in the heavenly
light of a twilight, you left
but now, you're back home.

— ○ —

06 | s i x.

It's been about a few weeks after that incident. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, except maybe how frequent Izumi met with Itachi and Shisui. Seeing Itachi would cheer her up instantly but whenever Shisui was around, she felt very upset. She didn't know what to feel about him being here.

Izumi desperately wished that Shisui hadn't committed suicide, but he already had. However, in this world, he hadn't yet. To prove that Izumi was in the correct dimension, Shisui would have to die soon. If he didn't, that would mean Izumi is in a different world, where she doesn't belong.

However, the Uchiha girl also took what Itachi had said into consideration. It could be that the world where the bad things happened isn't the one where she was supposed to be. Maybe this is the right world for her.

Everything was so confusing. And slowly through the confusion, the day when Shisui committed suicide arrived.

The brunette Uchiha was currently eating lunch with her mother. Nowadays, Hazuki had been very busy about work. It was natural, however, since she was a higher ranking ninja in the Konoha Police Force.

"Why did you suddenly decide to cook Sukiyaki, mother?" Izumi spoke, munching on her food. She really loved the mentioned food, but as it wasn't the easiest thing to prepare, she was curious.

"No reason, actually." Hazuki replied. "I haven't cooked something like this in a long time, so I figured that today I should."

Izumi smiled at her, nodding. She really loved and admired Hazuki. To the brunette, Hazuki was perfect. She was like a role model to the younger. Even after having a lot on her mind now, when Izumi spent some quality time with Hazuki, it cheered her up.

After lunch, Izumi decided to see if there was anyone she could hang out with. However, unfortunately almost everyone was busy. Itachi was on a mission, Sasuke was at school, Tenma was sick, Yukiko went to visit her relatives and Shisui was just nowhere to be seen.

An unknown feeling spread throughout Izumi's entire body and mind.

Does she want him dead?

Izumi was shocked at her own thoughts. She shook her head to clear what she was thinking. If Shisui died today, in a way that would be good news for her. She could be sure about being in the right dimension. But if Shisui didn't, that would mean that she definitely isn't in the right place. However, then, her favorite cousin would still be alive.

The young Uchiha didn't know what to do. But there was one thing she was completely sure about.

Her joys would know no bounds if Shisui got to live.

Feeling restless and impatient, Izumi decided to go to the cliff where Hazuki said that they found Shisui's body.

— ○ —

The brunette female's mood instantly worsened as she reached the place. It was awfully beautiful. A small waterfall ran down from the cliff. She stood at the end to take a look at it. It lest her breathless; it was absolutely beautiful.

Even after so much beauty, sadness was laced around the entire place. A person had, or should I say most likely will, commit suicide here.

Izumi frowned and sat down with her legs dangling off the cliff. There was a calm, cold breeze brushing by. It made the female's hair flow along a bit. She tried heart and soul, but she just couldn't calm down.

What to do if Shisui really does show up?

Stop him?

The Uchiha sighed to herself.

"Hey, is that Izumi?"

The said girl heard a familiar voice speak loudly. Her heart jumped up, and she quickly stood up and turned around to see who it was.

It was Shisui.

Izumi stared at the young man with wide eyes and slightly parted lips. Her hair brushed her face, and if it didn't poke her eyes, she would probably be staring forever.

She quickly pulled her hair back and ran to him.

"Shisui.. What are you doing here?" She asked, curiosity and desperation clear in her voice.

"Nothing actually. I don't have any missions today, so I felt like taking a walk. And this place is really pretty, so..." Shisui shrugged with a small smile. "What about you?"

"I..." Izumi looked for what to say. When she couldn't find anything at all, she just stared at her cousin.

Shisui laughed at the girl's cuteness. "I'll just assume you came to take a walk too, yeah?"

"Yeah." Izumi replied, a smile making its way to her lips. Being with Shisui always lit her mood up. He was always a wise and happy person. His aura was warm.

To think that this person took his own life...

The world was wrong to him.

"So.. Wanna train a little? Itachi told me you improved a lot." Shisui suggested with a cute little grin.

"Huh?" Izumi was surprised. "Itachi said that?"

"Yup! Show me what you got, little sister." He replied enthusiastically.

Izumi chuckled, then agreed saying, "I'll give you my best."

That resulted the two into having intense battles. Shisui was one of the most skilled Uchiha ninjas out there. He definitely wasn't the one to be underestimated. On the other hand, Izumi was very hardworking. In addition to that, her Sharingan had suddenly started working better after she slipped into this world. Taking the advantage, she gave it her best to defend herself from her older cousin's smart attacks and sometimes slip in some offense as well.

However, at one point, Izumi couldn't focus any longer. Dusk was nearing, and it was around this time that Shisui had killed himself. So the girl started to panic, not having a single idea about what was gonna happen.

Dodging Izumi's fist, Shisui sneaked behind her and aimed for a harsh kick to her side. Izumi was always a fast one when it came to taijutsu, so he was completely positive that she would dodge the attack.

But to Shisui's utter shock, he saw that Izumi didn't even try to dodge. Rather, she took the complete hit and her body fell to the ground.

"I- Izumi!" Shisui's voice sounded worried. He helped her up and said, "Are you alright?!"

Izumi rubbed her left side and winced in pain. But she managed to crack a smile, albeit nervous. "Yes, it's nothing."

"What do you mean?! You could've easily dodged that!" Shisui exclaimed. "Why didn't you do it?"

"Uh.. Well.."

Izumi wasn't making eye contact with Shisui. But now, she looked straight into his eyes. When his Sharingan met hers, he could tell that the girl was awfully distressed and upset. On the other hand, Izumi could see worry take over all of her cousin's features.

"Izumi..." Shisui called with a soft voice, sitting down beside her. "What's wrong?"

Izumi just started blankly. Everything was a mess. She suddenly went back in time, which was the worst thing she thought that could ever happen. But in contrast to that, she noticed that things were actually better in this world.

She got to meet Itachi, Shisui and Sasuke more. Her mother didn't seem to be depressed, rather she was cheerful lately. Izumi's Sharingan got way better. The coup d'etat was gone and most importantly, Shisui was alive.

Izumi's eyes watered up. Shisui was taken aback at this. He was about to say something, but Izumi interrupted him and said, "I don't know what's happening to me. I've spent these exact days earlier, I even remember crossing out the dates from my calendar. But suddenly I'm back in time."

What she said probably didn't make any sense, but Shisui kept silent to let her continue.

"And those days, oh God," said Izumi, "they were the worst ever." She sniffled, her tears staining her cheeks.

"Came back in time...?" Shisui now asked.

"Yes, or maybe changed dimensions somehow."

Suddenly it clicked.

"Wait- Shisui! Can Itachi change dimensions with his Sharingan?" Izumi asked breathlessly. "Does he have that power?"

"Uhm, no..." Shisui replied, still trying to understand the situation. "Izumi, when exactly do you think this happened to you?"

"After my last mission. I remember excelling in the mission, but since then things got worse and after some days, suddenly I was back on that day."

"Maybe," Shisui bit his lower lip, thinking. "Maybe it was all a genjutsu?"

Izumi's eyebrows furrowed.

"Think about it. You were facing horrible things, weren't you? Then maybe it was all just a genjutsu cast on you by the enemies to make you suffer?"

Izumi started to think, and when she really gave it a deep thought, it actually made sense.

Things had been getting worse for her after she fainted on that mission. The coup, Shisui's death, it all suddenly came at her after that day.

So all those bad things were just a genjutsu, and what is here right now is real?

So Itachi was right?

Izumi held her temples and lowered her head, sobbing silently. Shisui felt bad to see her like this. She was an innocent girl. As far as the male knew, she never deserved to be sad like this.

Placing his hand on her head, Shisui caressed it. "Don't worry. It's all okay now. You've broken out of the genjutsu, so everything will be fine."

Izumi looked up. Tears were casually flowing out of her pretty eyes. She said with a sealed in voice, "Do you know what I saw during the genjutsu?"

"What..?"

"I saw that the clan was planning a coup d'etat against the village, and that you..." Izumi started sobbing hard at this point. But she quickly got a hold of herself, because she knew that she had to tell her cousin. "I saw that you had taken your own life."

Shisui chuckled a bit. It was sweet of Izumi to be so hurt because she thought something had happened to him.

"Silly girl. Why would I do that?" He spoke.

Izumi chose to stay silent this time. Because it didn't matter now, right? The only thing that mattered was that Shisui was alive and happy. There was no reason for him to kill himself.

Hugging Izumi, Shisui said, "Everything's okay now. As the oldest one, I promise that as long matters are in my hands, I won't ever leave your side." His firm grip made her feel protected.

At that moment, Izumi knew that this world was where she belonged.