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 72: Just a Home
She appeared in the darkness of the caves behind his disintegrating body. He was still able to walk, but barely. His arm was stretched out towards the most precious thing he had: his brother. Sasuke was standing there, silently and frozen. He didn't know what to do. Her sudden appearance behind Itachi didn't make it easier for him to know how to act. She also stood still behind him, not knowing what to say or what to do. She wanted to cry. Her throat felt clogged as she tried to swallow before talking. No sound could be made.
Itachi finally made it to his dear brother. He hugged Sasuke tightly. He smiled and whispered to his brother: "No matter what… I will always love you." Sasuke raised his arm as if to give his brother a hug that he had not been able to give in years, but he was too late. Itachi was now only fine dust as his soul turned around to give Yuki one last smile.
"Forgive him, will you?" He asked before completely disappearing in front of their eyes.
She nodded as she held back her tears. Sasuke looked at her before coming closer. She drew out her katana to make sure he kept his distance. She didn't know what was going through his mind and she wasn't ready to let her guard down just yet. For all she knew, the last time they had met, he was out to kill everyone from the Alliance.
"You are not going to respect his last wish." He said.
"Forgiving you is a personal thing. Arresting you for your crimes is State affairs." She replied.
"He showed me everything." Sasuke then said. "What mom and dad said before dying… Everything…"
"I'm assuming it's a little different than what Madara said." Yuki replied.
"It's actually quite similar, but the perspective was just very different. Itachi…"
"He took a lot on by himself. So… still looking to destroy Konoha knowing everything now?"
"I need to know more. I still have so many questions. What is a village? What is a clan? Why…"
"You should instead ask yourself where home is." Yuki interrupted him. "I had to ask myself that multiple times… especially back then. When everything happened, I nearly gave up on the village, but there were promises I had made. One of them being to your brother with regards to…"
She was about to continue and reveal more to Sasuke as there was no point in hiding anything any longer, but then suddenly heard Inoichi's voice in her head urging her to return to where the 5 kages were. Madara… He wasn't gone. She cursed under her breath and looked at Sasuke:
"I'm sorry, I don't think we have time to chat right now. Take care of Anko, will you?" She said as she flashed herself out of the caves to where the Kages were.
"Why would I…" Sasuke started, but she was already gone.
"Gaara!" She said as she arrived on scene. "What is going on?"
"I'm not too sure. He was disappearing like the rest of them, but he started moving again and has recovered fully."
Yuki bit her lower lip like she always did when expecting the worst. She looked over at the other Kages who were just as in shock as she was. Meanwhile, Madara took notice of her presence and yelled out to her:
"I was hoping you would rejoin us. I'm assuming you went to where the one who summoned us was. I don't how you guys did it, but I will give you props for being able to end the contract. However, it seems like he didn't know about one element in the contract. If the summoned knows the seals to the jutsu, he can break free of the contract. So, what now?"
"Back to the original plan of sealing you away." She replied very simply as the Kages exchanged and nodded in agreement.
"Inoichi-san." She then reached out to the headquarters. "What is the current situation on the rest of the battlefields?"
"All the reincarnations have vanished. The last of the White Zetsus are being defeated as well. However, Naruto just informed us that, on his end, it seems like they are going to have to fight the Ten-Tails. The masked man said that he couldn't wait any longer."
"How… Nevermind, I think I know the answer to my question. I was going to ask for reinforcement here, but I think that it's better to send everyone to Naruto."
"But…"
"I'll be honest with you. I don't think we will win against Madara, but we will try our best to keep him here. Naruto and everyone have a better chance of ending the battle over there. One of them need to be defeated. If both Madara and the Ten-Tails are in one location, we can say goodbye to world as we know it. Please relay the message to everyone."
Gaara smiled at her. He understood immediately that they were not going to get reinforcement. It was going to be the 6 of them against Madara. The other Kages gathered to where they were. Yuki explained to them the current situation and apologized for making the executive decision without discussing it with them. They understood that, given the current circumstances, it was ultimately the best decision.
"We are the 5 Kages afterall. We can stall him at the very least." Onoki said. "I was actually going to say that you, Yuki, should leave while you can to assist Naruto."
"There's no way I'm leaving." She replied. "I…"
"Onoki is right." The Raikage said.
"I'll leave when we can all leave together." Yuki firmly said.
She heard Madara yawning as he prepared himself again for battle. She summoned Kiku as she entered into her sage mode. Her eyes changed, not just because of her Sharingans, but they were now filled with determination fueled by her will of fire. She turned towards Madara and glared at him. He took notice of her, smirked and then declared:
"Entertain me!"
The terrain had now been marked all over the place throughout the previous battle. Yuki could freely appear anywhere she desired. With Kiku continuously gathering nature energy for her, she did not have to hold back in fear of not having enough chakra. Her eyes allowed her to read the movements even better. If this was going to be the last fight she was going to have, she wanted to make sure she truly put up a fight.
They tried their best. She was now the last one standing. He made sure she was the last one. They, after all, seemed to share the same blood. She could still sense everyone's chakra. They were still alive. She just had to make sure he didn't finish them off. Tsunade would certainly be able to save everyone. She just had to make sure she dragged the battle out longer here. She glanced back to see that Tsunade had grown extremely weak while trying to maintain the rest of the Kages alive. She saw Tsunade's mouth trying to tell her not to worry about them and to focus on the battle in front of her.
"Yuki, I'm afraid we are both reaching our limit soon." Kiku said.
"Go back." Yuki told her trusted aid. "I might need you later."
"But…"
"I promise I won't die just yet. There's so much to look forward in the future." Yuki said as she grabbed onto the necklace Neji had given her as a promise for a home. "Konohamaru is also waiting for me back in Konohagakure. I promised him I would be there for him. I am his only family after all. Go for now."
Kiku couldn't argue further and knew she would no longer be of much use. Yuki was now truly alone against Madara. She meant every word she said. She wasn't about to die just yet, but she was also going to give her all.
"You remind me a lot more of the Senjus than the Uchihas." Madara then said.
"I'm getting kind of sick of all these labels. Someone asked me today what a clan was. I told him to ask what a home was instead." She replied. "I have no last name. Does that mean that I'm no one because I'm not from a specific family? Does it mean that I have no place to call home?"
"Your eyes don't lie." He then said. "You must be from the Uchiha."
"I'm from Konohagakure. I'm from this world."
"It would be hard for me to kill a fellow clansman. However, if you fully deny it, don't blame me for being merciless."
There were no further words exchanged. There was only the sound of metal clanking and fire crackling. Then, it was complete silence. Yuki's body felt heavy and painful. She collapsed amidst the fire. It was so warm around her yet she felt cold. It was the first time she felt so cold. Things went pitch black, but she felt like she was being dragged away from where she was. Then, she felt nothing. Was it over for her?
End of Chapter 72
Thank you for reading!
It took me a while to get back into writing, but seeing all your follows, favourites & comments really allowed me to open myself up to idea of writing again. Sincerest apologies for not updating for a really long time. I promise that I'm back and will be finishing this story.
xox
Krystal