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

Chapter 51

Reina was exhausted. The cycle was like packing a suitcase; each individual memory had to be neatly packed into her head in a way that allowed room for the next. The only difference was that once the memory was stored there was no removing it in order to see if it would fit a different way. Once the memory was in, it was in.

Her head was heavy and clouded despite the abundance of new images and sensations that now floated about her brain. Each new smell or sound initiated a memory that sent her entire body reeling as if it were reliving the entire experience. A part of her was stunned she had been through so much; she was proud of herself. She had battled against Death and then fought on beyond the plains in a body that was neither whole nor nothing.

She was stronger than she first thought.

She wasn't weak. She wasn't worthless. She was a capable shinobi who had held off s-ranked criminals and lived to tell the tale. She had fought off mythical creatures that belong in bedtime stories and nightmares. Admittedly she had lost the Kojiki to Yomi but she had returned not only with her life intact but with Kohaku.

And he was a prize far greater than any artefact.

Around her the sound of water amplified. Drip after drop. It wasn't the sound of rainfall, it was swishes and sloshes that reverberated around the shadows. Poised, Reina raised her guard, her eyes darting about for her final foe. She had journeyed back through Yomi with Sasuke at the forefront of her thoughts.

The young shinobi had risked everything in coming with her - yet he had accompanied her nonetheless. He had held her when the Datsue-Ba had spoke in riddles and revealed she was with child. He had risked his life for her. For them both. She would protect him however she could.

The sloshes of water became louder. It was a familiar sound, a common one; in the distance a building came into view. A pagoda. It was a marvellous structure to behold; the sound now made sense. Beneath her feet humongous koi swam gracefully, their giant tails, like fans, swishing and rippling the waters below her feet. They resembled strands of kimono silk, their bodies fluid as they rippled along the undercurrent. Above her a full moon shone brilliantly, chasing away the residing darkness.

“I told you not to bother with those damned Uchiha boys. All they will bring is horror and heartache. But no. You just had to get involved.” Tsukuyomi melted into view from obscurity; the male didn't look much older than her. “You could have been happy Reina, yet you chose to submerge yourself in heartbreak.”

Reina held her ground, her blood suddenly pumping with rage. “You do understand that you are the only one who has broken my heart!?” She sneered, her eyes unknowingly lighting up with the Sharingan that bled into Itachi's eyes. “You are the reason my mother couldn't look at me without feeling sick!”

A grimace. “You are the reason my family was fractured and ripped apart from the inside out!” Reina thrummed with anger, anger that was directly solely at the moon deity. “You are no better than Atsushi, you self-serving, conniving bastard!” She was seething; blind with hot white rage.

“Do not compare me to that demon. Do you forget to whom you speak? Grandchild or not I am a God! And you are a mortal. You have no right to speak to me in such a manner!” Tsukuyomi attempted to regain his composure and lost footing.

Reina threw her head back and laughed. The sound callous and mocking, Izanami would be proud. Prior to now she would have trembled at the thought of confronting a Kami. But things were different now.

“You are a God, who can bleed and die just like the rest of us mortals. You would do well to remember that Grandfather. Should you earn my respect back by acting in a civilised manner, then I will treat you with the civility you deserve.” Reina stared down the Kami, her rubicund orbs burning into his flesh. “Until then, you stay the hell away from me and my family or I will ensure you spend an eternity in Yomi alongside that monster you call Mother.”