Chapter 7: Unbloodied Streams
"..."
"..."
...
". . .Sigh."
'Ignore ignore ignore ign-'
"SIGH."
His eye twitched.
"SI-"
"Is there a problem, Sakura?" Finally, Tobi spoke, somewhat softly for that matter.
"I don't know Tobi," she started dramatically," but this is all so. . . BORING. Where's the action, the drama, the FLAVOR?"
"We've been over this, Sakura. You're way too young for any drama." He said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Besides, medidating is essential to the opening of your chakra network, and-"
"Chakra is the basic start point of all jutsu." She recited in a bored manner. "I know that already, what about the thing you were going to tell me earlier? Something about my dad?" She turned her body to sit crisscross in front of him, scanning his his face for any indication.
"..." Tobi never, ever, stuttered. If there was something he had to say, he would say it on the spot. Sakura knew this, and when she saw her friend hesitate for the first time, she wondered if this would finally be the day her life began,
and if her theories were correct, then the pinkette would gladly welcome the mayhem with open arms.
...
Another 15 minutes of annoying pestering for answers, the Senju had finally let up his thoughts that had been hoistering his chest down, like an anchor to a ship. Even still, he regretted doing so when he saw the reaction of the same girl he did not want to know.
"...Sakura?"
"..."
"Sakura? Are you okay?"
"Tobi... that's.."
"??"
"That's.... A BRILLIANT IDEA!" Said girl jumped up from her crisscross position and jolted about on a large, precarious, rock by the stream and started going on about the plan and whatever else a child like Sakura would do.
"When should we start? Maybe on Sunday, since that's when Papa drinks the most, hm, but then again, he drinks everyday. Oh well, or we can go on Saturday, 'cause, that's when mama gets out the hospital! But she's always in and out, so I don't really care. But then again-"
"Wait, What?! Sakura, be careful! The stream moves really fast!"
This was not the reaction Tobi was expecting, having said this, he was caught extremely off guard.
"Huh?-"
'The stream moves really fast.'
That throbbing pain struck her once again, causing her to lose balance, and ultimately falling head first into fast, freezing waters.
"— w-WOAH!" Skipping a step, Sakura bumped her head on another rock, deeming her unconscious, and leaving her no choice but to let the rushing flow of water guide her limbs wherever it does.
"NO!" He tried to catch her, he really did, and he would've had it not been for his phantom-like state. He cursed himself, for being so... freakish! Why? What was the reason to leave him on this cursed earth, attached to a child that he can't protect? They'd ought to leave him rotting in his grave like he'd been doing fine just a few years ago! And now all he could do was watch Sakura being carried away, away to what would most likely be her death.
Earlier
"Evil."
"Don't say that about my brother, he's just a child." A gentle voice said.
"The energy he gives off is absolutely diabolical. I ought to be shaking in my boots!"
"Hm. Agree to disagree?"
"Definitely."
Two cousins, Itachi and Shisui, sat comfortably on a bench while looking after a little boy play in a sandbox at the park, the latter eyeing him more suspiciously rather than supervising. The boy has black hair that resembles that of a duck's hind feathers. He turned around in annoyance as he had to shoo away some girls that would hover him as he played.
"Otouto, it's about time for lunch, we should be getting home now, no?" Itachi asked.
"Yeah, okay. These kids are annoying anyways." Sasuke said, dusting the sand off his clothes as he stood up. The three of them walked side by side all the way to the house, Sasuke insisting that the only reason why he held Shisui's hand was because he was cold. Yeah, definitely believable.
"Welcome, welcome! Come sit for lunch, you three." Mikoto said, setting three plates on the counter.
"Okaerinasai!" They exclaimed in unison.
"Eat up, boys. Shisui, Itachi I have a few errands for you to run for me, okay?"
"Uhm, 'shno p'oblem, Aunt Mikoto!" Shisui said with a mouth full, Mikoto chuckled.
"May I ask where we should go?" Itachi asked.
"For dinner tonight, I'm cooking salmon soup— your father's favorite! So, I'm sending you two by the stream to pick up some fresh fish." Mikoto explained.
"Awww, but mama, what about me?" Sasuke pouted. The sharingan had nothing on his powerful puppy eyes.
"You, young man, are going to take a nice, warm bath to take off all that dirt and grime!" She replied happily, lifting Sasuke up from the chair he was sitting in.
"... b-But what about Shisui? He needs a bath but you don't say anything!" Sasuke argued while pointing his little finger at a certain brown-haired boy accusingly. Shisui choked on his food.
"I- What-? Listen here you little sh-" Mikoto sent him a death glare, so he fixed his tongue to switch his words to something more... er.... friendly.
"..-shining star! Yes, you really are just a shining star aren't you?" He gritted while smiling 'sweetly.' Itachi, who was watching from the sidelines, innocently, finally decided to speak.
"Maybe we should get going.." And then the two cousins sat out to the stream.
At the stream~
"-And then he went all, 'It's all for the village! Isn't that what you want?' And well, yeah, it is what I want, but it doesn't necessarily requiring being an Anbu, right? Of course I didn't say anything back, I'd be frowned upon by the organization if I denied the promotion... but it still sucks." Shisui had finally finished his ranting and sighed, waiting for Itachi's reaction. The two had a lot in common, and were extremely relatable to each other, having both been labeled 'prodigies,' so when it came to talking about life, Itachi was the only person Shisui could go to.
"Hm." Itachi was never much of a talker, in fact, he didn't really enjoy talking at all, his father always taught him to speak when necessary, so he only really talked his mother, brother, Shisui... and occasionally Izumi. However, to make up for his constant silence, he was a very attentive listener, and that's how their friendship worked: Shisui talked, Itachi listened— and they were both fine with that.
Soon enough, the boys had finally come close to the stream's 'hot spot,' aka the narrow part of the stream where most fish got cluttered and disarrayed. As they got closer, a dark shadow underwater came into view. To Shisui, it indicated that there were many fishes, all scrambled into one spot.
"Ah, It's our lucky day, wouldn't you say, Itachi?" Shisui exclaimed happily with a close-eyed smile as he placed his hands behind his head nonchalantly.
"Hn." Itachi saw something very strange, but he decided to not say anything about it since he also thought it could have been his bloody missions coming back to haunt him, again.
However, as the boys walked even further, the shadow became more prominent. Itachi elbowed Shisui in the rib lightly to grab his attention, and he cracked one eye open and looked towards Itachi.
"Shisui... that doesn't look like a group of fish to me..." he whispered, becoming skeptical. Shisui noticed this, and they walked closer and closer, quite slowly, until-
"ITACHI, THAT'S A BODY!"