Chapter One: The End

And his eyes have all the seeming
Of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamplight o'er him streaming
Throws his shadow on the floor,
And my soul from out that shadow,
that lies floating on the floor,
shall be lifted-nevermore.

- Edgar Allen Poe

Sasuke.

There's no time for me to explain what is going to happen over the next twenty-four hours - I just need you to know that this is not your fault.

You are an avenger, but you must live only for the revenge of your family, and you must not hesitate to stop anyone who gets in your way. Please remember that when they bring you the news of my death. You have one goal and one goal alone - to become stronger. Avenging me will only hinder your journey.

Let my soul rest in peace. I do not want to live on through your actions. I want to die here.

Do not avenge me.

The room was illuminated by a single candle. Its flames twisted and grew with each passing second, the cracking of the wick roaring louder as red shadows danced on the walls.

The room smelt of death; of blood and rotting flesh, broken bones and disfigured skin. A corpse lay in the corner, still chained to the wall behind it by a single anklet. Face down, red hair spilled over the floor, blending with blackened blood. Whoever found the body would have no question of the cause of death, for the weapon of choice was still protruding from the corpses' back. The means behind the death, however, wouldn't be decided until the autopsy, if there was one at all.

Orochimaru expected the body to be rotten to the core by the time anyone found it. He was excellent at keeping things hidden, and the location of the cell he had contained the body in was one only known to him.

However, even if his expectations weren't met, he knew no one would come after him for it. For once, his actions would have been seen as a good deed towards humanity - the murder of one of Kohana's shinobi would not be held against him this time, which meant he had a few more years of hiding in peace.

Or, so he thought.

The snake had never really considered bonds between shinobi to be like that of brothers. He had torn families and friendship apart on whims, had watched shinobi sacrifice all that was important to them on last minute goals. His strongest vessel had almost killed his best friend and former teammate on the mere hope of gaining more power, and would probably succeed is disposing of them if given another chance. So there was no surprise that he had overlooked those bonds when he shot his sword through his prisoner's heart, pinning her to the ground for what he hoped would be the rest of eternity. He had watched her from the corner of the cell as she had reached out to him, blood falling from her mouth as the life from her glowing red eyes died out and her body grew cold. And when her head fell in defeat all he could do was sigh in relief, thinking that it was over.

But it would never truly be over - the bonds of her life would haunt him, torture him, murder him. A life for a life.

Except that his life was eternal, he had gained sanctuary from death the moment he had decided Shin had to die. The uncontrollable powers of the world had decided to capture his soul for eternity, and torture him for as long as the universe would remain.

And until that day came, the shinobi of the world would do the same.

Itachi.

This is my final goodbye.

You had to have known that my time was coming. You should have died the night of the massacre, too, but you didn't because I wouldn't let you. No matter what you'd have yourself believe, you know in your heart that this is true.

I want to thank you for not telling anyone about me. I am not saying I do not blame you for this, since it was your attempt at my life that woke up this side of me. But your ability to keep secrets saved me some precious time, and I am grateful.

I have one request for you and I know you will follow through with it, only because deep down I know you still love your brother. Do not let Sasuke come after me. Do not let him fall from his path. Make sure that he remains blind to those around him. I cannot be his downfall as I was yours.

I know you resent me for the answers I did not give you; therefore my death will also serve as my redemption. Follow the ravens, they will guide you to the truth.

Goodbye, Itachi.

I have always cared for you.

Kakashi pulled the sword out of the back of the body that lay before him, throwing it to the side before behind down and pulling the girl into his arms. He moved the long, tangled hair from the body's face and sighed.

"Death confirmed," Kakashi spoke to the two ANBU members behind him as he stared into the lifeless eyes of his former comrade. "Natasu Shin, 19 years old."

"How long since the time of death?" One of the ANBU members spoke.

"She disappeared about a month ago, and by the color of the blood she died not long after that. However," Kakashi stopped, touching her face. A small heat was radiating from where cold was not moments ago. "Her body hasn't begun to rot yet. Usually it only takes a few days. Also," he moved his hand to her throat in attempt to find a source of life. "Her body has begun to regain some warmth, but she still has no pulse. She was dead cold not even three minutes ago."

"Maybe it's her body responding to the sword removal," the same masked man replied. "It may have confused the sudden action for a pulse. Sometimes a persons' body will still fight for survival long after it's given up."

Kakashi sighed once more and closed his visible eye, trying to recall any information about the girl in front of him. It wouldn't be uncommon for a persons' bloodline to be the cause of strange bodily reactions in the case of their death, but Kakashi couldn't recall anything significant about her. The only thing for his team to do was bring her body home for an autopsy and proper funeral.

The funeral had only just begun when the two Akatsuki members entered the village. Sneaking through the gate was easy enough, seeing as the guard unit hadn't been changed since the last time the two had stopped by for a visit. They made their way to the top of the Hokage monument, seating themselves behind the Fourth's nose so that their shadows would blend with that of the mountain.

"Why are we here again, Itachi?" The larger man grumbled, staring down at the rows of people dressed in black.

Follow the ravens, the note had said.

And the ravens had led him home.