Black Diamond
Chapter 1: A New Start
It's been pointed out to me that the fight between Itachi and Kakashi came before the one between Sasuke and Itachi, but, for the sake of convienience I'm leaving it the way it is. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Itachi Uchiha wanted to die. He remembered the snarling, hate-filled glare of his younger brother. Where did he go wrong? He'd wanted to make sure Sasuke would grow strong in his hatred, would strive to beat him. He never would've guessed what he'd done to the boy's mind. His little brother, his adorable, attention seeking brother, was a monster. No, he wasn't even that much. He was a beast. He'd challenged Itachi immediately, which was to be expected, but when Itachi kicked him into a wall, and the jinchuriki had tried to help him, Sasuke had only pushed him aside, and charged at Itachi again. Not only were his strikes inaccurate, even for a genin, his intentions gave him away before he could even twitch. He was so... predictable. Instead of strengthening him, as Itachi had hoped, his hatred blinded him, turning him into something barely recognizable as human.
Kisame nudged him in the side. "Is that brooding thing you do genetic? I noticed that your little brother seemed to do it a lot too, before he saw you, that is." Itachi sent him a withering glare, and he backed off, hands raised. "Okay, okay, I'll drop it. Yeesh. I thought you didn't care about him?" Still glaring, Itachi replied, "I care about no one." Kisame rolled his eyes. "Right. So you've said. You know what, Itachi?" Itachi raised an eyebrow. "You're not fooling anyone. It's easy to see that you get even more broody than normal when someone brings him up." Itachi turned back towards the path on which they were traveling. "Sasuke is a failure, and a disgrace to the Uchiha clan. I mourn for our lost honor, that is all." Kisame grinned, showing his sharklike teeth. "So, why'd you leave him alive, then?" Itachi sighed. "To take his eyes. I've told you this before." Kisame shook his head. "I know. I still don't believe it." Itachi pinched the bridge of his nose. "Drop it." Kisame stuck out his tongue, only to quickly pull it back in whe a kunai whizzed right by his face. "Fine. Seriously, though, you need to stop brooding. We're almost there. Would Pocky help?" Itachi's eyebrow twitched. "Why is it that everyone thinks I'm addicted to pocky?" Kisame shrugged. "I think it was Deidara's idea." Itachi scowled.
Back in Rain country...
Deidara shivered. "I've got a really bad feeling all of a sudden..." Sasori looked over at him. "You probably shouldn't have told Kisame that Itachi is addicted to Pocky." Deidara scowled, and Hidan fell on the floor laughing. "Hahahaha! You're fucked, you dumbass son of a bitch!"
Getting into the Hidden Leaf was easy. Itachi had been able to decipher the chakra-sensing barrier and disable it, with his Sharingan. They wandered around the village, before Itachi felt a familiar buzzing sensation in the back of his head. "Genjutsu has no effect on me." Hearing this, Kisame dispelled the illusion, and Kurenai stepped out of the shadows, and collapsed as her own Genjutsu was reflected back at her. Grinning, Kisame took off his hat. "I know you're out there. Why don't you come out and play for a bit?" Asuma leapt from the nearest tree, and actually managed to scratch Kisame by extending his wind blade out as he passed by. Kisame knocked him unconscious, and was about to kill him when he was interrupted by a flying kick from Kakashi. "Kisame Hoshigaki, formerly of the Hidden Mist. Why are you here?" Itachi replied, "We are here for the nine-tails' host." He saw Kakashi reach up and lift his headband, revealing the Sharingan underneath. Itachi had an idea. If he was going to die, and he wanted to die soon, why not leave his old village a gift before he left? His eyes shifting into the shuriken pattern of his Mangekyou, he whispered, "Tsukuyomi."
In Kakashi's mind, he planted a vision: Obito, his lost teammate, killed by his own hand, over and over. For a second or two, Kakashi was writhing on the ground with pain, but then he stopped, and shakily, he got up. His gaze snapped up to meet Itachi's, and his own single Mangekyou glared back at him. "You bastard! I'll make you PAY!!!" His Mangekyou began spinning wildly, and a dark portal appeared, centering on the rogue-nin. Itachi felt himself sucked into the void, where, oddly, he could hear a cold, harsh laughter. His feet landed on something solid, and, his eyes closed, he said, "So... this is what death feels like. I expected it to be... less solid." He opened his eyes, still in Mangekyou form, to see pale man in front of him, eyebrows twitching . James shouted "What the hell?!" Itachi raised an eyebrow. He heard a weak whisper behind him. "G-get away..." He looked, and saw a dark-haired girl staring up at him, her eyes pleading. "You have to get away." James laughed. "You know, Bella, I can't have any witnesses... Except your precious Edward, of course." The pale-haired man set something on a metal stand, then turned back to grin at Itachi ferally. "I must say... You have the most interesting eyes. I think I shall keep them as a trophy once I've killed you." Itachi merely said, "Bring it."
In a burst of speed, James launched himelf at Itachi, teeth first, only to be grabbed by the neck, and thrown against the back wall. He picked himself up, and laughed. "Well, this should be fun. You're an odd one. You don't smell like one of our kind, but there's no way a human could've moved that fast. I wonder what other tricks you've got up those overlarge sleeves of yours?" Itachi's face remained blank. "Come find out." James leapt at him again, this time taking an extra step, and attacking from the side. His fangs sank deep into the side of the black cloak... Only for Itachi's exploding Shadowclone to blow up in his face. From the ceiling, Itachi whispered, "Amaterasu." The Cullens arrived just in time to see James disappear into a swirl of black fire. Itachi dropped from the ceiling. He swayed, his eyes bleeding, before collapsing. His last thought before he lost consciousness was "I can never make up for what I've done... but I can still try."
The Cullens watched in disbelief as the last of the black flames disappeared. Edward rushed to Bella, and cradled her gently, causing her to wince when he jostled her broken rib. Carlisle examined Itachi, opening his eyes just in time to see the Mangekyou fade into the normal Sharingan, and then to black. "Most peculiar..." Esme walked over to him, crouching beside Itachi. "What is it?" Carlisle shook his head. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say I was seeing things. Just a moment ago, his eyes were red, with a strange shape in black centered on the pupil. Then, the shape split up into three dots, and after that, the whole thing faded into this." Esme chewed her lip nervously. "I suppose we have a lot to ask him when he wakes up." Nearby, Alice stared at him with a curious expression. "That's odd. I can't see him." Jasper looked at her, confused. "Alice, he's right there." She shook her head emphatically. "I meant, I can't see his future. It's like trying to watch TV when everything is mosaic." "Hmmm..."
Itachi tried to open his eyes, only to find that they were wrapped in gauze He reached up to tear it off, only to be stopped by an Ice-cold hand. "There's been a lot of damage to your eyes, young man. Whatever you did raised your blood pressure significantly, and actually burst some of the vessels in your eyes. If you keep it up, you could go blind." Itachi lowered his hand. " My name is Itachi, and I am aware of the risks of the Mangekyou." Carlisle sat beside the bed. "Mangekyou? Is that what you call those black flames? Quite impressive, for a human. I don't think I've ever heard of anything like it." Itachi shook his head. "The flames, Amaterasu, are only a part of what the Mangekyou makes possible. Tell me," he said, "what do you mean by 'for a human'? When Carlisle spoke, Itachi could hear the smile in his voice. "Considering the manner of your... arrival, I would guess that your own abilities are beyond the norm as well. Before I continue, you must swear to never tell anyone who is not of our kind." Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Your kind?" Carlisle asked, "Do you promise?" Itachi nodded. Carlisle sighed. "Very well, then. What do you know about vampires?"
Half an hour, and an bemused Itachi later...
Carlisle allowed Itachi to remove the gauze, on the condition that he not use the Sharingan until he could do a more thorough diagnostic. "We would be happy to offer you a home with us, if you'd like." Itachi's eyes widened. "I... I suppose that would be... good." Carlisle smiled gently, amused by the younger man's awkwardness. "The others should be here soon. Thanks to you, Bella only had some cracked ribs, and she should be up and about soon." Itachi turned away. "It was the least I could do. Besides, he attacked me. I was acting mostly in self-defense." Carlisle chuckled. "Self-defense or no, I would like to thank you for saving her life." The corners of Itachi's mouth turned up, ever so slightly. Then, he looked down at himself. "What am I wearing?" "A hospital gown. It's standard procedure. I've got your cloak and your armor waiting in our car. Interesting design, by the way." Itachi looked up at the ceiling. Originally, he'd been planning to kill himself... But he'd managed to screw even that up. Now, he was sitting in a hospital, in what was most likely a dimension completely separate from his own, talking to someone, who, logically, shouldn't exist. He chuckled bitterly. It would seem that he was destined to be Fate's chew-toy. Carlisle raised an eyebrow. "What is it?" Itachi shook his head. "Later. it's a rather long story, and I'd rather not have to repeat myself." Carlisle saw the brief spasm of pain that crossed Itachi's face, but decided not to mention it.
"Are you sure you don't want me to carry you?" Bella rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, Edward. I can walk on my own." He sighed. "Alright then. His room is just down the hall." They walked to Itachi's room, finding Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett, and Esme standing in the hallway. Together, they walked into the room, Edward leading the way. Itachi looked at Bella, his face expressionless. "You seem to have recovered." She nodded. "Thank you. If you hadn't... shown up, I might've..." She shuddered, and Edward pulled her closer to him. "You have all of our thanks." A slight tinge of pink crept into Itachi's face. "Well," Esme said, "Shall we go, then?" Itachi nodded, standing up. A nurse tried to stop them at the entrance, insisting that Itachi needed to stay for a more complete diagnosis, but she backed off when Carlisle showed her his practicioner's license. Itachi donned his armor, and his cloak. He looked down at the red cloud in the middle, and sighed. He was actually starting to miss Kisame, with his off-color jokes, and his sharklike grin. Edward furrowed his eyebrows. "You have a friend that looks like a shark?"
Immediately, Itachi's eyes shifted into the Sharingan, and he pulled out a kunai. "And how would you know that? Did the Hidden Leaf send you?" Edward held up his hands. "No, I'm not from your old village. I have the ability to read minds." Itachi narrowed his eyes. "Really? Prove it." He didn't look like a- "Hunter-nin, but I can't be sure." Edward said, mimicking Itachi's thoughts. Itachi put away the kunai, but he still eyed Edward suspiciously. Forming the Ram seal, he whispered "Release.", even though his Sharingan was able to see through almost any illusion... almost being the key word. "No it's not an illusion. I really can read your mind." "Hn."
The ride to the airport was fairly uneventful; Carlisle insisted that Itachi needed his rest, so no one asked him any questions. His eyes widened visibly when he saw the plane, but he said nothing, accepting it as just another oddity in this new world. He fell asleep, and stayed that way until the plane touched down in Seattle. As they waited in the airport there, every now and then, a small flicker of surprise would escape his near-perfect emotionless facade, after seeing something like a computer, or conveyor belts. After he explained to Carlisle that his sight was horrible without the Sharingan, Carlisle bought him a pair of sunglasses, for which Itachi bowed, and thanked him.
They arrived at the Cullens' near 5 P.M., at which point Bella took her truck back to her father's house. Edward led Itachi to his room. "I'm sorry we don't have a bed for you; we don't have much need of them, nowadays." Itachi's lips twitched. He bowed. "Thank you. It is... nice, to have a place to stay. An image flashed through his head; Running through a forest, chased by hunter-nins. He'd killed them when they finally caught up to him. Edward nodded, slightly shaken. "Right. Well, I'll leave you to it, then." Edward left, and Itachi laid on the couch, staring at the ceiling.
A part of him, and it was a very large part, still wanted to die. However, seeing Bella lying there, helpless... It made him feel needed again. He could never make up for what he did to his brother, but... Itachi just couldn't bring himself to actually commit suicide. Antagonizing someone into killing you was totally different from actually doing the deed yourself. And then, there was that felling, that... urge to protect someone. He hadn't felt that since... at least a year before that night. Itachi made a decision. The least he could do for the Cullens, seeing as how they let him stay with them, is to make sure that the one vulnerable member was protected. Maybe... maybe he could find a purpose again.
Itachi awoke to the sound of an argument. "What did you do to her? What was it that made her do this?" He walked down the stairs, to see a man, presumably Bella's father, hissing at Edward. His eyes flashed to Itachi's face, and he nodded briefly in acknowledgement. Itachi had to remind himself to take the stairs, instead of simply jumping down. "To be honest, I don't know why. I suppose she may have just been feeling homesick." Bella's father turned an interesting shade of violet. "That's bull, and you know it. What' s going on?!" Edward raised his hands placatingly. "There is nothing going on, I assure you. Whatever it is, she seems to be over it, now." In his sleeve, Itachi made a handsign, then the older man sighed. "I'm not going to get anything more out of you, am I?" Edward simply looked at him innocently. He shook his head, then he turned to Itachi. "I suppose I should thank you, for catching her. If you hadn't been there, when she fell out the window... Thanks. My name's Charlie." He stuck out his hand, and Itachi bowed. "Itachi Uchiha." Charlie retracted his hand. "You Japanese or something?" Itachi looked to Edward, who nodded his head slightly. "Yes." Charlie smiled. "Nice to meet you." He turned and left, shutting the front door behind him. Edward turned to Itachi. "Genjutsu, right?" Itachi nodded.
Bella arrived at the Cullens' at around 9 the next morning. "It's really weird, I thought my dad would be freaking out about what's happened, but instead he's so-" "Calm?" Itachi interjected. Bella looked at him curiously. "Yeah... How did you know?" "I cast a Genjutsu, or illusion technique on him." Bella scowled. "Why?" Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Would you rather explain to him why you suddenly decided to come back?" She sighed. "No, I guess not." By this time, the rest of the Cullens had gathered in the living room. Itachi sat down, brooding for a bit. "Well, I suppose I have some questions to answer, don't I?" Carlisle said, "You don't have to if you don't want to." Itachi waved him off. "It's alright." Edward nodded. "So, what's your story?" Itachi's eyes widened. "You really want to know?" All of the Cullens nodded. Itachi bit his lip, a rare sign of discomfort. "Where should I begin... Alright. You might want to sit down. This is a long story." Once everyone was comfortable, he began. "My story begins long before I was even born. There are many events leading up to my birth that I must explain."
"The land I come from is divided into elemental nations, with most of the land occupied by the Five Great Shinobi nations: Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, and Lightning. When I was... transported, we lived in a time of relative peace. But, it was not always so... About a century ago, there were no nations; Each clan fought for itself. Two of the most powerful clans were my ancestors, the Uchiha clan, and their rivals, the Senju clan. Their leaders, Madara Uchiha, and Hashirama Senju fought endlessly, until it seemed that their fighting would destroy both of their clans; but then, Hashirama proposed a treaty between the two great clans, tying themselves and the clans they had conquered into what is now known as the Hidden Leaf village. The Uchiha, by a great majority, supported this plan. Madara, however, did not. Reluctantly, he went along with it. However, when the villagers named Hashirama the leader of this new village, madara was outraged. He saw it as the Senju attempting to opress the Uchiha. He challenged Hashirama to a duel, and even with the help of his familiar, the Nine-tailed Fox demon, he lost. Everyone thought that he'd been killed, but, just barely, he managed to survive. Hashirama built the bulk of the village, using his bloodline ability, Wood style. The title Hokage, leader of the Hidden Leaf, was passed on to his brother, Tobirama Senju, when he died, and then to their disciple, Hiruzen Sarutobi. Hiruzen gave the title to a student of one of his apprentices, Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash. However, Minato's reign was not to be a long one. I have talked to Madara about this, and he denies any involvement... but I digress. Twelve years ago, the Hidden Leaf was attacked by a demon, one who was known to have fought often at Madara's side; the Nine-tailed Fox."
"The beast wrought incredible destruction on the Leaf, and it was only at the cost of his own life that Minato was able to seal it. The people of the leaf were angry that their beloved leader had been taken from them; They blamed the Uchiha, saying that it was one of us who summoned it. Thus began the separation of our clan from the village. I was nine at the time, and a chunin, the middle rank." Bella gasped. "To have to kill, at such a young age..." Itachi looked at her. "I was an... unusual case. Most ninja from the Leaf train at the Ninja Academy from ages six to twelve, then they become genin, the lowest rank of ninja. I graduated from the academy in a year." He paused, waiting for a response. when he got none, he continued with the story. "That was the year my... brother... was born." His eyes clouded, and Edward hissed. "How could you-" Itachi looked up at him, his black eyes dull. "I assure you, no matter what you feel about me right now, you cannot hate me more than I hate myself." Edward looked like he was going to say something, but thought better of it. Itachi brooded for a moment, before Rosalie coughed politely, snapping him out of it.
"Right, the story... Anyway, the villagers never trusted the Uchiha after that, and the tension began to build. Five years ago, everything fell apart. You see, my father was an... ambitious man. He thought the Uchiha deserved to rule the village, and so he planned a coup. I was the only Uchiha who did not go along with this, and I felt it my duty to report it to our Hokage, the reinstated Hiruzen. I never got that far. Apparently, his advisers had heard rumors about an assasination attempt on the Hokage, and they caught me as I went in to his office. When I told them what I knew, they seemed to feel the need for... extreme measures." Edward cringed. "They ordered the massacre of the entire Uchiha clan, save for myself. And I was to be the agent of their destruction." A collective gasp rose from the Cullens, and Bella. Esme whispered, "No. Surely not? Is that why?" She looked at Edward, and he shook his head. "It gets worse." She turned to Itachi. "You... succeeded?" He nodded. "But not without help. I don't know how he found me, or how he knew that I needed his aid, but as I was walking along one day, trying to devise some method to ensure my success- for at this point even I could see that my clan was beyond salvation- I found a man in what looked like an ANBU mask. ANBU are the 'black ops' of our village, doing the dirty work that keeps the village running," he added, seeing Esme's confusion. "Having just become an Anbu myself, I knew that the pattern on his mask was not one used by the ANBU of the Hidden Leaf, and so I asked him what his business was. He looked at me, and I could see a red eye through the one hole in the mask, but it wasn't a normal Sharingan. He beckoned for me to follow him, and, curious, I did. We came to a place called the Valley of the End. There is a waterfall there, and on each side a statue; One of Madara, and one of Hashirama. He stood upon Madara's statue, and when he took off his mask, I could see that he himself was Madara."
"He told me of his desire to destroy the Hidden Leaf, but more than that, to punish the Uchiha for turning on him all those years ago. I offered him a deal. I would help him get his revenge on the Uchiha, if he would leave the rest of the village alone. Reluctantly, he agreed, on the condition that I join his group, Akatsuki, after I left the village. Had I not been an Uchiha myself, I don't think he would've agreed so easily, but he believed that only with the power he could give me would the annihilation of our clan be possible. Then, he told me the darkest secret of the Uchiha; The Mangekyou Sharingan. It's power is many, many times greater than that of the normal Sharingan, and there are certain techniques, such as Amaterasu, that can only be used by one possessing it; however, this power comes at a price: The Mangekyou, once activated, will slowly cause the user to go blind, especially if it is used often. Worse than that, is the cost to activate it. In order to achieve the Mangekyou, two conditions must be met: the user must first master the normal Sharingan, and then... they must kill the one who is closest to them." He waited for a reaction, and he was not disappointed. The vampires were all completely motionless, not a single flutter of breath escaping them. Bella was trembling, holding back tears. He lowered his head. Gradually, the Cullens seemed to come out of their shock. Itachi looked to Edward, who nodded.
"His name was Shisui Uchiha. He was my best friend... and one of the strongest supporters of the coup. I drowned him, shortly after I met Madara. With my Mangekyou, and his, it did not take long to kill them, especially as they were not expecting it. I killed my father last, and my brother walked in as I pulled my blade out of his body. What I did next, I will regret for the rest of my life. I... told him to hate me, to grow strong, to let it drive him so that one day, he might have a chance of destroying me. I hoped that it would be sufficient motivation. Weaklings don't last long in the Elemental Nations. He didn't believe me; he thought I was being possessed, or something similar. He hero-worshipped me back then. I knew that the life of a rogue nin -for that was what I would have to become- was not a life I would force on anyone. And yet, He was dead-set on following me. I could've simply knocked him out. I definitely should've. Instead, I activated the Mangekyou, and used one of the two techniques I'd been able to master: Tsukuyomi. Tsukuyomi is possibly the most powerful illusion in existence; the target experiences 72 hours of whatever I choose, while in the outside world, only a second passes. I showed him, from my point of view, myself slaughtering our clan. For 72 hours, he had to watch, as he saw everyone he loved cut down, or burned. I left, leaving him in a heap on the floor."
"After I left the Hidden Leaf, I joined the Akatsuki, as I had promised. This cloak is their uniform. They had a plan to bring about world peace, and it consisted of three stages. The first stage, which was to last until three years fom now, was to gather as much money as possible. The second part was to capture what we call 'jinchuriki', humans who have demons sealed within them. I was not told what the third phase was, save for that it involved some kind of superweapon. It just so happened that, while my partner and I were collecting bounties near the Hidden Leaf a few days ago, we ran into one of them, the jinchuriki of the Nine-tailed Fox. We attempted to capture him, but we were foiled by the boy's mentor, a sage named Jiraiya; this was the man who trained the Fourth Hokage. It just so happens that the jinchuriki was on the same three-man squad as my little brother; Sasuke came charging at me, intending to kill me. I threw him into the far wall, and instead of accepting help from his teammate, or even stopping to think, he just charged right back at me again. I eventually ended up knocking him out, right before we... retreated, from Jiraiya. Instead of making him stronger, his hatred blinded him, and... I turned my brother into an animal. It was then that I realized that I had failed; Shortly thereafter, I fought with Kakashi Hatake; this man is renowned for being the only non-Uchiha to possess a Sharingan. I intended to let him kill me, but before I left, I decided to give him a gift. I used Tsukuyomi to make him think that he was killing the one closest to him, the teammate he lost, who gave him his Sharingan. After that, he used the Mangekyou... And I suppose that's how I got here. I know I've seen Madara bend space and time with his, though not to this extent."
He stopped, and for a moment, everything was quiet. "I can understand if you don't want me here-" Carlisle shook his head. "No, you can stay. To have experienced all of that, and stay sane..." Esme nodded silently in agreement. Itachi's eyes widened. He bowed deeply. "I do not deserve this. If there is anything I can do for you, you have only to ask." Jasper rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Howabout showing us exactly what your power is?" Itachi nodded. "It would be better to do that outside. I would not want to destroy your house." Everyone went outside, and sat on the grass behind the house. Itachi mused for a moment. What to show them first? Tree climbing, an elemental ninjutsu, transformation, a genjutsu? Edward said, "Tree climbing?" Itachi nodded. He put his foot on the house, and proceeded to walk up the wall, and back down again. Bella's eyes were the size of dinner plates. "How did you do that?" Itachi went into lecture mode. "By maintaining a constant flow of chakra to the soles of my feet, I can stick to any surface." Edward sighed. "Keep it simple, please. As if you were teaching an Academy student." Itachi nodded. "Very well. Chakra is the energy that shinobi, such as myself, use to perform various techniques, or jutsu. It is formed by mixing the body's physical and spiritual energies, and directed through the use of handseals. Chakra allows us to do things that would otherwise be impossible, such as walking on water, or breathing fire." Jasper smiled, and Emmett laughed. "Excellent! The way Bella attracts danger, I don't doubt we'll find a use for your powers soon." Bella flinched, and Edward sighed.
As always, please R&R. I won't be able to update anything anytime soon, for about a month or so. On the flipside, I'm almost done w/ ch. 5 of NTG, and I'm halfway through ch. 4 of Scars.
Edit: I was going to have an antagonist for the three-month period between the books, but I've decided it's not worth the effort.
