RED: Itachi Uchiha

шесть - shest - 6

Red. Even in her dreams she couldn’t escape it. The person stared up at her, their eyes burning as brightly as the approaching dawn; they did not blink, and their gaze did not falter from her gargantuan form. They did not fear her. They did not fear death. Instead they stared at her, like she was no more than a cub sporting borrowed fangs and returnable claws.

Danica stood back on all fours, her lack of stature by no means any less intimidating. She sniffed the air, their scent clinging to her whiskers and coating her tongue. They were bleeding. Excessively so. Her beady eyes took in their appearance. The person stared back at her, their eyes glowing almost rhythmically; they were either too weak to care or had crossed paths with death prior to now. Danica huffed at their lack of response, the air immediately clouding in front of her then dispersing in the breeze.

They would probably die out here. Alone. The temperature was dropping by the minute and the snow was falling at an extraordinary pace. Danger lurked out in the woods, danger that did not need claws or fangs to kill. Danger that was not fuelled by bloodlust or the want to survive; nature knew no biases, no good or evil. Nature took what it wanted and did not apologise afterwards.

“Okiru jikan desuyo.” It’s time to wake up. The person said, their voice surprisingly smooth despite their battered state.

Danica huffed again, rocking backwards and forward on her paws; did he not realise he was talking to a wild animal? In Japanese at that? He was likely delirious from blood loss; hallucinating the faces of his loved ones. He reached out a hand, his skin painted crimson. She watched as droplets of ruby fell into the snow, the beads of white devouring the blood in an instant.

She sniffed at his extended hand. Two lots of blood laced his skin. One was foul smelling, unearthly - evil. Danica backed away. She didn’t like it. Not one bit. They reeked of it. The person did not recoil their hand, it was an offering. An armistice. Snow crunched beneath her paws, they waited patiently, eyeing her as she edged forward them until her muzzle was breathes away from their fingers.

“Okiru jikan desuyo.” It’s time to wake up. They repeated, a ghost of smile cracking onto their bloodied lips whilst a low rumble of a laugh erupted in their chest. “Watashi wa doko e mo ikanai wa.” I’m not going anywhere.

The moment their fingers poked her nose, Danica woke up.

Danica was met by the embers of the fire, the remnant coals resembling dying stars. Ridges from the carpet engrained her cheek where she had fallen asleep – she hadn’t even made it to the bed. She rubbed her eyes, pushing the palms of her hands into her sockets as the phosphenes began to waltz. Pastels merged with neons and monotones, every shade dancing with the next.

And there it was again: Red. Glowing rubies that had followed her from her dreams; eyes unlike any she had seen before, even awake she could see them as clear as day. They had shone so brightly amidst the snow, just like the blood that covered their body and hands. They couldn’t have been too far from the cabin, she hadn’t walked too far in her dreams. She needed answers. Hachiman, the attack, everything played in her mind like a film on loop.

Outside, the snow whipped and lashed at the scurvy panes of glass; in between flurries the wind howled, the screeches chilling her warmed digits instantly. It was still dark, she couldn’t have been asleep for more than a few hours. Still, her neck ached and the thought of trudging through the storm made her already tired muscles weep prematurely. Danica knew she would probably regret this. She knew that whatever lay out in that storm was going to throw a spanner in the works.

“Yob.” Fuck. She scowled and grabbed her boots.

***

Danica instantly regretted her decision. The wind bit her cheeks and the snow clung to her lashes forming a barricade of hail. The storm had caused the snow to build up to her knees, stray clumps falling into her boots and squelching between her toes.