Chapter Eleven
Enter the Crow

Sasuke was crossing the kitchen when he stopped abruptly, staring. His mother was there, her eyes firm, dressed in loose pants and a jounin's vest. It had not been strange to see her in the kitchen, for most of his life. It was her space as much as the office was his father's, but she had been a ghost, lately, in more ways than one.

"Mom," he said, surprised.

"Sasuke," she replied, evenly, tilting her head. Her hair was damp, and it looked like she had been exercising. "Is your homework done?"

"No," he admitted, ducking his head. "I was at the orphanage with Shisui-san."

Mikoto smiled, a rarity these days. "It's very good that you volunteered your time for that. I'm proud of you, Sasuke."

"What are you doing?" he blurted out before he could stop himself. He felt himself blush at such a forward question.

"I'm coming out of retirement," she announced, folding her arms. "It's been a long time since I had something to focus on like this. I've been… I haven't been here for you, Sasuke. I need this."

"Okay," he said, nodding decisively, convincing himself more than anyone else. "Okay." It wasn't like she had been around all that much in the first place. He regretted that thought, almost as soon as it entered his head. He was a big kid, going into his third year in the Academy soon. He'd be the man of the house before he knew it. He could handle it.

He'd almost been taking care of himself, lately, anyway. Shisui had sort of helped, more than he would admit to his cousin, but it was more than nothing.

"I'm glad," his mother said. "This will be good - for both of us."

"Okay," he repeated, feeling dumb. There wasn't any reason for him to be affected by this. He was grown up now. Almost a ninja, and ninja were not allowed to show their tears.

He settled himself, and nodded once more. "Be safe," he told her.

"I will," Mikoto told him. "I brought home dinner, by the way," she said, depositing a bag filled with what smelled like rice on the low-slung kitchen table, "in case you wanted any."

"Okay," he agreed. There was no sound but a quiet shuffling, as she drew out the food. It was sushi - she'd even gotten crab, his favorite. He smiled, and settled down with his chopsticks.

She settled across from him, laying down a pair of metal fans, folded up, the jade green paper on them dark, on the light table. He stared at them, for a long moment, she watched him with careful eyes.

He realized that she had taught Itachi. The tessen were his sister's weapon, one she favored highly, and he remembered, once, when he was much smaller, when his mother and his sister had been close - close enough to train together, using a family weapon.

Sasuke wondered briefly if Mikoto's use of the fans was what had sparked Itachi's interest. It was hard to picture. Lately, he had not even wanted to speak his sister's name, since she had caused their mother so much pain. It felt worlds away now, those times when they were here all together, and happy. Sasuke remembered for a moment thatday when his father had shown them the White Pillar - the day when Itachi and Shisui had taken him training, and they had shown off tricks with kunai.

He was older now, older, and wiser, and the days of his childhood seemed far off. He envied, then, Aiko, from the orphanage, who seemed impervious to the fact that her parents were both dead.

By Itachi's hand.

It was foolish, he reminded himself, to still hold onto fond memories of her. Last time she'd shown up, there had been that terrible fight with Shisui, and he wondered what was left of his sister, now. She had been ghostly, like his mother - his mother who was smiling at him, gently, sticking sushi into her mouth, eyes as bright as ever.

A part of him wondered if Itachi would come back, like that, someday, but he trampled that thought down. If he thought it too much, it might not come true, he decided. Best to leave it un-thought, so nothing could steal it.

But for now, maybe he should stop, and appreciate what he had - his mother was back, in some way. Even as she was now, a distant spectre of her warmer self, was more than Aiko had.

"Did you take a mission?" he asked, trying to sound enthusiastic.

"Not quite yet," she said, examining a crumbly piece of uramaki before swallowing it whole. "I went to the training fields, and practiced my jutsu, today. Missions will be soon, when I'm back in shape."

"That's good," he replied, not sure how to continue the conversation. He looked out the window, avoiding eye contact with her.

"I'll be gone more," she explained, a guilty warmness to her voice. "But you're - you're fine without me, right?" She reached forward, and ruffled his hair. He shook her away, hurt. "It's alright, Sasuke."

"I miss you," he said, stubbornly. "It's just you and me, now. And now you're running off to join the shinobi forces again."

"I'm not abandoning you," she insisted, something closing off in her eyes. She wasn't listening. Not really. He knew that flinty gaze well - it was turned on Itachi often enough. "I need to do this - I need routine, something solid in my life. I only stepped away from the shinobi forces to raise my sons, but you don't need me anymore. You're an adult now. In the eyes of the clan, and," she paused, carefully. "In the eyes of your mother. The decision to help out Osamu-san - that is an adult's decision."

"Shisui suggested it," Sasuke defended, feeling his face heat up.

"But an adult listens to good ideas, too. A shinobi does," she said, something soft coming over her as she looked at him. For a short moment, he felt happy. "I'm proud of you."

"Thank you, Mother."

But perhaps, this was enough. Perhaps, if she was like this - here for him, maybe not in person, but emotionally, maybe that would make it better, like she thought it would. That was more of a mother than he'd had in months.

Maybe he could stop worrying, for once.


Truth be told, Itachi wanted very little other than to lay in the hot spring forever. Kuro didn't really seem to mind a whole lot.

"I could get used to this whole thing. Doing this all day instead of doing missions," Kuro remarked.

"Somehow I don't doubt that," Itachi replied thoughtfully, feeling the hard wood at the base of the onsen with her feet. The salt in the water made the floating effortless; it was like she was in the clouds. "Do crows have onsen in crow-land?"

"It's not called crow-land, of course. But we do actually have an onsen. The crows live in a magical resort town, where there are always food scraps, and leftovers, every day. It is populated entirely by crows, and the abandoned ledges leave enough places for everyone's nests."

"That's the sacred place for the crows? A resort town?"

Kuro made an indignant little shuffle. "Karuizawa. Our people have lived there for generations. It is like a resort town, except no one cleans up and there are always new messes to scavenge."

Itachi frowned. "Strange to imagine crows using the onsen."

"No," Kuro explained, sighing. "Crows don't soak in the water like this. We always had the onsen, we just never used it like humans do. I don't mind the idea. Perhaps I'll introduce it to them."

"I suppose you're lucky, learning all these things. Other summoners might not indulge their summons so much."

"I think it's the least you can do, after ignoring me for so long."

"I had a lot on my mind." Itachi rested her head on a rock, gently.

"I can tell." Kuro eased in next to her, gently resting a comforting arm around her hip. It felt strange, but the odd connection remained, so Itachi could see it coming, and could feel it from Kuro's side. That reduced the discomfort. "The last time I think I got any real action was helping out your cousin with that weird Danzo fellow. Was quite satisfying, watching him run like that."

"Not quite as satisfying as snapping his neck like a twig," Itachi murmured. "I wanted to destroy everything he was."

"He was trying to steal your cousin's eyes, and your family dojutsu." Kuro twitched. "One time, the magpies tried to steal our family listening secrets, and we burned those bastards. We got them good."

Itachi quirked a small smile. "He left me with no choice. I found it very satisfying to end him."

"I might not have done any differently," Kuro admitted. She turned away, caressing Itachi's hip. "I am here, if you… want to talk about it."

"I don't," Itachi said, firmly.

"Oh." The hand tightened, and Kuro laid back, laying her head on the rocks next to Itachi's. Her horn scraped against Itachi's, and the sensation was odd - it sent goosebumps down her back. The texture of the horns, the nerves scraping against each other felt truly alien.

"Don't do that again," Itachi warned.

"It was weird," Kuro agreed, sniggering softly. "I didn't mean to." Goosebumps The silence lapsed, for a second. "I thought that Danzo was a fool, and I might have ended him in a similar fashion."

Itachi wasn't so sure what to say to that, so she slowly submerged herself into the water, her mouth and nose sinking into the warmth.

Kuro continued, undaunted. "I can only imagine what I would have done in that situation. My family plotting, a man slowly intent on using them for spare parts with the ear of the village elder, my best friend and cousin almost killed…"

Itachi just glared.

"My point is… I'd want revenge, too. And the Uchiha - you had no choice."

That was what she'd always told herself. Did Kuro think that her telling Itachi was going to somehow change things?

"I thought I told you that I didn't want to talk about it," Itachi said slowly, giving Kuro a long, foul look as she surfaced enough to speak.

"And that's great, Itachi. I'm just going to talk about it, though."

Itachi dropped back down, lurking in the water, glaring venomously.

"C'mon, you can't say that you don't want someone to talk about this stuff with. Fugaku? Danzo? Shisui? Zetsu? You've got issues, girl. Us crows love gossip, too. It's very exciting for us."

Itachi shook her head, furiously.

"You've not talked with anyone, either. Just saying."

More glaring.

"So we're going to have a talk. Whether you like it or - urghk!"

Itachi tackled Kuro into the hot spring, smothering the end of her sentence into bubbles. She went right for the sides - the fleshy, vulnerable bits that she could squeeze with her long nails. Kuro, however, got her feet between them, and kicked Itachi away. Itachi didn't leave it at that, however. A short, bitter scuffle ensued. Neither of them were above using all the dirty tricks in their arsenal: scratching, hair-pulling, or pinching. Compounded, of course, by the fact that they both could see from the other person's perspective. It was a wonder nobody drowned.

If Itachi cared enough about what these people thought of her, she might have been embarrassed, but she didn't, so she wasn't. And that was that - when she'd finally gotten Kuro to tap out, her arm clenched around her neck, she dunked her, once, and then let go.

"You're mean," Kuro muttered, sputtering out milky onsen water.

"I told you, this isn't some friendship sharing time. I just wanted you to step off and leave me be."

"You have to deal with it sometime," Kuro replied, looking smug even as she wiped onsen water out of her eyes. She stretched. "It's clear to me that you're not coping well."

"And it's clear to me that it's not anyone's business but mine," Itachi hissed, venomously.

"But what am I, other than an extension of you?" Kuro asked, cocking her head and shrugging. Her point was reinforced by the shared vision, but that wasn't everything. Behind her, Itachi could see three older women glaring. She ignored them. They couldn't handle her - she didn't care.

She didn't care about any of this. None of these people could understand her, not even Kuro. She didn't come here to remember; she came here to forget.

Kuro leaned forward, and poked Itachi in the chest. "You might think that no one can understand you, but I do. I think what you have been through is not nothing. It is awful, this life. Why else do you think you would seek out relaxation?" she asked, face very close to Itachi's. "Why, indeed?"

Itachi could feel her face going red - her face blushed very visibly, considering how pale she was - and she snarled, "I don't know. Why don't you tell me, if you know everything? You know so much about what I need, after all!"

"It's quite obvious, isn't it? You're shutting everyone out, trying to deal with the pain however you can." Kuro leaned closer, smiling venomously. "Why don't we have a bet, I-ta-chi…"

Itachi lifted her chin, turning away from Kuro.

"Why don't we go out and have some sake?" Kuro went on, undeterred. "This is a resort town, there's always sake in places like this. And if nothing's wrong, then you won't have trouble getting a nice, low buzz and then stopping for the night."

"You're right, I won't," Itachi snapped, before she could consider the offer, "because nothing's wrong. You're on."

Nevermind that she'd never touched the stuff in this life. She couldn't lose to someone who wore her face when she made fun of her.

"Good."


Itachi rolled over, feeling like death. She was ready for it - the sweet embrace of death. It wasn't nice, to feel like someone had taken the eye out of the center of her forehead and replaced it with molten-hot lava. It was awful.

She was never drinking again. She barely remembered anything past making that bet with Kuro. Stupid. She should never have agreed to any alcohol whatsoever. It was foolish. Impotent. She shouldn't have run her mouth like that, and yet she knew exactly why she did.

She blinked, sleepily. The light was too strong - the blue pre-dawn filtered through the windows, burning into her skull.

"I want to die," she admitted, rolling over. Kuro was there, curled into a ball.

"That was… too much," Kuro agreed. "Though, I totally won that bet."

"I was going to overindulge whether I was traumatized or not," Itachi slurred back. Her head felt tender, like it was burned on every side and being pressed gently on every edge. "It doesn't count." That being said, she didn't really remember enough to remember whether she lost or not.

"Admit it, you're depressed and traumatized," Kuro said, sounding fairly pained herself. "It's alright. We'll get through it."

"You're delusional. The only thing wrong with me is that I'm about to die of a hangover."

Kuro snorted, and twitched in bed. "Make that the both of us. I'll get us some water," she said, and pulled herself up out of the futon.

Itachi, for once, did not feel as if she could get out of bed. Today, it felt like… too much. She wormed further into the covers, and indulged in that hot, sweaty feeling, that only lasted after waking and disappeared with the sun. The feeling of deep sleep, buried by her knees, where the soothing night lay.

She had not moved by the time that Kuro returned, and pushed a cup of water into her hands.

"Drink it."

Itachi groaned.

"I'm going to make you."

Itachi begrudgingly sat up, and gulped gently. Her stomach roiled, and she almost vomited again. Again? Had she vomited before? She didn't know. Something foreign lay on the back of her tongue.

"You're going to need it."

Itachi rolled her eyes, and set the glass down. She was going back to sleep. Warmth called.


Kane stepped into the new building. It smelt of sawdust, and drywall, and fresh paint. He stepped to the thin desk, and the gruff man behind it.

The man eyed Kane's uniform, the kanji for fire in a shuriken emblazoned on his arm, and sneered, in disdain. It was a new uniform, since it had been decided that the Uchiha crest was no longer appropriate, given that the Police Force was now a whole-village thing.

"Name?" he asked.

"Kasshoku Kane," he replied, promptly.

He checked a ledger, and announced, "Desk 4D, partner is Izumi. Head on in. Captain's already given her a case. She could use the help."

Kane nodded, helpfully, and tracked his way to Desk 4D. He was just setting his things down - a desk lamp, that he preferred, the same model as the one in Katsu-sensei's study; a picture of his old team; a picture of Katsu-sensei's dogs - now his - Strawberry and Chocolate; a picture of his mother, smiling, before the drugs and the illness had taken her and turned her into something she was not; and a potted plant named Mr. Enoki - when a pretty, dark-haired girl slightly younger than him reached across the gap between their desks, and stuck out her hand.

"I'm Uchiha Izumi," she introduced. "I think we're partners."

"Yeah," he agreed, shaking her hand. "Kasshoku Kane."

She eyed his stuff, and smiled, cocking her head. She had a pretty smile.

"So, uh, you're my partner?" he asked.

"Yup. I'm pretty new here too. I only got hired - well, after." She smiled, a bit too wide, and Kane thought he knew what 'after' meant.

"Oh," he said, smiling. "So we can learn together."

"That's the idea," she replied, laying out a new file on his desk. "We have a case, actually. An old woman on the far side of town is complaining about the kids in her flowers again."

"Her flowers?" Kane deflated. "There's not, I dunno, a more pressing case?"

"You wanted to join the prestigious and admirable Uchiha Police force," she remarked, mouth turned down in distaste. "Until the Hokage lets us police the rest of Fire Country, there's not an excess of pressing cases." She folded her arms. "Plus, you're a rookie, and not an Uchiha. You have to realize that you're going to get the crap jobs for a while, until you prove yourself."

"Oh," Kane said, feeling slightly shell-shocked. "Okay, then. Flowers. I can do flowers."

"Good," she said, smiling. "That's a good attitude to have. Do you need a few minutes to get set up?"

"Yeah," he admitted, fiddling with his collar. "If you don't mind."

"Okay. I'll be right here." She settled into her desk, pen scratching on a set of forms on her desk. It was covered with small, cute stuffed animals. A few of them he recognized from TV shows, and the like.

He worked at putting his stuff away, organizing and familiarizing himself with its contents. "I need office supplies. Probably a calendar. Definitely a stapler."

"You might want to get used to doing paperwork. It's all going to have to be requisitioned. The forms are available from the secretary."

Kane grunted, and sighed, and glanced over at Izumi. She wasn't looking at him, instead, she was glaring over at someone else, another dark-haired and dark-eyed man at a different row, across the room. Kane wasn't sure if he wanted to really get in the middle of that, so he left well enough alone.

He said, instead, "I think the secretary hates me."

"I'm not surprised," she agreed. "Why'd you sign up for this, anyway?"

He shrugged. "I'm not the best fighter. Not likely to make jounin, at least. So it was looking like a desk job for a while, but I don't want that, not completely. This seemed like a good compromise."

"Hmm," she said. "That's not true, but I'll figure it out."

"What?" he asked.

"I mean, I'm sure it's true, but it's definitely not the only reason. There's more to it." Izumi nodded to herself. "I'm sure of it. Anyway, you ready?"

"Sure," Kane said, even though he wasn't.

She led him out to the street, and they moved across town, using shunshin over the rooftops, making good time. Izumi didn't seem to have a huge need to speak, so Kane kept quiet as well. She seemed like a good partner, definitely a better one than he was expecting. She at least didn't seem to care that he wasn't an Uchiha.

He'd take what he could get, for now at least.

Soon enough, they were walking up to a door in a nice neighborhood. Izumi knocked, gently, on the door, and they waited calmly, while an old woman's voice emanated from the house.

"Coming!"

The door eventually opened, to reveal a stoop-backed woman, smiling gently at them. "Hello! You must be from the Uchiha Police."

"Yes," Izumi said. "We are. My name is Uchiha Izumi and this is my partner, Kasshoku Kane."

The old woman blinked at Kane. "You're not an Uchiha?"

"No," Kane admitted.

"I don't know if I'm comfortable with someone looking into my case who isn't an Uchiha," she said. Kane tried very hard not to take that personally. He couldn't say that he succeeded. "I didn't even know there was anyone on the Police Force who wasn't one."

"We've recently opened up to shinobi of all clans."

"You're from a clan?" the woman asked Kane.

"Well, no," Kane admitted. "I'm from a civilian family." If his mother even deserved to be called his family. Katsu-sensei was the one who deserved to be called that, if anyone.

The old woman's face fell, her eyebrows furrowing. "Well, you seem quite responsible, Izumi-san. I'm not sure about you, though."

Izumi twitched, and sighed. "Regardless, the Police Force has sent both us. I assure you, we are both capable. Can I ask where the plants in question were vandalized?"

"Oh, around back. I have a garden, and the little brats like to wander through it some days. There's one in particular - I know it's him."

"I understand." Izumi's tone was strong. "Why don't you go around back and check it out, Kane-san. I'd like to get your full account of the incidents, Nakamura-san."

"Yes," the old woman said. "Of course."

Izumi shot him a look, and he nodded. Best to stay out of the way, for a while, so she could get the woman to open up. With a sigh, he headed around the side of her small house.

It wasn't looking quite like this was the cushy position he was hoping for. Still, no one could claim that Kasshoku Kane was a quitter.


Itachi relaxed back into the folds of the couch. There was a film on, apparently one of a famous series made by one guy - a taijutsu specialist who did all his own stunts. He was considered one of the best.

"This man is surprisingly bad," she pronounced. Today, they were having something like a lazy day. She'd not felt very well, not since that day she'd drank too much. Apparently, her strange biology didn't seem to stop her from getting the flu.

She wiped her nose, again, and glanced over at Kuro. Kuro hadn't managed to get ill, quite yet. They were closely linked enough that she could feel Kuro's lack of illness, and it felt very unfair. The only consolation was that Kuro could almost certainly feel Itachi's illness as if it was her own.

Itachi leaned over, feeling the aches of stiffness, uncomfortable. She had swaddled herself in blankets, and sat back on the couch, intent on doing nothing. Kuro had just laughed at her, and perched next to her. And then, they had turned on the television. Itachi had never watched that much - Fugaku had not allowed them to have one in the house. She had never felt like she'd missed out on much.

"He is a famous movie star," Kuro pointed out.

Itachi flopped forward. "But he's so stiff, and formal. I expect him to be better to watch."

"He's not famous for his ability to talk. He's famous for his ability to fight."

"But he hasn't fought anyone yet," Itachi pointed out. It was true - he was busy watching other people in the tournament. The premise was that the hero was supposed to infiltrate a fighting tournament held by a missing-nin. Of course, this could only be done by him, because he was some sort of famous taijutsu specialist.

"Don't worry," Kuro reassured. "This one's pretty good."

Itachi frowned at her. "Do you often watch movies? I thought you only knew what I knew?"

"No," Kuro pointed out. "I can see your memories, but I do have my own."

"You watch movies?"

"Yes. Karuizawa does have a number of movies playing, almost all the time, if you must know."

"For a mystical land of enlightenment, this place sounds an awful lot like an amusement park."

Kuro laughed, loudly. "And who is to say that they are not the same?"

Itachi snorted. "Crows."

"Debauched and proud."

On the screen, the man finally did something, sneaking out to infiltrate the compound. He met with the only female character of the film, a kunoichi. He dispatched a guard, with only a single punch, and escaped over the wall.

Itachi yawned, tempted to turn over and fall asleep, but she knew that Kuro would complain.

The scene changed - the first day of the tournament came, and the first matchup was some random guy. But the movie treated it like a big deal.

"Who is this guy again?"

"Come on, Itachi. That's the main character."

"Not him. The guy he's fighting."

"Oh, him. He's the guy that killed Liu's sister."

"Wait. He's got a sister?"

"Are you even paying attention?" Kuro asked.

"Be nice to me," Itachi protested. "I'm sick. Am I supposed to know every person in the movie?"

"Yeah, but this is like, basic stuff. He came to the island to fight this guy."

The movie was still playing - the villain's minion was fighting another fighter. This one was supposed to be a Konoha missing-nin, or something. He didn't seem all that remarkable, frankly. Itachi wanted to ask why this guy was important, too, but she knew that Kuro would just complain more.

Instead, she just watched him eke out a narrow victory against the massive, villainous Boro. And then the Kumo-nin went, and won, too, with kick-based taijutsu.

The tournament had ended for the day - and again, it seemed like time for the intrepid hero, Liu, to venture out again. And, apparently, for the villain to offer the third character in the tournament a part in his smuggling deal.

"There are a lot of people to keep track of," Itachi criticized.

"I can't believe you're supposed to be this great ninja and you can't even follow who is who in a movie," Kuro replied.

"I'm sick. Be nice to me."

"And you're sick. If you really were a great ninja, you'd be able to avoid getting sick, you know."

Itachi laughed, but it quickly turned into a cough. "This flu could make even Madara think twice about his bullshit, trust me."

"So what you're saying is that Uchiha Madara wouldn't have gotten sick. He woulda just told the sickness no."

Itachi snorted. There was more sneaking around, and the kumo-nin got a job offer. He denied it, which made Itachi respect him more - she'd already liked his kick-based taijutsu.

But then the bad guy beat him to death with a claw hand, which, well, seemed impractical, if you asked her. But Itachi wasn't a taijutsu expert, so what did she know? Other than a whole lot, since she was a pretty okay ninja sometimes.

"Don't say a word," Kuro warned.

"What?" Itachi asked. "I don't know what you mean."

"The claw is cool, okay? And remember, coolness counts for a lot."

Itachi's brow furrowed, a little. "I don't know how cool a claw hand is, frankly."

"How are you this much of an old person? How old are you?"

"Thirteen." Sort of.

"Seriously, Itachi," Kuro complained.

Itachi wasn't sure what to say to that, but she did get to watch as Liu got caught by the guards, this time. Itachi very deliberately leaned over and raised an eyebrow at Kuro, meaningfully.

"Don't even say a word."

Pointing out that she didn't need to might ruin the effect, so Itachi kept quiet. Her smug superiority was conveyed either way. This guy was a terrible shinobi. They definitely should have sent an ANBU team instead.

The next morning, the two remaining contestants were ordered to fight each other - Liu and the Konoha ninja. The Konoha ninja refused, and was forced to fight Boro, the massive enemy fighter.

He fought bravely, and narrowly won. Of course, the villain then chose to inevitably betray both of them, which quickly turned into a massive melee, since suddenly there were lots of prisoners, on the island, whom the love interest freed.

Of course, that escalated quickly into a duel, where Liu chased the villain into a house of mirrors. This led to a properly dramatic battle, where the villain used the mirrors to attack from a number of angles, giving him the advantage - until, of course, Liu was smart enough to smash the mirrors.

Then, of course, he killed the villain, and the ANBU invaded the island - finally! And then the movie was over.

"That was an experience," Itachi announced. "Is this really what civilians think of ninja?"

"Not really," Kuro explained, leaning forward. "It's not a serious film. So it's not really intended to be realistic, or to reflect what actually happens. A completely serious movie about the ANBU and what they do wouldn't really be all that entertaining. I mean, how many times do you sit in the rain for eight hours to scope out a target, or something mundane like that?"

"I suppose," Itachi admitted. ANBU did have a lot of waiting around, comparatively. A lot more waiting around than action, but the action was very demanding. It took a toll, for sure.

"Right, so this is sort of… it's not something outright magical or fantastic, but this isn't realistic. People watching are likely to know that. But it's not supposed to be realistic. The setup - the tournament - is there to show off the taijutsu skills, specifically of Liu. He's famous for his skills."

"Oh," Itachi said, sitting back as she thought and drawing her knees to her chest as the credits scrolled by. "So it's - nobody really thinks that this is what it's like?"

"No," Kuro agreed, nodding. "I mean, the movie doesn't say it. Everything it does, and presents, seems on the surface, completely serious. But it sacrifices realism for entertainment."

Itachi nodded, slowly. "I get it, I think. Like Icha Icha."

"Of course you know that and not one of the best ninja films of all time," Kuro said, rolling her eyes. "I can't believe that you know like one thing from popular culture and it's that."

"I was too busy learning to be a shinobi." She folded her arms. "You know, so I'd be alive and stuff."

"Funny, how that - gurhk…" Kuro's next words were cut off by a strangled gurgle. Itachi turned.

An arrow, feathered and black and wicked-looking, was protruding from her neck. Blood spurted, then it trickled, then it poured onto her chest then her clothes then the couch, crimson to burgundy as it sank into the weave. Kuro fell onto the tatami, blood pooling around her; her eyelids twitched like a stuck videotape, reels tangled in the machine.


an: A big thanks to AlmostElectric for her betawork! Check out her story, Uzumaki, as it's genuinely a work of art.