Itachi's P.O.V
"What have you done?", I stare back at him wide-eyed as I helplessly fall to my knees. My shoulders were shaking uncontrollably, and throughout the Valley all that was heard were my shrieks and sniffles.
This wasn't supposed to happen...This wasn't how it was supposed end for us...we were supposed to...
"How dare you?!", I screamed at the top of my lungs, my eyes clouded with the stillborn tears that I was too numb to shed. This pain jostled throughout my entire body, stirring up different emotions, all which contributed to my next move. My hand snaked to my sword and I gripped it tight before lunging right at Danzo.
I screamed as the tears flew right past me. My eyes no longer saw anything else except the criminal that stood right before me. The aching pain that throbbed in my chest was channeled into the striking of my sword. Danzo had simply smirked as he looked at me.
I grit my teeth together, my tears trickling down my face. He stood still before me as I was aiming for his chest. However, it doesn't matter how determined I was to kill Danzo because when my eyes connect with hers, my face had scrunched. Her face appeared right before my eyes and I shriek when I recall her face. My grip on the sword's handle had become shaky and then one thing was clear.
I can't do it...
I fell right on my knees and screamed out of frustration.
"Damn you Danzo!", I shouted, scrunching my eyes as I choked on my own voice. The burning tears were gushing out without a second thought.
How can I possibly take him down when I'm staring right into her eyes?
"Hanabi..", I shrieked, before I choked on my own voice when my chest clenched at our few memories, "I can't do this..."
"Of course you can't", Danzo's stern voice put me on alert again. The rain had become more pouring upon me. I frown like I never have before and clench my jaw as I chin up to look at Danzo, "you couldn't even slaughter your clan", he looked down upon me with disgust.
My eyes then dart ahead of Danzo and that's when my heart sank in my stomach and my arms fell to my sides, trembling.
There, at the near edge of the valley was the person that'd caused me all these emotions.
Hanabi Namikaze was on her knees as two of Danzo's underlings stood on either side of her. My breath had hitched in my throat as I painfully forced my eyes up to her face. That's the moment where my faith was shaken completely, right where I kneeled.
A bandage run across her empty eye sockets, concealing them completely. Her mouth was parted and her blonde hair was dull. Her shoulders were slumped and her limbs seemed to fall lifelessly. Something as traumatic as this had taken a toll on her and I'm witnessing it first hand.
She wasn't tied or anything, but her usually live spirit was no where in sight. Her presence was almost undetectable if you didn't see her.
"Hanabi...", I breathlessly whispered as I choked on my voice again. The wind blew out her fallen hair strands, revealing her impaled face.
"Hanabi!", I yelled out louder as I felt the stinking hot tears run down my cheeks. Despite from the inside I forced myself to feet, eager to get Hanabi back.
We'll get through this...together...
"There's no point in that", Danzo declared, his voice making my blood boil with rage. I had to stay calm for Hanabi's sake, she seems almost like a corpse.
"You see", Danzo began, but my eyes didn't dare lift up from Hanabi. She wasn't making any movement, not even wiggling a finger. Involuntarily, I shifted my loathing stare towards Danzo, my eyes filling with tears as I stare into Hanabi's blue orbs, "This wouldn't have been the outcome if you'd just done what you were asked".
"Ensuring the Leaf's safety wasn't the only reason I wanted to get rid of the Uchiha. I also wanted to get my hands on some of their visual prowess since my previous ones were getting old", Danzo elaborated, filling me with hatred to the bone.
"W-what do you mean?", I demanded as I clenched my jaw, the tears still burning hot on my face.
Danzo gave off a creepy grin then said, "I'd stolen the Mangekyō of her mother thirteen years ago".
"What?!", I gasped. My eyes traveled back to the motionless Hanabi as I scarcely whispered, "y-you killed Ichiko Uchiha?!".
He'd simply scoffed in return and confirmed, "Hayate Namikaze didn't die on a top-secret mission and Ichiko Uchiha didn't die in childbirth, they were both killed by me", he'd said it like it was something to be proud of, which infuriated me.
From the corner of my eye, I'd witnessed Hanabi flinching and trembling at the mention of her parents. She lowered her head further and muffled shrieks eluded her. Each cry felt like a stab to my chest, each stab more poisonous than the last until I spilled more tears in return.
How did everyone believe those lies about the Yellow Spark and the Red Butterfly ?
"Don't worry", Danzo said, his threatening voice sending shivers down my spine, the more I stared at the lifeless Hanabi, the more numb I became, "her lacrimal sacs weren't removed", I darted my eyes to the devil as he carried on, "she can still produce tears to mourn how empty and meaningless her life is".
"Shut your mouth", I growled, feeling myself become more livid. My muscles were rigid and stern as I glared at Danzo wide-eyed, "scum like you have an empty and meaningless life, how did you even accomplish your filthy plans?!".
"Well I might as well tell you all about my plan, since you seem confused", Danzo remarked, the blue hue of Hanabi's eyes shining through the murk of the night, sending a pang of guilt throughout me.
"You, Itachi Uchiha ruined my plans not once, but twice", he said, the rain droplets pouring over his face, "when I tried to take Shisui Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan you intervened and saved him. When I was going to get my hands on dozens and dozens of Sharingan a couple of days ago, you and Hanabi intervened, ruining my plans once again", he then lowered his head a bit and suggestively smiled, "but third time's the charm isn't it?".
"You disgust me", I snickered, but couldn't hold my trembling shoulders straight. How can someone be rotten from the inside out? My eyes were inflamed from the rage building up inside me. Just when everything seemed to finally come together. Just when I finally felt that alien spark of life strewing through me. Just when I found the person that made my heart skip several beats at once...
"You saved the village, the clan, Shisui, but not her. So if anything, you're the disgusting one Itachi. You sacrificed her for the sake of what was endearing to you".
His words dripped with poison, they cut deep, deeper than any blade. Did I really do that? Did I really sacrifice Hanabi? Just thinking about it made me tremble and exhausted. I bit down on my lower lip to prevent any shrieks from eluding.
"Stop...", I pleaded, clutching my throbbing head in frustration.
"You're responsible for this and you know it", Danzo persisted. My mouth parted and my lower lip quivered at his harsh words. If he's trying to manipulate me then he's doing a pretty good job, because right now, to say that my mind is a mess was an understatement.
His next words were not only dripping with poison, but also menacing, "If you so much as tell anyone in the village about what has happened tonight, then I wouldn't mind telling Fugaku Uchiha that his star bright elder son was helping me create a coup on the Uchiha clan".
"Y-you snake...", I stare at him wide-eyed, unable to believe how low this man had stooped. How did everything go so wrong when we'd taken every precaution?
Every precaution except killing Danzo...
My hands are tied again, my options are limited again. I was scared. Scared of what the Uchiha will do if they ever find out about this. I can't even provide Hanabi's with the justice she deserves.
"Itachi", Danzo's menacing voice cut through my train-wreck of thought. I stare up at him again, the sight of Hanabi's eyes refreshing my sorrows, "a war will break out in the Hidden Leaf if anyone so much as learns of anything that's happened".
The mention of war send me on another train-wreck of though as I trembled when I recalled my recollections of the final weeks of The Third Great Ninja War. This is way too much for me to handle.
Am I being forced to choose again?
Of course I am, I am being torn up again just like in the beginning.
"And so bite back your tongue", Danzo ordered, making me flinch, "don't ever speak about this to anyone if you don't want chaos to erupt all over our village".
My tears had gone completely dry as his words were left hanging in the air. A twirling wind delivered my hair strands flying away from my face as I leered at him.
In a flashing heartbeat of events, events which even my Sharingan wasn't fast enough to read...I'd witnessed Danzo's mouth barking an order at his underlings, "Get rid of her!", he'd shouted at the top of his lungs.
I held my breath as I tried to catch up to the outcome of the events.
Hanabi gasped when she was forced to her feet. Then before my wide unblinking eyes, she was hurled in cold blood towards the edge of the cliff. One heartbeat after the next my body seemed to be out of pulse as it tried to desperately do something.
I can't even begin to imagine the fear that had encroached Hanabi's heart in this moment. Danzo and his underlings had retreated back, escaping the place as I desperately tried to make it on time. The stillborn tears in my wide eyes didn't dare to drop as I held my breath. Leaping towards the edge of the cliff, I scarcely made it in time.
My fingers instinctively wrapped around her left wrist as my nails had involuntary dug into the delicate skin of her wrist, holding onto her tightly. She winced at how deep I'd pierced her wrist. Fearing for her life, she returned the gesture by clutching my wrist tight with her remaining arm and her nails dug deep in my skin as well as we held onto each other. Her teeth were gritted tightly.
I used my other hand to pose as support on the edge of the cliff.
"Itachi", she whimpered, the cold wind blowing away her locks, revealing the now soaked bandage. The plea in her voice made me dread with guilt.
"Hanabi", I whimpered back, the stillborn tears which eluded my eyes dripped down on her cheeks, where they strolled down until they disappeared into oblivion.
The thunder had began rumbling and roaring as it witnessed our current predicament. I'd only be able to see her face when the lightning burned bright in the sky, contouring Hanabi's face with terror.
"Itachi please don't let go!", she pleaded, as she began crying uncontrollably. I bit my lip and sniveled as I pierced her wrist tighter with my nails and she returned the favor, making the two of us wince.
"I won't Hanabi, I won't let you go", I cried out in return, my teeth gritting together in frustration.
It rained upon us pouringly, soaking us wet. The next bolt of thunder made my entire body flinch and I almost loosened my grip.
"Itachi!", she cried out, the rain distorted my vision, but in return all I could muster up were shrieking cries. I trembled and purposely hit my head the edge of the cliff in attempts to self-inflict pain on myself.
"I'm sorry", I managed despite my voice, "I'm sorry, for everything Hanabi. I'm sorry that this had to be the out come. I'm sorry that this happened to you, when all you ever deserved was happiness. I'm sorry-oh god I'm so sorry-I..."
"I'm sorry that you got caught in between this mess-I am so done choosing, Hanabi. Im done being ensnared in dilemmas", before I could continue I'd retched again. Warm crimson blood leaked from underneath my headband down my face, where it stirred with the pouring rain and my tears.
"Itachi", she sniveled.
"Damn me!", I cried out in frustration when my attempts in trying to lift her resulted in utter failure. The most we could manage was to keep digging our nails into each other's skin, where it stunk and hurt.
If I use my remaining hand to grip her then we might just perish altogether.
"Don't let me die here Itachi", she wailed, her voice getting lost among the void that centered around us, "don't let me die!", she pleads, making my eyes tear up.
"Hanabi I-", I bite back my tongue. I'm such a coward to the point where I can't even tell her how I feel towards her. How she made me feel towards her.
"Don't-", she whimpers, making my head twitch to see her face. There was a ghost of a smile on her face, taking my mind back to where we saved Shisui and how she poked me in the forehead, assuring me that we'll figure something out.
"There'll be plenty of time for that..", she assured, but I can still sense the terror within her.
Something about what she said sparked a bit of hope within me. As the the wind furiously blew away my hair, and as the rain poured down, there was a sudden doubt that drenched my heart, tightening my chest.
"Hold on", I grunted.
"Don't let go", she whimpered again.
I grit my teeth together and scrunched my eyes.
Desperately, I began to mutter prayers under my breath.
Dear God,
Give me one more ounce of strength to get through tonight.
Please, supply me with the courage to wash away my doubts and fear, to save Hanabi and give her justice.
One more ounce of strength.
Just one more...
Abruptly, my breath had hitched my throat and I seemed to lack pulse. My eyes broadened in fear when it hit me.
My grip was loosening.
The two of us winced when our nails had dragged the other's skin. Rain had poured over us, soaking us to the bone. My dried tears were replaced with new ones when I felt Hanabi slipping away from my clutch despite my desperate attempts.
I watched Hanabi's face with a sorrowful heart. She disguised her fear despite from the inside. Her mouth was no longer agape and she had forced her lips together. The blood that dripped from my forehead on her face had made this sight even more heart-wrenching.
Hanabi knows it. She knows that I'm not strong enough, that behind my stern front I'm just a weakling...
"Hanabi don't you dare give me that look do you hear me?!", I insisted. My arm had become numb from the failed attempts at pulling her up, "you mean so much to me and I'll never let you go like that, never!".
As I gathered my might in my arm, I attempted to pull her with all the power I could muster up. But that only resulted in a scream being sounded off by the two of us when our nails dragged at each other's skin again as we both slipped away from each other.
By now, there was blood on our wrists as well. Aside from the rumbling thunder, the only other sound that echoed along the valley were my cries.
Hanabi sniveled again, her next gesture took me by complete surprise. She swallowed the lump in her throat and purposely let herself slip further. I winced out in pain and she reflected my gesture. The wound on our wrists were a bit concerning, considering how tight we held onto each other.
"Hanabi!", I yelled out.
"Itachi", she began, making my tears run dry. I looked at her face intently with my bloodshot eyes all the while holding my breath tight as she carries on, "the only regret I'll ever have is that I never got to spend enough time...with you..."
"Hanabi..."
Her words had stirred something inside me on spur of that moment.
Caught off guard, I watch in horror as Hanabi slips out of my grasp, leaving me with a bloody wrist as my nails drag hers too. My heart instantaneously skips a beat when I witness her go stiff as she falls.
I screamed out her name at the top of my lungs as more tears escape my bloodshot eyes.
"Hanabi!"
I cry into The Valley of The End as my breath hitched in my throat. The heavens keep on crying upon me as I empty out my lungs from the air supply.
Abruptly, a blinding bolt of thunder pierces the oblivion sky. I was out of breath from screaming so much that when the thunder lit up the sky, and as I witnessed the blinding thunder, my breath had been cut off completely. My body had collapsed back on the edge of the cliff where it had gone limb.
With tired eyes I look over at my bloody wrist one more time and shed one more tear before my consciousness faded into oblivion.
What Itachi Uchiha failed to see before he fainted from shock, was the lingering figure of the Ghost of The Uchiha. Who was silently observing the scene following up to Hanabi's fall. Mid-way through her fall, Hanabi had accepted her inevitable death despite from inside. Her heart almost stopped as her brain tricked her into thinking she was already dead. In reality, that was the moment when Marada Uchiha caught her. The trauma was too much for her to handle which is why by the time Madara had caught her, her entire body went limb and lifeless. But she was alive, and in Madara's grasp.
To be continued...
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A/N:- wow now that's a way of starting off 2021. The song above fits so well, check it out! Ok, but let me address something first. So since day one of me writing this fan-fic I knew this was going to happen, I had planned for it. I had planned for this to happen when y'all were so busy shipping them together. And originally, this book was supposed to end here. Yes, I was actually going to end the book like this. But then I decided not to, like Madara, I had a change of heart... So if you still want Itachi and Hanabi's happy ending then stay tuned. I just hope that what happened these past two chapters doesn't discourage you from reading this book. Trust me and trust the process. The next chapter will take place four years after, so Itachi and Hanabi will be 17.
~A