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tampered2006-12-22 06:31 pm
medic-assistant.livejournal.com) wrote in tampered2006-12-22 06:31 pm
Log; Complete
When; December 21st, evening
Rating; PG
Characters; Shizune {![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
medic_assistant}, Hotaru {silence_bringer}, and Archer {heroshirou}
Summary; After trading something to Dorian to get Itachi's file from Konoha, Shizune tries to reason with Hotaru and her guardian.
Log;
Shizune sat at the booth in the cafe, fingers gently massaging her right temple. She had a headache, had been having them a lot recently, probably because of everything that had been happening. First she'd healed the Yondaime, had been thrilled when she'd been told Itachi's eyes had been taken out of commission. Then there was the affair with Xulchilbara and the man Mulder's memories. A case so similar to Kabuto's that it had been keeping her up at night. And then that girl... she knew the type. Innocent. Naive. Open to persuasion. Those types didn't last long in Konoha. But she'd done it, healed the eyes of one of the most evil people Shizune had ever known. But she had the file now, straight from the desk of the Hokages. It was thick, filled with pictures and reports, all concerning the activities of the Akatsuki member. She only hoped it would help sway the girl, even just a little.
Hotaru stood in front of the door, chewing on her lip nervously. Reaching back behind her, she fumbled for Archer's sleeve, pulling his arm up and around her shoulders, as if to shield herself from whatever she was afraid of. She glanced back over her shoulder at him.
"Do... do we really have to?"
Archer looked down and gave Hotaru a sincere look.
"Yes. To know the truth, you need to hear both sides of the story." He opened the door and walked in the cafe with Hotaru.
Shizune stood when she caught sight of the two, looking them over cautiously. She felt that neither would make a move against her, but she was a ninja, and cautiousness was part of the life. She was serious, however, and did not smile as they approached.
"Hotaru. Archer. Thank you for coming." She gestured for them sit, motioning to the booth and the heavy folder on the table top.
To her credit, Hotaru was a cautious person where most things were concerned. Years of persecution by her classmates had taught her to be wary of anyone who hadn't given her a reason to think otherwise. As such, she looked the shinobi woman over carefully before stepping carefully towards the booth. She had to admit, the woman didn't look that dangerous. But appearances could be deceiving. After all, Hotaru herself didn't look dangerous. And she knew very well that she had destroyed an entire world with her own small hands. She nodded slightly to Shizune and sat down, violet eyes never leaving those of the other woman.
Archer sat down beside Hotaru. No one could be trusted with her. That was his opinion. He didn't feel any traps but he kept his knee up against the table, ready to flip it if anything happened. Archer put both of his large hands on the table as an assurance he wasn't holding any weapons and looked Shizune in the eyes.
"What do you have to share with us?"
Shizune met both of their gazes levelly. She was a very calm woman most of the time, and though her pregnancy causes mood swings some of the time, her usual personality was quite operational.
"This is the file Konoha keeps on Uchiha Itachi." The medic opened the folder to the first page, which was simply a picture of the man, along with his name, age, date of birth, and other information.
"It contains all of the information we have on him from his birth." She moved to the second page, folder flipped away from her so that the two would be seeing it correctly. There were pictures of a baby, and stats on birth weight and the like.
"I just want you to let me talk to you about this, if that is alright."
Hotaru nodded slowly. She was fairly certain that this "file" was nothing but a packet full of lies, but that didn't mean that she wasn't curious. Leaning forward slightly, she kept her fingers tightly clenched around the material of Archer's sleeve as she studied the pages.
Archer felt her unease, so he put his arm around her shoulder. He studied the pictures and information intently, memorizing each bit of information. Real or not, it would be useful. His brain was running at full speed. He already guessed what Itachi had told Hotaru. He wanted to see how it would match up here.
"Please, talk us through it. I'm very interested."
"I will, thank you." Shizune noticed how intimidated, afraid, the girl in front of her seemed, and she wondered what Akatsuki had told her about Konoha ninja, or about her. It almost amused her that she was feared, if only because she'd always had a problem with that during missions. At her height and looks, she was hardly an intimidating opponent, and was usually underestimated. Not that that was a bad thing. But at the same time, Shizune was slightly unnerved at being afraid, as if it only proved that she was some sort of bad person. Shaking those thoughts, she put her mind back to the file, slowly flipping through pictures.
"These pictures were salvaged from the Uchiha estate." She said softly, eyes grazing over photographs depicting Itachi's childhood. But there weren't many and she soon came to the more relevant pictures.
"This is the entrance ceremony for the ninja academy." Shizune pointed out the man in question, one of the youngest in his class.
"And this is graduation." Pointing out the same child in another class photo, he seemed to be roughly the same age.
"He is one of Konoha's earliest graduates, and one of the reasons we changed the laws to limit how young a child could join the ninja ranks."
“Because they were afraid of Itachi-sama. Afraid because he was different. Like you're afraid of everything that's different." She reached out timidly with one small hand to pull a picture of a child Itachi towards her, smiling at it slightly as fingertips brushed across the image. Looking back up at Shizune, she remained tense, shoulders stiff as though she would flee at the first hint of anything threatening.
"No, that's not it. You can obviously see from these photos that everyone looked up to him. They expected a lot from him.” Archer pointed at the class photo.
"See how the kids standing around seem like they are proud to even be with him, not frightened at all." Archer looked back up after explaining.
"Can you please continue?"
"Archer is right in this case. Itachi was the heir to the Uchiha clan, one of the two most prestigious in Konoha, and therefore prestigious in our whole world. His younger brother was important as well, but nowhere near as much as the eldest son, you understand." Shizune pointed to a photo of the young boy, now sporting a hitai-ate.
"Do you know how old he is here
Hotaru shook her head. Despite the fact that she didn't trust the woman, this was a part of Itachi's life that he hadn't spoken of. She glanced at Archer for a moment, seeking reassurance, and snuggled against him, fingers still clasped around his arm.
"No…"
Archer cringed when he looked at the picture. NOT what he wanted to see.
"You make your kids fight at this young of an age? What kind of sadistic madmen are you? What is he? 14 years old?"
"... It's the way our world works." Shizune was well aware how it seemed to people from other worlds.
"Our entire economy is based on ninja trade, and war. There’s always a country at war and Konoha is actually considering the most human of all." She stopped trying to justify it, instead tapping the picture with her index finger.
"He's nine." She was now frowning slightly. "Children graduate when they've mastered the basics of assassination and ninja techniques. He's the youngest to ever graduate. His family and teachers were very proud, I hear."
Her eyes widened in horrified fascination at the idea of a world where children were taught to kill. Nine. Only 9 years old, and he'd been expected to know how to assassinate someone? The thought chilled her to the bone.
"Although I'm quite afraid to hear the rest of the story, I would be beneficial to know." Archer was rubbing his forehead at this point, already having a good idea where this was heading.
"He joined ANBU at thirteen." Shizune continued, turning the page to show detailed sketches of the mask worn by the young boy, as well as small pictures of those who'd served under him.
"ANBU is one of our most elite groups. Members become anonymous, faceless, genderless, and ageless. They are assigned the most dangerous missions relevant to the defense of Konoha. He excelled there. Perfected his Sharingan technique. Became a captain." Pausing before she continued, Shizune felt as if she were telling a child a disturbing bedtime story.
"... And then disaster struck."
She was interested now. Morbidly interested, but interested nonetheless. So she continued listening.
"Alright. This is what I wanted to hear. The two stories are going to collide here. Let me make a wild guess and say that your Itachi single-handedly slaughtered his entire family, save one boy." Archer wagged his finger at Shizune.
"I'm sure you have 'proof', correct?"
"... Itachi told you things, then." Though Shizune had no doubt he had twisted the tale to suit his own ends.
"Well, you're right. That's what happened." Shizune turned the page slowly, with an air of finality. The pictures now took a dark and morbid turn. The previous ones had been of a child, though never a paticuraly happy looking child, an innocent seeming one nonetheless.
"Uchiha Sasuke was still in the ninja academy, he hadn't graduated yet. Uchiha Fugaku worked at the Police… he came home at the same time he did every day. Uchiha Mikoto was at home. Various relatives, aunt, uncles, cousins... they were there." The pictures showed corpses, slashed, stabbed, and all quite dead, eyes hanging open in horror, no gory detail spared in these photographs.
"When Uchiha Sasuke came home that night, he had stayed late after school, he saw this in his family's home." She pointed to one specific picture. A middle aged man slumped over a pretty dead wife, both covered in each other's blood.
"He ran screaming, and to this day has never told anyone exactly what happened before he managed to get to safety. He was found by an ANBU member and brought to the hospital." There were the hospital records.
"We had to sedate him, he was hysterical, and afterwards couldn't speak anything but his brother's name. Uchiha Itachi disappeared that night and didn't reappear for some time, though our efforts to locate him were vast and extensive."
The blood drained from her face and her slight trembling began to increase as the pages turned. Shaking her head slightly, she tried to look away, but couldn't. As the death piled up, she let out a terrified whimper and jerked away. Her glass of water cracked and shattered as the Saturn-power surged in response to her emotions. She cringed, burying her face in Archer's shirt and seeming to shrink into his embrace.
"No.....not true.....it's a lie."
Archer reached out and set his hand on the broken pieces. The glass began to glow as he lifted up his hand. It shined brightly and when it died down, the glass was there whole again.
"I'm not paying for that." Archer sighed and pulled the one picture closer to him.
"The only thing you've proved to me is that the family died. How do you know the boy didn't go psycho and forced Itachi out of the village?" Archer looked back up, his face straight.
"Don't get me wrong. I just want to give everyone the benefit of the doubt."
When the glass had shattered Shizune's arms had immediately gone up, protecting not her face or chest, but her stomach. She'd felt the girl's... well, it wouldn't be chakra, but her power spike, and that had alarmed her. Watching both of them, she felt a hint of unease. She wasn't as safe as she may have thought she would be. Pushing those feelings down and removing her hands from her stomach, Shizune looked Archer in the eye as she spoke, as Hotaru seemed quite unnerved.
"Sasuke had not graduated from the academy yet. It was common knowledge among Konoha at that time that the second Uchiha child was always in his elder's shadow. He told us, once he got older, that he didn't know why his brother did it. That he had only seen bits and pieces of hints he would do such a thing. Though I suppose the village as a whole is to blame, considering what we made of him. Of course, you could say Sasuke lied, and hid his talent. But Sasuke hadn't even developed the Sharingan yet, and you cannot hide that. It resides in the eye, and any Uchiha could tell. Anyone who attacked an Uchiha, let alone the whole clan, could never succeed without the Sharingan, and a powerful affinity for it, at that. Which Itachi had." Shizune moved past the disturbing pictures to reports.
"We spotted Itachi a few times over the years, but he lay low, for the most part. Until a few years ago, as this.” She had a picture of a cloak and hat, a uniform.
"As a member of the Akatsuki, a criminal organization of S-ranked missing ninja feared throughout our entire world."
"It's NOT true!" She shot back, voice tinged with a hint of anger and a good deal of disbelief. But behind that, there was the barest tinge of pleading, as if she wanted to deny to herself that it might be true. The table rattled slightly and her eyes widened before she quieted and clung to Archer. Glancing up at him, her expression was more one of confusion then anything else. Her power hadn't ever done anything like this, and she didn't understand why it was so volatile. Mentally she made a note to ask Archer about it later. Perhaps he would know something. Glancing back at the picture, she nodded slightly... she recognized the outfit, just as she'd recognized the symbol in the older pictures. Now she knew what the red and white fan embroidered onto the cloak he had given her meant. It was the symbol of his clan.
Archer smiled at Hotaru and tried to put it as softly as possible.
"Her argument has a lot of merit. Look at Itachi's headband. It's got a large slash through it. Now look at Shizune's. That slash probably symbolizes exile. Also, why would he be fighting people from his own village and joining with people from what are obviously other villages. Didn't Shizune say they were at war a lot? Itachi and that shark man should be enemies." Archer turned his head back to Shizune.
"The boy that is left. What is his name? Is he here in the city?"
"It is true." Shizune said simply.
"Uchiha Sasuke. He is here... but not in the best state right now." Shizune's voice dropped low, it was obvious she was worried for the boy. She'd been the one to heal him, Naruto had brought him, and... His mind...
"Itachi kidnapped him and held him for a week's time, during which, while I'm unsure of the details, I know he was held in the Tsukiyomi, and mentally tortured. He was broken, and is only just now beginning to recover." Shizune's hands had once again turned protectively to her stomach, watching the table and Hotaru carefully. Could this girl not control her powers, or were they emotionally driven? Either way, she directed most of her attention to Archer, since he seemed the more reasonable.
"I don't believe it... You're lying!" The word was punctuated by the pop as a light bulb burst in the ceiling. She glared at Shizune from the protective shelter of Archer's arms.
"I know what's real and what's not. Itachi-sama told me the truth. I don't believe you. Besides, you can't get things from your world here. Everyone knows that."
"Hotaru. You don't have to get upset, alright?" Archer rubbed her head, trying to calm her down.
"It seems like we better make this a little quicker Miss Shizune. I'll just make my own statement. I'm still on the fence right now. However, I will ask the Sasuke boy one question. Depending on how he answers it, I will make my decision. However, that is my own decision. What Hotaru wants to do in the end, I cannot control. But I will state one thing. Whatever decision she makes, I will stand beside her. The blond haired boy I talked to said you ninja's don't take part in kidnapping. Make sure you don't, or you may end up with some more 'missing-nin'. However, the same goes true for Itachi, so don't think I am discriminating."
She listened to both, sitting and trying to remain calm. As much as she wanted to shout and slap the girl and tell her she was wrong, that was not the right approach.
"You may ask him one question, Archer, but I'd ask you not to agitate his mental state, he's very delicate right now." She finally said the man before turning to the girl.
"I'm not lying." She repeated again, calmly and softly. "You can get things from your world if you go to Dorian and trade her memories for them."
"Memories? What kind of memories?" She had heard of Dorian, but she hadn't had any firsthand experience with the mysterious woman. Mentally she cast out, trying to prod the Saturn power back behind it's walls where she kept it, but the mass pushed back at her, refusing to obey. But at least it wasn't lashing out anymore...
"It depends on what you want." Shizune made the decision to tell all she knew, hoping that it would help sway the girl.
"I don't remember what I traded her for this... that's the point, after all, that I won't remember. Though I suppose one day I'll stumble across a gap where I can't connect the dots or someone will speak to me about something I can't recall... and that would be it. But I know for things besides this file, for example, I went to her when my lover lost his memories of the past five years. In exchange for them Dorian... said she would either take five years of my own memory or my memories of him." Her voice had grown softer and softer as she'd spoken. It was painful, but she could only hope it helped.
"... That sort of memory exchange."
She couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the woman. Regardless of what Itachi had told her about the Konoha-nin, being forgotten by someone you cared for was always painful. Hotaru looked up at Archer, trying to imagine how it would feel if he didn't know her. She didn't like the thought. Nodding, she was silent for a moment.
"I still don't believe you. Besides...why does it matter to you... who I spend time with, anyway?"
"I've already pointed that out. These two sides are fighting. Aiding one side could easily be seen as a danger to all. That danger will lead to fighting, which I don't want, because it would risk you." Archer thought hard for a moment. Of course, he had to placate both sides. Diplomacy was hardly his skill though.
"Shizune, you wouldn't mind if I asked Sasuke this. 'If I were to place your brother in front of you helpless, at this moment in time, what would you do with him?'"
"I can answer that one right now, if what Naruto has told me is correct." Shizune addressed Archer first.
"He'd kill him. Sasuke has been saying that for years. He wants revenge on Itachi, for killing his clan, for murdering his parents, and for putting him through hell. Though he says he wants to do it on his own." She didn't know what sort of answer the man wanted, but that was the one he'd get, judging by what she'd been told.
"As for you..." She turned her gaze to Hotaru.
"It matters to me because you healed his eyes. Eyes that have turned many minds to madness, killed many of Konoha, and tortured his own family. Those eyes deserve to be sightless."
Violet eyes widened and she shook her head, drawing back against Archer.
"N... no... I...I didn't...I...NO! I didn’t DO IT!" She ducked huddled against Archer as the light bulbs in the ceiling popped one after the other, flickering on and off as black lightning sparked between them. Whimpering, she wrapped her hands around her head, trying to regain her control as the eerie purple aura pulsed faintly around her.
"Archer....make it stop...."
Archer, although pained to see Hotaru like this, smiled inside. Perhaps he could turn this around.
"Did that blonde boy tell you? When we first saw this Itachi, his eyes were already just fine. I explained that to him. I thought we were here just to talk about Itachi, not to play a blame game. So, if that is what we are here about, then this visit is over. Mission accomplished. Good job." Archer picked up Hotaru and carried her in his arms. He pleasantly smiled at Shizune. He wanted to leave before Hotaru had a conscious attack.
"I think we will take our leave while some light bulbs are undamaged. Thank you for the information, Miss Shizune."
Shizune was going to protest, was going to say that she was merely answering the question presented her, but in the end she merely picked up the heavy folder and held it out.
"I would appreciate it if you would take this. There is even more information, more details, inside. I'd like you to have it
"NO! I don't want it!" With her shout, there was a cracking sound as tiny fissures scrawled their way across the glass of the large windows in the cafe. She turned back towards Archer hiding her face.
"I wanna go home..."
“I will take it, thank you. Before we leave, let me pose one question. Why is it that in all these pictures, everything looks like it is from the 1400's, but you are using a camera to take this quality of pictures?" Archer asked.
"We don't have a lot of the technology that exists in this world, in other worlds." Shizune answered. She'd been amazed by most of it when she first arrived herself.
"We have very simple copies of the computers in this world. We have some visual technology, monitors and the like, but that is so rare we only use it for ninja work. Also some medical technology, but only in the hospitals. As for the cameras, I wish we had the advanced ones found here. The ones in our world require tripods and powders to operate, usually.” She sighed softly, handing over the folder to Archer and trying not to let the petulant behaviors of Hotaru irritate her.
"Basically, the technology is limited and only used in the higher ninja missions and files."
Archer reached out and grabbed the folder.
"I'll read this tonight. And tell your Sasuke what I am going to ask him, so he may think over it a while. Thank you for your time and I apologize for any trouble. Remember, don't touch Hotaru, or I will cause whomever hurt her unlimited pain." Archer's eyebrows dropped.
"Literally." Archer turned around and began to walk out the door, pausing to wave goodbye.
Shizune stood still, watching them depart. She didn't know what to think anymore. Would they listen? Would that foolish girl see reason, see the truth? What had she even traded Dorian, anyway? Dropping back to her seat at the booth, Shizune put her face in her hands and sighed. She didn't know.
Rating; PG
Characters; Shizune {
medic_assistant}, Hotaru {silence_bringer}, and Archer {heroshirou} Summary; After trading something to Dorian to get Itachi's file from Konoha, Shizune tries to reason with Hotaru and her guardian.
Log;
Shizune sat at the booth in the cafe, fingers gently massaging her right temple. She had a headache, had been having them a lot recently, probably because of everything that had been happening. First she'd healed the Yondaime, had been thrilled when she'd been told Itachi's eyes had been taken out of commission. Then there was the affair with Xulchilbara and the man Mulder's memories. A case so similar to Kabuto's that it had been keeping her up at night. And then that girl... she knew the type. Innocent. Naive. Open to persuasion. Those types didn't last long in Konoha. But she'd done it, healed the eyes of one of the most evil people Shizune had ever known. But she had the file now, straight from the desk of the Hokages. It was thick, filled with pictures and reports, all concerning the activities of the Akatsuki member. She only hoped it would help sway the girl, even just a little.
Hotaru stood in front of the door, chewing on her lip nervously. Reaching back behind her, she fumbled for Archer's sleeve, pulling his arm up and around her shoulders, as if to shield herself from whatever she was afraid of. She glanced back over her shoulder at him.
"Do... do we really have to?"
Archer looked down and gave Hotaru a sincere look.
"Yes. To know the truth, you need to hear both sides of the story." He opened the door and walked in the cafe with Hotaru.
Shizune stood when she caught sight of the two, looking them over cautiously. She felt that neither would make a move against her, but she was a ninja, and cautiousness was part of the life. She was serious, however, and did not smile as they approached.
"Hotaru. Archer. Thank you for coming." She gestured for them sit, motioning to the booth and the heavy folder on the table top.
To her credit, Hotaru was a cautious person where most things were concerned. Years of persecution by her classmates had taught her to be wary of anyone who hadn't given her a reason to think otherwise. As such, she looked the shinobi woman over carefully before stepping carefully towards the booth. She had to admit, the woman didn't look that dangerous. But appearances could be deceiving. After all, Hotaru herself didn't look dangerous. And she knew very well that she had destroyed an entire world with her own small hands. She nodded slightly to Shizune and sat down, violet eyes never leaving those of the other woman.
Archer sat down beside Hotaru. No one could be trusted with her. That was his opinion. He didn't feel any traps but he kept his knee up against the table, ready to flip it if anything happened. Archer put both of his large hands on the table as an assurance he wasn't holding any weapons and looked Shizune in the eyes.
"What do you have to share with us?"
Shizune met both of their gazes levelly. She was a very calm woman most of the time, and though her pregnancy causes mood swings some of the time, her usual personality was quite operational.
"This is the file Konoha keeps on Uchiha Itachi." The medic opened the folder to the first page, which was simply a picture of the man, along with his name, age, date of birth, and other information.
"It contains all of the information we have on him from his birth." She moved to the second page, folder flipped away from her so that the two would be seeing it correctly. There were pictures of a baby, and stats on birth weight and the like.
"I just want you to let me talk to you about this, if that is alright."
Hotaru nodded slowly. She was fairly certain that this "file" was nothing but a packet full of lies, but that didn't mean that she wasn't curious. Leaning forward slightly, she kept her fingers tightly clenched around the material of Archer's sleeve as she studied the pages.
Archer felt her unease, so he put his arm around her shoulder. He studied the pictures and information intently, memorizing each bit of information. Real or not, it would be useful. His brain was running at full speed. He already guessed what Itachi had told Hotaru. He wanted to see how it would match up here.
"Please, talk us through it. I'm very interested."
"I will, thank you." Shizune noticed how intimidated, afraid, the girl in front of her seemed, and she wondered what Akatsuki had told her about Konoha ninja, or about her. It almost amused her that she was feared, if only because she'd always had a problem with that during missions. At her height and looks, she was hardly an intimidating opponent, and was usually underestimated. Not that that was a bad thing. But at the same time, Shizune was slightly unnerved at being afraid, as if it only proved that she was some sort of bad person. Shaking those thoughts, she put her mind back to the file, slowly flipping through pictures.
"These pictures were salvaged from the Uchiha estate." She said softly, eyes grazing over photographs depicting Itachi's childhood. But there weren't many and she soon came to the more relevant pictures.
"This is the entrance ceremony for the ninja academy." Shizune pointed out the man in question, one of the youngest in his class.
"And this is graduation." Pointing out the same child in another class photo, he seemed to be roughly the same age.
"He is one of Konoha's earliest graduates, and one of the reasons we changed the laws to limit how young a child could join the ninja ranks."
“Because they were afraid of Itachi-sama. Afraid because he was different. Like you're afraid of everything that's different." She reached out timidly with one small hand to pull a picture of a child Itachi towards her, smiling at it slightly as fingertips brushed across the image. Looking back up at Shizune, she remained tense, shoulders stiff as though she would flee at the first hint of anything threatening.
"No, that's not it. You can obviously see from these photos that everyone looked up to him. They expected a lot from him.” Archer pointed at the class photo.
"See how the kids standing around seem like they are proud to even be with him, not frightened at all." Archer looked back up after explaining.
"Can you please continue?"
"Archer is right in this case. Itachi was the heir to the Uchiha clan, one of the two most prestigious in Konoha, and therefore prestigious in our whole world. His younger brother was important as well, but nowhere near as much as the eldest son, you understand." Shizune pointed to a photo of the young boy, now sporting a hitai-ate.
"Do you know how old he is here
Hotaru shook her head. Despite the fact that she didn't trust the woman, this was a part of Itachi's life that he hadn't spoken of. She glanced at Archer for a moment, seeking reassurance, and snuggled against him, fingers still clasped around his arm.
"No…"
Archer cringed when he looked at the picture. NOT what he wanted to see.
"You make your kids fight at this young of an age? What kind of sadistic madmen are you? What is he? 14 years old?"
"... It's the way our world works." Shizune was well aware how it seemed to people from other worlds.
"Our entire economy is based on ninja trade, and war. There’s always a country at war and Konoha is actually considering the most human of all." She stopped trying to justify it, instead tapping the picture with her index finger.
"He's nine." She was now frowning slightly. "Children graduate when they've mastered the basics of assassination and ninja techniques. He's the youngest to ever graduate. His family and teachers were very proud, I hear."
Her eyes widened in horrified fascination at the idea of a world where children were taught to kill. Nine. Only 9 years old, and he'd been expected to know how to assassinate someone? The thought chilled her to the bone.
"Although I'm quite afraid to hear the rest of the story, I would be beneficial to know." Archer was rubbing his forehead at this point, already having a good idea where this was heading.
"He joined ANBU at thirteen." Shizune continued, turning the page to show detailed sketches of the mask worn by the young boy, as well as small pictures of those who'd served under him.
"ANBU is one of our most elite groups. Members become anonymous, faceless, genderless, and ageless. They are assigned the most dangerous missions relevant to the defense of Konoha. He excelled there. Perfected his Sharingan technique. Became a captain." Pausing before she continued, Shizune felt as if she were telling a child a disturbing bedtime story.
"... And then disaster struck."
She was interested now. Morbidly interested, but interested nonetheless. So she continued listening.
"Alright. This is what I wanted to hear. The two stories are going to collide here. Let me make a wild guess and say that your Itachi single-handedly slaughtered his entire family, save one boy." Archer wagged his finger at Shizune.
"I'm sure you have 'proof', correct?"
"... Itachi told you things, then." Though Shizune had no doubt he had twisted the tale to suit his own ends.
"Well, you're right. That's what happened." Shizune turned the page slowly, with an air of finality. The pictures now took a dark and morbid turn. The previous ones had been of a child, though never a paticuraly happy looking child, an innocent seeming one nonetheless.
"Uchiha Sasuke was still in the ninja academy, he hadn't graduated yet. Uchiha Fugaku worked at the Police… he came home at the same time he did every day. Uchiha Mikoto was at home. Various relatives, aunt, uncles, cousins... they were there." The pictures showed corpses, slashed, stabbed, and all quite dead, eyes hanging open in horror, no gory detail spared in these photographs.
"When Uchiha Sasuke came home that night, he had stayed late after school, he saw this in his family's home." She pointed to one specific picture. A middle aged man slumped over a pretty dead wife, both covered in each other's blood.
"He ran screaming, and to this day has never told anyone exactly what happened before he managed to get to safety. He was found by an ANBU member and brought to the hospital." There were the hospital records.
"We had to sedate him, he was hysterical, and afterwards couldn't speak anything but his brother's name. Uchiha Itachi disappeared that night and didn't reappear for some time, though our efforts to locate him were vast and extensive."
The blood drained from her face and her slight trembling began to increase as the pages turned. Shaking her head slightly, she tried to look away, but couldn't. As the death piled up, she let out a terrified whimper and jerked away. Her glass of water cracked and shattered as the Saturn-power surged in response to her emotions. She cringed, burying her face in Archer's shirt and seeming to shrink into his embrace.
"No.....not true.....it's a lie."
Archer reached out and set his hand on the broken pieces. The glass began to glow as he lifted up his hand. It shined brightly and when it died down, the glass was there whole again.
"I'm not paying for that." Archer sighed and pulled the one picture closer to him.
"The only thing you've proved to me is that the family died. How do you know the boy didn't go psycho and forced Itachi out of the village?" Archer looked back up, his face straight.
"Don't get me wrong. I just want to give everyone the benefit of the doubt."
When the glass had shattered Shizune's arms had immediately gone up, protecting not her face or chest, but her stomach. She'd felt the girl's... well, it wouldn't be chakra, but her power spike, and that had alarmed her. Watching both of them, she felt a hint of unease. She wasn't as safe as she may have thought she would be. Pushing those feelings down and removing her hands from her stomach, Shizune looked Archer in the eye as she spoke, as Hotaru seemed quite unnerved.
"Sasuke had not graduated from the academy yet. It was common knowledge among Konoha at that time that the second Uchiha child was always in his elder's shadow. He told us, once he got older, that he didn't know why his brother did it. That he had only seen bits and pieces of hints he would do such a thing. Though I suppose the village as a whole is to blame, considering what we made of him. Of course, you could say Sasuke lied, and hid his talent. But Sasuke hadn't even developed the Sharingan yet, and you cannot hide that. It resides in the eye, and any Uchiha could tell. Anyone who attacked an Uchiha, let alone the whole clan, could never succeed without the Sharingan, and a powerful affinity for it, at that. Which Itachi had." Shizune moved past the disturbing pictures to reports.
"We spotted Itachi a few times over the years, but he lay low, for the most part. Until a few years ago, as this.” She had a picture of a cloak and hat, a uniform.
"As a member of the Akatsuki, a criminal organization of S-ranked missing ninja feared throughout our entire world."
"It's NOT true!" She shot back, voice tinged with a hint of anger and a good deal of disbelief. But behind that, there was the barest tinge of pleading, as if she wanted to deny to herself that it might be true. The table rattled slightly and her eyes widened before she quieted and clung to Archer. Glancing up at him, her expression was more one of confusion then anything else. Her power hadn't ever done anything like this, and she didn't understand why it was so volatile. Mentally she made a note to ask Archer about it later. Perhaps he would know something. Glancing back at the picture, she nodded slightly... she recognized the outfit, just as she'd recognized the symbol in the older pictures. Now she knew what the red and white fan embroidered onto the cloak he had given her meant. It was the symbol of his clan.
Archer smiled at Hotaru and tried to put it as softly as possible.
"Her argument has a lot of merit. Look at Itachi's headband. It's got a large slash through it. Now look at Shizune's. That slash probably symbolizes exile. Also, why would he be fighting people from his own village and joining with people from what are obviously other villages. Didn't Shizune say they were at war a lot? Itachi and that shark man should be enemies." Archer turned his head back to Shizune.
"The boy that is left. What is his name? Is he here in the city?"
"It is true." Shizune said simply.
"Uchiha Sasuke. He is here... but not in the best state right now." Shizune's voice dropped low, it was obvious she was worried for the boy. She'd been the one to heal him, Naruto had brought him, and... His mind...
"Itachi kidnapped him and held him for a week's time, during which, while I'm unsure of the details, I know he was held in the Tsukiyomi, and mentally tortured. He was broken, and is only just now beginning to recover." Shizune's hands had once again turned protectively to her stomach, watching the table and Hotaru carefully. Could this girl not control her powers, or were they emotionally driven? Either way, she directed most of her attention to Archer, since he seemed the more reasonable.
"I don't believe it... You're lying!" The word was punctuated by the pop as a light bulb burst in the ceiling. She glared at Shizune from the protective shelter of Archer's arms.
"I know what's real and what's not. Itachi-sama told me the truth. I don't believe you. Besides, you can't get things from your world here. Everyone knows that."
"Hotaru. You don't have to get upset, alright?" Archer rubbed her head, trying to calm her down.
"It seems like we better make this a little quicker Miss Shizune. I'll just make my own statement. I'm still on the fence right now. However, I will ask the Sasuke boy one question. Depending on how he answers it, I will make my decision. However, that is my own decision. What Hotaru wants to do in the end, I cannot control. But I will state one thing. Whatever decision she makes, I will stand beside her. The blond haired boy I talked to said you ninja's don't take part in kidnapping. Make sure you don't, or you may end up with some more 'missing-nin'. However, the same goes true for Itachi, so don't think I am discriminating."
She listened to both, sitting and trying to remain calm. As much as she wanted to shout and slap the girl and tell her she was wrong, that was not the right approach.
"You may ask him one question, Archer, but I'd ask you not to agitate his mental state, he's very delicate right now." She finally said the man before turning to the girl.
"I'm not lying." She repeated again, calmly and softly. "You can get things from your world if you go to Dorian and trade her memories for them."
"Memories? What kind of memories?" She had heard of Dorian, but she hadn't had any firsthand experience with the mysterious woman. Mentally she cast out, trying to prod the Saturn power back behind it's walls where she kept it, but the mass pushed back at her, refusing to obey. But at least it wasn't lashing out anymore...
"It depends on what you want." Shizune made the decision to tell all she knew, hoping that it would help sway the girl.
"I don't remember what I traded her for this... that's the point, after all, that I won't remember. Though I suppose one day I'll stumble across a gap where I can't connect the dots or someone will speak to me about something I can't recall... and that would be it. But I know for things besides this file, for example, I went to her when my lover lost his memories of the past five years. In exchange for them Dorian... said she would either take five years of my own memory or my memories of him." Her voice had grown softer and softer as she'd spoken. It was painful, but she could only hope it helped.
"... That sort of memory exchange."
She couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the woman. Regardless of what Itachi had told her about the Konoha-nin, being forgotten by someone you cared for was always painful. Hotaru looked up at Archer, trying to imagine how it would feel if he didn't know her. She didn't like the thought. Nodding, she was silent for a moment.
"I still don't believe you. Besides...why does it matter to you... who I spend time with, anyway?"
"I've already pointed that out. These two sides are fighting. Aiding one side could easily be seen as a danger to all. That danger will lead to fighting, which I don't want, because it would risk you." Archer thought hard for a moment. Of course, he had to placate both sides. Diplomacy was hardly his skill though.
"Shizune, you wouldn't mind if I asked Sasuke this. 'If I were to place your brother in front of you helpless, at this moment in time, what would you do with him?'"
"I can answer that one right now, if what Naruto has told me is correct." Shizune addressed Archer first.
"He'd kill him. Sasuke has been saying that for years. He wants revenge on Itachi, for killing his clan, for murdering his parents, and for putting him through hell. Though he says he wants to do it on his own." She didn't know what sort of answer the man wanted, but that was the one he'd get, judging by what she'd been told.
"As for you..." She turned her gaze to Hotaru.
"It matters to me because you healed his eyes. Eyes that have turned many minds to madness, killed many of Konoha, and tortured his own family. Those eyes deserve to be sightless."
Violet eyes widened and she shook her head, drawing back against Archer.
"N... no... I...I didn't...I...NO! I didn’t DO IT!" She ducked huddled against Archer as the light bulbs in the ceiling popped one after the other, flickering on and off as black lightning sparked between them. Whimpering, she wrapped her hands around her head, trying to regain her control as the eerie purple aura pulsed faintly around her.
"Archer....make it stop...."
Archer, although pained to see Hotaru like this, smiled inside. Perhaps he could turn this around.
"Did that blonde boy tell you? When we first saw this Itachi, his eyes were already just fine. I explained that to him. I thought we were here just to talk about Itachi, not to play a blame game. So, if that is what we are here about, then this visit is over. Mission accomplished. Good job." Archer picked up Hotaru and carried her in his arms. He pleasantly smiled at Shizune. He wanted to leave before Hotaru had a conscious attack.
"I think we will take our leave while some light bulbs are undamaged. Thank you for the information, Miss Shizune."
Shizune was going to protest, was going to say that she was merely answering the question presented her, but in the end she merely picked up the heavy folder and held it out.
"I would appreciate it if you would take this. There is even more information, more details, inside. I'd like you to have it
"NO! I don't want it!" With her shout, there was a cracking sound as tiny fissures scrawled their way across the glass of the large windows in the cafe. She turned back towards Archer hiding her face.
"I wanna go home..."
“I will take it, thank you. Before we leave, let me pose one question. Why is it that in all these pictures, everything looks like it is from the 1400's, but you are using a camera to take this quality of pictures?" Archer asked.
"We don't have a lot of the technology that exists in this world, in other worlds." Shizune answered. She'd been amazed by most of it when she first arrived herself.
"We have very simple copies of the computers in this world. We have some visual technology, monitors and the like, but that is so rare we only use it for ninja work. Also some medical technology, but only in the hospitals. As for the cameras, I wish we had the advanced ones found here. The ones in our world require tripods and powders to operate, usually.” She sighed softly, handing over the folder to Archer and trying not to let the petulant behaviors of Hotaru irritate her.
"Basically, the technology is limited and only used in the higher ninja missions and files."
Archer reached out and grabbed the folder.
"I'll read this tonight. And tell your Sasuke what I am going to ask him, so he may think over it a while. Thank you for your time and I apologize for any trouble. Remember, don't touch Hotaru, or I will cause whomever hurt her unlimited pain." Archer's eyebrows dropped.
"Literally." Archer turned around and began to walk out the door, pausing to wave goodbye.
Shizune stood still, watching them depart. She didn't know what to think anymore. Would they listen? Would that foolish girl see reason, see the truth? What had she even traded Dorian, anyway? Dropping back to her seat at the booth, Shizune put her face in her hands and sighed. She didn't know.