Okay, I came up with this idea because Naruto should have asked Pein to bring Itachi back to life while he was resurecting Konoha, so our favorite big brother could fix the whole Sasuke deal. But he didn't. So guess what? I just decided I would. :) Konan being involed came later when I decided that it would be cool to write a Konan/Itachi pairing. THIS IS NOT A FLUFFY ROMANTIC FIC! I'm sorry, but it's not. There might be 'hints' and stuff, but the ultimate goal was resurrect Itachi.
The first thing Itachi was aware of was breathing, not someone else's, but his own. The first sensation that welcomed him back into this world was his chest moving up and down. He was sure he had died.
That stuck out clearly in his mind. The battle with Sasuke, his last words, the blood, and strangling death: all were clear in his mind. To die in such a way, from internal wounds, breathing freely again should be welcoming, comforting even. It was not. For the past eight years, Itachi had been planning his own death. Everything from encouraging his brother to hate him enough to do it, to the attacks he would use and the information he would reveal.
Telling his brother to ask him anything and he would answer was really a last apology. Information was the last thing he could give his brother. That was why he had used the Susanoo and the Yata Mirror; they would both prove useful to Sasuke in future battles.
Then, to pay for the crimes he had committed, he had allowed himself to die. Finally after all those years of forcing himself to live so Sasuke could have his revenge he had been able to let go.
Perhaps he had been mistaken in assuming that death would end it all. If he really thought about it, he knew he didn't deserve such a mercy. His true punishment would be carrying the guilt even in death. Of course there might be another form of punishment also. He would face up to it boldly. He would take the torture without complaint or argument, Itachi decided.
But that was if he was in the afterlife. What if you didn't die? What then? Something must have gone horribly wrong with his plan. Zetsu must have healed him. No, he was sure that he had died even before he hit the ground. So then...some one brought me back to life.
Well. That was interesting. Now why would someone do a thing like that? Unless Sasuke had found out the truth... Itachi frowned at the thought. That was impossible. He had made sure of it himself. Pein could have brought him back, but that would be too inconvenient; not to mention Pein had suspicions about him anyway.
Itachi opened his eyes. He was careful about moving since it was possible he could be in the presence of enemies. There were no chakra signatures in the room. It was dark: a pitch black with no shapes or shades. He sucked in a breath. It had finally happened. He was blind.
He reached up slowly and touched his eyes. The sockets were empty. Itachi paused, horrified. Someone had taken his eyes. If they were in the wrong hands it could cause the end of the world. He would have to get them back somehow he decided as he pulled his forehead protector down over the vulnerable openings. It would be practically impossible, but it was his duty to try. Letting them be taken by anyone but Sasuke was unacceptable, and he knew his bother would not disrespect his body enough to take his eyes.
"I brought you back to protect her from Madara." He winced slightly at the loudness of Pein's voice. Itachi had always hated the fact 'Leader-sama' could speak in his mind. It gave Itachi the sense he could hear his thoughts, and ultimately learn his secrets. If anyone learned his secrets it would cause a war that would end the war.
There was only one her he could be talking about. Konan. The only female member of the Akatsuki, she was considered as tolerable and the rest of the members ignored her. All Itachi knew about her was the fact Pein had made her his partner. This was understandable as Pein liked to keep up the aura of mystery about him. Since Konan knew more about him already than anyone else, she was the obvious choice.
"You will protect her with your life or forfeit it. You will help her with whatever she asks of you. If Madara harms her in any way I will judge you." Itachi knew about Pein's 'judgments'. He was left with no choice but to become the kunochi's personal bodyguard.
This confused him. As far as he was aware, Madara saw her as a necessary evil and put up with her. Added to that was the fact that Pein had no great love for the kunochi, they were teammates but that was it. Kisame and Deideira liked to joke about them being lovers or some such nonsense. However, Pein and Konan had made it very clear they were not. So there was not reason for his over-concern.
There was some history between them though. No one knew details, but Itachi was a good listener and he had heard enough to know that they had known each other before Pein was Pein. It made sense to him now. Pein wanted to keep her alive because as long as she was he could be sure his wishes were carried out to the letter.
But why would she be in danger? An explosion sounded on the other end of what Itachi assumed was the base. Suddenly there was a sound of a door flying open. A rush of heat and an awkward weight flew into him, smashing him against the bed. The thing stirred at sound of the breath being forced out of his lungs. The person (he was sure it was a person now, and that person was probably Konan) quickly pushed off of him. He felt the wind as she rushed to the door and heard it slam.
Apparently she didn't make it. Her footsteps echoed as she quickly backed away from the affronting object. There was another blast of heat and a "HUMP" as another person flew through the door.
"Itachi," the harsh whisper was full of amazement and suppressed happiness.
"Kisame," he replied evenly.
"You're alive!" the shinobi stated dramatically.
"Quiet!" Konan hissed. The sobs she was trying to hide were obvious in her voice. "Madara is still out there!"
They were hiding from Madara? That could only mean Pein had betrayed Madara. So that was why Konan was in danger. But why betray Madara? He had promised to give Pein everything. Of course he already had everything, but criminals always wanted what they didn't have. He should know that. Itachi smirked bitterly at that thought. In reality though, Madara had probably betrayed Pein. The Uchiha founder was always good at that.
"Did you get Sasuke's eyes?" Kisame asked. Itachi gritted his teeth. If they killed my little brother, so help me…
"Yes," Konan replied in a defeated tone.
"Good. Alright, we have to get out of here. Itachi, Pein and Madara are fighting on the other side of the compound. There's about…fifty yards between here and there. Kabuto and Zestu are around there somewhere watching. Sasuke…I think he's on a mission. So we have to get out of here without anyone seeing us." Kisame explained.
Sasuke had joined the Akatsuki? Itachi frowned. Something must have happened. He forced himself to focus on the present predicament. If he couldn't survive this he couldn't fix his brother's problems.
"Which base are we in?" he asked softly.
"Pein's village. He'll make it rain and hide the moon so we can leave. He'll make sure Kabuto and Zetsu are distracted. We should get to the hill without being seen and then activate an explosion. If they think we're dead we will have a much better chance of success later on." Konan whispered softly.
"Yes, but I can't see. You do not have the speed or stealth to make it there yourself and Kisame cannot carry both of us. So do you have any other suggestions?" Itachi asked. A hand slapped against his face. He quickly grabbed Konan's wrist. He twisted it gently until she gave a soft cry. He heard the rustle of paper, and grabbed her other wrist. "I would suggest that you never do that again. Understand?"
"This is Pein's wishes. He is sacrificing his life for this. You will find a way to get us out of here. That is the whole reason you are alive. This place is going to blow up in less than five minutes, so if you have any better ideas, you should enact them now. Understand?" she hissed. "It's not our fault you let your little brother kill you or that you 'forgot' to tell him the truth so that when he was told he went psycho and took your eyes to give him power. So don't you give me an attitude, Uchiha. I have no problems leaving you here."
"And I have no problems letting you get yourself killed if you insist on it." He returned copying her contemptuous tone with a smoothness only a member of a highborn clan could perfect. He purposely let the subject of Sasuke pass. He would have to find out the truth about his brother later. If what Konan said was true, he would need to live to sort out the mess the truth had caused.
"Less than three minutes," she reminded him.
"Um, if you two are trying to copy one of those chick flick moments and build up to a 'passionate kiss' would you hurry up so we don't die?" Kisame asked.
Itachi immediately let go of Konan's wrists and jumped back. He tried to give his partner a death glare, but the eye problem ruined the effect, he was sure. There was another whirl of paper and a grunt of pain from Kisame. Perhaps the woman wasn't all bad, as long as she didn't get any ideas and become a fan girl. "Less than…two minutes…" The shark-man choked out. The whirling abruptly stopped. "Now, Konan-chan, if you wouldn't mind to use one of Leader-sama's mind transfer jutsus so Itachi-san can see, then he will carry you out of danger." He was still using his mocking tone, but Itachi could see the sense behind this idea.
The shinobi did as they were told. Itachi 'saw' again, unfortunately from Konan's perspective, but it was better than nothing. They both ignored the awkwardness of the situation as the kunochi climbed onto the Uchiha's back. The Akatsuki were the best at suppressing emotion of any ninja.
Itachi saw Kisame nod and together they jumped from the window. The flight through the night was simple, the concealing jutsu did its work well and with Pein's distraction Madara and his henchmen didn't suspect a thing.
They were on the hill above the base when the compound blew. Konan jerked around to see it, stopping Itachi's forward progress as he now could not see what was in front of him. Still, he remembered how he had felt That Night and allowed her a moment of mourning without comment.
After the orange fire had died down and the blast of debris finished raining down she watched her carefully built dreams go up in smoke with all her memories before turning to the battlefield. "I will come back Pein. I will kill him for this. What happened to Yahiko will not happen again. I will see your dreams fulfilled, Nagato," he heard her promise softly.
She looked away from the repulsive scene then and never once looked back. Itachi resumed following Kisame who had politely stopped to wait for them. He ignored the tears welling up in her eyes. The fact they were blurring his vision was annoying. But the rain would have done that anyway, he reflected. As the dampness set in his bones he remembered how much he hated traveling in the rain.
Itachi thought about her rash promise and how similar it was to the one Sasuke had made to their family. Once Sasuke had learned the truth however (Itachi felt it was safe to assume she had been telling the truth earlier) he had regretted that promise. He wondered if Konan would make a similar mistake.
Perhaps it had been wrong to influence his otouto into destroying his life for revenge. Granted he hadn't meant to ruin his life, but to save it and Uchiha honor. He scoffed silently. If Sasuke had learned the truth, there was no perhaps about it.
What was it Deideria had said? "'Hind sight is twenty-twenty, un." But now he had a second life. Now he was going to fix the problem his pride had created. Pride really was a downfall, he reflected.
With an eerie suddenness, the rain stopped and the clouds parted. Konan momentarily looked up, one last raindrop slipping down her cheek. Pein was dead.
Her strong emotions crossed over with her vision into Itachi's mind. She felt the same way he had when he'd left the horror scene that he had turned his home and family into.
It was a full moon tonight. The irony was not lost on him.
AN: I hope this wasn't too confusing. I do plan to go into more detail about the circumstances leading up to this in the next chapter, so if it isn't clear don't worry. What you need to understand now is that Pein decided to let Madara kill him but secertly brought Itachi back so Konan could carry on their plans. I hope you liked it. If you did, let me know. Suggestions would be appreciated also.