I had come to the decision that it was time for me to leave the ANBU and join the Konoha Police Force to follow in my father's footsteps. Everything was in order, including the official date of my resignation and transfer under Fugaka to assist in the policing of Konoha. I anticipated this new step of my life, as it meant I would be home far more often. I was almost seventeen, and wanted to begin my career at this age having dedicated four years of my life to both ordinary shinobi missions and ANBU tasks. All that remained was the final mission, and then I would be free. Sasuke was greatly anticipating my return as he understood that it meant I would be home for good, and spoke often how he wished Itachi would do the same so that the three of us could be together forever. I too wished for such a thing, but Itachi was such a vital part of the ANBU corps that he was still a huge asset, and was required to stay a little longer than myself.
My final mission was a simple task, merely gathering information about a potentially threatening organisation based in Amegakure which had posed long and arduous, but once we had the information we required, our team captain ordered us to return home. The only thing which caused me slight confusion was the slow pace at which we were returning. Moving at a third of the speed, I heard one of my fellow spies noting all the time we were wasting. Behind her mask, she had whispered to her closest friend on the team but had been overheard by the leader.
"We move at the pace I dictate and without question." He informed us stoically, turning so that his mask glared at the rest of us imposingly. "We are still in Rain Territory, so we need to draw as little attention to ourselves as possible." This made logical sense to me, so I did not question the reasons again. The rain made it a little bleak and miserable for the others, but I quite liked the rain. The feeling of pale droplets landing against my skin was a curious sensation, so after making camp to rest for a while, I took the first watch and stood out in the rain.
Thunder rumbled and the symphony of sounds made it more difficult to determine any possible intruders, so I relied almost completely upon my sixth sense, feeling for any danger and being ready to react in a second. My eyes constantly scanned my surroundings, the mask concealing my Sharingan but did not hinder me from seeing absolutely everything possible. Everything was calm, and even the storm overhead settled as the rain thinned to a light drizzle, allowing me to take an even breath.
Without warning, I was sent into a completely different world, one of ominous quiet and distant screams, blood swirling and gushing around my feet as I stared at endless bodies within the Uchiha compound. My first reaction was the desire to vomit, retching at the powerful odour of freshly spilled blood. No sound came from my throat as I stared with wide eyes of terror, images flashing before me each as terrible as the last, until I saw Sasuke running for his life, screaming, crying and begging for mercy as he tripped and fell, a cold figure towering over him.
In that moment, all I felt was an intense and completely overpowering sense of fear for the people I loved, Sasuke and Itachi. For a moment, I stood completely silent and still, breathing in all the emotion which struck me harder than a thunderbolt, and for once I did not know what to do. I was still on mission, I could not disobey my captain, the orders of Konoha and the Hokage, yet all I wanted was to return home with all the speed of the wind and save those that were closest to my heart.
A thousand thoughts collided like water hitting its ended path at the bottom of a waterfall, churning and roaring through my mind until the sound was deafening and I wanted nothing more than to scream just to release the pent up tension that was building up through my core. It all combined into a mass of blackness which peaked when I ended with an inner scream, frozen to the ground until finally, my body spurred itself into motion before my inner thoughts had even begun to think about consequences or even a logical step by step plan of action, I just…moved.
My fingers correlated a sequence which immediately created a doppelganger of myself. I looked at her, seeing a perfect reflection of myself from the pale white hair in long, almost floor length locks and the red current eyes which were brightened by the moonlight, before then disappearing into the shadows. It was easy to slip away, almost too easy, and as I travelled with all the speed I possessed. From what I could tell from the moon position in the sky within my vision, I had a bare few hours before my vision would become a reality. All the while I travelled, the only image in my mind was that of the figure who had been looming over Sasuke.
Who could it be? Did I know them? Something about them was familiar yet I could not quite understand it myself. Sasuke had been in my vision, but where was Itachi? I know that he should be home, and I also knew that if his little brother was in danger, there was nothing or no one who could stop him from saving Sasuke, whom he loved more than anyone else in this world. Even more than me. I knew this for a fact, so why had I not seen him in my vision?
The wind howled and the moon continued to climb, full and glaring as it peered down upon my back as I continued to race for all I was worth. For once, the moonlight felt harsh and accusing, watching as I struggled to make it back to the village in time to save my clan. There had been so much blood, how was it possible for someone to bleed so much? The red reminded me of the Sharingan, and for once my own bloodline limit made me want to retch in revulsion.
I felt more emotion in that one single night than I had possibly felt in my entire life, and as the wind howled, my heart continued to pound against my ribcage and threatened to crack the bones from within. The world rushed past me in an incoherent blur until finally I began to recognise my surroundings, recognising them as home. With a final burst of energy, despite already being exhausted, I propelled myself towards the Uchiha compound and simultaneously activated my Sharingan, allowing myself to see ahead and prepare for whatever it is I might encounter, though inwardly I already knew I was too late.
The moon was full and at the zenith of its ascent and seemed to engulf the entire sky. Its presence caused my body to tremble as I knew it meant that I was too late. By the time I had returned to the Uchiha compound, the rivers of blood were already flowing. I sprung from rooftop to rooftop just to avoid it, the smell already making me wanting to retch and choke upon the scent which overwhelmed my senses.
I tried to shut it out, tried to ignore it, but now that I had seen it, I knew that I would never be able to erase the image from my mind. It would remain there as a permanent stain for the rest of my life. Shaking my head, I desperately began to search for Itachi and Sasuke with my Sharingan, watching as a few last chakra signatures faded into nothing until nothing remained but three very striking signatures. One I did not recognise immediately so I discarded it, believing it to be the perpetrator whilst both Sasuke and Itachi seemed to be ahead of me, close to the house.
For a moment, I felt a wash of relief for their safety, thinking that they must have both survived the slaughter and were making to escape. Pushing myself further, I raced towards them without ever making a sound, flitting like a streak of silvery white until I was closer to them and I could see them with perfect clarity. Everything was taken in within a sharp breath, seeing Itachi standing before his brother, the power of his Sharingan activated whilst Sasuke raced away from him in pure terror, and the fact that Itachi's blade was covered in blood.
I did not want to believe the logic, the facts which were being presented before me, but as I dropped down from above after making a giant leap I felt a rush of emotions begin to strangle my heart. It was painful, however I had no choice but to act out of instincts. The moment I landed I reached out and grasped hold of Sasuke and whirled around, hair flaring in long streaks of silver. Itachi looked so dead and lifeless I would have mistaken him for one of the fallen which lay everywhere at our feet. The coldness which emanated from him caused a strong shiver of fear as for once, I saw nothing of the sweet natured boy I had known since the moment of his birth. "Yuki!" Sasuke's small voice gasped as he blinked himself awake, terrified and trembling with tears streaming down his face. All at once he clung onto me, fingers gripping so tightly into my clothing that they threatened to rip but I paid it no mind, instead lifting Sasuke up effortlessly so that he was curled into me, my arms holding him protectively.
Not trusting myself to speak, I remained silent, backing away from Itachi slowly whilst never taking my eye away from him. How could Itachi do this? Never in my life could I have envisioned him becoming a traitor, it was just not in his character, so why would he do this? My only logical answer was that he was acting on orders, and the only orders he followed were those of…the Hokage and the Council. They would destroy the Uchiha Clan?
"Miyuki, I cannot allow you to live past this night." Itachi informed me with such emptiness that I felt like crying in despair. "The Uchiha Clan are shallow and violent, they will bring nothing but bloodshed should they continue to prosper."
"Itachi…" The broken sound of my voice was hardly recognisable, and as Sasuke gripped onto me and begged me to escape, Itachi rushed forward. I had no time to think, only react. Moving as quickly as the wind, I placed Sasuke down a safe distance away and drew my sword in order to block Itachi's, the metallic clang sharply ringing through the air as sparks flew in all directions. My eyes quickly became alive with the power of my own Sharingan, using all of my speed and powers of prediction in order to anticipate Itachi's movements so that we were evenly matched.
My skills were definitely inferior to his, therefore the only thing keeping me alive was my ability to foresee his movements, predict his paths and my elevated speed which allowed me to either dodge or block his attacks. Our swords flashed in the night under the full moon and behind me, I could hear Sasuke whimpering with fear as the two of us fought. I was quickly losing breath, having spent most of my energy and chakra in order to return to the Hidden Leaf as quickly as possible, so I naturally made up my mind on what to do next.
Itachi was coming at me, however I knew that he would disappear in a moment and reappear behind me to slash me across the back, so I swiftly spun on my foot and pushed upwards with my leg, sword gripped between my toes and blocked effectively whilst activating my Mangekyo Sharingan. My eyes swirled and my vision was bathed in red as I looked directly at Itachi, our eyes now mirroring one another. With one final push I sent him flying backwards with enough distance that he slid across the ground, opening the space between us and I immediately flew towards Sasuke.
I dodged the projectiles Itachi flung at me, elegantly dancing my way around them before reaching out and grasping Sasuke into my arms. Time seemed to slow down for me in that moment, lifting Sasuke up wordlessly as the both of us turned our heads to give one last look at Itachi who had fallen still, no longer pursuing me. My Sharingan swirled outwards as I reached for my Kamui and pulled Sasuke in with me so that we would both be safe. Hurt hammered through my heart, grief and confusion settling in like a rotting decay as both of us looked at Itachi one last time.
Sasuke did not remember much after I drew us into my Kamui, however I distinctly remembered seeing the tears in Itachi's eyes and the sadness with pained his expression. Now I could see the emotion, the mask from before having cracked to give way to the agony he now carried within him and for the brief moment where our eyes met, it were as if he were crying out to me to help him, begging me to save him from the dark path which he now walked alone. Before I could react, Sasuke and I had disappeared completely and I opened my eyes once more to find my Kamui had created a safe place for me to keep Sasuke for the time being as he had fainted from exhaustion and emotional trauma. The sun was setting over the ocean which glittered like jewels and as a soft breeze ran across my face, I could do nothing more than fall to my knees and stare blankly ahead with Sasuke in my arms.