Started On: October 12th, 2017 at 9:45 AM
Itachi stared at the surrounding forest of Konohagakure, his growing hair which now reached his shoulders being swayed in the warm breeze. It's been a couple of months since his first dream, and throughout those months, Sasuke; his younger brother; has been born. He also has been practicing for the academy, which his father was planning to enroll him in.
Currently, Itachi was watching the surrounding area of Konoha, like he usually did during the early morning before the civilians awoke. It calmed his mind and let him think, and at the same, he also felt strange the closer he got to the gates surrounding his home. It was like, he was on a string, and someone was tugging him from the other side, wanting him to leave the safety of Konoha and follow wherever they were tugging him to. Of course, Itachi tried his best to not give in to the feeling, but sometimes he had to be stopped a couple of times by his elder cousin Shisui.
It was strange, Itachi mused to himself. Ever since that 'dream', he has been feeling that tug. What did it mean? When he felt it the first couple of times, Itachi quickly started to try and research about it, but he found nothing. He even asked Shisui about it, who seemed to know something, but wouldn't say anything.
Itachi frowned as he remembered that moment. When he brought it up, Shisui eyes were wide in surprise for a small second, but after that recognition flowed through his eyes before that disappeared as well and he said he doesn't know a thing. Itachi wondered if Shisui has felt that same feeling, or if he is still feeling that same tugging feeling at this moment.
Letting out a silent sigh, Itachi pushed himself to his feet, his hand resting on the bark of the tree he was sitting on. Turning around, Itachi carefully leaped down the tree, eyes narrowed in concentration. Once he was on the ground after a minute or two, Itachi walked down the trail path and towards the Uchiha compound, knowing his father will be waking soon so they could train.
As the young Uchiha walked away, he never noticed a small figure hiding in the foliage of the trees. The small figure shifted slightly, amber eyes shining through the black mask covering his face. Sadness and regret shimmered in them, tears catching light as they fell down the figure's face. With a gentle exhale of breath, the figure leaped away, heading back towards their home village.
Itachi paused, turning his head with confusion. That tug…was rather painful this time. Why? Frowning worriedly, Itachi looked away and raised his hand towards his heart, which was pounding and clenching rather intensely. Breathing in softly, Itachi let his hand fall limp to his side and continued on his trek, concern shining in his eyes.
Something happened. But what could it be? Itachi slowly walked into the Uchiha compound, nodding in greeting towards the guard before continuing forward. It must have to do with the 'dream'. Itachi felt his heart skip a beat, making him flinch slightly. Itachi knew now. When he sleeps, he'll be having another dream. This made Itachi a bit fearful, but he ignored the fear. The 'dreams' are the answer to whatever is happening, and he'll found out soon enough.
But for now, his father was waiting for him. Itachi walked towards the house, spotting his father standing in front of it. "Otou-sama.." Itachi muttered respectfully. Fugaku nodded back before turning away and walking towards one of their private training grounds, Itachi silently following after his father.
"Itachi-kun!" A voice shouted, making Itachi pause and turn his head. Seeing a friend of his rushing towards him, Itachi stopped and turned around. His friend, a female with long brown hair and brown eyes, skidded to a stop in front of him, giving him a beaming grin.
"Hello, Natsuko." Itachi greeted, a soft smile on his face. Natsuko bounced wildly on her feet, making Itachi chuckle as he continued to walk towards the market.
"Itachi! Aren't you excited? You'll finally be in the academy, thanks to your father enrolling you in early! We'll be in the same class together too!" Natsuko rambled off. Itachi's smile became slightly strained, remembering about his father enrolling him in the academy early.
"I'm not exactly excited about being enrolled early, but I guess it is exciting to have you in my class." Itachi commented. Natsuko blushed slightly before forcing the warmth away from her cheeks and just gave Itachi a warm smile, "Isn't it? If you enrolled when you were supposed to, you would be a year below me!" Natsuko said. Itachi nodded slightly, his steps starting to slow slightly. The tugging in his chest was getting stronger.
Natsuko paused, noticing Itachi was slowing down and looked at her friend worriedly. "Itachi? Are you alright?" Natsuko questioned in concern. Itachi waved his hand slightly, giving his friend a small, strained smile, "I'll be fi-" Itachi froze, a mild painful gasp escaping his lips as he collapsed on his knees. His hands shot towards his chest, clenching his shirt tightly as the tugging became intense and excruciatingly painful. Black spots swarm in Itachi's vision, his hearing slowly fading away as he fell forwards. Before his eyes slipped closed, Itachi heard a worried shout of his name, and then darkness clouded his consciousness.
Itachi instantly tensed when he woke, feeling the prickly feeling of grass brushing against his skin. Sitting upright, Itachi's eyes widen, awe quickly glowing within him at the view. He was at a cliff side that hang over a large lake, the moon's glow being reflected in the clear waters.
Getting to his feet, Itachi blinked when he felt the height difference and instantly felt the crawling fear. It was that 'dream' again. But why now? Itachi frowned, trying to remember what happened. The tugging he usually felt…it caused him to pass out because of how strong and painful it was. It must be showing him something, Itachi thought. Itachi glanced down, noting that the body he was in was wearing dark blue shorts and a black shirt. Raising his right hand to his hair, Itachi grabbed a couple of strands in between his fingers and glanced at the color, seeing that it was the dark brown, the same color it was the last time.
Letting the strands go free, Itachi was about to step forward until he froze. It was happening again, he wasn't in control of the body. He could only watch and feel. Itachi felt the body of the male step closer towards the edge of the cliff, making Itachi tense the closer he got.
Was this male about to commit seppuku? Once the male was at the very edge of the cliff, he stretched his arms out, his eyes closing and causing Itachi to not be able to see anything. Itachi was tense, waiting for the moment the male stepped forward, but instead, Itachi felt sudden arms wrap around the male's midsection. Itachi inwardly sighed in relief, feeling the person tug the male back from the cliff.
"Baka Haku!" The person scolded, Itachi guessing whoever it was, was a female, as they had a gentle and high voice. The male, named Haku from what the female said, opened his eyes and turned towards her, letting Itachi see a girl that was probably 8 or 10 years old. She had short black hair that was curled around the tips, and bangs that framed her slightly round face. Her eyes were a soft forest green colored.
"Himeko…" Haku murmured softly. Itachi frowned to himself. His voice was so dull…raspy, like he never used it. The girl, Himeko, let out a sad sigh and reached forward, hugging Haku into her chest. "I know it is hard…but we must do this." Himeko whispered. Itachi furrowed his eyebrows, eyes narrowed. What was going to happen? Apparently something bad, if Haku was willing to commit seppuku.
Haku leaned into Himeko's warmth, Itachi noticing his vision starting to become cloudy. He was crying. Itachi felt his heart clench a bit painfully at the thought, which confused him since he never met this 'Haku', so why would he react in that way?
"I do not want to kill you though…you did nothing wrong.." Haku sniffled out. Itachi felt shock ripple throughout his conscious, mind reeling. He had to kill Himeko? Why? Did that man from before order him to kill this girl? Or did she do something that caused this?
Himeko flinched at the mention of being killed, covering up her fear with a sad smile, "I know you don't, but you must. It is Isamu-sama's order. I have betrayed the clan, and being killed by you is my punishment." Himeko whispered softly. Haku leaned away from Himeko, shaking his head and causing his messy hair to wave around his head.
"It's not your fault! It was that man's fault, Himeko! Why can't they believe that you had nothing to do with killing Oka-san?" Haku sobbed out. Itachi mind was really troubled. From what he could hear, Haku's father, who must be Isamu if he was correct, is punishing Himeko for killing his wife. But apparently, Himeko didn't do it, it was someone else, but they do not believe that.
"Because he belongs here, and I do not. I only came here because of Tatsu. But he is dead now, so they want me gone." Himeko said gently. Haku trembled, hands clenching into fists.
"Why did Tatsu die? Maybe if he didn't, you would still be here." Haku muttered. Himeko frowned at Haku, her hand brushing through the other's hair gently.
"Oh Haku…he was sick, terribly sick. They knew he was going to die since he was 5 years old. Isn't that is why they found me? They found me so quickly so he would be happy before he passed." Himeko said. Itachi furrowed his eyebrows, mind swirling with thoughts. What did Himeko mean? Are Tatsu and Himeko related, or are they young lovers?
"You truly loved Tatsu, didn't you? I could see it in your eyes.." Haku whispered. Himeko smiled shakily, sorrow shining in her eyes. "Of course I did…we were meant to be together." Himeko whispered back. Suddenly, a loud bell rang from the forest area, causing both Haku and Himeko to tense.
"It's time." Himeko murmured. Haku nodded tensely, grabbing Himeko's hand in his own as the two walked into the forest and towards a small compound. Itachi, noticing the compound, quickly tried his best to remember it, wondering if it was real, and if so, was it located near Konoha?
As the two entered, Itachi saw a large crowd of people, all surrounding a stage in the middle of the area. Haku lead Himeko to the stage, Himeko standing on a marked 'x' on the wooden boards while Haku stepped a few feet away from the girl.
The crowd cheered, all chanting for the girl's death, screaming at her that it was her fault Hotaru-sama has fallen. Itachi had an inkling this 'Hotaru-sama' is Haku's mother. Haku trembled slightly, staring at Himeko with cloudy eyes while Himeko smiled shakily back, giving a nod to the other.
Breathing in deeply and controlling his tears, Haku tilted his head down to look at his chest and brought his hand towards it. Itachi watched, curiosity overflowing his conscious as he felt Haku's chakra swirl around the center of his chest.
Itachi's eyes widen when he saw a small blue ball of chakra and something else come out of Haku's chest, the male reaching out and grasping the small floating ball. When he did, the ball glowed brightly, its shape changing. After a few seconds, the light faded, showing Itachi a katana that glowed a soft blue color, misty strands swaying at the edges of it.
Handling the 'weapon' carefully, Haku got into a stance, his katana pointing downwards with a tilt to it, his left arm held behind his back and his legs spread out slightly. Itachi felt his heart pound against his chest as he watched Haku look at Himeko, spotting her heartbroken smile. Clenching his eyes shut, Itachi could only hear and feel as Haku rushed forward, his right hand tightening around the hilt of the katana as he pulled it back, the tip pointing forward.
When Haku eyes opened, Itachi felt his heart stop. Himeko stood inches away from Haku, the katana having dug straight through her chest and out her back. Blood dribbled down from her lips, her once vibrant green eyes slowly dulling as her life drained away.
"Arigatō…Haku…" Himeko managed to say, her feet stumbling slightly. Haku gritted his teeth, tugging the katana out of Himeko's chest and reached an arm out as she fell, landing limply on it. Itachi noticed the katana slowly separate into small particles, all gathering in front of Haku's chest. Slowly, they formed together to show the floating blue ball once more before it entered into Haku's chest, which seemed to ripple like a rock falling into water.
Haku slowly went to his knees, Himeko held against his chest. Itachi frowned sadly, feeling the growing coldness in Himeko's body. Though her eyes were dull and lifeless, a small smile was still tugging at her lips. Haku leaned over Himeko, closing her eyes with his hand gently, Itachi feeling a tear drop from Haku's eye.
"Rest in peace, Himeko Uchiha." Haku whispered softly, slowly getting to his feet. Itachi tensed, eyes widening in shock. Uchiha? She was an Uchiha? Itachi narrowed his eyes. Once he woke from this, he will be looking for any files of 'Himeko Uchiha' in the Uchiha Archive.
Haku turned away from Himeko and the crowd, descending down the stairs and walked towards Isamu, making Itachi feel fear crawl into his consciousness. Once beside his father, Haku turn towards the stage, watching as people of his clan all climbed on top of the stage, most carrying a torch in hand and throwing them along the stage while laughing gleefully, all chanting that a 'traitor' has been killed in revenge for Hotaru-sama.
Itachi could feel Haku's disgust towards his clansmen, but instead of showing his displeasure, he just bit his tongue and kept quiet.
"Good job, Kohaku." Isamu said coldly. Haku, or Kohaku, Itachi mused, just nodded in response to the praise, tensing slightly when Isamu placed his hand on his shoulder.
"Come, you have a mission." Isamu ordered. Kohaku glanced down at the ground, giving a slight nod and following after Isamu. As he walked behind his father, Kohaku glanced back, Itachi seeing the roaring flames eating away at the stage and smoke rising in the air.
Finished On: October 23rd, 2017 at 3:23 PM
Hello Reader-sama! I hope you are liking the story so far! It is quite different, is it not? Usually people write it in the Original Character's P.O.V, but this is in Third Person and doesn't show Kohaku's P.O.V unless it is in a dream or just a small paragraph about him (reference Prologue). If you have any reviews, criticism, etc, please comment/review below and I'll try my best to respond back whenever I can!
If you have any questions about the story, message me either on here or on my profile. I will answer as many questions as I can without giving away spoilers about 'Warui Yume'.
Would you, Reader-sama, like to see some facts next time I update? If so, request how many facts you'll like to see and I'll get right on it!
Also, what are your theories about the 'dreams'? What do you think about Himeko, and what do you think Shisui is hiding from Itachi? I'll love to read your theories and thoughts about all these, and don't worry, all the questions about Shisui and Himeko will be answered as simply as possible on the next update!
Thank you for reading, and I hope you continue to read the journey of 'Warui Yume'! Until next time, ja ne!
~KakikomiSama