Chapter 24

Real emotion

The hot mid-summers day of July washed over you. The sun burning onto your form sent beads of sweat running down your forehead. A sudden soft wind blew and cooled your face. Strands of your hair flowed around you in a delicate pattern. The tresses in front of your face stuck to your façade. You bit your lip and looked back up at the man in front of you. His black locks that framed his face blew softly in the wind. You looked at him amazed, at how he hasn't even broken a sweat. His scarlet eyes have been staring down at you for a moment. Half a year of training with him has been tough work for you. Your memories still have not come back to you. But every now and then, you would see only a picture, and then it would fade away, just as quickly as it came. A pain always came in your head, and every time it came, it would seem worse than the last.

You lifted your head to see him. And, hoped that you could stand to train some more. You wanted to. Over the past seven months that he has been training you, you believed that you have become stronger. And, it has shown as well.

"Yuzuki-chan... come on, get up." Itachi said as he bent down to your level. He put out his hand and

"H-Hai..." You said as you took it and he pulled you both up.

He looked deep into your eyes. You looked back at him. Over the time that the two of you had spent together, you trusted him more, as he did to you. You were thankful, because he did not try anything on you. The closets that he has ever been to you is probably when you two are going to sleep, but he only wraps his arms around your waist and just gazes into your eyes. Your always wondering what he is thinking. You wish you could know, but, you can't read minds.

"Yuzuki-chan, I think it's time to call it a day..." Itachi said.

You looked at him confused and said. "Are you sure? We could still train some more, I mean, I'm not—"

But he cut you off with a finger to your lips. "If I say we're done, then we're done. Got it?"

You looked down with a small smile on your face. "Wakkata..."

"Good." Itachi says as he starts to walk away, pulling your hand lightly. You jog a little to catch up with him and he holds your hand caringly.

He turns un-expectantly around the hideout and pulls you along. You started to question where he was taking you, but gripped your hand harder, meaning that he did not want you to question him. He led you through the forest grounds, normally; you weren't supposed to come out here without Leaders permission, so what was going on through Itachi's head? You pondered this as he pulled you more through the forest. He finally stopped in a clearing by a lake. His hand was still in yours as you looked at his back that was still facing you. What was he planning...?

Itachi's POV

You couldn't stand it anymore. You couldn't stand that she couldn't remember you, all the times that you two have shared. You wanted to find out what was wrong with her. Very soon, you would be traveling back to Konoha with her and Kisame. And, if anything did happen, you wanted to know what, if she had been caught being in the Akatsuki.

You didn't know how to retrieve her memories, but the only way to, was going to be difficult. You didn't know if it would work, but, you would have to try. You walked away from the hideout, because you didn't want the rest of them to know what you were going to do. You hated yourself for doing this to her again. You really didn't want to. But... if pain was the only way, then so be it...

Yuzuki's POV

You stared at him as he still stood there with his brooding figure still standing there, but his hands were beginning to turn colder still. You looked at him tentatively. You were about to put your hand on his shoulder, but he came before you did. He grabbed your shoulders, and made you look at him straight into his eyes. You were shocked. You did look, but the last thing that you remember... was his mouth, saying, "I'm sorry..."

You looked around at where you were. You didn't know where, but it seemed all too familiar to you. You've been here before... but... when? You looked down the road, it was silent... Too... silent...

You let out a yelp when someone grabbed your shoulder and forced you around to see them. You were thankful that it was only Itachi.

"Itachi-kun... what's going on? Where are we?" You asked him as you looked around at the red and black streets. You looked at the sky, it was red, and the clouds were black as well.

"Where is this?" You asked again. He took your hand gently.

"I'm sorry for doing this Yuzuki-chan... it's the only way I could think of though..."

You were silent for a minute; you didn't know what he meant.

"What do you mean Itachi-kun? I don't understand..."

He stood there... silent. Was he avoiding your questions? Maybe, you wanted to know why, but then, just like the memories, you saw yourself, and this time, there wasn't Itachi...

You watched as your young form walked silently on the streets. The one in front of you, her eyes were so... sad. You looked at her and she had nothing. You could feel it. But, the more that she came closer, the more you realized, that this was you.

"I-Itachi-kun... is that—"

"Yes Yuzuki-chan... that is you. This is when you were twelve years old, as I was thirteen. I'm going to have to replay your worst memories..."

He turned to you, you looked at him, and his eyes were so sad, much more sad than the girl that you saw.

"And I'm so sorry for doing this..." He said as he wrapped his arms around your shoulders.

You were a little surprised, how bad could your worst memories possibly be?

"You don't have to apologize Itachi-kun... I need to see them; this is my past, so I should know what they are..."

You wrapped your arms around his stomach as he breathed in the delicious scent of your hair. He ran his fingers through your hair and you had this feeling inside of you that just flipped. You loved being next to him, and you knew it too. But why did you deny it so much? You shouldn't have to if he feels the same way you do to him, right?

"Come on... you need to see this..." Itachi said as he grabbed your hand and started to pull you along.

"What do I need to see?" You asked. "Is it something I did?"

He shook his head solemnly at you. "No... It's something I did..."

You were confused. What did he mean by that? Did you see him do this in the past?

He seemed to read your thoughts and answered. "No, you didn't see what I did. You saw the out come, but never saw the action that I did."

"Tell me what you did then!" You said as you pulled your hand out of his.

He looked a little shocked as you pulled back away from him. The people that were walking around them seemed to move in slow motion then, the leaves and sound became a whirling pattern of color and brightness around him. He wanted to tell you the real reason he couldn't say it, he was afraid that if he did, you would only think that it was a lie. You couldn't understand the pressure building inside of him.

"I can't tell you now... now here at least..." He finally said. "Just follow me to see what I did... It cannot be explained in words."

"Then why are you here?" Your voice was petulant again. "If you believe what you say, then I should be the only one here and just walking around aimlessly by myself until I see it."

He shook his head. "Let's go."

Itachi's POV

She stood there, staring at him, so darkly beautiful in the pattern light. Why wouldn't she come? He wanted to tell her how much he'd been suffering, trying to control himself, hoping that if he could resist the urge long enough, he would finally have power over it.

He needed to show her before it was too late.

"Well?" She asked.

He anger made him want her even more. Her perfect figure, her mystifying eyes, and her perplexing voice just made him have the urge to do things that you did not even mention to yourself.

"Just tell me!" Her anger seemed to coax you though. Because before you knew what you were doing, you reached out and pulled her to you. Your lips hovered over hers as you were about to go farther. But you realized what you were about to do.

'Itachi! What the hell is wrong with you!? Don't do it!' You told yourself as you pulled away, angry with yourself for doing such a thing. She probably didn't even feel the same way about you. So why even push it. You had to show her what you both did, and then, when her memories come back, let her choose what she wants.

"Let's go, we don't have time to waist." You said it too hard. Your anger was pulling through the veil that shrouded your real emotions.

"Itachi-kun... what's wrong..." She said as she touched your hand. You laced your fingers with her and she seemed to enjoy it.

"There is nothing, but I have to show you before all of my chakra is depleted from using the Sharingan too long."

She looked a little sad, but she said. "All right..."

Yuzuki's POV

He was hiding something from you, and you knew it. What was he trying to hide though? But you remembered his breath that mingled with yours. It felt so good to you. You didn't know what to do though when his lips were only inches away from touching. His eyes pored over with emotion, but he had quickly turned away from you. You were disappointed, but you would never let him know that.

He started to lead you through the streets. And you recognized the Uchiha crest on the walls as he led you through.

"Itachi-kun..." You were about to say something, but his grip had tightened.

What was going on? You didn't' know what to say, what to do, but when you saw that his younger form was killing people of his own clan, you stopped. Your heart had seemed to stop as well. THIS is what happened when you were younger. You didn't know what to say. You were speechless. If this is what he did... then it had already happened, and...Were you okay with this? You seemed to be. When someone would normally run away from the man that had killed his own clan, you stood perfectly still. Granted your mouth was slightly parted. But only from shock. This would normally shock someone. You weren't that shocked though. But then... what had YOU done... to get into the Akatsuki...?

"Itachi-kun... is this—"

"Yes Yuzuki-chan... I did this. I killed my own clan at the age of thirteen. And I did it without any fear." He turned to you. "Yuzuki-chan, this is what I did. I'm not proud of it, but I'm not regretting what I did."

"Then why did you do it?" You asked as you put a hand on his shoulder. His muscles seemed to relax at your touch.

"They were holding me back. So many dreams for my future that did not even interest me were in their thoughts. So... I decided to erase them from the equation of my life."

You smiled lightly. So that's what he wanted. He wanted to live his own life. Not by someone else's rules. You understood now.

"It's alright Itachi-kun... I understand what you mean."

He looked at you, hiding the shock from his face. "So... You know why I showed you this?"

You were about to say something, but nothing came out. You didn't know why he showed you this. "Iie... Why?"

He looked away for a moment before turning back to you.

"Because you did the same thing."

Your eyes widened and your heart seemed to have stopped. You looked down.

"Are you sure I did such a thing?" You asked him.

He nodded his head slowly. You looked up, but, you thought that that was a mistake. You saw that your younger form was already on her killing spree. You looked over at your fallen members of your family. They looked like they had been betrayed; well they did, so why didn't they look like it?

You walked ahead of Itachi. And you found that you were at the head families house; your house.

You watched yourself kill your parents without any mercy. You felt a cold hand come in contact with yours again. You looked back up at Itachi. Neither of you said anything. You wanted him to talk, say something, but he didn't...

"Itachi-kun... take me back... I've seen enough." You said as looked away. You felt your chin being pulled up by his fingers.

"I'm so sorry... for hurting you again..." Itachi said solemnly.

You looked at him strangely.

"What do you mean...'again'?" You asked.

He looked away. When he gave you the silent treatment that meant that something was wrong.

"Itachi-kun! Just tell me!" You yelled at him.

"I HURT YOU, OKAY!" He yelled.

You took a step back. He... hurt you? No, impossible. He couldn't have possible have hurt you. He promised that he would protect you... not hurt you...

"Itachi-kun... that... that can't be true... can it?" You asked. He pulled his fingers away from you.

Judging from the silence that he was giving you, you knew that it was true. You saw the world spinning around you again, and you knew that he was taking you back in time. You saw that you two were in his bedroom; he pushed you against the wall and started to yell at you.

Saying, "What the hell happened between you two?!"

"N-Nothing happened..."

"What do you mean 'nothing happened'? I just saw you with another man!"

You watched the scene with pure horror in your eyes. He wouldn't do this to you. There had to be a reason why he would get so angry with you.

"I d-didn't mean for that to happen..."

"Of course you didn't...Tsukuyomi!"

You couldn't watch anymore.

"Itachi-kun... take me back...please..." You whispered so quietly.

You thought you saw Itachi nod his head. He touched your shoulder and you both were warped out of the Tsukuyomi world.

You slowly walked away from him. You leaned against a tree.

"Yuzuki-chan..." Itachi started to say, but he trailed off.

You didn't say anything to him. But a severe pain came through your head. You clutched your head and sank to the ground in agony.

"Yuzuki-chan!" Itachi yelled as he came over to you.

He knelt by your side and felt your forehead, it was burning.

"Not again..." Itachi said as he picked you up.

He started to run again. He took a quick glance at you and saw that your lips were turning purple.

"Hang on Yuzuki-chan..." Itachi said as he quickly ran into the hideout.

You clutched your head and scratched down your face, leaving bright red scratch mark in your skin.

"Just hang on..."