Chapter 5
Itachi:The day we lost Sadako was, probably, the worst day of our lives.
An Year and a half later
Itachi's POV
"What happened Sadako? You look really happy today" I asked my little sister, noticing how cheerful she was since morning.
"Onii chan, Shisui nii chan is coming back from his mission today. He said he will play with me and teach me all sorts of stuff when he gets back!" she said excitedly.
'I sometimes envy Shisui. My sister is more cheerful around him than she is around me'
"Oh wow, that's nice. What did he say he will teach you?"
"Hmmmm...I don't know. He said it's a surprise."
"Ohk. Well I have to leave for my mission. I'll be back in a few hours. Sasuke is out playing with other kids, you should go and play with them too." I suggested. She shook her head
"I'm gonna read a book while I wait for nii san to come back."
"But you can play with them too"
"I know, but I have to read this book I've been hearing a lot about"
"Oh really, which one is it?"
"It's one of Jiraya–sama's"
"WHAT!?"
"Umm..what happened nii chan?
'I really don't know what's in that book but I know it's not for kids'
"You can't read that"
"But why?"
"It's not for kids"
"Why? What's there in it?"
"Don't ask me you just can't read that"
"Hmph okay" she said pouting "But Shisui nii chan told me it's a good book, and that I will enjoy reading it"
"He―What? He did not say that, right?"
"He did"
I was so confused. Why would Shisui suggest her a book which is definitely not for kids.
"What's the name of that book?" I asked, just to be sure
"The tale of a gusty shinobi"
'Oh ok, that makes sense'
"Okay you can read it. No problem and by the way mother is in the kitchen, if you go out then be sure to inform her"
"Okay"
"I'll see you later"
"Bye nii san"
With the coup and all on my mind I had completely missed noticing someone who had been following Sadako for a long time.
Normal POV
"Sadako, I have to go to the bakery to get some cookies. Would you like to come?" Mikoto asked, entering the room.
"No Okaa–san, I'm reading something interesting"
"Oh, what are you reading?"
"The tale of a Gusty shinobi. Shisui nii san suggested this book to me" she said holding up the book with sparkle in her eyes.
"Oh, that's good but are you sure you don't want to come?"
"Hai"
"Okay, I'll be back in around half an hour"
"Okay"
"It won't take long, you sure you don't want to come?"
"Hai okaa san"
"Okay"
Sadako's POV
I waited for mother to come back. I was having a weird feeling, maybe I should have gone with mother to the bakery. Maybe I'm wrong but I feel like something is not right.
I decided to go to mother just to be safe but Shisui nii san came back.
"Yo chibi, missed your nii san?"
"Onii san,You're back!" I hugged Shisui nii san
"Hai, hai. I'm back but where is everyone?"
"Itachi nii san has gone on a mission, Sasuke is playing outside, Okaa–san has gone to the bakery and Otou–san is at police headquarters"
"And you are here alone? Why aren't you out playing with Sasuke and the others?"
"I'm reading the book you suggested. Look!" I said, holding up the book
"Oh cool, so did you like it?"
"I love this book!"
"I told you that you will love it"
"Hai!"
"Hmm...but still you shouldn't stay alone. It's dangerous. We don't want you getting kidnapped again"
"Sorry"
"It's fine. Just don't be so careless again, okay?"
"Okay. By the way nii san, you weren't supposed to be back until afternoon"
"Well we were able to complete our mission earlier than we thought we would, thanks to your nii san here" Shisui nii san said cheerfully. I frowned. I don't know why I was getting a weird feeling from nii san
"What happened Sadako?" he asked noticing my expression
"Who are you?"
"What do you mean by that? I'm your nii san, idiot"
"You're not"
Suddenly, there was a sharp noise of something shattering. We both looked in the direction of the noise and saw a shinobi advancing in our direction.
"Sadako, get behind me" Shisui nii san said taking out a kunai.
I did not know what to do. This guy looking like shisui nii san was not shisui nii san but he was so like him. Also if he was an enemy he would not be trying to protect me. I hid behind the guy/shisui nii san, not sure if it was a wise decision.
IT WASN'T.
That guy had been trying to trick me because in the next moment I was in their grasp and unable to move.
"We're not going to make the same mistake the other two idiots did last time"
"Ya we're not" the imposter shisui nii san said
'WHY AM I SUCH AN IDIOT?'
I felt myself being lifted up and being carried in a harsh way, like a prisoner. For some odd reason I wasn't able to move at all. Why didn't I just went with mother to the bakery? If I had all of this could have been avoided. I should have joined Sasuke, at least there would have been others watching over us. Why am I such an idiot?
These nins didn't knock me out like the other ones had, which I don't know why they didn't. I also realised that the reason I am not able to move at all and the pain in my whole body is due to a mild but effective poison. My head was getting so fuzzy because of the height we were at and the speed at which we were moving. It was getting harder to see minute by minute. I tried to stay conscious and look around for any sign of help, which I knew was just a waste of energy but still.
I looked around for a while and saw some blurry figures, at quite a distance, going in the opposite direction. I didn't know who they were but I decided to call for help. One of them seemed to have a getup of Shisui nii san. I didn't know if it was a good idea but I still tried.
"SHISu―" A hand covered my mouth and muffled the sound. That's it, I'm done for.
The pain was too much it was getting so hard to stay conscious. I didn't knew when I became unconscious but I knew I was doomed.
Meanwhile...In Konoha
"Sasuke, is Sadako with you?" Mikoto asked her youngest son after not finding her daughter in the house or the bakery. She had returned home and when she went to her daughter's room, no one was there. There were no signs of struggle so probably Sadako had left the house because she was bored.
Mikoto had gone to the bakery to see if her daughter had gone there, but she wasn't there nor had she visited the place that day. She then went to Sasuke. Maybe she was with Sasuke, playing.
"Okaa san, what happened?" Sasuke asked, running towards his mother.
"Isn't Sadako here?"
"No. She is at home. She didn't come to play today"
"Oh, is that so? Do you know any other places she could be at?"
"The Training grounds? She must be there"
"Okay, I'll go and check"
"Is everything okay, okaa-san? You look worried"
"Your sister is not at home"
"She must be roaming around in the compound, she loves to do that"
"Maybe. I'm going to go and see where she is"
"I'll help too"
"Come with me then, I'm not going to leave you alone"
"Ok"
"Shisui, you look really happy."
"What do you mean? I'm always happy" Shisui asked his companion
"No, you look happier than usual" she replied.
"Well, I'm gonna meet my sweet little cousin after a long time"
"Come on it's only been a week"
"You can't blame me. She's too adorable"
"Are you talking about Itachi's little sibling?"
"Yeah"
"I've seen her. She's a quiet kid"
"Quiet? That girl? Not at all. She talks non stop if she feels comfortable around people, otherwise talking is a big no no for her"
"I see. You know her very well, she must feel really comfortable around you"
"Of course she does feel comfortable around me. I'm her nii san after all"
"Who doesn't feel comfortable around a cheerful idiot like...what happened?" his companion asked when he stopped suddenly.
"Did you hear that too?"
"Hear what?"
"Someone called my name"
"No, I didn't hear anything like that"
"I could have sworn I heard Sadako's voice"
"You must be really missing that little girl. I wonder how you will survive the last day of the mission when you are already hearing things"
"Oh shut up, I'll be fine but I guess I'm really missing her that I'm hearing voices now. She must be playing with Sasuke or reading a book or something. She can't be here"
"Yeah, let's go. We only have a day left of our mission and then we can go back home"
"Hmm"
Itachi's POV
I didn't know why I was having a bed feeling during my mission. It wasn't any tough mission or anything, god knows why then I was having such a feeling.
Was something happening back in Konoha? I hope everything is okay there.
'We will be able to finish this mission in minimum an hour and it would take us another hour or two to get back. Wait why am I calculating all this? Everything is okay, I'm just thinking too much. I should focus on the mission.' I thought and tried to focus back on the mission but still had that weird feeling bugging me constantly throughout the mission.
Normal POV
Meanwhile in Konoha, Mikoto and Sasuke were running around the while village trying to find Sadako.
"I don't understand, where could she have gone in less than 15 minutes" Mikoto said worriedly
"Maybe at Shisui nii san's place, she was waiting for him"
"No why would she. Shisui is supposed to back tomorrow not today"
"Maybe she mixed up the dates and she went to check if nii san is back. You know she always goes to nii san when he gets back"
"Let's check there too"
They continued their search with no results in the end.
Hours Later
Sadako's POV
I woke up and found myself in the middle of a forest with the pain in my body almost gone. I don't know how long it's been since I lost consciousness but it must have been quite a long time. I was feeling very hungry. What happened to the nins who had kidnapped me?
There was no one in here. I was alone, with wounds that were stinging and it was cold in here.
'Isn't it supposed to be summer? Why is it so cold?'But the cold wasn't bothering me as much as hunger was. I didn't even care how I ended up in this place, at the particular moment. I just wanted to eat something otherwise I would probably end up fainting again.
I stood up and walked around, searching for food. Forests are supposed to be full of edible stuff. I had read about many items we can find in the forest that are edible but there are poisonous ones in here too. Too bad I'm not good at identifying which ones are which. I searched and searched but I didn't find anything that I was sure wasn't poisonous.
'I'm going to die'
In the end I ended up fainting again.
Itachi's POV
I came back from the mission, only to see mother close to tears, running around the village as if she was searching for something or someone.
"Mother, what happened?"
"Itachi..Tell me where are the places Sadako could possibly be"
"Why? Isn't she at home?"
"No, it's been hours and I have searched almost the entire village but I didn't find her"
"Where is Sasuke?"
"He is with your father at home. Your father is searching for any traces of foreign chakra in the house but I don't think they found any"
"Where have you searched till now?"
She listed all the places there was no other place Sadako went.
"Mother did you leave her alone?"
"For less than 15 minutes. I went to the nearby bakery"
"She disappeared in less than 15 minutes?"
'Mother wouldn't have left her alone if she felt another presence. I can't even leave the village without knowing anything about the nins' Mother let's continue the search until we find any other clue.
We continued our search for hours but we were not able to find her. We came back home and saw father at the entrance looking troubled and exhausted.
"Father, did you find anything?"
"Yes. Someone has kidnapped her. There were very faint traces of chakra in the room that it took us hours to realize any of it was even there. It's been so long, they might have already taken her eyes. I don't think they would have wasted their time getting back to their country to operate on her eyes"
"Don't say stuff like that. My baby is fine, she is alright. She has to be.." Mother said, tears streaming down her face. "We will track those nins down and save my child. I don't care how we do it, I want my baby back. I want Sadako back."
She fell on her knees and began sobbing.
"It's alright mother, we will find her. We will get her back" I said and mother hugged me
"I want her back Itachi, I want my daughter"
"I know mother. We are going to hunt them down and bring her back, I promise"
But I wasn't able to fulfill this promise. The next day Shisui came back from his mission too.
"Yo 'tachi, how was your mission and where's Sadako?"
"Shisui, she got kidnapped again and we don't know where she is and we can't leave the village"
"What do you mean she got kidnapped? When did this happen?"
"Yesterday. In the morning, around 11"
"Yes...ter..day? She got kidnapped yesterday?" he asked. I nodded. "I'm so dumb... I heard her voice and I didn't check...How can I do that...I could have saved her.."
"What do you mean?"
"We had to go to another village near konoha...and on the way I thought I heard her voice but...I'm so sorry Itachi"
"It's alright we can't do anything about it now. We can just hope that she will be fine. We cannot leave the village too"
"I'm so sorry"
Two Days Later
Sadako's POV
I'm alive? Wow, I didn't expect myself to be alive. How long has it been now since I passed out? Seems like I'm on some matress. How though? I passed out in the forest.
I opened my eyes and saw myself in a room. How did I end up here? My head was bandaged? Did I hurt my head?
"Oh you're finally awake. Thank goodness" I heard a female voice I totally didn't recognize "I was so worried" the woman said and sat next to me.
I just stared at that woman. Who was she? Where am I? In Konoha or someplace else?
"Oh sorry, how rude of me not to introduce myself. I'm Miyazaki Akira. What is your name, little one?"
I remembered the warning Itachi nii san had given me. I should not tell strangers about my identity or anything about clan or village but first name won't hurt. The lady seemed to realize I was uncomfortable.
"Don't be scared dear, we won't hurt you. You are safe here. If you tell us about yourself, we might be able to help you. So will you tell me what's your name?"
"Sadako"
"Sadako, what's your last name?" she asked in a soft tone. I shook my head "What happened dear? Don't you remember your last name?" I shook my head
"Then do you know where you are from?" I shook my head again. I didn't even think twice before doing so. Almost if my body knew what to respond.
"Hmm...It's going to be tough to get you back where you are from if you don't know where you are from" She said "What about your parents? Do you remember anything about them?"
"Travelers" I said automatically, as if my mouth and body had a mind of their own.
"Oh, no wonder you don't know anything about where you are from. Anyways, we will talk about it later. You eat something first, you must be hungry"
"Arigato Miyazaki–san"
"Well aren't you a super polite one. You can call me Akira nee chan till we get you back to where you belong" she said, smiling warmly. I smiled in response. She stood up to get something for me to eat and I noticed her hitai-ate.
A snowflake.
How am I gonna get back home now?
Author's Note: Hey everyone, I'm sorry for not updating for such a long time. My tests are over now and I will probably be able to update more frequently now. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.