Fading Light

Chapter 23: Mangekyou Sharingan

My mind froze as he uttered those words.

"You...love me?"

"Yes."

"Why?" He looked at me surprised. "If you were smart you wouldn't."

"Amaya--"

"People who love me die or they leave like Sasuke did."

"Amaya---"

"You will never be able to--"

"AMAYA!!" He grabbed my face, kissing me forcefully. "I don't care what you think. I'm not going anywhere." He softened his grip. My face flushed.

"Shikamaru..."

"I won't let you go."

"I...love you too..." I confessed.

"Good, cause we have a long life ahead of us." He smirked. I was filled with warmth inside. 

"So..." he said after a few minutes. 

"Yeah?"

"How are you feeling about Sasuke?" I frowned. 

"I'm not really sure. No one has every asked me about it since we failed to bring him back." I muttered. "I mean I can understand why he left, I'm not saying its right, but I can understand the hatred and darkness that must be in his heart towards his brother. He felt like he couldn't surpass his brother by staying here...but to go so far as to try to kill Naruto in the hopes of obtaining what Itachi wanted him to." I sighed. 

"What do you mean by obtain what Itachi wanted him to?" Shikamaru questioned. 

"I really didn't want to bring it up, but at this point its worth telling you about it. Its known as the Mangekyou Sharingan." 

"Mangekyou Sharingan? There's another type?" I gave a small nod. "So how does that have to do with killing Naruto?" 

"In order to obtain the Mangekyou Sharingan you must take the life of your closest friend." He froze. "Sasuke saw Naruto as his closest friend. Therefore, he wanted to obtain the Mangekyou himself so he could challenge his brother. But he seemed to think differently because he didn't kill Naruto when he had the chance." I muttered. 

"So does that mean you will never have it?" Shikamaru asked quietly. 

"...the Mangekyou is something I don't ever want. It comes with the cost of taking the life of someone you care about. I would rather spend my time doing things that benefit my closest friends than to live my life with their blood on my hands." I said sharply. I knew all too well the pain of the burden. The burden of knowing that the newfound power you had been granted came at the price of that which you loved the most at the time. I had done what Sasuke couldn't do...I killed my best friend when we were kids. 

"Are you alright?" Shikamaru asked when he noticed the sadness that must have been showing on my face. 

"Its just a subject I take little pleasure in discussing. I would like to go inside now." I got to my feet without his help. 

"Amaya?" He called after me but I ignored him and went straight to my room. 

"Izumi...I know that pain..." I whispered softly as I sat down at my desk. I looked at the red in my eyes as the Mangekyou manifested itself. It had the shape of a flower, which reminded me so much of Izumi as she was as delicate as a flower. She withered so quickly and I couldn't bear to use this power, knowing it came at the cost of ending her life. Even if it was to end her suffering. 

~

I rushed through the bloodied village as all my clan laid slaughtered at my feet. All my focus now was on was Izumi, she was Itachi's girlfriend, surely if Itachi cared about her he would have left her alive. 

"Izumi!" I called out. 

"Am..aya..." I turned sharply when I heard her soft voice coming from a nearby alleyway. I saw her crumpled body laying there, but there wasn't a single wound on her. Itachi must have done something internally to her. I bent down next to her. 

"Izumi, I'll get you out of here. Please just hold on!" I pleaded with her. 

"Amaya...please...kill me..." She muttered. 

"No! I won't do that! You can make it, I just have to get you to the hospital." I begged her not to go, she was all I had left. She was the closest thing I had to a sister. "Please...don't leave me Izumi..." 

"I know...you will grow...up to be a splendid Shinobi..." She reached up and touched my cheek. "Now...please...end my suffering...and don't...blame...Itachi..." She whispered. I could barely see her anymore as tears blurred my vision. 

"N-no...please Izumi..." She held her kunei out to me.

"Please...Amaya..." She muttered once more before I took the kunei in my shaking hands. "Good...bye..." Was all I heard before plunging the knife into her chest. She shook once more but then fell still. I sobbed violently as I stared at her dead body, her blood coated my hands. 

"Izumi...Izumi...IZUMI!!!" I cried out as I felt a change in my body. At the time I didn't realize it was my body awakening the Mangekyou, but now I knew. 

~

"Amaya?" I jumped back to reality as I heard Shikamaru's voice coming from the open doorway. I turned quickly as he stared in disbelief at my eyes. "Is that?" I made it fade away. 

"Shikamaru..." 

"You do have it..."

"I didn't want you to know...I didn't want you to know the truth. That I took the life of the person closest to me at the time this awakened." 

"Who was it?" He asked suddenly. 

"Her name was Izumi. She was Itachi's girlfriend. She was like my older sister, but when I took her life it was to end her suffering on the day Itachi murdered everyone. She was suffering and she begged me to kill her. I didn't want to but I..." I shivered as fresh tears formed in my eyes. "I never wanted to kill her..." He quickly pulled me into a hug. 

"Its okay. It's not your fault." He comforted me. 

"I loved her so much, there isn't a day that doesn't go by where I don't think about her." I shivered more and he held me tighter. 

"I doubt she would have wanted you to live like that." 

"I know..." I pulled away and made the Mangekyou manifest once more, Shikamaru looked at me shocked as I threw him into my memories of that moment. Once it had faded away I made my Mangekyou vanish. 

"W-what...?" He questioned as he looked around the room. 

"I wanted you to see what that moment is like. That's how I know that Sasuke couldn't have made that choice so easily. He didn't go with the intent to kill Naruto, he thought it was an easy option at the time but even though he could've obtained it right there...he didn't he walked away. Its not so easy to look at someone you care deeply about and take their life. Itachi probably didn't have an easy time with it either...deep bonds like those are the most painful to sever. They have a wound that never heals even with time." I muttered softly. 

"Amaya, whatever it takes I'm here for you. I won't let you be alone. And if you ever want to talk about it, just tell me. I will always make time for you and listen." I gave him a small smile. 

"Just trusting me and not being afraid is more than enough. I promise you. I will never let go of this bond. It has given me so much to live for. I will work hard to make sure I never lose another comrade or fail another mission again." 

"Let's work on that together." We both grinned. 

And that began our long two years of training...