Mirror, mirror. [Naruto] [Itachi Uchiha] (Complete)

Chapter 29

A woman can be a dangerous thing. By no means does that make her an object. But it does mean that they are something to be admired as well as feared. Women are strong and formidable. They have watched cities burn and have burned cities with a single glance. They possess a fire so furious that it may burn water. Izanami was the perfect example of this. Izanami or 'she who invites' was a woman of incredible power; yet with that power came great burden.

Izanami could see the burden that was weighing heavily on the Uchiha brothers; the three of them were kindred spirits in a sense. Misfortune and horror had followed them all since birth. They had lost loved ones; watched people they once loved suffer and turn away from them when they needed them the most. She could feel their anger and how they secretly longed for retribution- for revenge.

She could feel it, deep in their bones, it was calling to her.

"An ikiryō, like a shiryō, is a spirit. However unlike a shiryō, the person is neither dead nor alive. They exist in between worlds and can exist in both the realm of the living...as well as the dead."

Izanami' tone was dulcet – sickly so. Her nonchalant demeanour couldn't disguise the fact that she was enjoying every moment; upon seeing Itachi's figure freeze her lips twisted into a ghost of a smile. Sasuke swallowed silently, his eyes drifting from the grey orbed deity to his brother; the confusion on his face wasn't outright but Sasuke could see the cogs in Itachi's head turning to digest her words.

"How?" A quiet desperation lilted in Itachi's voice. Izanami quirked a brow, the small, dark hairs inclined and arched in a manner that framed her eyes perfectly. She was a beautiful death. But she was also toxic.

"You don't know?" False astonishment washed over her pale features. Itachi couldn't see that she openly mocked him; his thoughts were solely on Reina. "Sasuke tell him. Tell your brother why his sweet, little lady friend is half dead."

Sasuke froze.

Izanami smiled as she held out her hand, in the vicinity of her palm a faint tornado like cloud began to appear, the particles growing and accumulating as they took the shape of a sake cup. She brought the liquid filled cup to her lips as she eyed the pair closely; Itachi furrowed his brows slightly, turning to face his brother. Sasuke didn't look at him. He couldn't. He could feel Itachi's gaze as well as Izanami's burning into his flesh.

"Sasuke?" Itachi asked, his tone was soft, unobtrusive. He wasn't pointing fingers; he simply wanted to know the truth. He simply needed to know if Reina was in more danger than she already was. He needed to know she was ok.

"It's all my fault. It's my fault she's stuck in a hospital bed somewhere fighting for her life. I'm the reason she is half dead." Sasuke uttered lowly his knuckles white once more. He was quivering. He was quivering with a mixture of resentment and although he would never admit – fear. A part of him feared that he would lose his brother all over again.

And he knew Izanami knew this.

"Sasuke, what do you mean it's your fault? Were you both involved in some sort of altercation?" Itachi probed gently, what he was hearing didn't make any sense to him. The last time he had seen Reina prior to Yomi although she was not a picture of health she was by no means lying in a hospital bed fighting for her life.

"Allow me to intervene." Izanami interrupted, a demure smile replacing fabricated concern as she attempted to play the role of pacifier. Sasuke and Itachi exchanged glances before turning their attention to the glaucous eyed goddess. Itachi could feel his chest tighten, his breathing was irregular and his head felt light and airy as he waited for the ebony haired goddess to speak. Painfully, Izanami took another dainty sip of her sake; her actions were so slow and long-winded Sasuke had to bite his tongue. He wanted to wipe that smug smile of hers clean off her face.

"What your little brother means Itachi, is that when the pair of you decided to confront one another, whatever injury you sustained was mirrored upon your lady friend. Do you follow?" Itachi couldn't believe what he was hearing. It wasn't true. Surely it wasn't true? Dumbfounded, Itachi stared at the floor; he had a vacancy about his expression that worried Sasuke the more Izanami continued to talk.

"Every cut, every laceration that you endured, willingly I might add, was replicated on her pale skin. She knew what was happening. She had already figured out back in Yomi that because of the indenture, if either of you were injured the other would receive the same injury. So when you decided it would be Sasuke who would sign your death warrant, you unknowingly allowed Sasuke to sign hers."

"Stop." Sasuke interjected, his eyes bleeding into the sharingan menacingly in warning. But Izanami did not stop, she paid no attention to the younger male's idle threats; she continued to pour salt in open wounds with no regard for the aftermath.

"You see Itachi, you are the reason Reina is fighting for her life. You are the reason her life is ruined- if she lives that is. But think of it this way, at least you two can live happily ever after if she does bite the dust."

Each of her words were like cracks of a whip, every lash more severe than the last. She was right. He had dragged Reina into this mess. He was selfish and allowed himself to give in to his feelings when he should have been keeping her safe. He was the sole reason she was in this mess. He should have tried harder to dissuade Pein that she was not the right candidate. Because of him an innocent girl was half dead and her life ruined. He didn't deserve a second chance; he deserved to rot in Yomi like he first intended. He didn't deserve to be happy.

"STOP IT!" Sasuke roared ferociously, his sword now crackling as his chidori enveloped the thin blade; he stood to the front of Itachi his sword posed and ready to strike at any given moment. Itachi stared up at Sasuke taken back by his sudden outburst towards the immortal. Menacingly the smile evaporated from Izanami's lips, grey bled into vermillion as she and Sasuke stared at one another silently.

The air grew lead-like with tension, the sensation stifling and suffocating. Izanami's expression was dark, her grey orbs seemingly growing darker with her temperament. On the occasion a shiryō spoke out of turn Izanami ensured that they were punished, heavily so for their actions. However before her was a human with a nasty temper. She had underestimated the patience and discipline the elder Uchiha possessed. If anyone it was he she had expected to speak out in defence. Yet his lips remained sealed.

"No you're right, that was ill-mannered of me. Please accept my apologies." As quickly as her expression darkened the foreboding shadows of her face disappeared without a trace, leaving in its wake the ethereal demeanour she had previously exuded. She was as unpredictable as the weather and it unnerved them. She was toying with them, like a cat taunting a mouse between its paws. Except this cat had two mice for the price of one, and her claws were expertly sharpened and poised for the kill.

"Sasuke, please." Itachi lay a hand on his brother's arm, shaking his head before turning his attention to Izanami. Sasuke glanced back at his brother, the sharingan reluctantly fading away to reveal his dark orbs; he took his place at Itachi's side, his sword once again sheathed in its scabbard. "Thank you for explaining Izanami-sama. However I do not understand why you have summoned us here."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, staring at his brother from the corner of his eyes. He was doing it again. Itachi was repressing his emotions and soldiering on as if he didn't have a care a world. When the truth of the matter was he did. He cared deeply for Reina – he loved her; Sasuke knew that secretly Itachi wanted a second chance at life – a second chance with Reina.

Izanami's ears perked up, her eyes twinkling in intrigue.

"I summoned you here to give you a second chance."