The Story of Hagami II [Naruto Fanfic | Uchiha] [Completed]

10 | Subtle

Time passed, four days approximately, and Aki grew quickly tired of their predicament in the Forest of Death. She planned on leaving as soon as they made it to the prelim round where their proctor would ask them whether or not they'd like to continue or if they would like to back out for next year. Aki was going to drop out, respecting her Squad and herself. She's wrapped up things in Konohagakure already anyway. She confronted Shisui and Itachi, and encountered Sasuke to see how far he's progressed. But the fact that he held fear still of her, worried her slightly. Sooner or later, he'd have no choice but to combat that and overlook her being his beloved sister in the past.

Aki, Anashi, and Hitori stepped into one of the rooms. They weren't too late and not to early when their proctor appeared. She wore a similar cloak like Aki had been wearing at he start of the Exams and overall mirrored Aki's clothing to some extent. She had a single piercing in her lower lip and lavender eyeshadow donned her face. Her blue hair stood out amongst a crowd too, as did her amber eyes.

"Are you planning on proceeding to the next round?" She asked simply and waited patiently for an answer.

"No, we'd like to return to Amegakure. My teammates and I don't wish to participate in the final rounds of the Chūnin Exams." Aki responded. The toxin still coursed through her body but it had faded a lot since it invaded her body. For now, the only side-effect was fatigue and nausea.

"I see, please come with me then. I have to get your numbers down with the other proctors so they can take you out of the Exams." She said and turned around. Going through another set of doors revealed a large training ground inside. It reminded Aki of the one back in the Akatsuki only there weren't railings whatsoever, or the structure on the back.

Lined up along an elevated platform were seven Tokubetsu Jōnin on either side of Hiruzen. The sight of him made Aki freeze for a moment until Hitori nudged her in the back. He shot a warning glare down at her and she took a deep breath. She just hoped that he didn't recognize her through her façade. She began walking normally again, only stiffening occasionally when she noticed familiar faces.

But one made her stop dead in her tracks. Itachi was amongst them. She hadn't expected that he'd also be affiliated with the Tokubetsu Jōnin but that was her mistake. Itachi could get into any affiliation in Konohagakure, as can Shisui. Again, Hitori nudged her in the back and hissed something in her ear that she didn't comprehend. Finally, he strolled past her casually and slammed his foot down hard on her's. Aki yelped loudly and glared at Hitori.

"What was that for?!" Aki shrieked as she kept waking. Of course it wasn't that painful; but receiving a kunai to the back was.

"Stop dozing off as you're walking. I told you, Anashi would've taken your place but nooo you had to be stubborn."

"Well? You're exhausted and Anashi was hurt so I thought I might as well-"

"You two, quit bickering right now." Their proctor snapped at them. Aki and Hitori's backs straightened out as they stopped in front of Hiruzen. As their proctor fished something out of her pocket, Aki felt eyes on the side of her head. She dared to look and found Itachi's Sharingan on her.

She shivered, something very uncharacteristic for her do to and she closed her eyes. However, when she opened them, she was surprised to see that time seemed frozen. But upon closer inspection, she was able to see that everything was still in motion, just slowed down exponentially. Everything was slowed down now, except herself and Itachi. In mere seconds, she knew she was in the Tsukuyomi and that time was limited.

"For you to trap me in here...you either want to knock me out and bring me back to Konohagakure...or maybe you want to tell me some-" She was cut off when Itachi ran forward. He wrapped his arms around her and that's when she knew that he was crying. His tears wetted the fabric of her shirt around her sleeve. Weaker than Shisui, but not by much, he was a little more emotional than him.

"I've missed you, Onēsan." He murmured resting his chin on her shoulder. Hagami could feel everything, the texture of Itachi's skin and the warmth that radiated from it. His arms were threatening to suffocate her but he kept them loose enough so he didn't cause her any pain. He had seen the wound in her back right when she walked in.

It took a minute for Hagami to response to his. Here Itachi was bending over slightly and hugging her and she was nearly frozen. Her arms shook when she placed them around Itachi too. She whispered, "Gomenasai, Otōto." She took a deep, shaky breath after this as tears of her own were about to spill over. She took a deep breath and Itachi tensed a little. A common habit Hagami had when she delivered bad news, she took a deep breath, "Look over Sasuke, alright? He's probably traumatized right now, I spoke with him on the first day of the Exams. If he mentions something about a massacre, remember that I'm the one who showed him that."

Itachi's arms tensed and he pulled back. He gave her a questioning look that bordered fear too.

"The Tsukuyomi...?" Itachi asked quietly.

"Ah," Hagami responded. "Just...watch over him, please. Make sure he doesn't fall into darkness, have him surround himself with friends...oh, and don't let him leave the Village. Train him when he asks and only hold back when you need to." Hagami took a shaky breath when a tear rolled down her cheek. "Watch over him just like I would've if I wasn't in this predicament." Her eyes flashed crimson, particularly the Mangekyō Sharingan, and the Tsukuyomi Itachi had casted shattered completely.

Itachi's Sharingan died down and he took in Hagami's warped appearance. He ingrained it in his mind knowing that if he ever saw her, he'd be able to identify her immediately. And for a moment, he began thinking of how Hagami was able to break the Tsukuyomi. The thought of her being able to break through his strongest Genjutsu made him worry a little.

What if she was turned against Konohagakure through means of brainwashing? Or if she is controlled by someone else through a visual prowess? And if she could break through Itachi's Tsukuyomi so easily, how hard would it be to counter Shisui's Kotoamatsukami? It was Shisui's strongest Genjutsu to Itachi's knowledge; it was a subtle yet powerful Genjutsu used to change the reality people see. It bordered mind-control.

But what Itachi didn't know yet was what came with Hagami's Mangekyō Sharingan. Though not effective nor able to use it well yet, she possessed a unique trait that was recently discovered. Chakra flowed through the body through the chakra network but Hagami had some degree to freeze it and manipulate it—if she had enough chakra—giving her some degree of bodily control. She was rough with it but she was also prominent in Genjutsu which meant that if the two were paired, she'd be able control someone both mentally and physically.

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Loose ends for the win! Hahaha, just kidding, I'm beyond annoyed but I assure you that they'll be tied up sooner or later, I promise.

Anyway, enjoy!

-silent