Just pretend like this part is centered. ------ DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ITACHI OR ANYONE OR ANYTHING ELSE FROM NARUTO.

(Yeah, I know that part looks centered NOW, but before I typed that arrow and that sentence before the disclaimer, it would have appeared on the far left side like everything else. For some reason it REFUSED to stay centered AFTER I had just saved it being centered. This whole editing process has not been working out very well for me. This is the 3rd time I've uploaded this document, 'cause I deleted it twice because it insisted that the whole document be italiced, EVEN THOUGH it was not so moments before I hit the 'save' button. )

A super huge THANK YOU to everyone who read and reviewed my last chapter! ILU! =D You guys rock. ^_^

Alright! I'm updating a little bit faster now! Aren't I? It's all thanks to my awesome hubby making me an awesome computer! Even though my keyboard was kind of ghetto. :\

I HAS A NEW KEYBOARD NOW! But I didn't get it before I had FINISHED typing this chapter without the full and proper use of my keyboard. I did a LOT of copying and pasting, and right clicking and seeing if there was an option available with an accurately spelled word and/or appropriate punctuation. :D Thank GOD for Microsoft Word and it's automatic speller fixing! W00t! So, yeah. I hope you guys appreciate the trouble I went through to type this chappie up for you. :P ^_^ But I still managed to thoroughly love writing every letter of it... because, hey. I love writing, and I love writing this fanfic. ^___^

So, the beginning of this chapter kind of sucks, but it gets a lot better. :D AND theres another flashback in this one! I'm really proud of it, and I think it's awesome, and I hope that all of you out there agree with me on that. n_n;; :)

REVIEWS ARE AWESOME! Don't be afraid to leave me one and tell me what you think. ^_^ All reviews are welcome!

Well, anywho... ON to the chapter! Enjoy, everyone! 8D

Chapter 21

Uchiha Itachi sat beside his wife's bed, watching her sleep in an abandoned hut a day's walk from where Itachi had rescued Akiko. Rain pelted down on the roof, and the iron colored clouds rumbled their discontent. Four days had passed since he'd rescued her, and she was just now able to sleep contentedly. With tenderness most would not assume Itachi was capable of, Itachi washed her body of the ocean, and cleansed her wounds. He took special care of her shoulder wound, the one which Mimori had inflicted on her.

From the time Akiko had fallen from the cliff to when Itachi rescued her from the ocean, the virgin bride had obtained various other flesh wounds from which she had bled from. She had lost a lot of blood, making her situation more precarious. Itachi had rescued her just in the nick of time. A little bit later and she would have bled out and eaten by the oceans wildlife.

Akiko's feet were elevated, and there was a cold compress on her forehead. They would help reverse the effects of high blood loss. When he had first brought her here, she was barely holding onto life by a thread, but Itachi knew just enough first aid to bring her back.

For the first day that Itachi was nursing his wife back to health, he had very little hope at all that she would survive. Her hold on life was so tenuous that if Itachi had even stumbled while carrying her and lightly bumped her head on something, she would have died. Any kind of light wound would have done her in. He took special care cleansing her shoulder wound of everything the ocean had washed into it. There had been a lot of gritty sand and ocean salt in it, but now no more.

Not once since he found her did his wife open her eyes of her own accord. There had been a couple of occasions in which in her feverish delirium she'd opened them, dreaming of the horrors she had endured while in captivity, but other than that… nothing.

Itachi waited anxiously for a sign that his wife was getting better, healing. He looked off into the trees. The east wall of the little hut no longer existed, and the young Uchiha stared through the gap, remembering days gone past. He momentarily let his mind wander, and as Itachi was wont to do, his thoughts lingered on those of his younger brother….

"Itachi-kun, watch your brother while I go out. I need to pick up some things for supper tonight." Sasuke and Itachi's mom said as she headed out the front door, a basket on one arm.

"Yes, moom!" Itachi called after her. Eight year old Itachi turned his attention to three year old Sasuke.

"Well, Sasuke-kun, mom is gone for a bit, and dad is at work. We have the whooole house to ourselves! What do you want to do first?" Itachi asked his little brother excitedly. Being so young, it was rare that the two were ever left alone like this.

"Piggyback riiide!" Sasuke shouted out, throwing his arms into the air, his sweet, young face jubilant.

Itachi grimaced, remembering how his back had hurt the last time he'd given Sasuke a piggyback ride… for four hours. "Isn't there something ELSE you'd rather do besides that??" Itachi asked, in hopes he could sway Sasuke's mind.

"Piggyback ride!" He shouted again, the grin on his face widening.

"How about—"

"Piggyback ride!"

"What if--- "

"Piggyback!"

"What about—"

"PIGGYBACK!" Sasuke yelled at Itachi, his tiny fists balled tightly.

Itachi threw his hands up in resignation and then slumped his shoulders in defeat. "Alright, you win. Piggyback ride it is. Again." He loved teasing Sasuke at this age. He was too young to know any better and always thought that he'd won a great battle over his older brother.

"YAAAAAAYY, WOO-HOOOO!" Sasuke yelled, running two laps around his brother before leaping on his back. "Let's go, Itachi-kun!"

Itachi caught him with ease, but Sasuke wasn't a little baby anymore. "Oof! Have you gotten bigger, Sasuke-kun?!" Itachi asked his little brother, feeling the pride well in his chest. Sasuke was getting so big…

Sasuke giggled, covering his mouth with both hands. "Of course I have, Itachi-kun!" He said, then gently kicked Itachi in the sides with his heels and said, "Less talking, more piggyback!" Itachi set off around the house, prancing and hopping as he went.

It was a few minutes later that Itachi realized that Sasuke had stopped giggling. He stopped, and when Sasuke didn't push him to keep going, he became really concerned. Sasuke's older brother looked over his shoulder to look at him, and saw that Sasuke was curled up against his back, his face buried in his shirt. He suddenly became aware of how hot his little brother was.

Itachi went into his bedroom and laid Sasuke on his own bed, which was larger than Sasuke's. His little body was burning up, yet he shivered as if a constant wind were blowing on him.

"Sasuke-kun? Sasuke-kun, can you hear me??" Itachi whispered fiercely into his ear. His beautiful, young eyes stared at his little brother's face, wider than he thought possible. The older brother's eyes shimmered with concern, even more so when Sasuke didn't open his eyes.

"Sasuke? Sasuke! Sasuke-kun, open your eyes!" Itachi spoke loudly into Sasuke's face. He waited to see if Sasuke would open them. Itachi's heart thumped loudly in his chest, panic looming in the very near future.

Several heart beats later, Sasuke's eyelids trembled as he forced them open. His cheeks burned brightly. "Bro-ther… Why is it so cold in here… ?" He asked, his tiny voice weak.

Itachi's eyes bulged with alarm and he breathed in sharply. "I'm so sorry, Sasuke-kun, I'll fix that right away!" The words rushed from his mouth as he picked his little brother up, slid the blankets back and laid his brother on the bed sheets. Itachi lovingly removed his shoes and socks and shirt, and replaced the shirt with a long-sleeved nightie, then pulled the blankets up to his chin, and tucked him in snuggly. Itachi then positioned a stool by the bed and sat on it. He pressed his hand first against Sasuke's cheeks, then his forehead, carefully calculating the temperature.

"There," He said tenderly, "is that better?" He asked, his love for his younger brother reflecting in his eyes.

Sasuke smiled weakly as he looked into Itachi's eyes and slowly turned his head to look straight up at the ceiling. "Thanks, brother." He hoarsely whispered, then immediately his head flopped to the side, eyes slowly drooping closed.

"SASUKE!" Itachi shouted, leaping to his feet, knocking the stool over. "What do I do, what do I do?!" Itachi began to panic, desperately trying to think of something to do. He tapped his bottom lip and stared at the ceiling as he desperately thought of what to do in a situation like this. Suddenly, Itachi remembered when he was sick last year and his mom had taken care of him.

"Cold compress!" He declared to no one, then ran off to prepare one. He returned with it a few short moments later, and began to mop up the sweat from Sasuke's face, cooling him in the process. When he finished that, he laid it on Sasuke's forehead, and gently moved Sasuke's head to look straight up.

"Sasuke-kun, please be okay." He spoke softly to him, then ran off to get him a cup of water with a straw. When he got back, he gently woke Sasuke up, and sat him up so he could drink the water. "Sasuke-kun, you have to drink this water now, okay? You're running a fever, and your little body needs a lot of fluids. Will you drink this water for me?" Itachi lovingly explained to his little brother.

Sasuke looked up into Itachi's eyes with all the trust and admiration in his whole, tiny little body. A small smile spread across his face, and he nodded his head yes, and began to sip from the cup.

"That's a good boy." Itachi praised, returning Sasuke's look with one of love and heartfelt concern.

"Itachi-kun?" He asked when he'd drained the cup.

"Yes?"

"I want to be just like you when I grow up." He smiled up at him, admiration glowing in his fevered eyes.

Itachi smiled back at him, his heart overwhelmed by the strong emotions bursting in it. A moment later, Sasuke drifted back into sleep

"I swear to you, Sasuke-kun. I will always protect you! No matter what." He mumbled under his breath.

Itachi remained beside Sasuke till their mother got back home, watching over him.

Though he didn't realize it at the time, even at that young age Itachi had loved his brother more than anyone else. And even would have died for him at that age. "I miss you, Sasuke." He said softly.

Without realizing it, a small smile had spread across his face as he reveled in this old memory.

"You're smiling… ?"

With a jolt, Itachi recognized his wife's voice and whipped his head around to look at her."Akiko-chan! You're awake!" He gasped with astonishment before looking into her eyes. Itachi's whole body felt like it was jolted full of electricity when he met her gaze. Those beautiful blue eyes, as lightly colored as the sky. They mesmerized him with their beauty, and the tender, yet fierce love that reflected in them.

Itachi studied her face carefully. He realized that he hadn't looked at his wife nearly enough, even before they got married. Akiko's beauty captivated him, and he gasped in spite of himself.

Akiko gazed back at her husband, surprised at the depth of emotion betrayed in his normally vague, steely eyes. She started to smile at him, but it froze on her face as she suddenly recalled what Ja-ku had said to her. Her smile turned into a hard frown and she rolled over so she couldn't look at Itachi's handsome face.

Itachi frowned deeply, disturbed by his wife's reaction. His brow furrowed with despair. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he gently shook her. "What's wrong, Akiko-chan? Aren't… Aren't you happy to… be here with me… ?" Horrible thoughts of rejection now ran through his mind rampantly.

"Itachi, " Her voice was detached when she spoke, "they told me some things about you… about your past." She sounded as if she didn't want to believe what she'd been told. Akiko hoped to receive denial about all those claims, but she wanted to hear the truth, too. Hopefully, they were the same thing. She shuttered to think that Itachi was as cold-blooded as they'd told her.

When Akiko said that, it was like her shoulder and his hand became polar parallels, and his hand removed itself from her shoulder. His eyes widened with shock and sadness, and he let his hand fall back into his lap, hanging his head low. He said nothing, too ashamed to speak.

"Is it true, Itachi? That… That you killed your own family?!" She whispered incredulously. "That you joined a terrorist group, and killed innocent Jinchuuriki just to get to their Bijuu for that disreputable group? That you killed numerous villages of innocent people for your organization??! Is it… Is it true, Itachi? I must know."

Itachi looked at her forlornly through lowered lashes, keeping his head bowed. He never dreamed he would have to admit to her all the evil things he's done in his life, and he loathed admitting it, but he knew he couldn't lie to her.

"It's true." He confessed, barely above a whisper. "It's all true." As he acknowledged his evil deeds, he simultaneously felt a great weight fly from his shoulders, and a great sense of loss. He feared that with this confession he lost his wife.

Akiko stiffened at his profession of his crimes. She'd had a gut feeling that it was all true.

"Well, except for the part about killing villages. The only village I ever killed was… my families. Other than that, I never killed any innocents. That… That was always my partner, Kisame." He paused, letting it sink in, "He was always all too happy to slaughter the innocent… or anyone. Believe me, Akiko. After my family, who weren't entirely innocent anyways, I never took innocent life."

"And what about the Jinchuuriki's? He said you killed them, too." She stated coldly.

"No, I never killed them personally. I fought some, and turned them in to Leader Madara for Bijuu extraction, but I never dealt them a death blow." He spoke softly, feeling all hope of her still loving him drain like a broken pitcher.

"Even still. You slaughtered your entire CLAN! Well, he did say you spared your younger brother, but still. Why did you do it??" She pleaded with him for an answer. "Did you really do it for… for POWER?" She whispered, praying that that wasn't the truth.

Itachi winced when she said that, then heaved a heavy sigh, clenching his eyes shut briefly before he spoke. "I guess I should have known I'd always end up telling you, one way or another." He heaved another sigh, then took a deep breath to begin.

"I did kill my entire family, it's true. But it wasn't for power. The Uchiha Clan was planning a Coupe. My own father planned to overthrow Konoha so that our Clan would be supreme once more. I was a member of the Konoha ANBU, and the most gifted Uchiha in a century. My father tried to use me as a spy on Konoha, but really I was spying on the Uchiha for Konoha. When I discovered they were planning a Coupe, I immediately reported it to the 3rd Hokage and the Elders. After much discussion, they decided that the best thing to do that would cause the least amount of bloodshed was to kill the entire Uchiha Clan, and only I could do it. First, I did away with my best friend to gain Mangekyo Sharingan. I would need that power to eliminate the whole of the Uchiha's." By this time, Akiko had turned over so she could look at her husband as he told her his tale. When Itachi mentioned the Mangekyo, he turned it on to show her.

When she saw it, the sudden change, and the oddness of it surprised her, and she gasped in spite of herself. "Mangekyo Sharingan." She whispered in awe, and a little frightened. Involuntarily, her whole body shuddered.

"When that fateful night finally came, my ancestor, Madara Uchiha, who was the leader of the Uchiha Clan when Konoha was first formed, came to lend me his power. Together, we killed the entire Clan; and they never even knew what happened. When I caught my parents by surprise and killed them, moments later, he came in the door. My… my little brother, Sasuke, came home. He saw me covered in blood; he knew what I had done. I was ordered to kill every last Uchiha in the village, but… I… I just… couldn't. I loved him too much, and it would have taken a far greater effort to kill him than I could muster. Even our own parents were as nothing to him. I loved Sasuke more than the entire village put together. Sasuke asked me why I killed our family, and within a split second, I realized what I was going to do, and planned it all out just as quickly. I would let him live, but I would have to break his heart, then dance on it with spiked shoes, to get him to do what I planned for him to do. So that he could thrive in a world that would make him an outcast because of my sins. I knew that he would need a strength that the truth could not give him. Strength that he could nurse and grow, and give him the courage to do what was necessary to gain enough power to kill me with his own two hands."

He paused, exhaling softly, remembering when he learned that his dearest little brother had joined up with that low-life, Orochimaru. At first a fear so strong it had almost choked him, gripped his whole body. His first worry was that Konoha would hunt Sasuke down and kill him for going rogue. His second worry was that the former member of Akatsuki would use his greater strength to over-power Sasuke, and kill him before he had a chance to kill his older brother, and win the eternal favor and gratitude of Konoha.

After that suffocating fear had run its course, Itachi's good sense took over and reassured himself with logical explanations as to why none of those things would happen to his little brother.

Hope flared in Akiko's breast at his words, but she couldn't quite shake her feelings of dread at what her husband had done. Itachi could tell that his wife still had feelings of doubt about what the crimes he had committed, and went on to explain his actions. Getting down on both his knees, he clasped her hand closest to him in both of his, and looked longingly into her eyes, pleading with his own for her to believe and trust him.

"Believe me, Akiko-chan, if there was an alternative that didn't require bloodshed, I would have thought of it. If I could have avoided killing anyone at all, I would have. Trust me on this, please?" He whispered fervently to her.

Akiko longed with all her heart to believe him, but she still wasn't quite convinced. "What about when you were with Akatsuki, huh? What about then?" She snapped, more harshly than she intended. The young woman saw pain flash in his eyes at her tone, and instantly regretted sounding too harsh, even by accident.

Itachi slowly withdrew his hands from hers and just as slowly bowed his head in shame. He had always been ashamed to belong to such an organization, so affiliated with violence and slaughter, but remained because it was necessary to keep an eye on them. With Sasuke gone, he realized that most of his affections toward Konoha were linked with his love for his brother. With Sasuke now deceased, he cared less and less about Konoha. Besides, if his plan had worked out, he'd probably be dead by now, and whatever Madara's real plan was, would have proceeded most likely without a hitch after Sasuke had killed him anyways.

"Unless it was in self defense, or if shinobi of Konoha were around, I was mostly guilty by association. Madara knew I was a pacifist at heart, so he never pressed me to commit the same atrocious acts as the others. And just to make doubly sure I would have as little chance of killing as possible, he paired me with another member who, number one, would get along with me and respect me, and number two, would be bloodthirsty enough to want to do most, if not all, of the killing himself. That's Kisame for you." Itachi looked into his wife's eyes again and begged with her silently to see the truth in his eyes.

Though she had seen her husband extremely sad in the past, she had never known him before to turn this woeful look upon her. It filled her with such sadness, she felt tears begin to sting her eyes and a crack splintered open in her heart. It was then that she realized she was staring at the truth within her husband's gaze.

A single tear slid down Akiko's face as she turned over and looked at the wall. She wanted to think about it, and see how she felt later on. Her heart ached to trust him, as a war was being waged in the garden of her heart. The seed of doubt that had been planted by Ja-ku was battling against the blossoming hope and trust that Itachi had taken great pains to sow in her heart.

Phew!! 5 1/2 pages in Microsoft Word, and most of it without a complete keyboard! ^_^ Well, how did you like it?! 8D Tell me what you thought about it. What are you likes and dislikes about it? What are you favorite parts? Don't be afraid to share with meh! I look forward to reading your reviews. ^_^

The end is nigh...

I can't believe I'm almost done with this fanfic! ACK! I'm going to miss it so much when I'm done. T_T Maybe I should start thinking of a sequal...