Kingdom by the Sea

It was an oddly serene evening, the kind that Hinamei might have sat and admired otherwise. Through the patches of barren trees she could see the night blooming with milky, starlit skies. The moon, at three quarters full, sat low and large against the horizon. An inviting breeze swept through the clearing, undecidingly both warm and cool as the currents carried it round her head.

To her left, Itachi's eyes were wide with unyeilding concentration. Loose strands of hair fluttered around his pale visage and unblinkingly, he let his sights wander the looming tree line. Occasionally, his fingers would twitch over the steely cold kunai in his hand but otherwise, he was as poised as a waiting serpent.

"I'm getting impatient," Kisame spoke, breaking through the eerie silence that had settled. Hinamei caught her breath in her throat, the sudden sound startling her out of her waiting mania. "What do you say Itachi, should we cut them off?" He sounded annoyed and on edge.

"No," Itachi said quietly. "Not with them here." Kisame eyed Hinamei sourly and she hastily looked away, not caring to become the toy Kisame was so eagar to play with. With that being said they grew quiet once more. It seemed like a lifetime until another noise was made and when it happened, it shook her brave facade apart.

"I don't want to die," Yukio whimpered with a weak murmur. "Please, don't let them take me." Hinamei cocked her head towards him, half out of sympathy and half out of heavy curiousity for she could have sworn she heard him sobbing. When she caught sight of his tear streaked face, pale and without hope, her stomach jolted almost painfully. "Please..."

Ever more determined, she backed up. Her back pushed firmly up against his front side and his thin fingers weaved around the loose fabric of her blouse in an even tighter hold. And more than ever, she was reminded that he was still just a child. "Just-" her words caught in her throat and she swallowed, painfully closing her eyes momentarily. "Just keep your eyes closed."

She pictured herself then. Hiding in closets, under the blankets in the eye of a storm, trailing her mothers fading footsteps far from home...she didn't want to close her eyes anymore. This was her time to be brave now, face danger head on, stand up to storms, and keep close to those who were important. Somewhere inside, she knew she had what it took. And she searched and searched until a single word brought her back to the present.

"Three," Kisame muttered darkly. Desperately, she wanted her hands to stop shaking. She stood taller, widened her stance and held her blade upright. "Two..." She swallowed painfully, her mouth feeling dry and full. It was now or never. Do or die. She heard Yukio whimper behind her and she knew then that there really was no choice in this matter. "Now!"

As if on cue, a kunai tore straight through the air directly towards her. Her mouth opened wide but a voice that was not her own called out a frantic warning and her mind reeled into overdrive. Without a second to spare, she brought her arms higher and with a loud clink of metal the kunai swerved off course, jilted by the edge of her blade. "Were not here to fight," a low voice called out from above. Everyone's attention snapped in that direction, eyes alit with defense. "Give us the boy and we'll leave without having to resort to force." Hinamei's untrained eye had to search the trees to find the shadow of the man, but when her eyes caught sight of him her stomach gave a terrible lurch. He was a frightening image, dressed in black from head to toe. His visage, partly covered by a thick later of cloth, left only the two dark holes of his eyes visible. They were blacked out and wide, completely inhuman in appearance. It wasn't until she realized that strange silence had fallen over them once again did she manage to tear her eyes away from the monster.
Kisame had looked over at Itachi and Itachi had directed his heartless gaze beyond Hinamei towards Yukio. His blue eyes shut tightly and Hinamei felt the tugging on her shirt release. His hands were wrapped around his tousled blonde head, gritting teeth. None of them understood. If he was sent back with these people, he was surely going to die. A gruesome slow death only given as a relief after days of relentless interrogation and torture. He was have rather slit his own throat than allow himself to be bartered over to the enemy. His head swam with different exit strategies, all coming up hopelessly for he knew he couldn't outrun any of them. This was it, after all this time he had thought he had escaped, this was where it all ended. But suddenly, he saw a faint glimmer of hope in the form of the woman who stood defensively before him.

"You're not taking him!" Hinamei seemed to have found her voice again. She raised her weapon higher to declare they'd have to fight her to reach him.

"H-Hinamei..." Yukio stammered lightly.

"We don't bargain," Kisame said defiantly, seeming to get motivated by Hinamei's hasty declaration. "The boy is ours now, but if you want him so badly I'm happy to engage." Itachi's eyes hardened and Hinamei could tell he was feeling irked at everyone's sudden decision to fight. Of course, she knew he liked to avoid fighting at all costs but even she could tell he would have rather seen Yukio swept off just to carry on his way, his burden a little lighter.

"If you insist," the man in the trees hissed and with a sudden blur, he dissapeared in a plume of ashy smoke. Itachi's wide scarlet eyes were trailing the treeline, his mouth moving in mumbled words.

"We're surrounded," he finally said. "Take a corner."

Kisame moved automatically around, his eyes dancing with bloodlust. Clearly, he was having more fun than he'd had in a long time and with a sudden rush, he released a sickening amount of chakra. Hinamei cringed and had to force herself away from him just to escape the sudden jolt she had received from standing in his energy. She turned her back to both Itachi and Kisame and tightened her hold on her sword, damp with nervous sweat. "Yukio, stay out the way alright?"

"R-right." He stumbled over to a tree and flattened himself against it. Hinamei moved closer to him for she knew she'd be the only one keeping an eye for him as well as the enemy.

And then, it happened so suddenly that she thought at first she'd only seen a shadow in passing. With a strangled cry she slipped backwards and between her and Yukio stood a man much like the one that had spoken before, but this one was different. His skin seemed paler, waxlike up close and his eyes were narrowed with nothing but malicious intent. Fastened around his wrist was a steel cuff, protuding from it was a sharp blade longer than the stretch of her forearm. She blinked and he was gone.

In another fleeting second she felt the prick of something sharp at the base of her neck and she took in a deep breath. The sound of skin tearing followed by a gutteral noise burst from behind her and suddenly, a hand wrapped around her shoulder. "What good is a sword if you can't use it?" Itachi hissed into her hair.

She felt his presence leave and the sound of metal on metal. Turning, she saw both Kisame and Itachi engaged with two more.

It was a rare moment, feeling fleeting regret that she had not stayed true to her classes when she was younger. She could have been a shinobi, she could have done anything more than making flower crowns for boys that didn't even want them. She was slow and useless, and suddenly a wave of embarassment hit her for ever promising Yukio that she wouldn't let anything hurt him.

She couldn't even protect herself.

Another spiral of sound and she whipped around on her heel. The man before her wore no mask but she wished he had. His face was scarred and he was an unusual ashy grey color, his mouth was nothing more than a thin cut on his long face. He raised his hand and cocked his head and she could have sworn she saw what was an attempt at a smile. He charged at her and for once she didn't let her brain translate. She jutted forward, swinging her katana upwards in a large sweep. Easily, he blocked her advances and forced her sword back towards the ground. With swift feet, he spun around, steely blade and all. It was with fractions of an inch to spare did she force her head downwards. The whooshing sound from the force of his attack went sailing over her head. Her legs slid downwards and from the odd angle she was perched at, she swung.

It was luck, it had to be. For a second she froze, watching in slow time as the sharpened edge of her sword slid into the soft meat of his leg like water. And strangely, it began to dissolve. Her eyes shot upwards just in time to see the man standing before her burst into a plume of thick smoke. She reeled back up, forcing herself backwards away from the thickening cloud. Her back came into contact with Itachi's. "It's a clone."

"How am I supposed to get a real one then?" As Itachi's kunai slid into the fleshy side of a ninja's neck she could have sworn she heard him scoff.

"You've got the same blood I do Hinamei, you figure it out." A delayed spray of blood shot forward, splattering Itachi and he spat at the ground. "To your left."

With quick reflexes she guarded her open side, stopping the impact of a spindly sharp tool. "What does blood have to-" She bit her tongue. How could she have forgotten? Hinamei snapped her eyes shut for a brief second, reopening them to find the world moving in smoother motion. Of the ten men that were standing round them only two of them had recognizable chakra flow. Her scarlet eyes narrowed and she ducked in time to avoid the strike of a clone's knife. Feeling more confident, she strode around another clone and jabbed her blade forward towards the real one.

He was swift, but not fast enough to avoid the tip of her strike. Blood streamed out of his wound and the man slapped a hand to his shoulder. Her sword was raised to strike but not before a kunai came hurtling from her right, lodging itself into the temple of the man before her. She glanced over, meeting Kisame's frightening grin. "Don't mention it," he said, sounding more alive and vibrant than she'd heard him yet. In awe, she watched him glide in a quick two step pattern, swinging a weapon that was half stripped of its wrapping, reaveling something even more frightening than its weilder.

As it made contact with a shinobi's skin, he gave a startling cry and he dropped to his knees. She turned away just in time to avoid watching the brutal slaugher she knew Kisame had enjoyed delivering.

But a second too late, for when she turned she was met with a hard strike from a man's fist straight to her temple. Her eyes screwed shut and she staggered forward, blinded by the intense pain inside her head. Unwillingly, her grip on her sword slipped and it clattered to the ground. She heard the distinct clink of metal emerging from a secret slot and through watering eyes, she watched his shirt stretch as he raised his arm. Without waiting to see if anyone was going to come to her aid, she used as much of her energy as she could to thrust herself forward, wrapping her arms around the man's torso. "Watch out Yukio!" She cried and forced her legs to move forward. The shinobi hit the tree trunk with a brilliant force and his breath was stolen from his lungs in a loud release.

Her slender fingers frantically clawed at the enemy's waist until her finger had looped the handle of the kunai. She stumbled upright and backwards before driving the long weapon straight into the chest of the smoke shinobi.

Hinamei was driven speechless. She stepped backwards, oblivious to whatever blind spots she was leaving open as she stared in horror at the now limp figure of the bleeding man before her.

She had never killed another human being before.

And whatever she had thought it would be, it wasn't. "He's dead," she muttered to herself. Her fingers outstretched towards the shell of what used to be a human until she faltered. What had she done? The familiar stinging of tears touched at her eyes and she hurriedly brushed them away. She was crying over the enemy. Over a person who wanted to steal and harm someone whom she had sworn to protect. Surely his life was worth less than Yukio's or Itachi's?

Hinamei stumbled backwards, slowly looking over to see Itachi involved with two men. Elegant and natural in his motions, he didn't hesitate like she did. When their bodies crumpled he paid no heed to it and instead turned to face the next. Was that what she had strived to become for so long? If that was strength, she wanted none of it.

A sudden urge forced her to move forward, stepping over the crumpled heaps of lifeless bodies that were beginning to litter the floor. Her heavy eyes fell on Yukio, pale and at a loss. her hand outstretched once more, ready to take his and leave. Find a new home, start a new life and get away from all this chaos.

They could slip away into nothing, like smoke in the open air, forever.

Her scarlet eyes widened in realization. Smoke. Yukio was rigid with terror as a dark plume of smoke drifted in front of him and slowly, a tall figure began to form from within it's veil. Stricken with fear, she stole a glance at Itachi and Kisame, both absorbed in a heated battle with their own adversary.

Was this her moment? Her chance to be brave with eyes wide open? All her life, had it been just a steep climb leading up to this? It made sense at the time. It was all that made sense. Just Yukio. Hinamei rushed forward, snatching up a wirey weapon from the back of a flanked body and she raised it high above her head. Sliding in between Yukio and the man that now loomed above them, she stopped his attack with her weapon right in time. His eyes narrowed and he pressed harder against her weak hold. Her arm was shaking, she wouldn't be able to hold him much longer.

And then, right as he appeared, he was gone.

Her weapon slipped from her hand and she felt with certainty that she was going to faint. Weakly, she fell against the tree, standing over Yukio's body he looked up at her with fearful eyes, his mouth moving in frantic words that she couldn't quite make out through the thick haze closing in around her. But despite it all, she smiled as best she could.

At first, she didn't understand why he wasn't smiling back. She had saved him right? Everything was alright now, wasn't it? Yukio's hand shot upwards and wrapped around her shirt as if to pull her down. She resisted, wanting him to understand she couldn't quit now. Not while the war was still being waged. But then, as a blinding pain shook her very being, she understood it all.

It would never be over. She was born into chaos and inevitably, she was going to die into as well.

*****
He heard her name very clearly. It was being shouted out by Kisame, and Itachi, in his attempts to finish off the last of the shinobi, couldn't understand why Kisame off all people was shouting warnings.

In front of him, blood spilled. Behind him, Kisame was still shouting. And somewhere beside him, if he wasn't mistaken, someone was crying.

*****
It began with her hands.

Long, slender appendages flexed outwards and trembling, unfocused and clumsy. Her shoulders shook with a slight tremor that ran the length of her body and her eyes were lofty and wet. The only stretch of color amongst her palatte was the flow of scarlet exuding from her parted lips.

In a slow nod, her eyes closed. She couldn't focus right, something was off. She tried to listen to her surroundings but it was useless. She had been swallowd by a haze of nothingness. Emptiness. Loneliness.

And yet, this place was almost comforting. Like a soft breeze in an otherwise smothered space, she could have stayed forever in this dream. Despite her growing numbness, she could feel a smile on her lips. Her eyes squinting behind their lids. her hair, rustling against the exposed skin on her neck and cheek. And it all felt so right.

But she had to go back. People were depending on her, most of all, they needed her. Hinamei struggled to open her eyes, slowly blinking past the vast ocean of unconscioussness. The first thing she laid her eyes on was Yukio, so obviously beyond words she felt the need to speak first. "Are you okay?"

"H-Hinamei..." His bright blue eyes were wide and startled, ringed with panic, "w-what have you done?" A soft sound forced a breath inwards, like water dripping out a leaking spigot. But more than that, it was warm. His unfocused eyes trailed downwards to the pale exposed skin of his leg. It was splattered with something dark. Something that was running trails down towards the underside of his ankle. Shaking fingers extended, he dabbed at the stain.

It was wet, scarlet, and smelled like rusting metal.

"Blood..." His eyes slowly slid upwards. "You're...bleeding..."

Though her hands were still shaking, she let her hands fall to her stomach. A small sigh was stifled in her throat, "It's okay, I can't feel much." Gingerly, her fingers touched at the weapopn lodged in her stomach. More than anything, she felt sore. And tired, so very tired. Another set of fingers touched at her hands and without a second thought she spread her fingers just wide enough to let Itachi's in.

"I-I can fix this." A spare smile found her lips and she forced her eyes to face him. Now that she focused, his hand was clammy and his eyes were wide and fearful. He was wearing a look she hadn't seen for nearly ten years and she felt her smile fade away. He looked so weak standing there shaking. "Hinamei, stop moving."

"Really, Itachi...." Behind them, Kisame stood in the distance with his head down, eyes cocked upwards watching it all, expressionless. "You know as well as I do-" her words were interrupted by a rattling cough and she groaned.

"I don't understand. Dammit! What were you thinking?!" His fingers slipped from hers and his head fell, resting on the side of her shoulder. "I'm not ready for this. No, not yet. You can't go." His voice was strangled, torn with emotion and regret. There was little she could force out, her body wasn't responding like it should have. Slowly, she moved her hand over until she felt his limp hand and softly, she took it back in hers. She could feel the frantic pulse of his heart and she inclined her head next to his.

"Itachi, I want to sleep now." He pulled back, searching her face desperately. Slowly, he shook his head. "...please."

"If you really wanted me to, I'd run away with you. But you have to give me the chance." He said quietly, pleadingly.

"Where would we go?" Her hushed voice asked, miles away.

"Anywhere you wanted." She couldn't stand anymore, but before she hit the ground, Itachi caught her. Against the tree, she leaned her head back and held out a weak hand to Yukio. Without her having to say a word, he understood and placed his hand in hers and squeezed tightly. He was numb.

"I'd love that," she mused. Her head was spinning and the soft lull of that far away place was calling her back. And soon, she'd be helpless to its pull. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Did I ever make you proud? That's all I've ever really wanted. To be just like you. Well, almost." A small laugh left her colorless lips. "It's silly but I guess it still means something to me."

"Hinamei I-" Itachi shut his eyes. He had seen countless people die, some at the hands of him and some not. But this was on a whole different level. She was suffering and he was helpless to cease it. And even worse than that, she was leaving him. "I've always been proud." He forced his gaze back onto her. "I envy you even, I always have."

"Then dying isn't so bad." Yukio took in a sharp breath, her grip released and her hand slowly fell open. "I'm sorry, I don't think I can stay awake much longer. I'm so tired..."

And suddenly, right in front of him, Itachi watched everything he knew fade away into nothing. On the edge of that bottomless cliff, Itachi closed his eyes and finally just let himself fall.