The underbrush glimmered. Pieces of brush cracked under foot, the sound echoing through the bright skies, dust settling along the ground.
Itachi walked forward. His feet brushed along the cracked ground, his eyes narrowing. He remained silent, his hands lifting in the air in parody of some grand and subtle technique.
Tayuya crouched on the ground beneath gathered-up scrub, remaining motionless. Her hand tightened on her stomach for a moment, forming a seal. This isn't great, but it'll have to do. Her body faded into obscurity, colored similarly to the surrounding environment. He's probably trying to use his dōjutsu on me. Earlier Sasuke told me that he'd mastered some special dōjutsu originating from the Sanzengan. A genjutsu. Tayuya's eyes narrowed. But that's fucking impossible. The Sanzengan doesn't work that way. The Sanzengan does elemental powers only. I did some research on it. Her hand fell to her side. Also found out a metric shit ton more about how the society of Uchiha worked than I needed to know, but that's beside the point. So either Sasuke was wrong, or that technique came from something different than the Sanzengan. Her hand tensed. Probably the Sanshigan, if I were to guess. So, bearing that in mind, I have to avoid looking into his eyes. Easier said than done. But I do have a trick to make it easier. Her lips curled upward.
Itachi turned in a semicircle. He lifted his hat, staring into the darkness of the scrub. His foot brushed by Tayuya briefly.
Tayuya's breath stopped. She inhaled tightly for a brief second, her eyes widening. I'm fucking dead. I am so dead right now. He's going to barbeque me, and then I'll be dead.
Itachi frowned. After a long moment he turned away, his eyes staring into the hot light of the day.
It looks like his eyesight isn't great. Bearing that in mind, I have another way of handling this. Tayuya clapped her hands together briefly, two fingers pointing upward. It's his own fault for trying to find me. Molting Cicada Technique! She raised her voice. The voice echoed from ten meters away, singing a wordless tune of sadness and loneliness.
Itachi turned. His hand lifted in the air. He stared steadily into the brush, his black eyes narrowed.
Too late. Since it's an aural genjutsu, your first instinct should be to go toward the source. But this trick is about as non-technique-like as you can get. So bearing that in mind, he's gotta be fucked over. If he makes a mistake, I'll get a chance at him. I'll fuck him over hard. Tayuya's lips curled upward. You should know better, you fucker.
Itachi stepped toward the source of the sound. He approached cautiously, his eyes narrowed.
I'll try to move it a little from here. This should do it, right? Tayuya cast her voice further away, the sound continuing to echo across the mountainside. I need a few more minutes to be sure.
Itachi exhaled loudly. His face grew stern. "You know," he stated after a long moment, "ordinarily I truly would enjoy trading genjutsu tips with you, as well as a battle with you. Your skills at genjutsu are truly extraordinary, and on top of that your intellect is at the least similar to mine in degree, if not precisely in experience. Being that as it may, I fear that I don't have the endurance for long matches these days." His hands clapped together rapidly. "Flame Style: Wildfire!" he shouted suddenly. He exhaled over a long second.
Deep red flames rose across the forest, swallowing up the scrub and spreading rapidly through the forest.
Shit! Tayuya gritted her teeth. Her eyes widened. He's already using that kind of crazy technique? No, wait. Calm down. She exhaled. The only reason he'd use this kind of technique is to smoke me out. So if I can use that expectation to my advantage. Her eyes narrowed. Looks like I'm going to be able to catch him off guard after all. You may be a better shinobi than I am in elemental ninjutsu techniques, but I'm definitely better in playing tricks on people. There's no way a shitty shinobi like you can catch me.
Itachi's ears pricked as coughing echoed through the smoke. He advanced on the area, his hand pushing aside the grass.
Tayuya crouched in the grass. Her brown eyes narrowed. "Heh. Guess you got me, huh?" She grinned faintly. "Come on, then. Put an end to it."
Itachi's eyes narrowed. "You're not stupid enough to give yourself away like that. What are you planning?"
"Too late now!" Tayuya's real body leapt up from a sheet of leaves. She cast sand into Itachi's eyes.
Itachi blinked, his eyes closing reflexively.
It doesn't matter if you're the Sage of Six Paths or a god. No matter which, you blink if someone throws sand into your eyes. You have to blink, unless you're not human.
Tayuya's eyes narrowed. And when you do blink, I have you. I wasn't expecting to end this with a visual genjutsu, especially not against the guy who practically invented them. She drew in a deep breath. But hey, them's the breaks. He talked about that experience thing of his or whatever, but in the end I'm the one who outsmarted him, aren't I?
Itachi's eyes opened, unmarred by sand.
Shit! Tayuya scrambled backward, her eyes wide as she scrabbled through the sand. Shit! Fuck! How'd he do it?!
"Your eyes gave you away. They were looking behind me, not at me. When fighting me, most people's eyes look downward." Itachi paused. "Its effectiveness is questionable, but I'll acknowledge your skill. You, as a human being, no, as a thinker, are great, and similarly possess a uniqueness of thought. Few people have tried such a, hm. Unusual method of defeating me. No one's gone straight for the eyes." Itachi laughed quietly. "I will admit it! You are quite a strong opponent. It's for that reason that I'll use my full strength to defeat you." He raised his hand. His eyes closed.
Tayuya took a step backward. Not bothering to look, she turned and began to run.
Itachi's eyes opened, blue surrounded by black flecks in the right eye, red tomoe in the left. He lowered his hand, his expression brief and distant. "This should do well enough for you, I think," he remarked aloud.
Tayuya gritted her teeth. Whatever he's doing, he's using something a ton more powerful than anything I've seen before. I can't meet his eyes even for a second or I am beyond screwed. But what can I do? He's been taking things not seriously up until now. So if he really starts going, I have no chance of winning.
Itachi lifted his finger. His eyes narrowed. "Amaterasu."
Black flames rushed forward, touching the edge of Tayuya's arm.
Tayuya screamed. "SHIT!" She tore away the scrap of cloth, her brown eyes wide. There's that black flame shit that kills you instantly too. You know, why the hell did I think I could handle this guy? She hurled the scrap of flaming cloth toward Itachi's body. She swallowed tightly. I have one last technique I can try, but it's risky as hell and probably won't work. But I don't have a choice. She bit her lip, then turned and ran.
"Oh. You're running." Itachi's face grew sour. "You're still the coward traitor of Orochimaru."
Tayuya continued to run, her expression remaining calm. I've got to keep it together. I'm sure I can win. I can delay him even if I can't win for sure. Plus, if I can set up a surprise for when he get angry I'll have a huge advantage. I have to get him angry enough to make some kind of mistake. He and his partner seem to care a lot about honor, so if I can use that against him, I can win. She glanced up the path. There. If I can get behind that tree, and
"I've never particularly liked burning someone from behind. But if you keep running, I'll ensure that you are obliterated by my own hand." Itachi's eyes narrowed.
Tayuya gritted her teeth. She turned slowly to face Itachi. "I don't get it," she stated in a clear voice. "Usually I can cause people to screw up. Hell, the only reason I survived so long in Orochimaru's employ was because I piss people off. That's the one solitary thing I got going for me. Yet somehow, a guy like you. A guy like you, an incredibly stuck-up and self-conceited guy, can somehow make it past me. I don't understand how it's fucking possible." She gritted her teeth. "Tell me how that's fucking possible. Tell me how it is that you still haven't made a single mistake."
"It's the same way for you, isn't it?" Itachi questioned, one eyebrow rising.
Tayuya's eyebrows furrowed. "Eh?"
"Your whole strategy also depends on not making any mistakes. Because of that, your skill errs here. You simply faced someone with a greater talent and experience. As a result of that fact, you lost here. I possessed skill in excess of you. This is neither surprising nor complex. It is simply the way the style of mine works." Itachi paused. "What confuses me is this. If you believe that your style is practically invincible, then why are you so surprised that its application in a more versatile manner would somehow fail to produce superior results?"
Tayuya shrugged. "Heh. Guess I'm what you'd call an optimist." She grinned broadly. That or damn stupid. I should have left it to those guys. We'd have had the better chance anyhow. She gritted her teeth. "What are you waiting for?" She extended her hand. "Come on and kill me already!"
Itachi's right eye glowed brightly. A faint trickle of some unknown fluid stretched from his right eye. The blue suddenly swelled upward, surrounding Tayuya's body in an instant.
Tayuya's lip curled upward. Her smile faltered as she stared up into the sky. A blue moon rose in the heavens. "What's that?" she demanded cautiously. Her hand touched her throat. No honey this time. I know it's an illusion, but it feels like no illusion at all. Everything feels right, for lack of a better word.
"That, as you title it, is Tsukiyomi: Yatagarasu. It is the technique belonging to this right eye of mine." Itachi paused. "I cannot use this form of it so easily, you understand. The form I used on Sasuke when she was training is known as only Tsukiyomi. Though it is powerful, it cannot warp time and space to my will." He stepped forward. He wore a black cloak within the space, embroidered with scarlet clouds.
"No genjutsu can, you dumbass. What you're doing is manipulating perception."
Itachi gestured. A black cloth bound up Tayuya's mouth.
"That's better," Itachi remarked with satisfaction. "You have quite a foul mouth. It's been stopped up now." He paused. "The question now becomes what I ought to do with you. While you're clearly allied with Hidden Leaf, I imagine that you might be a useful asset in the events to come."
Tayuya's eyebrows furrowed.
"I imagine that, were you able to speak, you'd say that you can't abandon your allies like that. Well, how is this different from what you did to the Sound Five?" Itachi leaned back against the wall. He let out a sigh. "That's all it is, after all. Changing allegiance to stay alive. Well, what do you think? I'll give you some time to think about it." He gestured briefly. The cloth tightened around Tayuya's neck.
Tayuya's eyes widened. She gasped in shock, her hands clutching at her neck.
"Half an hour or so, say." Itachi leaned back in a throne formed of solid marble. His fingers touched his chin briefly. "That should do."
Tayuya looked silently at Itachi, the cloth constricting rapidly around her neck. She gasped in pain.
A/N: Sorry about the delayed chapter; ran into some scheduling difficulties for a while there. The next update will be delivered at a more regular hour. Thanks for reading!