Genma was the first to fall.

Kisame nudged the ninja with his foot. "Hey," he barked, "did you just die on me?" Shaking his head, he sighed, "Shinobi just don't last as long as they used too." The Akatsuki member gripped his sword, ready to deliver the final blow. But something didn't feel right. Samehada faltered in his hands. The sword hit the snow with a yelp before Kisame let out a groan. Darkness closed in, and before he knew it, he too fell.

Kakashi could already feel her digging into his mind, wrapping her arms around his conscious. Itachi stood in front of him but remained silent. Dammit, Itachi knew she would do this. Kakashi turned to see Chiisai with eyes closed. Tomo was over her, her claws sinking into her cheek. Kakashi staggered towards the body, but he was already losing control.

I'm not letting you die for me, Chiisai whispered in his mind.

Kakashi wanted to shake sense into her. You're playing right into his hands!

We were friends once. Chiisai's tone softened as she said, I have faith in him.

She was the only person in existence who had faith in that Uchiha. The jonin mentally shook his head and replied, You sound like Naruto.

Well, he always comes through in the end and so will I. There was a pause before she finished, This is the only chance I'll get for Itachi to unseal my memories.

I can't let you do this. He's going to kill you! Kakashi yelled inside his head, wishing with all his might she would understand why Itachi had attacked her. The Uchiha had wanted Chiisai to see Kakashi get hurt because of her. After all of this, she was going to leave him for Itachi…

I have to do this. Even if he does try to kill me, I won't let him. I don't plan on dying any more today.

Her chakra caressed him as it encompassed his mind. She shut it down, detaching his consciousness from his body. Warmth spread through his limbs, and he felt his knees give way before he drifted into the blackness. Somehow, he felt her lips grazing his as if she were right there in front of him. The last thing he heard was her voice against his ear.

…I love you. Remember that, okay?

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"We don't have much time."

"Look, I'm not letting them freeze to death," Kisame shot back. He retrieved a sleeping bag left over in a pack and placed it on the unconscious ninjas. His fingers brushed Kakashi's hair back, noting it was a shade darker than the snow. Kisame whispered, "I'm sorry, Farm Boy." He leaned forward to kiss-

"Chiisai."

"Alright, alright." He added under his breath, "Asshole." With a heavy sigh he stood up and trudged toward his comrade. Itachi let out a sigh as Kisame approached him. The blue-hued ninja glanced at the body in his Itachi's arms. "God," he groaned, "am I already dead?"

"There's a cave nearby that will shield you from the cold. You should return to your body once we're there."

He glanced down at the Uchiha. "Will I wake up?"

"You'll have to."

"Fine. Let's go then." With the new powerful physique, Chiisai-turned-Kisame followed Itachi. "And I'm still mad at you," he mumbled.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Two members of Hatake's team returned with the injured. The Hokage is sending them back with a medic-nin."

Danzo lifted his eyes to see the ANBU bowed in front of him. "What of Fu?"

With head down, he replied, "His report states that Hitoshi is dead, as you assumed. But there's something else…" There was a hesitation before finishing, "Two members of the Akatsuki have gotten involved."

His one eye widened. "What?"

"Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame. Fu said that during the battle, the ninjas started to collapse in the snow, all except Itachi. He put a genjutsu on the ninken and ninneko before Kisame then woke up. They now have Chiisai."

Danzo forced his body to relax. This wasn't good news at all. "Are the leaf ninjas still alive?"

"Yes. Kisame placed their bodies side by side and laid a blanket over them…Before attempting to kiss Kakashi."

"I see." So Chiisai has control of Kisame's body. "Come directly to me when Fu reports again. You are dismissed."

The masked ninja nodded before flickering out. Danzo leaned back in his chair and closed his eye. He had sent one of his best agents out to make sure Hitoshi wouldn't make it back to Earth Country. But this new turn of events could prove disastrous for everyone.

It was clear now that Itachi knew all about Chiisai. All those years ago of seeing those two together…Now that Danzo thought about it, her powers were similar to that of the Sharingan. The dream world in its own sense could pose as a genjutsu. And altering the mindsets of its victims, Chiisai's abilities reflected that of the most powerful Mangeyko Sharingan…the Kotoamatsukami.

All Danzo needed was to get her on his side. With her under his wing, he could become Hokage within a blink of an eye. After all this was over, if she made it back alive, then Danzo would finally set his plan in motion.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Chiisai."

She knew the voice. Her body seemed to awaken at the sound as well, because the numbness finally wore off. Being in Kisame's body had her forgetting how bad of shape hers was. Pain resonated within her, and where there wasn't pain there was cold. She was back to her original state of only feeling those two things. But hey, at least she was still alive and breathing.

For now.

"Ita…"

He wrapped his cloak tighter around her and pulled her to him, attempting to keep her warm. He rested his chin on the top of her head as his hand rubbed her back. It had taken her three minutes for her to wake up and during that time he thought she was gone. "You've gotten yourself in quite a predicament."

He let out a short exhale when she remained silent. Gently, he pulled away and placed his fingers under her chin, tilting her head up to his. Red found black before he slipped inside her mind. Chiisai's pain from reality peeled away while under Itachi's Sharingan. The two stood five meters apart in the grey void, their eyes studying each other.

Itachi was the first to speak. "We must address something else I'm afraid. From what you told me earlier, it seems you're going to have to erase the stone ambassador's memories before he makes it back to Iwagakure."

She rubbed her forehead, trying to make sense of the person in front of her. "You want me to do that right now?"

"Unless you want a war, then yes," he said simply. "You should have access to the dream world since we are currently inside your mind."

"Well, it looks like there's someone else who knew more about my abilities than I did," she said with bitterness. She lifted her hand and gathered her chakra. Concentrating her thoughts, Chiisai summoned a portal into the dream world. Chiisai added, "I guess that sort of thing happens when your friend decides to erase your memories."

Itachi let out a sigh as he followed her. Her behavior hadn't changed in all their years apart. He glanced at the dream tree. Taking a deep breath, Chiisai placed her hands into it, letting her chakra surge forth. More minds appeared before them, their surfaces blank.

"You seem to remember more than I thought you would," he regarded.

"I learned this from watching my father," she replied. "I'm surprised you didn't notice him when you sealed me. Twice."

Itachi gazed up at the tree, ignoring her accusation. "In truth, I did notice something peculiar. Your chakra was darker, which I assumed to be the result of all the nightmares you had absorbed. Kuroi blended into your chakra too well for me to have seen him. Of course, I also thought he was dead, so there was no reason to look for him either."

She focused on Dai's mind, remembering the signature he gave off while she was searching for Kakashi's two weeks ago. "Too bad the seal didn't work as well as you thought it would," she grumbled.

"I understand your anger, but you must understand that I had to do it-"

She opened her eyes. "To protect me? To protect the village? Are those the only excuses you can come up with?" She forced Dai's mind in front of her, her anger fueling her chakra. "Because I'm getting sick and tired of hearing it. Every time I see you I want to both hug you and slap you." Her fist rammed into the door to the ambassador's mind, breaking it with one punch. She forced her way in, not bothering to wait on Itachi. Filled with chakra she recently absorbed, Chiisai slammed the palms of her hands down into his mind, pushing up the scrolls of memories and information from the past week. Itachi observed at a distance, letting her work in silence as she removed the memories of herself.

Chiisai placed her hand on the scroll, erasing part of its data. With a deep inhale, the woman focused on a new story to replace the previous. Decision made, she channeled her chakra into the parchment, allowing the new words to form. Now Dai would believe that there was no "weapon" and that his bodyguard had foolishly run off to prove him wrong…Which was kind of what Hitoshi did. A bit of truth would strengthen the lie anyway.

Without so much as a glance at Itachi, she exited the ambassador's mind and stepped back into hers. Itachi followed suit before asking, "You seem rather upset at me."

Fists clenched, Chiisai faced him and let out the barrage of feelings at him. "When you kicked me out of your mind, why were you upset that I knew you sealed my memories? Why didn't you help me instead of forcing me out with your damn Sharingan?" She couldn't take the sight of him, on wanting to sit down with him and be like old times. But the old times were just that. This was her new life, their new life that was completely separate of each other.

"Nothing could be done then," he replied calmly. "We were in the dream world, and I didn't want to upset you any more than I had to." Itachi paused, refraining himself from touching her and instead looked her in the eyes. "But things have changed. I need to seal you again. And now that you're here…"

She stepped back, her voice rising as she quickly replied, "No, you have to break the seal over my mind. I can't live like this." Shaking her head, she continued, "I need to know what you stole from me."

His eyebrows creased with unease. "I don't want to burden you with the actions you shouldn't have done in the first place. And I don't want you to go through the same pain like before."

"I'll be in pain no matter what. But you took something that keeps trying to break free." Chiisai took a deep breath and relaxed her posture. She whispered, "I can't remember the flashbacks, but I know it has to do with someone…Someone I cared about…Someone I must have loved."

He didn't expose any emotion as he watched her. He hadn't meant for any of this to happen. He only wanted her to be free from her past, which was a luxury that he could never have. But that seal he placed on her…It was a powerful one and it shouldn't have faltered like his. Softly, he said, "You love like a Uchiha, Chiisai. Though you are not of my clan, I feared you might fall into hatred. Please understand my actions. I took away the memories because it was destroying you…Your love was destroying you."

She raked a hand through her hair before shaking her head. Tears threatened to spill. "Did you not realize that I've never really loved anyone in my entire life up until recently, that I've never had an intimate relationship? For years I thought I didn't deserve any kind of love, that I was worthless, that no one could ever love me because of what I was, what I am." Her eyes sought his, wanting him to see all the pain within her. "…Why would you do that to me?"

Despair took hold of him and he closed his eyes. "Your emotions seeped into everyone's dreams. You unconsciously influenced everyone without realizing it." Their eyes found each other once more as he said with assurance, "He entrusted me with protecting you…Even if that meant erasing the very thought of love from your life."

Chiisai finally closed the distance between them. "I don't care what the Third said. Unseal me right now."

His eyes widened. "Chiisai, that's not-"

The tears finally fell as her fingers sunk into his wrists. She hung her head, her hair falling over her eyes. "My heart can't be deceived from my lack of memories. It knows there should be more," she choked out. Her grip on him loosened as she finished, "Do you know how much it hurts to have a piece of yourself missing?"

His lips pressed to her hair, wishing to stop this emotional pain inside her. "You'll see other things, memories from your life that will burden you. And there are sins equal to mine."

"I don't care." She laid a fist to his chest, one that was empty of strength. She should be furious with him, hate him for what all he had done. But being able to touch him only filled her with sadness she couldn't fully comprehend.

Itachi placed his hands on her shoulders, forcing space between them. He couldn't allow himself to be swayed by her. His voice hardened as he said, "Do you want to put the village at risk at the expense of knowing your memories? I can't allow you to harm the Leaf, Chiisai."

The greyness around them darkened into red. Eyebrows furrowed, she retaliated, "And you don't think I care about the village? You don't think I care about the people whose dreams I see each night, of a girl who lost her mother, or a man who worries about not coming home to his family? Don't you dare suggest that, Itachi."

This was becoming more difficult with each passing minute. "What do you think will happen once you remember?"

"I'll be able to control my powers. That's why I wanted to find you. You're the only one who can help me, but you just want to seal me and let me blissfully forget." She couldn't afford to let this sadness get in the way of what she needed. Eyes trained on him, she finished, "And I can't let that happen."

She was stubborn as ever. Itachi gazed down at her and replied, "Do your really believe you'll be able to control your abilities? Do you have the psychological capacity to maintain self-control in the dream world after knowing everything?"

He was saying the opposite of what she was thinking. "I can't control anything now because I can't remember! But if you just let me-"

Itachi shook his head and replied, "Your power needs to be resealed. Releasing your memories would drive you mad and I don't want to see the same thing happen to you again. It will consume you and everyone with it."

"You shouldn't be the one to decide," she spat. "It's my memories, my abilities. With everything that's happened, I think I'll handle it." Shit, after her powers breaking free, fighting her father, getting into the whole mess of a relationship with Kakashi…What couldn't she handle?

Itachi gazed down at her, regretting what was about to happen. "It has to be done, Chiisai."

She stepped back, her eyes wide as she said, "Don't you come near me." This had been a mistake. She thought he would help her, but in the end all he wanted was…

"I'm sorry."

He latched onto her arms. His Sharingan peered into her eyes, forcing her to remain still. But her chakra reacted to her mental command, and it summoned a portal right below their feet. The two fell through. He broke eye contact, giving Chiisai a chance to escape by releasing a gust of air from her lips.

He landed on his feet. It seemed she would fight him to the end. Itachi straightened and pleaded, "Don't make this difficult."

Vines wrapped around him, anchoring his feet to the ground. Sighing, Itachi stepped through the plants and said, "You know it won't work on me."

Chiisai shook her head, her eyes glowing with determination. "I'm not letting you reseal me." Shurikens materialized and aimed their way at him. They spiraled into him, slicing into his muscles as he continued forward. Itachi's face remained expressionless while saying, "Have you forgotten our sparring sessions we used to have in the dream world? I don't want to waste chakra by taking you to the Nightmare Realm, but I will be forced to if you keep this up."

He was right. Unless she used her chakra directly, he would easily discard anything her mind created. But maybe if she fought another way… "Who did you take away from me, Itachi? Who is it that you so desperately want to keep me from?" Chiisai focused her mind and summoned her lost memories up, the door to it bound and locked. White chakra radiated it from it, stopping Itachi dead in his tracks.

He gazed up at the massive door. "This…I see." His eyes narrowed at the chakra glowing around it. Threat forgotten, the Uchiha asked, "How long have you been having flashbacks?"

She paused, wondering if he was trying to distract her. "Since I defeated my father…After I started getting seizures. Why are you changing the subject?"

Itachi studied the blocked entrance before saying, "That chakra around it isn't my doing. Your subconscious must have known there was something missing from the beginning. What happens when you get near it?"

The glowing emanating from her eyes lessened. "Depends," she replied with suspicion. "If I approach it from reality it throws me into the dream world, but if I touch it from the dream world it throws me back into reality." What the hell was Itachi trying to get at?

"Your unnatural chakra always amazes me," he sighed. "It's trying to eat away at the seal…and it's working. That's why you've been getting flashbacks. It protects your mind from intruders as well- that's why no one can get near it." He frowned and muttered, "I wonder if that's how the other seal weakened."

So her chakra was out of her control again and eating away at the seal…Which caused the flashbacks. She groaned, "So it seems I'll never have control of my damned chakra. Fucking fantastic."

"No, it's obeying your greatest desire hidden within your heart. It's no wonder you haven't been able to fully use your powers." He pointed up at the white chakra. "Most of your energy is channeled into breaking this seal because deep down you ache for remembering."

"What are you saying?"

"Even if I did reseal you, it would only be a temporary fix. Your chakra, though over some years, would dissolve any seal I put you under." He closed his eyes while processing the new information. "This changes things."

He took a step closer, causing her to take a step back. "What are you planning to do?"

Itachi replied, "Frankly, any plan I can come up with will most likely be eaten by your chakra."

Then there was only one option left for her. "I have an idea." She approached him cautiously while her thoughts spiraled down a path that would have no turning back. She looked him in the eye, making sure her point was clear as Chiisai stated, "Unseal my memories. See what happens. If I can take it and stay sane, then everything's okay, right? But if my chakra lashes out, or if I go mad, everything ends in disaster…correct?"

He had an idea to where this was heading. "Yes."

There was a pause before she gathered enough courage. Chiisai slowly said, "If I do go crazy and threaten everyone, if I truly become a danger to the village…" She swallowed and finished, "….Then kill me."

His eyes widened briefly. Of course she would say something like that. Itachi took a breath before a hint of a smile showed on his face. "You must be very confident in that you will come through…Or you must really take pleasure in hurting me."

"I wouldn't have made the risks this high unless I knew for sure I could handle it." A face appeared in her mind, and she smiled, "I have someone to live for now. I have to survive to make up for all the things I've put him through."

His eyes softened, reminding her of the Itachi she used to know. "You must cling to that once you remember. Don't let your past take away from what you have presently. Can you promise me that?"

"What I'll see…It won't be pleasant, will it?"

"Most of it is pleasant- that is what makes it the most heartbreaking." His smile faded as he said, "However, I am afraid it ends in tragedy."

"I am a lover of tragedies," she replied with some bitterness. Chiisai took a step closer to him. "Let's get this over with."

"We should return to your mind first. I do not wish to for you to affect the dream world."

Probably a good idea. Chiisai summoned up the portal and headed back to her mind. She and Itachi now stood in front of the door to her locked memories. Slowly, he explained, "There is not a doubt in my mind that your chakra will lash out once the memories are unlocked. I should be able to control it for a short while with my Sharingan. You must be able to regain control once you remember it all."

She glanced up at the massive wall of chakra. Her uneasiness began to settle within her. There would be no going back after this. "…Do you think I can handle it?"

"I trusted you when your first seal broke, and now I will trust you with this." He smiled down, "I would rather not want to kill you."

She snorted at his lightheartedness. In response, she tugged on his ponytail and replied, "That's good to know."

The chakra thrummed as Itachi's hand rose to it. He lingered for a moment. With eyes closed, he whispered, "Chiisai, I am sorry."

"…For what?"

Not meeting her eyes, he said, "You shall see soon enough."

Itachi thrust his hand into the door to her mind. Her chakra parted on sensing him, on knowing the sealer finally returned. His palm rammed into the doorway as his hand glowed red. Itachi activated his Sharingan, causing the locks to heave with a metallic groan. They opened, releasing a THUNK as each one gave way. Her white chakra fled into the cracks and headed straight for what it had been desperately trying to get to. The door dissolved out of existence, allowing her mind to explode in white light.

The memories were now free. Their streams of color headed straight for Chiisai. Pain burst open as the memories pierced into her, finally returning to where it belonged.

And there, convulsing on the floor of her own mind, screaming in agony, she remembered.

END

Okay, there will probably be 3-4 more chapters before this part ends. Hah, said it was a sequel, guess it's a trilogy now! Sorry folks. I promise the ending of this whole thing is going to be freaking beautiful and emotional. Any confusions (if so, I'll try answering in the comments)? It was difficult explaining her chakra weirdness. Next two chapters will be flashbacks.