Empire Fall

Chapter Seventeen

Itachi felt heavy. He couldn't move. No, that's not it. Itachi didn't want to move. His arms froze beneath Shisui's cold body. It seemed like a long time later that the first tear ran down his cheek. He hugged the corpse of the man he respected most close to his heart and words of apology spilled from his lips though he had no idea why. This was the man who understood him most - even more than his younger brother. He had been Itachi's confidant and partner growing up. The man was now dead.

Unforgivable.

It was the only word that rung clearly in his mind right then. Bitter and painful as it was, there was no more time to even grieve though. He had to leave this dear person's body right there on the desecrated field and move on to find his wife and mother. So, he leaned down and reverently kissed Shisui's forehead, whispered a prayer from the bottom of his heart and stood. He did not spare another glance back as he rode off, for he feared he would not be able to keep going if he did.

Dusk was fast approaching. He had not found his mother nor his wife. His heart was trembling with worry such that he was about to shout out for them when he spotted two figures in the distance. He wasted no time hurrying over, only to slow down as he neared. Shock jolted through him at what he saw up close. Nine..eleven..twelve. Twelve bodies. From the looks of it, they were unmistalably all part of Danzo's special forces. A familiar sword with a jeweled hilt covered in blood was carelessly tossed on the ground among them.

Izumi!

Galloping past the scene, Itachi spotted the silhouette of his wife a little way ahead, leaning against a rock. Yes, it indeed was her, he reaffirmed with a great measure of relief as her flowing, long, brown hair came to plain sight. Even though her body was unmoving and eyes staring into nothingness, her chest was clearly moving.

She is breathing. She is alive.

"Izumi, I'm here!" he quickly walked up to her. Her eyes widened as they fell on him and instantly filled up. "I'm glad to see you're..."

The rest of the sentence died in his throat. His eyes froze upon the figure laying in Izumi's lap in a pearl white gown sullied with blood.

Mother!

Itachi felt like his heart had suddenly stopped beating and the world plunged into a dreadful silence. He strained his eyes to seek any movement and on not finding any, fell to his knees beside her and took her palm between his only to find it was cold. Then, warmth gently enveloped those palms in the form of his wife's hands. Her teary eyes confirmed what he did not want to and that was it. He felt like he had lost the ability to hold himself straight. Itachi slowly leaned forward and rested his forehead on the tangle of palms. It was here he finally released his tears.

Shisui!
Mother!

Why? Why did this have to happen? Why must those who deserve it least suffer the most?

Unforgivable. Un-forgivable!!

With Izumi's palms gently stroking his hair, how long he stayed there, he didn't know, but when he looked up, the sky was pink-orange. Itachi's mind was blank. He thought Mother's face looked serene.

"Izumi," he uttered quietly as if words were much too heavy for him to speak while gazing upon her beautiful face, observing eyes that wouldn't open again. "Did she...suffer?"

"Even though she wasn't one, she died like a warrior, protecting the honor of her son's wife."

He expected her to speak shakily or at least as sorrowfully as he was feeling. Instead, there was pride and power in her voice. Involuntarily, it drew him to look at her. Her eyes were red with unshed tears, but he could see the pride and the anger that made her sit straight in the face of this tragedy. And Izumi was proud...of Mother. Even with her sleeves torn and dress tattered in places, the woman before him reminded him, for the first time in his life, of his Mother as she gracefully dealt with each blow life had given her. And when he looked down at the face of his mother, she really did appear to be sleeping calmly.