A Tale of Ravens

...

I know that even with the seams stitched tightly,
darling scars will remain.

I say we scrape them from each other, darling,
and let them wash off in the rain.

And when they run into the river, oh no,
let the water not complain.
I swear that even with the distance,
slowly wearing out your name.

Your hands still catch the light the right way
and our hearts still beat the same.
And our hearts still beat the same.

...

Chapter Five: Before

...

One.

One-two.

One.

The young Uchiha was trying to contain himself as he raced to the hospital, but there was nothing that could stop the dramatic beating of his heart. The news was scattered all around the village, that a newly-inducted chuunin team had come back from a two week mission, and that one of their kunoichi had been critically injured. There were whispers all around - that the kunoichi had sacrificed herself to save her teammate, the same teammates who legendary attack had pierced straight through her chest. Rumors were flying everywhere - that she was dead, that she was in a coma, that she was alive - each one contradicting the other, sending Itachi into a frenzy as soon as he walked through the gate.

He had to trust his ANBU team to fill out the mission report, and to alert the Hokage of his whereabouts. If he was going to be demoted for insubordination, so be it; one less stress for him to carry, because at that moment all he could think about were the slanted black eyes and tousled red hair of the girl who was supposed to be his friend.

The girl he had abandoned for the sake of his clan. For the sake of the village.

How low had he stooped?

It was at the moment he made a vow - as he entered the hospital doors and ran straight to the room as directed, as he opened the door to find the brown haired boy who had supposedly tried to assassinate his own teammate sleeping at the edge of her bed -

Itachi Uchiha vowed to never abandon Shin again, no matter what the circumstance. He would always protect her.

No matter what the cost.

He stopped at the doorway, staring at the girl with wires in her arms. Shiro's head shot up immediately, his eyes already glowing fierce with the Ayastura, but quickly turned it off when he realized who had entered.

"It's you."

"How's she doing?" Itachi asked, his voice monotone. Shiro took note of how he was still in his ANBU uniform, his mask casually pulled to the side. He's breaking so many regulations... he thought, turning his head back towards his sleeping teammate. He must have just returned...

"Stable," Shiro responded, as as soon as Itachi had the confirmation that she was okay, the elder boy was pinned against the hospital wall, a katana at his throat.

"Tell me what happened," the Uchiha spoke, his black eyes turning a swirling red. "And if you leave out a single detail, I will end you right here."

"It was... genjutsu..." Shiro gasped, narrowing his eyes. "She saw it before I did... the enemy shinobi blinded us, made it seem as if we were winning... they created an illusion and went to attack from the shadows. Shin saw it first, and ran into my Ayasumi in order to get a shot at the shinobi that would have pierced my heart. She... killed him with his own sword. Aki-sensei stabilized her, and we got back to the village as fast as we could..."

Itachi pressed the katana closer.

"Tell me, Shiro, was it your arrogance that caused all of this?"

"I...I..."

"Itachi."

The katana dropped to the floor, and the ANBU released his grip on the boy as he turned towards the voice. Her voice.

Shin's eyes were open, and the young girl was pulling herself up.

"Shin-chan, try not to - "

"Don't," her words were like ice, a tone Itachi had never heard before. There was a small silence, as if she was trying to catch her breath before speaking again. "Don't tell me what to do, Itachi."

"What..." he droned, but stopped when her black eyes met his red ones. He immediately deactivated the sharigan, finally seeing her through real eyes, seeing her in all her normality, but it was futile - there was no point, because her next words blinded all his sense and sent him into the path of oblivion.

"Get out."

And for some reason, his body reacted on it's own, and he listened.

...

"What do you want from us!?" the woman screamed, falling to her knees. Blonde hair fell over her shinobi headband, her eyes closed as tears fell down her cheeks. The bodies of her teammates lay around her, still alive - but barely, and she didn't have enough strength in her to carry them back.

There was an echo of laughter from the forest around them as she pounded her fist into the ground, her body shaking in the rain.

"Reikyo Hamiruka," a voice called, and the earth below the woman's knees shattered beneath her.

...

Shin woke up in a panic, shooting up from the bed so fast that the IV wires detached from her arms and the stands fell to the ground. Her eyes were wide, her heart beating out of her chest as she tried to remember where she was.

Reikyo... Hamiruka? she questioned as her heart race slowed and her guard began to vanish. Who... why does she feel so familiar?

She shook the thought from her mind, trying to assess her situation. This was the second time in a month that she had ended up in the hospital, and it made her wonder about her mother. Where was she? And how was she health wise? The girl could only imagine that Amaya had been on her own while Shin had been away, seeing as Itachi didn't come around anymore...

Her thoughts lingered on the sharigan eyes of her former friend, and there was an ache in her chest as she remembered her cold words towards him. She did not regret them, she was distraught... and disappointed at how easy they came out of her mouth, how easy it had been for her to dismiss him. The one person she could always count on wasn't there for her when she needed him most, and she couldn't help but resent him for trying to mend their rela

"Nice to see you're up, Shinwari."

Her eyes snapped to the door, caught off guard by the sudden intrusion. There was an ANBU at the door, his mask and uniform covering all of his features except the silver hair spiked around his head. She gave an acknowledging nod.

"You are being discharged. I'm here to escort you to the Hokage's office."

This is the second time I've needed an escort, she thought, as a nurse came up behind the ANBU with a change of clothes. What is going on?

...

Kakashi Hatake knew something was up the moment his subordinate sprinted away from the village entrance. The guards had been conversing about a previous arrival when they had walked up to check in, and the minute Itachi caught word of what had happened he had left without a word. The ANBU captain was skeptical, but did not break protocol; he checked in at the gates, and proceeded to the Hokage building to inform the man of the missions completion along with Itachi's dramatic run.

"I expected as much," Sarutobi had said. "Itachi is a bright child, it's no surprise that he figured it out. A newly inducted chuunin team... it could have only been her."

"I don't mean to pry," Kakashi replied. "But - "

"Shinwari Natasu, daughter of Amaya Itoru was one of the recently promoted chuunin this year. She is also one of Itachi's closest, if not only friend, aside from his clan members."

Kakashi nodded in understanding, Obito's words echoing through his head as a newfound respect for the young prodigy wormed its way into his heart. Those who break the rules are scum... but those who would abandon their friends, are worse than scum.

"I expect him to return when he is assured of her safety," Sarutobi continued. "But I also need you to be immediately reassigned."

"Of course, Hokage-sama."

"It's another simple mission, you will once again be escorting Shinwari back to my office, when the medical shinobi decide she is well enough to be discharged."

There were so many questions running through the young captains mind, but he did not voice any of them - it was not his place, and he knew this. Instead, he took a bow, and exited the building as quick as he had entered it.

When he arrived at the hospital the nurse had given him her okay.

"She's stabilized, and she'll heal within a few days but she needs her rest. No missions for at least a week. We stitched her up, and there are still chakra seals where the blast went through to heal the wound even when we cannot. Make sure the Hokage knows this."

"Understood," Kakashi spoke, immediately making his way towards her room, his ANBU mask still on as he entered it. She was awake, but barely; her eyes were half closed, there were beads of sweat forming on her forehead, and her breathing was anything but normal.

"Nice to see you up, Shinwari," he spoke, and she only gave a curt nod. "You are being discharged. I'm here to escort you to the Hokage's office."

He waited outside the room while she changed, which took a little longer than expected - he had to keep reminding himself that the Ayasumi had gone right through her chest, barely missing her heart. The very thought of it sent shivers down his spine, the flashbacks of Rin running straight into his chidori haunting him even more with every second. She did the same thing as Rin, was all he could think after the reports. Everything for the sake of the mission... for the sake of her comrades.

That reason itself gave him such a respect for her that he wasn't even annoyed, or put off in the least that he had been put on babysitting duty. When she walked out of her room, clad in all black with her red hair falling over her shoulders, all he could think about was the sacrifice she had made by jumping in front of her own teammates blow. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders to steady her, walking her out of the hospital. As soon as they reached the sunlight he squatted down, allowing her to ride on his back as they raced back to the Village's center.

...

Itachi stared into the river, his black eyes glazing over as he thought about weeks that had passed, and the ones that were shortly coming. Everything was blurring together, the stress lines on his face deepening as he thought of the restlessness of his clan and the distrust of his village. How did he come to be twelve years old already, spying on the people who raised him, who cared for him? Twelve years old and already so many lives on his hands, so many lives lost -

And then he stopped. He was twelve. He had turned twelve months ago.

Today was Shin's birthday.

Had he been able to cry, he may have broken down at that exact moment - the moment a fish flew from the water, the moment a bird scooped down to devour his prey. He would have cried for all he had done, all he had yet to do, and for the girl he had abandoned who was surely spending her day of celebration in a hospital bed.

Her word rang through his ears, get out. And he wished so much that she had been talking to the brown haired boy in the room and not him - the boy who had stuck his hand through her chest, who had almost killed her. But even still, it was Shiro who had stayed with her in the hospital, Shiro who had carried her home, Shiro who did not leave her side in times of trouble. Itachi had left because of an accusation, and Shiro had stayed even though he had every right to flee after almost killing his teammate.

Itachi's head whipped around as he felt another presence, and suddenly every muscle in his body tensed as she approached him. Her hair was down, now long enough to reach past her shoulders and fall over her chest; her eyes were dark, but there was a cloudiness in them he could not place. She said nothing as she walked up beside him, her head only reaching just over his shoulder as she stared at the water. He knew that this was the moment - the moment for him to apologize, to put everything on the table, the moment he should have fallen to his knees and begged for forgiveness.

But instead he remained silent, turning his head towards the water, letting the minutes pass by and the tension ease up.

"Happy birthday, Shin-chan," he spoke, and his heart couldn't help but flutter as the corners of her lips turned into a smile.

In that moment everything was so just, so right, so... normal, and relieving, that neither of them noticed they were being watched.