This is purely for the fun of it. Again it came to me at 2 o'clock in the morning, and I still have more ideas to come. This is to pass the time and get some stress off my shoulders. I hope you all enjoy! There is some major Itachi OOC in this!
Disclaimer: Own not I the Naruto!
Prologue: Memory Loss
Vile Code 9 Testing 19304 BB; known as amnesia, or memory loss. This was the recent experiment in which was currently being tested and used for any flaws or defects. An inch long tube filled with bubbling green liquid; a creation Orochimaru and Kabuto had been working on for nearly seven years before the infiltration of Konohagakure had been plotted and planned. It was a rather rare substance that he, Orochimaru, was currently aware of and thus he claimed to be the inventor.
The substance was meant for one purpose only; to drug the Village of Konoha's leader, Tsunade, and regain his title of Hokage, just like he always wanted. And if he were to become equally lucky, his long abandoned organization, Akatsuki, may come into play and he would command over them as well.
Vile Code 9 Testing 19304 BB was designed to rapture and infiltrate the brain's memory and erase it of all events; basically screwing up the system. It had its drawbacks, as any substance of this magnificence would. The only things that could not be erased within the brain were the essentials; breathing, walking, talking, reading, writing and remembering the events after the drug had been induced.
The victim could not manipulate chakra,—a big necessity—lacked all further abilities of fighting skills, slow human reflexes akin to a normal bi passing villager, and kekki genkai traits. It was the ultimate weapon, and further more in high secrecy.
Orochimaru would soon rule the world.
- - - - - - -
Fate had decided to lead Uchiha Itachi out into a walk, and it also had future plans for him as well. It was a normal venture through nature he would usually do after training or to get away from all the others, to clear his mind and relax. Nothing seemed off beat. The birds were twittering. The animals were scurrying and going about their ecological niche. The breeze was light but not very generous—giving the extreme heat during the early August.
He was wearing his usual attire; black coat, purple trousers, black mesh T-shirt, sandals, and additional scratched hiate-ate. Everything seemed to be going according to regular schedule. He'd awakened, eaten, trained, eaten, trained, and now he was fulfilling his next simple and regular task.
He sat perched upon a tree branch near a stream, watching the water cascading down, the current running forever into the ocean. The wind shifted, coming from the north instead of east, and he could faintly smell the disaster wafting down from that general direction. There was a slight scent that followed along with it, but he paid no heed to it.
He was generally close to the border line of Konohagakure, a place where he onced lived and served under its confinements. But that was years ago, and it had been long since he'd visited and tried to capture the kyuubi container with his partner Hoshigoki Kisame. People would remember, but they would also forget if Akatsuki kept their status under control for the time being. They had already captured the shukaku from Sunagakure's Kazekage, and that had gone without much of a big glitch, except for the fact that they had brought in recruits from their allied village.
They were plotting the next move upon the unsuspected Konoha, waiting within the shadows to send that little loud mouthed blond that held the key to their desire. It would only take three days to take the kyuubi's chakra from within him, but with the other team members deceased, it may take a little while longer with the only remaining participants.
On high alert, he awaited for the enemy to reveal itself, his blood red eyes scouring the area keenly. Itachi hadn't counted upon having visitors, but he also hadn't counted on being very pessimistic, either. The wind picked up slowly, and the scent of trouble entered his nostrils. With a fluid motion, the bridge on his right was suddenly occupied by two black cloaks, hiding his enemies profile from his view.
There were two of them, each with their chakra masked, but it was clear by the way they skillfully moved they were shinobi. He wasn't sure if he should intervene with the situation, but he didn't quite know yet if they posed a threat. So he waited until their either left or revealed themselves.
As if on cue, the cloaked figure on the left raised his hand and gripped at its hood, pulling it back to reveal silver hair, bi-speckled gray eyes, a sound hiate-ate, and a sadistic smirk. The second followed suit, more fluently, lightly tucking the hair behind the hood and gripping it with both hands. Slowly, almost as if in slow motion, those pale hands pulled down the hood to show black raven hair, golden cat eyes, a pale face, a malicious smile, and the face of an enemy.
Itachi stiffened slightly, knowing those two. It was Kabuto and Orochimari, former residences of Akatsuki, traitors. Orochimaru even went as far as wearing the ring on his finger, never taking it off, and not planning on taking it back, either. Kabuto had riddened himself of it long ago, leaving it behind as well as his rank. What would those two be doing so close to Konoha and Akatsuki?
Itachi didn't know the answer, but he remained concealed by the shadows of the trees. They appeared to be communicating quietly, while Orochimaru reached within his cloak and removed a single inch long vile filled with green liquid. He held it to the light, allowed the sun's raise to reflect of its surface and create a rainbow within the trees. He slowly moved his hand along toward Itachi's way, the rainbow moving along with the item, until it landed upon Itachi.
His hand band reflected the glare of the light's raise and sent it back, giving away his location. In a split second he disappeared and relocated, removing his Leaf hiate-ate behind as he went and leaving it where it sat. Kabuto murmured something to his master, and he in turn nodded vacantly. Kabuto leapt within the trees and searched the area, finding the discarded hiate-ate within the branch, returning with it in his hand.
Orochimaru grabbed the cloth, fondled it between his pale fingers, and sniffed it nonchalantly. He shook his head, and flung it over the bridge's edge, the hiate-ate landing within the water with a muted plunk. Itachi scowled, but he hadn't been caught by the likes of the snake charmer that supposedly stricken fear into everyone's hearts whenever his name was muttered within a crowd. Quietly, Itachi attempted to leave the area and report to his Leader about their location.
As he began to move, Orochimaru raised his hand toward where Itachi was crouching and shot a snake out of his cloak, fangs bared and ready to sink into flesh. It barely missed Itachi, having dodged it just in time to register what was happening. A little slow, he moved to his feet to dodge another attack, and he could feel his mind growing hazy. Dammit, what was wrong? The snake maneuvered itself around a branch and struck out again, missing his arm but taking a piece of his cloak as a souvenir.
Seemingly satisfied, it retreated to the cloak of it's master's hand, giving him the article of clothing before disappearing. Rather perplexedly, Orochimaru gripped the fabric and eyed it suspiciously, feeling the material before flipping it over and finding a piece of the red moon. Smiling, his head shot up and looked to where his snake had caught Itachi, calling in a very feminine voice.
" Now now, Itachi-san, please don't be a stranger, come on out and visit us!" He encouraged, earning a disgusted look from Itachi.
No way in hell he would go down there and face him when clearly there was something wrong with his bodily functions. His reactions were slower and it was harder to see now, everything cloudy and hazy, his limbs feeling like iron weights.
" Its no use trying to fight my poison," Orochimaru called out facetiously." It is airborn, and slows down the muscles and the thinking process of the enemy. Kind of handy, don't you think? I made it for enemies such as you."
Itachi was not inclined to answer, instead he took deep breaths and tried to clear his mind of the poison. So that was what he had smelled within the air, his poison, planning on drugging any enemies that stood in his way. What a tricky little bastard, but he wouldn't be pushed over so easily. He hadn't earned his reputation for nothing. Revealing himself to the enemy and trying to attack headlong was a no, for he had that medical ninja with him that could render his arms useless with a single stroke.
Stealth wasn't something he was capable of pursuing at this moment, not with his mind clouded over and his thought process scrambled. Trying a different approach, he circled the area, a little tipsy on his feet, but enough to get a good view of his adversary. It failed. Kabuto reigned in some invisible line and had wired the entire area, not even a skilled ninja who was oblivious to the holes in the trap could get out.
Itachi fell, catching himself, and cartwheeling back on his feet, the process a lot more strainus than it was supposed to be. Orochimaru advanced toward him, and on instinct Itachi grabbed at his holster and removed five shuriken, raising his hand in front of his face.
" Now, that won't work on me, silly Itachi," Orochimaru cooed, hands up in a simple gesture of resign.
Instead, Itachi flung the shuriken in five different directions, snapping the invisible wire and freeing himself of their confines. Clapping, Orochimaru smiled sadistically, beckoning Kabuto over with a nod of his head.
" Why, Kabuto, haven't you been looking for a test subject with our newest formula?" Orochimaru questioned lazily, knowing the answer already. Itachi stood on his feet, his guard up, but his senses and reflexes dulling. It had to bottom out sometime, didn't it? He could still feel himself getting weaker, and his body failing and beginning to shut down. How could he be so stupid as to overlook something like that?
Kabuto walked up to his master's side, receiving the vile from Orochimaru's hands and removing a needle from his pocket." Why was, Orochimaru-sama, indeed I am," moving forward toward Itachi, Kabuto's fingers started swirling with chakra, and more wire flooded from his fingertips and around the area.
Itachi, unable to do much about the situation, stood there helplessly, the wire encircling around his body and trapping him in place. He struggled to free himself, bit the wire, but it was futile. His body was not in shape and could not thwart his opponents moves. The wire was binding his legs together, trapping his arms to his sides, and tying his feet together as well.
" Now stay still, this won't hurt a bit," Kabuto assured coyly, approaching the rapidly infuriated Uchiha with the needle within his hand. Without hesitating, he injected the vile within the container of the needle and gave a small squeeze, the liquid squirting out from out of the tip." This is a project we've been working on for a while, we named it Vile Code 9 Testing 19304 BB, or you that's just a fancy name for it, what it stands for is amnesia. And you all know what amnesia is, only this is something no one has ever captured within liquid form without doing any brain damage physically." Kabuto supplied, getting closer each time.
" The chemicals we used for this substance are confidential, but since you won't be remembering anything for a long while, I guess its only right we tell you," he sighed solely at this, standing in front of Itachi now, needle ready." It is mixed with a few rare flowers that are only found within Otogakure, processed and created my Orochimaru-sama himself. It is from the flower Ketsueki Doku or Blood Poison. The chemicals that mix within the photosynthesis process of the Ketsueki Doku are very lethal, and can kill a person within twenty four hours if it is ingested within the blood stream. He took the root of this and mixed it with other chemicals and substances I'm not going to bother to explain, and created a paralysis poison.
" Of course, this was not the results we were looking for, so we bottled up the paralysis poison for further testing and experimented again, only with rattle snake poison. The venom is deadly, can kill someone easily without any treatment, slowly killing the organs and blood vessels within the body until it becomes obsolete. He combined the formula for rattle snake poison and Ketsueki Doku to create a memory loss substance, which was exactly what we were looking for. After testing the further results for any defaults and flaws, we decided to test it upon an unsuspecting shinobi or villager, the Hokage herself if we were deemed lucky.
" But look who we found instead, the almighty Uchiha Itachi wandering about the woods for a stroll, and just happened to become indulged within our paralysis poison that we made into a spray that can travel for miles. So, with all that said, I think its time to test the results and experiment a little more..."
Kabuto smiled, wide and sinister, and reached for Itachi's right arm. Of course, upon contact Itachi flinched and tried to pull away, but the wire prevented from doing so, instead cutting into his arm and created a minor gash. Kabuto clicked his tongue and reached for it again, ignoring the fact that the string continued to shear through Itachi's flesh as he manuevered it out into the open, holding it out before him and plunging the needle within his visible blood vessel.
Itachi, known for enduring pain, hid his pained expression and bit his tongue, feeling the foreign liquid invest his system as the needle ran empty. For a moment, it was all fuzzy and unclear, and the world felt like it was spinning into oblivion. Their forms, warped and multicolored, shifted side to side and whited out, leaving him seeing the white screen for a moment before snapping back to reality. His heart pumped faster with the rush of adrenaline, a bad thing, spreading the liquid further within his stream until eventually it would reach his head.
Than, the world came back into one place and everything was clear and pristine, and he felt like he'd been drugged. Orochimaru, watching intently on the results of the poison, could see the confused look that portrayed on Itachi's face, his head turning slowly side to side and attempting not to rip his neck off with the massive pressure the wire was having against his pale neck. Then, every so slowly, he turned and faced Orochimaru, and let out a blood curdling scream.
The trees shook and the birds fluttered from their havens at the ungodly noise, and the world seemed to have spiraled down into turmoil. Kabuto's brow rose in amusement at the expression that Itachi was showing, and it was clear that the poison was christened successful.
" Come, Kabuto, let us leave, for he won't be posing a threat to us anymore," Orochimaru ordered serenely, taking the kunai that Kabuto held and slicing through the wire, unleashing the confused Uchiha." The poison will be active for a few days, maybe weeks if we are lucky, and we shall come and find him within that time and see how he copes with it in his stream. He will not remember, thus he will not come looking for us, and everything shall go as planned."
With that the snake charmer and his assistant left the bridge and headed to Otogakure, leaving the bewildered Uchiha behind. Nervously, Itachi started biting his painted fingernails, wincing at the cut along his arm. Dubiously, he twisted his arm up and looked at the long gash, and his body racked at the side.
" B-b-b-blood!?" he screamed, yanking his cloak off and covering it up, his eyes searching the area. It was all hazy, and everything wasn't where it should be, and he wondered why he couldn't see properly. Maybe he was blind? Maybe he had gotten a surgery and now he was experiencing the aftermath of it? Itachi didn't know, didn't even know where he was, let alone how he had gotten there in the first place.
Nervously, he began skulking out of the area and into the forest, his eyes flickering everywhere besides where he was walking. He looked at the river, yes, he knew what that was. He looked up at the sky, and he knew that as well. He looked down at the ground, and he decided that he knew the ground too, made up of soil and dirt and gravel and rocks. He failed to notice the trees that were approaching from within the forest, and when he was done idolizing a snail that was slowly crawling beside him, he smacked into the tree.
Bemused, he stood cautiously, looking at the tree in awe. Yes, he knew that too, but that wasn't what he wanted to know. Slowly, he began walking through the forest, realizing that something was terribly missing...something he didn't know. Shyly, his hand raised and touched his bare forehead, and he felt nothing. Wasn't there supposed to be something covering it? He didn't quite know.
Slowly, he began his search through the forest, and unbeknown to the terribly baffled Itachi he was walking precariously into enemy territory.
- - - - - - -
Sakura glided through the forest with ease, enjoying the rush of running and the wind against her face. It had been a while since she had escaped the confines of Konoha, being on hospital duty was wearing her out at the seams. She had been given permission to wander off base of from the border line, as long as she stay within the forest, she had free regin to do as she pleased. She planned on finding a small lake or a brook to stop and wash up and soak within it. She sighed, the thought was relaxing enough.
She missed seeing Naruto around, he was always on top A-ranked missions to prove to himself and to the entire village he was capable of being their future Hokage. He never gave up his dream, and she would do anything to prevent any chances of his dreams shattering into memories. Sasuke had been absent a little while as well, taking up high ranked missions just to prove to Naruto he was always one step in head of him. Of course, the testosterone was boiling to a high and the two soon entered their friendly rivalry once again, keeping in mind that Sakura was no longer a helpless litle girl.
Of course, fate had it bad for Sakura, and luck never was her friend in the first place. Just as she was about to take a right at the large oak tree when she felt a presence of company. Of course, she couldn't quite put a name to the chakra signature that was around her, but she could feel it was large and very sinister. Quietly, she eased herself behind the tree and out of enemy sight, inching her nose from behind it to get a good look at her adversary.
Her eyes widened when she saw Itachi playing with an agitated ground hog and prancing about wildly with a flower reeve in his hair, his cloak with the cloud insignia lay discarded off to the side. Gasping, and trying hard not to laugh, she disappeared from behind the tree, trying to find out if she was under some kind of genjutsu spell to distract her. But, alas, when she tried to dispel something that was not there, she had to conclude that what she saw was real. Sticking her nose out again, she saw him jumping up and down, clutching his little finger and whining, sticking it within his mouth when blood surfaced.
Ground hog must have bit him, Sakura thought, trying to hide the giggle that was approaching. This wasn't Itachi, this had to be some sort of trick, someone making fun of him. His face was contorted in pain, and he was hopping up and down with a finger in his mouth, and he was groaning in frustrated. No, this was not Itachi, a poser. But, when she reached for his chakra, it was him, but, he wasn't acting himself.
Slowly, tentatively, she stepped out from behind the tree, watching as he hadn't spotted her yet. He was bent over, doing something with the flowers when she came up from behind and tapped him lightly on the shoulder.
" Ack!" At the contact he flung himself on the opposite side and looked as though he were about to have a heart attack, his hands up to protect his face in a basic self defense move. At this, it put Sakura on the defensive, but when he did nothing to indicate his retaliation, she simply dropped her hands to her sides and stared at him much like he was staring at her, dumbfounded.
" I-Itachi?" Sakura asked softly, waiting for him to snap back to himself and lash out at her. But the impact never came, and nor would it, for he cocked his head to the side and muttered something under his breath." I'm sorry, what was that, Itachi?" she asked again, never letting her guard down and making sure her fist was chakra filled for any surprise attacks.
" I said, what did you call me?" he said, confused, and in a different tone she hadn't heard before. It showed emotion, showed his confusion, and most of all, it showed how human he was underneath all of that cold hard exterior. It was so unlike him, and yet, she couldn't work it within her mind to think that this was someone else. This was Itachi.
She swallowed audibly, trying to work around the situation and get him on his good side." I called you Itachi. Why do you ask?"
He stared at her for a moment, digesting her words, when he flung his hand out at her. Her first instinct was to raise her hands to her face and block whatever he chucked at her, whether it be kunai or shuriken. But when the hit never came, she lowered her arms and peeked through slitted eyes, and saw that he was holding out the finger where he had gotten bitten by the ground hog. Blood oozed out of the shallow cut and he refused to look at it directly.
" I got bit," he said in a childish tone, and Sakura blanched. She wouldn't have ever considered that Itachi would ever weep like a five year old, but the way he said it sounded like he was on the verge of tears. Tentatively, she began walking up to him, still not dropping her guard, but it was obvious he had done so long ago.
What happened to him? she thought warily, shaking her head at the thought. Something catastrophic must have happened and he damaged his brain somewhere along the road. That was one option. The other; he finally became so psychotic he had a mental relapse and temporarily lost his mind. Both were suitable suggestions, but she wasn't sure if they were accurate or not.
" Kiss it better."
She couldn't hold it anymore. There on the spot Sakura began laughing until she felt like she was about to die from the lack of oxygen. Here he was, the mass murderer himself, the killer of the Uchiha clan and the tormentor of her best friends, and here he sat, demanding her to kiss his finger! Snickering and snorting her way through gasps of air, she regained her composure steadily, all the while trying not to look at the expression on his face that no doubt would be one of frustration.
Her stomach hurt from the laughter, but she finally calmed herself down enough to look at him again, and there he was, a full grown man demanding her to kiss his boo-boo better.
Shaking her head to the side, she tried to look at him sternly." No, I will not kiss it better. You are a grown man, Itachi," she giggled, cursing when she failed to be the 'parent' of this situation.
Shrugging, he fondled with the reeve on his head and chucked it at her, landing at her feet." No matter," he said.
How could this have happened? Surely he bonked his head on something, hard. Not only was he resuming his little dance, but he was also singing incoherently. How had she stumbled upon this situation? How come fate hated her so much? Why haven't the bill collectors left her alone yet?
" What is your name?"
Her head snapped over to him, and she rubbed it sorely. Had he just asked her something, or was she imagining it? The curious look upon his face only answered her first question, the second being was it the question he'd originally asked her. Baffled, she waited until he would repeat his question, but he only stood there, his arms crossed and his face showing that of impatience.
Never had she seen so much emotion coming from the likes of him, but it was sure to be said that he had indeed been knocked out or had something wrong within his brain. His foot began tapping on the grassy ground as a sign of losing his patience, and he began growling under his breath.
For a minute, the stern and cold look he shot her way made her think he'd recovered her memory and she was done for. It was soon cleared over when he balled his hands into fists and bared his teeth." Did you not hear me?" he asked rhetorically—of course he was going to ask again." I said,"—she smirked when she had guessed correctly—" 'What is your name?' "
Shaking her head and clearing her mind, she attempted something of casualness in the prescence of her enemy." Figured you'd forget," she snickered." Haruno Sakura,"
He nodded his head, as if finding her response suitable. Lightly tapping his chin absentmindedly, he gave her another stern look, but it was not at all the frightening one she'd became accustomed too over the years." What is my name?" he asked, genuinely curious.
She blinked, but realized she'd only supplied him a first name. Clearing her throat, she stated," Uchiha Itachi," but not without having a shiver ripple its way down her spine. The murderer who killed the Uchiha clan, haunted his brother and claimed to take the life of her best friend.
She decided this had gone on long enough, and approached him, removing the now falling apart flower reeve from his head and grabbing his cloak that lay abandoned on the grassy floor, searching for his headband as she went along. No sign of it, ah well. She'd prefer it gone anyway, the scratch was like a sharp reminder that told her she was dealing with an enemy and further more was conversing with one.
Sighing, she took his hand, and began dragging him back to the village, where she would explain the rest to her shishou, and try her best not to get him killed when she entered the gates tugging a threat into her home.
She could only hope she would be able to reverse this situation and be rid of him for good. But, fate wasn't quite threw with her just yet.
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