Forgotten
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal
Chapter 22: The Reveal
Many days had now gone by. The village was still undergoing much needed construction and repairs. Rumors kept sparking up about different people taking the title of the Hokage. Many thought that Danzo would be the obvious choice. However, to Yuki's knowledge and delight, he was not going to be the new leader of Konohagakure. Since the incident, Yuki despised deeply the Root and their leader.
Yuki spent most of her days in the hospital by Lee's side. His injuries after the battle against Gaara were severe. Not a single medic could find a way to heal him properly. He was most likely going to be bedridden for the rest of his life. It was something that Lee would never accept. He would rather die, knowing him, than be incapacitated. Despite his injuries, he still tried to keep up with his training. Seeing him in such state broke Yuki's heart. However, there was nothing that she could do. She was only there to relief the pain immediately every time he would fall during his attempt to get back in shape. His teammates and Gai would spend a lot of time by his side as well. The other genins would also visit frequently, except for Sasuke. He, contrarily to everybody else, distanced himself from the group. He grew colder as he isolated himself. Naruto was also not present. He had just left with Jiraiya to look for someone. That someone, if they believed Jiraiya's words, would be able to put Lee back onto his feet. That someone would also be able to put Konoha back onto its foundation.
On the day Naruto had just left, Yuki wandered the street and observed the houses being rebuilt slowly, but surely. As she walked by the river, she suddenly sensed a great amount of chakra surge south from where she was. There was no doubt that a fight was occurring within the village's perimeter. She quickly headed over only to feel chills down her spine. She couldn't be wrong. It was definitely his chakra. Itachi. She rushed over finding Asuma, Kurenai and Kakashi fighting against Itachi and another man. He was unfamiliar to her, but judging from the weapon he was using, he had to be Kisame.
Both Asuma and Kurenai had their eyes closed. Kakashi was using his sharingan against Itachi, but he seemed like he was stunned in one place. Tsukiyomi. There was fear and pain in Kakashi's eye. It was something that Yuki had never witnessed before coming from a man who is usually so calm and collected. As those thoughts wandered into her mind, Yuki noticed that Kisame was headed for a kill towards Kakashi, Asuma and Kurenai. Without thinking twice, Yuki jumped into the battle, creating a powerful wave that pushed Kisame back a few feet away from the three jounins.
"Not bad, kid. However, I would run away if I were you. You don't want to have a taste of my Samehada." Kisame said as the wave that hit him subsided.
"I wouldn't underestimate her, Kisame. She's stronger than she appears." Itachi warned him.
Yuki looked over at Itachi. She really wanted to talk to him. She wanted him to look at her in the eyes and tell her all the truth. She knew the truth, but she wanted to hear it from him. He wouldn't even look in her direction.
"Then I guess this battle should be fairly interesting!" said Kisame as he dived towards her swinging his big sword in her direction.
He was fast. He had both strength and speed. Because she was distracted, Yuki barely dodged the attack. She knew that in a battle of strength against such an opponent, she would surely lose. However, as she dodged the fatal blow, she noticed that he had switched target and was going for Asuma and Kurenai who still had their eyes closed, unaware of the current situation. Yuki teleported herself to their side, pushed them out of the way, blocking the Samehada with a katana.
"It will eat you alive, kid." said Kisame with a grin on his face. "Your hands are also occupied, so no ninjutsu this time to fight back."
He wasn't wrong. The sword got larger and its blades grew closer to her face. Both her hands were holding the katana to push the Samehada back. The blades slowly grazed her arms as they grew hungrier for blood. Yuki felt the sword slowly sucking the life out of her. The pain of the wounds were not as remarkable as the fact that she was slowly losing consciousness. She closed her eyes for a second. She could hear Kisame's chuckle resonate in her ear. She opened her eyes then. They had changed. Despite the fact that she hated that pair of eyes, it was necessary now to use them in order to save the people she cared about.
Kisame looked at her in disbelief. He backed away and called out Itachi:
"I thought no one survived except for your brother."
Itachi finally looked over at Yuki. His face, usually so emotionless, had a small distortion. Although still hard to tell what he was thinking, there was definitely something different occurring inside his brain and heart. Yuki stood there, staring back at him, blood dripping down her hands from the wounds made by the Samehada. The blood mixed into the water, creating a red pool around her.
"You used to look so innocent." said Itachi.
"I lost that innocence when I realized what had happened that night." she replied, not losing eye contact.
"Had I known, I would have ended your life as well."
"Really?" Yuki asked coldly. "The Itachi..."
"Kisame, I think backup are coming. We were supposed to do this quietly. Let's just go. The Kyuubi isn't here." he said interrupting what Yuki was about to say. He knew too well what she wanted to say. He didn't want to hear it.
As he said those words, Kakashi was released from his frozen body and started collapsing into the water. Gai, out of nowhere, came into the picture to catch him in his fall. Seeing that more people were arriving on the scene, Kisame gave Itachi a nod, glanced at Yuki one last time and they both disappeared.
"I'm going after them." said Yuki as she readied herself for the pursuit.
"You are not." Gai said angrily.
"Who are you to tell me what to do!?" Yuki exploded out of character.
Asuma walked over to her side. He put his hand on her shoulder. She brushed his hand off, biting down on her lip. He didn't try any further.
"Yuki, you owe us some explanation first before leaving." said a voice weakly.
Kakashi had awoken, barely enough to say those few words. For some reason, his voice always calmed her down. Her eyes went back to its original form. The tightness in her jaw loosened and her fists were undone.
"I don't know what to tell you." she said softly.
"Let's get you both healed first." Kurenai suggested.
Yuki had no choice but to accept as the pain from the wounds seeped into her bones and the guilt ate her up inside.
End of Chapter 22
Thank you so much for reading.
For those who read this a while back, I am back, ready to finish this story. My sincerest apologies for making you wait.
Many things lead to this late update. However, I will be updating more frequently.
Let me know what you thought of the story in the comments!
xox
Krystal