This was Emily's (Itachi's Emily) one-shot for Christmas. It's not as funny some of my other Christmas one-shots nor is it as sweet as Take Me With You ;however, it feels raw and real. I hope you all enjoy one.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto. I do however own an Itachi plushy that my boyfriend pretends to be jealous off.

The Vision

for Emily

The chill November wind blew harshly through the trees, loosening leaves and sending them floating down the ground. The leaves settled around and on the body of the girl who had settled herself at the foot of a huge tree. She stared ahead unblinkingly, not feeling anything. Her black hair fell into her right eye but she didn't move it. She didn't care about her hair- in fact, she didn't care about much of anything. Since he had left she just felt... empty. He had been the only one she had ever cared about, had ever loved. Now that he was gone, she had no one. She was alone.

As long as she could remember, she had been an outcast. The only person who had ever shown any interest in whether she continued to breathe for another moment or if she disappeared or died tomorrow had been him. Nobody else cared. She had never been sure why but it was almost as if the other villagers were afraid of her.

But Itachi... he had never feared her. He had been the only one who would look her in the eye. He had held her when she felt depressed or angry. he had been her other half- he had balanced her. He had been calm when she was fiery, passionate when she was apathetic. And her other half had left about a month ago. No note- no explanation. Just gone.

A figure stepped out from behind the tree she was staring at. He spoke, shaking dark hair from his eyes. "What are you doing?" The voice was harsh and scornful.

She closed her eyes and waggled her fingers at him. "Go away." When she opened her eyes, he was still here. Most of the visions disappeared when they were told to. This one was still there- didn't mean that he really here though. Why would he be? She sighed. "Okay then. What do you want?" Sometimes the visions had things they needed to share. They would take the form of people she was familiar with or someone she had been thinking about. They would tell her whatever needed to be said and then kind of... just disappear.

It made sense to chose his form.

He took a step closer to her, not speaking as she looked on dully. When he got close enough to touch- if he had been real- he spoke in the same harsh, grating and scornful voice as before. "You're a mess. What have you been doing to yourself since I've been gone?" Sarcasm had always been his defense mechanism.

Alex got angry. "Is that all you came here to tell me? Then you can go. You told me. So leave." She closed her eyes and mentally forced him away.

"I'm still here." She could hear the smirk in his voice. "You can't get rid of me so easily."

With a growl deep in her throat, Alex launched to her feet and dove at the vision. Physical contract always sent them away when nothing else worked. "Go away!" She expected her hands to go through the chest, causing the vision to dissolve. Instead, her hands connected with a warm, broad, real, chest. She jerked back immediately, distrust in her eyes. "Itachi?"

He nodded. "Surprise. I'm back for you." He stopped when her hand touched his face in a painful, stinging slap. "Ouch."

"You think you can come back? You think I'll just take you back with no questions?" She slapped him again.

Itachi caught her wrist as she started to pull away. "Not exactly. I came back to explain." His face was solemn and mournful. Alex examined him for the first time since he returned and noticed that he looked older and tired and his eyes seemed surprisingly flat. "I had to... do some things I'm not proud of. If I didn't come back today then you would hear about it soon. I had to make sure you knew the truth about me."

Alex drew in a deep, fighting tears. "And truth is... what exactly?"

"I love you. I always have- always will. Never forget that."

Those words broke the floodgates. Alex started sobbing. "How can you tell me that," she forced out between tear-filled breaths. "You just disappeared for a month. Now you expect me to just believe that you love me? At least tell me where you've been. I deserve to know that much."

Alex was surprised to see tears well up in his eyes. "They forced me to k-...," his voice choked and he had to pause until he himself back under control. "They made me kill all of them. My clan. They're all dead. All but Sasuke."

Alex gasped. "You mean...?" For a second she thought he might be lying. then she saw the truth in his eyes and she knew. She wanted to tell his that she was sorry but knew that the words would mean nothing. So instead she took his face in her hand and kissed him- kissing away his tears. "I love you."

Itachi looked down at her, his eyes shining with pain and desperation. The look almost scared Alex. "Go away with me. We can leave together. No one will miss us. I have to leave no matter what. I want you to come with me. Will you?"

Alex thought for a second. No one would miss her. She nodded. "I'll go."

She would join him- whenever it led her. And she would find a way to heal him if it was the last thing she did. Because she loved him.

The End

What did you think? Again, I don't a bit of a poetic license with the time-line, but... you know. It was necessary. I think it turned out okay; do you? Thank you for taking time to read this.