thank you for your reviews! i really appreciate it. just a little note: it's possible that this fic's rating will go up to M in the future. just letting you all know.

hope you enjoy~

Chapter 14: Knowing is Nothing

Itachi was never a man of many words, but it didn't mean that he was ever at a loss for them. He was merely always anticipative—hardly did events even slightly surprise him, and in the rare occasion that they did, he was quick-witted enough to come up with a response of some kind. He'd even taken the news to kill his family with verbal assent.

And yet nothing, nothing, prepared him for Chiaki Miho to be standing in front of him, grown, alive, breathing, after five years of believing that she was dead. Of seeing, in his nightmares, her figure, pierced against a tree, bleeding as the ragged breaths slowly died from her lips.

And then in Itachi rose a fear—a great fear—of if his parents were alive, and if his family was actually alive, what they would be doing, what were they thinking of him—

"It's okay," said Chiaki Miho, tossing her mask onto the water below her. It sank down slowly, soon washed over by her rippling reflection. "I know what you're thinking, but you needn't worry. Your family is dead. I'm the only one that survived—other than Sasuke, of course, but you didn't mean to kill him."

She took a step towards him, and Itachi unconsciously took one back. It was becoming hard to mask his surprise and his fear—Miho was beautiful, but beautifully unhinged—the gleam in her gray eyes was hard and wild, the sword was spinning in her hand at a dizzying speed…the Miho he remembered did not speak calmly when angered, and so this difference startled him, made him wary…perhaps this wasn't her—it was an impersonator—yes, now that Itachi thought about it clearly…

This could not be Chiaki Miho.

Convicted of this realization, Itachi now reacted quickly with her attacks; she suddenly disappeared from his vision and it was only thanks to his Sharingan that he was able to keep up with her flow. Behind, to the left, then disappearing above—he reacted slower than he normally did because of her flitting and unreadable chakra, but Itachi didn't normally fight based on sensing chakra anyway. It was easier to read it, to see the crimson color in her legs and anticipate how she would attack then. Slowly but surely, his pace increased—his seals still came faster than hers, and soon, his movements did as well. He whirled around after parrying a series of purely taijutsu blows, anticipating her to repeat them but cautious when he saw her skid to the side, her expression unreadable.

"Who are you?" said Itachi coolly.

"You know who I am." She gave a razor-sharp smile.

"You cannot fool me—the girl you are attempting to impersonate is dead, I saw with my own eyes—"

"Miho," called a weary voice behind them.

Their attentions flickered to the jounin behind them, none of which were actually fighting as they seemed too interested in Itachi's reaction to pay attention to anything else. Kisame was sporting a toothy smirk, and somewhere under all the layers of numb shock, Itachi groaned silently. He was going to have to make up a story about Miho, especially since she was clearly not an Uchiha…

It was Kakashi who had called out, panting and struggling violently to stay awake. Miho's eyes flashed at the sight of him.

"Why…" said Kakashi.

"Don't take what happened before personally, senpai," she said. "It was all for this moment."

"Miho, don't do it."

She ignored Kakashi and instead turned to Itachi.

"You did that?" she said, nodding to her old mentor.

"…And what would you do about it?" he returned.

Miho smirked. "Genjutsu, right? He's not sporting a single physical wound—in the end, you like playing your mind games the most…isn't that right, Uchiha?"

Itachi frowned imperceptibly, hating with every cell in his body she said his clan name—with pure loathing, contempt, fury and hatred, and yet…calmly. He repressed a shudder, making the mistake of closing his eyes for a brief second—a mistake unlike him, but it was not everyday he bumped into someone he'd long thought dead—and in that infinitesimal moment, Miho appeared in front of him. Before he even moved, her arm garlanded his neck, and she smiled again, dangerously, and she spoke, and her voice was lilting and soft.

"Try playing them on me," she said, almost giggling. "Your little mind games, Uchiha. Your reassuring words that nothing is wrong. Your hand-holding, your silences. Your lunches, your necklace, your everything. Play them again." Her voice grew even softer. "One. Card. At. A. Time."

Her murderous intent spiked—Itachi broke away from his entrancement in the nick of time as that sword came swiping from behind and the figure in Miho's hold disappeared with a puff. In the midst of the smoke, he could hear Miho's voice calling out—loud, deranged, nearly shrieking.

"Kage Bunshin, Uchiha? What, don't like the idea of having a sword stabbed through you? That prospect isn't very pleasant, is it? But you don't have a problem doing that to other people, right?"

Again, a soaring intent right behind him that was nearly solid—Itachi ducked, but then he sensed a Kage Bunshin from below and was forced to twist midway and avoid its attack from beneath the water, which was followed up immediately by a roaring Katon—when had Miho learned to multitask like this, or create seals of such a speed—it was not a good time to fight—he was still weary from the Mangekyou—damn Kakashi—and for some reason Itachi knew that he had been deluding himself, that this degree of genuine insanity was not possible unless the woman in front of him was actually Chiaki Miho herself.

Perhaps Kisame found the fun to be over because he was finally noticing that Itachi was growing tired out and did not have enough chakra to an effective counter attack. His partner's gargantuan chakra disappeared from amidst the jounins and instead attacked towards Miho—ineffective though it was, it proved to be enough of a distraction for Miho to halt her relentless assault.

"Thank God your chakra's absolutely huge," smirked Miho, dodging easily. "If it weren't for your brute strength, this would be easy—unfortunately, it's not you I want."

Again, Miho evaporated from sight. But this time, Itachi had time to prepare—his Sharingan was swirling again, and though he did not have the stamina for another Tsukuyomi, basic genjutsu was enough. Miho had always been weak against it.

But as she neared, her smirk never failing, Itachi realized that he was making a grave mistake—she knew exactly what he was going to do and yet was not dodging, her eyes were wide-open, and just as he released the genjutsu, Miho's chakra peaked, her hands forming a seal that Itachi truthfully did not recognize. The genjutsu failed—he knew it did because Miho looked entirely unaffected, and while the counter-genjutsu did not affect him fully, he glimpsed a relapse of the past, his parents' dead bodies, Sasuke's crying fury, before all the sin faded and Miho was all that was in front of him again. Her chakra had depleted severely—she was panting and no longer had that demented smirk on her face. It seemed to have been a double-edged sword, requiring much chakra but successfully deflecting a difficult genjutsu…though it seemed like she had been expecting more, as if it were to damage him…which it hadn't.

"Damn," he heard her say between breaths. "Damn."

Now was the time to escape—the jounin were still in shock, it seemed, or they were too busy helping Kakashi, and Miho's movements seemed momentarily incapacitated. Itachi made swift eye contact with Kisame and nodded once.

"Wait," snarled Miho.

"If you managed to survive," said Itachi coldly, "then you should've been clever enough to learn that you shouldn't have wasted this second chance to life. I'll spare you this once, Chiaki Miho—it would be wise to never appear in front of me again."

With that, the Akatsuki members disappeared.

"Some fight, eh, Itachi-san?"

Night had fallen before Itachi had finally conceded that they could stop and rest. He was the most exhausted he had been in a long time and the familiar palpitations in his chest were starting to pain him, but he'd insisted on traveling for over two hours at full speed away from Konoha in order to throw off the shadow he knew was following them. Kisame had remarked that Itachi was losing his mind, but Itachi had calmly reminded him that Kisame's monstrous chakra was absolutely useless in all aspects when it came to running away—he was easily tracked, nor could he sense anyone himself. Itachi knew that Miho was going to be following them, her chakra undetectable, and he would not risk another run-in. It would be difficult to come up with another opportune reason to not kill her again.

Itachi breathed in deeply as he leaned against a tree in front of the remnants of their campfire.

"You okay there?" queried Kisame.

"I'm fine," he intoned.

"You should've been more careful with your eyes—you could've let me take care of them."

"Your fighting style is inefficient and messy," said Itachi, closing his eyes. "I wanted to leave quickly."

"And we could have, had it not been for that girl. Man…" Kisame stretched out his limbs, leaning instead against his trusty Samehada. "Well?"

"Well what?" said Itachi, knowing full well what Kisame wanted.

"The girl?"

"…I meant to kill her with my family," said Itachi coolly. "It seems that, for once in my life, I actually failed."

"She seemed pretty…uh…angry."

"I also killed her father, who was her only living relative," he said monotonously.

"Oh. Uh. Yeah…" Kisame seemed to find Itachi's lack of concern perturbing. "That might be a good reason…"

A silence settled between them as Itachi took a few moments to stabilize his breathing pattern as well as muster enough energy to allow his normal impassiveness to reign supreme both over his face and his body.

"It's odd, though," Itachi remarked.

He heard Kisame shuffle.

"What is?"

"I…" Itachi paused. "I was so certain I killed her. I saw her body…ascertained that there was no pulse myself."

"…She's got you riled up, Itachi-san."

"I dislike nonsense, Kisame-san," he answered with a trace of annoyance.

"Well, not riled up. What was she to you, eh? Girlfriend?"

Itachi could hear the mockery in Kisame's voice and snapped his eyes open, the Sharingan swirling ominously.

"Don't press my patience, Kisame-san," he said coolly.

"Oops, sorry," said Kisame, completely impenitent. "I forgot—the great Uchiha Itachi does not feel. Girlfriend—how thoughtless of me."

"Enough," said Itachi, his eyes gleaming dangerously.

Kisame only smirked. Sometimes Itachi had to wonder just how the man, nearly ten years older than he was, was such an idiot. But unlike most idiots, Kisame's bark matched his bite equally well, perhaps better, and Itachi was in no mood for a scuffle.

Most Akatsuki partners fought each other on a mission more often than they fought their targets. Such was not the case with Kisame and Itachi—for as much condescension Kisame verbalized, there was an understanding between the two of them that involved a mutual respect for the other, and each knew their boundaries. Kisame exhibited this knowledge now, when he gave Itachi a shark-like grin and backed down.

"Just kidding, Itachi-san. But all the same—why did you try to kill her? She's not an Uchiha."

Itachi did not answer.

"I'm asking this for your own good, Itachi-san," said Kisame seriously. "Things as significant as a dead person coming back to life is something we need to report to the Leader."

"I do not think she died and came back to life," said Itachi, again closing his eyes to rest. "I might've neglected a property of her kekkei genkai that night—it must've saved her."

"Her kekkei genkai?"

"…Chiaki Miho is the last carrier of the Ishachi, the bloodline of the Saruji Clan."

"Never heard of it," said Kisame lazily.

Itachi sighed as he continued. "It was an old clan in Konoha, wiped out now. At its prime, it was formidable in unconventional ways—the blood itself is the clan's weapon. It is a healing blood, chakra-infused. Drinking it will save the patient from mortal wounds; if drinking it isn't possible, then the actual Ishachi carrier can assimilate the wounds of the patient, hence bringing the damage onto him or herself."

Kisame looked impressed. "Nifty."

"Of course, this comes at a price," said Itachi. "Activation of the kekkei genkai marks the beginning of the end for the user's life. That was one of the reasons they died out—they died earlier than they could reproduce."

"And so…what business do you have with this last Ishachi girl?"

Itachi debated briefly, but the truth in such trivial matters did not affect anything. Miho's hatred had been so obvious that he highly doubted anything he owed to her mattered in the face of his ultimate betrayal.

"Chiaki Miho activated her kekkei genkai on her very first ANBU mission with me as the leader."

Kisame let out a low whistle. "And how old were you two? Ten?"

Itachi ignored him deliberately and continued. "The same kekkei genkai nearly killed me when I, not knowing its properties on the healthy body, drank it out of sheer curiosity—it ruptured my internal organs and hospitalized me for weeks."

Kisame no longer seemed so amused.

"I am also Chiaki Miho's first wound assimilation patient," intoned Itachi, as if he were reading out of a textbook. "Needless to say, we share a…peculiar history."

"But why kill her?"

It took a little while for him to respond. When he did, his voice came out much quieter than he had meant for it to be.

"Because she made me forget my capabilities…and challenged what I could become."

Memories. They'd long been buried, but are now rising from their graves, undead, unmerciful.

Itachi, here's your new baby brother! His name is Sasuke. The baby cooed and grabbed for his hair. Remember, be kind, Itachi. He's your one and only brother. Your job as the older one is to protect him no matter what, okay?

Pinwheels and fans.

What's this?
He mumbles. He never mumbles. Necklace.
She smiles, faint and knowingly. Jealous, weren't you.
Adamant denial. Adamant regret.

Nii-san, you always act like I'm a pest. Do I annoy you?
Of course not, Sasuke. Never would you annoy me.
C'mon, play with me! We can go training, okay? I just want to watch you in action!

You are the foundation of this clan—

—hope of this village—

—relying on you—

Why don't you live for yourself a little—

Your family—

—at your leisure—

Konoha—

Her voice shrieks, he can hear it, can always hear it.

I trusted you.

And Sasuke. And the ultimate question.

Why?

It was late in the night when Itachi abruptly woke up from his always light sleep, conscious that he and Kisame were not the only ones alone in the camp. His partner had fallen asleep on watch—the fool—but Itachi didn't blame him fully; they'd been traveling for days without stopping. Nevertheless, Kisame should've known better. It was good that Itachi had had the foresight to take some precautions.

"I'm impressed," said Itachi. "You followed us this far."

There was a rustling sound from the bushes and Miho emerged, her face pale but determined.

"I advise you not to take a step further," he said.

She stopped, wary.

"There are a few traps set around," he explained. "I may seem to be within reach, but the truth is, you've already been immobilized by genjutsu. You've lost. Before we continue, though, I'd like to ask a few questions."

"You really don't think I'll just sit here and answer them, do you?" she said icily.

"You want answers, I want answers. How did you survive?"

"I didn't."

Itachi moved on. "How did you live these last five years?"

Miho had that odd, insane smile again. "Wonderfully. How did you?"

Itachi did not answer. Miho's smile widened.

"How's Akatsuki treating you, Itachi?"

He stiffened. How did she know…she must've overheard Kakashi earlier. Damn him.

"Is it full of a bunch of sick fucks just like yourself?" she said. "Do you all have bonfire bonding time, exchanging stories on precisely how you killed your own families?"

"Enough," he said. "You wasted your time coming here, Chiaki Miho. You can never best me. Go home to Konoha and live there, grateful that you are alive. I assure you that you will never see me again."

"I want to ask you a question," she said, and when Itachi looked up, her smile had melted off her face, replaced by a dark, shadowed scowl that was much more familiar to his eyes.

"What?"

"…Why?"

Itachi scoffed, his eyes closing as a cool breeze pass through.

"Still asking this question?" he said. He found a way to ask the question he'd been dying to ask without arousing suspicion. "…How's Sasuke?"

Miho fell for it brilliantly. "You expect me to believe the bullshit excuse you gave him?"

Itachi didn't reply.

"He's like me," said Miho. "His existence serves to hate you."

He let out an inner sigh of relief. That meant Sasuke had a purpose…that he had a reason to grow stronger. It was comforting—other than Miho, everything was going the way he had planned.

"You don't expect me to believe you, Uchiha."

"Believe what you want to believe, Chiaki Miho. What makes you think my reasoning is wrong?"

"…You wouldn't do such a thing," she said harshly. "The Itachi I know—"

"But that's precisely the problem, Chiaki Miho. The Itachi you know. But over these last five years, did the thought that you never knew the real Itachi cross your mind? You are bound, like any other simpleton, by your own subjective interpretation of your surroundings." To think that he would be giving her the speech that he had long prepared for Sasuke. "The truth you know is only the truth you want to see—life around you is an illusion, Chiaki Miho, that you cannot dispel."

"Are you done philosophizing yet?"

Itachi's eyes flickered open towards her. Her old temperament had evaporated, and back was the unhinged smile, the wild eyes. He was not threatened, but he was disturbed.

"You're right," she said. "I may have never known the real you. But there are places where you're wrong, Uchiha. I don't know a 'truth' at all, Uchiha, because I have no answers. But I will tell you what I do know." Moonlight shown through the tree branches, casting speckled shadows on her face Itachi was grateful for—he could not stand her mad expression. "I know pain. I know torture. I know lies, deceit, and betrayal. I know hatred. And I know for a fact, Uchiha Itachi, that the one to pin me against that tree and left me to die, that the one to slit my father's throat right in front of my eyes was you, and that is the only truth I know, the only truth I need to know. You say I will never see you again. I can assure you, Uchiha Itachi, that as long as I live, I will find you. I will hunt you down. You cannot sense me, Uchiha. I will be lurking in every shadow behind you, watching you, waiting for you, so that when I go to hell, I'll drag you down with me."

Miho disappeared in a wisp of smoke, and Kage Bunshin or not, Itachi was glad she was gone.

But she wasn't. She had been wrong. She was not present in every lurking shadow, waiting for him past every corner.

She was in that journal sealed away in a scroll that he kept with him. And though he was glad to see her alive, he could not help but wish that her memory had remained sealed forever, along with his guilt.

Miho was struggling; her chakra supply was stretched to its limits as she stood rigidly in her hotel room, eyes closed in concentration as she tried to maintain the lifespan of the Kage Bunshin that was still following Itachi. It grew further and further away from her, and as the hours stretched on, she found herself praying that she did not keel over before she found him. She was just about to pass out when it came back to her, along with it its experience, and she knew where Itachi was, but he was too far for her to even dream of finding even if she set out now. By the time she was well enough to travel, he would be days away.

She did not even have enough energy to utter a low curse. Instead, she collapsed onto her bed, claimed by sleep before she even hit the mattress.

She woke up multiple times over the course of the next day, her thoughts in a jumble, her entire body feverish. She slept it off, like she always did when she was in pain or suffering, just because dreamless sleep always came with pure exhaustion. When she finally came to and was feeling well enough to sit up, the room was dark and the village outside quiet. It was four-thirty in the morning, over one full day later.

Miho lied back down on the bed, her head throbbing but in much better shape than she had been when she'd fallen asleep. Her chakra levels were not fully replenished, but it was enough—she needed to get back on track. She closed her eyes and willed her chakra to disappear, though at this point, if she had been caught, it wouldn't have been too hard to find her.

Truthfully, she wasn't sure if the shock had worn off. She could've nearly convinced herself that it had all been a dream, it seemed so surreal, but her physical condition was enough of a testament to prove otherwise. She had come face to face with Uchiha Itachi…and she had let him get away.

Miho rolled over, swearing. She could not stand it. She was back to square one—now that Itachi knew she was alive, she had wasted all element of surprise in her arsenal, and luck would not aid her so diligently again. Itachi would now do everything in his power to not cross paths with her again…but in reality, his power in that field was very limited. After all, she was the tracker. She was the huntress. She would find him again—all she had to do was think, to put her brilliant—though not Uchiha-caliber—mind to use and pin together the pieces she was missing.

And so Miho thought. She recalled everything about Itachi—he looked older, his hair longer, grown a little bit but not too much. The blood-colored eyes—those had not changed. The black robes, the red clouds. Blue partner. Kisame was his name. She would have to look him up later.

What else?

Her mind whirred like a machine freshly oiled—while her body ached, her brain made up for her uselessness: counter-genjutsu did not work on Itachi; she had failed in that assumption, and that was what had allowed him to get away. He had been severely depleted of chakra, right from the start of her fight with him, which was pathetic since she had not been able to land a single blow. But why had his chakra levels been so low?

Rewind, rewind. He'd fought Kurenai, Asuma, and Kakashi prior. None of them had been injured except for Kakashi with genjutsu. Miho bit her lower lip. Just genjutsu? But genjutsu did not wound…it immobilized, but Kakashi had had no physical injuries…it exhausted the mind beyond further use, which was what Kakashi had seemed to be, but still…Kakashi had Sharingan—it had to be one hell of a genjutsu to render him immobile…

Miho gritted her teeth. Great. So she knew that Itachi had learned a strong genjutsu.

That got her nowhere.

Think harder, remember, everything about him, his tone, his voice, his appearance; he had been wearing his Konoha headband, though there had been a strike through the symbol; his fingernails had been painted—bad fashion choice; hands were worn from training, there had been a ring on his finger, with the sign for "vermilion"—

Miho bolted upright, her breath coming short, her weak control over her chakra slipping as it spiked aberrantly. She had seen a ring like that before, on a wrinkled, wasted hand in one of Orochimaru's inner chambers. It was not exactly the same as Itachi's, instead a slate blue color, with the character for "sky" on it. And now that Miho thought about it…she could've sworn she'd seen Kisame wearing a ring as well.

Her heartbeat quickened. What did it mean? Was it like a membership card? A sign of status?

In what?

The answer was so obvious, Miho couldn't believe she'd ever called herself brilliant.

Orochimaru had been part of Akatsuki. And she had never even thought of it.

Another string of swear words flew from her mouth as she tossed off the blankets and began to dress. She needed to pay Kakashi a visit.

"Here?" said Karin uncertainly, drawing a thin string of steel wire around the room's door.

"Yes," said Kabuto.

"Uh…what's all this is for?"

"Orochimaru-sama said it's a trap," explained Kabuto, "for when Miho returns—she will certainly want to access this room."

"So these traps require her to use chakra in order to unlock the door."

"Precisely."

"And I will be on standby right outside of her sensing range so that I can detect her."

"Yes."

Karin was clearly dubious.

"…Can I…like…mention the many holes I see in this plan?"

"It won't make a difference."

"How do you even know she's going to come back? I mean, really? All the hell she's caused for Orochimaru-sama—do you think she'll honestly want to come back to this shit hole?"

"You live in said shit hole, so you might want to change your terminology," said Kabuto dryly. "She'll come back—Orochimaru-sama is sure of it."

"And so even if we do catch her, how are you going to make her stay? She's a sensor—you need her out on the field. How are you going to control her?"

"Karin, Karin," sighed Kabuto, "why don't you understand? The whole point of you is to replace her. With you, she will not be required on the field. Orochimaru-sama can control her fine within the confines. You needn't worry about it."

Karin unconsciously shuddered. Kabuto's grin widened at the sight of her fear for Miho's obvious punishment. Once he had his hands on her, Orochimaru would make sure that her life was a living hell. And nothing delighted Kabuto more than the prospect of arrogant Chiaki Miho's suffering.

As much as Miho respected the field of psychology, she found the practice of it to be utterly useless. The world was full of too many fucked up people for anyone to be pretending that he was sane—and Miho was probably the most fucked up person of all.

She was vaguely aware of her own mental instability when it came to Itachi, the sheer irrationality of it all. And so when she looked down at the fitfully sleeping Kakashi, she could not help but feel guilty for betraying his trust…and for coming to him for the answers she sought. Nevertheless, Miho placed her hand on Kakashi's perspiring forehead and allowed the chakra to run through to her palm. She'd stolen the patient report and had glanced through it; it seemed that no one in Konoha knew what to do with Kakashi, who, no matter what, wouldn't wake up. Itachi's genjutsu hadn't just been strong—it'd been terrorizing. Miho was a fool to believe that she'd ever had a chance.

But when it came to medical issues, Miho was confident that the only person more skilled than her was Senju Tsunade, and she was an old granny by now, maybe even dead. If only her teammate were dead too—then Miho would never have to see Orochimaru's slithering face ever again.

She turned her attention back to her senpai. Healing Kakashi was not an issue—it was making sure he wouldn't attack her when he awoke that was.

She tensed her body as Kakashi's shivering subsided, and then it was only a matter of time…

His eyes opened blearily, and it took him less time than Miho had anticipated to register his surroundings. His gaze fell on her and his attack was immediate. She was thankful that he was weak and tired, for she caught his outstretched fist easily and pushed him back, a kunai pressed roughly against his throat.

"I'm not here to kill you," she said quietly.

"That might not be the case on my part," he said, breathing haggardly.

It was an empty threat. A visible wince passed over his face and his arm fell to his side. Kakashi's breathing grew more and more labored, and Miho, worried, loosened the kunai slightly. It seemed that he was not faking it, for he didn't take advantage of her weakness, and instead his eyes fluttered closed as he focused on his own condition.

"Please don't attack me," said Miho softly. "I'm going to see what I can do, all right? Hold still."

She dropped the kunai completely and brought both arms up to the sides of his head. Friendly chakra flowed down to her palms; Miho closed her eyes as she rested his forehead against hers, blacking out her surroundings save for the streams of green rippling between them. Kakashi's head was a mess; all control over chakra was stilted and the pain was amplified by his brain and nothing else. Miho did what she could, her chakra slipping through his, resetting the pathways, reducing the swells. Minutes passed until she could hear Kakashi's breathing finally stabilize.

"Better?" she said, sliding away from him.

Kakashi said nothing, but his glare was evident.

"What are you here for?" he demanded.

Miho sighed, tossed the kunai over at him, and held up her hands to show that she was unarmed.

"I wanted to ask you a few questions," she said.

"Do you think I'll just answer them after what you did?"

"I have never loved this village," she said sharply, "but don't think I don't feel guilty for it. You're not the only person who woke up in his hospital room, strangely healed."

Realization flashed over his face.

"Those strange cases were you?"

She nodded impatiently. "But that's not the point. I want to know a few things, and after I have my answers, I guarantee that I'll get the hell out of Konoha and you'll never have to see me again."

"Or I'll take you to prison and we could continue this conversation with you behind bars."

"Kakashi—"

"Do you realize what you've done, Miho?" said Kakashi seriously. "Healing those you could in the hospital doesn't cut it—the Hokage is dead, Miho, our village is in shambles—"

"Your village would be gone if I'd done my part of the plan, and you would probably be dead!" she snapped, her eyes blazing. "You don't understand what it's like, Kakashi! Telling me that nothing is worse than living alone—I know that! But at least Sasuke lived comfortably, he lived here, at home, with you and his friends—you don't know what a sick fuck Orochimaru is, Kakashi, but if you did, then you would understand exactly what I did and why I did it: I did it to survive." Her voice dropped now, but she could see a red haze cloud her vision, like it always did when she felt herself grow irrational, frightening, mad. "There was nothing that pushed me to survive in that hellhole more than knowing that Uchiha Itachi was still alive, because he was all that kept me going. I would've killed myself a long time ago if I didn't have him as a reason to live."

Miho was breathing harshly by this point and forced herself to lean back in her seat. Her chakra was slipping out of her control again; she let a few minutes of silence pass so she could recover herself.

"I won't force you to answer these questions," she said, letting her head rest in her hands. "I respect you more than that. But I'm asking you…begging you to give me them."

"…Miho, don't—"

"Stop," she said softly. "There's no point—we both know that I'm going to go insane if I don't find him."

She could tell that he had sensed the creeping edges of madness in her as well. What he did next, though, was so surprising, so kind, so tender that if Miho hadn't known better, she would have burst out crying. Kakashi's arm slinked around her shoulder and pulled her into an awkward embrace, his fingers padding her skin lightly in comfort. She heard him sigh, weary and resigned, before he spoke again.

"In the end, I still can't bring myself to believe that the Miho I know could turn into a Miho I can hardly recognize," he murmured. "I have borne my own burdens…I have seen my own friends and family die before me…and yet why is it that I can't convince you to turn away from this? Why will you continue, Miho, when you yourself know…just how terrifyingly different you are when it comes to Uchiha Itachi?"

Miho didn't answer because she had none. She just stared unseeingly at the wall in front of her, tired, unwilling to talk about her changes and the red haze and the guilt.

Kakashi exhaled again.

"To think that I'm sitting here, hugging one of the most wanted kunoichi in the village now," he said, letting them grow apart. "I seem to have more faith in you than I thought."

Miho smiled wryly.

"All the same…Uchiha Itachi is not someone you can take on," said Kakashi. "Miho, you should stay in Konoha—if we work together and—"

"Those are empty words, Kakashi. We know it can't work like that."

Kakashi said nothing and let her go so that they could properly face each other. The staring match did not last long—they knew the truth of the matter and the convictions of either side.

"Let's hear your questions," he said finally.

A wave of relief. "What do you know about Akatsuki?"

"Not much," admitted Kakashi. "An underground organization of nine S-Class criminals…there has been little activity of the last few years, and I hadn't heard of them before. All the information I know is from Jiraiya."

"Jiraiya?" repeated Miho. "As in, one of the Sannin?"

"Mm," he nodded. "He's been following the organization for a while, and was the one to warn me about them coming after Naruto—which they did."

"Why?" she asked.

"Apparently, they're trying to collect all the Jinchuuriki—for the tailed beasts inside of them. What their goal is after collecting these beasts is beyond my understanding."

"I see," said Miho, thinking. "Why did Jiraiya follow the organization?"

She already knew the answer before Kakashi voiced it aloud.

"Because Orochimaru joined it."

"Tch…that bastard…no wonder he knew things about Itachi…"

"Don't be mistaken," said Kakashi warningly. "I believe Orochimaru had his own agenda. He's left Akatsuki."

Miho made an aggravated noise. She had been trying to avoid it, but now it seemed impossible—she needed to make a trip back to Orochimaru's lair. She gritted her teeth at the thought; no doubt he was furious and looking for her, since she was too precious of a specimen to let loose…it would be a huge risk to return, but something told her that those rings were significant, that Akatsuki would come looking for it…

"I hear the Sandaime wounded Orochimaru badly—how?"

"…We're not entirely sure," said Kakashi slowly. "It seemed to be something along the lines of sealing away his hand…and hence forever seal away his jutsu."

That was not a permanent solution, but no one in Konoha knew that. This piece of news only shortened her time frame—if Orochimaru did not manage to heal himself, then he would go for a body replacement—she had to strike now, when he was weak and preoccupied by his wounds…

Kakashi seemed to guess her train of thought.

"Miho. It's not safe."

"Nothing ever is, senpai."

"No, you don't understand, Orochimaru—"

"Oh, I think I do understand," said Miho quietly. "I think I understand him very well."

Kakashi fell silent, his expression hesitant and concerned. Miho sighed and stood up.

"Thanks for everything, senpai," she said. "You're still not a hundred percent healed, so be sure to rest, all right?"

"Miho."

"Don't worry about me. You shouldn't, honestly. I'm not your little protégé anymore—I'm probably an S-class criminal now."

"Something along those lines," said Kakashi heavily.

Miho bared a thin smile. "Goodbye, Kakashi."

She was almost out the window when he spoke again.

"Miho. In the end, Konoha is your home. You are always welcome back."

Oh, what Kakashi didn't know. She had abandoned Konoha a long time ago.

But she gave him a small wave, an even smaller "Thank you," and then she was gone, but not without the residing guilt, a transparent hope, and the boiling resentment for Orochimaru, for Itachi, and for herself for robbing her of peace.

Miho moved with ultimate precaution, or at least, she tried. Speed was of the essence though, and truthfully, she had enough confidence in her chakra sensing to get in and out of the lair undetected. All that mattered was the timing: making sure Orochimaru was away, preferably Kabuto as well, and then going into that inner chamber where that grotesquely withered hand stood…

It took her a full day and night to travel, and try as she might to come up with a failsafe plan, she could not. Too many unknown factors lied in her way—she could only pray that Orochimaru was busy writhing in pain and Kabuto busy attending to him.

It was nearly dawn when Miho paused on the outskirts of the underground base, sensing intently. Orochimaru and Kabuto were in the chambers in the far east…and her destination was far southwest. Guards were easily avoidable…should she wait? But for what? The darkness could help her hide, and there were only a few hours left before sunrise…

She went for it. No preparations, just teeth ground together as she ensured that her chakra was undetectable as she raced for the chamber. Every once in a while, a sentry would do a double-take as she turned around a corner, but Miho was a master at infiltration and lurking in the shadows…

The door was set with traps, but that was to be expected. She cut through the steel-wires effortlessly and used the barest minimum of chakra to deactivate the poisoned needles; it was not like Orochimaru could sense her from so far, anyway. All of this was rudimentary, easy, almost, but she held her breath as she entered the room, and it was empty, like she'd sensed. And there was the hand, the ring glistening on it, the character for "sky" easily visible—

Miho sensed it too late. Orochimaru and Kabuto's chakra levels were moving in her direction at a frightening pace—how had they known? It was impossible—she lunged for the ring but it was sealed to the hand; she needed time to figure out how to unseal it, but did she have the time—they were closing in—but—escape or the ring, Miho—yourself, or Itachi—

She began to examine the hand; just a few seals, trying dragon, ox, horse, maybe it was a chakra key—

"You should've run while you could, Miho," said Orochimaru's voice behind her.

She turned around, unable to repress the flighty bouts of panic and fear. Orochimaru looked to be in terrible shape: drawn pallor, heavy breathing, visible signs of perspiration and pain—but even in terrible condition, Orochimaru was still too much for her to take on.

"How did you know?" she said breathlessly, biding her time.

"I did tell you I was going to replace you," he sneered. "Karin, a job well done."

A red-haired kunoichi with framed glasses lurked in the behind him, and Miho realized that she could only barely sense her.

"I see…a distance sensor."

"Precisely. Her range is farther than yours, but she could not sense you unless you used your chakra," said Kabuto. "Hence, our sad little traps—which in the end, were perfectly effective."

"Your blood is marvelous, Miho," said Orochimaru, clearly strained with the conversation. "I wonder—will it heal my arm?"

Miho chanced a glance down at Orochimaru's left arm; she could sense no chakra flowing into it, and by the looks of it, Orochimaru had no control over his limb either. It dangled limply by his side, wound in bandages, a rotting arm that was as good as amputated.

"No," she replied. "It won't."

Orochimaru sneered. "We won't know until we try, will we?"

Miho lunged for the exit, but she knew it was futile without even trying. Orochimaru caught her with a brutal kick to the stomach that sent her flying across the room. She felt someone grab her by the hair and yank her upright before she could recover. There was a stinging sensation near her throat; she glimpsed Kabuto's flashing glasses and a needle in his right hand.

"Hand her over to the prisoners in the dungeon," said Orochimaru's snide voice as the sedative kicked in. "They've been wanting a little entertainment. Just make sure she's awake for it."

It seemed that Miho's little counter-genjutsu proved to be more effective than she'd anticipated, only that the effects were long-term rather than immediate.

The memories continued, flashing back to times that Itachi had long forgotten.

I'm number one in my class, Nii-san! Do you think Otou-san will be proud? Do you think he'll acknowledge me as his son now?
Sasuke, he's never forgotten you. Only his clan pride prevented him from showing it.

I want you to stop treating me like some backup plan when life gets too hard, only to never confide in me and push me away in the end. I want you to actually appreciate everything I've done for you, Uchiha Itachi, because no matter what you say, I have risked too much of my life not to hear a clear explanation.

Forgive me for it, Miho. Or don't, because you will forever be the one thing I was selfish for.