Hello and welcome to my second chapter of Petals in the past. For now and ever, I don't own Naruto, or any of the possible references, I write for joy and joy alone.
Recap:
Here goes nothing.
I swallowed nervously, and pushed it aside to enter.
Inside smelled of damp earth. My eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness, alighting on a huddled figure in the corner, wrapped in cloth.
"Who are you, and why have you brought me here." I say, trying to imitate a sense of fearlessness.
The covered figure shifted slightly, and I was stricken with the sight of two ebony eyes looking back at me. Panic shot through me as I immediately thought Sasuke had come for me, but it faded when the man made no move to attack me.
Pushing back his hood, Itachi Uchiha eyed me with interest. "Sakura Haruno, I need your help."
I couldn't speak or move. Itachi Uchiha, the dead Itachi Uchiha, needed my help. What in the seven hells could he possibly need, from me.
"I see you are in shock." he stated wryly.
Was that, humor? How can he find any of this funny?
"I'm not sure what kind of joke this is, but Itachi Uchiha is dead. Whoever you are, I am leaving. Don't try and contact me again."
I turned to leave, only to find myself inches from his face. How is he so fast? He stood up straight and eyed me with a look I couldn't quite place. Wait, was he stooping to my level? That jerk.
"You are cautious. That is good. But I really need you to believe me. I am Itachi Uchiha. And I need your help."
I could feel my eyebrow starting to twitch. "You already said that. I know you need my help, but you haven't said with what. And besides, you can't be who you say you are. He's dead. I read the reports."
"Oh, the reports," he said, a small smile tugging at his mouth. "The all knowing reports. Did those reports happen to mention that I subdued Kabuto relatively easily, even though he had transformed into his new, Orochimaru inspired form. While he thought he had the upper hand, he revealed his plan to me, in that he was using all the conflict with the Akatsuki and Sound to weaken the major political powers. With all the infighting, it would be easy for him to come in and pick off the survivors, who are no doubt weakened."
"Like a vulture." I said. It wasn't really surprising that his plan revolved around other people doing the heavy lifting. Kabuto always seemed to operate that way. What I didn't know was that Kabuto had developed a new, more powerful form.
"Tell me about how he got more powerful." I said. I had to make sure he had at least a little knowledge I didn't. After all, anyone who knew even a little bit about Kabuto and his penchant for schemes could come up with a lie like that.
"You think I'm making up a story so you will trust me." he stated. It wasn't a question, but merely an observation.
"Why wouldn't I?" I asked. "I didn't survive this long by trusting the first handsome stranger to hand me a tall tale."
"Oh, so you think I'm handsome? Interesting, Sakura Haruno."
"Can you just get to the part where I don't leave you here in this mud hole and never look back?" I said more than a little aggressively.
"I will tell you something you want to hear." He started, brushing past me to return to his seat in the corner. "Kabuto had been working on enhancing his skill set with bits of Orochimaru's flesh. He grafted it to his own body, and absorbed part of his mentor's essence, meshing it with his own chakra."
"That's disgusting."
"And yet, it's true."
"How can I believe you? As far as I know, you could be making this all up in an attempt to confuse me, and ultimately distract me so you can finish what Sasuke started when he killed Naruto and our teacher Kakashi."
"There is one way to convince you. I could show you."
"Wha-" Before I could finish my question, my gaze fell upon his, and the eyes that I met that had been ink black a second ago, glowed crimson.
"This might sting."
Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in the center of my forehead, and my vision fell black.
I stood in a cave. The moisture glistened on the walls, and the stench of moss and earth hid my nose. 'Where am I?' I thought, not at all familiar with this place.
A laugh rang out from my left, and my disoriented self seemed to suddenly take in a fight happening before me.
"I have you right where I want you, my dear Itachi. Orochimaru-sama will be so pleased when I tell him I have acquired your rare and valuable eyes."
The way he spoke, was eerie. Like he was obsessed with Itachi's eyes. It made my skin crawl, to hear the smile in his voice. Like he was speaking to a lover.
"You know I won't allow that, Kabuto." came Itachi's stern tone. I looked him over, to see him standing completely at ease. What is with this guy?
"You dare defy my power? Oh Itachi, it will be such a joy to rip our your eyes and deliver them to him myself."
The gray haired ninja's form started to morph, stretching and snapping. His skin stretched until it started to rip, shredding from his body. It was sickening to watch, but I found I couldn't look away as his old shell fell away, revealing a white scaled...thing.
"Hahahaha, do you like what I have done? It's so much more aesthetically pleasing, don't you think?"
"Kabuto, what have you done?" Itachi asked, eyes widened in disbelief.
"No more talk" Kabuto snarled, lunging at Itachi, who deftly avoided the strike. However, when he dodged, hidden explosive tags ignited, sending Itachi smashing to the ground. He dodged another direct attack, pulling out a kunai to retaliate.
After exchanging blows for what seemed to drag on forever, both retreated to assess damage. While Kabuto remained untouched, Itachi was breathing hard and clutching his side, where I could see blood pooling around his fingers. Then, he dropped his kunai.
'Poison.' I thought, not surprised. That's what I would have done.
"Do you like my venom, Itachi dear?" Kabuto crowed. "I made it specially for you."
"I can't move. What trick is this?"
"No trick, pet. Simply scientific genius at work on your circulatory system. Whats that? You are having trouble breathing? Don't worry, ill end things for you quickly." He pulled out a single kunai knife, and started to nonchalantly make his way to Itachi's prone body.
'If I could interact with them, I could extract the poison no problem.' I thought, annoyed at the sad sight before me. I jumped a little when Itachi started to laugh.
"Why are you laughing? Have you finally realized that I have bested you? You are going to die here, Uchiha."
"No, Kabuto, I am not." Itachi said, standing up.
"No! You shouldn't even be able to blink, let alone stand! What have you done?"
"Me?" Itachi said, tilting his head with a smirk. "You act as though I cheated somehow. Dear Kabuto, I never cheat. It was simply that this was all an illusion."
"An...illusion?" Kabuto stammered. "I'm in a genjustu?"
"My, your cleverness never ceases to amaze."Itachi drawled. Is he enjoying this? It kind of looks like he is. I'm still surprised to see any emotion on an Uchiha's face, let alone humor or enjoyment.
"You see," he continued, "You have been trapped in my genjutsu world from the very beginning. None of this has been real, I'm afraid to say. My layers upon layers of illusion have you so tightly wrapped, you have no hope of escape. And now, I must leave you behind. Goodbye."
There is a feeling in my gut, like a pulling sensation, and the world warps before me.
I stood in a cave. The moisture glistened on the walls, and the stench of moss and earth hid my nose. 'Where am I?' I thought, not at all familiar with this place.
A laugh rang out from my left, and my disoriented self seemed to suddenly take in a fight happening before me.
"I have you right where I want you, my dear Itachi. Orochimaru-sama will be so pleased when I tell him I have acquired your rare and valuable eyes."
'What is going on?' I already saw all this. Is the memory repeating?
"No, Sakura Haruno. At least, not for you."
'Itachi? Why am I hearing his disembodied voice in my head?
"What's going on Itachi?" I asked, tension evident in my tone. Damn, this whole out of body experience has me rattled.
"The scene before you was intended for Kabuto. He will relive this moment for as long as he is alive. Do you believe me yet? I am Itachi Uchiha, and I am alive, and I need your help to save everyone you know. The whole world is suffering more than I could have ever imagined, because of my little brother and his choices. I need someone to help me right his wrongs. Please."
I stood silently, considering his words. "Let's say I do believe you. I will need more information, obviously. But can we discuss it outside of this genjutsu flashback? It's starting to really creep me out."
"Of course." he said, and my vision went black once again.
I am back in the hut in Amegakure, staring down a legend.
"Tell me more about your plan."
"I need your vast amount of chakra to break the laws of the universe and travel back in time."
Aaand, scene.
Another cliffhanger, I know. I also realize that a lot of time-travel stories start a lot faster than this one is, and I apologize. I just don't want to be another story that cuts right to the chase and leaves out how it could have really gone. I hope you have been enjoying the chapters I have written so far, and I hope to give you much more to read about very soon. Until next update.
-Kurohime1024