Redemption In Your Eyes

A Final Goodbye

The click of the door handle piqued Aster's attention. Is Itachi here? Her heart beat faster. Clutching the banket to her lap, her chest sank when the open door revealed Tsunade. The hokage's face was dark, tension in every line. Steeling herself, Aster bit her lip. Both women were silent, only the clack of Tsunade's heels competing with the monitors as she stopped at the foot of the bed.

"You arrived quickly," Aster said slowly.

"I've been keeping tabs on you." The hokage crossed her arms. "You likely have valuable information."

She nodded in response. "I do."

"Why don't we start with who kidnapped you?" Tsunade was impassive. "I imagine that will be the most important thing you can tell me."

Aster lowered her gaze for a moment. "I know who took me and why." Determined, she raised a fierce stare. "Uchiha Madara kidnapped me... He-"

"That's an insane thing to say," she scoffed. "Madara has been dead over 100 years."

Glaring at her superior, she replied, "I only know the name he gave me. He wielded the mangekyou sharingan and went by Madara."

"If it truly was Madara who kidnapped you," Tsunade interjected, "then why did he take you, and why return you?" Suddenly showing concern, she leaned over Aster, taking her by the chin and checking her eyes for signs of head trauma. "What you're saying makes no sense."

Jerking her face away, Aster huffed. "I know what happened to me! Uchiha Madara kidnapped me to keep me alive." Tears began to well in her eyes. "He wants my child and he knows why I'm so ill! He kidnapped me to make sure he would get a healthy child!"

"What could Uchiha Madara possibly want with a baby?" Tsunade shot back. "Do you hear yourself?"

"I don't care how crazy you think it is," Aster scowled. "Uchiha Madara wants my child to be his legacy. He's going to take my baby and raise it to be his weapon."

"Uchiha Madara helped found this village." She lectured, trying to maintain composure. "You may not know these things since you are not native to this village. He is dead, and if he wasn't, he would be too old and decrepit to be a threat."

"He didn't exactly tell me all his secrets." Aster rolled her eyes. "I can confirm for you he's alive. And he didn't expect me to break that Tsukuyomi."

Not wanting to believe what she was hearing, Tsunade was silent for a few moments. "If there is any truth in what you're saying, this village may be as good as gone. Everyone is in grave danger."

Aster stared up at her, blue eyes wide and set. "I'm don't have a head injury and I'm not a liar."

Back at the house, everyone was bundling up in cloaks and rain boots. Itachi had no time for such a superficial ritual. Water wasn't dangerous, and trying to avoid the damp would only slow him down. His feet pounded on the slick grass as he dashed across the courtyard to the hospital. Pushing back the double doors, the intense lights hit him and he faltered, adjusting. Gritting his teeth, he ran past a yelling receptionist. He rushed in, disregarding the trail of muddy sandal marks he left behind. An unfortunate familiarity guided him up the stairs and down the hall. The slap of his sandals on the linoleum floor echoed and staff moved aside, flustered.

Suddenly a door opened ahead of him. He skidded to a halt just in time to keep from colliding with the blonde woman. Clothes dripping from the downpour and hair sticking to his cheeks, he pressed his lips together. Tsunade met his caustic stare.

"Be prepared," she cautioned. "She may not be as well as she seems."

Itachi scowled. "What are you talking about?"