Chapter 44: Rise of The Fallen

Itachi had sent another one of his crows to keep tabs on Shikara's whereabouts. He had been summoned to seal away the One Tailed beast and would be stuck performing the jutsu for the next three days. He decided to check on her before putting his full focus into said jutsu. He closed his eyes...

Shikara was walking happily from a nearby village, holding a bag filled with groceries. He couldn't help the small smile as he watched her. Her strength never ceases to amaze him. Despite everything... she was still smiling and still pushing forward the way she always had. He looked forward to retrieving her after this, to hold her and feel at peace again. She is his light that beams through the darkness inside his soul and he wanted more than anything to help her remove her own darkness once he could return to her.

Suddenly, he saw her stop, the bag she held dropped and her smile faded. Not very far before her stood Orochimaru. Itachi's heart began to pick up in rhythm. Shikara didn't look armed and was wearing a dress. She wasn't prepared to face an enemy, let alone a legendary Sannin. He nearly lost his focus, then regained it once he saw that the demon responded to protect her as Orochimaru's followers went in for an attack. For once he was glad she had the damn thing... then his breath caught in his throat as she used her light energy to drag the demon back. Itachi tried to stay focused on the jutsu, reminding himself that he couldn't falter. He watched on in agony as Orochimaru went in for his own attack, slamming his angel's head to the ground and binding her with his serpents.

Itachi had to keep himself together, no matter what happened... then he couldn't help but to feel more relaxed when Shikara finally used the dark power to release herself, going into her demonic mode. The relief was short lived though, as Sasuke appeared, going in for an attack with his chidori, from behind. Shikara dodged but the shock on her face gave Itachi an ominous feeling.

Don't falter, Angel. Run...

The second attack came and she didn't budge. Did she expect Sasuke to pull back? Itachi almost lost his focus completely, realizing that Shikara wouldn't fight, she loved Sasuke dearly... and then she was hit. Itachi watched as the snowflake hair pin she cherished so much hit the ground. Sasuke's expression was of shock as he pulled his hand from Shikara... and she dropped into a pool of her own blood.

Itachi took a shaken breath. He couldn't go to her now... he couldn't react... he had nearly three full days to perform this jutsu before he could do anything. Once again, Itachi felt helpless. Leaving her alone had been a mistake. He opened his eyes slowly and a single tear escaped before he fully emerged himself into the sealing jutsu.

...

I felt that I was slowly falling into a pit of darkness... it was like a dream and when I felt myself touch the bottom I opened my eyes and slowly sat up on my knees. I looked up to see the demon before me.

"Was this worth it? To not use my power...?"

I blinked slowly. "I'd rather die than allow you to hurt the ones I love... so yes... it is worth it." I stood, looking the demon in the eyes. "I never asked you for your name..."

"Does it matter?"

A small smile played across my lips. "It does to me."

The demon paused for a moment before indulging me. "Kurai..."

"Kurai..." I gave a slight nod. "Thank you."

The demon's head tilted. "Why would you thank me...?"

"Because despite the fact that you are a pain in my ass...you've protected me up until now...and though it was only for your own gain, I was able to live long enough to learn about and cherish the things of this world." A soft laugh escaped me and I shyly held my hands behind my back. "What happens now? Will you really destroy everything I loved?"

A sinister grin spread over the demon's face. "You believe yourself to be dead?"

"I'm not?" My eyebrows raised in surprise.

"You're in a sorry state...no doubt...however I've put you into a temporary coma until I'm able to reconstruct your spine and afflicted organs..."

My brows creased. "I don't understand... why would you do that?"

Kurai's eyes narrowed. "Our contract has not yet been fulfilled..."

I smirked. "Of course..."

"When you awaken... you must use my power to free yourself."

I gently shook my head. "No, thanks."

Kurai was now inches from my face. "Your body will deteriorate faster if you don't use the stored power inside you. You will not last the year I've given you..."

My head tilted. "You must know already...that I plan to find another way."

"There is no other way, just like there was no other way for your beloved Shisui, or even the clan who raised you..." he growled before vanishing.

Shisui-sama...Kurai's words left a sting...but he was wrong. I believed in my heart that there was other ways, other options that could have prevented things from happening the way they did. I hung my head as I sat with my legs crossed and closed my eyes. As I meditated, I imagined the strong and sweet Shisui who believed in me so much. I thought about when he had taught me how to walk on water. A small smile appeared over my lips. He would have been a great Sensei if things had gone well. I could imagine what he would have been like with his team of three Genin and how easy it would have been for him to help them learn and understand the ways of shinobi. I couldn't help but to feel slightly disappointed that I didn't get to see him again. I had hoped that if I had died, then I'd be reunited with him. It put my mind at ease to think this.

I felt a sudden pain and was brought back to reality. My eyes slowly opened and I realized that I was in some kind of large tube filled with liquid. My wrists were bound by chains and there were small tubes connected all over my body. A familiar feeling started to sink in and I looked up to see Orochimaru standing there with Sasuke at his side.

"Incredible...she actually lives." He said with a grin.

"Hmph." Sasuke was glaring at me.

I stared back at the two, still dazed. I was definitely inside a lab of some sort.

"I'm sure you're wondering what you're doing in such a place." Orochimaru's grin became a sly smirk. "I can promise... you will soon find out." He stepped closer. "I'll be performing a variety of experiments... which will lead to the removal of your powers... along with that demon of yours." He started to chuckle. "You won't like it."

My eyes narrowed and I tried to free myself but my body wouldn't move. Why can't I move...?

"Escape will be impossible, though I invite you to try." Orochimaru's laughter was chilling, then he held up the ring which used to be on my pinky finger. "You won't be needing this when we're finished here."

He intended to kill me after whatever it was he planned to do. With any luck... if he succeeded... maybe this would at least serve the contract and the demon could be released from this world and things would go the the way they should. I gazed at Sasuke and my heart ached. His cold stare told me that I was nothing more than a traitor to him and deserved whatever was coming to me.

"Your vitals have become stable...good...let's begin." Orochimaru turned to a window and gave a nod.

I watched as the machines around me began to pump different kinds of fluids into the tubes that would eventually lead to the ones that were connected to my body. I closed my eyes to hide the nervousness that I felt.

"I've been working on ways to extract beings from their vessels. You have the honor of being my final test."

Use my power! Kurai growled inside my mind.

No, Kurai... whatever happens... I will not use your power...

I could hear his growl echo throughout my mind. He was going to try to release himself but I wasn't about to let him. I wouldn't allow him to harm Sasuke.

There was a sudden, insane amount of pain as the strange liquids entered my body. As it coursed through my veins the pain became more and more severe. I could feel my body jolt uncontrollably. If there was a way to describe this amount of pain, it was like fire, burning me from the inside-out. Kurai was fighting me like hell to release himself. It was hard to focus on keeping him in while in so much agony. I felt my teeth clench and I focused on meditating. The raging fire kept burning at me from the inside and all I wanted to do was scream. Maybe Sasuke was right. Maybe I did deserve this. The excruciating pain, the broken heart, the remorse for the ones I've killed. I deserved it all... right?

"Let me out!" Kurai roared and his voice echoed throughout the entire lab.

I felt the ground begin to quake and reluctantly opened my eyes to see Sasuke and Orochimaru taking a few steps back. It was becoming impossible to keep Kurai at bay and my body began to convulse as I writhed in pain. The end was nearing and I wasn't sure how it would play out in the end for the others but one image was planted in my mind as I tightly shut my eyes. It was the same image I always saw when I would meditate... it was of Shisui, holding out a hand to save me from drowning in the darkness. His light smile coaxed me to take his hand and I wanted to, I wanted to reach for it and be pulled away from this pain. Just when I thought the pain couldn't get worse, I could hear Orochimaru order to turn up the machines.

No...please...no more...

My eyebrows creased as I felt Kurai being ripped from me. I was suddenly able to make a sound but it wasn't just any sound... it was a shriek which was so loud, the elements reacted. A burst of wind flailed about the room and the liquid I was in flexed and caused the glass around me to crack. The shriek came out as a name, the name of the one who left me behind a long time ago and it became louder and louder as the air escaped my lungs.

"SHISUI-SAMAAAA!!!"

The glass around me bursted and the liquid flew, turning into sharp ice spikes. Sasuke and Orochimaru had to flee the area to avoid getting impaled. As I hit the floor, I felt the hairs on my body stand on end as a large electrical current began to develop. All I saw was a huge burst of light flashing several times before I welcomed the darkness of my mind once again.

...

Shisui could hear his name being called. It sounded like Shikara's voice, in desperate turmoil. He felt an insane amount of light energy as he became more and more solid. There was several flashes of light and he felt the hard ground under his feet as he dropped down. He stood from a knelt position, peering at his hands. He was back. He looked over to see his angel on the floor of the platform of what used to be a human sized tube. Shisui jumped over the ice spikes to reach Shikara and held her in his arms.

How is this possible...?

He looked around to see that this place had been completely destroyed and was about to crumble down on itself. He peered up to see massive holes above and quickly picked Shikara up before jumping through one of them to make his escape. He ran as far as he could before putting his back to a tree and sliding down, pulling Shikara into his lap. She was completely limp, no signs of life aside from the shallow breaths she took. Where is Itachi? Why was she here and what happened to her?

Shisui glanced around and was positive that they were north of the Land of Fire. He had to get back through the border and find a medical nin. He sighed. "Hang on, Shikara..." He took a few more moments to rest and then looked up to see a crow above. "So you have been watching over her..." Shisui's eyes narrowed before he stood, cradling Shikara in his arms and continued in the direction of the nearest village he could find. When he got there he paused and looked down at the frail angel in his arms. She looked terrible and was only getting worse. He was exhausted but he pushed forward.

A few children saw him approaching and ran to him. "Hey! That's Shikara!"

A little girl with pink hair gasped. "Oh, no! What happened to our hero!?"

"Hero?" Shisui echoed, looking at Shikara's limp form.

"She needs a doctor!" A little boy yelled, taking Shisui's shirt and quickly pulling him forward.

Hero, huh? Shisui gave a light smile as he followed the kids into the small village.

A woman walking with her husband stopped and her eyes grew wide. She looked like the older version of the pink haired girl. She turned to her husband, pointing to Shisui and Shikara. "Hisashi, help that man get Shikara to the infirmary!" The man nodded and quickly aided Shisui. "It's alright, I'll take her from here...you look like you could use some rest..." he held out his arms and Shisui stood for a moment, unsure.

"It's okay, he's my daddy!" The pink haired girl said.

Shisui gave a weak smile. "Thanks." He carefully handed Shikara over and they quickly made their way to the infirmary.

Shisui never left Shikara's side and a medical nin examined her. "I need to perform a recovery jutsu right away..."

"Im coming with." Shisui stated.

"I'm sorry but we need to keep complete focus while we do this. No one is permitted in the operation room as we do this." A small nurse said.

"Make this one exception... please." The determination in Shisui's eyes swayed the medics and the head nin gave the nurse a nod.

They then made quick preparations and placed Shikara on the operation table. "We will start by repairing any damages to her organs, then move on the her muscle tissue...and work our way outwards." The other medical nins nodded in understanding, then began their work. The head nin turned to Shisui. "You can feel free to come and go as you please, I feel strongly that you should get some rest while we operate...this could take a day or two."

Shisui gave a nod, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall where he could see Shikara's face. He had every intention to stay and keep guard over her until they were done. There was no telling how much danger she was in still - and wasn't about to take any risks when it came to his frail goddess.

"I'll rest here, thanks." His serious expression showed the medical nin that there was no swaying him and returned his focus to Shikara.

"All right, then."