A Certain Revenge (A Uchiha Love Story) PENDING

Chp 11~ Frightening Encounter

Itachi's POV

Mayumi...Her name was the first thing that came to mind whenever I woke up.

I hadn't seen since we arrived back at the mansion, but I didn't make much of it. She was upset and needed some alone time. I don't blame her, she just slayed her only remaining family members. Maybe they weren't even worthy to be called family members.

I sighed as I journeyed down the hall to go look for her. I knew she probably needed a shoulder to cry on, and I was willing to be that shoulder. Her emotional problems to begin with scared me as it is, and I feared what she could do when she was really upset.

Plodding down the hallway, I turned the corner. The mansion was dusty and beaten down as ever, but it always held that alluring charm to it. In a way, it reminded me of Mayumi. Beautiful and grand. But so abused and neglected over the years, it's rotten away piece by piece. Even thought Mayumiwas not dusty nor beaten down, I could still make the analogy quite well.

Sighing, I walk into the kitchen. My eyes mill around the room for someone, and land on Deidara. Even thought I would've preferred practically anyone over him, I forced myself to associate. For Mayumi's sake..I reminded myself as I approached the dumb witted blond.

"Deidara, have you seen Mayumi?"

He tossed his shoulder length hair over his shoulder, and huffed. "Yeah, what's it to you?" he answered snobbishly.

I refrained myself from glaring, and kept my face composed. "I was wondering where she is, have you seen her?" I pressed on.

"Well, she left out the back door a little while ago...." he replied seemingly preoccupied with picking at his nails.

My eyebrows lowered slightly, and I immediately went to the door. Setting a brisk pace, I race down the colorful pebble pathway, and into the forest. Spanish moss hung from the trees, giving it a creepy look, and couldn't help but think it was a little intimidating. A foggy mist seemed to settle within the branches of the tall trees, making it dark and morbid looking.

Still, I kept walking in hopes of finding Mayumi. I knew she often liked to venture off by herself, but it made me nervous every time she did. We were usually each other's shadows, doing whatever the other one did. It was somewhat like a cat and mouse game. But without the killing.

I sighed as the air seemed to noticeably get chilly as I went deeper into the forest. The fog too, seemed to get thicker and harder to see through. An ominous feeling started to grow in the pit of my stomach, almost making me want to turn back. But I knew I had to find Mayumi.

Trudging through the moss strewn ground, I noticed how the soft fungi seemed to cushion my footsteps. My feet didn't make a sound, not that they usually did, it's just that all was silent in the forest. Not a bird chirped, nor cricket hummed, making the forest seem more dead than alive.

A weary feeling aroused in the pit of my stomach, as the light got dimmer and dimmer. The moss covered branches blocked the light from reaching the ground, making the forest dark and cold. The temperature had dropped several degrees since I first began my walk, and now I was wishing I brought a jacket.

I had heard multiple sounds in the bushes,  but I assumed they were animals. However, I was well aware of the fact that I would be ready to fight anyone who threatened me, or Mayumi. A crow squawked a couple of yards away, its midnight black feathers dropping to the forest floor. It fled towards the direction I came from, and I watched it soar until it was out of sight.

Skeptical, I pressed on, forcing one foot in front of the other. Once in a while, I would check behind me to see if anyone was following. This forest was getting me slightly paranoid. Grumbling, I decided it was best to turn back, and that Mayumi might of already been back at the mansion. With the tree line in sight, I sprinted back to the mansion.

Just as my hand touched the frigid door knob, a flock of crow's passed over the mansion. Puzzled, I turned around to face the forest. All of a sudden, a deafening scream stripped the trees of it's leaves, and I knew immediately who it belonged to. I took off, not even bothering to shut the door, or look back at the mansion. Only one thing mattered, I had to find Mayumi.

Her scream kept ringing in my ears until I was unable to comprehend it anymore. I rushed through the forest, dodging sharp branches that kept getting caught on my cloak. Getting frustrated, I unbuttoned it, and frantically threw it on the ground. It snagged on a leafy outcropping, and hung there, a tear in the sleeve. Shaking my head, i sprinted off towards the noise, doing my best not to slip on the frosty ground.

The forest had an ominous feeling. Fog hung low in the trees, and Spanish moss hung from their branches. Decaying logs rested peacefully on the floor, mushrooms growing on top of their disintegrating trunks. Small pebbles littered the forest floor, making the ground uneven and choppy. The air was air was humid, even though hardly any light reached the bottom.

The deeper into the forest I went, the more disoriented I became. What happened to her!? I huffed, but never stopped running. A loud squawk of a crow finally caught my attention and I skidded to a stop. I had come across no animals so far, so I was surprised to see the blue tinted vulture.This forest almost seemed too quiet to believe. The black bird was perched atop a drooping branch, its beady eyes calculating my every move.

I stood wide eyes, staring at it, as if expecting the lenient bird to tell me Mayumi's exact locations. I took a step closer out of curiosity, but the bird decided its time was up. It flew off, leaving behind a single feather. I scowled, and clenched my fists.

"Mayumi," I whispered, "where are you?"

Jerking my head to the side, I took the forest in at all angles. Nothing stood out to me. The trees just seemed to get thicker, and the light seemed to get dimmer. I sighed, and glared at the ground. Just then, buried under a small sharp rock, looked like what seemed to be a piece of black cloth.

I rushed to pick it up, only to see drops of blood splattered on the ground. Eyes widening, I picked up the cloth and rubbed it in my fingers. In one corner, there was a tiny section of red.

A cloud....Definitely Mayumi's.

The air seemed to stand still, and nothing dared to make a noise. Not even a cricket wished to play a nightly tune. Growing anxious, I slowly turned around only to see a snake slithering across some crackling leaves. Its tongue darted in and out of its mouth, and it moved at deathly slow pace.

I narrowed my eyes and backed a fear steps away. Bending down it get a look, I noticed something odd was hanging out of its mouth. A piece of bright red cloth.

What is a snake doing with red cloth?

My lip twitched in annoyance, until I stopped moving completely.

Mayumi...