Chapter 7: I Don't Believe I Went Too Far…….
Artemis could hear it coming before it was even thrown. She caught it easily in midair without even turning around. As she caught it, she could not help but think, "My name is Bond, Jamie Bond."
Still clutching the weapon, she felt herself being caught in a stranglehold. She smiled. Too easy. She drove the knife into her attacker's thigh, careful to avoid the pressure point. She whipped around, still smiling. But to her chagrin, no one was there, the knife lay on the ground, untouched. Fuck, water-clone.
Two windmill shuriken flew at her from behind, barely missing her as she flew into the air, pulling twokunai from the chain on her belt and landing on a sturdy tree-branch. catching sight of the figure that attacked her, her eyes turned red. Another water-clone. But where was...?
She got her answer as the clone dissolved. She looked at the place it had been in shock. What has happened? It had been in perfect position to attack. But then she saw it. Itachi standing over a figure tied to another tree with shuriken-chains. Artemis winced. Ouch.
She came down from her perch and approached the two men. Itachi held a kunai at the man's throat. "Who sent you?"
The attacker smiled. "You won't kill me."
"Listen you piece of shit, if you don't talk, I'll torture you until you wish you didn't exist."
"Itachi, NO!"
Itachi looked up at Arty with surprise. "What? Arty, this man tried to hurt you!"
Artemis nodded. "I know. Untie him and let us spar, fair and square. I have no wish for you to fight my battles for me."
The attacker sniggered.
Artemis glared at him. "You attacked me in a manner unfit for a ninja, a cowardly way. Now I will punish you for it fair and square. Now, Itachi, untie him!"
Itachi nodded and undid the chains. The man got up and faced Artemis, a smirk fitting his face. "Say when."
Artemis looked at his eyes and stifled a gasp. Those eyes...
"Alleluia. Lock and Load."
A whirlwind of earth and wind mixed with shuriken flew at her while the man flew behind her, a kunai in hand. He plunged it into her leg, pulling his full body weight in it. He hit something too sturdy. He opened his eyes. He had stabbed a large length of thin tree bark. His eyes widened further as he realized his own shuriken and attack were hitting him. He spun around toguard his eyes, a reflex and a gesture of fright. But as the shuriken began to hit him in the back, he realized what he was doing. He flew out of reach, taking refuge on the branch that was only recently vacated by Artemis. Where was she?
He got his answer by looking down into the clearing to see her standing there, playing her guitar and singing softly. Raz flung a kunai at her,it hit her in the shoulder, yetshe continued to sing and play. What the hell?
But it didn't matter. He felt nice, relaxed, happy. The face that had been his father's looked at him with warmth and affection. Orochimaru's voice whispered to him softly. "Hello. Is there anybody in there? Just nod if you can hear me. Is there anyone at home?" Raz sunk into the comfort of his voice, feeling warm and safe.
Something long, sharp and thin wrapped around his throat tightly. Raz gasped for air as he was pulled back into reality with a harsh tug that yanked him down from his perch to Artemis's feet. His limbs were twined together by the sharp threads. He looked up at Artemis with pain and hatred. She eyed him maliciously, black marks covering her skin. "Don't struggle. If you try to break free at all, the strings willslice right through you."
Raz slumped over, wallowing in his defeat. He felt himself be tyed to the tree once more. His shirt was off, and his bear chest was exposed. He looked up to see Artemis leaning over,the kunai that had struck her shoulder in hand. Raz gasped in pain instantly as the blade sliced into his chest a few times before pulling back. He looked down and gasped. On his chest, the was carved a capitol A with a circle around it. An anarchy symbol to most. But he realized with fear what this mark really meant. He was officially marked by the girl before him, who was now rubbing his chest, mixing her blood with his. She muttered some words and expelled some chakra before looking at him.
"You are now in my control, understand? You have to answer my every question."
Raz realized what had happened. She had put a claiming spell on him. He recognized it from his studies. Oh God. He nodded dejectedly.
"Who sent you?"
Raz's mouth opened and it answered her. It answered her every question, it went on for several minutes untilfinally the pain of the strings binding him pulled him out of unconciousness. His last sight was a dark figure coming up behind the girl and embracing her as her turned a beautiful green.
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Artemis felt two strong arms envelope her from behind. The warmth and love she felt in the embrace cooled her anger until she felt nothing more. Once again she looked at her attacker, but this time with a very different perspective.
Her attacker slumped on the ground, unconcious, bleeding from both the wounds she had given him, as well as where her guitar strings bound him. His face was round and youthfull looking, his mouth looking like it had never smiled, his eyes heavily lidded and shaded by the messy red hair that hung down in his face. Artemis gasped. He didn't look a day older than she was. But even with the blood streaming down his body, and the memories of his intentions still fresh in her mind, he looked so innocent.
Tears spilled silently down her cheeks, leaving red marks. She stared defiantly at the boy, making herself face what she had done until she could no longer take it. She turned into Itachi's chest, burying her head deeply into his collar bone, inhaling for his familiar comforting scent of Pine and sweat.
It was then she realized she was not hugging Itachi at all. She flew backwards swiftly, her feet skidding and kicking up a large amount of dust that clouded her vision. She stood in a defensive stance, waiting for another attack when the dust settled and she saw who it was that had hugged her.
Uchiha Sasuke's face held a look of mourning and pity. For her or her attacker, she could not be sure. He stared at her arms. Artemis followed suit, black marks were slowly fading from her arms. Artemis gasped and her fingers flew up to that familiar spot on her back, applying pressure. A spasm of pain erupted from it. Arty was stunned. Last night, she had been so sure... SO sure.
She came back to earth a few seconds later, seeing Sasuke trying in vain to unbind her attacker. He winced as the chords cut his fingers as he searched for a knot.
"It won't work like that," Arty said in a distant, hollow voice, "Only I can do it." Without waiting for a response, she performed the proper hand signals, and the strings loosened greatly and flew into her waiting hand.
Arty wrapped the strings around her hand to make a coil and stuffed them in her pocket. She looked at sasuke. "What are you doing here?"
"Itachi sent for me to come, when he saw what was happening, he knew we needed to have a talk."
Arty shook her head. "I don't want to have a 'talk.' I don't even know you. Besides, this guy needs to get to a hospital."
"Well, nice to see you care so much for his well-being," Sasuke said sarcastically. Artemis's stomach caved in. He had no idea how much those words hurt.
Sasuke hung his head in shame. He should not have said that, he knew what she was going through and knew she was not responsible for this. It was not good for him to talk like that, he knew how much it hurt. "I'm sorry, I'll bring this guy to the house and come back. But you stay here, understand? Wait for me, because we really do need to speak. This is more important than your grievances over my absence. Just stay put and wait."
"How do you know you can leave me alone? How do you know I won't be attacked if I stay here?" Artemis challenged.
"I made sure to comb the woods twice before I came here, not to mention no one in their right mind would even think of attacking you now," replied Sasuke, hoisting the man onto his shoulders. And with that he was gone.
Not knowing of anything else to do, she sat down grudgingly. She really hated Uchiha Sasuke right now. She hated him for his absence in her life, his affect on her mother, the condescending superior way he spoke to her, and most of all, that for a just a second, he had been her father.
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The last thing Sasuke needed was a delay in his errand. He did not need to give Artemis more time to change her mind and run away. Despite this, he felt grateful at the same time for the waiting he was required to do before he was allowed to leave the hospital, it gave him time to think over the information the boy had given her.
Orochimaru, alive. Of course he was. Sasuke's blood boiled. He felt enraged at himself for being so foolhardy all those years ago when he accepted a body as evidence of the snake's demise. But he was so fixated on his revenge, he didn't even bother investigating. Now he was paying for it. A desperate situation had become near-impossible. Once Orochimaru was motified of Artemis's existance, he would waste no time informing the Akatsuki of another Uchiha for them to breed from. And God knows the Akatsuki NEVER waste time.It cleared the way for Orochimaru to try and take his body. The Akatsuki would kidnap Artemis to get their Sharingan and destroy the village, no longer needing Sasuke. No, Artemis needed to leave and go into hiding as soon as possible for her protection, as well as the safety of everyone else. There could not be any questions regarding her departure, lest any ill-wishers caught wind of it, she would have to do the same thing Sasuke had done years ago and become a missing nin. But she could not go alone, and Sasuke could not leave the village. He would not be able to leave until both Ororchimaru and the Akatsuki were wiped out.
The person who would go with her had to know every stretch of land on the continent like the back of his hand. He also had to have thorough experience with both Orochimaru and The Akatsuki, he had to be strong,and he had to be someone she trusted. In other words, it had to be Itachi.
Just one more part in her life in which Itachi would be taking Sasuke's place. But really, Sasuke had no right to be angy about this. He was the one who had walked out on her and her mother and spent fourteen years on a fruitless mission. Meanwhile, Itachi had been caring for her since she was four years old. No, Sasuke was not really her father. He realised that now, and he had only himself to blame.
Despite this, Sasuke wanted to do something for her before she left. At least do something to assure her that he did love her, despite everything. There was only one thing he could think of.
When he was cleared to go, he headed back to the Uchiha Manor, ignoring the part of his brain that went, "You're wasting tiiiiime!"
He enterred the house, went into his bedroom, and opened his closet to find it. Leaning up against the wall was the his last chance at actually being a father.
It had been most prized possession, until now. It was time the two treasures went together. Sasuke knew when he saw that article about her band, that Artemis loved music as much if not more than he did. Sending her away without it would be a crime.
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He found Artemis sitting on the ground miserably when he came back. She looked up at him bitterly as he sat down next to her, setting a large case on the ground. She looked at it curiously. "What took you so long and what the hell are you doing with a guitar?"
Sasuke smiled. "Long wait at the Hospital, and about the guitar, well, that comes with something I wish I didn't have to tell you."
Artemis's face softened. "I have to leave don't I?"
Sasuke looked away. "You know why?"
"That punk explained it pretty thoroughly why I'm basically a danger to everyone in this village." Artemis whispered bitterly.
"You know about Orochimaru and The Akatsuki and their plans for you?"
She nodded.
Sasuke was not sure what to say. "Listen, I'm not gonna sit here and tell you how much I care about you and how much I''m at fault for this and whatever. You already know all this, I already know all this, and it would be a waste of valuable time and breath talking about it."
"Hn."
Sasuke instantly realized how Sakura must of felt back when they were a team. Nevertheless, he spoke.
"However, I DO care about you despite my actions in the past, and I want to prove it to you. But first, I figure you need an explanation. But this might be little random and strange, but I feel it necessary to tell you because despite-"
"Just cut the crap and get to the point."
"My grandfather, your great-grandfather, was actually a personal friend of John Lennon's," Sasuke said quickly. Weird approach to what he was going to try and convey to her.
"Bullshit."
"Well, actually, it was Yoko Ono, which now that I think about it, explains a whole lot. But nevertheless, John gave my father one of his guitars. Signed. And that's not bullshit. Of course, my father did not know what to do with it, so he gave it to me to play with."
Artemis rolled her eyes. "And let me guess, you're giving it to me as a going-away present."
"Well, yes, but there is somethinga little more special about it than it's former owner."
Artemis looked daggers at him. "There is nothing more special than John Lennon."
Sasuke took the guitar from it's case and showed it to her. "I beg to differ."
Artemis gasped. Pasted on various parts of the Yamaha accoustic were various pictures of Sasuke and every friend of her mother's she knew of back when they were twelve. But on the back, there waas only one picture. It was of Sasuke at age thirteenwith a reluctant smile on his face, giving a smiling Sakura a piggy-back ride. Above the picture was a note in white ink. "To the Uchihas, may love, happiness, and peace come to you. John Lennon."
"Sorry." She said to him.
"What do you mean?"
"John's wish didn't come true. Your life sucks."
Sasuke chuckled. "For the most part yes, but anyone could say the same thing. But his wish did come true for me."
"How? You've spent your whole life brooding and being unhappy."
Sasuke sighed. "Just look at the picture again."
She did. She looked at the smiles on both their faces, the mutual comfort her mother and father seemed to have, the simple love Sakura conveyed, and the overall cuteness of the scene. She looked at the other pictures, then looked back at the other one again. Of all the pictures, this was the only one where her father had a smile on his face. Like a thunderclap, she understood. John wished for him to have love, happiness, and peace, and in this photo, he had it. It may have been only a small moment, but that's what made it so special. That perfect state of bliss could only be caught in rare moments, no matter what your life was like. And even in the hardest of lives, like the one of her father, that happiness was still possible.
"Thank you," she whispered before giving her father a small kiss on the cheek and passing out into his arms.