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It was another gloomy day. Nothing was saved from the downpour of rain as it ravaged the land, making the earth soft and sticky with mud. The darkened sky would, from time to time, light up due to the lightning that forced its way along the sky and the eerie sound brought about by the pitter patter of rain was disrupted by the loud boom of thunder.

And then there was cheer

Every gloomy sound was countered by the loud voices of the winning shinobi force. A small war had broken out not so long ago, a few weeks at most. There were many sacrifices true, but their lives weren’t in vain. Finally, they one! Konoha was the one who out shone the enemy.

The enemy though was only a small fraction of Kiri nin that boldly wanted to invade the Leaf. They were a strong bunch, I’ll give you that, but it wouldn’t have taken them so long if the enemy wasn’t as skilled as they were, but everything was alright now. The war was over.

But alas, there was a lone shinobi who didn’t find their victory as a source of joy. His crimson filled orbs scanned the area without even beating a sweat. Dead bodies lay on the soft mush of soil that was made by the rain. Blood and water sipped through the ground giving it a darker hue than it already had. There was this smell, so sickening it was that if he hadn’t been trained for this kind of thing, surely he had already vomited, but no. The only thing that was evident on his face was that look of blankness he always had when he was assigned on this kind of duty. After all, he was merely a genin.

The sight…he was only a child, and at such an age, exposed to death and violence. His body was strong and so was his mind, but still he seemed to be suffering on the inside, traumatizing him since every time he closed his eyes, he found himself looking at the replays of the kills he was forced to make. He hated it. He hated every bit of it. But he had no choice. The boy had no escape. No way out. There were only his orders, his mission and everyone’s high expectancies in him. Slowly but surely he was getting tired of it.

“Hey Itachi, don’t look so glum. Come on, let’s head back home.”

The young one’s thoughts had been distracted when he felt the strong pat upon his back. Deactivating his sharingan, onyx hues met with crystal red one’s that quickly turned to the same hue that his own eyes possessed.

“I’ll be right there, Shisui-san.”

Itachi spoke in his usual tone. As much as some of the other Uchiha clan members despised Itachi for his brilliance, Shisui was someone who considered him as someone outside the genius that the boy was forced to live with. And respecting the boy’s decision, the elder Uchiha gave his nod and strode away, leaving Itachi for now to be drenched in the rain like he wished. Maybe in his mind, somewhere deep down in there, he thought that the rain could wash away the filth that the shinobi world brought about. But literally that was simply impossible.

Looking up at the sky, the young Uchiha closed his eyes and allowed for the droplets of water to wash his face and cleanse his tainted soul.

“Ta—tasu—kete…”

The boy’s eyes sprung wide open as he heard a small voice. His orbs easily changed to its other crimson nature as he brought his gaze about the area, scanning thoroughly. Did he miss something? Was someone still alive, or was it merely his imagination?

“Ta—tasu—kete…”

There it was again. It was faint. Very faint, but it was there. The sound wasn’t at all strong, but to his ears, the voice landed sharply. Too sharp in fact that it made him shiver, something that he wasn’t accustomed to doing.

What is it? Where is it? Who is it?

The questions rang in his mind insanely. Again and again as the question repeated itself, he tried to stop listening to it, but to no avail it didn’t shut down. It was still there. It was maddening in a sense since he had never experienced something like it. Was it because of the war? Maybe that was it. Yes, it had to be.

“Ta—tasu—kete…”

And then, as he looked to the far left, something moved. He stiffened.

Twitch.

And again there was movement. Slowly and out of his control, his feet moved to where the rustling came. Something was there. And it was alive.

The look in his eyes didn’t change. They were still wide and filled with silent amusement, joy perhaps, but it was pretty hard to tell. There by his feet lay an innocent bystander from the Mist, a young girl who was probably no older than his little brother.

Her face was covered in mud and her body battered and bloody. But still she was alive. Itachi felt his chest ache slightly at the sight. This was the reason he hated wars. Innocent people, they often got involved.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine soon.”