Chapter 36
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
"So you've come at last...Sasuke." Itachi said opening his eyes at this moment as he watched Sasuke turn the corner of the Uchiha Hideout and stop a few meters away from Itachi sitting on his throne. Sasuke glared at Itachi and smirked. "Itachi. Today you will pay for all the crimes that you committed."
"I once told you only to come before me when you obtained the same eyes as mine." Itachi said.
"Heh. Don't think that things will always go the way you want. I'm not just going to do something because you say it." Sasuke replied. Itachi remained silent for a moment as he recalled his conversation with Izaya in the forest awhile back. "Indeed. I was too confident that everything was under my control." Itachi said with a sigh.
Sasuke frowned. He didn't expect this kind of tone from Itachi which made him a tad bit angrier. What right did Itachi have to sound like he was lamenting. Wasn't he supposed to be his cruel older brother who killed the entire Uchiha Clan along with his mother and father? "Itachi, before your death you will give me some answers." Sasuke said with gritted teeth.
"If answers are what you seek then you must ask the right questions." Itachi said indifferently. Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Whether I ask the right questions or not you will tell me everything you know."
"Such a commanding tone requires one to have the strength first. Demanding and asking are very different." Itachi replied.
"Hell if I give a damn! You're a dead man anyways!" Sasuke shouted. At this moment Itachi appeared beside Sasuke and said, "Then will you be the one to kill me?"
Sasuke turned and swung his right hand towards Itachi's face as Itachi blocked with a swing of his own right hand. He grabbed Sasuke's wrist and pulled him off balance as he pulled out a kunai and stabbed at Sasuke's chest. Sasuke quickly pulled out his sword with his left hand and expertly blocked the kunai with the flat of his blade. Itachi dropped his kunai and grabbed Sasuke's left wrist and jumped in the air aiming to kick him in the head. Sasuke blocked the kick with his right elbow and and grabbed Itachi's ankles flinging him over his shoulder while thrusting his sword upwards to stab Itachi. Itachi twisted his body in the air and grabbed onto the cloak Sasuke was wearing to give him a stable base and used that as leverage to swing his body away from the sword. He then kicked his leg at Sasuke's wrist effectively removing the sword from Sasuke's hand as the sword became stuck on the ceiling. Itachi threw a knee strike at Sasuke prompting him to lean backwards to dodge. This let Itachi grab onto a disoriented Sasuke's left arm and flung him over his shoulder onto the ground. Sasuke rolled a few feet into the distance as his cloak came off. He rolled into a kneeling position and activated Chidori as he rushed towards Itachi. Sasuke then said, "Chidori Stream!" The lightning from the Chidori spread all over the ground prompting Itachi to jump in the air to dodge, however, just as he did Sasuke appeared by his sword in the ceiling and used it to pierce Itachi's body back on the ground. As Itachi lay there with his body pierced looking at Sasuke's Sharingan with his own Sharingan he simply said, "You've gotten...Stronger...Sasuke."
Sasuke looked down at Itachi and said, "In the end there is something I wish to know." As Sasuke was going to ask Itachi his question Itachi pointed at Sasuke's forehead before pointing towards the throne in the room where he was sitting perfectly uninjured. It all happened in a Genjutsu. Itachi's lying corpse soon turned into a flock of crows as they cawed away in the room. Itachi sat with calm indifference and said, "Although it isn't over yet, what is it you wish to know? I'll listen." After a few more bouts of Genjutsu Sasuke asked his question. "Back then, you said that if I awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan then there would be three users. Who is the third person of the Uchiha Clan you spoke of?" Itachi sat in his chair as he sighed and said, "Why...would you want to know something like that?"
"After I kill you he's next on the list. That's why." Sasuke replied.
"Kill him?" Itachi asked.
"On the night of the Uchiha Clan's massacre you told me there was a third person. There was another person of the Uchiha Clan that you didn't kill, which means they helped you massacre the Clan. As strong as you are, even you couldn't take out the entire police force on your own." Sasuke said as he gave his analyses. Itachi simply smirked and said, "So you've figured it out."
"Who is it?" Sasuke asked. Itachi sighed once more and said, "Uchiha...Madara…He was one of the founders of Konoha and the first to ever awaken the powers of the Mangekyou Sharingan."
"Madara is dead." Sasuke said.
"Madara is alive. Whether you believe me or not is up to you." Itachi replied.
"Stop messing around!" Sasuke shouted.
"People live their lives bound by what they see as right and true. That is what they call reality. However, right and true are nothing but vague terms. Their reality could turn out to be an illusion. Everyone is living by their own assumptions. Wouldn't you agree?" Itachi said.
"What are you getting at?" Sasuke asked as he narrowed his eyes. Itachi smirked. "Madara being dead was your own convenient assumption." He paused momentarily as his meeting with Izaya once again resurfaced in his mind before a sad and soft expression graced his face. He felt the cool touch of Izaya's special kunai hanging on his waist as he closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again and gave a small smile before saying, "And believing that everything would go as I planned it was my own convenient assumption."
Sasuke gritted his teeth and said, "On that night I was so young I had to pretend that it was just a nightmare. I wanted to believe it was just a terrible illusion. But there is no mistake that it was a reality!" He then shot a stream of his Chidori at another Itachi sitting in the distance as the current one beside Sasuke faded away as an illusion. "My eyes are different than before. I can see through your illusions!" Sasuke shouted. Itachi continued to sit with a complicated look in his eyes.
"When one dabbles in the art of illusions for too long, sometimes one can become lost in the illusions themselves. When facing someone who uses Genjutsu one must either be strong enough to dispel the illusion on their own, or rely on the strength of their comrades." Itachi said.
"What the hell are you babbling on about now." Sasuke said.
"I always thought that as long as I had a clear goal I would never lose my way no matter how many lies and illusions I used, but after meeting someone I realize now that my goal was the one thing that blinded me from recognizing the illusion I created for myself." Itachi lamented. Sasuke furrowed his brow. "Enough of these games Itachi. Let's get this over with." Itachi let out a sigh as he got up from his chair. "You're certainly confident." He remarked. Zetsu just watched in a corner of the building with great interest.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
Creak.
Hanabi popped her head into Izaya's hospital room seeing no one else present. She used a Shadow Clone, a technique Izaya had taught her long ago, to remain at the Hyuga residence. She walked in and closed the door as she carried some flowers and a basket full of sweets and desserts she had prepared for Haku and Kimimaro. She placed the basket of sweets on a table and changed the flowers in the room. Afterwards she pulled up a chair and sat next to Izaya's bed and took hold of his hand as she started to talk about various happenings in the village.
My head hurts like hell. If I'm feeling pain does that mean I'm not dead? The last thing I remember was hearing Hanabi's voice. Why did I hear Hanabi's voice? I could've sworn I teleported to Hiruzen-sensei, after all, I wasn't just about to let Danzo win and die off like that. Although I guess it was nice to have the last thing I hear be Hanabi's voice. Eh? I smell cinnamon...yum...It's making me hungry, yet also soothing to my senses.
Beep.
Eh? What was that noise.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Is that a monitor?
"Oh, and I stopped by Miss Mito-san's store today. She wanted me to give you her regards and she says that you better wake up soon or she'll charge you for all those clothes that you always have her repair after they get torn on missions."
What?! Mito-san wouldn't do that would she? Wait...This sounds like Hanabi's voice. Mn...This is nice too I suppose. I'd like to just continue sleeping and listen to Hanabi talk but man am I hungry. The sweet smell of cinnamon isn't helping. Guh. My body feels so stiff. Move damn it! I focused all my strength as I attempted to move my body. My legs, my arm, my head, my fingers, anything.
As Hanabi continued to share her story she paused momentarily. She looked down to where my hand and her hand connected and widened her eyes. D-Did I just feel Izaya move his fingers? Hanabi thought as her heart started to pound faster and faster and faster. "I-Izaya? A-Are you awake? Did you come back to us?" Hanabi asked as her voice choked. Her eyes became watery but she forced them back. "You better not be playing a prank on me! I can't handle any more of your jokes! Please...come back to me…" She said as her voice quaked in a soft whisper at the end.
Hanabi...Hanabi...I tried saying but my voice wouldn't come out so instead I focused all my strength in my hands and squeezed as hard as I could. Hanabi stopped breathing in that moment. She felt as if the world stopped spinning and all color turned to grey..then, in the next moment, she felt it. Izaya's hand closed tightly around hers and just like that all the wonderful colors and joy in the world came rushing back into her all at once. She slowly turned her head to look at Izaya's face just in time to see him curl his lips in a small smile. In that moment, with a deep and raspy voice from not speaking for so long, Izaya said, "Missed me that much huh?"
Tears streamed down Hanabi's face as she simply embraced Izaya in a tight hug as if he'd disappear if she let go now. She couldn't say anything as she buried her face in the nape of his neck and cried. Izaya took in one long and deep breath as he smelled the wonderful fragrance of flowers and cinnamon from Hanabi. He raised both of his arms and held Hanabi close to his chest as they remained this way for awhile longer. After awhile Hanabi managed to control her emotions and wiped away her tears as she sat back up on the bed. I also used my elbows to help prop me sitting upright.
"You idiot! You said that I didn't have to worry about you! You said that you were strong! Look at what happened to you! I was so worried that you'd never wake up I didn't know what to do." She said as she held my hands. I just listened in silence unsure about what to say. I really REALLY want to tease her a bit right now but I really shouldn't I thought to myself. But she's so cute and fun to tease I mentally noted. In the end I nodded my head and said, "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you like that. I'm alright now." Before Hanabi could say anything else my stomach growled. With a bit of embarrassment I also said, "Ahem...And hungry." At that moment Hanabi couldn't help but let out a laugh, "Pfffft! Hahahaha!"
I just stared at her with confusion and said, "Hey, I feel like I haven't eaten in ages." Hanabi continued to laugh. "Hahaha! I'm-..Haha..-Sorry...It's just-Haha...I'm so happy I don't care about anything else. I don't need an apology or words of comfort. I'm just glad you're okay now." At that moment I felt my heart constrict a bit. I squeezed her hand and brought it to my lips as I kissed the back of her hand and said, "I'm sorry Hanabi. I worried you." I also didn't miss the fact that her hand smelled like cinnamon. She shook her head and got off the bed as she grabbed the basket of sweets and brought it over to me. She grabbed a cookie and handed it to me. "Here." She said as I took it from her. I smelled the same sweet scent of cinnamon on the cookie as I did on her smooth milky hands.
"You made these?" I asked.
"Mn." She nodded and smiled. I smiled and devoured the cookie as if I never tasted food before. Hanabi just smiled as she watched and said, "It's okay to slow down you know. I made plenty." And just like that, we sat in a comfortable silence as she handed me some delicious desserts to eat while I wolfed them all down. After finishing I turned to look at her and said, "So...did I miss anything while I was unconscious?"
"Hm...I guess you could say that. Apparently Sasuke killed Orochimaru. Kakashi-sensei and Yamato-sensei put together a team to go after Itachi and hoped that bringing him back would prompt Sasuke to return to the village." Hanabi said.
"What?!" I exclaimed.
It's that time already? I don't have time to be lying around here. I need to ensure the safety of Itachi's body like I told him I would. Hanabi was startled at my exclamation and said, "Is everything okay Izaya? You don't have to worry about it since Kakashi-sensei and Yamato-sensei are the ones leading the mission with a few others, it should be alright."
I shook my head and said, "I gave my word to someone that I would help them out. It has to do with this so I can't remain idle here. If I don't go then things could end up getting pretty messy since I'm the only one who knows. I can't go into details but I can't remain here or I might be too late."
"But you just woke up! You still need to rest and regain some strength." Hanabi said with concern. I swung my body around the bed and stood up at my full height. Hanabi watched Izaya stretch as his toned and muscular body exuded strength, power, and confidence. She stood up in front of Izaya as she looked straight up at him taking note of their difference in height. She was only 159cm tall while Izaya stood at 178cm tall. He was nearly exactly 20cm taller than her. She watched in silence as I turned to put on my clothes over my bandage wraps before turning to face her. I walked closer so I was just in front of her and leaned down to place my forehead against hers.
"Since I can't persuade you from going, you better promise to be safe. Don't do anything reckless. I just got you back after all." She said with a soft whisper.
"Mn." I replied. I placed two special kunai in her hands and said, "Take one to Lord Third and tell him that I'll be going to help out Kakashi's team. Tell him to lay down the kunai in a safe room as I'll be sending something important to him."
"Okay...What about the second?" Hanabi asked. I smirked and said, "For you. If you're ever in danger I'll come to you immediately." Before Hanabi could respond I had already disappeared. It wasn't long before Hanabi had informed Haku and Kimimaro about Izaya waking up and then leaving right after. She went to inform Lord Third of what Izaya requested of her right after. Haku and Kimimaro just stood there in the hallway with a dumbfounded look before turning and looking at each other.
"Did big brother just leave without telling us?" Haku asked.
"I think so." Kimimaro replied. There was a few seconds of silence between Haku and Kimimaro as they took in what Hanabi said before they both punched a wall and said at the same time, "That idiot brother of ours! Why didn't he take us with him? I'm really going to give him a piece of my mind when he gets back!" They both then stormed off to Lord Fifth's office.
KNOCK KNOCK!
"Eh? Who's so rude to knock on the Hokage's door so loud?" Shizune said as her eyes narrowed in disapproval.
"WHO IS IT?!" Tsunade shouted with an intimidating voice. At this moment Haku and Kimimaro realized their mistake. They were still frustrated and angry that their big brother just up and left like that without saying anything to them first right after he regained consciousness so they didn't control their strength properly when knocking. From the other side of the door Kimimaro said, "Ahem. My apologies Lord Fifth. Haku and I were a bit agitated earlier and forgot where we were for a moment. Please excuse us." Both Haku and Kimimaro walked in at that moment.
"Eh? Haku? Kimimaro? You both are like the epitome of respectfulness. You're the last one's I would have guessed to knock so loud. What is it?" Tsunade asked in amusement.
"Ahem. Reporting. Big brother Izaya has woken up." Haku said.
"WHAT?! Ahem. I mean, that's good news. I will go see how his condition is right now." Tsunade replied. Before she could get off her seat Kimimaro chimed in, "Actually, that won't be possible. He already left to join Kakashi-sensei and Yamato-sensei on their mission to capture Itachi and Sasuke."
"WHAT?!" Tsunade and Shizune exclaimed in shock at the same time.
"That's why Maro and I were frustrated earlier. He just woke up and left without saying anything to us. Since Hanabi was the only one in the room with him we heard about everything from her. We came to report to you right after." Haku said.
"Haaaaaaa…" Tsunade just let out a deep and long sigh as she placed her palm on her forehead. She then took a good look at Haku and Kimimaro and said, "Then...There's no need for you both to remain as guards for Izaya's room."
"Yes. Is there something you need of us?" Haku and Kimimaro asked. Tsunade gave pause for a moment before continuing, "Yes. Kimimaro, I want you to join the other Anbu that are currently searching for Danzo's hidden organization Root. Haku...Jiraiya is currently in the Hidden Rain Village searching for clues on the leader of the Akatsuki. I'm worried about his safety. Your abilities are suitable in a place like that so I want you to go there and back up Jiraiya. I...I don't know why but I feel uneasy about Jiraiya being there alone. I trust in your abilities."
"Yes!" Haku and Kimimaro saluted.
"Mn. I'm counting on you both." Tsunade said. Haku and Kimimaro both disappeared in the next moment.