A/N: I have no excuses, I'm horrible at updating. I think I will try to make shorter chapters to see if it makes me update faster. Wish me luck.

Enjoy.

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How Things Change
Chapter IX~ The Massacre

Itachi's breath caught in his throat, as the name left his father's mouth.

Before he could stop himself, Itachi felt his knees go weak as he crashed heavily to the ash filled ground. His mind couldn't process what his ears had heard or what his eyes were seeing. His friend—no, his brother—was the one pulling the strings? The one who may have murdered his entire family? The one who betrayed him?

It wasn't possible.

It just wasn't.

Shisui loved his family, and wanted nothing more than to keep them safe.

His mother and father were on their side! Did he kill them as well? What about his newborn sister, was she safe? Or did he murder her in the crib as she peacefully slept?

A cold shiver ran down Itachi's spine as he thought of the woman he was soon to propose to.

'Where is Izumi?!'

For all he knew, she shared the same fate as countless others.

Itachi pushed the thought as far from his mind as possible. She was a powerful Kunoichi who was capable of taking care of herself. For now, Itachi realized, he had to believe in her. Because if he didn't—

Itachi refused to finish the thought.

All he wanted was to wake up from the nightmare he was currently trapped in, because surely, none of this was real.

But Itachi couldn't deny what his senses were telling him. The putrid smell of ash filled the air, and the heat from the surrounding flames was easily felt. What dream was this realistic?

Well, if it wasn't a dream, were his eyes deceiving him? Was it possible it was an imposter? Someone who only looked like Shisui? A Genjutsu?

However, deep down, Itachi knew that that wasn't the case. If there were one thing he had grown certain of during his time as a ninja, it was that his Sharingan never lied to him. Ever. He had some of the strongest eyes in the clan, second only to the blood-soaked man who stood before him.

There was no Genjutsu for his eyes to see through.

There was no illusion.

It was real.

It was real.

Shisui was a traitor.

And he was a fool for not seeing it before.

Looking back now, he could see how obvious it was. The fact that Shisui was able to gain the trust of the opposing Uchiha, the long nights he went missing for hours, the fact that he knew of all of their plans…

It was so obvious, but he missed it.

He failed to notice any of it.

And now, his family had paid the ultimate price for it. So many people had already lost their lives because of his failure. How could he be so blind?

"How?" Itachi whispered, his face devoid of all emotion.

A small, cruel smile tugged at the corners of Shisui's lips, "How, what, Itachi-kun?"

Itachi's hands shook in rage as he pushed himself off of the ground. In a swift motion, he pulled out a kunai, and charged forward.

Shisui easily blocked his strike with his arm guard. He always did have the better reflexes.

"How," Itachi hissed through gritted teeth, "Could you do this?! How could you kill your friends? Your family?! Did you kill your sister too?!"

Shoving Itachi off, he smiled cruelly.

"That's easy, really. They were no family to me. They can rot in hell for all I care," he stated with a grin. "And yes, my sister was the third to die by my hand! She was better off dead than to be a part of this accursed clan! They were nothing but fools, fools that needed to be dealt with. And the best part of it all? It'll all be blamed on you. What will your brother think when he sees his honorable, respectable big brother murder his parents before his very eyes? How will he turn out, do you wonder? How far in the dark will he go to avenge them? Don't worry; I'll be sure to be there in his time of need."

Sasuke…

That's when it dawned on him.

Sasuke wasn't here; he wasn't even in the village! And best of all, he was with one of the strongest men this village had ever seen.

He was safe.

A laugh escaped Itachi's lips.

No one knew that but him and his father. They didn't feel it was the type of information anyone else in the family needed to know about, especially not when so few could be trusted.

"That is not possible. Sasuke isn't here."

Shisui's eyes narrowed as he let out an angry hiss.

That's when Itachi realized just how important Sasuke was in all of this. Sasuke was the most important piece to his puzzle.

And he had lost it.

"What do you mean?" Shisui forced through his taut lips, venomously.

"He's with Hokage-sama, on an important diplomatic mission. He's outside of your reach, Shisui! All of this planning has gone to shambles! How does it feel to lose everything you worked so hard for?"

A hoarse laughed escaped his lips. Itachi couldn't help but fine the irony in the situation. He wasn't the only one who had failed, it seemed.

Shisui cursed.

Realizing he had found an opening, Itachi threw an smoke bomb toward Shisui to escape with his father.

He would stop Shisui, but his family came first. He needed to make sure that any survivors were safe.

Itachi could feel tears in the corner of his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. He would be strong, he needed to be strong, or else the rest of his family would die.

He just hoped it wasn't already too late.

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"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune yelled as she barged into the Hokage's office. "Something urgent has come up and requires your immediate attention!"

Tsunade, who had just started to doze at her new desk, was quickly awakened by the urgency of her assistant's voice.

"There better be a good reason for waking me, Shizune…" Tsunade stated as she rubbed her temple; drinking all that Sake probably wasn't her best idea.

The only reason she had allowed herself to do so, was because she had lost the bet she had made with Shizune earlier that night. She figured she was just being paranoid when her sake cup had shattered in her hand; she was known for having super human strength, after all. Little did she know Shizune had cheated since she thought Tsunade herself was; she never got so close to winning when she played fairly, after all.

"Something isn't right at the Uchiha complex! A barrier seal of some sort has appeared around the whole area! There is no way for anyone to get in or out of the seal. I believe Kushina-sama might be the only person who would have a chance in succeeding!"

Within a fraction of a second after hearing that, Tsunade's hangover seemed to disappear completely and her senses were on high alert. It was the only reason she ever allowed herself to drink so much. While to most a hangover would impair one's abilities, getting rid of one was child's play for a medic such as herself.

"When?"

"We aren't sure. The nightly patrol only just wandered passed it and informed us. They couldn't sense anything that was happening on the inside of the barrier, and they were one of our best sensors."

"Dammit! I knew that was an omen earlier. Shizune, message Minato. We need him back now!"

"What should I tell him?"

Tsunade's fists clenched tight as her mouth set into a grim line, "Tell him the Uchiha coup d'état has started earlier than planned. We need Kushina and his immediate assistance."

Shizune nodded, and body flickered away to send the message.

"I just hope we aren't too late," Tsunade mumbled to herself and she too disappeared in a whirl of leaves.

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Itachi stopped briefly to catch his breath, as did his father.

"We need to make it to the meeting hall. If there are any survivors, I bet they headed to the bunkers underneath," Fugaku said, "Haruo said there is a barrier around the complex to prevent anyone from escaping, so that's the only logical place they would head."

Itachi nodded, and together they body flickered toward the complex's center.

Upon arriving, Itachi almost choked on the smell. Men, women, and, thankfully few—if any— children littered the streets; many of their limbs were twisted in unnatural positions telling them the story of how they died in excruciating pain as if they were being tortured. The most surprising fact, however, was each and every one of them had their eyes cleanly gouged out. For what purpose, Itachi wasn't sure. Shisui had some of the strongest eyes the clan had ever seen. The only person whose eyes could match him was killed by the First Hokage in the Valley of the End. What reason did he have to collect the eyes of his fallen family members when their eyes were far weaker than his own?

Itachi pushed the thought away. He figured it was probably best if he didn't know. For all he knew, Shisui was just destroying them out of anger, not collecting them. An Uchiha's eyes were their most important tools, after all.

A quick scan of the fallen bodies led Itachi to realize one thing: almost all of the people who were dead were part of the resistance. Did Shisui not care at all for them? Did he simply discard of them once they served their purpose?

Itachi couldn't help but feel a small shred of happiness upon realizing Izumi did not appear to be among the fallen.

Itachi forced himself to turn away from his fallen family members and looked to his father from the corner of his eyes, and was surprised to find the man who he always thought to be the strongest man he ever knew, almost to tears. However, just when Itachi thought that his father had finally lost it, he surprised him.

"Itachi, enough day dreaming; there is a group of survivors inside the hall! Shisui will be here any moment, and when he gets here I want you to leave him to me. You are to protect the people inside, understood? Ready any survivors that have enough strength to help you!"

Itachi wanted to argue, but he knew it would be futile, "I understand, Father."

"Good, now get in there and barricade—"

Before he could finish his sentence, however, Itachi felt his father forcefully shove him. It happened so fast, Itachi barely saw it. It only took him a moment to realize what happened.

Itachi's eyes widened. Fugaku stood in front of Itachi; Shisui's signature blade had effortlessly pierced clean through his chest. It soon became apparent that Fugaku had seen what Itachi had failed to sense: an attack from his blind spot.

"No!" Itachi cried as he flew forward and caught the man who had raised him.

Fugaku smiled, and reached his hand up to Itachi's cheek, "D…don't blame y…yourself. I l…leave the Uchiha clan in y…your hands, Itachi. I'm—" his voice cut off as he coughed up a thick clot of blood from his lungs, "I'm s…so proud to have you as my s…son. T…tell Mikoto and Sasuke I'm s…sorry, and that I lo…love—"

Before he could say anything else, the life left his eyes as his arm fell lifelessly to the ground.

It was at that moment that something had snapped within Itachi. After slowly lowering the body of his father, Itachi shakily got to his feet. His killing intent radiated off of him. It filled the air so thickly a knife could probably have cut through it.

"I once considered you a friend, Shisui…but now, now you will die!"

Itachi's Sharingan flared back to life; his eyes filled with the burning flames of revenge. The one who he once called his brother would soon pay for his crimes.

Shisui, who quietly watched the spectacle, simply laughed, "Finally, you are seriou—"

Before he could finish, Itachi leapt forward at a blinding speed. Instead of attacking, however, he grabbed ahold of Shisui's collar, and with chakra infused strength, dragged him as far away from the bunkers as he possibly could.

Before he could make it too far away, however, Shisui easily broke free from his grasp and started flashing through hand seals.

"Fire Release: Dragon Flame no Jutsu!"

Itachi, seeing the attack with his Sharingan, easily countered it.

"Water Release: Water Dragon no Jutsu!"

Thick steam filled the air, as both Jutsu canceled one another out. Itachi, using the steam as cover, flew forward and sent an elbow into Shisui's face. Before the hit could land, however, he twisted out of the way, and brought his knee up and kicked Itachi in the gut with all the strength he could muster.

Realizing he wouldn't be able to dodge it completely, Itachi brought his arms up to defend himself from the worst of the attack. As he flew back, he grabbed out a handful of Shuriken and tossed them toward Shisui, who in turn sidestepped them.

Twisting his body midair, Itachi was able to land on his feet, if only just barely.

Realizing he created an opening, Itachi rushed forward with his Katana in hand. Shisui, seeing the attack, easily blocked his sword with a Kunai.

"You have gotten better, Itachi, I will give you that! But you have a long way to go before you reach my level!" Shisui yelled, as he brought out second Kunai, and slashed at Itachi's unprotected face.

"AH!" Itachi let out a scream, as he fell back, his hand covering his eye.

His left eye was now completely useless, as was apparent from the blood gushing from the hole where his eyeball once was.

"Fuck!" Itachi shouted as he turned away to flee.

Before he could do anything more he had to stop the bleeding. Almost as quick as light, Itachi ripped the sleeve to his robe and haphazardly wound it around his head to cover his damaged eye.

Shisui, not sparing a moment, was on him.

Itachi, sensing his presence directly behind him, turned toward him and yelled, "Fire Release: Great Fireball no Jutsu!"

A thick ball of fire flew from Itachi's mouth. Shisui, not having time to move completely out of the way, sidestepped it to try and lesson the damage it could cause. Taking the hit and not caring in the least that he was still on fire, he rushed forward and landed a fist directly to Itachi's injured eye.

Itachi flew back, and crashed heavily to the ground; his sword landed a few feet from him.

As he tried to get to his feet, he realized at least two of his ribs were broken. Trying to ignore the pain, he rolled out of the way as Shisui grabbed his forgotten katana, and stabbed it into the ground where his head had laid only moments before. Swinging his feet upward, he caught Shisui by surprise, and used all of his strength to kick him as far away as he could.

Shisui, who didn't manage to evade the attack, landed roughly ten feet away, in an unmoving heap. The fire had finally been extinguished, but not before leaving behind horrible third degree burns.

Could he not feel the flames burning him?

Pushing the thought away, Itachi jumped to his feet. Wasting no time, he pulled his lost Katana from the ground and swung it high above his head, fully intent on finishing the fight.

Before he could bring it down, however, his own conscious stopped himself from skewering Shisui. The reason why he couldn't bring himself to do it was because of the fact that Shisui stared up at him with tears streaming down his face.

It was then that Itachi realized that Shisui was missing his right eye. How had he not noticed it before?

'When did that happen?' he wondered.

His thoughts came to an end, when Shisui's shrill screams filled the air.

"Kill me, Itachi! I can't fight him any longer! If you don't kill me, I will have no choice but to kill you!"

It was then that Itachi realized, Shisui wasn't in control of his own body.

Itachi, dropping his arms to his side, stepped back.

"I can save you, Shisui! Just tell me who it is controlling you!" Itachi shouted back, fully intent on freeing his friend.

"T…there is no t…time, Itachi," Shisui stated through clenched teeth, as he slowly forced himself to his feet. "I…if you don't kill me now, I w…will kill you! I c…can only h…hold him b…back for so long!"

Whomever he was fighting for control, Itachi realized, was a far more serious threat than anyone he had ever faced before. If Shisui was being controlled, who is to say he too wouldn't fall under the same fate?

Shisui—whose eye started to become clouded with hatred again—begged Itachi to kill him one last time.

"Please, Itachi! Kill me! KILL ME!"

Itachi, realizing he had no choice, brought his katana up one last time. Moving faster than most eyes would follow, Itachi easily impaled Shisui through the heart.

Tears burned his eyes, as he fell forward catching his best friend in his arms.

"T…thank you, Itachi. I'm g…glad you w…were a…ble to stop me."

Itachi looked down to Shisui and was surprised to find him smiling up at him. The look of hatred he once held was completely gone. Instead, all Itachi could see was relief etched on his face.

He was happy to die, he realized.

"T…take my left eye as a farewell g…gift, Itachi" Shisui mumbled, as the life started to slowly leave his remaining eye.

Itachi couldn't help but to start sobbing, "I can save you, Shisui! You won't die!"

Shisui shook his head, "I don't d…deserve to live. Not—" he coughed up blood before continuing, "Not a…after what I did."

"It wasn't you, Shisui! I can save you!" Itachi cried as he tried to keep his friend with him.

Shisui shook his head once more, and said, "B…beware of t…the m…masked Uchiha, Itachi."

Those were the last words Uchiha Shisui spoke before leaving the world of the living. His smile of relief was still plastered on his face. He looked as if he were finally at peace with himself.

Itachi threw his head back as a wail escaped his lips, and his remaining Sharingan had changed to resemble that of a pinwheel: he had finally awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.

The last thing he saw before falling unconscious, was a yellow flash.

"Itachi!" the sound of his mother cries filled his ears, and then he heard nothing more.

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Danzō's eyes snapped opened as he felt someone approach his bed side.

Looking around, the room appeared to be empty.

Wrapping a hand around the dagger he kept under his pillow, he readied himself to attack. Before he could pull the blade out, however, a man's voice filled the air.

"My end of the bargain is complete," a voice devoid of all emotion filled the air.

Danzō's eyes widened as a burlap sack was tossed haphazardly onto the foot of his bed. Before he could respond to the voice, however, the heavy presence that once filled the room disappeared as if it were never there to begin with.

Opening the bag, Danzō couldn't help but to feel giddy.

"Excellent."

His booming laughter echoed off the walls in his chamber, as he set out to work.

He had a long night ahead of him, after all.

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A week had passed since Uchiha Clan Massacre, as it had been dubbed. Besides the Uchiha clan and a few guards watching the village's entrance, no one inside of the village had been harmed, thankfully.

Upon waking up, Itachi had informed Minato what Shisui had said about the masked Uchiha, which seemed to worry Minato greatly. As it turned out, Minato had heard about the masked man once before: during the Kyūbi's attack on the village years before. It soon became apparent that that man was far more dangerous than anyone ever could have realized.

Itachi sighed as he stood before his friend's grave. His injuries had long been healed, and the only thing left that showed of their battle was a scar over his newly transplanted left eye.

"It wasn't your fault, Itachi-kun," Mikoto said, as she placed her hand on Itachi's shoulder. "Fugaku would have been proud."

The thought of his father's death stabbed at Itachi's heart. He clenched his fists.

"If only I had been stronger, Mother…Father might still be here."

Mikoto shook her head, "Your Father chose to give his life for yours. I would have done the same. It's not your fault, Itachi-kun."

Itachi turned to his mother, tears stung his eyes. Mikoto wrapped her arms around Itachi and let him cry into chest, no questions asked.

"I'm not going to tell you everything will be okay, because it won't." Mikoto's own tears began to fall over the thought of her fallen husband, "But Sasuke and I will always be here. And so will Izumi-chan, you have to be strong for her."

The thought of Izumi stabbed his heart.

Only a third of the clan had survived, and it was all mostly thanks to Izumi. She had gathered all of the children and other survivors and helped them fight their way to the bunkers. If it wasn't for her diligent work, many more would have perished.

She lost the use of her eyes, in the process, however. Her days as a Kunoichi were probably over. She told Itachi it wasn't his fault, and she would have done it again in a heartbeat if she had too. She told him she was sick of all the killing, anyway, and was happy to retire.

Itachi knew she was lying, but he didn't push the issue. He realized she was trying to be strong for him, and he would do the same for her. He swore he would help her overcome the obstacle of her blindness and help her become the Kunoichi she once was.

She laughed, not believing him in the slightest. An Uchiha was nothing without their eyes, she told him.

Itachi pushed the thought away, and composed himself before releasing the hold he had on his mother, "How is Sasuke?"

"He is…hurt." Mikotot said softly, "But little Naruto-chan has been there for him nonstop. He'll recover in time. He is lucky to have such a friend."

Itachi couldn't help but to agree. He too once had a friend like that.

Realizing feeling sorry for himself wasn't going to help any he brushed himself off, and turned away from his friend's grave.

His eyes held a look of determination they never had before.

His life wasn't his own anymore, it belonged to his clan.

He was the Clan head now, after all.

And he would protect his remaining family with his life, if he had to.

Just as his father had done for him.

End.

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A/N: For those who do not know, Izumi was an Uchiha who first appears in Itachi Shinden: Book of Bright Light, a novel written by Takashi Yano and illustrated by Kishimoto. I didn't want to make an OC up for Itachi's lover, so I decided to use her since she fit into the category and all.

Also I didn't really edit this chapter as well as usual, so don't be surprised by the many errors that there probably is. Also this chapter was a bitch for me to write (damn you writer's block!), so if it isn't that great, oh well. I'll try better next time.

Since I suck at updating, I'm not even going to try and guess when the next chapter will be up.

Thanks for reading, and until next time!