"Hurry UP, Itachi! We have to GO!" Kisame was standing in the door frame, practically yelling at the top of his lungs.

Itachi faced the full-length mirror at the foot of his bed and adjusted his headband. "One moment, Kisame. Just be patient for a second, will you?"

"Ugh," said Kisame, leaving Itachi alone in his room. The pair was getting ready to go on yet another mission to capture the Kyuubi. They had failed to kidnap him every time- the little freak was somehow so elusive. Itachi was always having to go on this mission, since he was from Konoha and knew his way around best.

He hated having to go. Every time he went, he got homesick all over again, and the ghost of his past haunted him stronger when he was there. But what could he do? He couldn't turn down a mission.

Itachi closed his eyes and let out a tired sigh. At least Sasuke wasn't there anymore.

Are you ready for me, Sasuke? Are you strong enough to defeat me?

"Itachi Uchiha?"

An unfamiliar voice pierced his thoughts. Itachi's mangekyou eyes flew open and he quickly turned to face the stranger.

His eyesight was deteriorating, but he could see that whoever was in his room was someone he had never before encountered. It was a young woman- her aqua hair fell nearly all the way down to her feet, and her eyes were large and crimson, lined with thick lashes. She was petite and small, and she wore an elegant, sleeveless white gown. The strangest thing about her, however, was that she had no chakra.

Immediately, Itachi crouched into a fighting stance and whipped out three shuriken, tucked between his fingers. "Who are you?" he questioned, narrowing his eyes.

The woman's eyes widened, and she held up her pale hands. "I'm not here to fight, Itachi. I-"

"How did you even get into the lair?" Itachi interrupted. "Only an Akatsuki member knows how to get in. And I've never seen you before." This must be some kind of clone jutsu, he thought to himself.

"Please, Itachi. I'm not a ninja. You have to listen to what I say-" The woman never finished her sentence, because Itachi acted quickly. Swiftly, he flung the three shuriken from his hand, and one at a time, they struck the woman in the chest. She gasped in shock, but nothing happened. She didn't disappear the way a clone would have.

Itachi watched in surprise as she looked down at the three shuriken stabbing her chest, and promptly pulled one from her skin.

What? Itachi thought, his eyes widening in shock. There's no blood- she's not even phased by the impact!

The woman dropped the clean, bloodless shuriken to the floor, then proceeded to remove the other two, dropping them to her feet as well. Itachi could see the stab wounds, simply dark gashes in her pale skin, healing themselves instantly.

"That was rude," she said simply. "I told you, I'm not here to fight," she said, held up her hands. "Please, just listen to what I have to say."

Itachi continued to analyze her from where he stood. Clearly, she was no ninja- she was so petite, and had no muscle. And the way she was dressed as though she were some kind of goddess wasn't exactly the way a ninja would dress.

"What are you?" Itachi muttered. "Are you even human?"

The woman shook her head. "No. My name is Amane, and I am an angel."

:)

Sasuke was having a similar experience.

"Chidori!" he yelled out as a ball of lightning materialized in his palm, lighting up the dark night.

Amane didn't have a chance to think. Sasuke ran at the speed of light and slammed his lightning-filled hand into her stomach, making her stumble against a tree behind her.

But before Sasuke knew it, the lightning was drawn out of her hand, into the woman's body, and had vanished.

Impossible! Her body absorbed the chidori. What kind of weird jutsu is this?

With a wave of her hands, Sasuke felt his feet being lifted high off the ground, and then it was his turn to slam into a tree. As his body made contact with the bark, he let out a pained oomph. But instead of falling to the ground, he stuck there as though he were in a Velcro suit.

"Sasuke." What was even stranger was the fact that she didn't appear to be in any kind of pain. "Please. I have to talk to you. It's about your brother."

Immediately, Sasuke stopped trying to struggle against the strange jutsu, and he looked down into Amane's red eyes. "How do you know Itachi? What do you know about him?" His confusion and blind rage had turned to desperate curiosity.

"I'm his guardian angel, as well as yours," she stated, as though this were an every day normal thing to say. "You're both in trouble, and I'm here to help you."

"Stop saying that!" Sasuke said in exasperation. "Angels... they don't exist! They're not real!"

"I'm standing right here, aren't I?" Amane said.

"Even if they did exist... they have wings!" Sasuke was back to struggling, but it was no use. He was completely bound. "Where... are yours?"

Amane frowned up at him. "I haven't earned them, yet," she said forlornly. "I have to pass a test." She didn't mention that this test had to do with Sasuke and his brother.

"You speak in riddles," Sasuke grimaced down at the feminine figure below. "If you know me so well, then prove it!"

:)

"I know the truth, Itachi. The truth about your clan."

Itachi drew in a sharp breath. But it was quicker than most people would have noticed, and he quickly composed himself again. "The truth is that I killed them all to obtain my mangekyou sharingan. If you think otherwise, then you are wrong." He was still crouched in his stance, looking at the mental patient who thought she was an angel from across the room.

"You did it," she said quietly, "to stop a war from happening. The one person you couldn't bring yourself to kill was Sasuke, your little brother."

Itachi froze. "No," he said. "No. This can't happen. No one can know." There were only a select few who knew the true story of Itachi's past. But they were sworn to secrecy. Who would have told? When would Sasuke find out?

Itachi couldn't let that happen.

:)

"You want me to prove it? I can do that. Last week, you wished something on a shooting star. You wished that you didn't have to live with yourself."

Sasuke was quiet. How did she know that?

"That... that still doesn't prove anything!" Sasuke quickly said before over thinking anything. "You might have seen me do it, you stalk-"

Before Sasuke could finish his insult, Amane shifted uncomfortably on the ground below. "You have a birthmark in the shape of a bulldog on your-"

"You sicko!" Sasuke screamed before she could finish her sentence. "You creep! You sicko-creepo!" Sasuke obviously wasn't thinking straight- he wanted nothing more but to hit this Amane in the face with his chidori, but he still couldn't move, and it wouldn't affect her.

Amane, who could sometimes be a little overly sensitive, drew in a sharp breath at the insults thrown her way. "What... what did you call me?" she said quietly.

Sasuke didn't hear her quiet voice. His eyes were raging as he looked down at her. "You're disgusting! I don't know where in my room you've been hiding, but I will find you next time, stalker!"

Amane's mouth dropped open, her eyebrows drawing together. "I an NOT a stalker!" she exclaimed, straightening and putting a delicate hand to her chest.

"You are too!" Sasuke yelled. "Now let me down! Dammit, let me down, you crazy hag!"

Sasuke had just made a huge mistake.

:)

In Itachi's moment of speechlessness, he could see the sudden change of Amane's expression. At first, she had looked submissive and calm. Now, in the blink of an eye, her expression turned dark, and a vein popped in her head.

"Being an angel," Amane began to explain, her voice dangerously low, "means that I can be in more place than one. In a sense, you are talking to a clone of me. This is not really me." She closed her eyes and straightened, her eyes straying from Itachi's. He wasn't sure what kind of attack she was planning, but he was ready, anyhow. "At the moment, I am also talking to Sasuke. And that little brother of yours just pissed me off." She drew in a deep breath. "Forgive me, Itachi. But it looks like that plan of yours to avenge the clan is about to change."

Suddenly, as if Amane had been shaking up a bottle of carbonated rage inside of her, she exploded and let out a cry of anger. As she yelled out, her eyes became beams of bright, blinding light. The next thing Itachi knew, his limbs were completely powerless, and he felt himself crashing through the window behind him.

:)

Amane screamed and banged her fists against the base of the tree. Sasuke could care less about the tantrum she was throwing. There had to be a way to get down- but how? He was completely powerless.

"You're a JERK, Sasuke!" Amane screamed. "The rudest jerk I've ever met!"

"You wouldn't be the first to say that," Sasuke said quietly, his head resting against the tree trunk. He let out a frustrated breath- no one should be able to beat him so easily, and he wasn't about to give up.

Until a bright light from beneath shone, and he was flung mercilessly through the air.

Now, the two Uchiha brothers were flying uncontrollably through the sky, both zooming straight at one another. Eventually, they met in the sky. But instead of colliding, the two flew straight through each other, as if they were spirits. Neither of them realized this, as they were moving so fast, but they both felt different somehow.

Suddenly, Itachi skidded across the grassy, forest floor, rolling ungracefully until he felt a tree trunk slam into his gut and stop his bumpy journey. He landed on the ground with a loud thump, and when he coughed, blood speckled the grass that was inches from his face.

Immediately, before his body could fully recover, Itachi opened his eyes and sat up with a groan, looking around the dark, clear forest around him.

Wait. Clear?

Itachi's vision was nearly perfect. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen so clearly. He could count the stars in the sky, or the leaves in the trees above, if he desired. What was happening?

Itachi rubbed his eyes and opened them again. Still clear.

And since when were his wrists wrapped in so many random bandages?

Looking down at his body, Itachi noticed that his clothes were completely different. His Akatsuki robe was missing, and his chest was exposed, skin paler than usual.

This was not his body. But it was familiar.

Thinking he must be crazy, he reached his hand up to feel his hair. His heart stopped when he felt the short spikes in his fingers. He was wearing no headband, either.

Ignoring his pain, Itachi shot up from the ground and ran through the trees. Surely this had to be a dream. Or a genjutsu.

Not long after he began running, Itachi came to the edge of a small clearing. In the middle was a little millpond. He immediately stopped running. Did he dare?

Before he could stop himself, he slowly began walking toward the edge of the pond, where carefree toads were croaking happily. He wished he was one of them at the moment.

Slowly, Itachi knelt down, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath before looking over the edge of the pond. And all he could do was stare.

For staring right back at him from the water was his little brother, Sasuke Uchiha.


Hello everyone!

There are a few things that I want to get straight before you get any further into the story:

This story takes place before their final battle. I'm not quite up-to-date with the Naruto series (I just barely started up again), and after Itachi died was about when I stopped watching. Mostly because Sasuke was pissing me off! Therefore, this story takes place WAY back when. So don't expect it to be at the same place in the series, because that is not happening ;) Just remember that as you're reading.

Make sure to review, and happy reading!