This story is up on Fanlib under the title Forbidden Love-Collusion but I thought I would change the title since-- let's face it-- it's a little unoriginal. : / Instead of having a built in sequel, I'm just going to make it continue.

Please keep in mind I do not own Itachi Uchiha. Nobuhiro Watsuki does. : D

I do own Lido though. She's awesome. Awesome of the Awesomeness.

Act One:

Memories

I am standing here in this big world, but I am not intimidated.

For by my side you stand,

your trust in my hand.

I hold everything you hold dear.

As you hold everything I am.

You are my world,

my reason to again stand.

And stand I shall.

For if I fall

you will be there to pick me up.

If I stumble

you will heal my wounds.

And if I get lost,

you will always find me.

And if I leave,

somehow,

I will always come back.

For it was you who saw me

for who I am.

Not who I could be.

Not who I should be.

But for whom you knew I was.

For whom you came to love and trust.

You are the one

I will always come back to.

Two children sat on a hilltop, enjoying the feel of freedom. The grass beneath them the cool autumn breeze on their faces a refreshing sensation, and a beautiful sunset spread out before them.

The black-haired girl looked over at the raven-haired boy. "Itachi?"

The boy who looked about nine years of age- two years older than the girl- did not even turn his head but kept his gaze on the sunset. He, unlike the girl, was lying down in the grass. "Hm?" he managed to reply, only partially interested.

The girl hesitated to ask, but she wanted to know. Itachi wasn't talking at all and she knew that meant Itachi was thinking or upset about something. "What are you thinking about?" she asked.

She looked at the Uchiha boy and studied him, waiting for an answer.

He sighed. "My brother is four now. I am nine. I take my chunin exam in the spring."

"That is what you want isn't it?" the girl asked.

The boy, Itachi, shrugged. "I guess. All I want is to become stronger. So does everyone else in my clan. But when it comes to the village, our views... differ." he seemed to retreat somewhere deep inside himself, dark in thought, his eyes empty.

They set there for quite a while in silence.

Itachi was the one to break the trance. "What of your parents, Lido?" he asked, curiosity now crossing his face.

But Lido did not seem as enthused about the question. Her eyes turned cold. "What about them?"

Itachi sat up. "Well. Are they still keeping you locked up?"

"Yeah." she answered. "I only got out today because I got sent to my room and so I snuck out."

"Sent to your room? For what?" he asked.

"Oh it's nothing I did, really. Mother tells me that the village leader is unhappy with father and that was why father was angry." she answered casually as if this behavior of her father was normal.

Itachi stared at her. "Why is he unhappy with your father?"

Lido shrugged. "Mother has never told me why. And I am sent to my room so I can never hear what they argue about, my room being on the second floor."

Itachi laid back in the grass again. "One day I will free you of that prison." he stared into her eyes. "I promise."

The raven haired Itachi was standing on the same hilltop six years later, staring at the sunset. His face had aged gracefully and was now the face of a handsome young man. His hair was as long as ever, down to his shoulders and tied loosely. His eyes, filled with worry, were a dark ebony. His raven hair even darker. The structure of his body was that of a man's, his shoulders broad, and his stature proud. He held his head high like a gentleman.

A young lady around the age of thirteen walks up the hill gracefully toward Itachi. Itachi turned around immediately upon hearing her approach. She was beautiful. Her femininely curved body was cloaked in a black kimono with red flowers. Her black hair was down to her shoulders, and her eyes, those beautiful red eyes that he got lost in every time he saw her. Although she was still young she had a peace about her that only people seven times her age had.

"Where were you?" he walked towards her and they stopped, eyes locked with each others'. "I was getting worried." he said gently.

Those beautiful eyes. Just a few weeks ago they had been filled with tears and her innocent face had been buried in his shoulder over the loss of her father. He had been so helpless. He hated to see her in pain. He wanted to make it stop. But the bleeding from wounds of the heart cannot be stopped by another. They can only be comforted. And all he could do was hold her in his arms and pray that everything would be alright. She was so young. So delicate. Her soul so fragile. So innocent. She didn't deserve to go through all the pain she had been through.

His conscience then hit him. There was a spark in her eyes. A glimmer in them. A glimmer of hope. A sign that she was fighting. Fighting to stay alive. Every time he saw that in her eyes it gave him hope. But his conscience hit him and he had to look away. He couldn't look into her eyes. Not since he was going to put her in even more pain. Not since he was going to break his promise to her that they would fight together.

He turned his back to her.

"Itachi?" she gave him a questioning look. "What is wrong?"

He took a deep breath and then plunged in. He had to tell her before he left. Otherwise he would never forgive himself for not seeing her face to face and telling her. "I am leaving, Lido. I have been planning it for a while."

"I know." she said casually.

He turned around and looked at her, dumbfounded. "You knew?"

"I knew that you were planning something. I could see it in your eyes. It was as if you were keeping something from me. I knew it had to be something big."

They stared at each other. She understood him better than he thought. She had known all along what he would do. And she understood why.

"When are you leaving?" she asked.

The wind blew their hair. He could now see those pretty red eyes of hers. They were filled with understanding and acceptance.

"Tonight." he answered.

There was another gust of wind and this time her hair covered her eyes but he caught a glimpse of the pain in them.

"Where will you go?"

He couldn't take his eyes off of her. He knew that she was the one person who could persuade him not to do this. To stay and be with her. And by gods he'd do it, too. He wanted to be with her. He wanted to be by her side every waking moment. And meeting her here today he had expected her to do just that. But instead she seemed to have been ready for this. As if somehow...

"Come with me." he said, before he could stop himself.

She shook her head. "Now you and I both know that you can't take me with you. So let's not pretend. Besides. I have been prepared for this day for a while now. I knew that you couldn't stay here for long. That once you were old enough you would leave here. You are too free spirited. I love that about you." she said. She walked over to him until she was just inches away. He stared into her eyes. Those beautiful eyes. As she raised her parted lips up to his he parted his. And when they met he was lost. He was not leaving today. He was staying here with her. And this was not his last sunset with her. There would be plenty more where they would sit together, holding hands. And this was not their last kiss but the first of many.

When she parted her lips from his she smiled at him. Her face was innocent but her cheeks had a rosy color to them. She smiled bashfully and then started to walk away. She had walked quite a ways down the hill when he came to his senses again. He was about to forget why he had even came here!

"Lido!" he called then raced down after her. He took something from his pocket once he had gotten down to her and handed it to her. "I want you to have this."

"A headband?" she held it in her hands, looking at her reflection in the metal part of it. There in the middle was the leaf symbol. "But Itachi, I am not a ninja. I can't wear this! It would be a dishonor to those who have earned it." she said.

He smiled at her. She was always so considerate. "I want you to have it. Keep it with you. You don't have to wear it. But I hope that it will be as important to you as it was to me. You see, this was my first headband. I have kept it all of these years to remind myself of how far I have come and how far I have to go. But I want you to keep it because I want it to be your strength. I want it to remind you that you can do anything that you want to. And that there is always hope."

She wrapped her arms around him, holding back tears. When they broke apart Itachi found it hard to let her go. She put on her best fake smile although she knew he could see right through her. "I better get back before they notice I am gone." she said. She took one last look at him and then started walking back down the hill and into the village.

He watched her as she walked out of his life. This might be the last time he saw her. And surely the last time he would speak to her. He was going to get out of her life. For after tonight, he would not only be a danger to her, but a danger to everyone. After tonight there was no going back to his past life. There were no sunsets. There were no more kisses from her. And he was leaving today. He had to move forward. He couldn't look back.

With that in mind, he walked the rest of the ways down the hill and moved toward his destiny.

Lido could not sleep. She found herself staring at the white ceiling above her. Tears were streaming down her face. Her best friend was leaving her. Her only friend in the world, her strength. Her reason for living was leaving her. Her first love was leaving her. One by one the people she cared about were leaving her. And there was nothing she could do about it. All she could do was be strong. Just like Itachi had been strong for her. That was why she had not begged him to stay. For she knew that this was something he had to do. If she tied him down here then she could never forgive herself. She tossed in her bed and looked out the window. Where was he now? What was he doing? And why did he leave? She had thought of asking him that. He had to have a reason. But now she would never find out. For he was gone now. Gone like a shooting star. A primitive comparison. But exactly the way it was. Magical, blissful, wonderful for a while and then it was gone as quickly as it came.

Itachi took one last look at the village he had grown up in. Bodies laid on the ground. Blood covered the streets. Inside his house laid his dead father, mother, and his unconscious brother whom he had taken pity on. Pity. He, Uchiha Itachi had taken pity. Why? He did not know. But something in him saw himself. Even though his brother Sasuke was a spoiled brat, Itachi had always been fond of the boy. And he had never been there for him like he should have been. He had never been the big brother that he wanted to be to Sasuke. He was always training or with Lido. Perhaps he had been screwing up his own life from the start. But there was nothing he could do now. Now he was a murderer. The now infamous murderer of the entire Uchiha clan. He had no regrets. He had never been a regretful person. Except he did feel like he would regret something later. Leaving her. That he would always secretly regret.

He could not stay here any longer. The group that he was to meet tonight was in the next town, waiting for him. Waiting for him to accept his destiny. His future.

Alright. So that's the first chapter. Hope you all liked it. Please rate. This is my first fanfic and I really need to know if there is any point in me continuing this story or not. Constructive criticism is welcome but please, no flames.