Naruto: Lost in the Dark
Mission 8: affections touching across time
Rain pelted down on my back. My hair fell in front of my face, the tears leaking from my eyes mixing with the pure rain. It was like… they were crying. The people in the sky were crying for the death of a legend.
In the midst of the chaos, Orochimaru had murdered the Third Hokage.
We, the Leaf Village, were left in the dark with no leader and no one to follow. We were alone.
I clung to Kakashi-sensei's hand, my tears becoming weaker and weaker as the funeral moved on, people paying their respects to Sarutobi, the Third Hokage who had led us for years, even coming out of retirement, just to look after us, soon after the Fourth Hokage died protecting the village.
Just as the funeral procession ended, I felt like I had no tears left to cry.
I knew all that had happened from Sasuke and Naruto. Shikamaru took on several Sand shinobi, all alone until his sensei, Asuma Sarutobi, came to his rescue. Shino fought against Kankuro, while Sasuke defeated Temari.
And Naruto, dear, sweet, innocent Naruto, unleashed his own form of lethal chakra to defeat the one known as Gaara of the Desert. Gaara then began to recreate his own view of the world and of other people. He figured out that the people around him were those that gave him strength, and the three Sand Siblings left.
I stood shakily once Naruto sat back down after placing his flower on the Hokage's casket, his own tears streaming from his eyes down his cheeks. His eyes were red and bloodshot and his face was dirty and tear-streaked. My legs were shaking from the amount of tears that I'd cried, but I walked forward with two carnations, one pink and one red, in my hands. I almost tripped as I reached the Third Hokage's coffin, his final resting place.
"Sarutobi-sama… Third Hokage… you taught me many things when I was a child," I muttered. "I'll never forget you… and I will always admire you." After carefully tossing the two flowers to lay with the others, from the mourning of the entire village, I speed-walked past Kakashi-sensei, past Naruto, past Sakura, and past Sasuke.
I didn't want anyone else to see me cry.
But as I sped off into the forest, more tears, tears that I had thought I had none of to shed, flew from my eyes and down my face. I broke down, screaming and crying.
"Why?!" I yelled to no one. I expected no answer, not from the silent forest. "Why do all good things have to come to an end?! Couldn't we have just stayed like this?! Happy?! Why…?" My throat was hoarse, feeling numb and dry as I continued to sniffle.
A handkerchief appeared in my line of sight and I looked up through tears, with blurry vision, to see Sasuke standing in front of me. He looked solemn, but he hadn't shed any tears. He had a frown on his face.
He knelt down in front of my fallen form, suddenly using the cloth square to wipe the tears from my eyes. "Don't cry," he said, almost gently. "The Third Hokage was strong to the end. He died for this village."
Sasuke sounded so sure of himself. I attempted in vain to calm my sniffles and sobs, my pitiful hiccups and even worse cries of hatred. "The rain isn't stopping… and I can't either…"
His frown deepened as he wiped away at the next batch of fresh tears that managed to escape the confines of my eyes. I just stared at him for a moment, more tears threatening to give my shattered state away. Not a moment later, I had leapt into his arms, clinging to him.
"Hey, what…" He trailed off as he heard my muffled sobs, which were only quieted by the fact that I had buried my face into the neck of his shirt. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before wrapping his arms around my shaking shoulders.
Tears fell from my eyes as I sobbed, "I can't do this. I can't be strong anymore… And I wasn't even strong in the first place. I don't deserve to be a kunoichi, not with people like you and Naruto around."
I could feel Sasuke frown for a moment. "Shh, don't cry, Kayuki." He paused for a moment, attempting to gather the right words. "I'm not… I'm not going to lie and say that everything's going to be okay when there's a war on the horizon. I'm not that cruel." He paused again, a hesitating noise coming from his throat. "But… I will tell you that you have people here who know you're strong. You don't have to try to be strong. There's others here, in this village, who can do that for you."
Pulling back a little and wiping my tears away with the back of my hand, I frowned a little at Sasuke. "You should take your own advice." He frowned as well. "Stop trying to lock me out, building up these dumb brick walls to protect yourself."
"I'm not…"
I crawled closer to him and practically planted myself in his lap. He sputtered for a moment, unused to physical contact with another person, especially with me, his teammate, but nothing more. I looked up at the trees that hid the sky and attempted to gather the words in my mind.
Looking at him, my gaze softened. "You're keeping people out, Sasuke. You've always had this… this way of being stronger than everyone else, in both your physical strength and your emotional strength. You're basically the rock we all look to for support when times get rough… but when they do, you don't have a rock of your own."
Sasuke looked down at the grown, another soft frown coming over his face. "I had someone to depend on, a long time ago. But he abandoned me to be my own… rock, as I guess you'd call it."
I smiled softly and placed a hand on his cheek. Although I knew my eyes were horribly bloodshot and I probably looked disgusting, I knew Sasuke didn't care. He never cared about appearance whatsoever. And to bet honest, at that moment, I didn't care, either.
"You managed to stop Sasuke… and his face when you did… he looked as if he was happy… you know, that it was you."
"Sasuke pays special attention to you. Don't… don't hurt him, okay?"
In the back of my mind, everything began to make sense. I leaned over and removed my hand, replacing its place on Sasuke's pale, cold cheek with my lips. He looked stunned as I pulled away.
"I… I know I'm not that strong, and I'm emotionally unstable at best," I began. "But I can…" I paused, trying to find the right words to convey what I needed to tell him. "I can't guarantee that I can fight for you… But I can be your rock when you need me… if you'll have me. I may not be a fighter, but I can listen whenever you have something to say."
"You know… I don't like Sasuke in a romantic way. At least, I don't think I do. But if I ever did, and if you're right that he cares about me in that way… I would never hurt him."
I'd made a promise that if I ever fell for Sasuke in the way that Sakura once had, I'd never, ever hurt him. I wouldn't do anything that would break his heart or make him angry or sad.
Maybe it was because people were pointing it out to me… maybe that's why I started falling for Sasuke.
He was my teammate. We hadn't spent much time together… but honestly, how long does it truly take to find yourself attracted to someone? For some people, it takes years. For others, it takes only a first look, a second long glance. For me, I guess it took trust. That's what it took for me to fall for someone.
I wouldn't say love.
Not love, definitely not love.
It wasn't love, not yet, but it was a strong, magnetic attraction. It was that kind of attraction that kept pulling me towards Sasuke, no matter how much I tried to resist. I'd tried to resist by ignoring the fact that the attraction existed, and even ignoring that he existed. Eventually, I think at that moment, I gave up and let it pull me towards him.
And the result of that was the kiss on the cheek.
I blushed, too, after finishing my short speech. I fidgeted, fiddling my fingers around while waiting for him to say something, to say anything. He was silent for a few moments before moving.
As people say, actions speak louder than words. Sasuke's actions were like thunder.
"Mmph!"
Suddenly, his lips were on mine. It was only a second, but his lips tasted both sweet and bitter at the same time, kind of like black licorice. But before I could kiss him back, Sasuke pulled away a few inches, enough so I could see his face. A blush was spread over his face.
He cast a glance at me before looking back down, his face red. "That was… I'm going to hold you to those words. You said them… so I'll be making sure you keep them." So that kiss… was a way of making a promise.
I touched a finger to my lips, a small smile spreading over my face, before looking over at the bright red Sasuke one more time.
I'm not sure where I got my burst of bravery, the one that made me kiss him again, holding my lips to his a few seconds longer this time. He seemed too shocked to return the kiss. I pulled back quickly, feeling my own face flush as I bit my lips, looking away from him.
"That was… that's my way of saying that I'm going to hold you to your words, too." I blushed slightly, avoiding looking straight at him once more. "You'd better… make sure that I'm always there for you."
He chuckled a little, making me look up at him, my teary eyes meeting his dark ones. "I will, I promise." I nod, and scoot over a little, slinging my arm through his and resting my head on his shoulder. His head fell on top mine, resting lightly, as though I would break any moment if he was any rougher. Slowly, almost hesitantly, he pulled his arm away and wrapped it around my shoulders. He held me softly.
I smiled a little and nuzzled my face into his shoulder, pulling myself closer to him. "You can hold me, Sasuke," I muttered against his shirt. "I'm not going to break. It's not that easy to shatter me."
He did so, holding me tighter against him. "But there's points when it seem like it is."
=Hatake Kakashi=
He stood in the tops of the trees, the rain cascading over him. His look was soft as he looked at his two young students, those who had pushed past the walls that surrounded each other and, behind them, found someone to trust in each other. He watched the two children, both damaged by their tragic pasts, as they clung to each other as the rainstorm poured down outside.
Even in the rain, as the trees protected them from seeing the world that lay just beyond their visions, Sasuke and Kayuki held onto each other. Kakashi smiled softly, a bittersweet grin on the face behind the mask.
The relationship two of them shared… it reminded Kakashi of the relationship that he'd had with Shiori years ago.
He silently leapt down a branch to hear the words that were exchanged between the two of them. They were conversing quietly, so quietly that he even had to strain to hear what either of them were saying to the other. He just wanted to hear their innocent words, that they were oblivious to the pain.
"You ran to the forest when you were upset… why not just run back to your own home?" Kakashi heard Sasuke's voice mutter to Kayuki, his tone both quietly and curiously.
Kayuki gave a quiet laugh, shaking her head while playing with Sasuke's hair as he leaned on her side, his head falling on her shoulder as he stared ahead. As her hand ran through his hair while her other grasped onto his hand, in its place where lay on her lap. "I come here because I've always felt safest when I'm close to nature. This forest feels like home."
Kakashi watched as Sasuke rested his head on Kayuki's shoulder, shifting his body closer to hers. "It's quiet here. It's a lot more peaceful than anywhere else, I guess." She nodded. "But… it also feels like an isolation."
She shook her head, grasping his hand tighter. "No… it's definitely not an isolation at all. It's beautiful here… and if you listen, you can hear them. The forest speaks to humans, even when it starts to die, but they don't listen. They don't hear the trees yelling out in pain."
Sasuke paused a little, soon smiling slightly, a dry twinge to the pull of his lips. "I can't hear anything. But… that doesn't make me a bad person, does it?" he wondered aloud.
"No… at least, I don't think so," replied the dark-haired girl, running a hand carelessly through her hair. Sasuke followed her actions, carefully running his hand through her mussed up hair. She smiled again, leaning closer against him. "It just means that you need to clear your mind and really, truly, listen to the world around you." She closed her eyes. "Can't you hear the rain? It's speaking to us right now, above our heads."
Sasuke mimicked her once more, closing his eyes and turning his face upwards. "I hear the rain… but I don't understand what it's saying."
Her voice was soft, a mutter, a whisper, in the wind. "The world is in mourning. It lost a great shinobi, and it's in mourning for the feelings of the Leaf village. It's mourning the loss of Sarutobi, but not for itself, but for its own sadness for the way he's taken care of even the Earth through our actions."
Kakashi paused for a moment, taking in her soft words. He also mimicked the actions of both her and Sasuke. He, too, closed his eyes and looked up, towards the rainy, gray sky. He could hear the rain beating against the trees. And he heard what Kayuki had been saying, that the sky had been crying, mourning the loss of The Third Hokage, Sarutobi, a great shinobi and an even greater man.
A few tears slipped from Kakashi's Sharingan Eye. He almost wanted to start laughing and crying at the same time. A few fingers rose to his eye, running his hand over the skin near it.
"Obito," he muttered softly, "if you were here, you'd be crying, too, right?"
Obito Uchiha had been sensitive. He'd always shown up late. He was friendly and open, spunky and determined. In a way, he was much like Naruto. And he was… he had been… Kakashi's best friend. He'd gotten to know Kakashi like no one else had bothered to try, he knew Kakashi in ways that even Shiori hadn't. Shiori hadn't seen Kakashi at his worst, and for that, he was thankful.
But Obito continued to stay with Kakashi, even after the other shinobi had done every possible thing to get rid of him. He'd yelled at him, he'd called him terrible things, and he'd even gone so far as to attack the younger boy.
Even so, even after Kakashi had been so horrible to him, Obito never abandoned his friend until his death.
Kakashi let out a dry, bitter chuckle, holding his face in both hands. After Obito's death, when Kakashi had received his Sharingan eye, Kakashi began to adopt a few of his teammate's traits. His worst habits were soon imprinted on Kakashi. He began showing up late to everything, just like Obito had. And, although Kakashi had never shed a tear before Obito's death, he started becoming susceptible to tears just as easily as Obito had.
Even before his untimely, tragic death, Obito had made a permanent mark on Kakashi's life, whether the Jounin wanted to admit it or not.
He looked up once more, to Kayuki and to Sasuke. Sasuke mirrored a younger, more bitter Kakashi. Kakashi, the older one, just hoped Sasuke grew up just as well.
If not for Obito, Kakashi would have stayed filled with hatred and revenge. Maybe what Sasuke needed was a friend that was just like Obito was to Kakashi. Maybe, just maybe, Sasuke already had that friend.
He was the number one, hyperactive ninja… Naruto Uzumaki.
=Uchiha Sasuke=
She'd fallen asleep on his shoulder, her face nuzzled into the crook of his neck. She had held his hand as she attempted to teach him how to listen to the voice of the forest, even in the sound of the rain.
He didn't want to move her. She'd been damaged enough by the events of the day. She had said that the forest, just being in it, relaxed her. It was like her second home, more so than the Academy that they'd spent time in for years or the training ground, where they attempted to get stronger by beating up each other or a bunch of wooden posts.
"Sasuke."
He looked up to see the smiling eye of Kakashi, their teacher. But still, even as the intimidating figure stood before him, Sasuke said nothing. He just stared at the man whose one revealed eye was closed.
"It's nearly dark. You should take Kayuki home."
So they'd been sitting out there for hours, just staring at the treetops and listening to the rain. But it felt like minutes.
Although… Sasuke would admit… it was soothing.
The sky wasn't judgmental. It watched over all those, but treated everyone the same. No one was spared from the rain pouring from the sky, not even the Hokage. But the sky also cried. Its eyes poured tears, rain, down upon sad moments, or snow, upon those precious times.
He nodded in response to Kakashi and reached over to Kayuki, who was sleeping soundlessly, alone in her peaceful world. He nearly smiled before shaking her awake. Her eyes flitted open, dazed and confused by the sudden pull back into the real world. A few moments passed, but she then focused her gaze on him. He offered his signature smirk to her before standing, pulling her up with him.
There were no words needed, but Sasuke felt that they were appropriate. "It's time to go home," he stated simply, his hand sliding down her arm to grip her hand in his once more.
She just nodded. "Right… home…"
Her voice was almost confused as she held onto his hand childishly, as if she was lost when she wasn't in her dream world.
Slowly, almost gently, Sasuke guided Kayuki past Kakashi, who followed them with his watchful gaze. Her black hair blended into her dress, the attire she had worn to the funeral. It had been rough, that day in particular. Tears had been spilled by both people and by the sky.
Everyone had suffered that day, more than most on that particular day.
Kayuki had suffered, lost herself more than Sasuke had seen before. She'd screamed and cried, tried to get out all of her frustrations through her own isolation. She had even cracked through his shell, tried to make him feel better by promising that she would be there for him when he needed someone. Even though she had suffered, too, she looked after others before she took care of her own needs, her own flowers and sorrows.
Her voice wasn't strong. It wavered as she said, "I've been thinking… Sasuke… about why people who have done so much good and have taught us so much… about why they have to be the ones to die…"
Even with the weakness in her voice, she didn't shed any tears. Perhaps she had been done with that. She cried where no one would see her, in her own place where she, alone, could be weak and not be judged for it.
"It's so we can draw our strength from them. They make us strong. We want to make sure that we don't lose anyone else… so we unite. The entire village was a family today in the face of losing someone so strong… And… and…" She seemed to hesitate. "I'm sure that your family… that my family… they brought all of us together, too."
Sasuke's eyes widened a little, before his look softened. "Yeah." The two trudged out of the forest. As they did, they were blinded by light, something so beautiful that was drawn from the rain, something that was sad.
From next to him, Kayuki laughed shakily. "Kakashi-sensei is such a liar. He told us that it was almost dark…" Sasuke chuckled as well, watching as she almost shied away from the bright sun. "Hey, the sun's high in the sky. That means that it's in the afternoon… so why don't we go get something to eat? And we'll eat it on top of the Hokage Rock, so we can see like the Third Hokage can?"
He smirked a little wider. "Sounds like a plan. But we're not getting ramen, got it? We're not with Naruto today, and we're not all going to eat lunch after training for hours on end, right?"
She nodded, smiling brightly. "Right."
=Unknown Shinobi=
Finally, they had arrived at the village known as Konoha. The two Akatsuki members, Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha, stood atop the wall, looking down upon the village, a their faces hidden from the view of anyone who would happen to look upon them.
It'd been only a few years ago that Itachi had abandoned his village. He was only fourteen when he had been forced to murder his entire family… except for his little brother, who was only nine at the time. He left him, forcing him to hate his own older brother, and to feel the need to get revenge, and murder him.
Three years later, at the age of seventeen, he was back in Konoha.
The large hat over his head managed to conceal his identity from those who didn't know who he was. The cloak he wore disguised him further. He had long since shed the ANBU uniform that had once defined him. Perhaps no one would recognize him as the mass-murderer of the Uchiha clan.
Itachi Uchiha.
As Itachi and Kisame walked through the village, one that was covered in mist that day, he saw many sights, familiar and unfamiliar.
It was a few days after the excitement of the Chunin Exams. Of course, everyone had heard about what had happened. Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, had died at the hands of his student, Orochimaru.
Itachi had heard about his baby brother's role in the battle, going after the three Sand Shinobi, those that had been a hidden part of the battle. Well, he supposed that he couldn't call Sasuke his "baby" brother anymore. Sasuke was thirteen now, if Itachi remembered correctly. He wasn't a little boy anymore, but he was still a child compared to Itachi.
Perhaps while he was in the village, he would test his brother. Maybe Sasuke's anger would be enough now… enough for the revenge he sought.
=Yakushi Kabuto=
To say that Orochimaru was unhappy was possibly the biggest understatement of all time.
In the battle against Sarutobi, he'd lost the use of both of his arms to the last jutsu that the old man managed to perform.
Not that Kabuto was surprised. Sarutobi was a great shinobi, there was no one person who could deny that. But now, both the Hokage and the Kazekage were out of the way, and they were one step closer to getting more power and accomplishing their string of goals.
But Orochimaru was still more upset than ever.
However, they had managed to achieve many of their objectives in Konoha.
Orochimaru had killed both the Hokage and the Kazekage, and sunk his fangs into Sasuke's neck. Kabuto had befriended Kayuki and managed to flee. They lost the battle for the village, but they'd taken the first steps to winning the war.
"Kabuto…"
The silver-hair looked up at his master. "Yes, sir?" he answered quietly, his gaze wary under the scrutiny of the angry Sannin.
Grinning widely, the snake growled out, "You have to get her to join us, and quickly. There's not much time left." Kabuto nodded. They needed Kayuki, and quickly. The power she held could offer the next few steps to annihilation.
=Akane Kayuki=
Walking along the dirt road, carrying several oversized grocery bags, I sighed. Only a bit earlier that day, I'd realized how little food that my grandma and I had in our home. I supposed that all the excitement of the Chunin Exams had drained me of responsibility.
Throughout the past few days, life continued as normal. The rain stopped, and the sun started to shine again. Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and I had continued to train, as we had normally. Kakashi-sensei had become a slave driver again, forcing us to learn on the fly. It was tough, but today, he gave us a day off. I didn't know why, but it wasn't like I wouldn't accept a break from being his trained slave.
"Oh, Kayuki."
I frowned. Speak of the Devil, and he shall appear. I turned, a bright smile on my face. "Kakashi-sensei, hello there! What're you doing here?" I looked around, seeing the restaurant banner over my head. "Are you waiting on someone?"
He nodded, a grin visible in his eye. "Yes, I am. Why don't you wait with me? I'm sure you're hungry, it's almost lunch time. This place has some good food."
As if on cue, my stomach rumbled. I flushed a dark red. "Y-Yeah, I guess I am kind of hungry…" I admitted softly. "But I have fruit, so I think I should get home… my gran is waiting for me to bring her stuff to start making dinner."
"Then I suppose you should get home. But I think you should come back, I've called Sasuke out here, too. You've got… twenty minutes, I suppose." I sighed; he sure was being insistent. Why, I had no idea. But I nodded silently, turning on my heel and beginning to walk away. "Hurry back!" he practically sang.
My trek home was uneventful. When I got back home, my grandma had fallen asleep. I sighed. She said that she was feeling fine whenever I asked, but she was always tired and she didn't eat much. I was sure she was getting sick.
It only took me five minutes to get home, and about fifteen to put all the groceries away. I frowned. Kakashi-sensei had given me twenty minutes, and I was already pushing it.
I closed the door behind me as I left, locking it for good measure. I'd left a note for gran on the table, so she wouldn't worry about me. Looking at the house once more, I walked away, back to where Kakashi-sensei had said he'd keep waiting for me to return, as well as waiting for Sasuke.
Sasuke…
To be honest, nothing much had happened after the rainy day of the Third Hokage's funeral. We'd gotten something to eat that day, but ever since then, he'd seemed to be avoiding me. And I knew how much he hated clingy girls, like Ino was and Sakura used to be. So I didn't want to bother him. I just supposed he needed a little time to himself. He'd been pushing himself really hard during training since the funeral and he'd been much more antisocial than usual.
I snapped out of my thoughts as my eyes landed on the familiar tuff of silver hair. Kakashi-sensei stood next to a smaller figure, with dark hair. I could feel my face flushing a little.
"Hey, Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke. Sorry, did I make you guys wait long?" I asked, looking up at Kakashi-sensei rather than at Sasuke.
My teacher shook his head. "No, not long at all. Thanks for coming back. Let's get going." He turned away and began to walk somewhere else, not looking back to see if we were going to catch up.
Suddenly, a pain shot through my mind, as if someone had just driven a needle into my brain. I winced, putting a hand to my head. "Ow…" I muttered, falling back against the wall of the building. "My head… it's killing me…"
Kakashi-sensei then turned to look at me. "So, Kayuki, you feel it, too?" I frowned, looking up at him. My head was pounding. His words barely registered. He suddenly frowned. "I guess I have to do something. Come on."
I didn't notice as he scooped me up in his arms. "Sasuke. Now, do what I told you to." Although Sasuke looked confused, he nodded.
Everything else was a blur as Kakashi rushed forward. The pain in my mind decreased to nothing within the few moments that he was running towards something. He soon stopped and placed me on the ground. "Kakashi-sensei…"
"I have something to take care of. Stay here."
With that, he ran off.
The dull throbbing in my mind subsided. I never agreed to staying still. For some reason, I could feel that Kakashi-sensei was running into danger. Staying still while someone I cared about was in trouble was never a possibility in my mind.
I struggled to my feet and jumped forward. What I saw shocked me. Kurenai and Asuma were being pushed back, while Kakashi-sensei and his clone stood opposite the cloaked figures. They were covered in black cloaks with red clouds dotting the cloth. Just from their presence, it was evident how powerful the two unfamiliar figures were. My eyes widened.
"So… this is the young girl who caught the attention of the legendary Sannin, Orochimaru."
A shiver ran up my spine at the voice behind me. I whirled around to see a pair of Sharingan eyes staring down at me. My body practically froze, trapped in his gaze.
"Who… who are you…?" I stuttered out, willing my feet to back up. "What are you…"
He reached out a hand, his eyes widening a little. "You don't know my name, do you, little one? Not that I'm surprised. But I assume that you do recognize my eyes."
The Sharingan…
My own eyes widened at this. "You're… an Uchiha… but…" I bit my lip. Sasuke was supposed to be the last one… At least, in Konoha. Think, Kayuki! Who was the other Uchiha? "… Itachi… Uchiha…"
He nodded slightly. "Yes."
"Itachi. Step away from the girl." The both of us turned to look at Kakashi-sensei, who was standing a few feet away, kunai in hand. Both his eyes were burning with anger. "I'm guessing that by your reaction to her, she's your objective?"
Itachi nearly chuckled. "No. She's just of interest."
Kakashi-sensei glared again, his grip on his kunai tightening. "Step back, or I'll kill you."
"I thought you were aiming to kill me anyways." When Kakashi-sensei didn't respond to that, Itachi turned back to me, his face expressionless as he stared down at me. "Little one, despite all that I've heard about the girl who carries the blood of a Sannin in her veins, I have never heard your name."
I hesitated. Telling someone as dangerous as Itachi Uchiha my name would be a risk, but angering him might just be worse. "Kayuki Akane."
He nodded. "Kayuki Akane… I'll remember that name. Now… sleep."
Staring into his Sharingan was a huge mistake. I could feel my body growing tired, my legs giving out from under me. My eyes closed and my vision began to grow dark as I collapsed to the ground.
=Hatake Kakashi=
He growled as Kayuki crumpled to the ground under Itachi's Genjutsu. She didn't have the reaction time or power to resist his powerful jutsu. Now, Kakashi definitely would have to keep on his toes.
For a while, it was a battle of Water and Shadow Clones, who would outsmart who first. But Kakashi had to protect Kurenai and Asuma as well, while Itachi could clearly care less about his partner's well being. Kakashi could see what Itachi was going to do and, to an extent, counter it.
But it was the Mangekyo Sharingan that forced Kakashi into his last resort.
One look into Itachi's eyes and it was all over.
"I have to do this one alone… my Sharingan against his," he concluded, his Sharingan eye staring into Itachi's. It was the only way to see.
But despite Kakashi's best efforts, he had no way of defending against Tsukiyomi, the jutsu that utilized the Sharingan, one that only an Uchiha could use.
Before he knew it, the world around him shifted. He was strung up against a large board, his arms spread wide. Itachi stood in front of him, sword in hand. In the blink of an eye, that sword was embedded in his heart, effectively killing him.
It was torture.
Itachi would stab him over and over again, killing him repeatedly, another Itachi joining the first. Kakashi would be stuck in the Genjutsu for seventy-two hours, being continually tortured.
All the pain, every single bit of it, felt real. It was just a Genjutsu made to painfully torture its victim, but every bit of pain felt so real, so vicious. Kakashi wasn't sure how much more he could handle.
"Kashi…"
He looked up to see Shiori standing in front of him, her beautiful blue eyes that he loved so much peering up at him, that sparkle she had when she was alive never fading away. "Shiori…" She grinned, her smile twisted. "What are you… doing here? You're… you're dead…"
She nodded. "That's right, Kashi. You killed me, remember? You stood there while I screamed in pain. How did that make you feel? Powerful?" she sneered.
The silver-haired Jounin attempted to shake his head, feeling the pain again as he tried to move. "No, Shiori, I…"
"Shut up," snarled the brunette, her twisted, perfect smile turning into a dark glare. "I hate you, Kakashi Hatake. I suppose… that Itachi did me a favor." She held up a kunai, which glittered dangerously. "I'm going to kill you now, pay you back every bit of pain that you gave me."
His head dropped, his eyes staring at the rippling ground. The pain of the physical torture was bad enough, but the guilt came crashing back over him as well.
She'd died because she was with him. She was tortured, ripped open. By the time he'd gotten there, it was too late. As she died, he was there, but he couldn't do a thing to save her. She had told him not to blame himself. But when she passed out from the blood loss, Kakashi had taken the easy road, at least in his opinion. Although no choice was easy, he chose the path that would spare him the pain of watching her die slowly, and taking away her pain of dying that way. He had slid his kunai into her heart, effectively killing her.
A sharp pain ran through his entire body as Shiori stabbed her kunai into the center of his chest. His eyes widened, and he gasped out in pain. "Kashi… I'm going to cut you open now."
The kunai slid down, cleanly slicing through his skin. He could feel his blood erupting out of his body, spurting forward. He panted, feeling the blade pull away from his body. Blood stained Shiori's clothes and was spattered along her face. She then drove the blade into the right side of his chest, slashing diagonally. Another sharp pain shot up his spine as he gasped out. More blood poured from his body, the pain feeling even more real than ever. More slashes, all of them causing more blood and more pain, all of them by his lover.
"Shiori…" he panted. He'd been subject to her torture several times now, each time causing his body to reset itself. "I'm sorry."
She frowned, her blood-drenched kunai halting a few inches away from his heart. "Kashi… sorry doesn't cut it anymore. I hate you. Die."
"Time's up, Shiori." She turned to see Itachi. "Three days in this world is up."
=Yakushi Kabuto=
Kabuto stopped short in the woods, standing atop a thick branch, hidden from view. He could feel the presence of someone else in the village, someone powerful. He frowned; he had to find Kayuki, and quickly. Leaping forwards, the silver-haired missing-nin ran through the forests of Konoha, his eyes scanning all over for the black-haired girl.
As he drew closer to the voices, he saw four of the Konoha Jounin. Kurenai Yuhi, Asuma Sarutobi, Might Guy, and Kakashi Hatake. Opposite them were two S-Class Criminals that he vaguely recognized, Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki. He frowned, looking all over the battlefield.
He knew from experience that Kayuki was almost always with Kakashi during danger, since he seemed rather desperate to protect her.
"Damn," Kabuto swore quietly. "She's got to be here…"
His eyes suddenly landed on the black-haired girl, who was crumpled on the ground once more. He sighed; she was always getting herself into trouble. Her weakness against such trivial Genjutsu was getting her hurt.
He jumped down, unnoticed by the rest of them. Reaching out, he gathered her small form into his arms and put a hand a few feet away from her mouth. She didn't even stir in her sleep.
Kabuto's eyes softened. Tightening his hold on her, he cradled the girl in his arms. His eyes darted from Kakashi to the two cloaked Shinobi, Itachi and Kisame, to Kayuki, laying in his arms. His mind was made up almost immediately, in that one moment, where she moved her head, facing his chest.
Fleeing the scene, Kayuki still in his arms, Kabuto prepared to have to give her a long and roundabout explanation of why she was with him.
Oh, this was going to be such a fun day for him.
I'm sorry for making you all wait for like... eight months. o.o
It took me so long to finish this chapter OTL Like I ran out of inspiration halfway through. I reread the series and went through it and I'm trying so hard to figure out where I should leave it off... I know this is going to at least go into Shippuden, probably up until the War, since it's actually gotten really good. I just hope it doesn't continue for too long omfg it's getting too confusing for my tiny mind to follow.
But anyways, I'm so excited to be writing this story again! I noticed how much I managed to evolve Kayuki in the past few chapters, how much more open she is... that's probably because she's figured out that she can trust people and they won't be horrible to her like most were in the Academy. She's learning to trust a lot more.
That's both a strength and a downfall, especially in this world. I'm so excited to see where her character will go as I put her through more and more horrible trials. I love this kind of thing.
I also hope you don't think this is too fast. My reasoning for placing their first kiss here is this - in the following chapters, I'll be dealing mainly with story and the interactions of both Kayuki and Sasuke with other characters. We all know how this story is going, and I didn't want them to begin their evolution from child to adult without establishing that they do care for each other, more than many know and that they're both willing to admit. By the time the huge twist that everyone saw coming happens, they'll be pretty much completely different than now. I want to test their bond, so I strengthened it to see if it'll stretch to accommodate the change or if it'll snap under the stress.
And before you say that they're 12... for anyone who had their first kiss in middle school, they'd be around that age, too. ;)