6

"Tala, what are you doing here?" Shisui asks causing a smile to wrinkle her mask just as she leaps up onto the same branch as him. "I thought you were going home." He points out looking down at her. "I wanted to see the compound. If only for a moment. I have heard you and Itachi speak of it a lot. So, I was curious." She looks up meeting the eyes of his Sharingan. Tala then sighs dropping her gaze and hanging her head. "What are you doing?" Her tone lowers so she is speaking more quietly. "I have to. If I do this, it will save the clan and protect Itachi and his family." He speaks up quietly with conviction. Tala nods with a sigh. "If you are certain. Remember you'll always be my family." She then gives him a small smile. "But Itachi will be really mad." He sighs and looks back towards the compound. "I know, I know." He frowns watching the figures of Sasuke and Itachi grow smaller.

Tala gasps as Shisui grabs her. Pulling her up to another branch just as Kunai stick into the tree, they had just been in. "But how?! I could not even tell they were there!" She exclaims as Shisui chuckles. She chooses now of all times to let her emotions slip. Shisui turns pulling a kunai, blocking the attack of a white-masked ninja wearing a pale cream cloak. The attacker leaps back away from Shisui as Tala pulls her Tanto. "Tala, get back. They're Anbu!" He calls causing her eyes to widen. They are the elite! She thinks quietly. Her movements hesitate as Shisui grabs her and leaps from the branch again just as a black-robed Anbu, lands where they had been.

Shisui manages to drop her onto another branch as he continues his trajectory. Spinning in the air he blocks the black Anbu's kunai as he leaps for Shisui. "Tala go!" Shisui yells at her as her heart hammers in her chest. Tears pool in her eyes. "I... I... cannot! You need help!" She shouts before leaping into the air after the two, her Tanto out and ready to attack. Shisui's eyes widen as the black-cloaked Anbu reaches back to block the tanto.

Shisui's eyes set dead on Tala's, as she sheds her first tears in this life. His eyes narrow as he grits his teeth, swinging his leg he kicks the Anbu away from them before he lands against the upcoming tree. His arms catch Tala before anything could happen to her. "Tala, go to the largest house in the compound as fast as you can. Get Itachi." He informs her as she raises a hand trying to stop her tears. "Now, I need him." He speaks sternly causing her to nod. "Oh... okay." She whimpers before jumping out of his arms. Tears still stream down her face as she moves chakra into her feet to propel herself faster.

Making the leap from the trees to a wooden fence on the other side of the road. She jumps from the fence to the closest rooftop. She knew for a fact Itachi and Sasuke had just been walking this way. Her eyes scan the road and the buildings around her. Looking for either Itachi or the largest house. With the wind whipping her ponytail around she leaps higher into the air to get a better look around her. Right now, not caring who sees her even knowing only Uchiha were supposed to enter the compound. Her eyes shift around the area rapidly. Moving from person to person, building to building. Even as she lands and runs forward, further into the compound. Using the speed, she's gained from these years of training with Shisui and Itachi to dash through the area.

Finally, her eyes find the long black hair she was looking for. Even as someone calls out towards her trying to get her to stop. She picks up her feet more quickly forcing herself to move faster. Just as she leaps down onto the street in front of Itachi, she catches his arm and pulls him with her as she pushes back for the trees on the other side of the wall. "Huh? What? Tala?" Itachi questions as he realizes who had grabbed him. As they land on the other side of the wall, she turns towards him causing his eyes to widen. Tears stream down her face as his eyes remain unwavering from the sight before him. "Shisui! Hurry! Anbu!" She pants pointing back the way she came. Itachi's breath catches before he turns around and automatically takes off towards the direction she had signified. He no sooner took off when she heard people shouting about an outsider in the compound causing her to flinch. Do not stop. She tells herself before forcing her aching legs forward again to try and catch up with Itachi.

"Faster, Tala. Faster." She tells herself as she fights against her body to move. -I have to get back to him! - She silently shouts as she leaps from tree to tree shoving herself off of the branches as hard as she can. Hearing a loud explosion, she moves in that direction, her Tanto already in hand. Moving through the trees her heartbeat being pushed to the furthest recesses of her mind. Coming upon a clearing her eyes widen watching Itachi swooping in and grabbing onto Shisui, pulling him from the battle. Running her fire chakra into her sword she raises it before swinging her blade. Kenjutsu! She shouts in her mind, sending three fireballs out of the trees towards the Anbu. Her eyes search the area looking for the ones she wants to see. "Tala." Itachi's voice comes up from the ground drawing her attention to them. Seeing Shisui she smiles in relief. Her exhaustion catches up to her as she lands on the ground. Hitting her knees in front of them as she pants. "That running... so fast... barely made it. So tired."

Shisui smiles weakly as he reaches out and places his hand on her lowered head. "I thought you were leaving on a mission." He speaks as he looks to Itachi. "Something didn't feel right. So, I came back." Itachi tries to smile. "I'm glad you did. Sorry for the trouble." Tala shakes her head. "Big brother... you're no trouble." She whimpers out before pushing herself forward and wrapping her arms halfway around him. The tree blocked her arms from circling, so she clung to the sides of his shirt. Shisui grunts in pain before chuckling and hugging her. She could feel his face against her hair as she closes her eyes. "At least we know who your family is now." His quiet voice reaches her as Itachi smiles watching the two. "You're not tired from running. We've pushed you farther and faster in our training." His hand runs over the back of her head, pressing her ponytail down against her. "You're tired because of the power you began to unlock. It drains your stamina." He takes in a slow breath trying to keep his breathing even. "Itachi, you were right three years ago. We have to keep her a secret."

"I. I don't understand." She speaks quietly as she sniffles. Her tears finally stop leaving her even more drained than she already was. "Just rest, for now. Tala." Shisui smiles down at her. He rubs her back gently, coaxing her to calm down as he feels her relax in his hold. The two boys sit quietly in the light of the setting sun. Once her breathing becomes steady and slows Shisui smiles. "She really is your little sister." Itachi smiles carefully shifting Tala from Shisui's lap and into his arms, cradling her so his friend can stand. Shisui chuckles softly so he won't wake her up as he uses the tree to help him to his feet. "We need to move away from here." He suggests and Itachi nods turning as Shisui moves forward slowly leading away from where the fight had taken place. "That was one mean Kenjutsu." He chuckles looking over his shoulder towards the girl in Itachi's arms. "She certainly has progressed since I first met her." Itachi admits watching his friend.

"She was right, you know. To stay in the academy. She wasn't mentally prepared for battle and even hesitated with fear. But she did manage to track you down for me and still took down three of them." Shisui gives a closed-eye smile as he thinks back through her parts of the attack. Just like a proud older brother. "For someone who has seen the deadly aftermath of a battle but not the battle itself. Even someone like her should be afraid." Itachi responds as they walk out of the trees towards the falls.

Quietly Itachi lays her down in the grass a distance away from them before following Shisui to the edge. "The foundation was involved. Unfortunately, it seems there's no way to stop the Uchiha Coup d'état. If internal warfare breaks out in the leaf, the neighboring countries will invade, and war will begin." Shisui pauses before looking away from the falls towards Itachi. "I was planning on using Kotoamatsukami to stop it. But Danzo took my right eye. He didn't trust what I was trying to do. He'll resort to anything in order to protect the leaf. They'll come after my left eye too." He then turns and raises his left hand towards his eye, pressing his fingers around the socket. "Before that happens, I want you to have it." Shisui... Itachi thinks sadly watching him take his own eye from his head. "Tala is too young, so you're really the only friend I can trust. Protect the village and the name Uchiha as well."

Itachi slowly reaches out as Shisui holds his hand containing his eye out for him. Taking Shisui's offered eye he looks down at his closed palm. "But I.." Itachi speaks sadly unable to form the words painfully swirling in his heart. "And also. That isn't the only thing that I need to give you. I'm going to give you a new power. The Mangekyo Sharingan." Itachi's eyes widen as he grunts in shock. "Shisui! You can't!" Itachi calls out loudly causing Shisui to frown. "Keep it down or you'll wake Tala besides, it's not like I'm going to last long anyway." He sighs a moment. "Take it... as my dying wish." Itachi frowns as the pain lingers in his gaze. "What's with that look of yours. Even blind I can see your face easily, you know." Shisui smiles slightly as he reaches out and sets his right hand on Itachi's shoulder. "A worried expression doesn't look good on you. You must always remain calm my friend. That's who Itachi Uchiha is. I'm positive you can do this. So don't worry, it'll be fine." Itachi's eyes widen before he bows his head and closes his eyes tightly shut. "I will carry on your will for the Uchiha." He speaks barely above a whisper. Feeling himself about to break.

"From now on. You may be forced to walk down a long dark path. One that's filled with pain and suffering. I have to apologize. That I can't be with you through it all. Still, I hope you don't falter from your path and continue forward as a leaf ninja. I believe in you." As he speaks Shisui grips ahold of Itachi's shoulder more firmly with his own emotions even though he is still fighting to smile. Silently Itachi grits his teeth, his demeanor wavering as he fights to keep his tears in check. "That is why I am able to ask you to carry my will. And the Mangekyo." Shisui turns around placing his back on Itachi. As Itachi looks up to the back of his head Shisui sighs. "Whew. Thank you... for everything." Itachi looks down again. "I guess this is the end of the road for me. But this will pave a new way for you... and give you new power." Shisui bows his head as he frowns. "Well, Itachi... the time.. has come. Make a new way for yourself with your own hands. You can do it... I know you can."

Shisui turns around and holds out his fist towards Itachi. "See you friend. Goodbye." Hesitantly Itachi reaches up and places his fist against Shisui's. Itachi drops his hand watching Shisui fall. "Big brother!" A girl shouts as she runs for the edge causing Itachi to reach out and grab her the moment she would have leaped after him. His hands holding firmly on her waist. His eyes were downcast, causing his bangs to shadow his gaze. "No!" Tala screams as she fights to get away from him. Tears stream down her cheeks again as she watches Shisui. When his body fades from sight as if he had disappeared completely, she stops fighting his hold on her so he sets her down letting her drop to her hands and knees. I could not do it. She thinks silently as she breathes heavily with her pain. I killed him because I was not fast enough. Because... I am too weak. She grunts as pain radiates through her body forcing her to close her eyes and drop from her hands to her elbows. "Rest in peace... Shisui..." Itachi breathes quietly above her.

"I will carry on your will. I will move forward believing in the path I choose for myself. That will lead to the future of the village. It will save my younger brother and the Uchiha... I will walk in the darkness with these eyes." Itachi speaks up as Tala curls her hands into fists against the dirt. Tala opens her eyes before slowly pushing herself off of the ground to stand. "Big brother loved the leaf, and he loved the clan." She speaks quietly and bows her head. Itachi reaches up and places a hand on her shoulder. "I know what he was planning to do, to try and save the village from falling into war. I am the reason he hesitated in doing it... I drug him down when he was attacked... I killed him..."

"No, you were only just stirring. I was the one that didn't stop him." Itachi speaks up quietly as he looks down at Tala. She shakes her head, still silently blaming herself. She knows Itachi. She has witnessed their interactions almost daily for the last three years. Itachi always took what Shisui said to heart. He idolized his best friend. He was too overcome with his painful emotions to act, which is why she realized what was going on a little too late. She had woken up hearing them talk but she was still so tired she did not want to move. She chose to stay put. If she would have gotten up, she could have stopped him. If she would have done anything but think of herself. Reaching up her right hand she curls her fingers into the shirt above her chest. Nothing can alleviate this guilt. She did it. She killed him.

"I want you to stay away from the compound, Tala. It isn't safe for you." Hearing his words, she looks over her shoulder towards him. His eyes widen a moment before he frowns looking like he was about to cry. Raising his hand from her shoulder he brushes his thumb through her tears one side of her face at a time. "Why isn't it?" She asks him, her voice losing the emotions she is feeling. "If the clan finds out about you, they will likely look to use you for their own plans. It will place you in danger, neither I nor Shisui would want that."

"So... I guess I am an Uchiha... huh." She frowns and looks back towards the cliff. "Kind of sucks. I don't know the first thing about the Uchiha Dojutsu." Itachi tries to smile and places his hand on her head. "Come here tomorrow after school. I will help you." She gives him a silent nod causing him to frown again as he watches her turn and walk back towards the village. "Tala, do you... really believe you killed him?" Itachi silently questions knowing if she did exactly what had just happened to her. Something, Shisui wouldn't have wanted. "The Mangekyo..." He looks down at his left hand still holding the eye Shisui had given him.

When she had gotten home that night, she ignored her parents and went straight to her room. Shutting her door heavily behind her before pulling her curtains to open the view of the moon. Laying on her bed she rolls onto her side staring at the moon casting light on her room. Her mind is full of everything that had happened today. The fight, the race through the compound looking for Itachi, the fact she killed three men today. And of course, Shisui's death. That night guilt overrode her mind and her heart. She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry. But to her, she's already done enough of that, and her body was too tired. In her dreams, the day continued to play out. Shisui's words replaying in her mind as she watched him die repeatedly.

The next day even though her mother had told her to come straight home after school since she had stayed out too late the night before. She went to that same spot. Sweat building at her brow as she steps closer to the cliffside, her heart racing in her chest as her mind replays his death. "You came." Itachi's deep voice flows around her drawing her to turn around and face him. Her eyes settle on his before she pushes herself forward to him. Wrapping her arms around him as her face presses against his blue shirt. Quietly she feels him squat before adjusting her so that he can hold her against him. Her face is now at his shoulder as she wraps her arms around his neck. He thought she would hate him for not stopping Shisui. But with one look into her eyes, he was certain. It isn't him she blames. The fact remains, she seen them both as her older brothers. Now... she believes she killed one of them. Shisui, in giving me this power. I fear, you gave it to her as well. Itachi silently tells his friend as he closes his eyes.

After standing there with her for a while. Itachi finally lets her go and steps back from her. Deciding to set his mind on what he was to teach her today. "In the Uchiha, the Sharingan is activated with love. The desire to protect. In the Uchiha bloodline, this trait is activated by the mind releasing a special kind of chakra into our eyes. Since you activated it without realizing it. Doing so again will require a certain amount of time for you to figure out the difference between the two chakra." Itachi instructs pulling her attention to him as she watches him with her usual calculating gaze. "Close your eyes and focus on your chakra. Differentiate between the two different ones. Then pull on the special trait and guide it to your eyes." Silently she gives him a nod before closing her eyes. Finding her usual chakra, she strums it a few times before searching further within herself for the one Itachi had mentioned.

When she finds the different shade of green, she pulls on it and guides it to her eyes. When she was certain she had accomplished what he wants, she slowly opens her eyes to look toward him. Unlike the day before he was covered in a blue and purplish hue. His eyes widen a moment before he gives her a small sad smile. "I shouldn't be surprised anymore. You're always a fast learner." He points out as he places his right hand on his hip. "Usually when the Sharingan is awakened it begins with one Tomoe like you had yesterday. Though you have complete access to the full potential of the Sharingan with one Tomoe, your proficiency and control would grow with the added two through extreme conditioning." He then frowns as his pain-filled eyes waver a bit with the sight before him. "However, when one acquires the Mangekyo Sharingan, the second stage of our Dojutsu, you will immediately go from one Tomoe to having all three, like you do now."

"The... Mangekyo." Tala breathes out as she focuses on his words. He gives her a nod. "With the Sharingan comes a new form of power. You have the eye of insight. Which allows you to easily track and follow your opponent's movements. Your eyes will discern for you what they will do and then show you. Small movements you already trained yourself to read will automatically be read for you. The eye of insight also allows you to analyze any Jutsu that isn't a Kekkei Genkai and then copy it to the smallest detail. When you become accustomed to your Sharingan you will be able to see a Jutsu performed, automatically understand it, and then use it. Another power of the Sharingan is called the eye of hypnotism. This one is trickier to learn how to use properly."

Tala nods letting her chakra release her eyes, disengaging her Sharingan. "The ability that comes with the eye of hypnotism is the Genjutsu Sharingan. Where through eye contact you can plant thoughts and actions into someone's mind, coercing them to divulge information or act in a particular way, potentially without the target's awareness. Shisui was most known for his use of the Genjutsu Sharingan. With it, there is a possibility you could take complete control of your target's body and force them to do what you want. The Mangekyo Sharingan retains all of the Sharingan's generic abilities. In addition to that, the Mangekyo grants powerful abilities that differ between each eye, though abilities may be similar in nature. When you decide to activate your Mangekyo on your own you will have to learn your new powers. They can differ between Uchiha and if you have activated it in both of your eyes you are then able to use Susano'o. Again, his form tends to differ. Shisui's was green like his chakra."

"So, you are saying that since I have awakened this... Mangekyo I have the three Tomoe Sharingan and it is up to me to figure out how to activate the Mangekyo and learn its abilities myself." She more states than asks as she gives a tilt of her head. "Yes, that is correct." Itachi informs her and she gives him a nod. "I understand. To make full use of my Sharingan I must train with it myself much like how you and Shisui would spar against each other to further enhance your own abilities with it. To be able to accurately tap into all of its abilities." Tala closes her eyes taking in the information he had just given her. Committing all of it into her memory.

"I must go now. I have work that must be done so I can save the Uchiha." She gives him a nod and tries to show him a faint smile. "Should I say, see you tomorrow big brother? Your tone is almost as if you are saying goodbye for good." Itachi slowly turns to put his back to her, his heart growing heavily with guilt and remorse by the second. "Become a Leaf ninja, Tala. Uphold Shisui's will to protect the village and do not falter on your path." These words had her frowning as more tears threaten to break through her hold on them.

"Really? Pretty much giving me Shisui's words he said to you before he died?" She bows her head and looks down as she reaches up and curls her fingers into her shirt over her heart. "For both of my brothers... I will uphold your wills... and protect the village." Hearing her words Itachi looks over his shoulder towards her as tears brim his eyes. Tala, I love you. Grow and become strong, take my place in the village, and protect all that I love. With those thoughts, Itachi walks away from her.