The Warrior

The restless waves of the black river crawled and clutched to the stony walls, roared and growled in the heart of the dead mountain, like an unleashed monster, trying to break free of the chains holding onto its muscular body. Smashing and pounding everything and anything on its bed, the river had no mercy at all.

The sky brooded darkly as the lone warrior, stood on the edge of the cliff, staring at the colossal river, flowing beneath his feet. He refused to flinch against the icy wind that was adrift from the mountain and kept growing fiercer and colder by second. It gnawed deep like the frozen teeth of the winter wolves and caused an aching pain. The man though seemed unfazed. Perhaps he used to the nature, spitting Death on his face or maybe he was too numb to care at all.

Seconds passed as the wind seized his dark cloak away and sent it flailing, battering against the breeze. Despite the cold he'd held his bare head high, his long black hair danced crazily to the tune of the strong wind, like the wide-spread wings of a thousand crows. His onyx eyes were empty and devoid of even the slightest trace of emotion, no one knew who he was, what he'd been through and how he'd ended up here.

Not daring to even breathe now. He wondered when he'd lost the ability to…cry. When did he lose the courage to shout out loud all the pains piling up on his heart? How did it happen and why…? Although none of these seemed to matter anymore. Here he was for the last time, haunted by the demons of the past and the souls of those he'd taken down, standing on the edge of the earth, looking back at his life and asking for… forgiveness.

Such an irony, is it? He'd used to come to this place with Shisui a long time ago, when he was still too young. Talking about the myths that the mountain held within, retelling the stories of ancient times, those that was quoted by the local natives. The two young boys uesed awe and laugh at them.

The barrier between life and dead, they called this place the ' limbo'.

They said people used to come here only for their quests to be granted by the spirits of the mountain. They'd come here in search of love, power, ninjutsu, fame, money, name it. They'd risk their lives, going up the cliffs and cutting away through the poisonous plants; they'd do anything to get what they wanted the most. Sometimes the intentions were good, other times it was pure evil, even though both cost people a lot.

The fugitive, the famous Uchiha Itachi knew about these stories very well, funny how he considered them to be only stories and nothing more but now he'd found this place to be the last place on earth that could grant his wish. Although he couldn't decide yet, what he wanted the most.

Mercy, forgiveness or death?

Death wasn't even a question, even a proud Shinobi as himself knew that the life after death would never be easier. He knew what the black river would do with a broken soul. He knew the gravity of his crimes would drag him deep down and torture him until he forgets who he had been and what he had done. Only then the river would inject the painful memories back to his mind so the weight of his sins crash him down to death over and over again until he forgets and this loop starts afresh and lasts for eternity.

Still though wasn't it a fair punishment for a man like him? Didn't he bring this upon himself?

For the first time he got an inch closer to the edge, his eyes following the trace of a falling stone as it hit the river's surface and was swallowed by the fumy white fangs.

"What'll happen if an already fallen soul befalls into a yet another abyss?"

His voice echoed in the cracks of the crooked cliffs but the question remained unanswered to his ears as Itachi finally closed his eyes and took a deep breath in. Somehow he felt lighter than usual, healthier and more alive. He felt revived like he wasn't going to fall apart at any moment now.

He already knew what would happen if he fell.

The river would feed from the souls. It smashed the body, torn the skin apart and whipped the naked soul. It gave life to dead and took the life from alive. The river was his penalty.

"This is my destiny."

The words left his lips without him even knowing. It seemed like that the mountain spoke for him. It was a confession made by the heart, the one that the sinner made before the conviction.

In just a split second everything had become meaningless.

His time had come to its end.

For a moment, Itachi found himself in another dimension. Standing still at the edge of the valley, looking down at the bloodthirsty river and jumping.

He witnessed himself dying. He watched his bones poking out of his already torn out skin, his blood running and fading in the dark water and his eyes… his valuable, powerful eyes, gouging out and melting into the strong grips of the water, turning into nothingness.

Mercy.

Forgivness.

Even death, didn't seem to bother him anymore as he watched himself-

Fading away.

Silence. The cruel, malicious silence then was deafening. It was maddening. Maybe it was partly because he expected the mountain spirits to sing for him but no… nothing happened. Without a goodbye, he should've gone. Without a lullaby he should've fallen sleep.

He stood there for a several minutes then, gazing down at his body although there was nothing to behold. Maybe it had been his imagination. Maybe this time he had fallen into his own Genjustsu. Maybe it all had been a painful nightmare like all the other ones. He desperately tried to convince himself but he couldn't avoid a feeling of dare clinging onto his heart. He felt as if he'd been here before and he'd witnessed his death before. Only that the last time Sasuke was here, too.

His little brother, the only reason that pushed him forward all these years, was here before. With him and he'd watched him die. He'd even cried for him. For him… Uchiha Itachi. The one that slayed his parents and killed his comrades. The criminal, the sinner, the most hatred man on the earth.

He used to think the day that he dies, he'd jump off that cliff alone. He thought he'd die in loneliness just like how he'd lived. But it wasn't the first time that he'd been wrong, was it?

Sasuke was there.

"At least Sasuke was there…"

A bitter smile crawled on his lips as he let out a sigh of lost memories. Now even the sky didn't seem that gloomy. He wondered. "How long till the run rises?"

The sun's rays climbed over the horizon. Oh how much he missed the light, the warm and the azure sky. For how long, he'd been kept in the cold black darkness? For how long he'd been…death?

Only then he heard a singing voice coming from the mountain. Or maybe it was only the sun that sang to him. Or perhaps the spirits in the mountain had finally forgiven him for what he had sinned. At that moment what he felt was beyond words. It seemed like the dead were welcoming him, he could feel them in the river's black water that was slowly turning pure blue, he could feel them in the sun's rays, in stones, soil and the plants. The cold filled his lungs as he took in a breathless breath, the sun warmed him.

Listening to the birds singing around him, he could see that it had brought him back to life.

The cold wind was gone, the silence was destroyed and the river was... tamed.

"It's over." He heard someone familiar whispered as he turned. His parents, his friends, his comrades, his lover… they were all there. Standing on the cliff as bright shadows and smiling back at him.

"I'm sorry." He said as a single tear ran on his cheek. Closing his eyes, he took a few steps back until the solid ground wasn't there anymore to hold him from falling. Looking above, the sun was shinning and the sky was intensely blue. Everything around him was an expression of beauty and serenity.

How much he enjoyed this peaceful fall in the river's soft bed. Like all those summers when he still wasn't supposed to be an adult, he wasn't supposed to be a Shinobi, he and Shisui used to swim and play around the river and although it wasn't much, it was pleasing while it lasted. The sound of his own laughing seemed strange, he had never laughed before. He had forgotten what it's like to be happy to laugh and not to care. All in awhile he felt 5 again, the world didn't seem to be a dark place back then. Strange that he could feel the same now. Being swung by the waves and getting dragged into a different dimension. He felt incredibly content to be free once more. They said it was over but they were wrong.

It was his new beginning.

"You're forgiven Itachi."

A/N:

My mind feels as rusty as my fingers.

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