Red Butterfly

Chapter 35, Till My Blood Starts To Rain

I had winced at the pain, but rose up to my feet anyways. Breathing erratically, I darted my gaze to the man in the orange mask.

That day...

"Hanabi!", the masked man restrained Itachi from rushing over to me by extending an arm in front of him.

"I should've gotten rid of the rabbit when I had the chance", the masked man growled.

I disregard him completely and turn my attention to Itachi. With a pacing heart I yelled out, "Itachi you can't do this! You'll be branded as a rouge ninja. Don't throw your life away because you're under pressure!".

I dart my eyes to the masked man.

Damn it! The orange masked man had intervened in my plans. I should've teleported him to the clearing which I marked earlier. There, I could've fought him out and brought some sense to him. Now it's all gotten complicated.

"Itachi", the masked man said, lowering his head, "we've talked about this before, it's either the village or the clan, more precisely, it's either the entire clan or Sasuke".

Right there, the masked man had pushed that very button to his advantage by bring up Sasuke.

At the mention of Sasuke I saw Itachi's eyes sparkled with emotion and a cold tear slipped down his face. He seemed out breath completely. The masked man had darted his gaze to Itachi, anticipating what will come next.

Unwillingly, I saw how Itachi had closed his eyes shut, clenching his jaw. I regained my composure and stepped closer.

Itachi stepped over the boundary that the masked man had created with his extended arm and halted in his tracks. I'd pulled up my guard on pure instinct.

Itachi hand lowered his head, the cold wind send his hair flying away. I'd stared at him pleadingly without even knowing it. I witnessed several tears eluding his bloodshot eyes, as he chinned up slightly.

He suddenly raised up his wrist, and inspected the Technique Formula I'd marked him with. His eyes widened momentarily as he read what my Technique Formula said.

The masked man had remained rooted in his place, observing the encounter between Itachi and I carefully.

I forced my pacing heart to remain calm as I clenched my jaw.

The wind blew away his tears before they even streamed down his face. Still brooding about everything, he chinned up and looked at me directly. The look in his crimson eyes gave me the very answer that I feared...

Nevertheless, I have already braced myself for this. It was inevitably manifested with everything that's happened that battle should take place for the village's sake.

"The Namikaze clan huh?", Itachi took a step closer, his eyes calm, but fixated.

I took a step further back as I kept reminding myself that this is no ordinary Uchiha. My face never gave away a glimpse of doubt as I smirked.

"I heard that the Namikaze clan has the potential to go up against the Senju and the Uchiha", he declares, the wind blowing his hair away from his murk eyes.

My hand snaked to the kunai bag strapped to my thigh, declaring battle when I raised my pointer and middle finger, he was unfazed as usual.

"Prove this battle worthwhile", he says as the wind died down and there was a split second before his eyes sparked in the dead of night and he hissed, "Mangeykō Sharingan"

When I whipped out an ordinary kunai, he'd responded back by wielding his sword. We hastened towards each other with determination our weapons clashing and clinging all the while the masked man stood aside and witnessed this battle.

"Don't look directly in his eyes!"

The butterfly's whisper took me by surprise and before I got the time to ask, the answer came immediately.

"You'll get caught in his Genjutsu!"

I muttered a quick thanks under my breath and proceeded to dodge his strikes. Taking the butterfly's advice, I keep a close eye on his torso alone. If I use the Teleportation Technique there's a good chance he'll take the advantage and catch me, ensnaring me in his Genjutsu.

I concluded that long distance combat is the best choice in this case.

"Itachi stop! The Hokage is on his way to propose a final negotiation", I yelled out while dodging his continues attacks.

"Hiruzen has failed! This supposed negotiation will change nothing!", he retorted back, wielding his word in my direction.

I was quick enough to wield my kunai and block his strike. In this current position I was trying my best not to look him in the eyes.

"I'm a part of the Uchiha clan as well remember that", I growl while clenching my jaw.

"Yeah I figured", he hissed back, wielding his sword again and disarming me in an instant. Unarmed, I remained rooted in my ground.

Despite my predicament I didn't change positions, instead, I remained rooted there a blocked his sharp blade with my bare palms.

The pain that pierced through me was instantaneous. Itachi's eyes widened in regret, his expression was sympathetic.

"The Uchiha clan is a part of the Leaf, it means so much to the both of us and if it comes down to it", I took the risky leap and made direct eye contact with him, the blood began dripping down from my wound, "I'll fight you to the death, till my blood starts to rain".

This time I was quicker with my counter attack, he was so taken aback by my gesture it'd rendered him wide-eyed when he realized that I'd ensnared him in my Genjutsu.

____________________________________

A/N:- Sasuke's theme would slap if it played in the background of the this fight. The uplifting part is my favorite. Please tell me what you think, this is directed to all my silent readers. Oh and holy moly guacamole, so back in November when I first posted this story I was skeptical that I'd even get 500 reads by the end of the year, but I have exceeded my own expectations by hitting 1K! I am so thankful to each and every one of you. Sincerely!

~A