Title: Masks
Summery: Is she Itachi? Is she Emiko? Is she Julia? Her masks keep appearing, her masks keep slipping. Her role keeps changing. Who is she? Sequel to ATWAS
"My family is my strength and my weakness."- Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
Act Three
Time is an enemy of all. Emiko sighs as she stands with the Akatsuki, as they drain the demon from Gaara. He looks like he sleeps, and she is grateful he does not feel this. It would be painful if he awoken.
Emiko fights with Kisame, against her brother's team. She keeps a clone behind.
Sasori is her family, and she will make sure he lives.
-0-
He does, barely. His puppets are gone and he has to start from scratch. She offers her body once she is dead. He agrees.
Kisame thinks it's morbid, but doesn't comment to much. He also offers. Sasori, Kakuzu and Hidan are immortal- now and forever. They need something to hold onto.
-0-
Who is she? Is she a villain? An actress? A sister? Which mask is hers? Who is she?
-0-
Tobi shows up, to be Sasori's replacement for a time. He gives her a talking to when they are alone, and she pretends to be afraid.
She isn't.
-0-
She and Deidara are close enough that the two have slept together once or twice. Once, she is asked if she loves him. It is after sex, and she states she doesn't.
He nods and says the same. Neither love one another like that. It's okay for them, that they don't love one another.
-0-
Who is she? She has her dreams, and her hallucinations. Who is the woman hiding behind her masks? She is scared to find out.
-0-
Life goes and goes and goes.
She hates it, and confides in her family, the small family she made within this group. They all agree.
She fights her brother, and cries.
-0-
She tests herself in private once. She stares at the answer, and closes her eyes.
She tells him, and they come to a decision. It is later that night when Deidara casts the jutsu to end the life of the child she carries.
She has never regretted her decision.
-0-
Kisame asks her why she hates Tobi, and she tells the truth.
He breaks a table in anger.
-0-
"Why do you hold onto this 'manga' idea of yours?" Sasori asks. "From the sound of it, it ends bad for us."
"Because it ends good for everyone else."
"And yet you saved me, can't you save yourself?"
Can she?
-0-
Can she save herself? Can she become the woman under the masks?
But, who is she? Does anyone know? Can anyone help her figure this out? It keeps going and going in circles.
-0-
Hidan and Kakuzu die later. Or Hidan kind of dies. He's still alive, but stuck.
No one offers to dig him up. The Nara are well known for being lazy by everyone.
The few who wronged them know that they are the worst to face in battle. After all, who else can control what goes bump in the night.
-0-
It's hard to listen to Tobi, she notices Kisame flinch and frown at times, but give in. He grows more and more angry, but she cautions him.
Even if he isn't Madara, he is still dangerous and can kill them easily. He must be watched.
-0-
Who is she? Her mind is torn, and she is hurt, heartbroken.
Her pills stopped working, her mind is torn. She screams at night, her mind in shadow.
Who is she?
-0-
She fights Sasuke, and she studies him. He wears her ribbon still, holding back his long hair. He also wears a hoodie- one she wore as a teen herself.
His hate filled eyes makes her heart scream as he yells at her.
"ITACHI!"
Is that who she is?
-0-
"Why don't we leave?" it comes from Kisame. They look at him. "If Emiko isn't nuts-"
"I am, but I'm fairly certain that this is real." She points out. Deidara snorts.
"Great, taking advice from a schitzo about reality." She punches him, and Kisame ignores them as Sasori rolls his eyes.
"If she is right, then this… this ends bad. We all die. She may have changed a bit, but not everything. So… why not leave? Fake our deaths, disappear into another village. Live."
It makes a lot of sense.
-0-
In a small village a few miles away from Konoha, four new comers showed up. A red head, a blue man, a pretty black haired woman and a blonde man.
The brunet and the blonde are married, and the blue man is the girl's brother. The red head is the blonde's cousin.
The woman is blind, they notice. She uses a cane a lot, and her husband helps her. Her brother is a mercenary, and the red head is a toymaker. They keep to themselves.
It's obvious they are ex-ninja, but they accept it. It is common to have ex-ninja settle down in their village. They are used to it.
-0-
It is easy to pretend to be married. Both of them care enough for the other to pull it off.
She prefers the companionship of her friends to that of lovers.
-0-
Deidara and Sasori are closer than before now, and she and Kisame are closer to. No longer fighting, just being happy.
Kisame fights bandits and still gets his bloodshed. Deidara still blows things up. Sasori makes her puppets.
And she… she reads. She reads and reads.
She also watches, with her decaying eyesight- eyesight that fades more and more with each cough of blood she gives. She knows her family well.
-0-
"You love him." She states one day, while the two lay in bed. Deidara doesn't even bother to pretend.
"Yeah, I do un."
"Have you told him?"
"No."
"You should, he loves you back."
-0-
She smiles when she sees the two cuddling. Kisame cackles, and taunts them.
She still sleeps with Deidara from time to time. Sasori can't have sex, nor is interested.
-0-
She become sick one day, sicker then normal, and Sasori checks her over, making a discovery.
She has another babe to carry. She wonders, if she can carry the child.
If she can change the future.
-0-
Who is she? Is she a wife? Is she a sister? An Actress? A ninja? A criminal? A lover?
Is she Itachi? Is she Emiko? Is she Julia?
Can she be a mother? Or will it just be another mask?
-0-
It's hard, the pregnancy. Her disease has ripped through her body, and she coughs up blood daily.
Deidara is with her every step of the way. Sasori heals her, and Kisame keeps an eye out.
Kisame is without a doubt the best though. He carries her when needed, scares the other ex-ninja away and he cares for her every day.
-0-
Sometimes... she wishes she could love.
She wishes it when she watches Sasori and Deidara, and wishes for what they have.
She wishes she had someone like that, but she can't love. It's to hard for her to do so.
As she feels her stomach grow, she knows at least she can love this child. She can love it like she loves her brother. She can love it fully and happily with no regrets.
-0-
Sasuke finds her, as she walks through the village. He attacks in blind rage, not seeing.
She fights back, hard, but trying to protect her baby. Karin is looking confused, as Suigetsu and Juugo are frowning.
She goes into early labor after leading them away from the village, praying Kisame or Deidara had heard.
"SHE'S IN LABOR!" shrieks Karin upon realizing the fluctuations.
Sasuke's face is freaking hilarious.
-0-
Who is she? Who is she behind the mask? As she cries and bleeds, and grasps Sasuke's hand, she wonders.
-0-
Sasuke stares at Itachi- no Emiko- as she gives birth to his niece. The girl is so quiet, and Ita-Emiko looks terrified.
"She breaths, right? I can't… I can't see anymore." And she nearly beat him, she hurt him hard while blind.
It is in this moment he realizes that he was still unready to face It-Emiko.
"She breaths." Karin assures the woman as three men appear- ex-Akatsuki.
-0-
Emiko feels her life slip away as she places a hand on her baby's face, feeling it.
"Sasuke… Sasuke-" she reaches out, and he is there. She uses her hand to feel his face, and touch his hair. Her ribbon was still there. "I always came back for you." She says, smiling in pain.
"Why? Nee-chan…" he asks, chocked. The truth comes out, and she sobs, feeling her tears.
"I'm not sure who I am… am I Emiko? Itachi… or am I Julia? Who am I?" she says, as Karin and Sasori try to heal her, but her disease had wrecked her, she is broken, broken.
"You're my nee-chan." Sasuke says, holding her tightly, ignoring the healers. "Your name doesn't matter, your mine." Emiko feels his tears on her hair, and can't help her smile.
"Yeah, yeah I…"
-0-
Sasuke fights against Tobito and the other Akatsuki. Kisame, Sasori and Deidara fight, as does a black haired puppet who moves eerily.
Many die as they fight.
Kisame dies by refusing to tell them where the baby is- having given her to a summon when he realized who was approaching.
A Hyuuga dies protecting his cousin, and the boy who changed his life.
A bun haired girl dies protecting a red headed healer.
A man who uses nature chakra dies protecting the only one who could control him.
Bodies litter the ground, and a black haired puppet dances among it, red eyes whirling.
It is this puppet that stabs Obito before he can let out the ten-tails.
They all agree it is fitting.
-0-
Julia is teased by some for her odd name, but she stomps her foot and ignores it, instead spending time with her family. She has a cousin, Itachi who has his mummy's red hair and his daddy's dark eyes.
Her Uncle sometimes leaves with the Hokage- who visits them in their tiny village. He's fun, but she prefers her daddy's art and her Uncle Sasori's puppets to him. He has two really nice ones. A black haired one and a blue one. She likes them a lot.
Julia smiles, and laughs and is happy.
-0-
Sasuke visits a stone sometimes, a stone marked with the names Itachi, Emiko and Julia. He sits and prays to his sister, and then leaves.
One day, a girl with blonde hair, red eyes and mouths on her hands visits it.
One day, a red haired puppter-man visits, carrying a scroll filled with puppets- two blondes, two brunettes, one blue skinned one, one red head. He doesn't speak before he leaves, but he always has a bit of a smile on his face afterwards.
-0-
Who is she?
She is a mother, she is a sister, she is a lover, she is a friend.
She is a criminal, a killer, an actress.
She is Emiko, Itachi, Julia.
She is herself, and that is all that matters, in the end.
Holy fuck, I did not… wow.
I'm actually crying. Oh shit, I did not… wow. Okay. This… it wasn't suppose to end like this. Damn it- It was suppose to end with Emiko smiling, as she knits or does some awesome grandma ninja stuff and her grandkids, and ah! BUT NO!
ARGH!
Hope you liked it, the ending… fuck. Okay, well, this was a fun story, and it was interesting, getting to know Emiko.
Emiko is without a doubt one of my favorite characters I created, and I love her even more after doing this.
But, her life is over, and it is time to say goodbye to her. Thank you all for reading her story!