The Martyr's Reward Chapter 1: Memories of the Past, a naruto fanfic

A/N: Wow, I've been wanting to do this one for ages, so...here it is. It's Itachi, folks, contains lots of spoilers, and won't completly follow the story line. How can I, when it sucks so bad? Sasuke's pissing me off more than usual, so in this work, he will suffer greatly.

DISCALIMER:I do not own Naruto, but I do own the OC's, like Miho, Shisui's character and personality, and Yuu. There are more, but those come later. Yuu does too, but he's also a main villian, SOOOOO...he get's metioned now.

WARNING: Contains spoiliers from 396 onward! Also, I make fun of people. You don't like that, leave now.

Ch. 1: Memories of the Past

It was blissfully dark all around him. He was so tired, and the darkness was welcome and soft after all of the trials of his life. And his goal was complete. Sasuke had the Mangekyo Sharingan, and something else to work for. With hope, he might learn something from all of this and go home to Konoha, settle down with that strong pink-haired friend of the Kyuubi's, and have lots and lots of little Sharingan containing children to restock the Uchiha compound that he'd so violently emptied. Maybe. There was hope, but his Otouto always had been a bit of an idiot. But, one way or another, he'd make it, and he'd be alright.

Without realizing it, his mind wandered back into time. Back to the good days where everything had been okay. Back when he hadn't been a spy, or a clan murderer, or a traitor. When life had been good. When it had just been him, and Shisui. Instantly, he knew that wasn't quite right. At first, it had just been him and his greatest friend, but someone else had joined them along the way. In his mind's eye, he could himself, a blank face, no emotion in either face or eyes, and then there was Shisui, standing a little taller than he, about two or three inches worth, with a huge, goofy grin on his face. For a second, he felt a pang of remorse over killing Shisui. Shisui had been a fun, easy-going, slightly annoying, kind of person. Most people who saw them together shook their heads, not understanding how those two polar opposites had been friends. Some days, he hadn't understood himself.

Then, there, a little behind and off of Shisui, was a smaller, slightly hazy figure. His memory had dulled, but the more he thought, the clearer the image became. It was a small girl, with tan skin, short black hair, and reddish-black eyes. She had her arms locked behind her as she peeked out from behind Shisui with a large smile on her face. He remembered now, how easily her smiles came for him. And just how much a part of that group she had been. But, even as he struggled to, he couldn't seem to remember her name. Couldn't remember what she was called.

Slowly, his tired mind drifted back into time and memory, back to the day that had started it all.

He was walking slowly home after his latest mission, and he was incredibly tired. His Jounnin team had a nasty habit of lumping all of the shinobi work on him. He gave an imperceptible sigh through his nose as the Uchiha compound came into view. Maybe now he could rest a little. But, as with his luck, that wasn't the case. His aunt, Kijuuki, intercepted him before he reached the main house.

"Itachi-kun, there you are! Quick, change into these!!" She'd thrown his formal clothes, which she'd been carrying, at him, then shoved him into a random room, while urging him to dress quickly through the door. He had no idea what was going on, but he swiftly changed, and emerged not two minutes later. She urged him to the main hall, then in through the back door in time to meet his parents and Sasuke before they walked through the main doors.

"Father, what's going on?", he'd asked immediately. His father, with his perpetual frown, motioned towards the doors.

"Formal peace signings with the Umahi clan. You're just in time, as expected of my son."

He'd fought the urge to roll his eyes, but he knew that would not be a good idea, and so did not do it. The doors swung open and he strolled in along with his parents up to the stage where a very old, very frail looking old woman, two large young men he recognized as village Jounin, and a small, kinda scrawny young girl with pale skin, ear length black hair, and a whole hell of a lot of scratches, stood. Who was she?? The old woman was obviously the clan matriarch, and the two men where her sons and heirs. But the girl? He'd never even heard of a scrawny girl in this clan.

As his father, mother, and brother climbed the steps of the dais, he performed a few hand seal and disappeared in a swirl of smoke, only to reappear at Shisui's side, in the crowd. His cousin gave a small smirk and a grunt to acknowledge his presence.

"Who's the girl?", he asked quietly out of the side of his mouth. Shisui gave a tiny shrug.

"No idea. No one knows. But everybody's sure she's not one of the family. And not liked either. Look at the Matriarch's sons…" Itachi looked up and saw that both full grown, bear-like men were giving the poor girl the deepest glares of hatred that seemed to be possible for their ugly faces. He raised his eyebrow slightly.

"…the hell…?"

Shisui nodded.

"Yeah, that's what everyone else is saying."

His cousin studied the girl, then smirked.

"She's kinda cute."

Itachi glanced up at Shisui with a raised eyebrow. His friend looked down at him with a wide smile, showing that he had meant what he said. Itachi gave a small sneer.

"Idiot."

Shisui gave a loud laugh, and several people in the crowd turned their heads to look at them. To shut him up, he gave his cousin a sound elbow blow to the ribs.

After he was sure his cousin would remain decently quiet, he turned to watch the proceedings again. And yet, that one lone little girl continued to draw his attention.

It wasn't until later, at the party the Umahi hosted in honor of the event, that Itachi met her. Or, rather, ran into her as she carried a tray with sake bottle and cups toward his father, the Umahi matriarch, and her sons. Of course, if he ran into her, that meant so did Shisui. She stopped just short of them, instead of running into them, and lowered her eyes to the floor.

"E-excuse me...", she murmured. Shisui had looked up from where he was sitting after another punch for silence from Itachi. He immediately bounced to his feet and gave her his smoothest smile.

"WE-LL hello there. And you are??", he asked, waggling his brows at her. She looked up with a tiny smile.

"Mi-oh!"

"GIRL!! Where is that sake??", the older of the Umahi heirs barked from his seat. The girl jumped, then slid around them both with another 'excuse me.', and was walking away when Shisui called after her with a teasing grin.

"So, you're Miho?"

She turned around to give him a smile that lit up the room and put the setting sun to shame. Then she shook her head, and called over her shoulder:

"You can call me that if you want, but no. It's Mioko!"

And with that, she'd vanished into the crowd. Shisui turned to him with a little grin.

"Miho-Mioko, eh? Pretty name."

The crowd jumped a moment later as a wail of pain echoed across the room, to where a small girl with short black hair was serving sake. She gave a ghost of a smile before returning to her duties.

None of the three had known it yet, but that swift conversation would be the beginning of something beautiful.

Ah, that was it. He remembered now. She name had been Mioko, though they'd called her Miho is teasing. He could feel a ghost of a smile on his lips. She'd been something, that Miho. After that first meeting, when ever he and Shisui had been around the village, they'd run into her a lot. And as they'd run into her, they'd started talking. And as they started talking, they slowly became friends. Even if Shisui was the one who did most of the talking.

Itachi remembered the time they had come across Miho on her way to the academy one morning, a gigantic pile of books in her arms...

"Heya, Miho. What's with the books?"

Miho stuck her head around the huge column in her arms.

"Homework, and lots of it. What else?"

They waited for her to walk past and then fell in beside her, Shisui on the right, and Itachi on the left. Shisui began to tease her.

"Aww, poor little Miho. You have to carry all those heavy books. Too bad you don't have the arm strength I do."

Shisui began to strut while rolling up one sleeve to show off a semi-decent arm. Itachi watched Miho secretly roll her eyes half way up before stopping, and getting a devious glint in her eye. She stuck her lower lip out a little, and adopted a simpering tone.

"Ohhh, wow. You're so strong looking, Shi-kun! So much stronger than little old me. I bet you could..."

She paused, and bit her lip innocently. Shisui instantly bit the bait.

" What, what? You bet I could do what?"

Miho fluttered her lashes at him.

"I bet you could carry half my books for me. Couldn't you? Since you're so strong, and so kind to me, Shi-kun..."

Shisui actually puffed out his chest at he strutted along, but tried to make himself appear tougher by putting a finger to his chin.

"I don't know, Miho. You really should carry them yourself..."

Miho batted her eyelashes a bit harder and stuck her lower lip out in a cute little pout.

"Oh, pleeeease, Shi-kun? For me?"

That did it. Shisui instantly reached out and picked up half of her books, grunting with the effort.

"Geez, Miho, these are really heavy."

Mioko gave him a sweet smile.

"You'll be ok, Shi-kun. After all, you're soooo strong..."

Shisui glowed, and did not say a single word of complaint after that. That was when Miho turned her eyes to Itachi, and gave him puppy-dog eyes that would have made Ibiki Morino cave.

"Sempai, I don't suppose you would be nice enough to carry these? They're awfully heavy..."

She batted her eyelashes, and received a poke to the forehead from Itachi's pointer and middle fingers. She stared at him.

"You could have just asked." He murmured.

Miho looked down with a guilty blush on her face. She was silent for a few minuets before turning to Itachi again, this time with out the puppy eyes, or annoying simper.

"Sempai...please?", was all she asked.

With a tiny smile, Itachi took the other half of her books, and received a blindingly beautiful smile that brought a little heat to his cheeks in return.

"Thanks so much, Sempai!!"

He just nodded, and hid his slight blush stealthily behind his stack of books.

Why the hell did she have to be so cute? He remembered how much she'd chased after him in Shinobi studies, determined to catch them both as soon as possible. She'd still been in the academy, but she'd graduated just as he'd become an ANBU. He remembered her gift. And learning a few new things about her.

"Congratulations, Itachi-chan"

"Well done, Kiddo!"

"As expected of my son..." (A/N- Doesn't this line just get old as hell? But Fugaku says it a lot, and I wanted to make fun of him. Just that whole 'you planned a Coup d'etat and ruined your sons' lives' thing just makes me hate 'im.)

"Congratulations, Itachi-kun!"

"Way to go, Nii-san! You're so cool!"

On and on it went, the endless praise that made his head ache and gave him the urge to pound his head against the wall. Nothing was more torturous than this. And he'd been through ANBU torture training with that sadist, Morino. After the praise came gifts. Oh great. Now he had to be gracious and polite and make his parents proud accepting things he'd probably never use.

Okay, maybe the kunai, but that was the only thing useful he got. Everything else was clothes and food he'd just throw or give away, or even burn, in the case of old aunt Boki, the clan book keeper's, gift of a bright pink and green spandex suit. Never. He'd never hear the end of it for even getting the thing once Shisui saw it.

Speaking of Shisui, where was he?

Itachi scanned the large room as he automatically accepted the next gift basket filled with oranges. His cousin was no where to be seen, and Itachi was secretly disappointed. No matter how annoying, Shisui and his bad jokes would have made this so much more bearable. But his luck was out again that day.

Later, when all the ruckus had died down, Itachi escaped out of the compound and headed toward the training grounds of Field 8. He gave a sigh of relief as he passed into the shade of the trees. Then, the wind brought the sounds of whispers and giggles to his ears. The whispers and giggles of his two 'friends', to be exact. He frowned, and walked deeper into the glade, following the noise. As he walked, he didn't notice the stick that snapped loudly as he trod on it, and silenced the whispers.

Then came a "Damn, he's here already. Quick, finish up. I'll go get him.", and Shisui poofed into view at his side, then slapped him on his shoulder, laughing.

"You look like you went ten rounds with the Sannin, my friend. And lost. Glad you could escape. Now come see."

Itachi was dragged by the arm through two more clearings before he stopped at a sunlit one next to the stream. There in the center sat a large picnic cloth covered with plates of dango, chokore-to covered ichigo, and several more of his favorite okashi, along with three cups of cool mint green tea, and a pot more of it sitting in the middle of the cloth. Kneeling on the forest floor to adjust the cloth with her back to him, was Miho. Feeling his gaze, she turned around with a big smile on her face.

"Heya, Sempai!" She called.

"You look awful! Come and sit!"

He and Shisui did just that: walked over and flopped comfortably out on the cloth.

"What is this?", he asked with a raised eyebrow. Mioko giggled, and Shisui answered:

"A far better congratulations party than our dull clan could ever throw. I bet it sucked."

Itachi hummed softly in agreement, and Shisui snickered. Miho handed Itachi a plate loaded with all of the sweets, and then placed one of the cups before him where he could reach it, then served herself and Shisui. The three settled down to eat, with Shisui providing commentary on everything from the weather, to the pretty girl who'd smiled at him at the store, to old aunt Boki's weird smell. He had Miho laughing and groaning by turns, and Itachi sort of smiling by the time they finished eating. Then Shisui began to bounce in his seat like a child as Miho refilled their cups.

"Present time! Present time!", he sang, and Miho giggled. His friend was gone in a flash, and back just as quick, holding a very long slim package out to his younger cousin.

"Open it, open it!", he chanted and urged.

Shisui's present was a brand new tanto in a black lacquered sheath that bore the Uchiha symbol on it and a custom made and wrapped grip and handle. Itachi slowly drew the bright steel with a muted 'SCHIIIIK' that echoed through the silence. It was a double blade that shone in the faint light. He slowly re-sheathed it, then clapped Shisui on the shoulder and thanked him. He was going to use this gift a lot.

He was putting the sword to the side when he saw Miho reach into the picnic basket and pull out a medium sized pouch that would fit easily into a shinobi pack. She turned and held it out to him.

"C-congratulations, Sempai.", she said, looking down with a small blush.

It was a med-kit, the only one he'd received. Apparently everyone else thought he'd do so good, he wouldn't need one. But this was far different from a normal med-kit. It was nearly humming with chakra, and filled up with supplies for every possible medical emergency he might have. He silently wondered how the hell she'd made it all fit. He looked up to find her fidgeting with her fingers.

"I-I've been training as a m-medic, as well as a k-kunoichi, and I w-wanted to do this for y-you, S-sempai. I t-thought it might h-help." She blushed, and hid her face in her hands as he slowly put the med-kit aside. He then reached out, and placed a hand on her head, then gave it a steadying pat.

"I like it, Miho. Thank you. It's the only one I received, so I will use it well."

He then gave her a small, rare smile that made her face turn bright red behind her hands. Then, Shisui had laughed, and the moment was gone. They lingered for another hour, talking, laughing, joking, and nibbling at sweets. After that, they packed up and slowly trudged toward the Uchiha compound again. When they reached it's opening, Shisui went inside after goodbyes, but Miho called Itachi back. He looked at her quizzically, or at least as much as he could with his expressionless face.

She turned red and stared down at her toes.

"I...um-I h-have another g-gift for you, Sempai.", she squeaked.

He lightly raised an eyebrow as she inched closer, then looked up and down the deserted street, as if to make sure no one was watching.

Then, she swiftly stood on tiptoes and pressed her lips very softly to his, startling him into stillness. She pulled away like he burned her, and looked down at the ground with a vermillion hue in her cheeks.

"Congratulations on making ANBU, Sempai! See you tomorrow!"

With that, she scurried down the street without looking back, leaving a stunned Itachi to watch her go.

He felt like sighing, because he'd been more aware of her after that, even if neither of them mentioned what happened. They had both been eleven at the time, meeting at ten. And so months had passed, bringing with it the words that would change his life forever.

"Exterminate the Uchiha clan."

He looked up slowly at the mournful face of the Third Hokage, flanked by the grim council members and a slightly smug Danzo. Turmoil ruled in his head. Kill his clan. So the negotiations had failed, and he knew that meant the Coup d'etat would go forward. The Uchiha clan had sealed it's fate. He took a single deep breath.

"Understood, Hokage-sama."

He stood in the forest, waiting, as a malevolent chakra signature grew closer and closer. So he was alive after all, and there was some credit to the clues he'd followed. Suddenly, a dark cloaked figure with an orange mask and a shock of black hair touched down on the forest floor to his left. He turned in that direction.

"Madara."

The man stood and removed his mask, showing an entirely different face, confirming Itachi's suspicions.

"What do you want, Uchiha? My clan cast me out. Why do you seek me now?"

In as little information as possible, Itachi explained the Coup d'etat, and what he wanted. Madara raised a fine black eyebrow.

"You want me to help you kill the clan. Why? What's in it for me?"

Itachi took a deep, silent breath before taking the plunge. A single word left his tongue.

"Revenge."

"Heya Itachi! What did you need?"

Shisui flickered into view at his friend's side, with a silly grin on his face, and Itachi's heart quietly clenched at the thought of what he was about to do. He was quiet before he slowly asked.

"How long have you been keeping tabs on me?"

His friend 's goofy smile slid off of his face like oil.

"So you know."

"Yes."

Shisui gazed at him.

"You know why. Itachi, this has to be done. We're living in a secluded corner of town! They have to pay!! Uchiha is important, and it's time they learned that!! We won't be oppressed any longer!!"

His friend was getting out of control in his anger.

"And if Miho dies?"

Shisui stopped mid-rant.

"She won't. I've arranged to have her in the compound when we make the attack. She'll be safe."

He raised an eyebrow at Shisui.

"She won't forgive you. She'll hate you if you do it."

His cousin flinched. His gaze, when he opened his eyes, was pleading.

"Please don't say that. You'll jinx me."

Itachi sighed. He knew all that he needed to know. It was time to get down to business.

"Shisui...I need your help..."

His friend immediately became serious.

"What ever you need, I'll help you with."

His heart twisted at the words. Shisui had no idea what he was saying. But this had to be done. For the village. He turned to look his friend in the eye, and said something that would bring guilt to his mind for nearly a decade to come.

"I'm sorry. I need you to die."

And then he had attacked. Before Shisui, famed far and wide for his speed, could react, Itachi had a hold of him so that he could not retaliate, and had shoved his head below the surface of the river. His friend's face twisted in fear below the water, and his body bucked and struggled, while his hands scrabbled at Itachi's arms.

He pinned Shisui's body with his own, tears streaming down his cheeks to land on his friend's outstretched arms. One of Shisui's hands paused, then slowly came up to stroke away the tears away from Itachi's face, and the he smiled from underneath the water in a sad, and yet understanding way. Something in Itachi died right then and there.

Slowly, he closed his eyes, and his body slowly went slack in Itach'is grip. Itachi held him under for another ten minuets to be sure, then let the river's current carry the body away when he released it. His eyes began to smart and burn, the pain growing with every second.

It culminated to equal the pain of his broken heart, and Itachi grabbed his eyes and howled in pain to the evening sky. He screamed for a long, long time before collapsing on the river bank. Then, with his Sharingan, he forged the suicide note, and left it on the river bank to be found in the morning. Then he vanished using Shisui's favorite technique. He needed to have an alibi right now.

Perhaps the worst thing about killing Shisui was Miho. He'd forgotten how close they were. When she found out, another part of him died.

He stood with his father as they talked to the main coroner at the hospital, and she was coming down the hall in a nurse's uniform, something Shisui would have loved, carrying a lunch tray.

"Yes, he drowned, but it appears to be suicide because there are no signs of struggle, and...well...he's...smiling."

His father didn't really care.

"So he's dead."

The coroner nodded just as she walked past.

"There's no doubt about it. Uchiha Shisui is dead of drowning."

CLA-NG!!

She'd stopped mid-step, and dropped the loaded tray. The food splattered and rolled everywhere, but she didn't even notice as her mentor came running down the hall to see what the commotion was. Miho turned to look at his father.

"What?" Her voice was soft, and nearly non-existent, it was a wonder his father heard. But he did, and he turned to her with a look of pity in his eyes.

"Yes. Shisui was found in the river this morning, dead. He drowned, and it looks like suicide. He even left a note."

Fugaku actually held it out to her, and Itachi almost flinched. He knew what it said.:

I'm not sure that I can do this anymore.

I'm...so tired. I feel like I'm already dead, and I'm tired

of smiling. Don't cry for me, be happy. I'm not suffering anymore.

Say good bye to Miho and Itachi for me. I hope they understand.

-Shisui

Without a sound, Miho sank to her knees, one hand covering her mouth as tears streamed down her cheeks. Fugaku took the note from her, but she didn't even look up, just stared blankly at the floor as her mentor clucked over her. As he turned to go, she looked up at him briefly, and the look on her face as he walked away nearly killed him.

She had no more light in her eyes. She was like a living dead.

Next came the Clan's death day. He already knew he couldn't kill Sasuke, and he'd begged the Hokage to protect him. He'd threatened the elders that he would go public, and Danzo...he threatened him with bodily harm. In the end, they all agreed, and Sasuke had the Third's protection.

That night, he paused in front of a picture he'd had for a while now. It was a picture of Shisui and Miho during the party that the Umahi clan had thrown when she'd made Chuunin six months before. Miho was asleep, exhausted from her day of battles. She was leaning against Shisui's shoulder, half into his arms, with a small smile on her face and her head nestled a little into his neck. Shisui had his arm around her waist, with both a blush and a half smile on his handsome face, happy to hold the girl he liked close to him.

In the background was the gold painted wall of the Umahi hall, with the horribly off-color decorations, and the banner congratualting Mioko.

He stared at the picture for a long moment, before reaching out and pulling it out of it's frame, then putting it in his pocket. He just couldn't quite leave everything he had behind. Hopefully that picture would be enough. With a small sigh, he took a last look around his room, checked that he had what he wanted in both his pack and pocket, then turned his back and walked out the door, closing it with a snap.

He looked coldly down upon the calm profiles of his parents as they sat side by side, looking at him.

"So...you have made your choice...", his father growled as he glared at his son.

"Yes. This village does not deserve your petty wrath. So I have been given my orders."

His father sighed, then lowered his head, and Itachi struck; first his mother, then his father, and both bled to death in front of his eyes. His soul died just a little bit more. He shrank back into the shadows. Now to wait for Sasuke.

He turned to Madara.

"There is one last thing I need to do. I'll meet you at the edge of the village."

The older Uchiha was silent for a long moment, as though deliberating if he should heed Itachi or not. Itachi activated his Mangekyo, knowing it wouldn't mean much. Then Madara turned and vanished into the blood scented, nightmarish darkness.

He, too, flickered out of sight.

"Miho."

She sat up slowly, her hair rumpled to the point that it way sticking half way up, and her eyes were cloudy with sleep. He frowned when he noted the dark rings under her eyes, and the pale hue of her skin.

"Sempai?"

He felt a soft shiver go down his spine at the husky tone in her voice. He jumped from his perch on a tree branch, straight through her open window, to land silently on her bedroom floor. The cloying scent of blood followed to waft in the air between them. Her eyes snapped wide, and he knew she was awake. She was out of bed and across the room to his side surprisingly fast.

"Are you hurt? Where?" Her tone was close to panicked at the thought of loosing another of her precious people, and her hands began to trail over his body. His hands swiftly grasped her wrists as another small shiver wracked his spine.

"I'm fine."

She let out a long breath of relief. He picked her up easily in his arms, ignoring her squeak of protest, and set her back on her bed. He let his hand run over her hair softly.

"Miho, I'm leaving. I can't tell you why, but I'm telling you now...I'm sorry. You shouldn't have had to deal with this. I'm so sorry." (A/N- Yes, I know it's a little out of character, but all of the memories Sasuke shows us, shows that Itachi was more open and nicer back in those days. So there ya go.)

She gave him a puzzled, and slightly knowing, look.

"Wha-" He placed a finger over her lips, silencing her, before he reached into his pocket and pulling out a small wrapped box. He placed it into her hand, and closed her fingers firmly around it. She stared at him with wide eyes. He gave her a small smile.

"Do not hate me too much for this."

Her puzzled expression grew more defined as he gave her sleeping robe tie a small tug.

"May I have this?"

She nodded, set the box he'd given her on her pillow, and then undid the tie before unwinding the strip of silk from her waist. She folded it, then handed it to him, still looking slightly confused. He sighed, knowing he needed to leave soon. ANBU would be after him soon. He had to wrap this up.

He put one hand on either side of her face, holding her still, and pulled her to him to give her the best kiss he could, as long and as deep as he was willing to force on her. Her hands gripped his shoulders, and she didn't respond; She didn't push him away either. Slowly, he pulled back to gaze at her dazed expression.

"Good-bye, Mioko. Remember me."

And he was gone, as silently as he had come. Behind him, he left his last attachment to Konohagakure.

Mission accomplished.

He could hear voices, and those voices disrupted his chain of memories, even if the darkness remained. He was suddenly aware of a piercing pain in his leg, and shouts half reaching him.

"...Akatsuki!.."

"...Kill...stop...eating..."

The muffled sound of battle began to ring in his ears, and he struggled to make his body move, but it would not cooperate. His breath came labored, and he felt himself slipping away from sound again. A woman's voice sounded close by him, and he faintly felt her hands on his face. Strangely, he heard every word she said, in a crystal clear ring.

"Hokage-sama. We've found him, but he's fading fast. Do I save him? Yes, or No?"

Then everything went silent again, and he felt relieved. Hopefully it was all over.

And then a pain so intense it could be compared to the pain he'd felt when he received the Mangekyo Sharingan, gripped his entire body, and every memory he'd ever had in his life raced through his mind as his body screamed. Sensations returned, bringing with them: pain, light, and sound. His body arched as he let out a scream of pain. Hands held him down, keeping him from thrashing and hurting himself.

The pain went on and on, until finally, it abruptly stopped, and he flopped back against the forest floor, gasping for breath and dragging in lungfuls of wet earth and blood scented air. His leg throbbed, and his felt the affects of all of his diseases, and his eyes ached and throbbed. He shut them tight with an inward groan.

A cool wave of foreign chakra flowed into him, eliminating the aches in his leg and eyes, and subduing his illnesses. He gave a soft sigh of relief, and opened his eyes to meet the tired gaze of a very familiar woman. Her reddish-black eyes studied him, and there was a silver necklace with an Uchiha crest pendant around her neck. She smiled faintly at him, then murmured softly:

"Welcome back, Sempai."

Then her eyes closed and she collapsed beside him. A swift wave of exhaustion washed over him, and his eyes shut before his tired brain could even register the woman's name. Although, his subconscious already knew, and his mouth replied as he passed out:

"Thank you...Miho."

A/N- Oh My God...I finished it! Yeah! Anyway, incase I confised anyone...Itachi was, like, within an inch of death, and he's thinking he's dead, and the memories are basically setting some tone for the story, and it's giving all of the background info I was too lazy to write the normal way. This story will be littered with memories. Not as bad as this first chapter, mind you, but still, the memories tie the past and present together, to give you the story as a whole.

So, now I'm done. Yeah, this was freakin' eleven pages, and then half of another. Please be nice, and Review. Tell me what you think!!