Chapter 55: Separate Ways
The feeling in my body came back and it felt stiff like I had been in one position for a long time. My eyes fluttered open and realized that I was at the hospital. With some strain I turned my head to see the Hokage at my side.
"Shikara..." her eyes widened. "We weren't expecting you to regain consciousness for a couple more days...if at all..."
"Lady Hokage..." I struggled to sit up, "Where is Shisui-sama?"
A light smile spread across her lips. "He went home to rest. He had been up for days, never leaving your side."
I gazed down at the sheets. "He must have been incredibly worried..."
"Rightfully so. No one believed that you would survive what you had done."
I blinked a few times before looking to her. "What did I do?"
Her eyebrows creased. "You really don't know?"
"...I was trying to release some of the chakra I have stored." I sighed, explaining this without giving too much away was draining. "It was too much...I lost control." Something was odd. I didn't feel like myself. Maybe it was my imagination...or maybe because I had nearly blown myself to smithereens...
"Well...that settles it. At least you're innocent of purposely committing a serious crime...again..."
My eyes widened. "...A crime..?"
"Yes...on top of bringing someone back from the dead..." Lady Hokage stood and walked across the room to another bed. She motioned towards the person laying there, "you've somehow split yourself into two..."
My eyebrows creased and I strained to stand from the bed and slowly made my way over.
"What do you make of this?" The Hokage asked.
Is that...me...? My head tilted slightly and strands of black hair fell over my shoulder. It startled me enough to grab it. "...I need a mirror..."
The Hokage smirked and called for a nurse to bring one while she helped me return to my own bed. "I honestly didn't know what to expect when you finally woke."
A nurse came and handed me a mirror as I sat on the edge of the bed. My eyes widened again to see my reflection. My hair was definitely black and my eyes were a much darker shade from what I was used to. They were a deep amethyst, in comparison to the usual lilac/lavender. I peered back over to my doppelgänger. Her hair was lighter than the original color but she resembled more of my natural self. I placed the mirror down on the night stand before gazing at the Hokage. "I feel different."
"Can you explain?"
I rested my hands in my lap and stared at them. "I don't feel...the lighter part of myself, almost like I've lost contact with it and have been left with the darker side."
Her head tilted. "Anything else?"
My eyes narrowed in thought. I had only just recently met the Hokage, it was wise not to reveal too much until I had the scroll. I gazed at her before shaking my head. "Um...Lady Hokage...if I may...I'd like to ask about a scroll..."
Lady Hokage peered at me curiously. "What scroll do you speak of?"
"It's one that only my clan could decipher for. It may help me control my chakra better to avoid situations such as this one...and others. Shisui said it's full of pictures and it's written in an ancient language. That's all I really know. The only thing that could help is that the people in the pictures could use the chakra to create wings."
Her eyebrow creased in thought. "I'll see what I can do to help...however if it was marked as a forbidden scroll, I can't let you have it..."
A gave a slight nod. I was hoping that due to the fact that no one could read it that maybe it was just tucked away somewhere.
Just then I caught a glimpse of someone peeking in through the door and turned my head to see them better.
Lady Tsunade smiled. "Sakura, you may enter."
The pink-haired girl came in with a cautious expression before giving a slight smile as she stood a few feet from the base of the bed. "It's nice to see that you've awakened."
"Thank you..."
"Shikara, this is Sakura Haruno. She was responsible for caring for you while we performed medical jutsu to stabilize you. She is my student."
The girl bowed before looking to me again. "How are you feeling?"
One of my eyebrows creased as a slight half smile appeared over my lips. "I feel like I've split myself in half."
She giggled. "At least you have a sense of humor." She peered over and her eyes widened.
My other self had awakened and she looked terrified. She sat up to look at us and when our focus turned to her she flung the bed sheets over her head. Sakura and Lady Tsunade looked to me in question and I felt the same amount of confusion.
"Are you okay?" Sakura took a few steps closer to her. She peeked over the sheets and appeared like she was ready to run.
I stood and put my hands up in front of my chest as a sign of peace. "You're not afraid of us, are you?" I signaled for Sakura to hang back as I slowly approached and sat on the edge of the bed.
After a few moments she lowered the sheets, still holding them to her chest. "Are...are you me...?" Her voice was so sweet and innocent, it brought a smile to my face.
"I'm not sure...it seems that way. Do you know who you are?"
She blinked, "Itachi-sama and Shisui-sama call me Shikara...and sometimes Angel."
My smile widened. "And do you know who that nice lady over there is?" I motioned to the Hokage.
She dropped the sheets further down to her lap. "That's Lady Tsunade! She's our Hokage!" She smiled sweetly.
My eyes closed. I couldn't contain the smile which had become a grin, my other self was definitely the sweeter side to me...and she's freaking adorable. "It seems that you're aware...that's good." I opened my eyes again. "Do you know what happened to get us here?"
She tilted her head. "Um..." she seemed to strain to remember, "we tried to use dark and light chakra at once...and then...it exploded!!!" She gasped. "Did we split personalities into two solid forms!?"
I held a hand over my lips to stifle a giggle. We are two very different people now, that I was sure of. I turned to Lady Hokage. "She seems fine."
Her eyebrow lifted. "Indeed." She stood and walked over to us. "I'm not sure what to make of this and I'm not sure I understand what she means by light and dark chakra...however until you've found a way to reconnect yourself, you are banned from leaving the village."
My eyes widened. "But what about training the..." I trailed off, remembering that Sakura was still here and shook my head. "Yes, Lady Hokage..."
The Hokage was eyeing us in a way that seemed cautious. "When you feel better, come to my office..." she glanced at my lighter self, "both of you."
I gave a nod. "Yes, my lady."
"I have important things to catch up with. I'll send someone to inform Shisui that you've awakened." She took her leave and I bowed to her. I was incredibly grateful for her. She didn't have to go through so much trouble for my mistakes. Lady Tsunade truely is a great Hokage.
Sakura approached us, hands behind her back. "May I ask you something?"
I gave a light nod.
"Some of my friends wanted to meet you...is it okay if they come in? They are fans of yours, actually. We all have heard of your accomplishments within the Land of Fire."
I glanced to my lighter self, she surprisingly seemed excited. Her shimmering lilac eyes were looking to me expectantly. I wasn't really one for having guests while in such a state but this was our chance to meet more people of the Leaf. "Sure, I think we would like that." I forced a light smile.
"That's great!" She turned to the doorway, "they said you can come in!" Three girls made their way into the room. "These are my friends, Ino..."
"Hey there." Ino said with a gentle waive.
"Hinata."
"Uh-um, hello." She said in a nervous, soft voice.
"And Tenten."
"It's amazing to actually get to meet the Angel of Death! You're so pretty! Both of you..." Tenten appeared to be the biggest fan of them all.
I smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you as well."
My lighter self piped up. "Wow, are you all kunoichi of this village as well!?"
"That's right!" Ino boasted with a large grin.
"It's nice to have more girls as shinobi." Hinata said softly.
"Right? We've been outnumbered for so long..." Tenten added.
My lighter self giggled. "I'm glad we can even things out a little!"
I was just glad that we could possibly make some new friends for a change.
...
A knock came from the door. Itachi sat up from the couch and was slightly impressed to see Shisui already there to answer. There was an exchange of words between himself and an ANBU before he closed the door and they made eye contact.
"She's awake."
They quickly made their way to the hospital. When they reached the room where Shikara was, they heard a lot of chatter and giggling. They paused to glance at one-another and then their ears perked when they heard female voices asking personal questions.
"So you've had two Uchiha men here to visit you...are you with one of them?"
"Because there's two of you...maybe both!?"
"She only just recently split, so that's silly...but which one, though? We must know!"
"Give her a break, guys, she just woke up..." Came the voice of Sakura.
"No way! They've become the talk of the whole village. Please tell us!"
A sweet voice stammered to respond. "Uh-um...I-we-he-they..."
More giggling erupted from the room.
Shisui smirked and Itachi shook his head before stepping forward to save his angel from such impertinent questions.
He cooly stood in the doorway to see four girls sitting on or standing around the bed with Shikara and her double. One of the two looked incredibly embarrassed while the other with black hair cooly observed the situation at hand.
He stepped in before the lighter one could have a heart attack. She looked up at him and tears welled up in her eyes. "Itachi-sama!" She seemed to be relieved to see him.
He stepped to the side to allow plenty of room for the other girls to exit.
"Oh, uh...I guess we'll see you later!" The blonde said before quickly standing from the bed and guided two of the girls out. The blonde and brown-haired girl with two buns laughed sheepishly as they went. They were clearly the culprits. Sakura followed behind, giving Itachi the eye as she went. When the girls caught sight of Shisui who was waiting outside, another burst of giggles erupted down the hall.
"Ooooh, I'm so jealous!"
Itachi sighed as Shisui joined him inside the room. They paused for a moment before approaching Shikara, who was holding onto the arm of the dark haired one nervously.
"We heard you were awake and came as soon as we could." Shisui said, with a gentle smile.
Itachi slowly made his way to stand before the dark-haired Shikara. She was eyeing him cooly before a light smile spread over her lips.
"What's the matter...Itachi-sama..? You're looking at me as if I'm an anomaly."
The lighter one looked to him apologetically, "We caused you so much trouble...for you to have to return..." her eyes turned to Shisui, "...we caused a lot of trouble for both of you..."
The dark one observed her counterpart with amusement with those amethyst eyes of hers before turning her attention back to Itachi. Her amusement faded and she seemed to express some remorse. "Yes, she's right...we're sorry..." her eyes then gazed up at Shisui, "for causing you trouble."
Shisui put a hand on the back of his head, trying to make sense of this. "You really did split yourself in two..."
Itachi wasn't sure what to think of this, however what had been done was done and Shikara was now two instead of one. He eyed the dark-haired Shikara and analyzed her separate characteristics from the lighter one.
She was calm and collected and seemed to be more confident than the other, or at least lacked enough emotion to be unfazed by things that would normally pry a reaction. She didn't seem to be a threat, however she had a darkness that the other had no sign of. He was intrigued by her and wanted to learn more...he would save his studies for her later.
Itachi then scanned over to the lighter one. She seemed sweet and more innocent in nature. There was a purity about her that set herself apart from the other. Her hair was lighter in color but still the same in appearance to the Shikara they knew before this happened.
Shisui sat at the end of the bed and tilted his head. He was having some trouble keeping his composure. "So...how are you two feeling?"
The girls looked to one-another, then they both grinned/smirked before turning back to him with their response. "We feel like we've been split in two." They said in unison. They both had a sense of humor, however their playful expressions soon disappeared.
"What will we do now?" The light one asked worriedly.
"I think I might know." Everyone turned their attention to Shisui. "Until we've figured out how to undo whatever this is...you need two separate names..." he put a hand over his face. "I can't just call you Shikara One and Two."
"Call her Angel, then." The dark one said flatly.
"Why me?" The lighter one asked with some reserve. They both clearly liked the name they were given by Itachi.
"Because you're sweet and more angelic-like than myself..."
"You're sweet, too!" She countered.
The dark haired Shikara raised an eyebrow. "Sure...somewhere deep down there's a sweet part of me that still lingers...but you are more sweet. It's cute...and it also kind of makes me sick." She giggled as she received a rather intense glare from her lighter self.
The lighter one let go of her counterpart's arm and pouted. "Fine. I'm Angel."
It was amusing to see the two converse as if they were siblings. Itachi sighed in relief. The two actually managed to normalize this situation. He decided to sit on the chair beside the bed. Itachi was feeling a lack of energy.
"Itachi-sama?"
He peered at Angel who had leaned closer to the edge of the bed with concern written all over her face.
"Yes, Angel?"
"Are you feeling okay?" She blushed shyly. "You seem...tired..."
Like Shisui...she has begun to notice as well... "I'm fine."
She blinked and looked to Shikara who was eyeing him skeptically. Angel sighed, reading this from her counterpart and looked to Itachi sadly. "Okay..." she would let it go for now, only because there was enough going on as it stands...
"So you two are really okay?" Shisui asked.
Angel smiled at him. "The medical ninja are amazing, aren't they? It's sad that many don't understand how powerful they really are."
"Does this mean you're ready to get out of here?" Shisui still seemed to be trying to accept things as they were. One Shikara was plenty for even two Uchihas. Having a second, though they were split almost equally in personality, was a little overwhelming.
Angel and Shikara nodded in response.
"Let's go back to my place...we need to have a serious discussion..."
The girls slightly slumped.
Did they really think they would be let off the hook so easily?
...
By the time they had reached Shisui's house, Itachi seemed to be struggling to breathe. It was very slight but it didn't help the concern Angel felt for him earlier. She and Shikara went to change into some regular clothes and when they reemerged into the living room Angel sat next to Itachi on the loveseat, wearing a white sundress. She held his arm with both of hers as she peered down at the floor. She knew he wasn't going to tell her what was going on with him but she felt the sudden determination to find out...somehow.
He was watching her curiously as she finally looked up at him. "Please don't leave this time Itachi-sama."
His eyes widened at this. "I have to leave eventually, Angel."
She shook her head, her eyebrows creased in worry. "Stay." It was more of a demand than a request.
A small smile appeared over his lips. "...As you wish..." For now.
Her expression softened. "Thank you Itachi-sama."
He sighed, closing his eyes. It was time. "As for the serious discussion Shisui spoke of..."
Angel bowed her head, already ashamed. Shikara, who dressed herself in black capris and a purple halter top, made her way over to the wall, leaning against it nonchalantly with her arms crossed.
Shisui took a spot on the floor before eyeing her. "You are lucky to be here and not in prison," he began in a stern tone. "This last stunt also could have been your last, you nearly killed yourself." His eyes met Angel's and she held Itachi's arm a little more tightly before bowing her head again to hide her shame. "Until you have learned to control your chakra, you are banned from using it again."
"How will we learn to control it without training?" Shikara asked, her eyes narrowed.
Shisui blinked at the familiar challenging side of her that he actually enjoyed but now was not the time. "Until you have been able to study the scroll, I forbid it."
Itachi gave a slight nod. "No more testing things out without knowing what you're getting yourselves into."
Angel made eye contact with Shikara. They seemed to have a mutual understanding as they, too, gave a nod.
"That's fair, Shisui-sama, Itachi-sama." Angel said softly.
Shisui turned his gaze back to Shikara, who seemed a little reluctant about what they were agreeing to. "What do you have to say...Shikara?" He pressed. He had to make sure she understood and agreed to the stipulation as well.
"I'll agree...but only until after we've studied the scroll." She calmly replied.
Shisui and Itachi exchanged glances. Despite Shikara's willingness to comply, neither one of them felt that they could fully trust her. They weren't sure what being the dark side of Shikara entailed.
"If we're done with this serious discussion..." Shikara sighed, "everyone seems a little famished." They watched as she made her way over to the kitchen and to their surprise she appeared to be preparing to make dinner.
Shisui looked over to see Angel happily rise from the couch and then skipped over to the kitchen to help. He blinked at Itachi who gave Shisui a slight shrug. Maybe Shikara wasn't as different as he had thought she was.
...
The girls seemed to be enjoying themselves as they worked together to make a large meal. Shikara was much gentler with Angel than she was with anyone else. She seemed to treat Angel delicately, even the way she teased her was gentle, like an older sister. Itachi couldn't help the small smile that crossed his lips. What he would do to be that close to Sasuke again... He shook his head at the thought and studied the two in silence.
"That's not how Granny Yin taught us!" Angel exclaimed as the two were making pastries for desert.
Shikara smirked. "Don't you want to try something new?"
There was a small pause as Angel contemplated the question. "Granny Yin's recipe is already the best."
"I suppose..." Shikara gave a soft laugh, "or maybe we could do better. You never know until you try."
Angel smiled. "You know...you're right! Let's one-up Granny!" She then quickly muttered under her breath, "rest in peace, granny..."
Shikara gently shook her head before showing Angel what she had planned to do to make the recipe better.
When they had finished preparing everything, the two set the table before Angel excitedly spoke. "It's ready!" She first ran over to Shisui to bring him to the table, then sped off to get Itachi as well. She was so excited that it was really cute. She had a huge grin on her face as she joined the boys at the table, then looked to Shikara expectantly. "Come sit!"
Shikara blinked, her eyes then scanned from Itachi to Shisui before she slowly took a spot next to Angel, rather than sitting at the open fourth side.
Shisui tilted his head at this. "Thank you for the meal."
Angel beamed a smile, "thank you for always being there for us!"
Shikara gave a small nod. "We appreciate you..." she glanced to Itachi. "Both of you..."
It appeared that she had a shy side as well. Unlike Angel, it seemed that they would have to start over with her. She seemed to trust them just about as much as they trusted her.
They ate in silence, enjoying every bite. It was delicious. When they had finally tried the desert, the boys were taken by surprise. It was good, even better than Granny Yin's original recipe. Shikara seemed proud as everyone sighed in bliss, she had developed a slight pink color on her cheeks.
"Wow! You were right! We should have done this sooner..." Angel said, she gave Shikara a big smile.
She returned a softer smile before excusing herself from the table and began to wash dishes.
Shisui quickly finished his pastry before he went over to help. Shikara appeared to become a little nervous as her eyebrows slightly creased but she didn't object. This was Shisui's chance to try to figure her out.
"If Angel is the sweet side, then what does that make you?"
Shikara's eyebrow lifted and she gave him a teasing smile. "The side that doesn't have to answer to silly questions."
Shisui grinned before he stepped closer to her. His arms gently wrapped around her waist and he whispered in her ear. "You can't tell me that Angel has all of the good qualities, not after making a dinner like that."
A sad smile played across Shikara's lips. She smoothly turned to him and placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned in to whisper in response. "It's true...while she holds all the good...I contain all the naughty." He froze against her. She let out a quiet chuckle before stepping back to eye him and then turned away, to walk towards the two who had returned to the couch.
"I'm leaving." Shikara simply stated to Angel who was snuggled up to Itachi.
"What? Why? Where are you going?" Angel seemed already worried about Itachi and now it was becoming obvious anxiety for her counter part to leave unexpectedly.
"I...need some space..." Shikara turned away and headed for the door.
Shisui intercepted and gently took her wrist. "You've just gotten out of the hospital..."
Her eyes seemed to flash some slight irritation. "Do you remember the conversation we had...about hovering?"
Shisui's eyebrows creased as his stare became hardened. "Every time I don't hover...something happens."
Shikara's tone became flat. "It seems even when you are there, something happens." Shisui dropped her wrist. It was a low blow.
Angel gasped. "Shikara!"
Itachi stood and slowly made his way over to the two and faced Shikara. "I'll come with you..." Though she seemed to be good at keeping an emotionless expression, he could see from her jawline that she had clenched her teeth. Out of the two this one was clearly going to be a challenge.
Shikara finally glanced over to Itachi and gave a slight nod. For just a second her eyes flashed some regret to Shisui before she passed through the door.
Itachi gently placed a hand on his friend's shoulder as he passed by. "I'll figure it out."
"Don't let her do anything unreasonable..."
Itachi gave a nod as he followed Shikara out.
Angel ran to Shisui's side and took his arm. "I'm so sorry...we are terribly off balance."
Shisui gave her a light smile. "Is she really the dark side of you?"
Angel peered down at the floor sadly. "She and I are opposite but she isn't evil..." Angel's voice became soft as some tears developed in her eyes. "...She took on more of the side of us that had been severely damaged." Her eyes met Shisui's, "She is the part of me that was hidden away. Now that we are separated, there's nothing to cover our pain." The tears fell. "From losing you - to killing those we loved, all the way to being imprisoned - then eventually tortured...she shoulders all of it..."
Shisui's eyes widened. He realized what he had said to Shikara was insensitive and probably hurt her. If what Angel said was true then Shikara was almost definitely struggling to keep herself from falling apart. He sighed, placing a hand over his face. "I messed up..."
Angel peered up at him with a light smile after wiping the tears away. "She may have a lot of suffering from the past but she is also very strong, Shisui-sama."
Angel's compassion for others shined through immensely. Shisui finally removed his hand from his face and gently, lovingly touched his angel's cheek. "There's a lot of strength shared between the two of you, it seems."
...
I shouldn't have been so rude to Shisui. There was a sting in my heart to have said what I did but I needed fresh air and get away from this place. Itachi was eyeing me as I made my way through the the empty clan's quarters and wondered if being here bothered him as much as it did myself. I paused to look at him. He kept a blank expression as he stared wearily back.
I sighed and turned to fully face him. "Itachi-sama?"
"Hm?"
My eyes peered up at him shyly. "I...was wondering..." I felt my cheeks flush red. "H-how do you...carry so much on your shoulders and make it look...easy...?"
He seemed surprised that I was confiding in him. Do these guys seriously believe that I'm bad!? Sighing, I turned away again. "Never mind. Pretend I didn't say anything." It was best to just walk in silence, it seems.
"Shikara..."
I paused without facing Itachi and just waited to hear what he wanted to say, then felt him come up behind and his arms wrapped around me.
"I should have seen it before..." his voice was soothing, "...I owe you an apology."
My head slightly turned towards him. My curiosity peaked, wondering what he could possibly be sorry for. I was the one out of control.
"I made a mistake, believing that you being the darker part meant you lacked goodness..."
A tear developed hearing this come from him. Shisui believed the same thing...that because of my dark appearance and chakra that I must also be evil or something.
"Having darkness is not the same as being evil, though it can easily be misinterpreted as such..." He slowly turned my shoulders so that faced him. He was gazing at me with a softened expression. "Forgive me for that."
A soft smile spread over my lips. "You of all people would understand this...Itachi-sama."
...
Itachi gave a slight nod. "You and I are the same in many ways." He kissed her forehead and then peered into her eyes. "What do you plan to do?"
She sighed, a light, sad smile played across her lips. They were at the entrance to the Uchiha quarters. "I can't stay here...it's..." she shook her head. "I intend to rent a room for tonight..."
Itachi gazed at her knowingly. The fact that anyone of them could stand being here was unfathomable.
She shyly looked to the ground. "Would you like to join me?"
He thought she wasn't going to ask and gave a nod. "I would."
It took them a couple tries before a small hotel finally allowed them to stay. It was no surprise. Itachi was feared by all and Shikara had to go in by herself to actually obtain a room at this last place. When she came outside to retrieve him she spared a sweet smile, while holding up the key.
"Ready?" She asked softly, gently taking his arm and they walked together to find room 206.
