Another round of cherished reviews! You guys have no idea how much I appreciate it when you leave a comment. So, thanks again to Reaper-and-ChuckNorris, IceBishop, Keim.Charrani, gaaraofthefunk13, GaarasMyBoyzz, Card Captor Fiona, Azura Soul Reaver, midnightangelxoxo, .blurp, Ray-nee-chan, and icyprincess1.

But this time, I have to ask you guys to do a really important task for me. I would like to know who do you wish for Mitsuki to end up with? So... review or message me on who the lucky Uchiha will be. ;) And I'll do my best to make sure you're not dissapointed~

Chapter 25~

True to Sasuke's word, and much to Mitsuki's utter surprise, they stayed at the town for the rest of the week.

"Orochimaru's going to be pissed." She commented the second night.

"I'll protect you, promise." He replied with a playful smirk. Then he curled his arms around her, and erased all her doubts with a deep, thorough kiss… that led to other things. Point was, the subject was never brought up again.

But of course, their little getaway from reality caught up to them, and they had to leave – much to both their disappointment.

"We'll do this again, I swear." Sasuke said softly, grasping her hand as they left the town that had been their secret hideout for the past week.

"We better," She smiled, noticing him staring at her from the corners of her eyes. Just for fun, she didn't turn to him and pretended to be oblivious. She had to reframe from smiling whenever she saw his head turn to her, which was practically every minute.

It was definitely very flattering, Mitsuki admitted.

They walked in a comfortable silence, but she couldn't hold off the urge to question him about something that had been bugging her the whole week. "Hey, Sasuke?"

"Yes?"

"That night when we…made love…" She felt her cheeks heat up, "Was it your first time?"

Déjà vu hit Sasuke as he remembered the time he had asked her if he was her first kiss. He shook it off, and replied with the same exact words she had used, "Was I yours?"

"Yes," She smiled, and he knew she was being honest by her eyes.

"Same here." He smiled in return, although it was smaller than it should have been.

"That's good to hear," She murmured.

Sasuke squeezed her hand, but said nothing. He glanced at her, his expression solemn. Although she may have truly thought that night had been her first time, it was only because she couldn't remember her very first time.

The night they had became one, he was able to enter her without any resistance.

He wasn't stupid, nor was he delusional. The most logical reason was that she and his brother had…

His heart ached at the knowledge.

Because he finally realized that Mitsuki and Itachi had been in love, just as much as she and Sasuke were in love. It was twisted, and wrong – two brothers loving the same woman… But it didn't matter.

He loved her, and she loved him back. Everything else was irrelevant.

Mitsuki saw Sasuke's head, which had been directed at her, swiftly whip back to the front. She looked to him, curious, "Something wrong?"

"There's someone over there." He muttered, activating his Sharingan.

She surveyed the vast, empty rocky terrain, easily spotting who he was talking about. "Could it just be a traveler?"

"We're going to find out."

xXx

Uchiha Itachi knew they could see him just as easily as he could see them, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

The few days that had passed since Mitsuki left Iwagakure, Itachi had came to the decision to intervene – as himself. He was hoping he would be able to jog her memories more if it was her actual lover speaking to her instead of a disguise.

So, thanks to a handful of rumors that he had come across, he was now standing in the direct pathway to get from the town he heard they were staying at, to where Orochimaru's hideout was said to be.

His plan had been a success.

xXx

Sasuke could read Mitsuki's curiosity when she saw the pair of Sharingan eyes staring at them. But he could only give her a reassuring squeeze of the hand, and what he hoped was an apologetic look, "Keep going. I'll meet you at the hideout."

"Sasuke?" Her voice reminded him of a time when they were just seven, and had stumbled upon a large group of people in front of their home. They had been scared, worried, and confused – everything Mitsuki was at that exact moment.

By this time, they had stopped a good distance away from the intruder, where they could see him, but he couldn't hear them. He cupped the side of her neck with one hand, while the other held her cheek in an open palm. He stared deeply into her warm, dark brown eyes as he softly said, "I'm sorry that you have to find out like this. I should have told you, but I didn't want you to get involved… I'll explain everything later," He kissed her gently to sooth her nerves, "I'm really sorry, Mitsuki..."

She bit her lower lip, but nodded, accepting his apology. She placed both her hands on either side of his face, her eyes still holding her concern, "Please be careful, Sasuke."

"I will." Sasuke gave her a small, but real smile, warmed at the knowledge that she cared so much for him.

"Alright, but if you're not back at the hideout by nightfall, I'm coming back for you." Her words were more of a threat, than an agreement.

"Wouldn't have it any other way," He murmured amusedly, slipping his hand back into hers. He caught the smile that curled her lips as they walked closer to the other Shinobi.

Sasuke released her hand, letting it fall out of his grasp as he stopped, while Mitsuki continued going. He admired the way she kept her head up as she walked right past his brother and onward.

xXx

Itachi couldn't stop his eyes from lingering to her face; tracing and memorizing every feature during the few seconds he had as Mitsuki walked past him. He admitted, watching her pass him, without once glancing to him, made something in his chest clench painfully.

His hands twitched under his cloak, as the urge to grab her hand crossed his mind. But the glare Sasuke was currently shooting at him stifled the urge.

When Mitsuki was far enough away, Sasuke spoke up, "What do you want?"

"Isn't that obvious, little brother?" Itachi replied just as coldly.

"Well… It seems she doesn't want you." An arrogant smirk came to the younger Uchiha's lips.

"I know what you did, and… I'm impressed." He smoothly lied, "I never thought you had it in you." Just to taunt the other Shinobi, he started to circle casually around him.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke said in a low voice, his eyes never following Itachi's every move.

"I never imagined you could be so… heartless." Itachi caught the way his brother flinched at the title he gave him. "Erasing all the memories of her past, everything that she was… Just so you could have her to yourself."

"You wouldn't understand." Sasuke muttered, shaking his head as he tried to ignore how true the words were.

"You took her from the happy life that she lead, and brought her into your life as a wanted Shinobi. All of which you did without her consent or knowing… What if I told her? How do you think she'll react when she hears the one man that she trusts with all her heart was responsible for her losing all her memories?"

Sasuke's hands were fisted by his side as he listened to his brother speak. Hate was the automatic emotion that washed through him, but hidden beneath that was the un-denying trace of fear. "I won't let you anywhere near her." He growled, his hand grasping the hilt of his katana.

"Finally you seem to understand a bit more." Itachi said, using his façade of a cold hearted bastard to good use, "I won't stop going after Mitsuki, and you don't seem willing to let her go."

"You don't even love her." Sasuke sneered. It surprised him when he caught Itachi's eyes harden.

"You don't know anything." He muttered darkly, coming to a stop.

"You stole her from me first–"

"Youlost her," Itachi hissed through clenched teeth. It was one thing to blame him for loving Mitsuki, and another to accuse him of never being in love with her. "You're the one who harmed her – left her for dead."

Sasuke's mind went blank as he remembered the day he had thoughthe killed Mitsuki. It had been because of the battle between him and Naruto, and she got caught in the middle of it.

'I felt her die in my arms… She was so cold…'

He shook the empty feeling that came over him, aiming a loathing glare at the man across from him. "It doesn't matter now. Mitsuki is mine."

"You sound so sure of yourself," Itachi commented dryly.

Sasuke knew signs of his chakra were swirling around his feet as he tried to contain his anger, but he felt about ready to explode with all the irritating taunting. "I know one thing for certain… I'll kill you before you even get the chance to see her again."

"You really think you can kill me, little brother?"

"It won't hurt to try." He unsheathed his katana, and Itachi mirrored the action.

~O~O~

Mitsuki glanced back for what had to be the fiftieth time. She could no longer see any traces of the two Shinobis, and it only added to the growing worry inside her chest. The last time she had seen them, they were standing like statues, most likely talking.

She knew she said she'd return to the hideout, but seriously?Sasuke had to be a little dense at the time to actually believe she would wait at the hideout for him.

She glanced around at her surroundings, spotting a large boulder amidst the empty, lifeless terrain. She took shelter behind it, leaning her back against the rock with a deep breath.

Rubbing the sweat from her brow, she took a long drink of water from her canteen before putting it back in her pouch. She glanced up at the sky, thankful it was a cloudy day unlike the usual sunny ones, but despite that it was still insanely warm. After all, there was a reason why the people of the Country of Earth were so tan.

A whisper in the wind caught her attention, "Mitsuki?"

The raven haired Kunoichi searched around, but saw no one. "Weird…" She muttered. She placed the back of her hand on her forehead, then realized it was too hot outside to judge if she had a temperature.

"Mitsuki?"

She swore she heard the voice again, louder this time, but there was no one. Closing her eyes, she rubbed her temples. "I'm losing it…" She muttered to herself.

"I wouldn't say that." A husky voice chuckled.

She jumped to her feet, this time looking behind her, and over the boulder. "Y-You!" Mitsuki could stop herself before her finger was pointing at the stranger, rather childishly.

"It's good to see you again." The mysterious onyx haired man greeted from on top of the rock with a slight curve of his lips.

Mitsuki studied the man from head to toes. Rather, her eyes took in his interesting cloak before looking at his face. Instead of the Sharingan meeting her eyes, she saw eyes that were as dark as midnight, ones that reminded her of Sasuke. But, the hardness of his eyes, and his facial features reflected that he was older than Sasuke…

'Same hair… same eyes… but very different…'

"Is something wrong?" Itachi questioned, seeing the calculating look in her eyes. A small part of him hoped she recognized him, if just a bit.

"Do I know you?" She asked back. She couldn't shake of the odd feeling that maybe… he was the other man in her dreams. But that was crazy… right?

Either way, she felt her heart beating faster in her chest as she stared into those endless dark eyes.

"My name's Uchiha Itachi."

Mitsuki swore she could have fainted.

…

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