We Were Hungry Before We Were Born
Shadows danced beneath a purple sky as black-cloaked figures moved with deadly precision. Their long dark hair whipped through the air as they engaged in combat, each bearing an unsettling resemblance to Itachi Uchiha. Though invisible to the observer's eye, Sasuke's presence could be felt through the impact of his strikes, the displacement of air, the occasional flash of his Sharingan cutting through the illusion.
On a large boulder in the middle of a nearby pond, Izumi sat with her knees drawn to her chest, watching intently. Her reflection in the dark water below rippled, occasionally morphing into Huranaishi's form.
"You know you can't keep this up forever," The Moth’s voice echoed when the reflection moved her lips.
"I know," Izumi whispered, her fingers tightening around her knees. "But just... a little longer."
"The truth will surface eventually. Itachi's secret-"
"I made a promise," Izumi cut off sharply, though her voice trembled. The illusion around them flickered momentarily before she forced it back into stability, pushing more chakra into maintaining the training ground they'd created. "Even if it means losing them both in the end."
The sounds of combat gradually ceased. Sasuke approached the pond, breathing heavily, sweat glistening on his skin. He paused, studying Izumi's form on the rock - her posture eerily reminiscent of Huranaishi's throne of nightmares he'd encountered in the depths of the Abyss.
"These clones..." he started, his voice rough. "They're becoming more precise."
Izumi met his gaze. "Is that a problem?" she was more solemn than usual today, which he noticed hesitating for a split second.
"No," he replied quickly, perhaps too quickly. "It's what I need."
Shortly after they moved on to the cabin to sit in their usual spot, wrapped in heavy silence this time. Sasuke stared into the distance, still haunted by how perfectly the training clones had captured his brother's features. Every detail, down to the lines beneath Itachi's eyes...
"You're troubled," Izumi observed softly.
"It's nothing."
"Sasuke..." she reached for his hand but stopped short. "Sometimes I wonder if-"
"Don't," he cut her off, finally turning to look at her. "This is the path I chose. The path I have to follow."
The unspoken words hung between them like a physical presence: But at what cost?
They sat closer this time, their shoulders almost touching. They didn’t say much, glad they had a beautiful starry sky to distract their attention here too. Stargazing, just like they used to when they were young.
“We used to love doing this” Izumi broke the silence stretching her limbs, relaxing more. Sasuke nodded. Their thoughts wandered naturally to the memories from their childhood. She’d always excitedly point at constellations, teaching Sasuke their names and stories.
“Do you remember what that group of stars meant?" she asked, pointing at the sky. "I don't remember their names, but Akira once told us their story when we were little. Only once a year, the stars aligned to create a bridge across the Milky Way, and then the lovers could cross it to be together."
"Tanabata and Kengyu," Sasuke spoke up, completely surprising her. Izumi stared at him with awe.
"You... remembered," their eyes met briefly.
"Mhm," he turned his gaze away, slightly embarrassed. They sat in silence feeling each other's slow breathing, so close, trying not to think about the story of two star-crossed lovers, now so familiar to them. Despite how energetic and confident the girl always was with others, Sasuke still made her shy. She felt trembling and a pleasant tightness in her stomach feeling him beside her.
Memory comes when memory's old
I am never the first to know*
Izumi turned restlessly in bed, unable to sleep. She felt the magnetic pull of the full moon penetrating through meters of clay, earth, and stone that concealed her room - her prison.
Prison, again. She could no longer remember what freedom felt like. The illusion of being close to those she loved didn't liberate her, the way she thought it will.
Following the stream up North
Where do people like us float
It wasn't how she had imagined it, though she'd played out the scenario of reuniting with Sasuke hundreds of times in her head. She was certain it would be easier, like before. But the infinitely heavy baggage of wounds, months and years of revenge cultivated in darkness, solitude, and isolation had built a thick wall she couldn't breach.
Tonight, the nightmares returned. She couldn't remember what they were, what they showed, only feeling the pulling darkness and a scream - a scream so desperate that physical pain pierced her in the dark. In childhood, her nightmares featured an ashen skeleton that ultimately proved to be her ally, mentor, guardian. Befriending her darkness gave her strength and hope that darkness didn't have to be all-consuming, evil to its core. That through her strong light, reframing the definition, she could strip it of its paralyzing power and forge it into her strength.
When she learned this, nightmares lost their hold over her. Until now. Something terrible happened in Akatsuki, she felt it. The Moth remained silent, avoiding answers to questions, sitting on a growing mountain of secrets, with strange dedication protecting them from Izumi. Her rage was fruitless.
This new darkness wore a different face though. It wasn't about the unknown. This time, it contained something truly dangerous, malevolent even.
Darkness, sweet oblivion, which reportedly lasted almost two weeks. She awoke to reality, robbed of Chomei, who over the years had become an integral part of her being, giving her strength and purpose alongside Huranaishi.
She had failed her clan, the purpose of their lineage. Though it hardly mattered now. The Nanusake ceased to exist in their previous form. It fell to her and Akira to rewrite their history anew. With or without the demon. Their power wasn't defined by it, but by the Shinengan.
Still, she felt that so much had changed during this time, as if a large part of life had slipped through her fingers, and those around her weren't telling her everything, while flooding her with their own questions. She would eventually extract more truth from them.
But... did it really matter anymore? After all, she was here with Sasuke. Was there any point in dwelling on the past when she knew she'd regained a piece of freedom, away from Akatsuki? Akira... Itachi...
Orochimaru grew weaker by the day. Numerous empty vials and glasses of medicines and compounds that Kabuto brewed each day lay on tables and wooden shelves in the Snake's room. The stale smell lingered, increasingly harder to ignore despite herbs and air fresheners. The Snake's time in his current body was inexorably ending. That meant only one thing. She knew that before Sasuke could face Itachi, he would have to solve the final problem in his path. But could he handle it? After all, she had spent most of her childhood with the Snake, experienced his cunning, intelligence, abilities... what if Sasuke fell when it came down to it?
Conflicting thoughts thundered in her head, causing increasing wakefulness. She winced, scratching her cheeks where the Ga stigma marked her skin.
Itachi... this is one of the greatest secrets entrusted to her, she must keep to herself, no matter how deeply Sasuke might want to probe. She'll figure something out, though she promised him answers to his questions. She cannot disturb the predetermined fate. Tears involuntarily flowed down her cheeks, grieving the family they could have had if only... if only things were different. If only they could survive and leave it all behind.
'Sasuke... I'm so sorry.' She lightly hit her head against the wall she leaned against on the bed, resting her forehead on crossed forearms.
On the other side, Sasuke sat up in bed, leaning against the wall, breathing heavily, awakened from restless sleep. Darkness returned trying to take control again, make him afraid, consume his power. He didn't want to connect this with Izumi's return, didn't want to accept that she could in any way throw him off his course, the path to revenge he had walked so surely for most of his life.
No. She would not become his weakness. Yet he couldn't sleep.
Internal conflict gnawed at him inside. The touch of her skin, her delicate warm skin that had been through so much, bearing traces of life's steep rocky road, marks of conflict that gave her strength, like a weapon tested in battle.
Again his thoughts circled around her; increasingly distracted, he rubbed his eyes and tried to scold himself. No woman had ever kept sleep from his eyes, so why should this be different?
He would go for a walk, clear his head, everything would calm down. Although her room was so close. He hadn't heard nightmare screams tonight, though.
He sat on the edge of the bed, putting on his shirt, not knowing what to do, his heart pounding. He sat like that in darkness, trying to control his trembling.
Until the door to his room opened and there she stood.
She approached him, wearing the oversized white shirt that she spent nights in. The weak candlelight from the corridor traced her shapes gently accentuated beneath the fabric. He felt as if his heart stopped again. She wordlessly extinguished the panicked fear of light by gently closing the door behind her, letting safe darkness envelop them again.
Sasuke lowered his head, clenching his hands on his thighs, hearing Izumi approach almost soundlessly. He felt her scent, her warmth, as she stood before him.
Whispering… morning, keep the streets empty… for me
He felt the warmth of her fingers on his cheek. He trembled slightly when she ran her fingers through his hair, pleasantly scratching his scalp with her nails; though he held back a groan, it made him start to relax.
It's just like in the Abyss, nothing more. No one sees him, he doesn't have to answer to anyone. This is no different from the countless nameless bodies he'd had, taken without words, turning faces away from himself, twisting arms, possessing with control. Without judgment, without unnecessary words, without emotions, pure satisfaction of desire.
And yet.
She made his entire crystal mountain of control start to crumble from its foundations. He tried to catch the pieces and put them back in place, but in vain. The illusion of safety in a tower cut off from the world, where no one could hurt his heart again, wavered dangerously.
Yet he allowed her. Though reluctantly. He returned the warm kiss when she lifted his head and leaned down. With a trembling hand, he moved along her bare thigh as she positioned herself between his parted legs while he sat on the edge of the bed. Reluctantly, he let himself be guided, though he heard his own scream soaked with panic and desperation somewhere deep inside. Growing stronger with each moment as he allowed himself to absorb the warmth of Izumi's skin when she embraced him and he returned the embrace, letting the warm wave flood him from within, simultaneously hoping it would finally drown out the growing scream.
He learned her shapes through the thin material of her shirt, trembling when his fingers brushed her breasts when she briefly broke their passionate kiss to catch her breath and hold his head against her. His body burned with the awakening desire between his legs as he breathed heavily against her chest with closed eyes, feeling her hardening nipples against his cheek, this strange incomprehensible chaotic feeling of being close, being home, safety, intimacy, he panted as an increasingly powerful uncontrolled wave of conflict flooded him.
Slowly, he lost his breath, drowning in her embrace as she kissed his hair and her strong though slender arms held him surely, while he returned the embrace. He had never held anyone close. Never, since he was a child. A wave of warmth, domestic safety, tenderness, love... so suffocating, so terrifyingly sad, so... Tears burned strongly, he struggled for breath and grabbed the girl forcefully, throwing her onto the bed. Izumi gasped, not expecting this move. She tried to turn around, but Sasuke grabbed her head, turning her away from himself, though they were in almost perfect darkness. She couldn't see him, couldn't be close, couldn't remind him.
It's just sex. Just satisfying desire, she's just another body, a vessel for his satisfaction, no different from any other. Nonsense.
Sasuke felt tears running down his cheeks, increasingly terrified by what had flooded him, taking his breath away. He tried to tighten his hands on the girl's twisted wrists, pulling her closer, but she jerked free from his grip. He felt that she was afraid too, hadn't expected this reaction.
Her energy changed instantly, though, panic controlled, her chakra quieting, as if guided by some unknown power. Or the one he had recently gotten to know better.
Terrified by his reaction, he backed away from the bed, hastily wiping his face. Tried to steady his breath. "I'm..." he began, unable to force out anything more. The safest thing would be to go outside, get fresh air, run from here, run far and never...
"It's okay." Her calm, warm tone surprised him, making him stop mid-step. "I... come here," Izumi found his hand in the darkness as he stood over her and enclosed it in her hands. Sasuke was reluctant to let himself be guided. Her warmth, however, began melting his barriers again.
"It's just like in the Abyss. You don't have to fear me."
"I don't fear you," he began to protest, but her kiss started melting his walls again. She pulled him to her and guided him, lying on her back with her head on the pillow, until he rested above her, supporting himself on his elbows, feeling her feminine body beneath him.
"Let me in."
But he wasn't ready for that. Never wanted to be. Didn't believe he would ever be. Something terrible was happening to him right now, though. Since he brought her to Orochimaru's hideout. Since he pulled her from the depths of oblivion. Since Naruto mentioned her name after years of separation from his previous life.
In the safety of darkness, Sasuke explored Izumi's face with his hands, his lips. Her features felt like poetry under his fingertips - he remembered the black stripes on her cheeks, her Moth's Tears, how they gave her such beautiful fierceness during their fights when she connected with her inner power, a strong kunoichi. Now, those same marks felt delicate under his touch, adding to the overwhelming intimacy of the moment.
Their bodies found each other with natural grace as if they had done this dance a thousand times before. Every touch, every breath brought them closer to something neither had experienced - not just physical closeness, but a deep soul-binding connection that terrified and enthralled them equally. The sweetness of her skin, the way she responded to his touch, the soft sounds she made - everything about her felt like coming home.
In the depths of Izumi's consciousness, Huranaishi worked tirelessly, gathering the dark clouds of trauma like a shepherd herding storm clouds. The Moth demon held tight to these memories, determined to give her ward this moment of pure joy. Yet one tiny bubble of memory escaped, floating to the surface - for just a second, Izumi's eyes widened, a flash of something familiar and unpleasant crossing her mind before dissolving like morning mist.
Their connection deepened, and Sasuke found himself losing control in a way he never had before. The pleasure built between them like a rising tide, but it was more than physical - each touch, each shared breath seemed to chip away at the walls he'd built around his heart. It was terrifying how good it felt, how right, how much he never wanted to leave this moment.
When release finally came, it brought with it an unexpected flood of emotion. Sasuke felt tears streaming down his face, his body shaking with uncontrollable sobs. Shame and the urge to flee overwhelmed him, but Izumi's firm grip kept him there, pulling him close. She sat up, cradling him in her lap as he finally allowed himself to cry in the protective darkness, feeling a catharsis spread through his entire being.
At this moment, wrapped in her arms, he felt both completely exposed and utterly safe. For the first time since childhood, he allowed himself to be truly vulnerable, to feel everything he'd locked away for so long. Her fingers gently stroking his hair, her steady heartbeat against his ear - it was a different kind of intimacy, one that scared him even more than the physical act they'd just shared.
Uncover our heads and reveal our souls
We were hungry before we were born