FanFiction.Net - unleash your imagination|
Author of 19 Stories |
Chapter Fifteen
Dreamstate Ultimadium
Aster strode beside Sasuke confidently. She had won the small quarrel and was almost done escorting him to his home. Night had fallen, and they quickened their pace a little, trotting in silence. Unconsciously, Aster forced them to slow their pace as they neared the entrance of the Uchiha compound. Something in the air was clouding her judgment with fear. She tried to be inconspicuous about what she was doing, but attempted to prolong reaching their destination. Sasuke was somehow oblivious to it, and pressed onward unsuspectingly. As the gate came into view, he twisted away from the vice grip she had on his shoulder. She took a few hesitant steps after him before they smell floated to her. Her stomach turned. It was something horrible. She had hoped to have left it behind her, in a distant nightmare. But somehow, the unmistakable smell of blood drifted through the calm night breeze. Her stomach wrenched again in revulsion. It baffled her that he didn’t seem to notice. Maybe it was only her past experiences making her paranoid. Sasuke glanced back, smiling slightly and giving a minimal wave. “This is fine, I can make it the rest of the way home by myself.” He called while trotting up the gate. I stayed out too late.. Mom and Dad will be mad! He worried as he jogged through the gates. Aster watched him go, waving weakly. She had a bad feeling, but it didn’t seem like a person could live through the same horror twice. The smell of blood had been her imagination; no one was lying just out of view, dead. Aster stood, rooted to the spot. There was no other explanation for it than her wild hallucinations. But something inside her screamed that it was something more. Another gust of wind brought the stench even stronger. Despite her efforts, in filled her and broke the dam that held her worst memories back, letting them flood her. Struggling with her common sense and irrational urge to chase after Sasuke, she teetered where she stood. It wasn’t until a scream pierced the night, that she realized how deathly still it had been. Instinct and her irrational thoughts took hold, and in the next second, she was bursting through the gate, searching for Sasuke in the living darkness.
Sitting up, he planned to dress and carry her to her room. Hopefully, she wouldn’t wake. He nearly jumped out his skin when a hand seized his arm. Itachi glared at Aster over his shoulder.
“I’m a better actor than you give me credit for…” she murmured smugly.
Still glaring at her, “Let go. I would like to get proper clothing on.”
“You’re not going anywhere.” She stated, still holding his upper arm firmly. Itachi gaped at her before her expression became serious. “You still haven’t told me anything.”
Itachi shook her off. “What are you talking about?”
“Don’t lie to me..” she narrowed her eyes accusingly. “I know you remember.” Aster pulled at his arm again, trying to reseat him on the edge of the bed. “What happened to drive you to this?”
Itachi pushed her back roughly and she tumbled backwards onto the mattress. “I don’t need to tell you…”
Aster bolted upright. “You forced me to tell you all my secrets! It’s not fair for you to hide things from me!” She sat, regaining her steady breathing after an outburst. In an undertone she continued. “I’ve never been in a relationship before.. but I know you can’t keep secrets…”
“Life isn’t fair.” Itachi spoke quietly, but the air ceased its movement and the room became thick with tension.
Aster knit her eyebrows in something between confusion and pity, getting on Itachi’s nerves. “How would you know something like that?”
There was a long pause before anyone said anything else. Finally Aster broke the silence. “How did you end up in Akatsuki?”
“Do you know what the Uchiha clan wanted?” he began darkly. Aster leaned forward; spellbound for the answer she had been so long seeking. “Power… More and more power.”
Aster only nodded to show she was listening. Itachi continued, “Akatsuki promised to provide that power in exchange for something. Rather, someone.”
He fell silent; preparing to gather his clothes and change, but Aster prompted him. “Who?”
Sighing, he answered without looking at her. “A male child…. with the capability of awakening the sharingan. The child would eventually become the vessel for another member… Orochimaru.”
“Stop beating around the bush. Just say it…” Aster gazed at him meaningfully. “Please…”
“Some thought that they meant me…” he elaborated in monotone. “But I was considered the future of Uchiha, too high of a price.” He paused again, clenching his fist in spiteful hatred of his father. “Sasuke wasn’t as valuable as me in their eyes. He was someone they could afford to trade, to sacrifice.”
“How come Sasuke is still alive then? What happened next?” Aster asked, scrutinizing the story in her head.
“After much persuasion, Shusui agreed to help me infiltrate Akatsuki and destroy them.” He recounted it in a hollow voice.
“Why not just go to the Hokage?” Aster questioned, rising from her thoughts.
“Going to the Hokage would have caused them to attack; it would have started a war…” Bitterly he added, “The Uchiha clan didn’t care anyway. They wanted to go through with it. A life was nothing to them.”
Aster felt the blood drain her face. “Shusui died… How did he…?”
Through gritted teeth Itachi answered quietly. “To defeat them, someone needed to obtain the mangekyo sharingan…. I never wanted it to turn out like it did. He forced my hand…” He continued, his anger causing the rest of the tale to come forth without prompting. “The Akatsuki thought I did it in cold blood, for power.. They offered me a position in exchange for destroying the clan. It didn’t matter what Orochimaru wanted anymore, so long as they had an Uchiha. Having a hard to procure ability such as the mangekyo sharingan was an added bonus to them.
“In their offer, I found a ‘loop hole’. I would kill them all, but leave one alive.” Itachi paused again, letting the words take effect. Aster’s eyes fell to her lap. She hadn’t imagined how much had actually happened. If it wasn’t for the deathly stillness, Aster wouldn’t have heard the last part of what he said. “Sasuke would be scarred, but alive.”
There was another long, thoughtful pause. “I still remember what happened. I haven’t forgotten. Every feeling, sight sound, smell…. I call recall it all with horrorific clarity..” Aster intoned in a daze. “Why… Why did you… push me away? Why not let me help you?”
Itachi glared at her with malevolence. “What could you have done?”
Aster’s eyes widened, but she kept her mouth clasped shut tightly. He still refused to look at her. Sensing that the discussion was at an end for now, she glided from the room as quietly as possible. The silence intruded into the hallway, and it seemed disrespectful to break it as she tip toed back to her room.
The bed made a soft whooshing sound as she slid onto it. There’s a lot he left out.. A lot he didn’t answer… I can’t let this slide just yet. Aster scowled at her ceiling, determined to obtain the answers to her questions. There was nothing to be done now. She would wait and ambush him in the kitchen. He had to eat sometime…
“But, I’ve always done much more important things… Why not send Kisame to do the trivial parts? Or even send Sasuke…” your worthless apprentice.. he added in his thoughts. The work of cleaning a cell was demeaning to someone like him.
“Because I sent you…” Orochimaru hissed, quickly losing patience with his servant. “Go, now… If you’re done serving your worth, I’ll dispose of you…”
Kabuto bobbed his head in a mock bow. “Yes, Orochimaru-sama. My apologies…” He backed into the shadows, slipping away to prepare the holding cell for their bait.
“I’ve been thinking…” Aster began. Itachi resisted the urge to retort with a cutting remark. “What about Sasuke? Was he oblivious to the whole situation?”
The muscles in his hand tightened. Every question she had asked had touched on something he didn’t want to recall, but this was by far the worst. He answered slowly. “No.. He knew…”
There was a thick silence that seemed to muffle the clink of the bowls as he poured steaming ramen into them. As they sat down Aster caught his eye again. “He doesn’t seem to know now…”
Itachi chewed the noodles slower than usual. He swallowed the food and exhaled in a resigned way before speaking. “No. He wouldn’t, I sealed his memories…”
Aster stared at his in shock, but he refused to raise his eyes from the murky broth of the ramen. He didn’t want to see her expression any more than he wanted to recall any of what had happened five and half years ago when Aster had walked Sasuke home after he failed to do so. She was stunned beyond words. Her mouth moved, but no sound came. The chopsticks clattered loudly as her trembling hand dropped them, but she didn’t bend down to pick them up.
Finally Aster gathered herself. In a slightly trembling voice, she ventured, “So, the seal can be broken?”
For once he met her eyes, surprised by the simplicity of her thoughts. “Yes..” he replied hesitantly.
The table shook as she stood and slammed her fists on it. “So what are we sitting here for?!” she cried. “We need to train! Teach me how to break the seal!
Itachi narrowed his eyes at her. “It’s not that easy.”
“Why not?!” she squeaked stubbornly.
“You need him to stay still.” Itachi’s eyes burned into hers. “He either needs to agree to let you, or you have to hold him down…Do you think he’d let you pin him and perform a technique on him when he wants us dead?”
Aster clenched her fist, unphased by his remark. “Why else would we train?”
Itachi sighed, brushing his hair out of his eyes. Finally he uttered what was supposed to be a final answer. “No.”
“Whaddya mean!?” she yelled.
Itachi gave her a tired glower. “How long did either of us sleep last night?”
“Not as long as we’re going to train…” she muttered, crossing her arms in stubborn gesture.
“We’re not going to train today…” he shot back, unflinching to her attitude.
Aster smiled. “Fine, then I guess I’m strong enough to go catch Sasuke-chan and release his memories!” she cried in triumph.
“No…” he growled, sick of her constant resistance to everything he said.
“Train me, or I’m going…” She grinned wider, believing to have the upper hand.
“You really think you can just walk out of here?” Itachi asked, nonchalantly continuing to nibble ramen.
Aster didn’t even bother with a retort. She pushed open the door, skipping into the annoying bright afternoon. Breaking into a run, she dashed on until she was out of breath. Her heart caught itself in her throat when a hand was laid on her shoulder.
She spun around and gasped when she saw Itachi standing behind her calmly. “How can you appear behind me after I ran like that, as if it were nothing?! I really hate you!”
“You didn’t seem to hate me when you kissed me..” Itachi grinned maliciously.
Aster flushed. “Shut up!” she yelled.
“Dishes in exchange for training.” He reminded her, ignoring her flustered sputterings.
“Deal.” She replied, as if it had been an offer instead of an order.
Aster led the way back to the house that served as a hideout for her and the two Akatsuki. She took one glance at the table and gaped it, before shooting Itachi a dirty look. “Not only did you catch me without a sweat.. you had enough time to finish your food. Do you have any idea how much I hate you?”
Itachi remained silent, unable to decide which smart-ass remark to use next. As she gathered dishes, he began to go over the training they would do. “It’ll only be light training. Neither of us are rested enough, and we can’t push ourselves too far. We need to ready for anything at any time.”
The light-heartedness of the past minutes left them. “Yeah..” she muttered absently, picking up her own bowl. Her fingers slipped and she almost dropped the bowl as a fine powdery substance seemed to come from the dish. “Why are your dishes always so dusty?!”
Itachi narrowed his eyes. “Tell me if you get sleepy.”
“Come here to watch the show?” Kabuto asked sharply.
Sasuke remained silent, glaring at him. Every time they met, sparks flew.
“Why don’t you go do something useful?” Kabuto hissed. “Most people would be training if they wanted to kill Itachi. But I guess you’ve finally accepted the fact that you’ll never have your revenge…”
Sasuke glared at him, clenching his fist. His stomach turned. He was wandering the halls listlessly, torn by his own indecision on actually going through with his revenge. “Apparently, if you’re doing this kind of work, you’re disposable. Orochimaru probably wouldn’t mind if I took you out.”
“Would you like to clean this cell instead?” Kabuto waved an arm to the expanse of the small room. “Kill me if you want, it solves nothing.”
Sasuke hesitated before answering. “I have better things to do…” he muttered, stalking down the hall, into shadows.
She hurriedly made her bed, preparing to leave. She wanted to say something to Itachi, but knew he would try to stop her. It was something she had to do on her own. Sufficing to leave a note on her bedside, she leapt from her window, swiftly disappearing into shadows and shrubbery.
Aster ran faster than she would have normally, unable to control the wild longing for the comfort of the moment in her dream. Suddenly, she hit a clearing and the desperate need disappeared. She stood, confused and abruptly afraid. Something was wrong, very wrong.
A large hand grabbed her wrists, and she twisted wildly, trying to see her attacker. Her eyes widened. As she caught sight of him, he hit the pressure point along her neck that had been hit so many times before.
“Hoshigaki!” she gasped with venom before he hit her again and she fell unconscious.
“Took you long enough..” Kabuto muttered.
“Better late than never.” Kisame commented, slinging her over his sword like an animal carcass. “Let’s go.”
You can also see my short begining animations there. I'll be posting a lot slower now because of this. I'm sorry if anyone actually cares about this fic. The big stuff is getting closer!!! So close.. I'm in pain... tear Reviews are always appreciated!! Please.. Review me.. Please!! I'm begging you...
:
:
:
:
