Pacing picks up again this chapter, as I'm trying to get the little bits of cannon out of the way so that we can go full AU in a bit. Let me know what you think!
~line break~
The next morning, I was up with the sun. Shika joined me in the kitchen. I was comforted by his presence. Getting him out of bed could normally be considered an A rank misison, so for him to get up on his own just to keep me company was heartwarming, even if he mumbled "troublesome" when I pulled him into a hug.
As it was the weekend, there was no school today and I had no interest in training or returning to sleep. As it was, the only thing I wanted to do was visit Shisui. Mom was making me to wait for dad to get back, but when he returned late that evening, the sun was already falling. He promised me that I'd be able to visit tomorrow, for which mom and Shika were grateful. I had spent the whole day pacing and be irritable and they had tried their best to distract me but I wasn't hungry and I wasn't interested in reading, or playing shogi or in doing anything.
Deciding that dads promise was enough, I bade my parents good night, following SHika up the stairs. Mom and dad didn't acknowledge our departure, instead their heads were close together and they were whispering urgently. It made me nervous in a way I wasn't used to in this new world, my stomach twisting in knots. I took an extra long shower to relax and after rubbed lavender oil extract into my hair (My kunoichi class said that lavender would help me relax after all). It must have done its job because I only tossed and turned for a few minutes before falling asleep.
The next day when I woke up terrified (I was in an alleyway and I was begin attacked only this time I was surrounded by a feeling, an aura of menace and the face morphed from the stalkers face into a more familiar one and instead of his bright smile, there was a savage animal like look on his face and I could feel the stabs that had killed me and my every swipe of the knife literally tearing me apart…) I took deep gulping breaths, finally able to move from my sleep induced paralysis. I hadn't even been able to scream out; instead I'd woken with the sound still stuck in my throat.
I didn't tell mom or Shika, (I might've told dad if he'd pried, but he was already gone for the day) because I didn't want them to stop me from seeing Shisui. I knew (at least I hoped) that I wouldn't actually be scared of Shisui when I saw him. But the memory of him turning to attack me had been terrifying. I'd never felt such an aura, a killing intent before.
Shisui had been running for his life. Logically I knew he hadn't meant to scare me. That it was very weak of me to care. But the killing intent combined with the fact that he had been holding a kunai and the sharp knife had glinted with blood (just like when I died) had triggered something in me.
And still, I didn't tell mom or Shika. Instead I spent the whole day curled up into ball by Shika's side. Instead I laid there and thought about chakra and strings and leaves and demon boys and pink-haired-strongmen. I tried to distract myself with memories from my past life and a fractured timeline that was hopefully already moot with Shisui's survival. When dad finally returned home, he gathered me and Shika (because, yes Shika did want to see Shisui, but more importantly, there was no way he was going to leave me alone after my behavior today) and brought us to the hospital. Every step closer made me more anxious, so Shika walked alongside me holding my hand without comment. Dad didn't bother going to the desk or signing us in; he was the jonin commander, I figured he'd been in and out of here all day trying to get a story from Shisui. No, I couldn't see dad bothering with the trouble of signing in his kids when he didn't bother with himself.
The quiet walk from the hospital lobby to the third floor room Shisui was in seemed to take ten times longer then the walk from our clan compound to the hospital. I knew it couldn't be true but my perception of time was off. (Was I always going to be scared to see Shisui now?Even when I was home and he was sitting across the dinner table telling a funny mission story?). I wondered if he was mad at me. After all, if I hadn't grabbed him he would've never been cut. I had released him from the shadow possession too late.
(A voice in the back of my head snidely told me he would already be dead if I had shadow possessed him, but I just as snidely snapped back that Shisui had no way of know that.)
Dad pushed the door open and let us into the room. Inside were two unoccupied beds, but the third, the one closest to the open window held Shisui. Dad walked forward and plopped in a chair. Shika and I crept forward eyes wide. Shisui was asleep, with white bandages covering half his face. ('His eye might not have made it in the end' I thought widely) But still I crept forward. The rising moon peaked through the open window and brightened up his face enough that I could see. The his jaw was clenched; his whole body was tense. I looked at dad for an explanation.
"There was some kind of paralytic on the weapon that cut him. A very strong one that without treatment shuts down all the muscle groups in the body including the lungs and heart."
(Mentally I began combining my former medical knowledge with my newfound kunoichi herbalism knowledge to try and eliminate potential poisons and possible antidotes. It was a good distraction to run through in the back of my head even if I wasn't yet skilled enough to narrow down the list)
Dad continued,"He hasn't woken up yet, but thats probably a good thing. If you hadn't brough him straight here, his chances of survival would have dropped signifigantly. He likely would've died, seeing as his lungs were already failing." Shika gasped and stayed frozen, standing right next to Shisui's bedside, gripping Shika's hand extra tight.
('At nine fucking years old, I saved Shisui. I changed something. Shisui is gonna live..' it was an encouraging thought, even with as broken as I felt inside. I was no longer scared of seeing Shisui, instead, all my fear changing into panic for my friends health.)
"The antidote they have him on is very rough on the body; makes the nerves extra sensitive. He'd be more aware of his pain if he were awake, if he can feel anything without the amount of morphine in his drip right now. Still, the doctors say he'll be waking soon." Leave it to dad to not try and water down anything.
We were his children through and through however, and so Shika hesitated only for a moment before dropping my hand pulling himself up to sit at the foot of the bed. I hesitated even longer, then pulled myself up next to him, sitting in-between Shika and Shisui's limp hand, which I grabbed still needing some kind of comfort. Dad stayed quiet, allowing us to watch over our friend. (I wish I had thought to bring flowers. All these kunoichi classes, and the flower arrangement lesson could have been used for a purpose. 'Tomorrow' I promised myself quietly.) We sat in silence for a bit as the full moon rose higher. It was a school night and I was sure dad was going to make us leave soon.
So I was surprised when few minutes later a harried nurse hurried into the room. "Nara-san you're needed immediately. There's been an attack." She looked anxious and tight. (NO wonder she looked so upset; the last attack in the village had been the Kyubi. My mind was racing. I didn't know enough of the storyline for this. Was there supposed to be an attack on the village? I didn't think anything major happened after Shisui's death except the massacre and that had been weeks later. But what if it was the massacre coming early…)
Dad paused thinking quickly. "Shikamaru, Kageko, wait here until I send either your uncles or a Nara to come get you. Don't leave this room. Theres Anbu guarding it right now and they'll watch you for now." He was more serious then I'd ever seen him. (Of course he was; this was an attack on the village.) He moved out of the room, faster then I had ever seen him move, at odds with his usual slow shuffle. Shika looked at me wide eyed and I returned his gaze with the same wide eyes. What could be going on?
'The Uchiha massacre?' I continued that line of thinking 'But I saved Shisui. That should've stopped it.' Except…. Shisui hadn't been awake to tell anyone anything. Maybe his death hadn't hurried along the massacre, but instead postponed it. Which meant we were no trapped in a room with one of the (last?) Uchiha (who I was sure was a target to be killed). The more I thought about it, the more sure I was that I was right. I broke my gaze from Shika and instead leaned to climb on top of Shisui.
"Shisui! Shisui! Wake up! Now is not the time try and be a Nara!" I shook his shoulder. Shika grew even more wide eyed at my antics. This was quite unlike me, but I was panicking. If the crow guy decided to come here, which seemed likely, I had no chance in hell of winning against him, even with Shika's help. But Shisui might. And I was not going to risk my older brothers life to the competency of the watching Anbu. (Anbu who probably knew nothing as the attack was recent and they'd been here guarding a coma patient. Besides Itachi was Anbu and Shisui's cousin. They probably trusted him. I shook Shisui harder.)
A groan, then another let me know he was waking. I shook his shoulder harder. When he finally opened his eyes, I was leaning right over his face.
"Are you awake yet Shisui? This isn't the time to be sleeping. You need to be awake. Theres an attack somewhere. You need to be ready to fight."
"Huh" He blinked awake shifting from sleep to wakefulness like only a non-Nara ninja could. He tested his fingers, closing and opening his fists. "What's going on?" I repeated that there was some kind of attack on the village. "Well…I don't really know how much help I'll be. I seem to be on some very strong painkillers, and they're still not quite working properly. Shika face palmed. I didn't bother instead leaning back and sighing gloomily as my chance at survival dropped ever lower..
"So what kind of attack? I don't sense the nine tails, but to be honest I don't sense much right now." His hand crept up to feel the bandages around his head and he snapped his head towards me admonishing me, "Yatta, Kage, we need to talk about you being careful. That was very dangerous what you did."
I ignored his scolding, instead looking at Shika who seemed to pick up on my urgency and was eyeing me, Shisui and the room with a calculating eye. Still, this was not good. At this point I had psyched myself out and thought it must be the Uchiha attack, but there was no way to let Shika know. (And even if by some small chance I was wrong, any attack on Konoha was a big deal; we were a peaceful village. It was why the threat of one had sent dad running.)
"We don't know what the attack is, but dad went to go handle it. He told us to wait here" Shikapiped up. My senses felt like they were on high alert. I hadn't completely recovered from my chakra exhaustion, but there was no helping that now. (I heard something. Maybe. A noise like something falling on the ground. A clumsy nurse? Something less innocuous?) I tensed slightly but Shika continued on talking to Shisui like nothing was wrong. "I wish we had brought the shogi board. Then we'd have something to do while we waited." (I had definitely heard something this time. The curtain fluttered ) "and then maybe you'd actually learn something cause you have to sit still and pay attention."
I hopped across the bed to Shisui's other side, shadowed by Shika when the light form the moon was covered. Shika pulling out a kunai, but kept it looped on his finger, ready and versatile. I copied him crouching slightly lower, eying at the figure perched in the window while Shika again looked around at our environment for help.
"Tachi?" Shisui exclaimed/slurred, surprised. (the painkillers were definitely not helping this whole situation.) "Do you have any idea whats going on? The kids have no clue." He was so calm at seeing his cousin in the window. He trusted him. For a second I envied his ignorance, but then I remembered that crow dude was here to kill Shisui.
"I've just come from killing the clan."Itachi's voice was stilted. "You're the last one left Shisui." He turned his blood red gaze to me and Shika. I trembled; he made me want to kill myself to spare his gaze. What a frightful aura he could project. ('At least I wont be scared of Shisui anymore' I thought brightly. Literally nothing I had experienced up until this point in my life was as bad as this killing intent.)
"I hadn't expected guests. I even bothered to check the front desk. You weren't signed in." (He almost sounded annoyed at the breach in the rules. If it wasn't a life or death situation I would've laughed. As it was my lips twitched. Thank god for lazy dads, amirite?) Itachi turned his focus back to Shisui.
"But he clan…. and Danzo… He betrayed me but still…Was this the only way left?" Shisui sounded lost and he struggled to get his words out coherently. But he did not sound surprised. I narrowed my gaze at him. What a little shit. No wonder he had been so tense the past few weeks. Still he was letting a little too much out in front of us, probably the effects of the painkillers. Shika was going to want an explanation later.
"Yes." Itachi spoke with such finalty. If I hadn't been frozen in fear I would've shivered.
"Then go ahead. For the clan." Shisui turned his gaze away from Itachi, instead focusing on something far off in the distance, but I could see his hand shaking and crow dude was moving forward and thats what made me snap.
'Did Shisui just give crow dude the go ahead to murder him? What the fuck kind of world is this?' I met Shika's gaze and he shook his head at me in mutual disbelief.
"This is not what she had in mind when she woke you up." Shika admonished Shisui.
They both blinked, I guess forgetting we were even present (That Nara chakra was something else. Just made us unnoticeable I guess)
I could only huff in agreement, too busy forming hand seals. As they both turned towards us again, I reached out with my shadow and caught Itachi before his eyes could focus on me. (I remembered form the show that the sharinggan was super torture-y so I wouldn't make that mistake if I could avoid it). He froze, tanto still raised to slice through Shisui.
"Kage, stop! Itachi…like a brother to me…I can't… my family…gone…For the village, and the Uchiha…" He struggled to give me an excuse without letting me know this was a village sanctioned murder-fest. I was unmoved. Itachi turned his head towards me (holy shit my hold wasn't strong enough if he could move his head to look at me, FUCK WHAT AM I GONNA DO) and eyed me with his bright red eyes. They began to shift from the normal three tomoes that I was used to from Shisui into something else (FUCKFUCKFUCK) before they shifted back to three tomoe. (Ohthankgod maybe he doesn't know how yet) Distantly I heard a door slam open and feet running off. I paid them no mind.
"I came to this village to get strong. To learn how to use shadows. To be like my okaa-san." Itachi looked unmoved, but I wasn't saying this for his sake. No I was facing Itachi, but my words were for Shisui's because his suicidal dumbass needed to hear this. (I had been reincarnated but I couldn't be sure that he would if he died, soft now, he was going to live and the was final) "My okaa-san protected her precious people" My voice began to strain from the effort of holding Itachi in place. I began to get tunnel vision. Now I focused more on Itachi, and his face. "Shisui-kun is one of my precious people and I WILL NOT LET YOU KILL HIM." The last part came out as a snarl. Itachi looked a little unnerved. Shisui was saying something again, but I ignored him. I could feel myself running out of chakra, but I didn't let go. Even when I felt the last little bit drain, I clenched tighter, feeling Crow dude test the hold. I was no longer aware of my surrounding, and I couldn't say for sure that Shika was safe. That help was on the way. And so I couldn't let him go. I felt Colder and Colder. And still, I didn't let go. My vision grew darker but I held on. Until I was sure Shika and Shisui were safe, I would not let go. I breathed in, but the air was so cold it made me want to cough. My arms felt heavy and I dropped them to my side, releasing the ram hold, but my shadow possession remained firmly in place. Itachi held my gaze and I stared back defiant.
"Let go" He snarled, finally losing some composure. (I only vaguely noted the loss in control. I was already so COLD that his killing intent spike didn't even make me flinch.) I held on. There was no more Chakra and I didn't think I had anything left to give to the jutsu. I was frozen through and through.
And then suddenly: movement.
A few dozen shuiken were thrown over my head, aimed for Itachi. I flinched away from them in surprise finally dropping the jutsu. Itachi moved ducking from shrunken and moving to defend from the new threat at the door. People moved, jumping over the beds to slam into Itachi. He held them back with his tanto. Shisui was finally quiet staring wide-eyed at the fight. I distantly noted that they were Anbu(with colored masks this time) but didn't have any energy to do anything more. I fell slowly to my side (at least it felt slow but everything felt slow. Time, breathing, my heart beat) falling on Shisui's bed, where he was saying something, but I couldn't hear. My ears were ringing all I could hear was the slow quiet thud of my heart and I didn't… want…to breath…anymore… The air was so cold it hurt.
The last thing I remembered was wondering if the I would ever remember what the sun felt like, because I was so cold, I couldn't imagine the warmth.
When I finally woke up, I didn't open my eyes right away. Everything hurt. Every muscle felt like I had run a triathlon and I had a pounding migraine behind my left eye. (I hoped these weren't permamnt. I was glad to leave them behind in my past life). I could voices, quietly talking. I zeroed in on those.
"-In my class at the academy. She's at the bottom of the ranking…" Well that was a boring conversation. Emo kid. I recognized his voice. He didn't seem like emo kid yet though. (Maybe he was still in shock. Or maybe it was because Shisui was still alive. Regardless I hoped saving Shisui changed something cause at this point I was feeling like all it accomplished was me in a hospital bed) I took a second to try and guess the chakra signatures around me. Yup, Sasuke was talking to Shisui. Shika was right next to my hand. Dad was in the hallway talking to someone. Mom stood right next to him. And there was somebody in the roof. (Huh. probably more Anbu)
Shika poked my side. I grimaced. So he knew I was awake. Well he was better at pretending to sleep then I was. I opened my eyes. A Shika, a worried and guilty Shisui, and (Ahh there's what I was waiting for) an angsty looking Sasuke trying to make himself look aloof.
"Ahh Kage-chan you're awake! Let me go get your dad—" Shika smirked and stood before Shisui could rise, pushing down on Shisui's shoulders. (Ahh bless whatever gods gave me Shika in this new life. Awake for only a minute and the kid could read my mind)
"No, no Shisui, I insist. You should stay here with my sister. I'm sure you guys have so much to talk about." Shisui winced. Sasuke hnged, trying to make himself relevant to the conversation. I looked on unimpressed (But internally amused at emo kid finally being the emo kid I had been waiting for. Fine so he hadn't changed, but at least I knew what to expect).
"You're right of course Shika." I said aloud. My voice was raspy from disuse, but I continued on, playing annoyed. (I had survived an impossible, unavoidable death. Couldn't be bothered to be annoyed, not that Shisui needed to know that) "Couldn't leave Shisui alone for even a second as he's on suicide watch." Shika's smirk grew more pronounced as he could tell I was gonna bounce right back from my near death experience.
Shisui's wince grew more pronounced and he tried to defend himself. "Ah Kage-kun, I wasn't —" I didn't let him finish. (now that we were out of our near death experience, Happy to have lived or not, Shisui was gonna listen and learn.)
"Nuh uh. You don't get o talk. You tried to sacrifice yourself. I told you during one of our talks that hero-antics were not cool. I repeadtly said that dying for a cause was stupid if your death changed nothing. I explained that the only way to project change was through your own personal actions. Accountability and all that. What makes you think sacrificing yourself, eepcially considering everything we'd talked about—for your already dead and now irredeemable clan— was in anyway something I'd be okay with? Was in anyway something that you should choose to do? It was literally the most illogical, stupid, irresponsible—" Here mom interrupted me with hug bursting into the room from the hallway, followed by a more sedate dad and Shika. Sasuke looked on with a frown of disapproval growing more pronounced with every word I said about clans and irredeemable. (inwardly I chuckled. 'Oh good he doesn't like that I'm lecturing his cousin. I just made an enemy for life' I snickered even harder, pleased that I knew what I was dealing with in emo kid. )
I shot another fake disappointed look at Shisui, which he returned with an apologetic look. I ignored the look and focused on mom. (Inwardly I was so grateful to have skipped the, 'Why did you risk your life and save me from Anbu?' phase I thought I was gonna have to go through. I was always looking for a silver lining.)
She explained my health, saying I had suffered from extreme chakra exhaustion. The hospital had very limited experience with it and I was told that if I hadn't been in a hospital, my chance of survival were next to none. (As a quick aside, apparently the little experience they did have came from a ninja who showed up frequently with near extreme chakra exhaustion. My bets were on a certain silver haired ninja, who happened to be my favorite character, but I kept the thought to myself)
It wasn't long before I was released as there wasn't much else the hospital could do for me. I had already been here, near comatose for a week now. Instead, I was told to rest and take it easy and to avoid using the family jutsu until I was healed as shadow use tended to lower the overall body heat of the user. I silently agreed. Every breath still hurt and my whole body still felt weary and cold. The walk back to the Nara compound saw me hunched over slightly, shuffling along slowly in a slouch. (If mom and and dad had suddenly enlightened looks about why another chakra exhausted ninja they knew and his way of walking, I had no way of knowing) Still they said nothing and the walk back was comfortably quiet. Or at least it was for us Nara's. I could tell Shisui was dying to say something but kept biting back whatever he had to say. He would probably tell me out of the way of his little cousin. His little cousin who was shooting me death glares and haughty looks of disdain. ('What a little shit.' I thought gleefully. I was so looking forward to messing with the emo kid from now on. I know he just went through a traumatic event and all, but so did I and that entitled me to just as much pity!)
I think it was Sasuke that held him back from saying anything anyway. Instead, at the compound gates the two bid us goodbye (Shisui said goodbye and Sasuke let out a 'Hng' to let us know he was leaving). Mom and dad lead Shika home. Once inside, Shika and I could no longer hold back the laughter that had been building since the gate. Shika and I shared a look, then burst out laughing. The guffaws hurt my still sore chest but I couldn't help it. Mom and dad looked at us with raised eyebrows, but I simply looked back then said "Hng" Shika let out another peal of laughter, setting us off for another round. Dad stifled a laugh while mom walked away.
"Honestly, you three." Still I could hear the smile in her voice and finally, for the first time since the night with Shisui and the anbu attack, I felt comfortable.