It's Not Forever *Shikamaru/OC/Gaara* (Book 1) COMPLETE

Chapter 18

A/N: No more POV shift! Yayy :3 I know how annoying it is.

"Mama? Mama, no! Please!" I hear a little girl cry out as a young dark haired woman drives a blade down into the girl's thigh. The woman yanks the blade out, causing blood to pour down the little girl's leg.
"I'm not your mother, warugaki!" (Bad child) The woman snarls, driving the knife back into the girl's stomach. The girl screams again and I realize that the girl is me. Itachi has me in the Tsukuyomi. I can't break it, and I can't look away. I stare on in horror as the young me is repeatedly stabbed by our mother, a cloth shoved in her mouth to muffle the screams. I feel tears start to stream down my own cheeks and I start to rock back and forth unable to look away. I cover my ears with my hands but I can still hear the slash of the knife and the muffled screams, the laughter of our mother as she carves me over and over.
"Make it stop! Make it stop! STOP!" I scream, but nothing comes out.
The scene changes and it's my fourth birthday. I watch as young me slips out the front door in the early morning, her tiny back pack on her shoulders. She makes it to the front gate before she's caught. I watch as Mother comes out of the house, yanking me up by my arm. She had pulled it out of socket. Little me starts to scream and thrash around as she's carried into the back yard. Against my will, I watch as the scene changes to the backyard.
"Thought you could get away, baka? You aren't leaving." She laughs before tossing Little Me into a tree trunk. I hear the sickening thud as her head bounces off the bark. Mother pulls out a blade and a rag. She stuffs the rag in the girl's mouth before grabbing her left hand, pushing it up against the tree. I silently scream as she drives the blade through 'my' hand and into the tree. Little Me is screaming too, struggling to get away, but can't. The woman laughs again before driving the other one through her right hand. I watch the woman pick up a large stick and swing it at me, punishment for trying to get away. She hits the little me repeatedly until the girl is unconscious. The scene fades again and I pray that I die instead of having to see this again.
Things start to get blurry and I panic. I know what's coming next, but I don't know what happened after I was unconscious. I'm standing in the kitchen watching Little Me get yelled at by mother for being an ungrateful demon child, that I was a curse placed upon the clan. She tells me that a snake dropped me on their doorstep and made them care for me under threat of death. Little Me starts to cry until Mother slaps her, knocking her back into the wall. She threatens to give Little Me 'something to cry about', and pulls a knife from the drawer. I watch as Mother cuts my cheek open, and I lift my hand to touch the scar. It fades again to Mother standing in the living room, me tied to a chair in front of her, a cloth tied around her mouth. She's yelling at me, saying that if I wanted to leave so badly, that I could, but on her terms. She brings out a razor knife and slowly drags it up both of my arms, from wrist to shoulder joint while Little Me screams.
"STOP!" I scream out, not caring that it can't be heard. I try to step forward, to stop this monster, but I can't move from my spot. I watch as blood pours out of me, puddling up on the floor. 'My' eyes roll back in my head and the little girl slumps over, her pretty brown hair getting soaked by the blood. When the little girl's breathing slows to almost nothing, the woman unties her and carries her out of the house. I watch as she takes me out of the compound and into the forest. She stops about fifteen minutes away, far enough out that no one could immediately trace me back to them, and dumps my body under an oak tree. The woman spits on my and walks away.
I wake up screaming, my body shaking uncontrollably. I force myself to stop screaming and feel tears steadily pouring down my cheeks. Someone's arms are wrapped around me, trying to console me. I fight weakly against this person, not wanting to be touched, but they don't let go. My mind is reeling and I start to hyperventilate. I can't breathe, I can't breathe. I vaguely hear the person saying soothing things, but I can't focus on anything. I feel my mouth moving and hear someone saying, 'no mommy, no' over and over again. Everything goes cloudy and hazy, and it all goes black again.
I wake up again with a massive headache. I'm back in that stupid room again, then remember what happened. I shudder and push the bad memories from my mind, though one sticks that I hadn't remembered. What snake is she talking about? When I sit up, my head swims and I curse. There's movement next to me and I jerk my head to look at it. My vision swims again and I growl in frustration. I put my head in my hands until the dizziness fades away. I look back up slowly to see Itachi asleep against the wall. I use the wall to get to my feet and fight the haze to slowly walk across the room to the door. It's locked, of course.
"I'm glad you're awake, I started to worry." I turn around and fix a glare at my older brother.
"I'm sure you did. You caused it. I was so close to getting away and you ruined it."
"I had to stop you Kaida. I have to keep you safe. Who was that redhead?" He asks with a hint of overprotection in his voice.
"You're not keeping me safe by trapping me here with criminals. And he is none of your concern. I have to pee and desperately want to shower. Can I atleast do that?" I ask, turning back toward him.
"I suppose. If you try to run, I'll have to do that again."
"Understood." I sigh, knowing he's true to his word.
He stands and leads me out of the room, unlocking the door somehow, I couldn't see. He looks around before taking me down the hall to a door at the end. He opens it and lightly pushes me inside. It's a bedroom with no decorations, just littered with weapons. I raise my eyebrow as he sits down.
"Nice décor? Well, lack of. So how am I supposed to use the bathroom in here?"
"Bathroom is through that door. I'll see about getting you some clothing while you shower."
"Thank you." I mutter before ducking into the bathroom and locking the door behind me. I pee then look around to find a toothbrush on the counter. I look out into the bedroom and ask if it's his. He nods and I go back in to brush my teeth. I strip down and start the shower. When the water gets hot, I step in and enjoy the warmth. I clean myself before sitting down in the tub under the stream of water and cry. I hear a knock at the door a while later and force myself to get out of the shower.
I step out and wrap a clean towel around myself before answering the door. I crack it and a hand reaches in with a stack of clothes. He tells me that he got them from the only girl in the Akatsuki since we're closest in size. I thank him and shut the door again. I investigate the clothes and find a pair of dark colored shorts and a midnight blue tank top. Tucked into the pocket of the shorts is a pair of matching thigh highs. I mentally cheer about the socks because I adore socks. I dress and find the clothes to actually be only slightly bigger than my size. I brush my hair out and tie it back into a messy bun. I tie my forehead protector back around and put my headphones around my neck. I put my mask on and sigh before performing the jutsu to conceal my scars. I don't have the energy to deal with seeing them, not after what I'd seen. I leave the bathroom and find Itachi sitting on the edge of the bed, glaring at the door.
"Ouch. What'd the door do to you?" I ask.
"Little Sister, Leader says it's time. I have to take you to prove your abilities."
I feel my heart stop and hit the floor. "But I still have time. Let me go and I'll run as fast as I can."
"You can do this. You can stay here and I'll protect you. You'll have your family back." His words strike a chord within me.
"Family...? What about the people back home? They're my new family. You killed the others and the rest abandoned me. You expect that after all these years that I'll drop everything that happened and call you my brother again and live with a bunch of criminals because you're protecting me from a threat that hasn't been known to me? You're stupid if you expect that. You stopped being my brother when you left me for dead. Just take me to do this. If I die, I don't have to be stuck here." My mind thinks back to Shikamaru, Gaara, Temari, and Ino.
Without another word, he leads me to the door and out into the hall. I walk next to him in silence, trying to recognize the way out of here. As we pass by the room I remember belonging to Tobi, I debate on running, but he latches onto my wrist and pulls me along. They did really well on making this place confusing for outsiders, I'll give them that much. He stops us suddenly and turns to me.
"Don't look at or talk to anyone unless I tell you it's safe."
I mock salute him. "Can I atleast eat before I go to die? I'd rather have more of a fighting chance."
He starts to walk again, leading us through a large room with mismatched furniture littered around it with several men sitting around. I feel all eyes on me and Itachi moves me closer to him, glaring over my head at them all. We enter the next room and come into a kitchen. Dishes are piled high in the sink and across the countertop. I raise an eyebrow, then remember it's full of criminals, all but one being male. Men are such pigs. Itachi lets go of my arm and asks what I want to eat. I ask for coffee since the caffeine buzz will help me fight. He begins to search through the cabinets before asking when I started drinking coffee.
"I was... seven, I believe. It's really good." I answer, then start rummaging through the cabinets and fridge for something to eat. They really need to do some grocery shopping and cleaning. I find a cup of instant ramen and set the water to boil. Itachi started the coffee, so I sit at the table and wait for it to finish.
"Will I have my weapons? It wouldn't be fair if not."
"You will have them. Leader has them right now and I'll give them to you before you start."
I nod and look around the kitchen. My eyes land on an orange swirl and scowl before laying my head on the table.
"PRETTY LADY! YOU'RE ALIVE! TOBI MISSED YOU!" He cries out, running to me.
"Back off Tobi!" I say, pushing a wave at him, sending him out into the living room. I hear a crash followed by laughter. He must've hit the wall. A moment later he comes back in, cheering.
"Does he ever die?" I ask, turning to Itachi as Tobi latches onto my leg.
"We're honestly not sure. Many have tried..."
The food and coffee finish, so Itachi bring a cup and bowl over to me. I shake Tobi off of my leg and toss him back into the other room before forcing myself to eat. Once I finish, I drain the cup of coffee and fill it again, feeling the caffeine start to hit me, giving me energy. I drain the cup again and drink a third before Itachi says we have to go. I take a deep breath to calm my nerves and follow him through the living room, which is now empty, and through another series of hallways. We stop in front of a set of double doors and I feel my nerves start to get the better of me, fighting with the caffeine buzzing through me.
"You'll be okay, Little Sister. You'll be attacked at random as you go through this. Defend yourself and don't hold back. Fight to kill. Survive as long as you can, he'll call it if you get too hurt. Try your hardest please."
I look up at him to find his eyes their normal onyx color rather than the red of the Sharingan.
"It's either fight or die, and I've fought to live this long." I say with a shrug. If I die, no more being trapped here. If I survive and make it, I can sneak off at some point and never come back. Win, win. He hugs me before opening the door and leading me inside.