fading to a dull black. Pein released her and looked over at Itachi.
"You're too late, Itachi. Eneko is mine now. See for yourself." He grabbed Eneko's arm and faced her towards her family. "Eneko. I order you to attack the little girl first. Kill her." Eneko raised her fans into attack position, but Itachi stepped in front of Niji.
"Eneko! Snap out of it! You can't attack your own daughter!" He yelled. Eneko charged forward, ignoring every word Itachi spoke and Itachi charged forward. They met in a clash of weapons and, in a desperate attempt to bring her back to him, Itachi pressed his lips against hers. Her eyes flickered back to green and she let out a whimper. Pein used the hand seal again, only with two hands this time, and her eyes flickered back to black. She kicked Itachi in the stomach, throwing him back towards Niji and raised her fans again.
"I will destroy you because my leader told me to." She threatened, having an almost robotic voice. Itachi coughed, winded, and Niji tried to help him back up.
"Daddy! Why's Mommy acting all crazy like that? She's not supposed to kick you! She says that kicking is mean!" Niji yelled. Itachi's eyes hardened as he looked at Eneko's battle-ready form.
"That woman is not your mother, Niji. She's just a woman that looks like your mother." Niji gave him a disbelieving look.
"Then why did you kiss her?" She asked with a frown. Itachi's spine stiffened before he slammed his head against the heel of his hand.
"I'll tell you when you're older, Niji, now hide while I get rid of the bad guys." He ordered her. She immediately hid behind a fallen tree, almost invisible to the other side of the battlefield. Itachi got to his feet and pulled out a few kunai knives.
"Eneko. I order you to kill Itachi." Pein commanded, using the hand seal again. Eneko didn't move. Itachi smirked. Apparently, Pein was having trouble controlling his Eneko, which wasn't surprising. Pein had threatened her family and Eneko had sworn to kill him if he did such. It proved too much for the exhausted girl to handle and she charged forward again. Itachi charged forward to meet her and their movements were all but blurs to the naked eye. They matched each other fluidly in weapon strength and Pein cursed, realizing that he had made a mistake.
"Itachi and Eneko know each other so well that their fighting techniques are easily determined to each other." He muttered to himself crossly. Eneko was tossed aside and stayed on the ground, completely drained of energy. Pein glared at her, a crazy gleam in his eyes. "What are you doing, Eneko? Stay up! Keep fighting!" He used the hand seal and she got to her feet, panting heavily. Itachi wanted desperately for her to break free, but he knew that she was too tired to even try. The battle began again and Itachi kept noticing weak points in Eneko's defenses and exploiting them. He knocked her down again and this time went for Pein, locking gazes with him. Itachi grinned evilly as he planned his next move. He was ashamed of having this technique because it reminded him of what he did, but it helped in situations like this one.
"Mangekyo Sharingan! Tsukuyomi!" Itachi yelled. Suddenly it was only Pein and he couldn't move, couldn't breathe. Itachi's form faded in and out around him. "Welcome to Tsukuyomi, Pein. In this world, I control time, space, and even physical mass. It's your turn to experience the torture that you have caused so many people." Itachi suddenly multiplied into a thousand of himself and all of the Itachis rushed forward in a heap and stabbed Pein in different places of his body. Pein cried out with all the pain going through his body at once and this torture went on for multiple days. Finally, when the colors all faded back to normal, Pein collapsed on the ground, panting heavily.
"That is what you get for harming my family." Pein chuckled deeply and glared up at Itachi.
"Family? Your family, Itachi, is it? Watch and see what your family can do to you while your back is turned." Itachi's eyes widened and suddenly a kunai was embedded deep within his back. He spun around and fought off an exhausted Eneko, who looked as if she were dead on his feet. Niji let out a whimper when she saw her father get stabbed and Pein's gaze snapped over to her. He began trying to heal himself, not caring if it cut years off of his life. He knew what kind of plan he was formulating now, and he didn't care what happened any more.
"Eneko! Eneko please, snap out of it and quit this guy's torture of your body! You can fight it Eneko, you're strong. You're the strongest woman I know and you're the woman I fell in love with! Remember, Eneko? Remember the time under the waterfall? Remember why our daughter's name is Niji?" Eneko merely attacked him again, using what chakra she had left to attack him. Itachi dodged easily and kept on forcing her down, but she kept getting back up. She looked dead on her feet, but she was still glaring with a dull black-eyed stare. Itachi nearly cried out with frustration and he noticed that Pein was just focusing on healing himself, and grinned. He jumped toward Eneko and pressed his lips onto hers again, petting her hair gently. Eneko's eyes flickered back to normal and she leaned against him heavily, exhausted.
"Eneko…oh, Eneko, you're back…" He whispered, relieved. She laughed softly and smiled at him weakly. Pein looked over and glared. This wasn't fitting in with his plan. He used the hand seal and Eneko clutched either side of her head, trying to fight it. Her eyes faded to a dull green, but that was as far as she got.
"One more thing, Eneko, before I let you go forever. Blow Itachi to the other side of the clearing." Pein ordered. Eneko lifted her fan, obviously trying to fight herself. She waved her fan and gale-force winds blew Itachi off the ground and he landed heavily on the ground, winded, and didn't get up for a minute. Eneko's eyes instantly turned back to green and she fell to her knees, completely and totally drained of usable chakra. Pein smirked and stood up. He slowly pulled out a kunai and looked straight into Itachi's dark eyes.
"This kunai, Itachi…" He smirked as her eyes widened. "This kunai is going straight into your daughter's tender flesh." He began running at top speeds toward the fallen tree where Niji was hiding. Itachi stood and began running, but he let out a cry as he realized that he couldn't get to her in time. Eneko looked over and realized that she could, but she wouldn't be able to stop the attack. She looked over at Itachi and smiled, a tear falling down her face.
"I'm not scared. This is what I was born for." She told him and took off running. The kunai was brought down and Niji let out a terrified scream. Blood spurted onto the young girl's face as the kunai sank into her mother's heart. The little girl met her mother's eyes and Eneko smiled at her, blood trickling down the side of her mouth. Pein was laughing manically and Itachi kept running, trying to get there in enough time to save Eneko from bleeding out. Eneko dropped her fans next to Niji and pulled out a kunai. She sunk it deep into Pein's heart, causing him to stop laughing and gasp in pain.
"You can't beat me!" He cried, loosing his life energy first. Eneko glared at him, twisting the kunai painfully.
"I can…and I will…. this is for Kisame and all the other people you've killed for your selfish reasons…I will destroy you and protect the people I hold precious to me." She spat blood into his face. Itachi finally made it over to them and Niji held onto him, crying.
"Itachi…take care of our daughter…I'm always…with you…." She whispered to him painfully. She turned back to Pein and her life chakra sparked around her. Itachi had tears winding their way down his face. When someone's life chakra appears, they are close to dying, but refuse to let it happen. "I will take him…far away…. where even if dead…he will never be…able to harm…anyone…again…" She promised. She whispered a technique name and suddenly Eneko and Pein were both transported away. Itachi cried out and tried to grasp where she once stood. The wind blew across the clearing and the two figures stood alone.
"I love you…" Eneko's voice whispered on the wind. Itachi broke down crying and fell to his knees.
"Eneko! Eneko! Come back to me! Eneko! Don't leave us all alone! ENEKO!" He cried. Deidara came up with back up just then and noticed both of them crying and Eneko nowhere to be seen. Tsunade rushed forward, tears streaming down her face as she met eyes with Itachi. The pain in his eyes was enough to tell her what happened. Eneko had just sacrificed herself to protect all of them. Pein would never bother anyone again. Niji looked up at her father and wiped the tears off of his face.
"M-Mommy told me that whatever happens, things will get better, Daddy. Mommy's going to come home, no matter how long it takes. She's going to come home." Itachi sobbed desperately and hugged his innocent daughter tight to his chest. All Niji could do was look up at the sky and smile, remembering what her mother had last said to her.
Every story may have it's end, but in life, every end is just a new beginning
-- -- The End -- --
