Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Shinobi: Pride of Pride ❯ Chapter Six ( Chapter 6 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Shinobi: The Price of Pride

By: Hanasaki Rikku

Summary: With a clan like the Hanasaki, is it any wonder why Rikku is the way she is? She lost her brother and friend at such a young age, and things with Chizuko have seemed to only gotten worse. What does Itachi want and why does a certain Snake Sannin seem so interested in her life all of the sudden?

Rating: T/M. For violence (poorly written, but still there), language, and some other stuff I can't quite recall at the moment. Just be warned. Oh, that, and my horrible writing.

Genre: Romance/Action/Adventure/Angst

"Grief teaches the steadiest minds to waver."

((CHAPTER SIX))

Chizuko frowned as she tore her gaze away from the fighting duo, now left to fight against the other man alongside Rikku. She couldn't see what was so special about him; why Kakashi would be so worried. The man looked thin, eyes appearing weary from years of battle no doubt. But she couldn't afford to let her guard down; although he may have seemed weak, the aura he radiated said otherwise.

She set herself for battle, crouching down and managing a kunai in her hand; Rikku followed her lead shortly thereafter. She darted in the man's direction, disappearing just before reaching him and appearing behind him, only to find he was already gone.

She scowled, scanning all sides in search for him. He was fast, and she was caught off guard, almost missing the kunai that was headed her way.

She dodged the shuriken that followed, locating the man and charging him, performing a Katon jutsu and exhaling a breath of fire. She was disappointed to find she'd missed, and was beginning to grow annoyed at how easily he evaded her techniques, when she felt a blow to the back of her head send her flying. When she managed to steady herself, she turned to swipe at the man with a kunai, only to have him disappear with a puff; a Bunshin.

With growing annoyance, she performed a quick seal, activating her infamous Kurushimeru. This man was indeed stronger than she'd initially expected, and she'd have to work with Rikku with this; push aside her anger with the girl for later. She extended her chakra in waves, making sure not to interrupt Kakashi's fight for fear of hurting him, and avoid Rikku, who was closer to the man at the moment, all together, engaged in a fight with whom she hoped was the original and not another clone.

A swift hit to her gut halted her actions.

She was knocked back with a tremendous force, slamming into the tree behind her. Pain shot up and down her spine as she came into contact with the rough bark, her vision blurring before her. As she slid to the ground, a strong hand around her throat prevented her from reaching the ground.

“We have no business with the Leaf, Himura. Leave now and I shall spare you.”

She gritted her teeth, wondering how the hell he knew her name, all the while tapping into her chakra reserve, expelling a good portion of it. “Fuck…off!” An exceptional amount of chakra, aimed straight at the man, was released, causing him to let her go. She fell to the ground with a grunt.

It was strange to find herself more or less immobile ten minutes into the confrontation. And the man's eyes… Who was he? Sharingan, she was positive; Sharingan eyes belonged to the Uchiha. But weren't they dead…or something? It had been a massacre of sorts, so she'd been told. Either way, the Uchiha clan, she knew without a doubt, was gone; the last known survivor betraying the village some years ago during Oto's invasion.

So, then…

How had this man attained the Sharingan?

Could he be the traitorous bastard who left the village?

No. That Uchiha had been a child. Then…

“Uchiha Itachi.”

Chizuko glanced up at hearing Rikku's voice, frowning, “What?”

Rikku spared her a glance. “I've heard about you, about what you did. My clan knew a lot about you Uchihas.” One couldn't see her expression from behind the mask, but Chizuko heard the scornful sneer in the other's voice. “What kind of sick freak kills their clan? Your flesh and blood?”

He didn't answer; Chizuko was nonetheless surprised by the turn of events. It couldn't be Itachi. Not the same Uchiha Itachi, the child prodigy that would be frequently assigned missions with her stepfather. He had been nice, in his own mysterious way, regarding them with a respect few others possessed for Himuras.

That Itachi, her father had said, died along with his clan years ago. She had even visited the memorial slab set for him, situated between his parents. Rikku had to be talking about someone else. She herself had known the boy.

The sound of battle brought her back from her musings, and she realized, belatedly that she was still on the ground. Rikku and…the man who was not Itachi had commenced the battle, and she took that extra given time to heal herself.

“Juden Suru…” She dug her gloved hands into the soil, seeking out all her discharged chakra and returning it to herself, although it was only a small portion of what she had used in the first place, it was enough to heal her wounds. As long as she wouldn't have to rely on a teammate to heal her, she was fine.

Rikku, she noticed, was having some trouble keeping the fight away from her. To put it bluntly; she was getting her ass kicked. It was almost humorous to see Rikku, Hanasaki Rikku, be so easily overwhelmed when she was one of the strongest in the village. Aside from her, of course.

She made a quick dash for the man, whipping out her aian nakkuru, the iron knuckle blades made specifically to suit her needs. A portion of her chakra was absorbed within them as she slashed at the man, a wave of chakra following. He dodged the attack just in time, narrowly missing the blade of threatening crimson chakra.

She heard Rikku curse as she too was forced to dodge the attack and cringed.

Ignoring the look the girl had no doubt sent her, she prepared for her next attack. She slashed twice in his direction, larger waves speeding straight in his direction in a devastating course. He merely dodged with his own attack, a giant wave of black fire appearing before him and incinerating the chakra itself. What was left of her attack sliced through the foliage, creating a wider clearing.

Itachi briefly glanced at the devastation she'd caused with her attack, turning his attention back to her as she charged, aian nakkuru in hand. “You are far too clumsy in your attacks, Chizuko-chan.”

The familiarity added to her name caused her to falter in her attack, and the sickening realization that this was in fact Itachi, Uchiha Itachi, hit her dead on.

No…

Itachi wasn't dead. He had betrayed the village. He had betrayed her father. Someone she had trusted, admired for the greater portion of her childhood, was nothing but a fraud. A traitorous, murdering bastard!

As the jumble of thoughts rushed in a violent current within her mind, anger swelled, her eyes darkening to an impossible crimson blood. She scowled darkly, ripping away her mask and gritting her teeth in pure, unadulterated fury. “You fucking asshole!”

Itachi remained unaffected by the outburst, and merely sidestepped her anger-induced attack. He was, however, seemingly caught off guard by the second attack sent at him, by none other than Rikku. Chizuko wasted no time in launching for him again, using her momentum to swing around with her aian nakkuru. It was blocked with his arm, having been distracted by Rikku, but she had at least made contact this time. She pulled her arm back, crouching down and swinging her leg out underneath her.

He had already disappeared before she had a chance to touch him. She heard him reappear behind her, but only registered it when she felt his knee collide with her upper back. She landed roughly against a stub of a tree, courtesy of her prior attack, and let out a string of curses as she double over the thing.

The air whistled and she barely had time to push off the stump, a kunai embedding itself to the hilt. She quickly caught sight of the tightly wrapped kibaku fuda, the tag exploding merely seconds after she had dodged back. Turning to Itachi, she noticed he was currently being occupied by Rikku - or more like toying with the Hanasaki, which would be a considerable blow to the girl's ego - and that luckily, Kakashi was nowhere in sight; at least she hoped he was far enough to avoid her next move. She glanced at Rikku, hoping beyond hopes the girl would be able to last out against Itachi.

Jumping back, she landed steadily on a tree, inhaling deeply and closing her eyes, she immediately began to perform a series of seals. She felt her chakra redirect entirely, surging forward. This would take a generous amount of chakra to accomplish, but if things went well, she wouldn't need to use anymore. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open…

…only to come face to face with one Uchiha Itachi. She gasped, releasing her seal and chakra, stumbling back on the branch she stood on until she was pressed up against the tree.

How the hell…?

She tore her crimson gaze from his own, down to where Rikku currently stood, fighting off countless Bunshin. Her eyes narrowed and she turned to Itachi. She wasn't given a chance to quip on his tactics when, once again, she found herself caught by the throat, hovering over the thick bough by a foot. This time, however, she found herself on the receiving end of the infamous Sharingan as he held her effortlessly, face void of any emotion.

“You are becoming a nuisance, Chizuko.” She only just barely registered his words before she felt herself consumed by an overwhelming sense of fear and sadness amongst an onslaught of countless other emotions. Sharingan red irises, those three coma-like dots surrounding his still pupil spinning rapidly, bore into her similar red eyes, and in an instant, she found herself shrouded in darkness. A thick, black fog appeared before her feet, the crimson sky stretching out above her into the endless void.

Where the hell was she?

When the world had settled, she began to worry, spinning around, eyes going over every minute detail of her surroundings. Itachi was still there, standing just as silently as ever. She nearly shuddered; the man was the very essence of death. How could someone hold such a cold, blank look? Was it possible to feel nothing at all? She swallowed thickly, blinking repeatedly, tearing her gaze away from the man, which served to alert her to her current problem.

Where was everyone? It was so dark, so blank. Like an endless void of nothing, much like the Uchiha before her. She took a step back without realizing, frowning, and her breathing quickened. “What…? Where are we?” Her tone border-lined hysteria, but she didn't care, not at the moment. Not when she was alone in the presence of a cold-hearted killer.

Maybe she wasn't ready for this. For this kind of pressure. To be a Jounin. She was only fifteen, she had time, and if it meant avoiding dying at the hands of the Uchiha, before she ever had a chance at revenge, did it really matter what rank she was? As long as she got her revenge…

She noticed the instant the scenery changed, falling into a swirl of vapid colors, molding together to form a room. A familiar one at that. She knew where she was, just as she knew who that man was, standing at the door, beside Itachi. The air caught in her throat, and her eyes widened in panic; Itachi's attention was no longer upon her, rather the man.

If she had been in her right sense of mind, she probably would have noticed the slight alteration in the Uchiha's wardrobe, but in her current condition, she didn't seem to notice anything aside from him and the other man…her stepfather. Subaru.

It didn't take long for her to realize what was going on, what it was Itachi was showing her, but she hoped against hopes she was wrong. But of course, things never tended to go as she wished, and it was only a minute after that the door burst open, revealing three figures, two of which hurriedly stumbled towards Subaru, clinging onto him desperately, that full realization of the situation sunk in. Her heart clenched painfully, and a cold sensation washed over her being.

Dread.

A hard lump swelled in her throat, making it difficult to breath, and her eyes began to burn with unshed tears. She couldn't seem to tear away her eyes, her mouth falling into a silent `no' and her body taking on a visible shake that rattled her body and lost her balance. She fell into an ungraceful heap, one hand clamping over her mouth, the other around her throat where the lump had begun to grow painfully, and she felt the sudden urge to be sick.

The face of the boy beside the substantially younger version of herself, crying out as he struggled to speak inaudible words, was blurry at most, but she knew from memory who it was; Kazihiro, her step-brother. The fact that he barely seemed her own fifteen years of age only seemed to confirm what she had tried to deny.

She didn't really remember the day when her mother had died, or more, she hadn't wanted to remember. And she seemed to have conveniently forgotten the Uchiha's role, however small, in all of this. The sadistic bastard…

Was it really a surprise to see him use such a painful memory as leverage, a rather potent weapon against her? Damn him! Damn him for everything! She didn't want to remember this; she didn't want to see this! Relive it. She didn't want to see herself sob pathetically at her stepfather's feet, clutching his arm tightly as her body shook with her every sob.

It made it all the more real when Subaru himself, his once serious visage, fell into a look of utter sorrow, and he brought both children into a strong, heartfelt embrace, tears falling freely from his eyes. Really… Could anybody blame her for not wanting this? For not wanting to remember?

Could they blame her for not caring at that moment just as she hadn't cared all those years ago as the girl at Itachi's side took a tentative step towards her to place a hand upon her shoulder, only to have her slap it away harshly?

Could she help but shout at the girl to get out and leave her alone, and ignore the mix of emotions in the girl's amber orbs as she stepped away, cradling her hand to her chest; confusion, sadness and hurt so blatantly evident within those eyes.

Or when the girl's shoulders sagged in dejection, and the hand of the Uchiha came to rest upon one, leading the girl away with a brief flicker of eyes in the real Chizuko's direction.

She really didn't care. She didn't care, because it hurt, and she wanted it all to just stop. Why was Itachi doing this? Why? Of all the things, why did he have to choose this particular memory?

And suddenly, the sounds of her screams, her mother's screams, and Kazihiro's sobs, and Subaru's look of defeat... It was all too much. She couldn't help it. She lost it, her head fell into her lap and she clutched at it, rocking back and forth with a feeling as though her heart was being wrenched from her chest, and hot tears burning new trails down her cheeks.

And all the pain, and all the death… She didn't need Itachi's stupid little mind game to show her all of it, she saw it plain and clear within her own mind. And she couldn't help the feeling of weakness. She couldn't help it…

She screamed.

((CHAPTER END))