Hello reader! I hope you will enjoy reading Chasing Vermilion. It's going to be roughly in two sections; the first will have Itachi alive, the second not! Most of it is canon, a few alterations here and there, and I've tried to make the characters as close to their personalities in canon as possible. I hope you like my OC, too.

Anyway, see you at the bottom!

Chapter 1- Moon God Boy

The Mountain country slept underneath the falling sun, the shadows making gradually changing shapes on the rocky ground, which was glistening slightly after the sudden downpour earlier that day. Most of the animals had retreated to their hiding places for the night, leaving only the nocturnal creatures to create the intermittent noises which made one young man's ears twitch in acknowledgment and awareness every so often.

Itachi Uchiha was sat on a rock, his head bent, giving the idea that he was rather intrigued at his fingernails. On one finger was the ring that was given to him by a detestable man just a few hours ago. The symbol, 'shu' glinted when facing directly with the sinking sun, causing Itachi to glance at it intermittently with his dark, hollow eyes. Itachi noticed after a time that the sun had now lost its battle, and the moon had taken over to govern the night time. At this time, he finally got to his feet, not taking his eyes off the moon. It reminded him of the jutsu he developed not too long ago- the Tsukuyomi. Tsukuyomi was deadly. He would only use it as a last resort. He didn't want to have to endure what he had done some hours ago again unless he had to. Last night was… the worst night of his existence.

Oh, last night.

Itachi closed his eyes. The focal point of his entire life, the Hidden leaf village, was currently in disarray after he committed an unforgivable felony: the murder of his fellow clansmen. His mother, his father, his friends, his lover, all gone in a few horrifying flashes of his kunai. He tried telling himself it was for the good of the village, and, essentially, it was, but Itachi couldn't help but bitterly wish it could have been done another way, a way that didn't involve leaving his little brother, Sasuke, alone in the Uchiha compound, crying with fright, a way that didn't involve forcing his brother to believe that he was the criminal. This way was brutal, radical, but now it was out of his control. He had calculated everything to happen on his terms that night- he had engineered his brother's personality, and got his hands dirty for everyone's sake. He had to acknowledge that he felt like a monster.

Still, it was done now. But what had he gotten himself into? He had joined the Akatsuki, to keep an eye on it, but what now? What if he couldn't hinder, if not halt their plans to achieve their warped idea of peace? This was a titanic task.

He brushed one hand faintly over the cut he had received on his arm from a kunai. The slit had finally ceased to bleed, but the emotional cuts would run far deeper. The desolate abyss in Itachi's eyes was the last thing anyone in the clan witnessed.

He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head quickly. Stop it, he stated to himself, Just stop it.

"I should not dwell on the past… right now, I must simply carry out my duty," he breathed to himself, and he opened his eyes. Moments later, he blanched in shock.

"Itachi… good work. The leaf Shinobi would not bother to pursue you all the way to the Mountain country, would they?" A man wearing an orange mask which covered up his entire face, apart from one eye, stood before Itachi, his arms folded. His tone of voice held a natural authority. It was a voice that sounded ominous, sinister, but frank and truthful all the same. It made Itachi's skin crawl.
Madara Uchiha… he sighed internally. Or, whoever the hell you are...

"So you caught up to me, even though I fled this far out… your jutsu is impressive, Madara…" Itachi said tonelessly, trying to avoid Madara's deadly scrutiny, lest it drag even him into a genjutsu. This would have to be Itachi's persona from now on: emotionless, bored and, as much as he hated to think it, someone who would be proud of his crime. He'd have to say goodbye to his old ways. This would work- Itachi was a brilliant actor. This façade would fool even Madara's lethal gaze.

"Do not patronise me, Itachi," Madara said dangerously. "You are a member of the Akatsuki now. Watch your tongue. If you have nothing useful to say, stay silent. You need your robe now."

Madara tossed a folded piece of fabric into Itachi's waiting hands. Itachi unfolded it, and saw that it was a long, dark cloak, with a red cloud pattern embossed on it several times. It was the Akatsuki symbol, representing the blood that rained down on the villages in times of war. How fitting that he should wear such an item.

"Forgive me…" Itachi muttered, and began to remove his ANBU vest and sheathed sword. Putting the cloak on was like putting his new life on, his new beginning. At this very moment, every citizen in the village hated him. Even little Sasuke, who right now was probably one of the loneliest and most frightened children in the Leaf.

"What happens now? We have made the deal. You cannot touch the Leaf village while I am still alive, under the conditions of our agreement. I let you get your revenge on the Uchiha for betraying you all those years ago… and so have fulfilled my half of the deal," Itachi reminded him, still avoiding eye contact.

"Now you must work under me in the Akatsuki. Your partner is yet to have been decided. Just come with me. You need to introduce yourself to the rest of the organisation," Madara turned round and began to walk. "Also… none of them really know who I am. They are under the impression that I am Tobi, a buffoon who fools around, someone who hopes become an official member. You are one of the few who know otherwise, and I should like to keep it that way, Itachi."

Itachi nodded, buttoning up the top of the cloak.

"Shall we get going then?" Madara suggested impatiently, for Itachi had begun to stare in absence up at the full moon, reflecting on his actions. Finally, he lowered his head and took a deep breath in.

"Yeah."

OOO

"Welcome, Itachi," Leader said, "Contribute well to this organisation, or we will find a replacement for you."

"Yes, I understand…" Itachi nodded. Leader was simply a projection of his real self. The real Leader was miles and miles away with his partner. Itachi found it strange, talking to a mere image, but was too occupied with the current situation to care that much.

"Meet Orochimaru, Zetsu, Kakuzu, Kisame Hoshigaki and Sasori of the red sand, the ones who could make it all the way here to greet you, Itachi," Leader gestured towards the real group of men who stood before Itachi. None of them looked human. They were all monsters, too.

These were the men who would do anything to gain power or immortality, going so far as to mutilate their own bodies and kill countless people in order to obtain it. Itachi felt a little out of place, physically. He nodded in acknowledgement of their presence.

"A little young, isn't he? How old is he? He is just a child- thirteen or fourteen? Are you sure he is that powerful?" Zetsu asked sceptically.

"Hold your tongue, White Zetsu. This child is the genius of the leaf village's Uchiha clan, the rest of which he wiped out in a single night," Madara said, possibly by means of threatening Zetsu.

"I see. Well, he'd better not hold us old people back." White Zetsu nudged his elbow towards Orochimaru, who hissed in distaste.

Zetsu looked a bit like a giant plant, with a man spearing out of the middle. His right half was black, and his left half white, and, strangely, only the white half was smiling. The black half wore a grotesque scowl. Kisame was blue, and his hair was shaped like a dorsal fin atop his head, and he had gills on his neck. He carried a giant sword covered in bandages. Sasori was just a wooden puppet, presumably with his true form inside, and Kakuzu covered half his face up with a mask, the only visible part being his green and red eyes. Orochimaru was the one who looked the most human, having no obvious features that made him look like a monster in his own right. His slightly serpentine appearance, however, perturbed Itachi a little, every time he saw it.

From now on… I need to play it by ear. I'm only here to delay their plans, thus protecting the village and protecting Sasuke, but I need to play my part so that they don't suspect me. I cannot afford any mistakes, especially not in front of Madara. And I cannot let the rest of Akatsuki know that I know Tobi's actually Madara in disguise. The world thinks that he is a dead man; I can't change that.

Itachi was distracted from the disorder of his thoughts by Leader, who cleared his throat. Everyone looked up at his projection, with serious faces. (Except 'white' Zetsu, who was still smiling with a slightly deranged look about him.)

"I have a new goal for Akatsuki. No more small stunts; they were simply a method of obtaining financial stability to sustain ourselves. Now the real work begins. Now we embark on the road to force power onto the world. The power of the tailed beasts," Leader began.

Itachi was puzzled by the violent nature of this goal- it would never achieve peace, as Madara had said to him once. He wondered… What were the Leader's true intentions?

"By tailed beasts, you mean the spirits of nine-tailed fox, the Shukaku, and so on, am I right?" Orochimaru asked for confirmation.

"Yes, that's it. Each team will be assigned a quota to complete- either gathering information or gathering tailed beasts. Failure will not be tolerated. I know some of you are here only to satisfy your own personal wishes, however while you are a part of this procedure, I wish to have your full cooperation. Once my goal is achieved, yours will be easily achieved as well."

"I hope so, I truly do…" Orochimaru said sinisterly, a small glint appearing in his eyes as he fondly contemplated his dream. Itachi narrowed his eyes. Orochimaru… The man who had fled the Leaf because of the discovery of his inhumane experimentations. Experimentations to learn every jutsu in the world, to gain every kekkei genkai and to become immortal. Itachi knew all about Orochimaru's terrible deeds.

"Your orders will be given to you at noon tomorrow. Carry them out with maximum diligence, and do not disappoint me," Leader pressed with a manner of great urgency, and he was attempting to control himself.

"I will not, Leader-sama," said the one called Sasori from inside his puppet.

"I'll be sure to do whatever task is given to me," Kisame agreed, his white shark-like teeth showing.

"Yep, I'll do whatever you say!" Madara said cheerily, in the goofy, bright persona of Tobi the assistant.

"Very well then. I will let you be on your way. Prepare to receive your orders at noon."

Itachi nodded, and left the place on his own, looking at the floor.

"What am I doing?" he murmured to himself, once again eyeing his new ring. He sighed and folded his arms in deep thought. I wonder how Sasuke is doing. I hope he is alright. The Third promised he would watch over Sasuke, but… what if even the Third's guidance can't keep Sasuke from danger? Maybe I am worrying too much. Sasuke is strong; I'm sure he can get through whatever life throws at him.

"Itachi!" Madara's 'Tobi' voice cold be heard and he bounded towards Itachi. "You're coming with me…"

Itachi swallowed hard, but kept his cool. No must know his true purpose in joining the Akatsuki. Not ever.

OOO

"Poor Itachi, he's only thirteen. Still, he must have a heart of stone to kill his own parents like that," White Zetsu said. "His mind must be completely warped."

Sasori raised his eyebrows from inside his puppet. "I wiped out a whole nation with my expertise in puppetry."

"I murdered a feudal lord, and killed my own team mates," Kisame said, nodding. "They were going to betray my village and give information to the enemy. Killing them wasn't the least understandable thing I could do."

"But still!" Whit Zetsu protested. "A thirteen-year-old kid! I do not know how he could kill his own family like that! Heartless!"

"Age does not determine strength, not necessarily," Orochimaru hissed

"And you are forgetting that he could not kill his little brother…" Black Zetsu reminded him, "There's something not right about that part…"

"You worry too much."

"Shut up. Why do I have to be partnered with someone as irritating as you?"

"It's because we are the same person, dimwit."

"No, you're the dimwit, White."

"If I am a dimwit, then you are too…"

"Shut up!"

"Would you be quiet?" Kakuzu shouted, "If you don't shut your mouth, I'll kill you!"

"Give that a rest, already!"

OOO

Gradually, the night sky was receding. The stars could no longer be seen and the sky had adopted a pinkish hue, looking like something out of a water colour painting. It was too tranquil, too perfect. Itachi thought so, anyway. He had the hollow look of a young man with a terrible crime and a terrible responsibility resting his shoulders. To Itachi, everything should be black and unadorned, to match his mood. If he was going down, he'd want to drag everything else to his level of obscurity and leave the Leaf village in the light.

"Itachi… we'd better get going," Madara pressed.

"Yeah. I'm coming…"

Itachi breathed in slowly as he began to walk. A passing breeze blew his cloak so that it flapped around his legs, and the sky lit up as the sun slowly began to rise.

Thank you for reading! (I wrote this a couple of years ago, haha, so I hope it didn't sound too bad XD)

Please review, it only takes a minute!