Author's Note: This chapter is sad, but something about it, I just love how it invokes vulnerability and intimacy. Read on!
Citations: Itachi's Story: [Daylight] pg. 76-88
Chapter's Song: "Ghost" by A Million in Vermillion
Chapter 18
But I See You
6 Months Later
"The lands have all relaxed now that the war is over, so travel between countries is so much safer now. Which is why we can assign this sort of mission to a genin-centered team," Minazuki-sensei said, eyes on the document in his hand. Itachi held the same document in his own hand.
Mission: To guard the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.
The village of Konohagakure was within the territory of the Land of Fire, and the ruler of the Land of Fire was the Daimyo. But although the village was located in the Land of Fire, it functioned semi-autonomously, with an independent government structure that had the Hokage at the top. On paper, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire was ranked above the Hokage, but currently, the land's military might rested with the ninja of Konoha, so the relationship between the two was more like an alliance of equals, rather than master and servant.
The Land of Fire's Daimyo visited Konohagakure annually. This regular event was extremely important for both sides, one that had been faithfully held, even during the Great War.
"So the four of us are going to guard him?" Tenma asked, looking at the document.
"Officially, yes, it will be us. But behind the scenes, there'll be a four-person
Anbu cell keeping an eye on things from the shadows. And before that even, the
Daimyo has his own Twelve Guardian Ninja, an independent corps made up of only the most skilled ninja in the land."
"So we're like a formality, yeah?" Shinko muttered.
"Well, basically, yes," Minazuki-sensei said, nodding. "The roads are quite safe since the end of the Great War, so the team with the genin who distinguished themselves the most during the year is selected to guard the Daimyo. In other words, this assignment is a great honor."
Tenma and Shinko both turned toward Itachi. Feeling their gazes on him, he kept his eyes on the document and stayed quiet.
"We meet tomorrow morning at four. At the A-un main gates. Don't be late."
Tenma and Shinko both assented aloud. Itachi nodded, still silent.
"All right then. Adjourned!" Minazuki vanished, almost before he was done speaking. Only the three Genin remained.
Tenma's eyes were on Itachi. "Guess you're the village pet."
"You don't gotta go wording it like that!" Shinko said.
"Tch!" Tenma spat at the ground.
"Yer attitude is just the worst!"
"The usual, unchanging day-to-day… How many years can I stay here with these two arguing?" A sigh threatened to spill out of him. But, remembering that his teammates were still there with him, he swallowed it before it passed his lips. He stood with the force of the repressed sigh, and turned toward the other two. "All right, see you tomorrow." The words had no sooner passed his lips than he had disappeared.
"He always acts like he's all that." Tenma's grumbling reached Itachi's ears like an echo.
Akina stood outside the Dumpling Shop in the center of The Village, looking left and right. Itachi then hopped down from the rooftop to land right in front of her. She was un-amused as she informed, "You're late."
"I told you I could run late depending on what Minazuki-sensei had to say."
"I'm just teasing you. I'm not doing much these days." Akina shrugged with her arms crossed, her eyes shifting down to the side— Two fingers poked her in the forehead gently, her eyes shifted back up to Itachi's smiling face.
"Cheer up."
Akina's hand brushed his hand away from her forehead, and turned to go into the dumpling shop. "So what did Minazuki-sensei have to report?"
"I have a mission with my team tomorrow, to guard the Fire Daimyo." Itachi informed as they sat down across from each other.
Akina froze, not even noticing the waitress setting tea down in front of them both. Itachi awkwardly took a sip, nervously looking at Akina who was still frozen. "You'd be getting this mission if your team wasn't short a member…"
"It's fine. Your team is impressive, too." She took a quick drink.
"Not really…" Itachi half-snickered.
"I'm jealous you get to escort the Fire Daimyo, but it's for the best. If I got it, it would just be because I am the niece of the current Fire Daimyo."
"Wait, really?" Itachi's eyes widened. "You never told me that."
"I'm telling you now." She said blankly. "My mother's father was the previous Fire Daimyo, she met my father when she came with her father to watch the Chunin Exams. They were inseparable…"
"So you come from a line of Fire Daimyo, and your great-grandfather was the Second Hokage?"
"You got it." Akina nodded unenthusiastically. "So it's for the best… I can easily be noticed, I wish I was noticed for my own skill, but I live in the shadow of my heritage. I prefer you to be noticed, so that you'll be the next Hokage."
Itachi got slightly embarrassed, feeling goose bumps on his skin as she said it.
She continued, "Besides, I have had enough attention on myself from the last exams."
"Konoha condemned Kiri for its neglect of the Genin in the last exams, along with how they make Academy students fight to the death to graduate."
"The Bloody Mist Village… Truly a human's right issue. Konoha extended the olive branch to trust Kiri with the Chunin Exams and it blew up in our face…" Akina sighed.
"The Chunin Exams happen twice a year… You're not trying again, huh?"
"Not ready… Yugao is barely talking to me so I've just been doing Mochizuki training with poisons, and a little Medical Ninjutsu with my sensei." Akina shrugged. "Maybe next summer we both can take the Chunin Exams."
Itachi nodded, smiling. "Yeah. Hopefully."
"This mission of guarding the Fire Daimyo will get you even more recognition. I'm happy for you."
"Thanks, Akina." He nodded, smiling right at her this time. She smiled back.
"I know I say this every year, but Konoha is so faaar," The old man said, sitting on a stump and staring at the teacup in his hand. A fan-shaped crown sat above his wrinkled face. A regular old man, simply fooling the world by clothing himself in gaudy finery, The Daimyo of the Land of Fire.
Behind the old man, a luxurious palanquin awaited its master's return. Around him were two of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, and a dozen or so attendants. And
Itachi's Team Two, spread out in a loose circle.
A main road led from the capital of the Land of Fire to Konohagakure. They had already covered half the distance, and The Village was just up ahead. Flat in and around the city, the road started to climb into the steepness of a mountain road.
The new green of the woods hung over the heads of the party.
"It might be best if we hurry," Minazuki-sensei said, ever so timidly. "Otherwise, we won't reach the village before nightfall."
Tenma and Shinko watched with exasperation at the Jonin bowing his head to the point of servility, humble before even the Twelve Guardian Ninja.
"I know…" The Daimyo sighed and lifted his bulk up, the enormous fan-shaped crown on his head rocking. The two Twelve Guardian Ninja watching over him each took one of his arms.
"Minazuki-sensei," Itachi said, staring at the road ahead, listening to the exchange between the Daimyo and his men.
"What?" The instant Minazuki-sensei let his eyes chase after Itachi's gaze, his previous looseness vanished, and his face grew grim. At the change in their teammates, Tenma and Shinko stiffened as well.
"The Daimyo," Minazuki-sensei said to the Twelve Guardian Ninja. The two Twelve Guardian Ninja grabbed the old man from either side and lifted him into the palanquin. The four members of Team Two stepped out in front of the Daimyo's party and spread out in a diamond formation, with Minazuki-sensei at the tip.
The four stared at the man before them. He was approaching with a jaunty step, practically bouncing up off the ground. Nothing particularly suspicious about this. So then, why were all four of them uniformly on guard?
The reason was the man's face, which was hidden behind a bizarre mask. The surface was painted a burnt orange with horizontal black stripes at uneven intervals. A jet-black hollow around the right eye allowed the man to see. On his body, he wore a long black coat with an open collar that reached below the knee, loosely tied with a thick white bandage. His appearance was reminiscent of a clown. He was not a ninja.
But Itachi's instincts were telling him there was something ominous about this man. His nervous tension was communicated to his three teammates, setting them on edge as well.
"Hey, are we all right?" One of the Twelve Guardian Ninja asked from behind.
"We're just going to check this out," Minazuki-sensei replied. "Please wait there."
The man moved lazily forward during this exchange, and then threw his right arm up into the air. "Umm, I have a question I'd like to ask, if you don't mind?" He sounded extremely drowsy.
Minazuki-sensei unconsciously smiled broadly at the anticlimactic nature of the man's tone. "This road is closed today. How did you get onto it?"
"Oh, it is, then?" The man spread out both arms in an exaggerated fashion. All eyes were on him. The air shook.
Itachi felt a subtle disturbance in his chakra. "Minazuki-sensei!" He shouted, but he was too late. Genjutsu. Itachi immediately dropped down into a defensive posture, while before his eyes, Minazuki-sensei was frozen in place, standing rigidly straight.
Through his skin, Itachi felt the people behind him freezing, as well. The Daimyo, his close aides, and the two Guardian Ninja had also been caught in the Genjutsu.
"Oh ho, that there would be anyone who could dodge my Genjutsu, hm?" In a flash, the voice of the buffoon of only moments ago was brimming with intelligence. The hole in the mask seized on Itachi. "And then there would be two..."
Itachi caught his breath at the fact that he was not the only one to avoid being caught up in the Genjutsu. And then he felt a chakra and aura racing up on him. Something was squirming beside him.
"What did you do?!" Tenma yelled. Before Itachi knew it, his teammate was charging the man. As he ran, Tenma glanced at Itachi.
"My specialty is Genjutsu. You can't get me with a technique like this!"
"A technique like this. Oh, well said," The man murmured.
"He's laughing?" Itachi questioned, that's how it looked to Itachi.
"Guys like this'll just take a second, if we both go at him." Tenma cockily told Itachi.
"Tenma!" Itachi called out to stop him. "We need to look carefully and calmly at our—"
Tenma thrust a kunai into the throat of the muttering man.
"A ninja who cannot objectively assess a situation…" He began to say as a portal began to open.
"Wh-what's happening?" Tenma asked, sounding scared. And for good reason. His arm had been sucked into the man's throat and shot out the back of his head. At first glance, it looked like his fist had smashed through the man's head, but the man didn't look the slightest bit uncomfortable, and not a drop of blood was spilled. Tenma's arm had passed right through the man's body.
"...Will die." The man finished saying.
"Heenyah!" Tenma uttered a sound so strange, it was hard to believe it came from a human being. His body flew up into the air. The fulcrum was the man's arm, which pierced Tenma's body. This time, it was no illusion. As proof, fresh blood gushed from the boy's torso, flowing to the ground like a waterfall. Tenma convulsed in tiny seizures, but gradually grew quieter, until he finally stopped moving completely.
"Those who would rush forward, recklessly seeking distinction, die young. That is the reality of the world of the ninja." The man looked at Tenma's eyes, focused on an empty spot in the sky now. "But it's already too late to teach you that, hm?"
The man forcefully shook the arm that penetrated Tenma, and the corpse slid off and hit the ground. "Of course, you did not fall, hm? And you did not foolishly charge like this child, but attempted instead to coolly assess both your power and mine. Wonderful, Uchiha Itachi."
"How do you know my name…?" Itachi breathed.
"I expect that I know everything about the Uchiha." The masked man's bouncing was replaced by a no-nonsense step as he moved toward Itachi. He walked very much like a ninja now. "My objective is that old man's life. If you sit and watch quietly, I will spare yours."
"I'm a ninja of Konoha—" He felt a pressure like he was being choked, but he desperately forced his throat open enough to spit out the words. Like a frog under the watchful eye of a snake, his body wouldn't move the way he wanted it to.
Perhaps because of the man's wordless pressure. Perhaps his instincts, sensing the difference between his own abilities and those of the man, refused to let him fight. Or perhaps all the blood in his body had collected in his head, as his brain frantically tried to analyze the inexplicable phenomenon that was the man's body.
Whatever it was, the fact remained that he could not move. "I can't come up with a clear solution to the situation I've been put in…" This was the first time in his life anything like this had ever happened to him.
The masked man came up beside him on his approach to the Daimyo, it felt like he stopped next to Itachi. "Could you say what you said before one more time?" The man cocked his head to one side.
"I am a ninja of Konoha," Itachi said, hoarsely.
"Does that indicate the you wish to die?"
"Die…" Itachi thought vaguely.
"You can become a good ninja. There's no need for you to rush to your death here. Still, if you say you wish to die, then I won't try to stop you."
"Move!" Itachi ordered his body. "Ngh!" As the half-groan escaped him, Itachi managed to move just his right arm. He beat at the mask with his right hand, bereft of even a kunai. Just like Tenma's hand, his fist slipped through the face, and came flying out the back of the man's head.
He was sure the man was standing there before him, but no sensation of touch was communicated to his brain. The fear that he had already fallen prey to the man's Genjutsu grew in Itachi's heart.
"I see. So you wish to die." The man brought his arm toward Itachi, and swung it downward. The palm stopped inches away from his face. The man looked up toward the sky, blotted out by the thick canopy above. "That chakra," He murmured. "Hatake Kakashi…" The man turned his face back down toward Itachi. "A narrow escape for you, Uchiha Itachi."
"The mask is shaking…" Itachi had no sooner had this thought than something incredible happened. The man was sucked into the hole in the mask. Before Itachi's eyes, the black body concentrated on a single point and was swallowed up by empty space, like the water in the bath after the plug is pulled out, until finally, even the hole in the mask disappeared.
As Itachi stood there dumbfounded, four figures dropped down from the sky above. They wore animal masks, Anbu, an elite group under the direct control of the Hokage.
"Are you all right?!" The shortest of the four, a boy with gray hair in a fox mask, shook Itachi by the shoulders. "Hey! What happened?"
The other three Anbu were going around releasing the Daimyo and the others from the Genjutsu. As he awoke, the Daimyo spotted Tenma's body, and shrieked.
"Everyone but me was suddenly hit with a Genjutsu, and it took a while to release them all. Sorry we're late." The boy explained.
Itachi stared vacantly at the fox-mask boy. "Hatake Kakashi…?"
"How do you know that name?" The boy asked.
Itachi instinctively knew that the boy in front of him was Kakashi.
Even with the warmth of the blanket wrapped around his body, he couldn't stop shaking. The man's attack felt like a memory of a distant day, but it had only happened a few hours earlier.
Given the urgent nature of the situation, the Daimyo's visit was postponed, and he returned that day to the Land of Fire. After hearing reports from the Anbu and Minazuki-sensei, the Hokage and the other village officials decided to have Itachi report in a few days. He was sent home immediately after he returned to The Village.
But he didn't feel like doing anything. He couldn't muster an interest in even eating supper; he just lay there under his blankets, despite the fact that it was still early evening. Even Sasuke was awake. Itachi wrapped himself alone in his blankets, and endured the incessant shaking.
In his heart was a disappointment with himself. Tenma died. Right in front of him. He was the only one who could have saved Tenma. And yet… He hadn't been able to do anything.
"Is Itachi all right?" He heard his father's voice from the other side of the sliding doors as he arrived home.
"He left his dinner. He's still lying down in his room." His mother's voice informed.
"He's a ninja now. Teammates sometimes die in front of you."
"But he's still only eight. He should really still be playing at The Academy with his friends."
"A testament to his talents. It's precisely because he attracted the attention of people in The Village that he got assigned the mission of guarding the Daimyo. And precisely because it was an important mission, it carried an element of danger. Living through the carnage time and time again is how a ninja grows up."
His father's words pushed through the warmth of the blankets, and pierced Itachi's heart. "Still green… I'm lacking. I'm lacking… So my teammate died… Because I'm not good enough." He wanted more power, enough power to defeat that man.
"Can't you get him into the Military Police, and have him work under you?"
"He won't be joining the Military Police." His father's words dug into his heart. "I'm thinking about his future here. He needs to keep working hard as a Genin right now."
"But he's just—"
"It's fine. I'm sure he'll get over it."
Itachi clutched the blankets even more tightly, as if he could use them to escape the sound of his father's voice. "Nnngh!" Emotions he couldn't suppress became a groan of anguish, and forced their way out of him.
His body shivered and shook. He wasn't shaking because he was afraid. Anger at his own useless self rocked his body. A sense of helplessness, defeat, emptiness, disappointment. He shook with these waves of emotion, turned inward to race through his body.
He wanted power. He didn't have enough power to protect his teammates. Nor enough to put his father's mind at ease. "More, more…" He would go beyond even that masked man. No, he would have the power to go beyond anyone and everyone in this world. And then, he would grab onto the root of all fighting with his own hands.
He felt something hot beneath his tightly closed eyelids. Not tears. Something hotter than that, his eyes throbbed. He felt a pounding at the nape of his neck, and then something hot like fire shot through his body and concentrated around the pounding, before pouring into his eyes. Itachi finally realized that the source of this blazing power was chakra.
Those born into the Uchiha clan were cloaked in a chakra with fire attributes. But he had never before in his life experienced this kind of heat from his chakra. Still, he managed to coolly assess what was occurring within his own body. Eyes still closed, he pushed the blankets off and sat up in his futon, before gradually opening his eyes.
Awakening— The world was colored red. Everything was different from the scene of only moments ago. On the other side of the sliding doors, three flames of different sizes flickered. The lives of his father, mother, and Sasuke. He focused his attention on the flames. The sliding door faded and he could clearly see into the neighboring room. Three people lived in this red world. If he squinted and concentrated, he felt like he would even be able to see their hearts beating.
"I'm dizzy…" He was wasting chakra. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he slowly lifted his lids again, the world had returned to normal. "The sharingan…"
He remembered the masked man. Itachi had seen an eye on the other side of that small hole in the bizarre mask and clearly remembered three magatama floating in that red iris.
"You won't beat me next time," Itachi murmured, as red colored his eyes once more.
Knock-knock. "Knock-knock…" A familiar breathy and dignified voice mewed outside his window.
