The Broken Doll (Sequel to The Marionette)

Dawn of a new day

Third Person POV:

It was quiet in the Akatsuki base. Admittedly it was normal at this time of day, as it was just before dawn, still a few hours before anyone else would be as wide awake as Ryuu Senshi-Hatake was.

The siblings had arrived back only four hours prior, Ryuu then singing her younger brother to sleep before making her way to the tallest tree outside the base. After climbing to the top, she leans back against the rough trunk before sliding into a sitting position on the sturdy branch.

It's the same routine every morning; watch the sun come up, get ready for the day, complete any missions given, and repeat. As the sun begins to rise, the sun's rays dance across Ryuu's pale cheeks, highlighting her chipped facial features.

Ryuu's ice blue eyes are now completely rimmed a dark black colour due to her insomnia, her stunning white locks now reaching mid back and her bangs ending around her jawline. Her pale face was now marked with a relatively fresh scar, extending from just under the corner of her left eye to the left side of her chin.

After a few months of being in the Akatsuki, the scars she got from protecting her brother didn't bother her so much as they did Midori. But he accepted the fact that she was too stubborn not to protect him, and slowly but surely he became strong enough to protect her also.

They were survivors and the evidence was carved into their bodies. Their scars were many and they tell a story. They were a reminder of times when life tried to break them but failed. They were markings where the structure of the sibling's character was welded, created, and told a tale of times best left forgotten.

As the sun continues to rise, Ryuu is bathed in sunlight, and from the entrance of the hideout stands Itachi Uchiha. Even with his deteriorating eyesight, the ravenette watches the beautiful, yet broken doll in front of him. It was obvious why his younger brother was so intrigued by the beauty, Itachi truly cared for her but would never try to take Ryuu away from Sasuke.

He had already taken enough from his younger brother. But he couldn't help caring for her, she didn't treat him like a criminal. She didn't treat him like a monster. And more importantly, she knew the truth. Ryuu had been told by the Third Hokage about Itachi's mission and she didn't think differently of him.

To some extent, she did care for the Uchiha. Itachi was always there when Sasuke, for obvious reasons, couldn't. Especially since Sasuke had become rather cold towards Ryuu over the past few months, focusing on his training to become stronger, believing that caring for others was a weakness.

The two had fought, Ryuu almost killing Sasuke, smacking down his ego, and breaking things off with her favourite Uchiha. Ryuu vividly remembers the fury she felt when Sasuke suggested that she abandon Midori, to become stronger under the training with the snake.

But Ryuu wasn't having a bar of it. She told him that she'd rather have her brother than be with Sasuke because the family was absolute, not that Sasuke understood how important family was to her when he wanted to kill his only living relative.

Midori had arrived shortly after, having to physically drag his sister away from the beaten and bloody Uchiha, while Orochimaru and Kabuto watched on with impressed smirks. They hadn't interfered, instead watching for holes in Sasuke's training, which was Ryuu's suggestion before she started beating the shit out of him.

Nobody who suggests she's abandoned Midori comes away unscathed, no matter who they are.

She went through taijutsu, ninjutsu, and finally genjutsu, using everything at her disposal except her kekkie genkai to inflict pain. She hadn't stopped until Midori had waltzed through the door before finally ceasing her attack on the ill-prepared Uchiha, who hadn't believed how much stronger she still was until she punched it into him.