Hey guys. So: good news first. I finally finished the next chapter! So here it is, in all its glory.
Okay, now the bad news:
I will not be writing for a while.
Now, before you think or say anything, it will only be for a while. I just won't be uploading any of my stories for a considerable amount of time, due to the fact that I am too......unmotivated to do so.
It's not laziness, I assure you, and it isn't writer's block. I don't know what it is I just don't feel any enthusiasm in writing right now.
But I will write! It might be a while, but I will. That I can promise. I do want to finish this story and all my others and maybe in the future upload new ones. But for now I will not be updating.
I am sorry for this, but I would rather slowly give you great content than give you crappy chapters quickly.
I may be editing this and other stories while I am not writing, so if you see them updated without a chapter, that is what I am doing.
I will also be putting this on each of my newly updated chapters for each of my stories, just to inform you.
On another note, I really hope you enjoy, and thank you all so much for reading. I WILL update, but it probably won't be for a good amount of time.
Enjoy,
~Stephanie ;)
"Shisui?" I asked once we got to the valley he talked about. He turned around, and I stopped, sharply taking in a breath. He had a small smile on his face, and his right eye had been...well, taken out.
"Oh my god, Shisui." I mumbled.
"What happened?" Itachi asked.
"Danzo stole my right eye. He's probably going to go for my left one too. He doesn't trust me. He isn't going to stop pursuing me." I started to walk towards Shisui again.
"And us three aren't going to stop until there's peace between the Uchiha and the village. Us three." Itachi, still not getting what I could clearly see of my counterpart, wasn't as worried, and slowly walked to where I was, holding onto Shisui's arms, not wanting to let him go.
"Itachi." He called, and turned to him.
"Danzo, he will not stop pursuing my left eye as long as it's in my head." I felt tears come to my eyes.
"Shisui, stop it. You aren't think-"
"Please, Tane. This is the only way." He turned back to Itachi, and I felt blood being drawn from my lip.
"I want you to take this. Put it somewhere safe, for when you need it." He said, taking his last remaining eye out and handing it to Itachi, who summoned a crow to take it for him. My teeth sunk deeper into my lip.
"I'm sorry, but I'm trusting you two. You have always been a better pair anyway."
"Shisui, stop it!" I yelled, not too loud. His head turned to the sound of my voice.
"Tane, you know that I love you more than I should, and more than you do me." I the tears had already begun escaping my eyes, but my voice was stern, and hoarse.
"Shisui, there are other ways. You... you don't have to..."
"I'm trusting you two. I know you all can do well. Worry looks good on neither of your faces, you know. I know that's the look you're giving me. But don't worry. I'll be okay. I'll help as much as I can. But for now, this is what I can do." Itachi took a step towards him.
"Take care of the village. Save the Uchiha name." Shisui's foot grazed the edge.
"I love you, Tane." And he fell.
It all happened in slow motion, Shisui, a smile on his face falling, slowly, slowly falling. Itachi and I running to the edge. Him missing, my hand grazing Shisui's, and more tears falling as I desperately gripped, and his fingers curled around mine.
And then the crash, knowing he was dead, that we wouldn't ever see him again, Itachi's Mangekyo, and the tears. So, so many tears.
Itachi and I went back to his house, and he let me stay there, yelling at his father in the process, anger and despair and fear all coming out in the argument as I went to his room and waited out the arguing, lying on Itachi's bed.
"Tane." He whispered. I noticed a large red mark on the left side of his face, but decided to say nothing about it.
"He's dead, Itachi." I said, the tears finally coming back. He nodded, and lay next to me in his bed over the covers, holding me.
"I know, I know." I could feel his tears, too. I saw the desperation in his look as he reached for him, and he knew the look in mine. Because Shisui was my other half. Without him, I wouldn't last long. Even if I did have Itachi, I wouldn't last long.
"Kiuya-"
"He's here, he's here. That's the other reason my father was so mad. Is so mad." I nodded and nuzzled my head further into his chest, and tightened myself into a ball.
"What were you mad at me about today?" I whispered, barely able to hear myself.
"I know about you talking with Madara. I left when he showed up, but I know you talked with him." I felt my throat tighten even more at the name Madara. He didn't know.
"You know him?"
"He's talked to me once. I refused him, but he said he'd be back to talk to me again."
"He said the same to me." I whispered into his shirt.
"I guess we both have more than just the village and Uchiha and Shisui to worry about." I nodded, but stayed silent.
"Tane." He whispered and lifted my head up so I was looking at him.
"I-" He nodded.
"I know." I stared into his eyes, finding everything I wanted to.
"Can I...?" His eyes took a quick look at my lips and I nodded, wanting to feel anything but pain and anger this night.
And so he kissed me, softly at first. But as we both got more comfortable our emotions started to pour out and it became more demanding and fierce and soon I was ontop of him, the only thing separating us being our underwear.
"Tane..." I hushed his oncoming thought with my lips against his, blurring him of his correct thoughts of how we shouldn't do this, how if we did, it wouldn't be out of love. It'd be out of anger and distraction and despair. But we carried on anyway.
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In the morning, I was woken up by Itachi and Sasuke. They were talking, and I couldn't hear them well, but I decided I wanted to. So I quickly dressed and put up my hair and quietly padded to where they were sitting, resting, and half hiding but aware that Itachi knew I was there, behind the thin wall.
"Do you hate me, Sasuke?"
"No! I don't!" I frowned at the brothers. I wanted them to be more than what they were. I wanted them to be united, to be able to tell each other things. But Fugaku made it hard for them to do that.
"It's okay if you do. I don't blame you. Great things are not often thought of Shinobi." Sasuke stayed quiet, and I leaned my head against the wall.
"Being the best isn't what I wanted. I've become isolated and arrogant to the world. However, with you and I, it's not like that. We are family, and so I'll be there for you no matter what, even if just an obsticle. I hope you're okay with that, Sasuke. I mean, that's what big brothers are meant for." I smiled, but only for a second before the door flew open.
"Itachi and Tane Uchiha! We want to speak with you two!" Itachi turned around and made eye contact with me, a little annoyed and worried. I turned around and went to the door and sent a glaring look at the small group of uchiha.
"What is it?" Itachi asked from behind me. I leaned against the wall while Itachi stood firm in the doorway, looking at them clamly. He shot me a look and I did the same.
"There were three people who didn't show at the meeting yesterday. You and Tane were two of those people. Why weren't you there?"
"Your father told us that ANBU black ops has a tight hold on you, and so that's why you weren't there." I noticed they were ignoring me for the time being.
"We aren't your father, you know. So there won't be any special treatment." Itachi sighed, relieved and closed his eyes.
"I'll be more careful then. Is that all?"
"And Tane? What were you doing? You don't seem like you have much you can do. The least you could do is support this clan." Itachi's eyes shot open and he gave me a warning look, which I easily ignored.
"Oh, I was just plotting the downfall of this village." I smiled. Their eyes widened, and a few activated their sharingans.
"She's kidding." Itachi said, glaring at me. I shrugged.
"Sorry boys, I was a little preoccupied with my little brother."
"That brother is dead." I smiled at them again and yelled, "Kiuya!" He came rushing to my side.
"Yes, big sister?"
"I'd like you to meet these men. They're complete annoyances."
"Tane." I returned Itachi's hard look.
"Go with Sasuke, okay?" I whispered, bending down to reach Kiuya's height. He nodded and ran off to meet Sasuke. My eyes didn't follow him as he went, instead I turned back to the annoyances outside.
"Is that all?" Itachi forced.
"Yeah, but there is one other thing. Shisui Uchiha, do you know anything about him throwing himself into the river?" My eyes widened and I turned my head to stare directly at the wall beside Itachi, and Itachi's gaze hardened.
"He was the other person who didn't show," I noticed Itachi close his eyes, trying to calm down, and remembering. My heart ached all over my body, "if I can remember correctly, Itachi, you looked up to him as an older brother. And you...Tane, you were like his other half, weren't you?" I took a deep breath and closed my eyes as well.
"Aren't. It's aren't."
"That's horrible. I haven't seen him recently, my apologies. That's terrible."
"Yeah, well we're going to investigate it. No other choice."
"Investiage? You just said he threw himself off. It's not homicide." I said, looking back at them, worried.
"Here's the note he left behind. He definitely wrote it." This time they handed it to me, and I snatched it up as fast as possible.
I'm tired of the duties....there is no future for Uchiha...and for me. I cannot walk "the path" any further...
I choke back a sob and hand it to Itachi.
"It isn't too hard for someone to copy his handwriting with sharingan." They paused, then continued, "We'll leave the note for you two to give to the ANBU black ops. Ask them to start looking. We'll know if you don't ask them." At that, Itachi finally broke, and he nearly ripped the paper in his hand with the way he held it.
"Why don't you just say it! You think I killed Shisui!"
"Not just you, but that girl next to you too. Always had a problem with-" I cut him off by sending him flying, kicking him so hard in the chest he coughed blood. I looked at all the other guys, sharingan active.
Itachi followed in the suit, knocking the rest of the men to the ground.
"You overestimate this clan!" I yelled laughing. Itachi joined in. The only difference, he was putting on an act. I wasn't.
"You do not realize the ability of those around you. And because of it? You're face down in the dirt. You call that pride? Two Uchiha, and you are on the ground? The ignorance you show is quite despicable."
My mind wandered as Itachi went on and as the other men did too. My mind drifted to the two boys watching, it wandered to Shisui, who, sadly, might only live again with fear attatched to his name. No praise from the Uchiha clan. Because the Uchiha clan would probably have to suffer our last resort plan, at this point.
I didn't leave, unwisely, when Fugaku showed up. I only enjoyed bashing the clan more.
"This girl has been implanting these thoughts into your head! Poisioning your love for this clan!"
"I have not done so! I have only been around him. He has come to realize this on his own and you must be insane to not see that." Again unwisely, I stepped towards him until I was mere inches away
"Not that, I already didn't know you were. As is the rest of your family." Fugaku's hand moved to hit me, pull a blow to my head so hard I would have been out cold, but I impulsively activated my mangekyo and his arm bounced off a couple inches from my face with twice the force. I heard the multiple snaps in his arms.
"Stop!" I heard Kiuya, and my sharingan diactivated.
"Big brother, you have to stop!" Itachi did the same thing, but he kneeled. I turned to him, and he gave me a look telling to follow, and I did so.
But I didn't regret it.
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