Itachi woke before Hikari. While he watched her breathe peacefully in his bed, he finally knew what he felt. It was calm, and stable, and yet somehow it was strong and unyielding. It was comfortable, like a new way of being at home, and most of all, it made him feel more alive. In time, the woman stirred and her breath became more shallow. Itachi wrapped himself around her from behind, holding her close to him. In her ear, he whispered the words as if with closure.

"I love you." Hikari felt him give a soft kiss on the cheek and for a moment, she doubted he had even meant the words. Hikari turned around to look at the raven haired man, who was smiling, unfastened hair falling loosely over his shoulders. Dumbly, she spat out the first words that could come to her groggy brain.

"You what?"

Outside on their walk, Itachi held her hand until they were out of sensory range. There, Hikari turned to him.

"When I first met you, I remember catching your eye and knowing that I was in the exact right place. I knew for sure I was following the right and moral path. I had planned to help you because it was what I had to do, regardless of my happiness. I had imagined that after time, you would find me annoying or I would bother you, and I had never imagined you would accept me as a friend." Hikari's face turned sad, somehow. "With all of my skill in foresight, I had never planned on this. I had never expected to be loved. I don't deserve you." It was clear that Hikari had been deeply touched and surprised by his sentiment. But he was unsure of how she felt in return.

"If you don't feel the same... it's alright. You can forget-"

"I think I had fallen in love with you sometime a while ago when you smiled at me. I just never let myself really think about it." Itachi smiled softly. "I never needed you to feel the same way. Because just having a friendship as strong as ours was enough."

"I'm not very affectionate." She smiled.

"You are in the ways where it counts. I don't need to hear passionate words to know." The woman lifted her face up close to his. "And if you were the gooey type it would just push me away." Itachi remembered how long it had taken him to let down his guard enough to initiate any form of physical contact. He wondered if this was really the way his parents had felt about each other. If it was, he had truly underestimated the depth of their relationship.

"Anyways, I have to leave soon. Deidara will be taking off to pursue Naruto tomorrow. I have to prepare to tail Sasuke just in case." Itachi nodded.

"I have a mission with Kisame as well. It's a bounty hunt nearby, so I should be back within a half a day." He looked away, and she knew from his face that he was nervous.

"I'll send you a message telepathically as soon as I'm in sensory range again. It will be fine. Your brother is strong. He can handle Deidara even if they were to go toe to toe."

"Thank you for your assistance, Hikari." It was something he felt constantly, though he didn't voice the words enough.

"Oh and Itachi? We've got to watch our backs. There are leaf ninja after us, you know."

The base was silent when Hikari returned. Itachi had gone off with Kisame, kissing her goodbye in secret. Now, Hikari found that everyone else was either gone or still asleep. A pot of hot tea was out on the counter, next to a large pot of miso. Absentmindedly, Hikari poured herself some of both, sitting at the kitchen table. She brought the broth to her mouth and paused. Interesting, it smells a little sweet. She shrugged and gulped it down. Her eyes shot wide open.

It was poison. Immediately, Hikari proceeded with how she had been trained, surveying the area for a possible culprit. There was none to be found. Her vision began to blur and muscles began to go lax as the ingredient took hold. I have to get upstairs before I'm unable to move. If I lose consciousness, I could be in trouble. Slowly, the woman made it off the chair and up the stairs into the hallway. Only then did she notice the presence in her room. Growling, she readied her bow and pushed open the door.

A masked man in a black outfit sat in the chair next to her desk. His Akatsuki cloak was hung on the frame. The figure turned around, and Hikari was taken my surprise.

"Tobi...?" He was one of the members that Hikari had rarely seen around, despite being Deidara's partner. "What the hell did you do to the food? What are you playing at?" If Tobi had come to her room, then it was likely personal. Either that, or he had taken care of the others first.

"It's been a long time, Hikari, haha!" The high voice pierced her ears. She was becoming sensitive to sound and light. "You look kind of dizzy. You might want to sit down!" She didn't need to be told twice. Arms and legs tingling, Hikari practically flopped onto her bed.

"Why did you poison me? Tell me!" The swirl masked man waved his hands at her, as if keeping the dazed image of her at bay.

"Okay, okay! No need to be frightened. I just want to talk!" Hikari hunched over in her seat glaring at him.

"Then talk! And you had better tell me the whole truth you lying traitor!" Tobi rose from his chair to stand with his hands on his hips and his head cocked.

"I see. So you want the whole truth is that it, huh?" Through the blur her eyes, she detected something sinister behind the man's mask. "Very well."

Hikari's heart nearly lurched into her throat. Not from the words that he said, but that his voice had just dropped two octaves lower.

Miles away, Itachi and Kisame made their way to the outpost town their target was last seen. Itachi had been silent the entire way.

"You've been staring into space, moreso than usual. Is there something in particular on your mind?" He didn't spare his partner a look.

"No, there is nothing." To be truthful to himself, there was quite a lot on his mind. Itachi had fallen in love, that was true, but that was the very least of his worries. In less than two days, his brother would possibly take part in another life threatening battle, and as much as Hikari insisted, he wasn't sure he would be prepared for the task. Regardless, Itachi would be facing him sooner than he could have hoped, or he would soon be dead. he would be leaving Hikari behind to go to an unknown secret hideout where he could not guarantee her safety. There was a lot in his mind he had to sort out.

"I wonder if Deidara will decide to go after your brother after all. It would be a shame after how long you've waited to take those eyes of his," Kisame continued, trying to prod and investigate what Itachi could be picking apart with his brilliant brain.

"If all goes as planned, he should be headed towards the Leaf to take out the nine tails." His sharp toothed partner sighed, irritated.

"That's just as troubling. I had been looking forward to seeing you take out the strongest jinjuuriki. Of course, I had also been looking forward to taking him on myself."

"I'm not worried. Deiadara's overconfidence will prove fatal against the kyuubi. He's arrogant and egocentric and ultimately it will get him killed. There's no point discussing this any further. Our only goal is the task at hand." Itachi almost laughed at the level of mistruth. In all honesty, the mission ahead of them had hardly crossed his mind. A bounty hunt felt like a vacation in the mist of the existential pressure they now faced.

Hikari looked up at the masked figure towering over her, internally screaming. A simple change of voice and her mind felt like it was shattering. After all these years, had her whole perception of the organization been a lie?

"I chose to keep watch at a distance while acting as Itachi's mentor, but after all of these years you've complicated things quite a bit for me, Senju. It's high time we become more well acquainted." Itachi's mentor. Was this man who had masqueraded around as a bafoon all of these years really strong enough to have taught Itachi? She thought. The man's energy had changed from the last time she had seen him, as if a strange chakra had transformed him somehow. Now he was dark, cold, filled with malice.

"Who are you?" The masked man turned his head towards her now, visible eye turning red.

"Madara Uchiha." The woman couldn't believe her ears. If what he said was true, he had to be well over one hundred years old.

"That's impossible..." The man chuckled in his low, cold voice.

"I escaped that day thanks to Hashirama's medical ninjutsu and the re-generative properties of his cells which I stole. After my defeat, I came to the conclusion that the village would never beget true peace, and I formed the Akatsuki. Itachi has been my crowning glory for seven years. With his mangekyo he can overpower any that stand in my way. He knows this. But he is soon to die. You understand this more intimately than myself." Hikari wondered if this man knew the extent of how intimately she knew Itachi. She dared not ask. "In time, I will need a replacement to accomplish my goals, and Sasuke Uchiha will come to hate the village just as you do. I need him to prove he will be a capable vessel."

"How do you know my feelings towards the village?" Hikari's head was swimming. The masked man chuckled.

"I would have been a fool to not keep my eyes on you. A medic ninja with intuitive abilities from the Leaf ANBU, determined to save the life of a man guilty of genocide? The possibility was too great to overlook. I know you know the truth of the Uchiha. And you feel the way I feel about the village. Hikari, you and I are quite alike." She shook her head.

"Our politics are completely different. I'll never see the world like you." The man shrugged.

"Perhaps. But Itachi doesn't want Sasuke to know the truth. I believe the village deserves to be punished for what they've done all of these years. You agree don't you?" Hikari was filled with doubt. She looked down, resigned to his point.

"Yes," she whispered. He chuckled again.

"Good, we have an understanding then. If I'm to go against the Leaf, I need to test Sasuke's fighting prowess. I cannot let you interfere."

"What kind of man allows for the extinction of his own people?" Hikari tried to sense his chakra. It was cold and hateful yes, but was this man really Madara Uchiha? Her effort was in vain. The poison had addled her brain. "I won't let you risk Sasuke's death!"

"That's precicely why you are nearly paralyzed on your bed with nightshade poison and I am not." His possible intentions suddenly dawned on Hikari and she felt closure.

"You are going to kill me then?"

"Nonsense. Zetsu only added enough to incapacitate you. You still have an important role to play. I need you alive. Choose to stay here, in the Akatsuki with me, and we will bring justice to the Uchiha. Work alongside Sasuke and we will avenge the village that caused us all so much pain." Hikari thought about it. It was a tempting offer. She looked up at him.

"Sorry but I'm not interested in revenge. If you want to end the cycle, reform is needed."

"You're naiive. Do you really think institutionalized hatred as deep as what lies in the village can be repaired through reform? The system must come to an end. A new system should take its place." Hikari was too tired to think. She didn't know what to believe anymore. Not if Madara Uchiha was alive. Not if he planned to risk the future of his clan. "Think on it. You will fully recover in no more than two days. By then, we will have our answer." Madara turned his back and made his way to exit the room.

"No," Hikari bolted from the bed and lunged at him with a Kunai. It simply went right through him. Hikari stood back and gasped in shock. He turned to her.

"How can you still move?" Now Hikari understood. If this man could erase the physical presence of his body, no justu in her arsenal could overpower him.

"I spent.. three years trying to develop various immunities to poisons... I guess I still have some resistance left." Madara stood up straight, walking her back towards her bed.

"That can be easily countered." With that, the masked man cornered her up against her mattress. As Hikari's legs hit the frame, a sudden intuition popped into her head. She looked at him wide eyed.

"Wait a minute... you're... not... Madara..." The figure paused, before shaking his head.

"The nightshade has clearly altered your perceptions. You cannot tell the difference between intuition and hallucination. Sleep. This will all be over for you soon." There was no time to attempt resistance. The man's eye glowed red once more, and Hikari fell.

In his room, Deidara was making the last adjustments to his clay landmines.

Almost done, just a few more should do the trick, he thought. In a little over a day, he would have his revenge. Deidara was careful to refrain from coming to an official decision, musing over the advantages taking out the nine tails would also bring. If Hikari could predict future events, he would give her no time to plan ahead. He was interrupted by his musings by a knock on the door.

"What do you want?" The man shouted gruffly. The door opened to reveal the obnoxious, lame brained nuissance that was his partner.

"Hey! Deidara, orders came in from Leader. We have to go for our target right away!" Deidara sulked.

"What?! I wanted to build more land mines for the take down! Who does he think he is, ordering us around just because he feels like it."

"Sorry! Sorry! We have to do whatever he says!" The blonde man sighed, rising from his chair and packing the last of his things within the confines of his cloak. He looked back at his room, imagining for a moment that Hikari had meant what she had said. With a hardened heart, he came to a conclusion. When he returned, he would take her up on her offer, and if she refused, he would make her relationship with Itachi public news.

Itachi sighed deeply, allowing the warmth of the sulfur water sink into his bones. Through the steam, Kisame sat with his arms over his head next to him.

"Ahh, that hits the spot." The blue skinned man mused.

"Kisame, we need to locate our target. It's unwise to tarry here." The man displayed his sharp teeth in a smirk.

"Why can't we just let ourselves relax and enjoy ourselves for a bit? Who knows, maybe the minerals here will be good for you somehow. Your healing is coming along, isn't it?" Itachi tilted his head back.

"I haven't coughed up blood or had any pain since they day we returned from capturing the Four Tails."

"That's a relief. I had been getting worried that maybe I was going to lose you. Let's hope it stays this way." Itachi's heart sunk a bit at his words. Kisame had always been loyal to him. He had even put himself in life threatening danger to help him heal. Yet his partner did not know the extent of his illness. Moreover, he had no idea that whether he recovered or not, he would soon be dead. "Itachi," the man began again. "Let's say Deidara does take out your brother. What would you do then?" Itachi's entire body cringed under the relaxing water. Kisame certainly had a way with shattering his peace sometimes. Itachi had dared plan for the possibility. If Sasuke died, he would lose his mind. He would die in the exact same moment. A shell of himself, he would likely convince Hikari to have his child and raise them as an Uchiha- that is if he could manage to not immediately throw himself off a cliff.

"Deidara's a dead man. If Sasuke doesn't finish him, I'd kill him myself." He meant it. And Itachi would make sure Deidara felt his pain before he passed.

Flying high several hours later, Obito sat on a clay steed just behind his young pawn.

"Hey Deidara, where are we going?!" He inquired with a high voice distorted by jutsu. It was time for Deidara to make his decision. When he chose, Hikari would never be able to get there in time. Deidara did not answer, instead he headed to the East. Very soon, Obito would know if he had found his pawn.

Half an hour later, Hikari rose from her bed with a jolt. He's headed for Sasuke. She thought. Chakra still half drained and head hazy, Hikari bolted out the door headed for the battleground as if her feet had a life of their own. Heart racing, she vowed to protect him at all costs, even if it meant killing Deidara.

By the time she arrived, the Sasuke was badly torn up. The surrounding area was in a dismal condition, she had seen that Deidara had used his strongest jutsu to dissolve most living organisms within a large radius. He had taken refuge in the forest, though her exhausted friend was fast on his tail. Hikari readied her bow to take him out by surprise if she had to, and quickly crafted a message to send on a messenger pigeon for Itachi:

I'm less than fifty meters away from Sasuke. Your brother will win this fight with or without me.

Heart racing, the woman squinted in order to get a good glimpse of the two of them. She could faintly hear her loud mouthed comrade exclaim something about Itachi's eyes and art. All at once, a heavy, piercing feeling crept up inside her, as she saw in the distance Deidara turn translucent.

No... what is he doing? He's going to kill himself!

"Noooo!" Hikari hurtled as fast as she could towards them, only guessing what would happen. If Deidara was going to blow himself up, Hikari would use all of her remaining chakra to create a large wall of petrified wood to slow the impact, giving Sasuke a chance to escape.

Coming the opposite way, a familiar high pitched screaming filled the air. Hikari saw a burst of white light begin to expand, obliterating all the trees in its path. Then she saw Tobi. Before she could resist, the tall masked man grabbed on to her frame tightly.

"Don't throw your life away, girl," the man's lowered voice mumbled. And then they swirled into nothingness, and for a moment there was no more.

When Itachi heard the knews from Zetsu, it was as if all of the grief he had experienced in his life came up at once. His heart sunk deep into his stomach. Even the notion that Sasuke had been unable to escape sent waves of fearful, suicidal agony through him. It felt surreal.

If Deidara had been able to create an explosion of that magnitude, there was no guarantee that Sasuke would have been able to escape. Zetsu could be right. He didn't know if his susanoo could shield him from an explosion that went on for miles.

Sasuke, are you alive?

After a life of unimaginable loss and grief, Itachi never prayed. But now, in this moment, he felt a desperate plea rise from his heart aimed at something, anything that had control over the universe. Within the next day, Itachi would know what had come to pass. His entire body yearned to hear the truth, that Sasuke was safe or that this was all one terrible nightmare. If he was alone in the world now, there was no point in suffering the agony of life any longer.

When the others left, only Kisame remained. His partner looked at him with an uncertain, sad smirk. It took all of Itachi's strength to keep his calm exterior. Itachi dismounted the geddo statue, walking silently out into the surrounding caves. Much to his annoyance, Kisame followed.

Through the cave, they spotted a small bird flying towards them with a message tied to its ankle. Desperate for closure, Itachi opened it. Through blurred vision, he read the hastily scrawled words of Hikiari. In all odds, they must have been written before the bomb went off. Itachi cursed his bad luck. Now, either the two people who meant anything to him were alive, or at least one had perished in the deathblow. Safe from Kisame's intense scruitiny, he stepped out into the heavy rain.

"You'll catch your death out there," the largely oblivious man stated. Itachi was dead inside. Almost. But for some reason, maybe because he didn't know any other way of being, he clung to his faith. He tilted his head to the sky, as if searching for any sign, any feeling inside of him that told him Sasuke was not dead. Deep in the corners of his being, he felt it and it engulfed him. It was an intuition he could trust.

I feel you, Sasuke. You must be alive.

"You're so cold I have no idea what's going on inside your head right now. Not one little clue. Yet from here, it looks like you're crying." Itachi was crying, in a way. Silent tears leaked from his eyes uncontrollably. And as long as Kisame didn't know, he didn't particularly care what the man thought. "It's really too bad what happened to your little brother. It looks like you're the sole survivor of the Uchiha clan." Itachi was not a good enough liar to prevent Kisame from guessing his feelings for his brother. But Kisame was wrong.

"No. Sasuke's not dead," he turned to his friend with composure. He wished he believed his words rationally as much as he felt them.

Live. It was a pure wish, and yet now, as the rain began to clear, he desperately felt it to be true. He needed it to be true.

Hikari tumbled to the black marble pillars below her. Obito landed them both together.

"How did you get in my way? You fell under my genjutsu." Hikari struggled out of his grip, glaring at him.

"I slipped out of my body for a moment and woke myself up. The poison hasn't left my system. You could have just let me charge after him and yet you saved me. Where are we anyway?"

"You're in another dimension. I told you before, your life has value to me. When we exit this realm, we will be back at the hideout."

"Take me back to Itachi!" Hikari was almost hyperventilating. The rush of their near death sent her adrenaline skyrocketing.

"Relax, Hikari. Breathe. I'll take you back. But listen to me for one moment. If you wish for Sasuke to learn the truth, you will not speak of my plan to Itachi. You understand that, right?"

"Yes. Now let me go to him! He's probably planning his own death right now."

"He won't have gone without proof of Sasuke's death. Hikari, continue to do your job as you have planned. But do not be so eager to throw your life away to save Sasuke's. You have proven yourself to be a valuable addition to the Akatsuki." Hikari nodded, eyes filled with resentment. Whoever the man was, his view of the village was not so different. The woman might have favored the Akatsuki over the villages, but she would never be one of them.

Hikari used the last of her energy to run down the hall until she found the familiar dark and gentle energy of Itachi. He was standing alone, pacing as if waiting for something. The man turned to her with a face that looked like he had been rattled with fear and despair. The very sight of him so vulnerable brought a thin film of tears to her eyes.

"He's alive," she managed to choke out with a half smile. Itachi's entire being seemed to have sighed. Walking to each other as if pulled by a shared sense of existential relief, they collapsed in each other's arms, sinking to the ground. Itachi couldn't help it. A tear slid down his right cheek in front of her.

"Thank heavens." They held each other for a moment, and knew that with Deidara dead, the worrying was over. "How did you both escape?"

"I saw Sasuke on a seashore thirty kilometers from here. He transported himself into the realm of the snakes. As for me, your mentor saved my life." Itachi looked at her closely, still holding her.

"You know the secret then?" For a moment, Hikari debated telling him everything she knew. Instead, she simply smiled.

"I know. Your secret is safe with me."

That night, Hikari curled up next to Itachi in her own bed, nestled into the side of his chest. Itachi gently massaged her arm to comfort the both of them while she listened to their matched breathing.

"Sasuke will be nearby in a matter of weeks. He's going to begin to locate the hideouts one by one." Itachi nodded.

"It will go according to plan, then." Hikari smiled to herself, content that soon, Itachi would be at peace and her mission would soon be over.

"Itachi?" the woman asked with a kiss. The man looked at the woman staring up at him with tired eyes. "I don't want to sleep away from you any longer." He smiled.

"Let's stay together until the very end."

Alright everyone, there should be about three chapters left of this story, maybe less. I have almost everything plotted out and I'm really looking forward to showing you how this thing ends, because it's not going to be in the way you expect. I wanted to give everyone a heads up about the ending. If you have enjoyed any of the friendship, feelings, or character growth in this story at all, please please PLEASE with dango on top read the last chapter. I have written over 60 thousand words for no reason other than to get to that chapter. It's been in my mind the entire time since almost one year ago and it's the entire point and essence of this story. So if anyone by any chance is feeling the need to skip any of the smaller scenes, please for the love of the Uchiha and all that is good or okay ish about this story, please at least read that chapter!