Disclaimer: I don't own the poem "I Know an Old Lady" nor Naruto. They belong to Alan Mills and Masashi Kishimoto respectively.
And thank you to cutsycat for looking over and editing this for me.
Dedication: Imperial Mint. This is for you for being so awesome. I realise I've never written a story for you before, even though you definitely deserve one. So I hope you enjoy this. (And now you know what I've been up to. Surprise!)
I Know a Young Ninja
I know a young ninja who swallowed a fly.
The old nursery rhyme began playing in Naruto's head the moment he felt that bug slide down his throat. A simple taijutsu spar with Lee had found him being kicked high up in the air and landing to a skidding halt on the ground, catching flies with his open mouth along the way. Not that he even noticed he had swallowed a bug until it was too late.
Shrugging it off –hey, they were good protein –he got back into the fight, ready to retaliate. Those things didn't kill you after all. Toads ate them all the time. Though Naruto couldn't imagine why. Why didn't toads eat chocolate or something; better yet, why not ramen?
But even after all his training with Jiraiya and regimented –non-ramen – dieting he was still getting his ass kicked and eating flies.
Where was the logic in that?
Naruto glared at Lee across the training field as he got up and dusted himself off. Lee was already in his taijutsu stance again, his fingers folding in a gesture of come hither to Naruto.
Naruto leapt forward and ran back; he would win this thing if it was the last thing he did.
With that said, Naruto started landing punches and kicks like the skilled future Hokage he was.
Lee was going down.
I don't know why he swallowed a fly; perhaps he'll die.
It had been another hard day. Another really hard day, Naruto thought as he climbed into bed. Another failed attempt at bringing Sasuke home and to top it all off, Jiraiya reported that the Akatsuki were on the move again. As in after him.
Great. Just great.
As if he didn't have enough problems worrying him already. The Powers that Be just had to throw the Akatsuki into the mix. Well bring on the apocalypse.
Tucking himself deep under the covers, Naruto's head sunk into his pillow and let his tired eyes roam the room. Despite how dead-on-his-feet tired he was Naruto couldn't seem to shut his eyes. Instead, they wandered off to the corners of his room, closing in on the progress of a tiny spider scuttling up the wall. A Daddy Longlegs perhaps? Where was it going anyway? How did it get in here in the first place? He remembered Sakura telling him something about spiders once. Or maybe it was Iruka. Did he read it somewhere? Anyway, a human supposedly eats an average of 10 spiders in their sleep each year. He wasn't sure if he believed that, it was kind of stupid when you think about it. He was a ninja! Like he wouldn't wake up from something trying to commit suicide and throw itself down his throat? And what creature would do something like that in the first place? Didn't they stay away from moving, breathing things; especially humans.
I know a young ninja who swallowed a spider.
Still, wouldn't it be perfect? The spider could eat that bug he'd swallowed the other day. That is if, by some miracle, it was still in his stomach. Then again, there was always the Kyuubi. He was like a bug –a virus Naruto could never get rid of no matter what until the day he died. So he doubted the spider could do anything about Kyuubi, who was ten million times its size. It'd probably have better luck with the partially digested bug from the other day. Or maybe it was still floating in his stomach with all the ramen he had eaten. Did spiders eat bugs that were already dead before the spider found them?
In any case, if he did happen to swallow the spider and it did eat already-dead bugs then maybe it could spin a web in his stomach –shudder –and wrap that fly up like a sardine spun in its gossamer sticky stuff before devouring it, eating it inside his own stomach. How weird would that be? Or would it really be able to spin a web down there? Maybe Kyuubi would eat them both first.
He'd like to find that out. Maybe Kyuubi would tell him if Naruto did end up eating the spider. After all, he's been on a bug-eating spree anyway. Well, only that one bug really and it was an accident. Could that still be called a spree? It was not like he made a habit of eating bugs, so he supposed that eating just one was more than usual.
Okay, he admitted to himself, he really needed some sleep. If these were the kinds of thoughts that danced in his head at night, then he knew he needed some help. What would Sakura say tomorrow on their mission if he told her he was thinking about eating bugs and of bugs eating bugs inside of him and Kyuubi eating bugs inside of him –unless he was still counting Kyuubi as a bug, then he would have already said that?
Hm, she would probably get all grossed out, punch him into the ground for bringing it up, and then call him a baka as he tried nursing his bruised head. Lovely thoughts to go to sleep on. He could practically feel the phantom pain with just the thought of being punched into oblivion tomorrow.
Great; now he had a headache to top everything off.
Forcing his eyes closed, Naruto began taking long breaths in and out; he would be asleep in no time. If only he kept telling himself so.
Maybe he would dream of bugs.
I know a young ninja who swallowed a bird.
A crow.
Did he seriously just get a crow shoved down his throat?
He did. It hurt. And by Uchiha Itachi no less.
He scratched at his throat as feathers instead of the intended scream came out.
What kind of form of torture was this? Itachi couldn't possibly know about the spider he might have swallowed a week ago.
Why was he even thinking of that dastardly spider and bug again, especially at a crucial time like this? Now he was just being silly. But what was there to do but find something to laugh at when your throat burned and your stomach was screaming in agony at the feeling of a mace rolling around in it?
How absurd, he swallowed a bird.
What was Itachi saying now? That he had finally grown enough? Well he had gotten a lot taller since Itachi last saw him, if he did say so himself. What was he saying about Sasuke? Of course he would do anything it took to get his best friend back. Was that a challenge? He'd find a way to save both Konoha and Sasuke; believe it.
He just told Itachi that, right? Maybe it was still all in his head. He wasn't sure anymore in a genjutsu. They really messed with one's head.
"Take care Naruto," Itachi said with a finality that snapped Naruto from his thoughts and had him staring again at the young man in front of him; his eyes were truly mesmerising in all their intense determination and iciness. "Watch out for Sasuke."
Did he mean keep an eye out for Sasuke and bring him back, or 'watch out,' as in Sasuke is dangerous?
Naruto nodded on reflex, tucking Itachi's words in the back of his mind to mentally go over the different ways to interpret them later. For now he was fixed on Itachi's eyes that were slowly becoming darker and darker, growing wider and wider, until his pitch black figure morphed and broke into a flock of ravens, flapping loudly in all different directions.
"Itachi!"
Too late.
He was gone.
Shivers ran down Naruto's spine and he suppressed the desperate urge to call Itachi back –as fruitless as he knew that would be. Why would he call back someone who wanted him dead? Although he had kept on his promise of just wanting to talk –if you overlook the shoving a crow down his throat –that didn't mean Naruto was stupid enough to suddenly trust Itachi.
And yet he couldn't suppress the inexplicable desire to see him again; to see his eyes again. It was like when a person leaves a conversation too early and you really needed to tell them something, even if it was only pointless banter that wouldn't lead anywhere. Or maybe it was closer to the feeling of never seeing that person again and you're not sure how you feel about them, but know that you can't let them go.
But all this was bizarre to Naruto, seeing as he wasn't even on speaking terms with Itachi to begin with. And besides, the crow had to mean something. It was probably a homing device or something, where Itachi would be able to track him down any time; anywhere. A parting gift?He didn't think so. And how did this have anything to do with helping Sasuke?
But despite the raw pain in his throat and stomach and the aching in his head at all these confusing riddles which Itachi spewed with such little effort, all he could hear were Itachi's last words repeating in his head.
"Watch out for Sasuke."
He swallowed the bird to catch the spider
He was literally a fly being drawn towards the spider's web now. And to make the situation even better, he was trying to call the crazy spider to him faster. What was he out of his mind? Itachi was dangerous!
Firmly shutting his jaw before he made good on his urge to get Itachi back, Naruto began looking around him to get his bearings back. He hadn't even realised he was out of the genjutsu. What was Itachi doing to his head? He had a mission to finish!
Itachi was dead.
That was the latest news.
Sasuke had killed Itachi and then joined Akatsuki. There was probably much more to the story, but that was all anyone in Konoha knew at the moment. Naruto was literally banging down the Hokage's door to go after Sasuke again and give him a bloody piece of his mind and work on dragging him back to Konoha, but as expected, he was having little luck on that end. But what Tsunade, his friends, and the rest of Konoha did not understand was that it was more than that. It wasn't just about going after Sasuke again right after they had returned from a failed mission to do just that, it was also the need to confront Sasuke and make sure it was true. Had he really killed Itachi? Was Itachi really dead?
He didn't know why he was questioning it. That should be it; good enough for him. Itachi was dead.
Naruto shook his head. He should be happy, right? The Akatsuki member in charge of his capture and death was dead himself. Naruto had, in a sense, won! For now at least.
Right?
Wrong; regret is a horrible thing. The regret of not calling Itachi back on that fateful day lashed inside of him like whitecaps on a stormy day. Those days you know you shouldn't be out on the water in the first place, yet when had common sense ever hindered Naruto? Of course he knew that Itachi was dangerous and that he should be glad the man was dead; and yet, here he was wishing the man was alive again so he could – what? –have a conversation with him. There were no words for this.
It was just…The way Itachi was looking at him that day. He couldn't get it out of his head.
Those eyes….his eyes….there was something missing….
They were black. Coal black. No spinning Sharingan, Mangekyou, or any other kind; just intense pure black. They stared at him as though waiting for something. Had he expected Naruto to do something? Had he wanted Naruto to call him back as he vanished into a cloak of ravens before Naruto's confused and, lest he admit it, slightly frightened eyes?
No, of course he hadn't. That would be silly.
Then why did Naruto feel guilty now? Why did he feel like he should have done something to save Itachi from death? And why did he feel like Itachi was still waiting for him to save him? How odd that sounded, even to his own ears.
And yet –
A green mountain. A small red house attached to the side of a stone hill. An indistinguishable man in a black tank and Capri pants standing by a warm fire, which was casting dark glares on his face.
–there was another vision. They had been coming ever since he first heard the news of Itachi's death. It was always the same mountain, woods, house, and, occasionally, mysterious man at the window or doorway, who always seemed to be waiting for something. For what, Naruto didn't know. But whenever these visions ended Naruto always felt the need to pack his bag and go find that mysterious place himself; something in his gut told him that it was indeed a real place in this world that was calling for him to come forth. Calling for him to abandon his duty to the village and forget the world; to just let his gut lead his feet and figure it out from there.
Then he would shake the feeling off a second later and attend to whatever business he had been doing before his "daydreams". This particular vision had come during a bout of paperwork on independent research requests, which he was responsible for as the Hokage's third-hand man. Yes, Shizune, as the best friend and cousin of Tsunade's dead loved one, came first to him. Ah well; though he wouldn't publicize the title, third-hand man suited him just fine for this situation. After all, he, Naruto, was being made Hokage eventually; not Shizune.
But that was another thing entirely. Hokage. The mere mention of his dream used to drive him wild, enticing a huge goofy grin on his face no matter where he was or what he was doing. But now he was seeing it for what it really was: just another job for a top shinobi like himself. But this was no sinecure, far from. In fact, being Hokage happened to require more work and tedious hours than any other job in the village. It was good that he was getting a reality check now, he supposed, before he got the actual job and all and found this out through unwanted experience. Still, he was disappointed that his dream job seemed to have lost its glamour. Like a shiny toy that had been passed around too many times until it wasn't as entrancing as the day you received it.
He knew he was being childish and stupid and immature. But he didn't care. Sometimes he liked to blame it on the visions. That the visions were robbing him of his concentration on his dream, giving him another, replacement, goal to achieve: find that mysterious place and the man who lives there. Why was it so important? Well, why was he getting them in the first place? He didn't need Tsunade giving his head a check to know that he was either going crazy or that someone was responsible for sending them as a calling of some sort.
But what?
A young raven-haired boy, no older than ten, circled a man twice his size. Both had a pair of kunai in each hand, poised ready at waist level, and narrowing their eyes in concentration at one another.
The older man, who could not have been older than 25 really, was just about to open his mouth when the boy darted forward like lightening and struck. Quick jabs to the man's sides, an undercut to his legs, and a final spin before holding the man at metal point to the small of his back. It was over before it had even begun. Yes, the other man had fought back, but it seemed like a no-brainer who was the stronger of the two.
"Dead," the boy said in a low, serious voice.
The man nodded, seemingly unconcerned that this small boy had just beaten him in less than a minute and was still holding a sharp weapon to his back, making him quite vulnerable at the moment. "Best six out of eight?"
"Fine." The boy released his weapon and stood back with a combination of stiff indifference and a natural grace. "Then I want to go to lunch."
"Of course." The man nodded again.
"The sweet tea shop next to the place that serves my favourite dangos," the boy clarified, though from the way the man rolled his eyes, it seemed to be an unneeded explication.
Adjusting his green vest on his shoulders, as though the kunai had ruffled the cloth somehow, the man turned to face the boy again, who was clad in similar gear, and they resumed their previous positions.
And there was yet another unidentifiable memory, Naruto noted as he rubbed his eyes from the harsh sting of having been open while that scene was flashing through his head.
Although he had an idea of whom that boy was – without the obvious clue of the uncanny resemblance to his best friend – Naruto wasn't putting anything into stone just yet. Because either he was receiving the memories of a dead man as a freaky parting gift –which was odd in itself because he hadn't known the man well when he had received the "gift" – or Itachi was somehow still alive out there and calling to Naruto to come find him.
A young man, in his early teens, stood in a dark room, harsh red lights casting long glares on the floor, but otherwise leaving the man untouched in the shadows. He didn't move, didn't speak; didn't do anything. But he seemed to be waiting for something; his shoulder's tensing very slightly when suddenly a door opened behind him. A sliver of blue light momentarily touching the man's face before being abruptly cut off a second later.
"Uchiha Itachi."
The man, now officially identified as Itachi, nodded at the stern voice coming from a dark, formless figure at the door.
"I am the leader of the Akatsuki. You are to call me Leader, nothing more, nothing less. I know who you are, but you will never know who I am. Is that understood?"
Itachi nodded, it was clear from the leader's voice that he wouldn't be leaving this room if he did anything else.
"Good," Leader said, odd sadistic satisfaction in his voice. "You may go. Orochimaru will show you to your room."
Well, he couldn't deny it anymore. It was Uchiha Itachi.
To date, he had had twenty-seven visions of the man in the mountains and the thirty-nine memories of Itachi's life that had lasted from a few minutes to several hours. Never in chronological order, yet Naruto was able to order Itachi's life in his head from a three-year old surviving the war with Kumo to being the youngest ANBU captain in history, trying to bear the brunt of the anger, jealousy, and suspicion from his disgruntled coworkers, and finally to his time in the Akatsuki –which Naruto now realised he was infiltrating on Konoha's behalf. To say he felt guilty and a little sorry about all the bad thoughts he had ever had against Itachi would be a euphemism.
Naruto could no longer say that he didn't have at least a good idea of who Uchiha Itachi was. He was quickly becoming fascinated and, dare he say, slightly enamoured by this man. But all this thinking, understanding, reflecting, and speculating was pointless really because Itachi was dead. And one could not meet nor come to personally know a dead man, basically because he was dead and Naruto was not. There was no way he could still be alive. Sasuke had killed him, and Sasuke was never one to not be anything but thorough when completing his goals. So it wasn't possible.
It wasn't.
In any case, he really needed to get back to work before Tsunade came back from her hourly sake break.
"Naruto, those better not be the same files I put on your desk an hour and a half ago."
Too late.
He was finally doing it; going out into dangerous waters with his head held high.
He was leaving the village to follow his visions and "find Itachi" –or at least the cabin. And he couldn't be happier.
Whether Itachi was alive now or not that place did exist, and Itachi had lived there at one point, so Naruto was determined to find it. Visions and memories weren't enough anymore, he needed something tangible now. Mainly, he supposed, because he had been seeing some of Itachi's more intimate memories lately. Itachi and Shisui, together, had been haunting his dreams for the past couple of months. It was making him crazy. He was losing sleep as his mind wrought over the issue more times than he thought possible. And then, just as those memories ended, and he thought he was finally receiving some kind of relief from it all, his subconscious decided to start its own fantasies, where him and Itachi were now the main event. And if the ones with Shisui had been driving him crazy, these newer ones were putting him into an early death. Now, not only were his daily thoughts centred on Itachi and his latest dreams, his libido was speaking up as well. He'd met the man only three times –the visions and memories not counting –and yet here he was, more interested in one person, in one man, than anyone ever before. And Kami he hoped that Itachi was somehow alive out there. Because he couldn't stand just sitting around in Konoha and living off each dream, vision, and memory a second longer.
So he had sent in his request to Tsunade for an unspecified extended vacation this morning. By doing so, he knowingly gave up his spot as top candidate for Hokage, implying that if a good nominee came along while Naruto was gone, Naruto would forfeit the position willingly. And despite how many times Tsunade asked him to reconsider, pressed him for more answers, and threatened to beat him into the hospital to knock some sense into him, Naruto had left her office relatively unharmed with a knowing and pleased smile on his face.
From there, he allowed his gut and feet to cut a path for him.
Naruto was on the road –nine days into his journey, to be precise. Camping for the night under a rocky overhanging, he was just letting his eyes drop shut when another onslaught of memories came.
"You really have become much stronger little brother."
Itachi smiled that mysterious, knowing smile Naruto had come to love so much. But this time he looked on with dread. For it was one of the last times Itachi would smile like that. It was his final fight with Sasuke.
Naruto had already seen the fight between Itachi and Sasuke as well as Itachi's final moments. But not like this…
It was like he was seeing it through a whole different pair of eyes; not like seeing yourself from a memory, but watching the whole scene from above with a sense of detachment to the whole procession. This time he saw both Sasuke and Itachi in the same light as though from a bird's eye view; a third person perspective.
"Sorry Sasuke," Itachi wheezed out in his last breath, "This is the last time."
Sasuke's eyes, wide with fear and depleting sanity, could only watch in horror as Itachi brought his hand up. Not to take his younger brother's eyes, for Itachi had never intended to do that in the first place, but to flick him on the forehead. One. Last. Time. A bloody trail made its way into his eye and down his face, but Sasuke didn't seem to notice as his Itachi's head hit the wall beside him and his body finally fell to the ground, never to get up.
Naruto tried to close his eyes to the horrifying images; Itachi's limp, bloody hand filling his vision like never before. He wanted to block it all out, but seeing as the images were in his head, skin over his pupils wasn't helping. Of all the memories and visions he had experienced, this was the one he hated the most.
Naruto felt an annoying tickle trickle down his face, but he was too shocked frozen to wipe the salty water away. Was this the last bit he would see of Itachi in his dying moment? Bloodied fingers; fingers bloodied for Sasuke's sake alone.
But the scene didn't fade to black like before.
Instead, the focus drew farther and farther away, as though it were flying backwards from the scene, but with eyes still fixed on Sasuke and Itachi, the two brothers lying next to each other. Both dead to the world, but closer than they had been in years.
Abittersweet pain ripped through Naruto's heart, so foreign and yet so familiar. Another feeling he was ignoring at the moment, his physical body all but numb to the world as well.
So he really was dead? As in dead-dead. Naruto wasn't going to see anyone if he ever reached that red cabin in the woods, was he? It would just be an empty house with a possible trinket or two that he could take back to remember the man who kept up a brilliant charade for his little brother right to the very end.
Naruto opened his eyes, the light of the fire flooding his vision; the death still imprinted in his mind, but no longer playing in his head like a horrifyingly fascinating Hitchcock film. He was grateful that it was over. But at the same time he couldn't help but ask himself why that one was so different?
Did that mean it was the last one?
Naruto sucked in a dose of ashy air as he gasped in shock, immediately coughing it back up as he tried to fight the hurt in his chest and throat and the burn behind his eyes. Hacking away, Naruto stumbled back from the fire, barely aware of his movements, his mind suddenly trying to reawaken the scene from moments ago. He couldn't lose it. He couldn't lose him. If Itachi was really dead, then that was the last Naruto would ever see of him. Dead or not, Naruto wanted to see his face just once more.
"Meet me at the Uchiha hideout." Itachi stood before Sasuke with his usual calmness as though nothing important was happening, certainly not Sasuke trying to kill him. A raven perched on his shoulder, looking down at Sasuke with the same calculating eyes as Itachi.
Another vision. Naruto subconsciously sighed in relief. This took place right before the battle. Why was he seeing this again?
Itachi stared at Sasuke a moment longer with his usual cold, challenging stare.
A slight movement under his cloak broke the spell. The raven on his shoulder released a loud caw before flying off. A moment later, Itachi's form exploded into a flock of ravens that flew off in all different directions before Sasuke's surprised stare.
As the last feather fell in the now empty room, the scene went black.
It was the battle scene between Sasuke and Itachi, fading away again, as though the viewer was flying backwards at defying speeds.
Splotches of black dotted the memory's vision.
"People live their lives bound by what they see as 'right' and 'true'. That's what they call reality." Itachi's voice echoed as the image blurred in and out; or perhaps that was the flames of Amaterasu swallowing the surrounding forest whole in their need to consume and leave a lasting impact on the earth before they were called back by their new master.
"However, 'right' and 'true' are vague terms."
Was Itachi's voice echoing in Naruto's head from the fight or was this Itachi speaking again in his final vision? Was this what Itachi had seen and thought with his last breath? Visions of flying away from the whole scene and leaving it behind him?
Finally, the flaming forest was far behind and only green, vibrant trees could be seen below. And they were zooming closer and closer to one as the viewer descended.
The view changed to see a black raven alighting on a strong, thick branch of a tall tree.
The raven slowly bowed its head down to touch the tip of its beak to the bark, unimaginable weariness dragging its whole body down.
Naruto felt the need to reach out and cradle the bird when –
The raven raised a wing and brushed it against its perch. As the bird brought the appendage back to its side, its whole body began to elongate. A moment later, Uchiha Itachi, looking no worse for the wear beyond the obvious lethargy keeping his head bowed to the tree, lay there.
Naruto stopped breathing.
"Their reality could turn out to be an illusion," Itachi muttered to the smooth wood pressed against his lips. "Everyone is living by their own assumptions."
Itachi…
Naruto blinked. He breathed in a burst of air. He took in great gulps; the only audible sound in his ears was the sucking in of air, as though he himself was the one just "brought back from the dead".
He was alive?!
"Thank you Naruto," he whispered gutturally. "Thank you."
Thank him. Why?
Itachi sat up with his head still bowed down and turned away, to rip open his shirt. There, the outline of a raven was lightly etched into the skin, like a faded tattoo.
It was the birds. It was all about the birds. It was always about the birds. It was the bird on his shoulder when he first met Sasuke; the one that flew off before the fight. Itachi was the bird.
And then Naruto knew. Not from a sudden burst of understanding, but from the explanation that Naruto finally realised Itachi was sending him.
Naruto had his mouth and eyes opened wide, several feathers flying from his lips as the crow began to make its way down into his stomach.
Itachi stared intensely at the convulsing blond, his eyes watching; waiting.
He swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
"You wanted to speak to me?" the deep, endless voice of the Kyuubi no Kitsune echoed in every space and crevice possible. Suddenly standing tall and forbidding in front of Itachi.
"I think you know what I want," Itachi responded; so small in front of the fiery demon, but voicing his words as though he was a hundred times his actual size. He spoke with authority while keeping his attitude and tone respectful and wary of the great legend before him.
Kyuubi smiled. Or, if one could call the pulling back of his black lips to reveal sharp, white, pointy teeth a smile. "You give the boy some of your power, memories, and essence with this bird; thereby offering it to me as well. What do you want in return?"
"Knowledge." Itachi bowed his head in reverence, not meeting the demon in the eye. "Knowledge of how to survive while dying by Sasuke's hand."
The nine tails swirled around Kyuubi's head as the fox chuckled in amusement. "You wish to let a part of yourself die for your brother." It was a statement; Kyuubi had already met Sasuke personally as well as lived in Naruto's head long enough to know who the surviving Uchihas were –Madara excluded, of course. "And you still want to live after all is said and done."
"Yes."
"Without the Sharingan. Without the power. And with everyone believing you to be dead."
"Not everyone," Itachi said as he bowed again in apology for contradicting the demon.
"No. Not everyone." Kyuubi paused, looking Itachi up and down with a severe, burning look. "You know that this cannot take place without a price."
"I know," Itachi could feel the burning eyes on his whole body, but did not dare look up and defy the demon. "I am willing to accept all the repercussions."
"And what if he doesn't come?"
"Then I hope he lives a long and happy life," Itachi answered, not missing a beat. "I'll watch him from afar as best I can."
"Would it still be worth it?"
"This is my reality," he nodded, "to obtain the light. It's my duty to watch over others, even without them knowing. I was planning on eternity anyway; just not one measured through typical means. And not through Sasuke's eyes either. I am doing this my own way. The one selfish thing I wish to be granted," he stated. "This time it won't be about Sasuke. It's for Naruto."
"And if he does come. What of your brother?"
Itachi knew that Kyuubi was just messing with his head. He did not care if Itachi made a poor decision with his life or not. He probably had not had a proper plaything to mess with for years.
"I've given Sasuke everything I could for a strong future; I've given him my light. And while I would like him to return to Konoha and lead the way for a new Uchiha line, I've decided to putting myself at odds with him and contest his future after our battle. He is strong enough to know what he wants and how to get it. But it's up to Naruto to decide who to choose from there on out."
"And of Naruto's promise to get Sasuke back?"
"Like I said, Naruto will make the right choice. But it is his to make." Itachi held his breath. He had already gone over all the scenarios in his head many times before while working his whole plan out. And now that he was finally here before the Kyuubi he wasn't backing down from a few taunts and jeers.
"You know I don't have to grant this. You are not giving me anything I could ever need or care for," Kyuubi tossed a tail aside to the ground, his head turning away in apathy.
Itachi closed his eyes. "Yes. There is nothing I could give you that would ever truly interest you. But I was hoping that you would see it as an offering all the same. What did humans ever give to the gods that such high deities could take use of? Wasn't it more of the idea of worship and praise than the actual worth of the sacrifice?"
Itachi fell to his knees and touched his nose to the floor in submission.
Kyuubi chuckled to himself, looking down at Itachi with a half grin on his face. "I was under the impression you humans thought sacrifice had to do with the smell. But…"he trailed off, letting Itachi fill in the blanks himself.
"It is on your whim whether you chose to grant or deny this favour." Itachi relaxed his hands forward in front his bowed body; he would not show anxiety or fear.
The dripping of water down the bars of the cage that was just barely keeping half the Kyuubi's body constrained was the only sound stretching for minutes upon hours upon days. The Kyuubi's stare did not waver from Itachi's form, nor did Itachi move an inch from his uncomfortable position as he waited for the Kyuubi to declare his decision.
"Fine," the grand fox sighed. "This is barely worth my time. You're as unwavering as this brat," he said with a small sideways nod, referring to the boy who contained him. "Watch me closely, because I'm not doing this again. You will split your body, not a shadow or bird clone, but two veritable versions of yourself. It is up to you to choose which powers and memories to put into each. If the first one dies, then some of the memories will return, but the power will be gone forever. Knowing Uchihas as well as I despise to, you no doubt have some pitiful plan already set in your head for that power. You've already lost my interest so I'd rather you not divulge."
Itachi let a small relieved smile grace his face, which was still bowed to the ground and hidden from the demon.
"Are you watching?" The fox growled.
Itachi lifted his head, face devoid of any expression, and concentrated his Sharingan on the hand seals Kyuubi was showing him in his mind, along with the briefest of explanations.
Once the information was tucked safely in his head, he knew the meeting was at its end.
"A thousand thank you's, Kyuubi-sama," Itachi said gravely with one last bow to the great demon.
The fox grunted, now completely disinterested in the man before him. And with a flick of his tail Itachi was removed from his presence and found himself back in front of the screaming Naruto.
A small smile, barely there, graced his lips for but a moment while Naruto was currently incapacitated.
I don't know why he swallowed a fly, perhaps he'll die.
Reality.
Who decides what is real or not? Is it what is tangible; what is a held belief; what you've experienced; what you have known all your life? Was reality really only what you make of it? Itachi had given his light to Sasuke –Susano'o, Amaterasu, and most importantly, his lasting protection. He had traded eyes with Sasuke. Not in experience or understanding, but in power and authority. Itachi had given up part of his life, light, power, and position as an Uchiha for Sasuke.
All for his little brother.
Naruto swallowed. He had completely forgotten his promise to Sasuke the moment the visions had started coming. It had crossed his mind since then to find Sasuke again and try to drag him back, but as more and more of Uchiha Itachi was revealed to him, he no longer saw the need to save Sasuke. Why save the one who has been given so much light from both Itachi and Naruto himself, and yet has refused to come out of the darkness he has purposefully plunged himself into?
Itachi was finally sitting up, his back against the trunk, eyes closed, and his chest heaving to catch every breath.
Naruto closed his eyes tight; holding onto the image like it was his own last breath. He was back to the scene after the fight; after Itachi's "death". So what happened next?
Itachi brought his knees up to his chest, his hands circling around to encase them in a relaxed grip, and opened his eyes. The once dark black was now hazy and slightly grey across the cornea.
He was blind.
Naruto shook his head.
So that was the price Kyuubi had been talking about? Itachi hadn't been able to redeem his sight and instead lost it all. He was completely blind and Naruto knew there was nothing he could do about it. This wasn't something he could fix with a positive attitude and a smile. Or maybe that was exactly what Itachi needed.
Either way, he didn't care if Itachi could no longer see. All that mattered was that the man was alive to not be able to see, Naruto thought as he touched his aching jaw, finally feeling the smile that was stretching the skin taut. He didn't think he would ever be able to take this goofy grin off his face.
Itachi was finally free; finally free to live his own life, one not held down by anything or anyone. But most important:
Itachi was alive!
It took three months, resting in five villages, asking a bazillion people for information, and getting into a few scuffles involving enemy shinobi, but he was almost there. He knew it; he could just sense he was getting close to achieving his goal. The energy and anticipation was buzzing in his veins, making goose bumps rise on his arms and his breath come in short, anticipating bursts.
Taking a look at his surroundings, he realised it had suddenly gotten much colder. Where was he anyway? It had been a good week since he had left the last village and was directed farther north to where there were "reputed" green mountains relatively untouched by man. Myths and curses had made them a no-man's land; and that was exactly where Naruto knew he needed to head.
So despite the fact that he had no clue where he was at the moment, and was wishing he had brought a thicker coat, he didn't feel lost.
At least not yet he didn't.
Rubbing his arms with chakra-covered hands to conserve some warmth in his body, Naruto was pretty sure he was climbing higher and higher with each step. If he was running any faster his ears would be popping. Though he had not actually seen the mountains themselves at any time during his travels, he knew he must be in them. Now he knew why they were merely reputed, they were mountains that no one could see from the outside. Ingenious.
He didn't know where in these mountains the cabin (and hopefully Itachi) was, but he knew he was close.
Naruto breathed out a breath of cold air, watching the carbon dioxide appear and swiftly disappear before his eyes. Slowing to a walk for a moment to take a reprieve, he hiked his pack further up his shoulders and felt around behind him to retrieve his water bottle. Letting the water flow down his parched throat, Naruto let his head fall backwards and he closed his eyes in opposition to the cold pressing against his sinuses. He pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. The cold air was creeping into his body and refusing to come out. Who knew what kind of twisted chakra had a mind of its own on hidden mountains like this? It was probably trying to slowly kill him from the inside out. But he wouldn't allow that, he had to find Itachi first.
"There's no place like home?" he asked the air tentatively. Who knew what would work? This had all started with him swallowing a stupid crow after all –or had it started with the fly?
Opening his eyes, he expected to see a path of gold fanning out from his feet, or at the very least a darn arrow. Though he hoped he wouldn't be miraculously sporting a pair of ruby red slippers.
He looked down. Nope. That was a relief.
Sighing, Naruto resumed his search while pushing his chakra outward to keep the cold out as best he could. Where was a vision when you needed one? He hadn't "seen" anything since that night under the overhang nine days into his journey. It was almost disheartening, if he hadn't known with such confidence that he was, indeed, supposed to be doing this. His gut was adamant about that. But that was as much as he would believe, because if he even thought about too much…
All thoughts abruptly halted.
This was it.
Naruto blinked; his mind focused solely on taking in the sight before him.
These were the trees; that was the red cabin, way up on the hill, attached to the rock.
He'd made it! He'd had done it! He'd found it!
Unable to contain his relief and joy any longer, Naruto shouted out to the world that he was here as he ran up the remaining pine slopes.
"I found you!" A huge, hundred-watt smile graced his entire face as his eyes never left the house ahead.
Just as he was reaching some kind of plateau in front of a path of stepping stones that lead to the house, he heard the soft sound of a door creaking open. Soon, it was followed by a deep and amused chuckle coming from the man he had expected. The man who was waiting just outside the door to the familiar red abode, looking more at peace than Naruto had ever seen him in any of his visions. He was in a red robe devoid of all clouds, a funny round, black hat atop his head, lounge pants fitting snugly to his form, and his feet completely bare.
Of course it was Itachi.
"You found me," Itachi answered in his usual baritone, one Naruto that had heard only months ago, and yet, had been missing the real one for what seemed like years.
Naruto sighed in relief as he hopped over the last few steps to stand before the man who had haunted his nights and days for months.
Without waiting for any further invitation, Naruto shuffled his feet to close the distance between them and threw himself into the man's arms. He took in all that was Itachi –alive and well –burying his nose into the taller man's shoulder and refusing to budge. A few things that a memory lacked were smell, touch, and taste.
With that last thought in mind, Naruto lifted his head to connect their lips for one long, slow, and passionate kiss. Five months of pent up libido was finally finding a bit of release. He would take his time.
And apparently Itachi felt the same, if his tongue pushing against Naruto's lip was any indicator.
This. This was what he had been waiting for. This blew Sasuke's kiss way, way out of the water, because Itachi was on a whole new level.
Finally breaking for air, Itachi leaned his head down against Naruto's and chuckled softly, his eyes closing softly.
"It's about time."
Naruto answered with a chuckle in kind as he lightly flicked Itachi on the shoulder.
"Yeah, well you were a little hard to find."
Itachi just smiled mysteriously; and yet not that mysteriously for someone who had "seen" him his whole life. "So are you here to stay?"
Naruto rolled his eyes as he nodded his head, giving a grunt of assent in case Itachi could not feel his head nodding. Why else would he be here?
"Konoha and the rest of the world can take care of themselves."
Taking a step back, Itachi took both of Naruto's hands and stretched the blond's arms out. Naruto could feel Itachi's chakra feeling him out, checking that he was relatively unharmed. A few seconds later he nodded with satisfaction; while his eyes remained blank and dark, his mouth relaxed into an easy smile.
"You seem no worse for the wear," Itachi murmured approvingly.
Naruto nodded with enthusiastic affirmation, knowing Itachi could definitely feel it this time with his senses covering Naruto's entire body.
"Come inside." Itachi tugged at Naruto's arms while taking a step back himself. "I have some tea on the stove."
Naruto felt light-headed as he finally made it past the threshold of the house, soon to be their house, and followed Itachi into the kitchen.
A few minutes later found the both of them sitting at the table, hot cups of sweet tea in front of them, and light conversation flowing through the airy room with comfortable ease.
Naruto regaled his experience of having Itachi in his head for the past several months; of the confusion, denial, uncertain hopes, and final decisions that resulted from it. Itachi punctured the tale with light, amused laughter and a few escaped undignified chortles. Naruto then proceeded to reproach Itachi for risking his life like that, going to the Kyuubi no less, but then saying that he also understood why Itachi had done what he did, all for Sasuke. He also expressed that he wished they both could have figured out how to save the boy sooner. Naruto then got Itachi up to speed on the happenings in the shinobi world, and how he had heard Konohamaru was in training to take his place as future Hokage –in a few years, that is. He finally asked, to Itachi's slight confusion, why the other hadn't laid a yellow-brick road along the mountain path to make his trip a bit easier.
Meanwhile, as Naruto used useless hand gestures to punctuate every word to Itachi, he let his eyes peruse the raven's body up and down. No doubt aware of his companion's leering stare, Itachi calmly took the scrutiny, leisurely sipping at his cup of tea with his pinky out. It wasn't until the sound of small paws, lightly scratching at the floor, met Naruto's ears that he broke his gaze to see an orange tabby cat looking up expectantly at Itachi.
And suddenly, it was like Naruto was back months ago, where it had all begun, with the nursery rhyme spinning in his head again.
I know a young ninja who swallowed a cat.
Nope. Naruto was not going near that.
おわり
And there you have it. Itachi is NOT dead.
~ See, my dear? I hope you like all the little references at the end. I figured if I was going to paint the whole picture, it needed every last bit of our little fantasy and more –minus Minato's presence and Itachi's proclamation, of course. Sorry I couldn't add that. Unless you want it in a short epilogue. ;)
Hope you like it. You were most definitely the inspiration! ^-^