Rogue (Avatar/Naruto Crossover)

1: Pilot

Edited: 4/3/18

꧁꧂

What's happening? Where am I? 

It takes me a minute to come to. Blinking the blurriness away from my eyes, my hands dig into the dirt. It's raining. I unclench the damp earth and feel it fall from them. 

Drop after drop hits my face, soaking my clothes through. I focus my gaze towards the sky, up towards the heavens searching for an answer. 

Why is it always raining? 

My breath slow and contemplating, I sit up. My clothes are filthy, but I don't care. I could be clean and it wouldn't even matter. I feel filthy. My hair is still up tightly, but the remnants of my last battle left my bangs unruly with bits and pieces of hair waving in the wind. I have no care. I am only reminded of one thing.

Nothing good happens when it's raining.

Is the sky crying as well? Is that why I feel nothing and everything at the same time? I don't know anymore...I don't know, Itachi...By now, I only register that I am standing. Has my body been preserving itself without my knowing? Why do I still fight to survive when I have lost so much? 

I am so filthy. Unclean. And just so sad.

My feet stay rooted to the ground, unable to take a step forward. My eyes roam the grounds around me with barely a twitch from my body. I'm as still as stone. I feel nothing, but numbness and aching remorse. Where am I? It wouldn't matter though. I'm a rogue, a ninja with no home to return to. I've left that all behind me when I turned my back from the village...when I abandoned everything.

Everything about my life is warped now. What I used to be no longer exists. What my life was, lives in my memory. My brother, Itachi, a no-good traitor, is a hero. A tragic martyr. There's nothing left in me, but guilt. My dear and loving brother whom I miss so much, whom I killed out of vengeance and hate.

I've never heard your story. I never cared enough to seek you out and listen. Maybe if I tried harder to understand you, this could have somehow been avoided. Heh. It's so ironic. Only after your death do I see who you truly are. My eyes were clouded with so much hate, too much to see your sadness.

What was it like...killing mom and dad? I can't imagine the pain. For me, a mere child at the time, that was nothing. Compared to your pain, mine can't come close. You were crying that day, weren't you? I saw it. A single stream of tears behind that stoic mask. You've hidden it from me, but it seems so clear now. Your mask covered up your emotions; you were crying on the inside.

There aren't enough words to describe what I feel now. Mixed emotions of anger, sadness, loneliness, and relief pervade my mind. You were always by my side. Even as an obstacle, you gave me a purpose in life.

I know now.

But Itachi...is it okay to cry? Is it okay to show weakness, only if it's in mourning? I don't know anymore. I feel relief that you weren't who you portrayed yourself to be, but sadness from that very thought. It must have been so lonely.

I will always love you brother. You were the one obstacle that has left me feeling dead now. The one obstacle that has made me feel alive again. I have no one anymore. No one. 

Sasuke has left me. He's falling deeper into despair and hatred. I couldn't stand to watch it anymore.

I will always love you Itachi. Farewell my dear brother. You were always the most kind and gentle brother I could ever have.

My feet began moving.

Left.

Right.

Left.

Right and so on, moving towards an unknown destination. Since waking up in this strange forest, my goals have shifted. I am alone now, alone in a foreign place. With no friends, no allies, I walk alone. With only my shadows to accompany me, I walk alone.

I can only hope that what I find will give me some answer. 

Some type of solace.