Songs For The Heartbroken: That's What You Get

Chapter 19

A light breeze blew across the cliffside clearing by The Naka River. The sound of the windswept trees around almost deafening, drowning the sound of the conversation being held by the shinobi there. The air was clear, and so was the sky, a perfect afternoon by Konohagakure standards. The situation itself was depressing, regardless of the beauty of the setting.

Shisui and Itachi faced each other off, and talked. The sound of their voices was nowhere to be found, even if the rest of the scene's background noise was there. The attention to detail that Itachi had paid, reflected on the beauty and accuracy of the genjutsu. I walked around the pair with wondering eyes, as they held their silent conversation. I didn't even bother trying to read their lips, Shisui's last words to Itachi were no concern of mine, after all they had had a relationship of their own and it obviously did not include me.

I did notice though, the terrible state my brother had been in as he smiled at his friend. To say he looked rough would have been an enormous understatement. He had cuts and bruises all around, and his clothes were not only dirty but torn in places as well. But the one wound that would have caught anyone's attention was his bleeding, empty right eye socket. I had never seen my brother this beat up, but still in the eerie atmosphere and in spite of the dire situation, my brother was smiling.

I couldn't help but feel my heart shattering. To see my brother, my role model, my friend, in his last moments of life was something I could hardly take. In my own way, I was still mourning. I wanted to feel nothing, had no excitement towards life, I looked forward to nothing. Yet here I was smiling fondly at Itachi's last memory of Shisui with tears running down my face.

"Take care of Akane for me," I suddenly heard my brother say. "She won't take the news of my department very gracefully. Please, as selfish as it sounds, keep my sister safe."

The image froze there. Shisui's face strained for the first time, Itachi's desperate as I'd never seen it. It was then that I knew what was about to happen. Itachi had stopped the genjutsu before my brother killed himself. I silently thanked him. I didn't need to suffer any more than I already had, than I already was. I thanked my friend for giving me, once again, the chance to see my deceased family. And as the scene started over and time went back to the point where the genjutsu had started, I dried my tears and began my information gathering.

...

Hatake Kakashi's Point Of View (POV)

The heart monitor was stable, she had no need for a respiratory aid, and there were no unusual frequencies disturbing her system. Her wound had been completely healed, and thankfully no vital organs had been pierced. So why wasn't she waking up? I knew why. Yamanaka Inoichi had agreed to take a look at her and had explained why. Still the guilt made the wait that much unbearable. She could wake up soon, she had to. And then, I could finally make things right.

I had screwed up. That girl, that child who had taken an interest in me; who had cared enough for my health that girl, that child who had taken an interest in me; who had cared enough for my health to keep my fridge full, who had scolded me like she knew better; I had let her down. I had neglected her, I hadn't protected the single Uchiha that had managed to warm up to me even after Obito died and didn't actually blame me for having his eye. She had joined the same organization I had, she had –in fact – been training under my closest subordinate for over a year; and yet, I hadn't taken the time to make sure she was doing okay.

So now here I was, keeping guard next to a hospital bed in a restricted area of Konoha's General Hospital, where a comatose thirteen year old girl lay. It was pitiful, and I saw it in the eyes of every other ANBU operative whenever the guard shift changed. In the two days that I'd been standing next to Akane's bedside, I had decided to take upon myself the coordination of her activities in ANBU.