Chapter Twenty-Eight
MIZU NO KUNI, KURAIGAKURE; ROYAL CASTLE, THRONE ROOM
I could feel the dark power consuming me, chakra all around me, the hot moving from my shoulder. I could feel the hot move around my shoulder, down the left side of my body while the hot marks spread across the left side of my face. I felt so much power inside me, I knew I had the power to defeat my father and brother. I was strong enough to protect myself now, I wasn't a weak child anymore and I was ready to prove it.
I looked up through my lashes, a smirk came to my lips when I saw the terror reflecting in their eyes at the sight of me. I waved my hand in the empty air next to me, darkness swirling around. I swung my hand in front of my body, the darkness following in the form of a wave blast. I could feel the vibrations in the floor as it shot across the room towards them, knocking them to the floor with ease. I phased through the floor, coming out in front of my brother and gathered darkness in the palm of my hand. If I managed to make contact with him, the darkness could slip off my hand into his mind and shut down his brain, as long as I remained focused.
I furrowed my brow when he dodged my fist and jumped to his feet, hurling my other at him. I wasn't going to back down from this fight, I was going to win no matter what it took. I raised my hand when the sword was swung in my direction, a dark shield coming up between the two, blocking the attack. I smirked and brought my foot up, jamming the sandal into my brother's ribs. He coughed violently at the impact, trying to swing the sword back at me. I could've snorted at the weapon, I wasn't intimidated by a little sword, there were far more dangerous techniques in the shinobi world after all. I let it phase through my body and grabbed hold of his wrist, moving it in a direction it shouldn't have went. I felt a grin come to my lips when I heard the snap, it was broken. He howled loudly in pain, the sword slipping from his fingerings and clattered against the ground.
"What's it like Oni-chan, fighting a monster?" I teased.
"Fuck you!" he screamed.
I narrowed my eyes into a glare and brought my foot up, slamming it into his face. He flew across the room, hitting the wall on the other side of it and landed in a heap on the floor. I pursed my lips, was that really all the fight he had in him? Or was it just that the curse mark had made me that much stronger? I watched as he pushed himself to his feet, staring at me with a heated glare.
"You aren't taking the crown." he spat, I couldn't hold in a giggle.
"Really?" I giggled. "And who's going to stop me? You?"
"You bitch!"
I watched with interest as he made handsigns, so it looked as if I was actually going to see some techniques of my home village today. He completed the last handsign, staring down at me with hatred. I watched in interest as darkness began creeping across the floor, rising up to create a small army. I groaned quietly at the simplicity of the soldiers, seriously? Was this really all he had? I could top this easily.
"Is that it?" I asked, feeling all the more bored.
"I'm just getting started!" he screamed.
I sighed in disappointment and waved my hand, my nightmare minions appearing out of thin air. It was odd that I didn't need handsigns when I had the assistance of the curse mark but I wasn't going to question it, it saved me some time and I didn't really want to deal with my brother's half assed jutsu. I placed my hand inside my weapon's pouch, pulling out the scroll that held Tamotsu. I held the scroll out in front of me, it rolled open and I turned my attention to my father, staring him down.
"Fight."
My minions sprung into actions, attacking the army that my brother had created. I focused my chakra into summoning the puppet, never moving my eyes from my father's. I wasn't sure how the idea had come to me, but I felt as if I knew exactly how I needed to summon my puppet, and I was going to do just that. I could feel darkness radiating from the scroll, it was time to battle with my first puppet. I focused harder, a puff of black smoke erupted from the scroll, covering the area around me. I felt a smirk rise to my lips when I saw the puppet standing before me, I'd figured it out.
It was a male puppet, standing at a height of 5'11. He had black hair that hung to his shoulders, his bangs swooped across his forehead, barely covering his deep red eyes. He had light ivory colored skin and had a smaller body frame, all his muscles were just toned and compatible with his body. He was dressed simply in black pants and a black elbow sleeved top, with shinobi sandals. He had a headband hanging around his neck, the sign of Kuraigakure. He had no signs of being a puppet, no plastic limbs or anything of the sort. He didn't even appear to have any weapons on him.
I wasn't sure how this human like creature could be a puppet but I wasn't going to question it, I needed this to be my advantage against my father and brother. Having a puppet on my side could be beneficial in all sorts of ways. They more than likely hadn't expected that I would have some of Kuraigakure's technology on my side so it was an advantage for me, even though I honestly had no idea what I was doing. I blinked curiously when the puppet moved his head in my direction on it's own accord, his red eyes finding my own.
"What are your orders Hime-sama?" he asked, I felt a smile come to my lips. So this was how advanced our technology was, we didn't even need chakra strings to control our puppets. They could move and even speak on their own, the only thing they required was orders.
"Deal with my brother." I ordered, he nodded once.
"How dare you?" my father exclaimed, I turned my eyes to him.
"Nani Otou-san?" I asked sweetly, the glare in his eyes deepened.
"You stole Tamotsu from your Nee-san!" he accused, I blinked dumbly.
"He was my birthday present." I said easily. "I'm fourteen now in case you were wondering."
"Kill her!" he screamed.
I turned when I heard a small clash, Tamotsu had blocked an attack from Yuki, keeping me safe from harm. I didn't understand our technology in the slightest. Why or how my puppet could move and speak on his own accord, but I couldn't be wondering about that right now. I had to focus on what I was here to do, I could learn more about my puppet later, for now I needed to deal with my father. My puppet moved forward, pushing Yuki to back off and began doing an array of advanced taijustu against him, I turned my attention to Kuraigakure's king.
"Give me the crown Otou-san." I ordered.
"The crown will never be yours." he spat, I rolled my eyes.
"Don't make me kill you, I will if I have to." I declared. He rose from his seat, taking a step towards me.
"I would rather die right now than leave my people in your charge." he stated, I snorted at that.
"You are the reason they're miserable!" I yelled, not able to contain my rage.
I heard the windows shattering and could feel the ground shaking under my feet, I was so angry with him for what he'd done to my people. My chakra was going out of control, the palace would be destroyed if I couldn't calm myself down but the palace wasn't my concern. I was here to take care of business, I didn't really need a fancy place to live, I knew I'd be spending a majority of my time in Amegakure once this was over with.
"You're nothing but a tyrant!" I exclaimed.
"You are nothing but a monster!" he retorted.
I could feel myself snap at his words, rage consuming me. This was it, he couldn't stay alive. I hated what I had to do but there was no other option, he had to die or he would continue to be a threat to the village. I couldn't do that to my people, they had suffered long enough under his rule and this was going to end today, even if it cost me my life. I raised my head from the floor, finding his hazel eyes.
"Gomenasai Otou-san."
I phased through the floor, coming out right before him and wrapped my hand around his throat, squeezing his windpipe as hard as I could manage. I didn't want to have to kill him, but I knew he would never see the light, he would never understand what kind of man he was and I had to end it.
"Otou-san!"
I waved my hand, another wave blast shot across the floor in my brother's direction, keeping him at bay for the moment while Tamotsu dealt with him. I turned my attention back to my father, he was clawing at my hand, trying to get me to back off, it wasn't going to happen. I heard a crack come from his neck, he was starting to turn blue from lack of air, had I really won this easily? I felt a fist make contact with my cheek and turned my head, finding my brother's eyes.
"Is that all you've got?" I asked seriously. I hadn't even felt his punch, was this how strong the leader of Kuraigakure was supposed to be? Because if this was all the royal family had, I was surprised the village had made it this far without being taken over by another village.
"H-how?" he stuttered, I blinked dumbly.
"How?" I repeated, feeling confused.
"Y-you s-should've..."
He couldn't even finish his sentence, he looked lost for words. I shrugged it off and turned my attention back to my father, he was suffocating, his eyes would be rolling in the back of his head soon enough. I turned my head when I heard a loud crash echo through the room, the chandelier had snapped and shattered against the floor. I blinked coolly, not even phased by the power in the room and met my father's eyes. I released his throat and he collapsed to his knees on the floor, coughing violently from lack of air, this was his last chance.
"Surrender the throne." I ordered. He moved his eyes up from the floor, hazel meeting red.
"Never." he spat.
"Then you die." I retorted. I turned my head in the direction of Yuki, feeling surprised to see he was backing away from me. Tamotsu didn't even have to do anything else to keep him away from me. Was he giving up? So easily? Was he seriously that afraid of me? "Do you want to die, Oni-chan?'
He didn't say anything as he stared at me wide eyed, Tamotsu came in between us, blocking his path. I moved my eyes back to my father, rage flowing through my veins as I stared him down. He was never going to accept me for who I was, I had finally accepted that and that meant, accepting the fate that I had to give him. I focused my chakra and hurled my fist towards his face, I was ready to kill him, to end this once and for all.
"Imouto matte!" My fist hung in the air, mere centimeters from my father's face, I turned my eyes to my older brother. "Please." he choked, the sword was hanging loosely at his side. "Imouto...spare him, please." I raised an eyebrow, staring at him with a cool expression.
"Nande?" I spat.
I was beginning to grow frustrated with this never ending battle, all these interruptions were testing my patience. I watched as he released the sword, it clattered against the floor softly and he moved down on one knee with his head bent low, kneeling to me.
"I-I relinquish m-my claim on the t-throne." he stuttered. "Please spare him."
I tilted my head to the side curiously as I stared him down, how did I know this wasn't some kind of trick? That's what this had to be, they were trying to lure me into a false sense of security so they could overpower me and kill me when I wasn't expecting it. I wasn't going to be fooled, I wasn't a naive child anymore and I wasn't going to let my kind heart be taken advantage of. I had a secret weapon though, a weapon that could show me the depths of someone's soul, my insightfulness was this weapon. The only way to know if he was telling the truth, was if I could see it in his eyes. My talent for reading people was finally going to come in handy.
"You renounce your claim on the throne?" I repeated. He moved his head up from the floor, his green eyes finding my red ones.
"Hai."
'He's lying.'
I felt a smirk come to my lips, my eyes meeting Tamotsu's, I nodded my head once.
"You're lying." I stated. "I hope you burn in hell."
His demise was quick, I wasn't even sure he'd felt any pain since he hadn't been expecting an attack. As soon as the words had left my lips, Tamotsu had come up behind him, swiftly wrapping an arm around his throat and snapped his neck. Yuki's body fell to the floor lifeless, I turned my eyes back in the direction of Kurai's king. His eyes were burning with hatred as he stared up at me, a hatred that he could only feel because he knew his line had ended. Not only had he lost his two eldest children, his wife had left him as well, the only thing he had left was the crown and even that wouldn't be his for much longer.
"How does it feel your majesty, knowing your line has ended?" I asked, the smirk on my lips widening at the words.
"You...monster." he breathed, his chest heaving.
I narrowed my eyes and swung my fist at his face. This had gone on long enough, it was time for it to be over with. However, time seemed to have stopped when I'd least expected it. A small whine escaped my throat, my hand halted once more in midair, a blade buried in my stomach. I blinked dumbly, staring down at the blade while blood began soaking through the material of my clothes, I hadn't been expecting an attack of this simplicity. I'd been too reckless, too overwhelmed by the curse mark's power. I forced my eyes away from the damage, meeting my father's face. I could feel more rage moving through my veins at the smirk on his face, hot began climbing up my leg, I was losing the dark power. This wasn't the end though, I was going to finish it even if the end result was my death.
"SADA-CHAN!"
"NO!"
"SADA!"
"MY CHILD!"
I held my father's gaze as I coughed softly, a metallic taste on my tongue and a grin came to my lips as I stared at him. He thought he'd won, all because he'd stabbed me in a spot with a vital organ and I was going to be the one to prove how wrong he was for assuming he'd defeated me. He should've known all along that I was a fighter, that I would never give up. His eyes widened at the sight of my grin, the hot was climbing up my arm, I had to finish this now. I focused my chakra into my hand, trying to summon every ounce of strength left that I possessed and hurled my hand at him.
"Die."
My hand went right through his chest, coming out the other side, his heart in my hand, literally. The curse mark fully moved back to my shoulder as I stared into my father's dying eyes, they were growing dimmer by the second. I could hear footsteps running across the floor in my direction, I coughed softly and blood ran down my chin as I tried to catch my breath. I felt a hand grab hold of my arm and found my father's eyes on me, my legs were giving way under me. I watched as he parted his lips, his voice coming out in a small croak.
"Monster."
My legs buckled under me and I dropped to the floor of the palace, my back hitting the ground hard while my father's body collapsed next to me. I groaned softly and released my hold on the heart, moving my hand to the blade lodged in my body. I winced when my hand touched the hilt, my vision was starting to blur.
"Hime-sama don't." I blinked dumbly when I saw Tamotsu kneeling next to me, he moved one of his hands under my body before moving his body behind me, propping me up against him.
"Sada." I smiled a little when my eyes met a pair of onyx ones, Itachi. He was next to me in the floor, holding onto one of my hands, when had he got here?
"Itachi." I managed to get out.
"Don't move kid."
I moved my head slightly at the sound of the gruff voice, Kakuzu was on the other side of me, his hand hovering over my wound. I held in a gasp of pain when the blade was pulled from my wound, I could feel the blood gush out of it. I tilted my head up when I felt a familiar hand placed on my head, smiling a little at the sight of Konan.
"Are you alright dear?" she asked, I managed to nod in agreement.
"Hai, just hurts a little." I said softly.
My smile widened when she smoothed my hair in that motherly way of hers, I nuzzled my head against her hand as Kakuzu went about healing my wound. I could feel the chakra working inside my body, going about repairing the damaged cells and my shredded liver. As painful as the process was though, I knew I couldn't complain about it. If I didn't have the rest of the Akatsuki here with me then I'd probably be dead at this moment, not only had they been my backup, they'd saved my life by being here.
"Darling." My red orbs moved from Konan's orange ones, finding the pair of green ones I knew to be my mother's. "I'm...gomen my child."
"Oka-san?" I questioned, feeling confused.
"You were hurt...this is all my fault." she cried, I shook my head.
"No Oka-san...you tried, it's their fault." I told her. She smiled weakly and knelt down next to me, taking my free hand in hers. I smiled a little and squeezed her hand, nodding my head in my love's direction. "Oka-san, this is Itachi." Her eyes moved from mine, finding Itachi's face. "He's my fiance."
She smiled softly, nodding a little. Her eyes were so warm as I stared up at her, admiration and pride on her face as she stared down at me. I was happier in this moment than I had been in a long time, I finally had my mother back in my life and this time she was on my side. The warmth of her hand told me everything I needed to know, I knew that she loved me.
"Well done Sada." I looked in the direction of the voice, Pein had come to stand next to Konan.
"Arigato leader-sama." I whispered, secretly feeling overjoyed that he'd congratulated me on my victory. "We need to tell the people that we won."
"That will be the next order of business once you have recovered from your injuries." Pein said in a cold voice.
"Demo-"
"You need rest dear." Konan interrupted, smoothing my hair again. "We'll take care of everything else while you recuperate."
"Please." I begged. "Just tell them, so they won't be afraid anymore. Deidara can make an announcement from the sky."
"I wouldn't care to hm." Deidara agreed, pushing his bangs out of his eye. "The people must be scared hm."
"I can maneuver my puppet army to guard those loyal to Sada from the remaining enemy." Sasori suggested lazily.
"Then we have a plan." Pein stated. "Zetsu, you'll be in charge of guarding the entrance of the village. Kisame, we'll need your jutsu to hide the village from prying eyes."
"Got it." Kisame agreed, grinning widely.
"Kakuzu and Hidan, focus your attention on guarding the entrance to the castle. Allow no one to enter." Pein ordered. "Itachi will stay with Sada."
"Hai leader-sama." Itachi said, sounding monotone.
Everyone began moving out to follow their assignments, Itachi had moved back next to me and placed his arms around me, pulling me up into his arms. I smiled a little and leaned my head against his chest as he held me, snuggling into his warm embrace. It was almost like the first time he'd carried me when we'd first met, he was especially careful with my injury and how he was holding me. I moved my eyes back to my mother, she met my gaze.
"Allow me to find a room for you both to stay in." she offered. "You need to rest my darling."
"Hai Oka-san." I agreed, nodding my head along with my words. "Tamotsu, I'll need you to guard the room we stay in."
"Hai Hime-sama." he agreed, bowing in respect. I looked over in Konan and Pein's direction, they looked as though they were deeply immersed in a conversation, their voices were low and hushed. I'd have my mother tell Konan where my room would be later, I didn't want to interrupt. "Can we go now Itachi-sama? I'm so tired."
"Hai." he agreed softly, pressing a kiss to my temple.
Itachi followed silently behind my mother out of the throne room, carrying me in his arms as he walked, Tamotsu was following behind us as silent as a shadow. I leaned my head against the Sharingan user's chest, shutting my eyes as I cuddled close to him. Today had went exactly the way I'd needed it to and so carefully planned for, I was now the only remaining heir to the throne and with my father dead, that meant I was the rightful ruler. I knew the biggest problem I'd be facing was how I would run a country while being in the ranks of Akatsuki but I would worry about that later. For now, I just needed some sleep.
I smiled a little when Itachi placed a kiss into my hair, nuzzling my head against his cloak. In this moment, there were so many things I was thankful for but the main thing was Itachi. He was the reason that I'd managed to succeed, if it hadn't been for his training, I didn't think I would've ever accomplished taking the throne of my village. There were so many things I owed him for but I knew the only payment I could give him was my love and devotion.
"Here we are." I opened my eyes at the sound of my mother's voice, watching as she opened the door to a room. "I've taken quiet good care of this room over the years, I hope it's adequate."
"Oka-san." I whispered. "Is it..."
"Your old room." she finished, smiling a little.
I felt myself beaming at her words, tugging at Itachi's cloak. I'd be able to rest perfectly in my old room, my mother was so thoughtful to bring me here out of all the rooms in the palace. Itachi carried me inside the room, I looked around curiously. I wasn't surprised that most of the old toys I'd had were gone but my favorite stuffed bear was sitting on the bed, looking as though he were just waiting for me to come back. The furniture had been updated in the room so there would be plenty of room for the two of us in here.
"I'll see you later my darling."
My mother exited the room after placing a soft kiss to my forehead, Tamotsu shut the door behind her and remained standing in the hallway to guard. Itachi carefully placed me on the bed before laying down next to me, moving his arm around me to hold me. As much as I wanted to talk about everything, I just needed to rest right now. The curse mark had wiped me out and I was drained, I needed to gather my strength. I shut my eyes, smiling when he placed a kiss into my hair a few minutes later. I could feel myself becoming drowsier as the seconds ticked by, time was soon out of my reach.
"I love you."
Sleep took me.
