The Story of Hagami [Naruto Fanfic | Uchiha] [Completed]

7 | Apologize

Itachi had been on a mission whilst Hagami spent the day training for the Jōnin Exams. Sweat dripped from her temple and she knew her movements were getting sloppy. But not front being tired or hesitance. There was a weight on her back that she couldn't shake since that morning. She's kept it down for the most part, but she wasn't able to shake it off throughout the training. Finally, her nerves had ate enough at her and she stopped after she threw her last shuriken. It landed a few inches from the actual target.

Her tantō and the rest of her ninja supplies laid a few feet away from her. A creeping feeling crawled across her neck and then it seemed to wrap around her face. Now without hesitance, she darted over to the tantō and its holster. Wrapping it around her waist as she ran, she abandoned the rest of her supplies. Hiruzen, under her request, had filled her in on any missions Itachi had taken that were over C-Rank. B-Rank and A-Rank missions were always given to her just in case she felt something was wrong. And now was one of those times.

Judging by the time of day, it was near afternoon heading into evening in about two or three hours. This meant Itachi and the rest of his Squad was heading toward the Village and they'd be back in four hours. Hagami traveled fast and light, she could make it to their location in about an hour if she ran top speed. If she wanted to conserve energy, she'd make it there in two hours, which is what she went with.

---

As Hagami ran, it became clear that there was something wrong, very wrong with Itachi's mission. She had memorized the chakra of Itachi's teammates and only two were present. Her brother's and the other guy that was on his Squad. She hadn't caught his name yet. But along with the chakra signatures of the two of them, there was also a third. A powerful chakra that was shrouded in darkness from something in the past. Hagami gulped thickly, she worried for the two of them there. She was only a few strides away from them and the cart that they had been escorting.

Finally, she landed in the safety of the trees. Shadows concealed her and she saw the cart tipped over along with all the merchants that were carrying it. Goods that were in it were now scattered, a couple packages splattered with blood. Hagami's breath hitched slightly and she searched for the girl that had been on the Squad. Her body was off to the side of the road near the grass. A small trickle of blood dripped from her temple. When her eyes drifted to the other two, Itachi and Tenma (if she heard correctly) had their kunai drawn toward a masked man. He looked to be older than her, as well as Shisui.

Hagami gripped her tantō tighter as she lunged forward. The chakra radiating off the masked man made her uneasy too. However, just as she had lunged, Tenma did the same. Hagami's eyes widened. Either she'd hit the masked man if she made it there faster or she'd hit Tenma if he suddenly sped up. But the latter could be avoided easily...

If I use the...I'll miss Tenma and hit the masked man. She thought and flipped her tantō in her hand. The sharp side faced outward and the tantō as a whole was in a backward grip in her hand. Focusing chakra in her eyes, the world slowed down as her foot touched the ground. She activated the Sharingan and her free hand (her right) wrapped around Tenma's collar. Pushing him down to the ground, she stepped over him and her tantō collided with the masked man's katana.

"Itachi! Tenma!" Hagami shouted as she grappled with the man. "Go, get out of here now!" She said and her own words rang familiar in her head. The masked man let out a grunt and drew his katana back. Hagami was caught off guard from the sudden release of pressure on her tantō but her Sharingan caught his movements. When he swung the katana back down, it hit her tantō when she lined her arm. Tenma, who used to be under her feet had sprung back up and was now limping over to Itachi.

"A girl with the Sharingan." The masked man muttered and drew his katana back. "Interesting, I don't recall a girl achieving the Sharingan in all my years." Hagami's eyes narrowed and she repositioned the tantō.

"Do what you want to me. But don't dare touch my brother or his comrade." Hagami hissed through gritting teeth. She knew the pain of losing someone, she didn't want to experience it again.

"Itachi, we have to leave now. Backup should be here soon. The messenger hawk should be at the Village by now." Tenma tried to snap Itachi out of his daze but it failed. "Itachi? Itachi!"

"We can't leave, not yet." He whispered under his breath. "Onēsan is strong, but not strong enough to beat him."

"Itachi! Get out of here now! I'll be sure to be right behind-" When Hagami went to strike at the opening where the masked man supposedly let his guard down, her tantō soared through his neck without leaving so much as a scratch. It just swung through it and this gave him the opening to ran his fist into Hagami's stomach. The force was strong enough to make her cough violently. But she didn't fly back, or at least, she couldn't fly back, not whilst she held onto the man's arm with all of her strength. Her tantō had dropped to the ground. "RUN!" She shouted.

"Itachi, you're sister will make it back alive." Tenma tried to get Itachi moving. "Itachi! You heard Hagami, go!" Itachi finally shook his head. Hagami was strong to say the least, but against this masked man, she'd be lucky to come out with all of her bones fine and not broken. Tenma gave Itachi one final nudge before grabbing his hand. The two broke into a sprint back toward the Village.

"They won't get away." The masked man hissed and he used his intangible ability to slip through Hagami's tantō again. His body merely walked through Hagami too as she stood frozen. When she heard the sound of running footsteps, she jerked around. Her feet were nearly paralyzed too from the shock but she forced herself to move nonetheless. The masked man was still way in front of her but she had the Sharingan which kept pushing her forward.

"Don't get close to them!" Hagami shouted and her voice cracked. She could see both Itachi and Tenma slow their steps to see the two of them running toward them. However, instead of continuing to run like Hagami had ordered, Tenma turned around and took the last two kunai he had in his ninja pouch. He twirled them in his hands and then held them defensively in front of him. Itachi stopped a few feet away from him and hesitantly took out his too. The masked man still had some distance to run and Hagami was coming up on his right.

The masked man drew his katana when he sensed her beside him. He was far more skilled than Hagami, which was obvious from the beginning but with her Sharingan she kept in the game, and used that to his advantage (as anyone would do). In a swift strike, his katana targeted her leg. Blood leaked from underneath the bandages she had wrapped her legs with and then she tripped onto the dirt road.

"NO! DON'T!" She had shouted as Tenma ran toward either her or the masked man. "He's-" She couldn't finish her sentence when she saw the scarlet blood fly. Some of it splattered close to her and she yelped backing away from it. The cut on her leg made her wince though so she didn't get far from it.

Itachi, who now stood frozen, watched in horror. He saw Hagami laying meters away in pain and Tenma laying dead only feet away. The masked man just waited for the reaction. His mission seemed to be successful as diamond tears ran down his cheeks. Although Hagami could barely make out the masked man's silhouette as he vanished into nothingness, the scarlet that now appeared Itachi's eyes was even more terrifying.

He's felt pain. Hagami thought despairingly. It took her a few seconds, maybe two or three minutes, to make it over to Itachi. He stood frozen with his Sharingan gleaming strongly in his eyes. He already possessed two tomoe in each eye too.

Gingerly, she wrapped her arms around Itachi's neck, tears of her own rolling down her cheeks and she sat him gently on his knees. His arms remained at his side, the two deaths and the one of his Sensei still paralyzing his nerves now that the masked man was gone.

"Itachi, Itachi listen to me. It'll be okay. Listen to me. I'm still here." She whispered soothingly into his ear. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I was so incompetent. I'm sorry I wasn't able to make it in time. I should have been more vigilant. I could of brought you more time if I was prepared. I could of saved the two of you." Itachi gently wrapped his own arms around Hagami to comfort her the way she comforting him.