A/N: Have I told anyone how much I love this web-site?! I love the fact that people can be creative (as well as tastefully perverted), I love the fact that people can give feedback, I just love it!
Deidara- She's kind of hyper right now, un. It should go way in about three... two... one...
TG- Hm... Okay, I'm back. I do want to thank everyone who helps me with feedback and actually reading my stories. But now, I have to give the people what they want. Here's the first sequel to AHS: The Dark Woods Circus. The series of songs for the Dark Woods Circus are... well, here's where I'm getting mad!
On youtube, there's a debate saying that the song 'Wide Knowledge of the Late Madness' (sung by Miku Hatsune), which is the song that this fic is based on, isn't part of the series! But, um, if you watch the video and listen to the lyrics, it makes perfect sense and has an obvious connection! I don't know, I think that the songs go together. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my own thoughts. I don't own... I don't own... I don't own... I don't own...
Note- *-represents the real lyrics of the song.
An Angel's Knowledge of the Late Madness
There are many cruel, tragic things on this earth. One can not go without seeing them. Children dying of starvation while their parents are in the next room, the sick begging for money in the streets, just to be ignored. And the cries of the injured in a hospital, begging to be put out of their misery.
Such tragic cruelty and more go on in the bowels of the Hell on earth known as the Dark Woods Circus. The circus and all its members (more like prisoners) were currently touring around the snowy, frigid empire known as Russia. Madara had a reserved hotel-suite in which he holed himself up, safe from the freezing blizzards and eating decadent, delicious foods in front of a blazing fire-place.
The circus members were forced to stay in the tent once it was set up, many of the poor, unfortunate souls shivering from cold and dying off from hypothermia and fevers. There were many deaths on the first day.
It all came to a head one afternoon after a performance.
Itachi had, very reluctantly, woken up from a drugged sleep. Madara would often drub the frail brunette so there wouldn't be any screams of pain in case he accidentally lay on his wings. Itachi shook his head, trying to wake up, and slowly sat up. However, he felt that something was different. Itachi moved his head around, trying to listen for the sounds of any of the other performers.
He was alone.
The brunette then tried to open his eyes behind the mask, expecting to see glimmers of light to see what time of day it was.
...
"Wait." He felt that he had opened his eyes, but if he did... why was everything still dark? Unless... No. No, he didn't want to think about it. "I'm just tired..." He told himself, "I'll wake up any moment and I'll be able to tell what time it is." Itachi tried opening his eyes again and again but after so many times he let out an anguished cry and collapsed to the floor of his cage. "It can't be... IT JUST CAN'T BE!!!" He screamed into the floor, both from his situation and from the pain of the wings flopping back down on his back.
The door opened, causing Itachi to raise his head. It was quiet; he realized that it must have been one of Madara's assistants. But then a feline hiss: Hidan. And a growl: Kisame. Itachi sat and listened as their cages were opened... then closed, the clanging all the more resounding today.
Footsteps left the room and then Itachi whispered, moving to the side of his cage that was closer to Kisame's, "Kisame! What happened to you two? Tell me!" Kisame was silent but Itachi heard a strong kicking inside the blue-skinned male's cage. The cage actually shook from the actions after a while, until the sound of bars falling to the floor rang throughout the room.
Itachi silently thanked Kakuzu for loosening the bars of all their cages so that they could experience brief glimpses of freedom. After freeing his mouth from the stitches, Kakuzu tried to think of all sorts of plans for their group to escape Madara's torment.
But now... Itachi listened towards Hidan's cage, the slow hissing telling that the albino was asleep. He sighed, was there any even point to escaping anymore?
Iron bars clanged in front of his own cage told Itachi that Kisame had opened it up and crawled inside. "Kisame..." Itachi smiled sadly. The shark didn't respond but Itachi could feel those rough, sticky hands caressing his face lovingly. However, when they moved to remove the mask, Itachi stated, "Kisame... It's finally happened..." He felt the other male flinch but then Kisame removed the mask anyway. Itachi opened his eyes, showing cloudy, red, blood-shot eyes that looked into the distance.
Itachi heard and felt Kisame growl before Kisame sat back. Itachi held himself, whispering, "I didn't think that it would happen so fast... I thought that I had a few more years before..." Itachi looked forward and realized something. He slowly moved forward, ignoring the warning growls that Kisame was giving him. "Kisame..." He asked, blindly making his way to the muscular male. "Why?" Itachi finally collapsed into Kisame's arms, crying out,
"WHY AREN'T YOU TALKING TO ME?" Kisame stayed silent as Itachi screamed, "You know that I'm blind now, I can't see your face!! SPEAK TO ME!!!" With that, Itachi fell into Kisame, sobbing openly. "Say something... Anything, please Kisame!" Kisame shut his own eyes as he listened to Itachi sob. Gods, how he wanted to comfort Itachi.
He just... Kisame gave a choked shudder before taking one of Itachi's hands.
"Kisame?" The blue-skinned male was quiet as he moved it to his own blood-stained lips. Itachi, at first, thought it was one of their loving gestures. But what happened made him gasp. Kisame's lips moved, they went slowly but he still didn't catch it. "What was that?" Kisame sighed, and if Itachi had been able to see he would have seen the tears forming in his grieved eyes.
Itachi paid close attention to every movement that Kisame's lips made, but he recoiled in shock as he realized what Kisame was trying to do. "No... No..." He shook his head, in denial. Kisame nodded sadly and took Itachi's hand to his lips again, mouthing out the words so that Itachi could feel,
"I... Can't... Speak..." Itachi screamed in horror, clutching to Kisame's arms,
"NO! Not you too!!!" Kisame nodded and held Itachi to him as the brunette sobbed at this loss.
He had lost his sight and...
Kisame, like Hidan and Zetsu and most of the more 'animal' subjects of the Dark Woods Circus, had lost his voice.
Rather...
Lost his ability to make any sounds but growls.
It happened to almost everyone who Madara had combined with an animal. The animal-blood would eventually take over the body, the age it would happen was different with each subject, and it would have various effects on that person.
First, a debilitating fever from which most subjects died.
Then a bout of hysterics.
Then the subject would lose their ability of speech, resorting to more animalistic sounds.
Finally, they would live like that until the rest of their body and mind deformed back into animal-state before the body would break down and then...
...death.
Itachi sobbed, lamented, screamed at this development. He couldn't lose Kisame! He lost his family, he lost Tobi… Kisame was the last string of sanity keeping him to this world. If he lost Kisame, he… he…
He wouldn't know what to do!!
"Kisame… Please don't leave me! Please!" Kisame held Itachi tight, trying not to let the smell of the younger male…
Smell?
Damn! Was he already succumbing to the animal side?!
Kisame looked down at Itachi, who was still crying and thought back to the last time they lost one of their family to the animal-side.
Ino…
A few weeks earlier, Ino had developed a ridiculously high fever. Everyone knew what it meant but no one said anything. Madara examined her only once, looking in her dilating eyes before stating, "I'll have to make another pig-girl.," before walking off.
Madara had no reservations about what was happening, after all, he had been through at least fifty of his pets that went through this. They had such a short shelf-life, he thought.
From then on, Ino's life was miserable. Every time someone even tried to get near her, be it for food or to talk to the girl, she would lash out, screaming and squealing. On one evening, the entire troupe had to hear the girl's lamenting cries,
"KILL ME!! SOMEONE PLEASE, KILL ME..!!!", for the entire night. When Ino lost her speech, it was a quasi-miracle. The girl just sat there, watching as everyone went about his or her business with still blue eyes.
Finally, one day Madara had the grace to try and feed Ino. He gave her a pail of rotten vegetables, saying, "It's your favorite!" Ino glanced at the pail but didn't move or say anything. Madara cooed, "Come now, Ino. We can't have you felling miserable now, can we?" He leaned in closer, "What is it that you want?"
Madara chuckled to himself. He knew that the girl couldn't reply, he just couldn't pass messing with his little freaks of nature. However, everyone in the room gasped in shock when four strained words floated through the room.
"I… want.. to die." Those in the room shook their heads or were just silent. Madara huffed and replied,
"Alright then… Die." Madara pushed the pail to the ground, the refuse scattering everywhere, "It'll save me a fortune on feeding bills." After that evening, Madara didn't even spare a glance towards Ino. The other subjects gave Ino shares of their food, but the pig-girl didn't eat anything.
And she died.
Oh gods, did Kisame remember the day that Ino passed. Madara had walked to her cage and poked the girl's body with his cane. "Dead as nails." He announced before calling over two of his assistants. The deformed women came over and removed the body and took it to another closed-off room. A while later, the older man called for Kisame, Zetsu, the gryphin, and Hidan to be brought to that same room.
When all four were in, he announced to them, "I don't see the need of letting good flesh go to waste." At this moment, he removed the girl's soiled clothing. "Make her disappear." Was all he said before leaving the room. When the ringmaster left, Kisame looked at the pig-girl's body.
This was so wrong!! Every moral fiber in his being screamed at the command and sight. This was disgusting, the human side of him yelled.
But… A dark voice inside of him protested, all that flesh…
Food!!
All at once, Kisame pounced on Ino's body, sharp teeth ripping into her stomach and tearing out bloody chunks of flesh and entrails. The gryphin followed, tearing into her legs. Zetsu waited a moment before he began ripping off strips of the skin. Hidan was the only one who didn't attack. He was waiting. But then, when the gryphin's fanged beak ripped out the girl's neck, he bolted over, licking the blood that splashed to the floor.
Madara smiled as he heard the feeding frenzy occurring. "Who needs a cleaning service when you have them?"
Itachi slowly stopped crying, tears were still streaming down his face but he had silenced the sounds to soft whimpers. "So," Itachi began, "When he took you away last time… It was because you had a fever, wasn't it?" Itachi let his hand rest on Kisame's face and felt the man nod. Itachi shook his own head, trying to figure out how he didn't notice. But then again…
Maybe he had and Kisame just tried to hide it so the frail one wouldn't worry. It made sense, Kisame had always watched over him ever since they entered this hell. Itachi sighed heavily and asked, "Is Zetsu still…"
A silent nod.
"And Hidan is…"
Another nod confirmed Itachi's suspicions. They were going to lose those two soon as well.
A few weeks earlier…
"Hidan! Drink something!!!" Kakuzu yelled at the albino. Hidan was currently laying on the bottom of his cage, trembling and spasming, while the stitched male tried to get him to drink something. The albino 'vampire' had been looking ill all week and now he could hardly move.
Everyone quietly looked on as Kakuzu tried to force some blood down Hidan's throat just to have it vomited back on him. "You have to keep it down, damn it!" Kakuzu yelled. Hidan simply hissed in response. Abruptly, Deidara's voice sang out,
"Hidan's going to die soon!" Sasori immediately yelled,
"Shut up!" But Deidara didn't listen and pointed a hand towards Zetsu's cage, saying,
"And so will Zetsu!" The room was silent but Kisame, Sasori, and Kakuzu looked at the green-haired male's cage. He lay out on the floor of it, mumbling incoherent phrases to himself. Kisame growled before removing the bars of his cage and walking over to Zetsu. He placed the back of his hand on the fly-trap's forehead and instantly recoiled.
"He's… grr… burning up!" Sasori and Deidara tried to limp over and get the green-haired male a bowl of water but suddenly a painfully familiar noise of footsteps rang out into the room. Kisame and Kakuzu got back into their cages right before,
"Hello my pets!" Madara called out, walking into the room with that smile on his face. Everyone was silent as the spiky black-haired man walked around, asking, "Now, how is everyone doing, hm? I do hope you're not too cold."
"Rrr… Like you would care…" Kisame growled out. Madara shook his head, smiling as he replied,
"Maybe I should have sewn your mouth shut instead of Kakuzu's. Right stitched-one?" Kakuzu turned his head, not saying anything so that he could keep Madara thinking that his mouth was still stitched. Then Madara turned to Sasori and Deidara before asking the blonde, "Well Dei-chan, my shining star, is there anything that I should know about?" Sasori whispered through gritted teeth,
"You speak up and I will—"
"Hidan and Zetsu are ill!" The blonde sang out, ignoring the red-head completely. Madara raised an eyebrow,
"Really now?", before looking at the albino and the fly-trap. "Ah, they've caught something alright." He then called for six of his assistants and told four of them, "Take the vampire and the plant to my office." When the four were beginning to roll the two cages out, Madara looked over and said, "Kisame, you might as well come too." The blue-skinned male shook his head.
"I'm not sick…" Madara smiled and retorted,
"Just think of it as a small check-up. Alright?" The bluenette flinched and moved to the back of his cage. Itachi moved so that he was closer and he could hear the fear in Kisame's voice as he answered,
"I don't need… grr… a check up…" However, two of Madara's assistants had already begun rolling Kisame's cage out of the room. The last thing Itachi remembered hearing was Kisame roaring and trying to tip the cage over.
"Kisame…"
Hidan was fighting against losing himself to the other side but he had already lost his speech and he was beginning to lose his humanity. He no longer tried to walk like a person but preferred to go on all-fours…
.. Like a cat.
And Zetsu hardly ever got up anymore. He just lay in his cage that was under an open part of the tent and only moved to eat.
Itachi choked back an up-coming sob and pushed himself more into Kisame's arms. Kisame tightened his grip and actually began rocking the two of them together. He wanted Itachi to sleep, the brunette realized, but who could sleep at a time like this?!
"Kisame, I…" But Itachi never would have expected what happened next.
"Hmm hm hmm… Hmm hm hmm…" The low sounds probably would have gone unnoticed by others but to Itachi it was as clear as day. Kisame was trying his best to sing Itachi to sleep. Itachi chuckled sadly and said,
"Here… Let me." The brunette straightened himself up and cleared his throat before singing,
"Long ago,
When we were young…
A strange man came
To our homes…" Itachi swallowed before continuing,
"Took us from
our families…
Under lies
Across the sea…"
"Can we stop soon, Itachi? Tobi's hungry." A small boy with messy black hair and wide brown eyes looked up at an eight year-old Itachi. The long-haired boy smiled down and replied,
"When we get back to my house my mother will make lunch for us. Just be patient, Tobi." Tobi pouted softly but nodded, knowing that his cousin was right. Itachi smiled and they both walked through a large garden to the elder's mansion. In Japan, the Uchiha family was of quite the noble blood. And, of course, being comprised of politicians, doctors, and merchants didn't hurt the income either.
The two small boys ran the last couple of feet and looked for Itachi's mother. However, the woman's sitting room was empty. "Where's Auntie?" Tobi asked. Itachi shook his head and after removing his and Tobi's sandals, they both looked around.
It was very strange not to see his mother doing something in her sitting room. In fact, it was her favorite room in the whole mansion. But today, Itachi heard conversation coming from the parlor. "Come on, Tobi." Both boys quickly made their way to the parlor and, after Itachi's father said it was okay, they walked in. Both boys bowed softly to Itachi's father before his mother announced, "Itachi, Tobi, we have wonderful news!"
"What is it mother?" Then his father added,
"We have found a good teacher and a new school for you two." Itachi's eyes widened as he gasped,
"Really?" His parents nodded and they gestured to the stranger in the room. He was properly dressed in red and black clothes and his black spiky hair was tied back. The older man smiled and stated,
"My name is Madara and it is a pleasure to meet the both of you."
---
A few weeks later, after making the proper preparations, Madara left the Uchiha mansion with Itachi and Tobi in tow. "Farewell!" Fugaku called over.
"Write us every week!" Mikoto added. Both boys waved as they were both riding in the horse-drawn carriage that Madara was driving. After a few hours, when the village that the Uchiha mansion was located was more than out of distance and they had made it to a dense forest, Madara called out,
"Showtime, everyone!" All at once, strangers walked out of the bushes, under-growth, and from the trees.
"Itachi?" Tobi whimpered, clutching onto the long-haired boy's kimono. Itachi immediately looked towards Madara and saw the man wetting two pieces of cloth with a clear liquid from a brown bottle.
"What is this?!" Itachi demanded. Madara smirked quietly before shoving one of the cloths into Itachi's face. Itachi thrashed a bit before he felt really sleepy.
"Itachi!!" Tobi's yell was the last thing he heard before passing out.
---
"Hey! Rise and shine!" A strange voice called out. Itachi groaned before he opened up sleepy eyes.
"Wha..?" He shot up when he saw where he was. It looked like a dark room filled with cages and the sounds of animals and frightened children filled the stale air. "Where am I?" He whispered softly but when he saw the bars of the cage he was in, he cried out, "Is anyone here?! Let me out! Please!!" He pulled at the cage in vain for about ten minutes before he figured out that it was useless. "This can't be happening…" All of a sudden, that strange voice from earlier spoke up from the cage next to Itachi,
"Hi!" Itachi turned his watery eyes next to him and saw the owner of said voice. It was another boy but his clothes were rough and dirty compared to his own. This boy also seemed a bit older with blue hair and a bright smile. Itachi sniffled a bit before responding,
"Hello." The boy chuckled a bit before stating,
"So you're stuck here too, huh? Well, might as well introduce you to my friends." Itachi shook his head softly,
"Friends? No, I have to find my cousin. Have you seen him?" The boy thought for a moment before looking in front of him and calling,
"Tobi! Hey, are you up?" Itachi gasped and looked where the blue-haired boy did. There was a small groan before,
"Yes, Tobi's awake…"
"Tobi!" Itachi gasped in relief, "Are you okay?!" Tobi replied,
"Hai! Tobi's just been talking with Kisame and Zetsu while waiting for you to wake up!" Itachi tilted his head.
"Who are..?" The bluenette next to him spoke up,
"My name's Kisame Hoshigaki! And that ball of happiness over there is Zetsu." Itachi squinted his eyes, trying to see who was next to Tobi's cage. In the cage next to the small brunette, there was a boy with green hair and a stony look. Zetsu frowned and replied,
"I'm not going to be happy like you when there's nothing to be happy about…" Kisame laughed back,
"Come on! We're still alive, aren't we?" Itachi spoke up,
"Where are we?" To which a rash voice answered,
"Who the hell knows?" Then,
"Hidan, quiet yourself…" The rash voice, Hidan, answered with a,
"You shut up, Kakuzu! I want to go home!!" However, there was a rattle from the cage below Kisame. Kisame looked down and asked,
"What is it Pein?" Another voice stated,
"You know where we are, Kisame. Speak up." Itachi looked at the blue-haired boy who gave a deep sigh.
"Yeah, I do know." He closed his eyes and spoke up, "This is the hull of a boat that belongs to a man named Madara. Everyone, welcome to the Arashi No Akumu, The Nightmare Storm."
---
As it turned out, Kisame only knew where they were because he had worked for Madara to earn some extra money for his family. He hadn't the foggiest of why Madara had brought all of them here.
"At least the boat hasn't started moving yet." A young girl named Konan stated one day. "We might still be rescued…" In that moment, who should come down to the hull but Madara, carrying an unconscious blonde boy in his arms. As he looked around the hull at all the children and animals, he smiled and said,
"Hello children! I have another friend for you today." He locked the blonde up in a cage and said, "You might be wondering why you're all here. Well…" he began walking up the stairs before he added, "I don't see why I should tell you now when most of you won't survive the trip. There were gasps of horror all around and it caused Madara's smile to widen, "Yes, that's the reason I went through the trouble of getting so many of you. I should make sure that I get the most subjects as possible."
And with that, he was gone. It was silent as the children were too scared to move. However, Kisame was listening to what was going up on deck. And what rang out next shattered all hopes of being rescued. "Hoist the sails! I want to be in China as soon as possible! MOVE!!"
Panicked screams were heard all around, children crying out for help or for parents that weren't there. Itachi called out, trying his best not to lose track of Tobi in all this madness, "Tobi! Are you still there?"
"Hai! But Tobi can hardly hear you Itachi!" There was still frightened screaming even when they felt the boat move.
"China… But why are going away so far?" A red-haired boy named Sasori who was in the cage next to the one that held the unconscious blonde.
A while later, Madara came back down with a woman in white and looked around at the scared children. He whispered to her, "How many?" She looked at the scroll she had and replied,
"100 Madara-san. And 100 animals." Madara smirked and sighed,
"Let's see… 100 here, 15 waiting in China, and my animals in Europe… I have quite the little zoo here, don't I?" The woman nodded and they both walked back up the stairs. "Oh, I almost forgot!" Madara chuckled and grabbed the door. "Can't have anyone seeing you all, now can I?"
There were more screams as Madara shut the door, bathing the room in darkness.
---
In that dark place, without light or any sound but the crashing waves and the creaking of the boat, one would lose track of time. But who was thinking about that? Now, being cramped in small cages and hardly allowed out to the surface, the despair floated in the air along with the smells of filth, sickness, and death.
Itachi woke up and immediately felt ill. As he vomited up what little he had in his stomach, he tried to think of how long they had been down here. He looked around and noticed that there were more empty cages.
With being cramped up like this, hardly fed, and hardly let out to get fresh air or light, many of the children and animals got sick…
.. And eventually died.
Then, once in a while, the sailors of the boat would come down and take away the deceased. This instance for example, Itachi bore silent witness when they took away five dead children. One of them being a small, blue-haired girl.
"Konan!!" Pein screamed. "You can't leave me! Konan!!" Of course, the auburn-haired boy didn't get a response as the sailors left and closed the door behind them.
Up on deck, Madara looked at the five children that were brought up. He sighed, "What a pity…" Before he scoffed, "Alright, toss them over-board and let the sharks handle them." The sailors did just that and walked away but Madara watched on as he saw the young corpses being ripped apart and devoured by large, sharp teeth.
"Beautiful…" He smiled at the sight of the frenzy.
---
"H-hey… Itachi…" Kisame's voice spoke up, a lot more tired than when they had first met.
"Yes..?" Itachi replied weakly. Kisame chuckled back softly.
"Nothing much. I just wanted to keep you talking to make sure you're still here." Then Itachi heard Kisame roll over and ask, "Tobi? Hey..! Tobi…" A small voice answered,
"Tobi's still here… A little sleepy, but I'm still here with Zetsu!" Kisame then called out,
"Ne… Kakuzu! What's up with you and Hidan?" There wasn't a response. "Kakuzu?" Then, the shaky voice of Kakuzu called back,
"Hidan's sick…" The small group looked towards the albino child's cage. He was laying down, shivering and whining. "He hasn't eaten anything for the past few days either."
---
One evening on the boat, a woman walks into the private room of Madara. The man himself is reading a book while eating a luxurious meal. The woman frowns and speaks up, "Madara."
"Hm?"
"We had to toss twenty more children over-board today." Madara reclined in his chair, replying,
"Is that so?", half-heartedly. The woman rolled her eyes before adding,
"And one of them hasn't been taking food well. The albino…"
"Ah yes," the black-haired man interrupted, "His name's Hidan, by the way. Truth be told he has contracted a mild case of Consumption (1) so getting regular food into him would be damned near impossible… Hm…" Madara thought for a while. Then he smiled, "I'll handle him, just give a fruit to suck on or something that will keep him alive for another week."
The woman nodded and walked out of the room. But just before she left she turned and asked, "We could have been in China in about three days on a clear sea, why have we been out here a month Madara?" Madara laughed and responded,
"Survival of the fittest, my dear. I want to make sure that those I take with me are worth the effort."
---
It was seeming like an eternity in that dark space. More children had been taken away, including Pein, and now there were only about twenty left. Itachi hardly moved, not that he couldn't (which he really couldn't), but in his mind he wanted to conserve as much energy as possible.
All of a sudden, Kisame sat up. "We've stopped." He whispered as he felt the boat slow hit something. Everyone else groaned and whispered in confusion laced with disbelief. However, the door to the hull opened and a familiar voice called out to them,
"Alright children! We're here!" There were more groans as he walked down and said, "Let's see how many of you there are now. Hm…" He silently counted up and sighed, "Oh darn… I guess that I'll jut have to be more careful when we get to the 'Garden'." Madara walked to Hidan's cage and opened it, dragging out a weak albino.
"Let him go!" Kakuzu yelled the best that he could. Madara smirked and said,
"You'll see him again soon enough. But now, we have to get moving." He walked up the stairs and yelled, "Unpack the hull! I have things to pick up and then I want to get to the 'Garden'! Hurry up!"
"The garden?" Tobi asked as sailors began unpacking the cages and taking them outside. All of the children groaned and yelped as soon as they were outside.
"Was the sun always this bright, un?" The blonde, Deidara, groaned out. Itachi looked around and gasped. They were in a strange harbor with all sorts of weird things. The signs, the people yelling, the smells…
"China…" Kisame groaned. "He wasn't kidding, was he?"
---
The next few days went by like a blur. Madara had loaded all of the living children into a large, covered cart and had five more carts like it for all his other animals. He then rushed them to a small, deserted looking town. Then Madara, after paying a group of seedy-looking men, took two children (a boy with long, brown hair and a girl with short, navy-blue hair), and eight young women to another cart.
Once they were in, he announced, "My preparations are complete. From here on out, we're not taking any more breaks than we need to! My main priority is to get us to the 'Garden' and that is a long ways away! So, if that's all clear…" He sat down in front of his cart and grabbed the reigns before giving them a swift whip. "Yah!"
---
They must have traveled for what seemed like another week when Tobi asked, "Where are we going?" Zetsu replied,
"We don't know, Tobi…" Itachi sighed before turning to Kisame and asking,
"Why is he doing this? What is he going to do with us?" The blue-haired boy frowned before replying,
"I don't know. But I know that it can't be good with Madara in charge."
They traveled for ages, Madara checking each of the children and animals every time they took a mandatory break. And it seemed to Itachi that with every day that went by, Madara grew more and more…
.. Excited.
Finally, with only losing one more child, they made it. "We're here! We're here!!" Madara laughed as he rushed to help his workers uncover the carts. When the cart that held the children was uncovered, they all looked around at where 'here' was. It was a large building, white, red, and black with covered windows.
"This is a garden?" Tobi asked softly, confused that this building was in the middle of nowhere, no nature or anything for miles. Madara walked up to the building and opened the large doors. A large roar greeted him and he smiled,
"Yes my pets… I've missed you too." He glanced back and called over, "Get them cleaned up and put into rooms! Now!"
---
"Ah!" Itachi yelped as he was splashed with a bucket of cold water. The workers (the female ones) dragged the children into a large bathing room and stripped them of their clothing. Then they splashed them with water and scrubbed them roughly in a haphazard attempt at cleaning them.
The children were then forced to put on white gowns and then, once again, separated from each other as they were led into separate rooms. At this moment, Itachi panicked, looking back and calling,
"Tobi!!" Tobi cried too, trying to move towards the long-haired boy,
"Itachi! Tobi doesn't want to go with them! Itachi!" They tried running towards each other and were roughly yanked apart.
"None of that!" One of them women whispered harshly. She then lifted Tobi onto her shoulders and carried him away,
"Itachi!!" Itachi was in shock that his only family had been taken away from him but he was brought out of it when Kisame tired to run away, two women going after him.
"Get back here!" Kisame ignored them but then had a thought.
'Itachi…' he then doubled back and tried to get the brunette. However, at that moment, two more workers came and restrained him.
"Kisame!" Itachi screamed but he was being dragged away too. He remembered seeing Kisame struggling against the workers before the door was closed. He was led down a clean, white hallway with many doors until the woman sighed,
"Here we go." She opened it up from the outside and pushed the long-haired boy in. Just before she closed the door, the woman looked behind her and sighed sadly, "You have the one room that you can see the 'Garden' perfectly. You poor soul…" Then she shut the door, locking it from the outside.
Itachi immediately tried knocking on the door, calling and begging for someone to let him out. However, he realizes that he's alone so he turns and looks at where he is. It's a small, white room. With a covered up window and a small pallet of sheets for a bed. There is also a scroll of paper and a calligraphy-brush next to a jar of ink on the floor. Itachi sniffled before sinking to the floor and sobbing lightly.
He never liked being alone but this…
.. This was another level entirely.
---
Madara was as happy as a child at their first summer festival when he led a young mare to the special par of the building he called the 'Garden' from the outside of the building. "My what a beautiful horse you are…" He cooed as he pushed it into the room. One look at the large room and the horse snorted while trying to back away. Madara shook his head and added, "But you could always be more beautiful…" He held up a hammer in one hand and a prosthetic horn in the other before he closed the door with his feet.
Meanwhile, in his own room, all Itachi could hear were the painful neighing of a horse and a loud banging.
---
It had been twenty days since he was placed into this room. The only reason Itachi knew this was because once a day a woman would bring a plate of food to the small boy. Twenty days… Itachi ate his food quietly, thinking about what was going on outside. He missed outside,, he wanted to feel sunlight again so badly it hurt, and…
"Let go of me!!" A familiar voice screamed from in the hall. Itachi stood on his tip-toes and looked out of the small window in his door. At first, he could only see the door to the 'Garden' but then he saw Madara dragging Kisame to the room. "I said let go!!" Kisame gritted out. However, Madara simply cooed out,
"Just think of it as a small check-up. Alright?" The bluenette flinched as he saw the look in Madara's eyes as he said those words.
"I don't need a check-up." The boy replied, causing Madara to pick the boy up. However, Kisame struggled out of his grasp and tried running. Itachi banged his fist on the door of his room, getting the bluenette's attention. Kisame ran over to the door and called, "Itachi! You in there?!"
"Hai! Get me out!" Kisame nodded and tried to find the lock to the door. But soon,, Madara wrapped his arms around the blue-haired boy and carried him to the 'Garden'. All the while, Kisame screamed,
"Itachi! Don't leave your room! No matter what, don't leave your room!! I'll get you out, I promise!!" Itachi looked on as long as he could until Madara walked into the room and shut the door, laughing all the while.
"Kisame! Wait!" Itachi cried. "Don't leave!" The long-haired boy sank to the floor, sobbing. "I don't want to be alone…"
---
In the 'Garden', Madara had chained Kisame to a large gurney and was making preparations. He had a metal nail-filer, a syringe, a wire-brush, a bucket of blue dye, and a large canister of thick, red liquid that said 'shark'. Kisame looked up at Madara with widened, frightened eyes as the man picked up the file. "Open up." Madara smiled.
"No. No way!" Madara sighed and replied,
"It's no matter to me…" Then the man pulled out a metal vice-like instrument. With ease, he fastened it to Kisame's mouth and used it to keep the boy's mouth wide open. "Much better…" The he began, filing each and every one of Kisame's teeth until it was pointed and sharp.
Oh gods, but it was unbearable!! Kisame's screams rang out through the room and he tried to thrash against his restraints. Madara smiled,
"They'll look a lot better soon, Kisame."
That went on for what seemed like hours until Madara took away the file and unrestrained Kisame. The blue-haired boy was in shock, pain numbing over every nerve in his upper body. He couldn't struggle against Madara removing his gown, nor could he try to escape when he saw Madara dip that wire-brush into the dye. Then Madara chuckled before proceeding to scrub Kisame's raw.
Kisame howled as the wires scratched through him and screamed even more when he felt the stinging of the dye set in his wounds. Madara scrubbed all over, making sure that the dye set before scrubbing some more.
This was another time-consuming process and when it was done, Madara chained a bloody and blue Kisame back to the gurney. "Please… stop…" Kisame groaned out in agony. Madara simply smiled and laughed,
"But Kisame! We aren't done yet!" Then the black-haired man picked up the syringe before dipping it down into the canister and filling it with the red liquid. "Oh no… Not by a long-shot."
---
All Itachi had heard were Kisame's screams. He didn't know what was going on except that Kisame was gone.
The next day, Itachi was eating just as Madara's voice rang though out the hall, "Come along Zetsu… Tobi…" Itachi looked through the window just to see Madara pushing his cousin and the green-haired boy into the room before shutting the door. Itachi groaned, halfway wondering just what they were doing in there.
---
"Oh dear gods…" Zetsu whimpered, eyes wide in horror as he watched Madara work on Tobi. The man was currently using the boy in order to see how many things he could remove before the boy died. So far, Madara had removed the boy's eyes, one of his arms and one of his feet.
"My, he's resisting well, isn't he?" Madara mused as he began to saw through Tobi's thigh. However, a sickening gurgle stopped the man in his tracks. "Oh?" He held his fingers to Tobi's neck and waited. A sigh, "Oh, he's dead." Zetsu gasped at how nonchalantly the man had said it.
"T-Tobi?" Madara quietly gestured for one of his assistants to get rid of the remains, the woman dumping the body parts into a blood-covered bin.
"Now…" Zetsu looked, panicked as Madara dragged him onto the bloody gurney and, after removing the boy's gown, tightened him in. Then, smirking, he pulled out three things. A bucket of bleach, a bucket of steaming tar, and a large plant.
"What are you going to do to me?" Zetsu whispered in fear. Madara didn't say anything but pulled out another two wire-brushes and dipped one into the bleach and one into the tar. He smiled and began scrubbing one side of Zetsu's body with bleached brush, calling over to his assistant, completely ignoring the boy's screams,
"Get to work on the other side." The woman nodded and picked up the sticky wire-brush before rubbing it harshly into the other side of Zetsu.
They made sure to scrub really hard and get the bleach and tar in. After about two hours, they stopped. Zetsu was breathing in short rasps of breath. He wanted to cry, or groan out, or anything. But everything, everything just hurt too much. Looking over Zetsu's body, Madara smiled before taking a needle and wire from his pocket. He uprooted one of the giant leaves and spoke up,
"Get me the dog-extract I used on the blue-haired boy." The assistant nodded and began to look on the shelves until she found a clear bottle of clear liquid. She picked it up, careful not to drop it as she was shocked by Zetsu's screams when Madara began sewing the leaves onto him
---
In that small, white, windowless room… Itachi only had a paper, a calligraphy brush with a jar of ink, and his imagination to keep him company. He giggled softly, his mind drifting. Wide, ebony eyes looked around him, observing the room once more before he began to draw on the paper. As he drew, he sang,
*"On one day…
I find I'm…
in a white…
sterile room…"
He drew a stick figure standing by itself in a small white box. He giggles before singing again,
"But this is…
not the first…
time I have…
been in here…"
Itachi stops when the flap underneath his window opens, another plate of food resting there. He smiles softly and takes it but sets it on the floor before stepping on his tip-toes and looking out the small window. He sees the 'Garden' and looks to the side, singing,
"There are many…
other clean rooms…"
He looked around again, eyes surveying what he could see of the hall.
"There are many…
corridors to follow…"
He sits down and eats a smile portion of his food, waiting for something. Soon, he hears it.
Footsteps from far away. Itachi stands back to the door and sings, watching with wide eyes.
"Every night…
from a chosen room…
one person is…
removed permanently…"
Footsteps ring out ominously as Itachi watches. After a while, he is able to see two women bringing Sasori and Deidara to the 'Garden'. For one brief second, Deidara's and Itachi's eyes meet.
The blonde is smiling.
They go through the door before it is shut tight.
---
In the 'Garden', Madara had tied both terrified boys to the gurney, the bloody bin nearby. The two scream in horror as Madara pulls out a chainsaw-type of device and turns it on. When the blades are spinning furiously, "Here we go!!" He yells out before sawing through Deidara's neck, the blonde's head rolling into the bin. Sasori screams out just before his neck is sliced through.
The sounds of Madara's laughter rings through the air.
---
Itachi watches on as he heard a loud whirring, then some screams, then laughter. The 'Garden' door opens and one of the women is leaving. Her footsteps echo through the hall for a while until Itachi ignores it and looks back to the 'Garden door.
---
In the 'Garden', Madara surveys the two bodies. He looks at Sasori's, turning it over a few times before saying, "It's garbage. I'll use the blonde's." Then, as if lifting a bag of garbage he tosses it to the front of a certain cage and whistles. "Here boy! Let him out." The woman in the room opens the cage and steps back, holding a whip just in case. Madara whistles again before shaky blue hands reach out and grab the body.
There is silence for a moment, causing Madara to sigh, "There is no reason to let good flesh go to waste, now eat it!" There are the sounds of choked sobs before Kisame opens his mouth, now hosting sharp teeth, and chews out a piece of Sasori's shoulder before chewing it.
A few minutes, and the chomping and chewing got faster, causing Madara to smirk as he got out a scalpel and a piece of wire.
---
Itachi heard the chewing but wasn't sure what it was but what he did see was the splashes of red that were on the window of the 'Garden Room'. After seeing that, Itachi went to sleep. Confused about just what that red was.
---
In the 'Garden' Kisame sniffled as he finished his 'meal' he warily walked about the garden, seeing as how Madara hadn't closed his cage. Madara, who was currently sewing Sasori's head to Deidara's body, saw the blue-skinned boy and took the time to pet him, much like one would a dog.
"Who needs a cleaning service when I have you?" He smiled before continuing his work.
---
The next day, Itachi got up and began drawing again. This time, on a new piece of paper, he drew a square and the some splotches on it. He looked at it and decided that they were a good resemblance to the splotches on the 'Garden' window and he sang,
"Beautiful…
a flower…
in its last…
vivid bloom…"
He looked back to the window and saw Madara leaving, talking to one of his assistants. "The dog-extract is proving quite potent. And my pets are truly starting to flower!" He laughed and the two walked away. Itachi was confused.
"Flower? Dog?" He asked but shrugged his shoulders and went back to drawing. This time he drew a dog next to a large flower and sang,
"But only…
one flower…" He circled the flower in ink using his finger.
"In this white…
garden room…"
He drew a seed dropping from the top of the floor and in front of the dog, singing,
"Then from the…
flower rolls…
a pretty sphere…
stained in red…"
---
In the 'Garden', Deidara's head actually fell from the pile of body parts in the bin and too the floor. Kisame's head jerked up and he walked over to it on all fours. He sniffed at it and whispered, "Deidara…" However, instead of eating it, he picked the blonde's head up with his mouth and dropped it onto the table, like a dog collecting something for their master.
Afterwards, he dug into the bin and pulled out a discarded hand before going back to his cage and eating.
---
"Here's Pochi…" Itachi circled the dog on the paper, ignoring the food that had been brought to him.
"He will eat…
The remains…
Everything…"
---
In the 'Garden', Madara was currently sewing Deidara's head to his body, next to Sasori's head, the woman who was in the room asked,
"They've both been dead for a day… Will it work?" Madara scoffed as he finished sewing. He held out his hand and said,
"Hand me the syringe filled with adrenaline." The woman nodded and handed Madara a syringe. The man smiled as he positioned it over a vein on the body's arm. "You see, almost any dead body can be surged back to life with enough of this." He pressed in the needle and pushed the plunger down.
---
Fifty days. Itachi had been in that room, all by himself, for fifty, long days… It was a small wonder that the only thing that the long-haired boy was suffering was a slight detachment from reality.
He now saw the room as a small little house in which he lived. The delivery of food was his mother feeding him. And the 'Garden'…
The 'Garden' was a wonderful, beautiful place that only special people were able to go to. It had the most beautiful red flowers, a friendly dog, and so much more! How he wanted to go so badly! But day by day, no one came for him. He saw the small red-haired boy, Gaara, being carried in there.
But not him.
He saw the boy with the long, brown hair being forced in.
But not him.
He saw the blonde girl and the girl with the navy-hair being taken to the room.
But not him.
Itachi cried softly, ignoring the whirring noises and the sounds of hammering and cutting. Ignoring the screams of agony, he whimpered,
"Why can't I go?"
---
On a certain day, Madara was currently filing down the teeth of a certain albino child. With Hidan's mouth propped open, he filed the boy's canine-teeth into sharp fangs until they were deemed satisfactory. When he finished with that, he took a large pair of scissors and, with the most succinct clips and the pained sobs by Hidan, cut the boy's ear into a pointed shape.
"You bastard! Let me go!!" Hidan sobbed. Madara ignored him and brought out two canisters of red liquid. One read 'bat' and the other 'cat'. He brought out a new container and mixed the contents of the two canisters in it. He got out a syringe and filled it up with the red concoction before moving it towards the vein on Hidan's wrist.
---
Itachi was listlessly nibbling on a piece of bread when he heard a voice scream, "Let go! Let go damn it!" The long-haired boy, excited, moved to the small window and saw Kakuzu being pulled to the 'Garden' by Madara. "I don't know what you're doing but I won't be a part of it!!" Madara sighed,
"You sure do talk a lot, huh Kakuzu?" And with that, they both walked into the 'Garden and shut the door.
"Oh…" Itachi whined softly.
---
"AAGGGHHHH!!!!" Kakuzu screamed out as Madara cut open his chest. Ignoring the boy's screams, Madara hummed,
"Now let's see what we have here…", holding up a scalpel. He then began to cut out various organs (all of them non-fatal, or just superfluous in Madara's opinion). "You only really need one kidney… And the appendix? Who uses that? Also…"
"STOOOOP!!" Kakuzu howled. However, the constant screaming by the brunette was really agitating Madara. He called for one of his assistants and said,
"Take care of that mouth for me, please." The woman nodded and picked up a needle and thread before holding the brunette's head down and beginning to sew his lips together.
---
Seventy days… Seventy days of loneliness. Seventy days of watching others get to go into the 'Garden'. Itachi was in a fetal position and he was rocking back and forth softly, muttering,
"Don't forget me… Don't forget about me… I don't want to be alone… don't forget me!" He rolled over and saw the pictures that he had drawn. They brought a smile to his face and he sang,
"I know it will…
soon be my turn…
I cannot wait…
for tomorrow to come…" He looked at the door before giggling and singing again,
"I know it will…
soon be my turn…
I cannot wait…
for tomorrow to come…"
Itachi rocked back and forth, having fun in his pretend world until there was a click. He gasped as the door opened and Madara walked in. Upon seeing the man, Itachi smiled and asked, eyes bright with hope,
"Is it my turn?" Madara smirked and nodded,
"Yes. Come with me." Itachi gladly got up and walked with Madara to the 'Garden', all the while Itachi was singing,
"Soon I will… Soon I will… Soon I will… Soon I will…" Madara smirked as he opened the door. Despite seeing the true 'Garden' for the first time, Itachi kept singing,
"Soon I will… Soon I will… Soon I will… Soon I will…" Itachi let Madara lay him out on the gurney, stomach-down, and tie him down.
"Soon I will… Soon I will… Soon I will… Soon I will… Soon I will…" He felt something press into his wrist before he started to feel sleepy. He dizzily kept on,
"Soon I will… Soon I will… Soon I will… Soon I will… Soon I will… Soon I will… Soon I will…" Itachi felt sleepy but soon the gurney was spun around and his giggled softly as the room and the man were flashing past him in blurs of color.
"Soon I will… Soon I will… Soon I will… Soon I will… Soon I will…" Itachi saw Madara pick up a crate that held a mass of bones and feathers, as well as a scalpel, needle and thread.
"Soon I will… Soon I will… Soon I will… Soon I will… Soon—"(2) Itachi passed out.
---
It seemed like forever until Itachi woke up in a daze. He looked around, noticing that everything looked fuzzy. He tried to get up but his body wouldn't respond. However, he managed to roll over and fall from the gurney to the floor. He feel with a splash, crimson soaking the floor. He looked around again, confused.
"What happened to the garden?" He asked, eyes looking around the room. The wall was line with cages and in one of them, he saw a familiar blonde boy. He called over,
"Deidara!"
"Hm?" Deidara turned and Itachi gasped in shock. Deidara… and Sasori's head… on one body?! "Hi! Who are you?" The blonde asked, cheerfully. Itachi gasped as Sasori's tired brown eyes looked at him, and he tried to push himself away. But he ended up bumping into another cage. There was a hiss before Itachi saw Hidan with blood all around.
"Ah!" He yelped trying to get away but something… something was weighing him down! He could hardly. He heard sniffling. From the front of the room. The long-haired boy struggled to turn and he screamed in horror.
Kisame was there, crying as he looked at Itachi. "Kisame?" Itachi questioned shakily. The blue boy nodded his head and cried,
"I told you not to leave your room, Itachi! Why didn't you listen?!" As the boy cried, Itachi could see his new, sharp teeth.
"Kisame…" He spoke, "What is this?" The blue-haired to wanted to walk over but he was yanked back by a leash.
"Kisame!" Itachi called. The older boy whimpered and sat like a dog when the owner of said leash, showed himself.
"Now, now, Kisame… We don't need you hurting my little angel, now do we?" Itachi flinched.
"Angel…?" He looked behind him and saw what had been weighing him down: A pair of large, grotesque wings.
After the song was finished, Itachi gave a shuddering sigh and spoke, "What did we ever do, Kisame? To deserve such punishment?" The blue man shook his head. Itachi simply sighed before asking, "Do you think that Kakuzu will make it back?" To that, Kisame growled.
After having enough of the hell, Kakuzu had concocted a plan to find a way to free them. So he told Sasori to distract Madara as much as possible while he snuck out of the circus…
.. And found an apothecary.
Itachi hoped, prayed, wished that Kakuzu would come back soon. There was nothing here for him anymore. His family was gone and soon Kisame would be too. "I don't even know why I'm still breathing…" Itachi whispered, holding Kisame's arms around him.
Abruptly, Sasori and Deidara walked into the room. Itachi heard them and asked, "Sasori! Is that you and Deidara?"
"Yes, Madara told us to stop bothering him and made us come back here." The red-head sighed, "Kakuzu… Hurry up!" Just then, Hidan's ears twitched and he mewled out. After that, Kakuzu snuck through the hole in the wall of the tent, carrying five brown bottles. The stitched-male shook the snow off of himself before speaking,
"The snow out there is impossible! But besides that, I was able to steal these!" Sasori and Kisame regarded the bottles before the red-head asked,
"Are you sure that it's poison?" Kakuzu nodded,
"I tried some out on some of the other performers. They're all in a much better place now…" There were gasps all around the room.
Could this really be it?
"If that's true, Kakuzu," Itachi began, "Then you should see to Zetsu and Hidan first." Kakuzu flinched as he saw that Itachi was blind, but he agreed and walked to Zetsu's cage. He opened the bottle and had Zetsu drink some, then he went over to Hidan and did the same.
Slowly but surely, their breathing slowed to a halt and they lay in their cages, dead-still. Sasori smiled softly before stating, "Give me a bottle!" Kakuzu tossed on over before Sasori opened it and held it to Deidara's mouth, saying, "Open up, Deidara. It will make you feel much better, I promise."
The blonde shakily opened his mouth and drank some of the liquid down, whining as Sasori drank some, "It's bitter, un!" Sasori chuckled softly before they shakily took a seat at the table where a group of candles had been lit. Kakuzu saw their eyes drifting close and he said to Kisame,
"Good luck.," Before taking a swig of one bottle and handing the rest of the bottles to Kisame. Kisame took a bottle and opened it, rubbing Itachi's shoulder to let him know what he was about to do.
Itachi held up a hand, "Wait." Kisame stopped before Itachi spoke up, "One last kiss… Please." Kisame nodded slowly before he drank some of the liquid and then locked lips with Itachi, the poison going to both of them at the same time.
"I wonder what is happening with all my little pets today…" Madara hummed as he walked through the halls of his circus. He popped his head into one room and chimed,
"Neji! Gaara! Hinata, I--!" He was cut off with a gasp that tore itself from his throat. On the floor of that room Gaara lay lifeless where as a dead Neji was propped up against the equally dead body of his cousin, slits along their wrists the evident cause of their deaths. "What in the world?!" He gritted out as he looked at the three bodies. "They can't be… No they…" He gasped as a thought ran through him.
"My angel! Where is my angel?!" With that he ran to the room in which he kept his best pets. When he walked in, he choked, "Oh gods…!"
They were all dead. Every single one of them even his precious angel. "Itachi!" Madara yelled before he opened up the cage and pulled the long-haired male away from Kisame. "Let go!" He yelled, pushing away Kisame's body.
There on the floor, Madara cradled Itachi to himself and whispered, "Who did this to you? What…" He sniffed Itachi's lips and stated, "Cyanide…" He looked at Itachi and said, "Don't worry! I have some adrenaline and maybe I can…"
There was a large thump and Madara turned his head, seeing that Sasori and Deidara's body had fallen and knocked over the candles. One of them rolling and causing the curtains of the tent to catch fire. The hay on the floor didn't help matters either.
"Shit!" Madara hissed out, dropping Itachi and trying to run out of the room. Abruptly, he was stopped. Something was holding onto his leg. Gulping slightly, Madara turned and saw Itachi looking up at him with tired black eyes. "Aren't you dead?! Wait, let go!!" Itachi didn't move but kept his tight grip on Madara's ankle. After a while of struggling and the room being quickly devoured in flame, he heard a soft voice say,
"Soon we will… Soon we will… Soon we will…" Madara screamed in terror, his sounds being drowned out as the roof of the tent collapsed on them, flames and all.
The citizens in the nearest town remember seeing a bright, orange glow akin to hell-fire in the distance.
A/N:
(1)Consumption was a disease in which one's body wouldn't properly absorb food.
(2)In the song, at the end, Miku literally says 'watashi' ('I') at least 34 times before she is abruptly cut off. That, and the screams, chewing, and chainsaw sound-effects just make the song creepier.
*- And that part at the beginning of Itachi's story was a part that I made up to introduce the story.
Well, now does anyone think that Madara got his just-desserts? Ha ha ha! We're not even close! But the last installment of this little saga will be coming soon, so just be patient and check out my other stories.
Sighs The only reason I won't be able to get it up sooner is because the song that is next in the series 'Red Swamp Bottom', is really obscure and hard to find. The lyrics are even more difficult to find!
But I will probably start on a different Akatsuki Horror Series fic to keep my ideas going (it'll most-likely be in the KakuHida section unless I decide otherwise) So stay tuned to Tyranno's girl Productions!
I hope you enjoyed, most of all, and if you could think to leave a review, that would be most appreciated!
Lots of love!
-Tyranno's girl.