Farewell Konoha

A sharp gust of wind cut through the compound, bringing the sharp stench of blood to the man's sensitive nostrils, even through the mask. A full moon glared down at him, highlighting the wet stains that littered the ground, drawing sickly trails over the dirt. The first two hundred meters closest to him were free of mess, but as he looked up, the mess consumed the entire Uchiha compound.

A scream pierced the air causing the silver-haired man to look up and survey the mess; a dark eye and a bright red eye with three tomoe. Although his right eye couldn't pick up the presence of any living being, his left eye told him that ahead of him two living figures stood. One was under a genjutsu and the other was the one casting the genjutsu. Seeing that Itachi had the time to cast genjutsu, it must mean that this was the last Uchiha alive – Sasuke.

Despite his curiosity, the twenty year old chose to stay where he was; this would be the brothers' last meeting and he didn't exactly want to spoil it. Itachi must have been planning something, seeing that he had chosen to use Tsukuyomi. Genjutsu weren't meant to kill, they were meant to disable and disturb. It was a cruel way to part with his brother, but Kakashi was sure that his junior had a reason for doing this.

Kakashi brought his right hand up, bringing the long blade up to his line of sight; ascertaining that the blade was devoid of blood before returning it to its sheath on his back. Finally having his hands free, he crossed his arms, waiting for Itachi to show up. On his left shoulder, the red swirl tattoo of the ANBU glinted menacingly, corresponding with his black and gray armor. In place of his mask, the man wore a forehead protector, symbolizing his affiliation to the village.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes, almost."

Itachi's calm voice responded from the shadow of a building. Kakashi watched as the younger male closed the distance, mangekyou sharingan still activated. The moonlight glinted off his armor but his ANBU tattoo was hidden under the high-necked Uchiha shirt that he had worn instead of the traditional ANBU one. In contrary to Kakashi's unruly silver hair, the Uchiha wore his dark hair long and tied neatly while his bangs framed his impassive face. Like Kakashi, he wore the standard Konoha forehead protector.

"You didn't have to help me. You could have become the Hokage."

Kakashi shrugged, "so could you," he pointed out, receiving a single nod of acknowledgment. "I was never the type to be Hokage. Besides, you could say that this is a type of revenge." He pulled his forehead protector down over his left eye, the one with the sharingan.

"Uchiha Obito."

"I guess."

After a long pause, the teen started speaking again, "I have them prepared, Kakashi-san, they're in here."

At Itachi's urge, Kakashi joined him in the shadow of the building, following him in silently. As Itachi had said, there were two sets of outfits, neatly folded on the table. Itachi took the one on the left, leaving the one on the right for Kakashi. Nodding his thanks, the ANBU took it, proceeding to change into it.

After this night, they were no more Konoha ANBU; they'd be S-Ranked Missing Ninjas in every village's bingo books. There was no turning back now, there was no chance to reconcile. Kakashi didn't exactly regret it; someone had to nip the problem in the bud before it destroyed the whole village – and the clan's pride.

"It suits you," Itachi commented as he deactivated his mangekyou sharingan.

"It suits you better," Kakashi returned the compliment, removing his forehead protector. Grabbing a kunai from his pouch, he scored through the steel, cutting straight through the Konoha leaf, cutting through every last tie that he had with the village. A similar screech of metal on metal told the man that Itachi had done the same thing he did.

Both put their forehead protectors back on; no more as Konoha ninja, but as fugitives. A dark eye met red eyes and two pairs of footsteps walked to the open air simultaneously. Past the doorway of the deserted house, past the entrance of the still Uchiha compound and past the large gates of the slumbering village of Konoha. As the pair walked into the forest, a rustle of wings could be heard and an owl hooted softly. Neither looked up to bother checking the animal, but the nocturnal hunter's sharp eyes watched them.

One had silver hair, the other had black hair. They both wore forehead protectors and kept their gazes straight ahead. Both wore dark ninja sandals and walked in a synchronized manner. In a patch of moonlight, the color suddenly blossomed to life for the absent human eyes to see; black cloaks with high collars and red clouds on them.

They were members of the Akatsuki.

A/N: Hm. I know I'm being unfaithful. I still have to write To Hear Your Voice and KR 12 and here I am starting a new fic. (Gomen, minna.)

I had to do it once the idea came into my head. I'm still working out a lot of the details, so read and review! I'd like to know what people think of this!