"Thinking"
"Talking"
"Impactful word"
Location: Unknown
Time: Unknown
Shirone woke up earlier than Akane. No wonder when she used up not only her chakra but her slumbering sister's as well. They were both drained to the point of life-threatening exhaustion; hence why the jutsu ceased to function. And she was poorly prepared at the sudden income of pain from her injuries. She had barely managed to transport them out of her pocket dimension before she collapsed completely.
She certainly had no idea where they were or how much time had passed, though she took it as a good sign that they were surrounded by a breathtaking blue sky, unlike anything she had seen since well... forever; instead of being greeted by the familiar wasteland of debris. It felt a bit unreal actually.
"I hope we haven't kicked the bucket yet... because that would be a poor excuse of a hero, and I wouldn't hear the end of it from Akane if so."
The twin rolled her eyes, her Mangekyō Sharingan disappearing in the absence of the needed amount of chakra to maintain it. Once she was sure that they weren't dead, evident by the pain she still felt coursing through her nerves, reality hit home and she realized that she was short on time.
At first, she was content just to lay down next to Akane, enjoying the fresh breeze and quiet that she hadn't felt in a long time. Her vision was comparable to that of a drunk because of the strain of using the Mangekyō Sharingan but getting to see such vibrant colours again was enough for her. Thinking of her eyes had her reminding of a conversation she once had with her sister's deceased lover Haruko Uchiha.
(Flashback)
Location: Somewhere near the Abenjazū Hideout
Time: Before the Abenjazū Downfall
"You care about her a great deal, don't you?" asked Shirone in a playful tone, watching the three years older Uchiha before her, only to leave her smirk to herself at the simple idea of Akane having an actual boyfriend. She wasn't really the social type. She had rarely interacted with girls, not to mention boys. But now...
The smirk lingering on her lips vanished and was replaced by a saddened smile. The world had changed, and so had Akane. The once withdrawn and peaceful bookworm was replaced by a cold and calculated warrior, dead-set to survive.
Right after their mother had died several years ago, Akane underwent such a drastic change that it would startle most people who had known her from before. If they survived the first Reaper attack, that was.
The unfortunate passing of their mother that day took a toll on their family, especially their father. He never got over it, and the both of them were left to fend for themselves. That was why Akane had taken the position as the head of the family while she and her father could only mourn their mother.
If it hadn't been for Akane joining the Second Allied Shinobi Forces on that same fateful day, they wouldn't have gotten to see another day. Shirone wasn't capable of understanding at that time, which made her realize how mature Akane, in reality, was in comparison to her now.
"More than I can put into words." The sixteen-years old teen turned around, the red glow of his complete Sharingan visible with the naked eye.
They were at the top of a wry skyscraper, or what was left of its original height, watching the sun fall behind the horizon. The tips of his spiky short jet-black hair cohering with the settling darkness of the night. A trait they had in common based on their bloodline, along with their surname.
Shirone vaguely noticed the first time the Sharingan awakened in Akane. It was the moment their mother was crushed under tons of wrecks. Shirone herself manifested it days later, due to the sorrow she had felt with her mother missing, unbeknown to her twin. Although it was a bit different from Haruko's pair in the amount of these black points or 'tomoe', as Akane called it.
"She is everything I have left after..." His gaze flickered over to a Reaper Destroyer in the far distance. There was no need for him to finish because Shirone knew exactly what he meant. Nearly everyone lost someone during the first reaper attack and Haruko wasn't an exception.
"I understand," she added to ease his thoughts, earning a sigh from him. It was obvious by the way he talked how much Akane meant to him, even when his tone was as impassive as ever. She was honestly glad that her sister had found someone to look after her; even more than that.
"Listen, that's not the reason why I wanted to talk to you," he continued, breaking the silence that always came back between their pauses.
His gaze fell back on her. Onyx orbs lightning up in the wake of his pair of Sharingan.
"I am all ears." She knew that he wouldn't have called for her in private if it hadn't been anything important.
"I am going to tell you something that I haven't told Akane yet and I pray that you won't ever need to use this information." His face grew serious.
"The time will come when you and your sister will have the same eyes like me."
She watched in awe as his Sharingan changed its pattern to something she hadn't seen before, though she chose not to gawk at it like a gullible kid impressed by a magic trick.
"It's called the Mangekyō Sharingan; the next as well as the final evolution of the complete Sharingan."
His eyes never really left her, and she knew that this wasn't all he had meant to tell her. Though he certainly left her curious about it, she bit back questions.
"That's not true, however, there is another stage after the Mangekyō Sharingan that very few know about..." he stopped, most likely reconsidering his next choice of words before finally giving in, "... the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. A stage I will never be able to achieve, but you or your sister for sure."
His gaze grew intense as his last words were spoken; Shirone almost flinched under the intensity but managed to pull herself together in time. No matter how much stronger her twin was, she was still a shinobi too (or at least she thought she was one), so she would damn act like one.
He waited patiently for her reaction, awaiting her response. She didn't really know what to make of it. Call her stupid, but she couldn't quite understand it either. It was all so confusing, everything regarding the Sharingan and bloodline and such. Her sister would surely make better use of this information.
"First of all, I have no clue what you're talking about, which brings me to my actual question: Why telling ME all THIS when I am damn sure that I am not the right person for it?"
"Great job, Shirone! You manage to make fun of every damn thing!"
She mentally face-palmed herself for retreating behind humour again which only made Haruko chuckle. At least a positive reaction to her involuntary slip.
"Okay, breathe in on there. One. Two. Three. Serious mode: ON!"
"Ahem," she cleared her throat, "you know what I mean."
"Because you're someone I trust with this." The young man responded casually. Oh, okay. No, wait- what?
"But I thought-"
"It's because I love Akane that I didn't choose to tell her this."
He cut her off in time to ensure her, though that seemed insufficient as it earned him a raised brow.
"I don't want to lose her," he confessed, showing a tiny crack of vulnerability in his perfect poker face.
"Your sister is wandering off a path I fear she won't return from; a darkness even my Mangekyō Sharingan won't see through."
The intense gaze he had been was giving off softened into one of worry, enough for Shirone to know that he was telling the genuine in his motives.
"You will know what to make of it when the time comes."
His poker face returned momentarily as he broke eye contact with her, settling his eyes back on their environment. Shirone stepped up so they were on eye-level, asking about the details as well as... other things.
(Flashback end)
"It seems that I will have to walk through heaven or hell blind." Shirone thought as realization finally dawned on her. With the last remaining bit of chakra, she took both of her eyes and transplanted them into her incapacitated sister.
The pain was negligible in spite of the wounds that were already inflicted on her body, before definitely collapsing on her sister. She whispered something, but it was so inaudible that nobody around could have heard it.
"Give 'em hell sis..."
Location: Exodus Cluster - Utopia System - Eden Prime
Time: Early afternoon
Akane slowly came to her senses, experiencing a familiar oblivion seconds after stirring from sleep. Everything faded away in those blissful moments. No sorrow, no pain, no war, no guilt... everything that was troubling her simply vanished within a few seconds.
Well in most cases, though this time, something was different.
She felt that something was nagging at the back of her mind, something she had ignored up until now but couldn't anymore due to an extrinsic pressure perceived by her nerve endings on her stomach. Then she became aware of a warmth softly stroking her open skin, making her body twitch in response until she came to the conclusion that she needed to wake up.
Her eyes flew open and she regretted opening them when she was blinded by penetrating sunshine even her eyelids couldn't block out, for a moment she thought it was permanent until she adjusted to it at last, though with the help of her hand. Her hand wasn't the usual colour, on the contrary, the skin was sodden in blood left to dry under the watch of the ember star.
That was the trigger for her memories to return.
"Shirone!" She shot up like a bolt, and the sight she was met with turned the rushing blood in her veins into ice. Her precious twin laid half across her stomach, unmoving.
"Shirone! Wake up, PLEASE!" she cried out at the top of her lungs, not caring who heard her desperate plea.
"Don't leave, I am begging you, don't leave me here alone!" She violently shook with the dead body as if trying to force life into it but failing miserably.
Her body long accepted what her mind couldn't and the tears of blood streaked down her dirty cheeks like a crimson waterfall while hugging her twin in an embrace that meant more than anyone could understand.
"Shirone is... dead."
She couldn't voice the word. She couldn't handle the excruciating pain that came along with it. The haunting affirmation it brought when said out loud. She failed... for the fourth time in her life, she failed to protect those precious to her until she had none left.
What should she do now? When she had been robbed of her purpose.
Where should she go? To the left where nothing was right or to the right where was nothing left?
Questions she had no need to ask herself before were invading her mind like a wild storm. Confusing her and watering the grains of doubt seeded long deep within her.
During her time in the Second Allied Shinobi Forces, her purpose was clear: GET STRONGER. And that was exactly what she had been doing these past five years under the tutelage of many experienced shinobi including Haruko Uchiha, who in large part had helped her achieve the full potential of her Sharingan while she manifested the Byakugan.
All that power for nothing.
A statement that was proven through years of experience and loss. She thought of herself as an adult since joining the ranks of the ANBU, but only now she recognised that she was wrong; so very wrong. And the way she was lost now; only served to confirm it.
She was nothing more than a child who lost her family; an orphan.
Realising the hug, Akane's onyx orbs roamed over her lifeless sister; appreciating her form and beauty.
She noted the jet-black hair that was pulled back in a high ponytail. The face framed with bangs that extended to her chin, parted only by a V-shaped mane.
"The ponytail and bangs have grown longer over the two years."
Another reminder of the time they had spent apart. Of the time they had lost.
She framed her face with the palm of her hands to place a kiss on her forehead for one last time. It had been too late to say goodbye. A meaningless gesture, she knew. The movement let the motionless Shirone drop something she had been clutching in her hand; a piece of paper.
Akane carefully took the parchment from her twin's grip, silently cursing when she found it partly soaked in blood that hadn't been there before. She put down Shirone in order to examine it. Her breath hitched when she looked at the inscription but didn't want to beat it too long around the bush even if it held a bigger significance to Akane.
(Letter content)
Yo sis!
I know we haven't seen each other in years, but I will have to keep it short 'cause I am kinda running out of blood pretty quickly. I am gonna break it down into points because it's easier.
#1. No matter where you are or what you're doing, or who you're with, I will always honestly, truly, completely love you. And because I know you're goddamn deaf, let me repeat myself so you finally get it. I loved you yesterday, I love you still. I always have and always will. I am asking you to always remember that.
#2. I know 'fake' is the latest trend and that everyone seems to be in style (except me -_-), but don't wear that mask for too long or you will forget who you are behind it. That's a warning!
(I can't believe I am still alive to write about point 3 XDDD)
#3. Don't follow after me so quickly, okay?! It will take time to brag to mom about everything and especially how I saved your pretty little ass XD. Nah, last request: Just live your life, be happy, smile and laugh, enjoy the time that has been given to you and don't you dare to come back without being an old hag with lots of kids! Promise me!
PS: I gave you my eyes, something about Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and more power and such, at least that's what Haruko told me... take it as a birthday gift since I haven't given you one over the past two years.
Lots of love, Shirone :*
(End of the letter)
Akane was shaking.
She wasn't sure if it was because of chakra exhaustion or the letter (it was definitely the letter), though she couldn't stop. More than ever, she felt a strange feeling of relief, as if the chains that had been holding her down were gone. If for forever or just now, she knew not. However, it didn't matter now because it made her feel lighter around the heart, though she still had no clue what to do.
She folded the clumsily torn paper so it would fit into one of the pouches of her tight black cloak. The letter indeed boosted her morale significantly, though the pain still lingered. Nevertheless, since waking up she hadn't gotten any time to enjoy the pleasant change of scenery spread out before her.
She took a full breath of air, filling her lung to the brim with fresh oxygen while at the same time inhaling the scent of grass and flowers on the field they were lying on. She fell back on her spine, taking in the sight of pure blue instead of the usually tainted sky.
"This looks like heaven in comparison to our..." she mused, enjoying the scenery to its fullest while she was still able to.
She didn't know how much time she had spent like that, but all good things must come to end. With a sigh, she got up on shaking feet, looking around to see nothing but green. Not able to use her ocular powers due to chakra exhaustion, she had to do it the old-fashioned way.
In need of a better view, she walked up to the closest steep hill, taken by surprise as a strong wind stream nearly knocked her on her butt.
Having a clear view, her eyes pointed out some sort of village or a small town in the far distance, by a guess forty or fifty miles to the northwest from her position. A dead body took more than one week to start to rot, though, with this amount of wounds and such intense sunlight, it would take much shorter.
"I will have to hurry when I want to give Shirone a proper burial," she contemplated inside her mind while going down the hill, back to her twin's body.
"No time to waste..." Akane threw Shirone over her shoulder to begin the journey into the unknown.
Words dictionary:
Mangekyō Sharingan 万華鏡写輪眼 / Kaleidoscope Copy Wheel Eye - Is distinguished from a normal Sharingan by its appearance, which changes the form of the tomoe seal, while the exact design differs for each user. It is initially awakened by the trauma suffered from witnessing the death of someone close to the user. The Mangekyō Sharingan retains all of the Sharingan's generic abilities. In addition to that, the Mangekyō grants powerful abilities that differ between each eye or may not even be the same for both of a single user's eyes.
Eien no Mangekyō Sharingan 永遠の万華鏡写輪眼 / Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan - Is the second strongest dōjutsu kekkei genkai of the Uchiha clan, being a more powerful variant of the Mangekyō Sharingan. This dōjutsu can only be awakened by a user of the standard Mangekyō Sharingan transplanting the eyes of a relative who has also awakened that dōjutsu. An automatic effect of awakening these eyes is that the user's vision is fully and forever restored from the damage done to it by awakening and using the Mangekyō Sharingan. It also allows the user to use all their abilities of the original Mangekyō Sharingan even more powerfully and with less strain on their eyes and cost to their chakra reserves.
Taimufurīzushīru タイムフリーズシール / Time Freeze - Is the ability of Shirone Uchiha's right Mangekyō Sharingan, which is an incredibly powerful genjutsu that Shirone Uchiha can cast on herself or another person. The jutsu stops one's time completely, preventing them from ageing or dying even if wounded. The duration of the jutsu depends on the chakra reserves of the caster and on the number of people the caster chose to cast the genjutsu on. The more people caught in the genjutsu, the more chakra is needed for its preservation. The ultimate drawback to the jutsu is that it requires at least four decades before it could be used again and that the 'frozen' bodies are completely vulnerable during the time the genjutsu is cast on them.