The Flower That Blooms in the Darkness

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck ---

Yumi's laughter rang through my head.

Shut up! This isn't funny!

His eyes met mine, which I was sure were wide with fear.

Well, do you love him?

Yeah, but --

So what's the problem?

What the hell am I going to do about Dei-chan?

How the hell should I know?

It seemed like forever until I made my decision.

I'm sorry, Dei-chan.

"Y-yes." I whispered.

He leapt off the floor and embraced me.

"Do you know how long I've been waiting to hear you say that?" He murmured against my ear.

And then I couldn't say anything, because his lips suddenly found mine.

I love him. I honestly do.

The thought startled me more than anything, and I responded back to him with more enthusiasm.

"I love you, Uchiha Itachi."

His smile was like watching a miracle; amazing and beautiful at the same time.

And of course the door opened, and Dei-chan poked his head in.

All of us froze.

"Do you mind?" Itachi-chan growled out.

Before I could comprehend what had passed between them, it was suddenly a full out brawl.

"Stop!" I jumped up and stood in-between them, earning a blow to the gut from Dei-chan.

"You bastard!" Itachi-chan snarled, and lunged for him.

I shoved him back. "That's enough!" I roared, and they flinched.

"No more. Dei-chan, I need to have a word with you."

Itachi-chan left the room, knowing that we needed privacy for this moment.

"Dei-chan, I've been horribly unfair to you, and I'm sorry. I know that it doesn't really help things, but I hope you can find it in your heart to -- "

"Find it in my heart to what? Ignore the fact that you've ripped my heart out and smashed it into teeny little pieces?" His words struck out at me, cutting into my heart like a kunai.

"Dei-chan, please.... please forgive me for leading you on." I was practically begging, now.

He looked away from my face, but I could tell that his anger was still simmering.

"No."

I blinked. "What?"

"I said no."

He ran out of the room, and I chased after him.

"Dei-chan, please listen to me!"

All of this seems very familiar.

I remembered the scene with Kakashi-chan, and almost started crying.

My eyes blurred, and I ran into something, falling on my butt for the second time that day.

Sniffling, I glanced up and saw that I'd run into the back of Dei-chan.

He seemed as if he'd seen a ghost.

I stood up, and looked to where he was staring.

I gasped.

The rest of Akatsuki filed out behind me, ready to fight.

"Kakashi-chan...." I whispered.

He stood, his head down and shrouded almost completely in fog, silhouetted against the forest.

"Kakashi-chan!" I screamed and ran towards him.

Shouts of protest followed, but I ignored them and kept running.

My arms wrapped around his waist, and the force from my run knocked us both to the ground.

His eyes seemed lifeless, and his mask was off. "Despite all that you've been through, what I've put you through, you still accept me?"

"Of course. To me, you'll always be my loyal and best friend, Kakashi-chan." I cocked my head at him.

He smirked, "Then you are a fool."

All at once, mass amounts of shinobi emerged from the trees and attacked.

I blocked a kunai from Kakashi-chan just in time with my claws.

"And to think that we were once friends!" He spat at my face, and I twirled to evade it.

Several leaf shinobi made to join in our fight, but Kakashi-chan yelled, "No! This is my fight! Stay out of it!"

Various voices called out my name, but I was too preoccupied to distinguish as to who it was.

Kakashi-chan faked left, then went right, aiming for my heart with his kunai. I twirled and blocked again and again.

"What're you waiting for? Fight me!" He snarled.

"No." I said simply.

He stopped. "What?"

"No. I won't fight you. Kill me if you must, Kakashi-chan, and I will be glad to leave this life knowing that I have not harmed a friend. So, " I faced him bravely, "do what you must."

He shrugged. "Fine with me."

Several things followed, almost too fast for my eyes to see.

Kakashi-chan lunged with his kunai.

Something darted in front of me, then fell to the ground.

No. Please, dear God, no.

Dei-chan lay in a pool of blood at my feet.

I screamed, and shinobi covered their ears, giving the others enough time to slay them.

I knelt. "Dei-chan, no, no, no -- " My hands emitted a white light, attaching to him.

He smiled. "I'm.... sorry for... overreacting earlier -- "

"No, it's okay, I understand, and we're going to make it through this. Do you understand? You're going to make it, okay? Okay!" The tendrils moved rapidly to his wound. It looked as if the kunai had pierced exactly where his heart was, and it was spitting out blood faster than I could heal.

I realized this, and yet, I still refused to stop the healing.

"No.... this is okay.... I'm fine like this.... I promise.... " He coughed up some blood.

"I won't let you leave me! I won't!"

But he was already leaving me.

"Please, " I sobbed, tears flowing freely down my face, "please! Please don't leave me! Don't leave me behind!" I grasped his shoulders.

"I'm... not leaving you.... behind.... someday...." He coughed again, more blood than last time coming out of his mouth. "Someday.... I'll come back.... for.... you...."

And then he was gone.

The battle had stopped to witness what just happened, and some leaf shinobi looked ashamed.

Mamoru-chan was at my shoulder. "No... Oji-chan, no...." He whispered.

No.

No.

NO!

"No!" I wailed, and hugged his corpse.

Mamoru-chan was emitting some kind of blue light.

The fog swirled into the air, and the sky thundered.

"I'll kill you." His eyes rolled back into his head. "You murderers!"

Lightning struck every enemy shinobi, including Kakashi-chan.

Mamoru-chan started to float towards the heavens.

"Mamoru-chan, no!" I screamed, and reached out to him with one hand, grabbing his hands.

I won't let him leave me, too!

A blue light emitted from me as well, and I screamed an anguished cry before letting it take over