Me and Itachi resolved our differences. So it's all good now. Though I'll never look at him in the same way, ever again. In my head I'm always going to make fun of him for going crazy. But I can force him into being normal and having a good and happy life. Because that, my friends, is what writing fanfiction is all about.
I'm also sorry that I took so long updating. My reason is life.
And this story just got incredibly longer. Like... indefinately longer. I'm not really sure how it's going to end now.
Characters do not belong to me.
Temari cradled Itachi's head, tears streaming down her face. She was all by herself, in the cavernous building, everyone gone except for her and Itachi. "Don't go…" she whispered to him, stroking his hair.
He gave her a half hearted smile. "It's okay. My burden has been lifted. Sasuke knows the truth now."
Her head snapped up when she heard a footstep on the ground from behind her. "Who's there?" she asked, mentally preparing herself to fight should it prove necessary.
"Relax, Temari," a familiar voice, one she recognized as her brother's, said.
"Kankuro," she said, breathing out her relief but not moving from her spot cradling Itachi's head.
Kankuro walked up to her, eyeing the blood that covered his sister and the man she cared for. "What happened?" he asked cautiously.
"He...he fought with Sasuke. And he lost."
Kankuro was utterly torn. One of the most notorious murderers he'd ever heard of was lying in front of him, almost dead. It would be nothing to end the man's miserable existence. But doing so would hurt Temari tremendously. And as hard as Kankuro tried to convince himself that killing Itachi was the right course of action, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He couldn't hurt his sister. That's when he realized he had to keep Itachi alive. Even if it was only for Temari's sake, he had to keep the man alive.
He called the two med nins he'd brought with him out of the small group. "Can you try to heal this man?"
The young woman eyed Itachi, dubiously. "It will be difficult. But clearly he's already been given medical attention. That might help us." The man nodded his agreement to his colleague's appraisal. The two set off on their work, using their chakra to work the blood out of Itachi's lungs. Itachi was fighting delirium the whole time, thrashing about in a fever. Temari held his head still the whole time, whispering encouragement to him.
The two med nin eventually started getting drained. In one last desperate push, the female exhausted her chakra reserve and collapsed. She landed on Itachi's stomach heavily, startling him from his unconscious state. Mangekyou activated, he happened to peer into Temari's eyes, unintentionally pulling her into a frightening genjutsu. She collapsed then too. Itachi quickly followed, being in too much pain to remain conscious.
When Itachi woke up next, the face of Kisame was looking down at him. "So you decided not to die on me. I was a little worried when I saw your brother show up to disperse his lackeys."
Itachi only closed his eyes. He tried to remember what had happened. He didn't recall how he'd gotten in this little white room or most of what had happened after he'd squared off with Sasuke and told his brother why he'd killed every one. Sasuke would have a lot to ponder now. And Itachi couldn't help but think that Sasuke would set everything right. Even if it took years, Sasuke would make sure the world would survive. Another unanswered question presented itself. "Why are you here?" Itachi asked of Kisame.
"I stumbled on them carrying you, the med, and her out," Kisame said, pointing his thumb to the other side of the room.
Itachi looked over to where Kisame pointed. "Temari?" Itachi asked out loud. There was no reply, only silence when Kankuro glared over at him. Itachi almost jumped out of bed to see what the problem was, but the pain that shot through him when he moved to get up prevented him. "What happened?" Itachi inquired of Kankuro.
"You. You put her in a genjutsu," Kankuro said angrily. "She hasn't woken up yet. It's been three days!"
Itachi frowned. He'd been asleep for three days? That was so… unlike him. And Temari was in one of his genjutsu. He wondered how it had happened. And what he was tormenting her with. He didn't remember doing it, but then again he couldn't remember anything. Itachi couldn't let her just languish in the pain he'd caused her so he told Kankuro, "Bring her here. I'll see if I can undo it."
Kankuro was reluctant at first, but then he figured that it wouldn't hurt. Nothing else had worked either, so he might as well. "I'm sorry, Temari," Itachi apologized, placing his hands on her forehead. He closed his eyes, focusing his chakra in his hands. He reached out with his mind, trying to find her. He really didn't know what he was doing, but trying something was better than not trying anything. He eventually got a glimpse of what was going on in her head, and latched onto it, Sharingan activating.
She had been watching him die… over and over again. She was standing in the black, clutching her head and screaming. Itachi walked up to her, telling her softly, "Temari, I'm alive." She looked up at him, eyes wide with horror. "I'm sorry for putting you through this. Come over here, and I'll make it all stop."
Itachi could see the thoughts go through her head. Hesitantly she stepped towards him, expecting him to collapse in front of her at any minute, just like the thousand other had done before him. Each step she took made her more and more nervous. He reached out for her when she was within arm's reach, touching her gently. She looked up at him in surprise, not quite believing that he was actually real. "Come back with me," he said to her.
With a nod she buried herself into his chest, a sob escaping her throat at the relief of being free of this wretched place. He told her that everything would be okay and that his death was an illusion. He tried to explain what had happened to her, that she'd gotten stuck in his Tsukiyomi, and as she accepted his story, the terrible vision started to fade.
She woke with a start, her dream still vivid as she recalled watching Itachi die so many times, and then the last Itachi she met leading her away from that awful place, telling her it would be okay. She remembered the bloody form of Itachi before she'd fallen unconscious. Gaara's face appeared before her as she opened her eyes. "Where is he?" she asked. "Tell me how he is."
"He's fine. Just resting in the bed beside yours," Gaara answered.
"Where are we?" Temari asked in confusion at the appearance of Kankuro, as well as Baki.
Kankuro gave her a lopsided smile. "We brought you back to Suna. Medical attention had to be given, and we have a hospital here after all."
"But Gaara, you said…"
"I know what I said. I'm still standing by it, too."
"Then why?" Temari asked.
Kankuro spoke up then. "Because you love him. And if the amount of stress he put on himself to get you out of that genjutsu is any indication, he loves you too. Plus I know you would be pissed if we'd brought you to the hospital and just left him outside without completely healing his injuries."
Temari smiled at her brother's logic. She noticed the blue skinned man then, standing non-chalantly beside Itachi's bed. He glanced over at her, giving her a toothy grin. "I'm Kisame. Itachi's partner. You must have been the distraction."
Temari didn't bother trying to figure out why another Akatsuki member was allowed entrance into Suna, so she just cocked an eyebrow at him and asked, "What are you talking about?"
"I met up with him when he was headed off to his fight. And though anyone who isn't in tune with his moods wouldn't have noticed it, I've been around him long enough to know that he had something on his mind. He wouldn't tell me, but I figured I'd find out eventually."
Itachi started to wake up then. Kisame stood over him and said, "Good morning sunshine."
Itachi glared. "Is she awake?"
Kisame stepped out of the way revealing Temari, who was sitting up in her bed looking at him. "I'm glad you're okay," she said. "I was so worried. I thought you were going to die."
Itachi looked down, his bangs covering his eyes. "I was."
"But everyone worked so hard to bring you back to life. And you're healthy now. Well mostly. And I'm healthy now too. So that means we'll get to be together again."
Itachi glanced over her. She was smiling at him. And even though she was in a hospital gown, she was glowing with happiness. "I'm sorry," Itachi said, looking away from Temari.
Her face froze. "What do you mean?" she asked with a tone of desperation in her voice.
"I mean I'm sorry. I put you through a lot of pain. I never wanted to do that…"
Temari laughed in relief. "Don't scare me like that, Itachi. I thought you were trying to say that you didn't want to be with me."
He looked at her puzzled. "Why would you think that?"
"Well you did say 'I'm sorry' right after I said that we could be together again."
"Ah," Itachi said in understanding. "What are we going to do about that?"
"I… don't know," Temari answered, looking away. "You aren't allowed to stay here."
Kankuro cleared his throat. "I have a suggestion. How about the two of you let me and Gaara come up with something that will work."
Temari looked up at him. "Why are you trying so hard to keep me with Itachi? You should want him gone more than anything."
Kankuro shrugged. "I haven't seen you happy in a long time Temari. You were always looking out for us, not paying any attention to yourself. And Itachi is something you've chosen on your own. I mean sure, it was your mission to get close to him and spy on him and make sure he wasn't a threat, but you went further. You chose to love him."
Gaara nodded. "Temari… I wish I could allow him to stay here. Really I do. But I know I can't harbor a notorious missing nin. Konoha is going to want him back. And I can't break the treaty by protecting him just because you love him."
"I understand," Itachi said.
Temari shot him a look. "What are you doing?"
"He's right. I can't stay here. It puts you and everyone else in this village in danger."
"But what about…"
Kisame decided that it was an appropriate moment to put in his two cents. "You know Itachi. You'd be doing your brother and a lot of people a lot of favors if you took down the Akatsuki."
Temari looked at Kisame like he'd just sprouted a second head. "You'd let him kill you?"
"I never said that," the shark-man said. "I meant that I'm getting a little tired by the organization's vaguely established plan to take over the world. Honestly, I don't see the point. Most of us are dead anyways. If me and you left, the organization would be weak. Leader, Zetsu, Tobi, that mystery person who neither of us actually know."
Itachi cut him off. "I understand where you're going with this, but I'm not sure if you understand the implications of what you're suggesting. You don't know. Tobi… he's… he's not who you think he is."
Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara were slightly confused. "What's going on?" Gaara asked, wishing to be filled in.
Itachi lowered his head. "Tobi… is Madara. The Uchiha Madara. One of the founding fathers of Konoha. He's an immortal and powerful. I'm not sure how we would be able to take him out, short of me taking Sasuke's eyes. Or him taking mine."
Everyone gaped at him. "What do mean?" Temari asked.
"I haven't really told this to anyone. But if it will help absolve me of my crimes, I'm willing to share. I used to be Madara's student. He told me how to gain the Mangekyou Sharingan. I did it. I killed my
best friend. And the pain the act caused me emotionally gave me the ability to use these eyes," he said, gesturing to his head.
"Madara made me kill all of them. He wanted me to drive Sasuke mad. And I was just young enough that his manipulation worked on me. He told me to leave my brother alive, that I'd one day want to steal my brother's eyeballs. You see… the Mangekyou allows the user to control the tailed demons. The problem is that the cost for this power is your vision. The more you use your eyes, the faster you go blind.
"Madara discovered this. And out of his desperation, he took his own younger brother's eyeballs and put them into his own head. He stopped going blind, he gained new powers, and he became an immortal. It was his plan for me. He wanted me to take Sasuke's eyes. But I gave up on that, choosing to go blind instead."
His focus shifted on Temari. "I couldn't tell this to you before. About my imminent blindness."
Temari, who had regained her strength now that the genjutsu was broken, stood up and walked over to him. She slapped him across the face. "I don't care that you didn't tell me. Everyone has their secrets. What pisses me off is that you didn't bother mentioning that you were going blind."
"I still think you're beautiful," he whispered to her.
She looked away from him in indignation. "How dare you say that! You can't even see me!"
"I'm not blind yet. And without the Sharingan activated my vision isn't really that poor."
The other three in the room were deep in thought, mulling over the information Itachi had given them. "Itachi," Kankuro asked, "do you think it would be possible for the two of you to give each other your own eyes? I don't really understand everything, but is there a possibility that you could take Sasuke's eyes and you could give him yours?"
Itachi thought about it. "I never really considered that. But there's a possibility it could work."
"Well it sounds like there's something that can be done after all," Kisame said with a grin. "I'll get to rip those remaining Akatsuki to shreds. I'm sooooo excited."
Gaara nodded. "If you two can destroy the Akatsuki and take down this infamous Madara, I promise that I will make sure all of your crimes are erased from the record book."
"So we're after Sasuke, then?" Temari asked.
Kankuro nodded. "Yep. It sounds like you need to find Sasuke and get a bargain with him."
Gaara sighed. "Yes. Temari can go. Kankuro, I want you to stay here with me."
The four of them nodded. "Once Itachi is healed, the three of you will set out," Gaara told Kisame, Itachi, and Temari. He turned and left them in the room, Kankuro following behind him.
"Hey… thanks Gaara," Kankuro said when they got out of the hospital.
"No need. I couldn't make Temari unhappy. I had to try something."
"I understand the feeling," Kankuro said, clapping a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Now let's go get the Leaf in on this."
Gaara nodded and the two of them continued on their way.
Don't know when this'll get updated. Depends on what happens in the actual story. And it could be awhile before I find out. Please leave me some reviews to let me know where you want me to go with this.
