Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto

Warning: This story will contain spoilers from Naruto and Harry Potter so if you don't like spoilers don't read this story. Also, some facts may be different from the original plot and characters might behave differently from their original natures but that is how I need them in order to write my fanfic so again if you don't like it refrain from reading it. The genre is Drama/Hurt/Comfort, Harry is emotionally hurt. In this fic, Harry may behave emotional and depressed (but not throughout entire storyline) so think carefully before you write something to you don't like my fic please read something else but if you have constructive criticism for me do go ahead and enlighten me. Lastly, there might be some future violence or coarse language. You have been warned!

Chapter 12: The Void Between Life and Death…

"To forget all your hardships, you need to forget all your victories. To forget all your sorrow, you also need to forget all your happiness. To forget all the hatred, you will have to forget all the love received."

"Grandpa!"

"Konohamaru? What're you doing here?" Sarutobi was currently sitting outside the waiting area of surgery unit waiting anxiously for any news concerning his adoptive son. The man was surprised to see Konohamaru arrive with his two little friends in tow.

"Where's uncle?" Astonishingly, the child's voice was full of both hope and fear – two emotions at opposite ends of spectrum.

"How did you-" The aging Hokage didn't finish his sentence.

It had only been few hours since the patrol squad found his adoptive son and promptly rushed him into the emergency treatment unit. The retired Hokage had been working in Tsunade's place while the kunoichi attended to Akimichi Choji's dire condition. Not long after Tsunade came back to the Hokage Manor, she was called in again in the middle of her rest to lead Harry's treatment. It baffled everyone as to how the teen had ended up so close to the village in such a critical state.

"Where's he?" The poor boy looked completely exhausted. It was no wonder, seeing as he never gave up on looking for his uncle. Konohamaru seemed just about ready to break down at any given moment and it was for that reason Sarutobi did not want to tell his grandson until he knew the outcome of the surgery.

"Konohamaru." Sarutobi motioned the child closer.

Konohamaru looked around his surroundings once more before slowly approaching his grandfather, still searching for signs of his lost uncle. His grandfather sat on one of the long benches on either side of the double doors in the middle of the hallway. The red light on top of the door was on, indicating that treatment was currently underway. When Konohamaru finally approached his guardian, he continued.

"I heard Uncle was found: That he's in the hospital right now. Did they really find him?" Each sentence was said with more urgency and anxiety than the previous one – something which stabbed at Sarutobi's conscience.

Most of the residents in the Leaf Village remained oblivious to Harry's kidnapping which had been overshadowed by Sasuke's event. As far as the villagers were concerned, Konohamaru was looking for his uncle who was speculated to be somewhere in the village but somehow ended up injured when found. However, despite being unaware of the fact, it seemed that the news of his adoptive charge being rushed to the hospital in a grave condition was spreading like wildfire. And the little boy in front of him, just like the village, was unaware of the fact that Harry had been kidnapped.

When the Third had heard of the retrieval team's return with Sasuke, he was more worried than relieved at the lack of information on arrival of his charge on the report. While the genin –including Sasuke - were being treated at the hospital, he had to ponder if the teen was being tortured in Orochimaru's grasp.

"Hey gramps!" When Sarutobi turned to the direction of the calling, he found a mummified Naruto supported by his pink haired teammate.

"Naruto, what're you doing here?"

"Is it true that they found Hari-san?" Sarutobi inwardly sighed; it appeared that no one was interested in answering him today.

"We heard that he was badly hurt and that he's being treated right now." Sakura supplied the information calmly, having being instructed with Sasuke's retrieval team - and a few others who were involved in this incident - to not reveal anything about the older teen's ordeal. Sakura knew it was to shield Sasuke from any further trouble he was in.

"Naruto. Sakura." Everyone turned to find two familiar faces at the interruption. It was the Nara genius and the blond haired kunoichi from the Sand Village.

"Shikamaru." Naruto was quite surprised to see him, not sure why the boy was doing here.

"I guess the rumors are true." Shikamaru muttered as he surveyed the room. The chunin took quite a hard hit regarding how the mission had turned out. Despite the success of the mission, at the end, the older teen was missing and that had been eating away at him.

Shikamaru recalled the moment he ordered Naruto to give up Hari in favor of Sasuke for the sake of the mission after the white haired sound ninja had taken the two of them. Even after Naruto had successfully fooled the sound kunoichi and followed Sasuke, Shikamaru knew somewhere in his heart that Naruto would not follow his order and would try to save both. Nevertheless, that fact did not help to ease his guilt at all.

Regardless of the mission's outcome, two of his teammates were in life-threatening critical conditions while two others - though not life threatening - suffered serious injuries as well. And what was the price he had to pay for this awful result? The innocent life of the Hokage's adoptive son who wasn't even a shinobi. Despite the teen's kind gesture, Shikamaru knew Hari had suffered a lot in his life to start with. Shikamaru felt as thoughhe had failed everyone and that it was sheer luck that his mission was a success. Soon after his arrival, he decided he wasn't fit for being a ninja. If it weren't for the lecture from Temari and his father earlier, he would have quit being a shinobi. Then he heard the news about Hari while leaving the hospital with the sand kunoichi.

"Clear the way!" Out of blue, a group of staff rushed towards the crowd with a lot of equipment and other medical supplies. Among these people, Naruto recognized Shizune who seemed to have just gotten out of the bed – looking at her messy hair. Indeed, she had just woken up from her slumber after treating Neji's treatment and was now rushing to aid in Tsunade as the current operation just took a turn for the worse.

"Shizune-neechan!" However, Naruto was ignored by said kunoichi in favor of her patient and all was quiet as the staff disappeared through the other side of the double door.

"Grandpa?" Konohamaru was beyond terrified now, "Is uncle in there?" The small child now stared at the double doors. He was too young to know what that equipment was used for, but he instinctively knew that something very bad was happening on the other side.

Sarutobi sighed, "… Yes."

There was no point in lying at this point. He might be a mere child, but Sarutobi knew better than anyone else that children could pick up on certain things remarkably quick, despite their lack of understanding sometimes. Besides, Konohamaru's question was what all the other children in this hallway were silently asking at same time as well. He just couldn't lie to all of them.

"Why? How bad is he hurt?" While the small boy screamed, the other children stood dumbly in their spot at the new information.

"Konohamaru, calm down."

"No! Why is he hurt? He's not even shinobi!" The child seemed furious but at the same time scared as well. Tears started to well up in his eyes, and he stomped his foot.. "Who did this to him?"

Uncle Hari was the nicest person he had ever met. Sure, most of the villagers were nice to him as well, but what he felt from Hari was something completely different. Konohamaru didn't remember his parents much but he always thought that if they were alive, they would be just like his uncle - caring and understanding. Even though he was young, Konohamaru had a gut feeling that his uncle's injuries were unrelated to any kind of accident. Being related to the Hokage had all kinds of perks, but it also came with some risks. Still, it was his family. His uncle never did anything wrong. If anything, Konohamaru wondered if someone had hurt his uncle in the past, seeing the occasional sad looks Hari had worn.

"Konohamaru, calm down and listen to me."

"He's going to be okay, isn't he?" From the early loss of his parents, Konohamaru learned that nothing was definite. Even though children outliving their parents and elders was norm, it never meant that Hari would outlive his grandfather or other uncle, and that knowledge was taking control of his fear. "I don't want him to die!"

Sarutobi could do nothing but take his now wailing grandson in his arms. He comforted the child with words that held no promise. He wasn't sure if Konohamaru was able to hear his voice in his distraught state but all he could do at the moment was to reassure the small bundle in his arms and hold him tight.

"What happened to Hari-san?" Naruto asked. He still recalled the dread he felt while being carried by Kakashi and the jonin had no idea why his student was asking about the well-being of Hari.

"He was found unconscious by the patrol nearby the village. No one knows how he ended up there. I'm not sure of the extent of his injuries." It wasn't a complete truth. Sarutobi had actually heard about the shape Harry was found in, but he just couldn't release all the details to these children who adored the green-eyed teen.

When Tsunade finally came out, she pulled Sarutobi aside and had a private conversation - away from prying ears. He was immensely relieved that the boy's condition had stabilized after few complications. It appeared to everyone that all would turn out fine after few days. How wrong they all were.

"You should go home, get some supper and sleep." Shikamaru said to the young child who had been by the teen's side for almost a week.

Unlike the initial predictions, Hari wasn't waking up and no one understood why. He was physically stable and was even breathing on his own. This mystery frustrated everybody.

"No one's home anyway." Konohamaru replied dejectedly as he continued to guard his spot beside his uncle.

The chunin felt horrible upon hearing the child's words. Even though it wasn't his mission to save the Hokage's son, the lifeless figure in front of him pressed something heavy in his heart. He tried to ease his guilt by looking after the child who lacked a caregiver especially since his teacher was away due to a mission again and the Third was busy. However, everyone knew the old man dropped by every evening to check up on his adoptive charge despite his demanding schedule.

"Come on Konohamaru; let's go get something to eat before I take you home. You want to look healthy so your uncle recognizes you when he wakes up, don't you?" Ino took the initiative and grabbed the child's hand. "Besides who's going to be by his side if you get sick?" She spoke brightly in an attempt to cheer up the boy and tugged the hand lightly to let her intentions known. At a snail's pace, Konohamaru got up from his seat and left the room unhappily, but without further resistance.

Shikamaru took the seat that was occupied by the small boy just moments ago and sighed in defeat.

"A lot of people are worried about you, you know."

Since Hari had been hospitalized, even Naruto was in a solemn mood. No one expected this to happen and no one knew how long this torment would last.

Almost a week has passed, but Harry's condition was not improving. In fact, Shikamaru was certain that it was gradually worsening despite his lack of knowledge in the discipline. From what he observed, more equipment was present now than when the teen was first hospitalized, his medication doses were getting higher and, if not, something new was added to the list of meds. He was losing weight and his skin was getting paler. Staying comatose at the hospital was taking its toll, and it was eating away at the teen's already fragile health, ready to tip him out of his stable condition.

The Nara chunin recalled when he last saw Hari conscious. Hari was fine; there were no injuries serious enough to put him into surgery, and definitely not comatose. The older teen was just tied up helplessly.

According to Naruto, when the blond last saw Hari during the mission, in spite of his injuries from the explosion, Hari was still conscious. The only thing they could guess was that his unconscious state was an after effect of the blast that emerged after a few hours. The fact that Harry was last seen on the statue of Madara was worrisome and opened up the new possibility that the teen could have fallen from the great distance into the water below. Still, if that had actually happened, Hari shouldn't be alive right now. No matter what the case was, where he had been and how Hari ended up near the village was still a mystery.

Moreover, who had attended to Hari's injuries? Shikamaru doubted those sound ninja had treated him and, when questioned, none of his teammates said they were responsible for such action. Hari didn't have any medical supplies so the blood soaked bandages the patrol found him in weren't his either. If someone had indeed attended to the Hokage's son, why did he or she leave him nearby the village? Why not bring him in? And was it really just coincidence that Hari was brought back near the Leaf village or did that person actually knew where to take the injured party? There were other possible destinations from where Naruto and Sasuke's battle had taken place.

"We're all waiting for you to wake up."

Nara chunin was aware that Konohamaru stayed by Hari's side everyday waiting for his uncle to wake up. The boy's two friends dropped by every now and then to support him and check on the older teen. Shikamaru and his teammates dropped by since they knew him well through their instructor.

Asuma came by during his stay in the village and, although he had to leave the same day due to his mission, he truly seemed worried along with many others in the village. Kurenai, Kakashi, Gai and even a few shinobi he didn't recognize checked on Hari's condition before they too had to leave for another mission. That crazy kunoichi from the chinin exam also came for a visit with another examiner who had a scarred face though Shikamaru wasn't sure how Hari got acquainted with those two nut jobs. Even Gaara dropped by, which really surprised Shikamaru to hear regardless of how short the visit may have been.

Naruto went to Hari's room daily, which was very little hassle as he, himself currently stayed in the hospital. Shikamaru knew that the older teen was one of the few people who had treated the blond without disdain. Sakura visited as often as she could, even with her busy schedule as Tsunade's apprentice. When Naruto asked, she just gave him the vague answer of 'It's my turn to support him.' Lee mentioned something about owing the teen a debt every time he came to visit the teen to wish him full a recovery.

"What are you doing to keep yourself from waking up?"

Harry didn't know how long he had been traveling along the river's shore. With his tiny frame, currently as delicate as a 3-year-old toddler's, he was frightened. He didn't know where he was or who he was and it wasn't long before he finally broke down and cried after walking down the endless stretch of tranquil riverside for so long.

"Itachi?" Hearing the voice, Harry perked up to find a man on a small boat anchoring himself to the shore with the oar he was holding.

"Huh? You're not-" The man seemed shocked upon seeing the child's face, but quickly recovered and gave a gentle smile to soothe the other. "I was expecting someone else, but I guess it's better for him to not see me so soon yet." Then the man got off the boat and approached the small child to crouch in front of the sniffling boy. "My name is Shisui. What's your name, little one?"

Harry studied the man with wary eyes. The man had unkempt short, black hair and wore a high-necked black shirt, black pants, and sandals. The stranger also had dark colored eyes with black markings around them that turned upwards at each end. This particular feature made the man look intimidating enough that Harry whimpered and opted back to burying his face in his arms and knees.

"Oh, please don't cry. It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." The man who introduced himself as Shisui scooted closer to the tiny toddler next to him, "Can you tell me your name?"

"I don't know." Came Harry's muffled words.

"You don't? Oh my…" Shisui seemed troubled at the revelation. Harry picked up the tone in the man's voice and looked back at him in alarm. The older man stared at Harry a little more as though in contemplation before his eyes flickered in sudden realization and gave a light chuckle. "It seems that you're lost. You see, if people are meant to be here then they remember whom they are. But if they accidentally stumble upon here when it's not their time to cross the river, they're confused and scared like a lost child."

"I don't understand." Harry replied hesitantly.

"It's okay. I think I have a good guess as to who you are if you're not Itachi." The man's words caught Harry's attention and the wizard asked back in distressed manner.

"Who am I?"

"You're my little brother's best friend." Shisui's voice was full of enthusiasm and delight.

"Friend?" Harry gaped at him skeptically before looking around the vast, empty surroundings void of life. However, this action only seemed to amuse the man as he laughed loudly. Afterwards, Shisui stood up and extended his hand to the smaller figure.

"Let's get you home, you can come back here many, many years from now." Although uncertain at first, Harry grabbed the calloused hand and followed the man to the small wooden boat. Shisui then lifted the child into the boat before climbing in himself to start their journey. No words were exchanged as they traveled downstream and Harry seemed content to watch the other side of the river as it passed by. After a while, he decided to break the silence.

"Aren't we going over there?"

"Not yet little one. Like I said, you can do that after you come back many, many years from now. But for now, you want to stick to this side of the shore." Shisui answered as he continued to move the oar to float down the calm stream.

"Then how about you?"

"What about me?" Shisui responded, but telling from the man's amused tone, Harry felt less nervous to quench his curiosity.

"Can you cross the river?"

"I can, but I'm waiting for someone. You see, just like you, he shouldn't be coming here to cross the river yet."

"Many, many years from now?" Upon hearing those words, Shisui laughed softly.

"Yes. I hope so." Harry noted the man's sadness at those last words and decided to change the subject.

"Do you know my name?"

"I do, but I can't tell you if you can't remember. That's the rule."

"Rule?" Harry wondered aloud.

"Yes. There're many rules here."

"What kind?"

"Well…" Shisui pondered, but not for long as something crossed his mind. "You're supposed to have a drink from this river when you're crossing to the other side of the shore."

"Why's that?"

"So you can forget everything before starting anew."

"Why would you want to forget everything though?" Harry didn't understand why anyone would want to do that. Right now, all he wanted was to figure out who he was.

"Everyone has their reasons." Shisui gave him a cheerless smile.

"But I hate not being able to remember who I am."

"It's frustrating, isn't it?" Harry nodded his head then moved closer to the edge of the boat to better view the river.

"So if I drink this water, I'll never ever remember who I am?"

"No. Not unless you cross the shore. If you drink it but don't cross the river you'll forget but there's a chance it still might come back." Suddenly, something came to Harry's mind with panic.

"Did I drink from this river? Is that why I forgot about myself?"

"That's possible, but even if you did, you may remember again if something triggers your memory and you really want to remember."

"But what if it doesn't come back?" Harry asked not liking the casual responses the man was giving him.

"Then maybe you really wanted to forget and don't want to remember anything." Shisui answered as though it was an obvious explanation.

Harry slumped his shoulders in thought and peered into the calm water again. Then he finally spoke up.

"I don't like it. Even if something bad has happened, I'm sure there were times I was happy too. Even if I knew some bad people, wouldn't there have been good people too? What's the point of forgetting all the bad things when I also forget the good things?"

"What if there were more bad things than good? What if the sadness was becoming unbearable?" Shisui's face suddenly turned dead serious and Harry was nervous about the man's shift in demeanor. The wizard paused, but never looked away from the man's gaze. Harry opened his mouth to speak.

"But my memories are still part of me. If everything is taken away from me, I'm not myself anymore."

"Well said young one." Shisui gave a satisfied grin, his attitude changing back to a pleasant one, and rested his oar and sat next to Harry. "There're no victories without any hardships. You'll never know the true meaning of happiness without sadness. With no hate, you can never understand the value of love. Make sure you remember this and what you just said to me even after your return."

After finishing his speech, Shisui directed his gaze to the river.

"Let me show you something. Put your hand in the water and wave to make ripples."

Harry obeyed and watched intently at the ripples spreading. Then, without warning, his wavy reflection shifted into a pale, hideous figure that lunged at him. Harry jumped back with a yelp causing the small boat to shake violently but Shisui seemed unfazed from the episode.

"There's a monster in the river!" Harry pointed towards the reflection, not wanting Shisui to be dragged into the river by the said monster.

"Don't worry child. There's no monster here, only memories."

"Memories?"

"This river is a mysterious wonder. Let me show you mine." And with those words he put his hand in the water and waved gently. When Harry peeked warily into the river, he was greeted with the reflections of Shisui and himself. The images shifted to take a different form and soon both were immersed into the memories played in front of their eyes.

Sakura hugged the crying Konohamaru tightly when she heard someone yell over the deafening sound of the alarm.

Why was this happening to him? Sure, Hari's condition had been steadily deteriorating, but she would never have imagined that his condition would suddenly take a nosedive like that in the middle of her visit with Naruto.

The three of them had been ushered outside the room and down the hall but all of them tried to stay as close as they could so that they did not miss anything important.

"I'm ready to shock him!"

"Everyone clear!"

Sakura closed her eyes when she heard the defibrillator shock discharge. She was trying to become a medical ninja, and had seen it all before, but to see or even hear someone so close to you go through that made her cringe. It was different. It was more personal. She prayed for him and tried her best not to burst into tears. Once Hari's heart rhythm stabilized, he was immediately moved to the ICU.

When Sakura and Naruto were allowed to visit again the next day, the most noticeable thing that caught their attention was a new machine connected to the teen by long tubes. It appeared to be delivering a breath every few seconds to keep him alive.

"Hey, Konohamaru." Naruto greeted the boy. His rigid posture relaxed upon seeing them, relieved to see someone he knew.

"Naruto-niisan." Konohamaru looked at Naruto with a very miserable expression.

"He still hasn't woken up. No one tells me much, but he's getting worse, isn't he? He didn't need that breathing thing before."

Naruto felt something squeeze at his soul. Hari was one of the few people who treated him like family. In a way, he felt accountable although he gave his best during that mission. If he had been stronger, would the incident have still occurred?

"Hey." The three occupants of the room turned towards the door to find new visitors.

"Shikamaru." Naruto greeted his fellow comrade before looking behind the chunin to see who had followed him. "Choji, Ino," The last person was someone he wasn't expecting, "… and Kiba?"

"Ino and I dropped by to see Choji, and then decided to drop by here on our way back to have a peek after what we heard." Shikamaru eyed Konohamaru then continued, choosing his words carefully. "Kiba was visiting Choji and they both wanted to come along too."

Naruto eyed Kiba who held a recovering Akamaru in his arms.

"I didn't know him, but in a way I feel bad for some reason about his current condition." Kiba gave a small shrug, feeling uncomfortable from Naruto's gawking.

"It's no one's fault." Neji said as he entered the room with Lee.

"Neji, what are you doing here?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow silently adding 'if what you just told us was true?'

"Lee came to see me then said he was going to visit the Hokage-sama's son. I also wanted to pay a visit after what happened both on our mission and yesterday evening." Neji eyed Konohamaru briefly and stopped from continuing any further. Shikamaru rolled his eyes at Neji's round about way of saying 'I felt responsible for this too.'

"What exactly happened yesterday?" Konohamaru finally asked, annoyed that most of the people seemed to know something that he didn't despite the fact that he, Naruto and Sakura were the only people present during yesterday's event.

The room fell silent, frantically trying to think of an appropriate answer that would not further traumatize the child.

"Tell me!" The child yelled angrily at Naruto then begged him with pleading eyes.

"Please Naruto niisan. Tell me. I got just as much right to know as you guys. He's MY uncle!"

"Umm… You see… Err… It's not easy to say… How should I say this… His heart stopped ouch!" Naruto was smacked by Sakura for his tactlessness.

"Naruto!" But despite the Sakura's action, Konohamaru was already getting teary-eyed.

"His heart stopped?" Konohamaru asked in a frightened voice. He then grabbed and shook Hari's hand and started to cry aloud.

"No! I don't want you to die! I don't want you to leave like mom and dad did!" Sakura and Ino tried to calm the upset child. "I'll be good! I promise I'll help you in the house! I'll clean after myself! I'll do my chores! I'll study harder! I'll behave! I won't go around making trouble! So please, JUST DON'T LEAVE ME!"

Just down the hall, Sarutobi moaned when he heard his grandson's howl. Tsunade shook her head, it wasn't uncommon for children to feel the blame for something out of their control, but it wasn't something you got used to either.

"I didn't think you would have allowed all those children to visit him. You and Kazuki are usually quite fussy about having too many visitors with one patient at the same time." Sarutobi started, not comfortable with the distraught sounds that filled the hallway with the two stood silently in.

"It'll be better for them…" Tsunade paused before continuing, "to spend as much time with him as possible."

"… Tell me what you think."

"He has a poor prognosis." Tsunade informed him regrettably, "He seemed to be coming down with pneumonia though I have to see the culture results to make sure. But the major problem is the fact that he's not waking up and his condition is deteriorating day by day. Kazuki-sensei told me the boy had some remarkable healing abilities, but I'm not seeing any of it. We tried to heal the fractures from yesterday's CPR, but it's not working. It's like his body is rejecting chakra which is a phenomenon I've never seen or heard of before." She heaved a sigh, "Right now, his body is slowly dying. If it weren't for the treatments and drugs we administer to help him function, he would die. It seems that each day there is another problem to complicate the matter."

"Can he make it through this?" The third Hokage already knew the answer. He had seen countless people injured and die. It didn't take a lot to guess the likely outcome of Hari's condition. Yet, if there was even a small chance that the teen could make it through this, he would hold on tightly to that hope.

"I can't make any promises, sensei, but I recommend you prepare for the worst case scenario. I'm sorry."

"He can't leave yet. He's young, and those children care about him a lot." With that said, he started to walk away from Harry's room. He didn't have the courage to face all those gloomy children and decided to visit his charge later in the evening.

"It's up to him where he'll go." Tsunade finished as she followed her old teacher.

"Shisui stop this!" Harry stared at the boy he came to know as "Itachi" from Shisui's past.

"Why should I?" However, Harry didn't like this memory in particular. Shisui seemed so mean towards Itachi, unlike previous memories he saw.

"You're like an older brother to me. I don't want to fight you." Harry had seen how much Shisui cared for Itachi so he didn't quite understand why Shisui started this fight with Itachi.

"Then how about Sasuke?" The names "Itachi" and "Sasuke" had stuck in Harry's mind from when they were first mentioned. Why did they seem so familiar? Were they people he knew?

"What about Sasuke?" Itachi was getting defensive at the mention of his younger brother.

"Can you fight him?"

"Shisui, don't drag him into this. He got nothing to do with this!" However, Shisui didn't seem too threatened by the way the other boy was hissing at him angrily and started to laugh maniacally.

"I hurt him badly." Harry was startled at the soft murmur and glanced at his side to find a dejected Shisui. He seemed so different from the man he was seeing in the wake of memory. Harry looked back to the water when he heard a voice again.

"Oh really? My poor little Itachi. Your brother has to do with everything that's been going on in Uchiha clan. Why exclude him now?"

Harry focused on Itachi carefully. The sight of the boy's red eyes unnerved him. It brought to mind a blurred pale image he couldn't make out and he had to shove it away with an unpleasant feeling. Everything in his head was so chaotic.

"What are you talking about?"

"Just know this, Itachi. If you can't defeat me today, Sasuke is the one who's going to suffer the consequences."

"Consequence?"

"The little one will have to die." Before Itachi could ask, he found himself busy defending himself once more against the older man. Harry didn't like what he was watching.

"If you don't want to see your dear little brother lying dead before you, fight me!" Shisui barked, daring the smaller Uchiha. "If you want to know the answer, defeat me and I may just give it to you!"

Harry was afraid to move from his spot. He wanted someone to stop the fight but found no one in view. The scene before him was too fast for him to determine what was going on but from the way metal clanged and the sound of explosions, he knew they were trying to hurt each other. When the two men took a brief break and stood apart some distance away from each other, Itachi's features confirmed Harry's guess.

"You really meant to kill me." It was more of a statement Itachi made to himself than to Shisui. Itachi panted heavily as Shisui's last fierce blow had left a long bloody trail across his chest. Thankfully it wasn't deep or fatal. Itachi stared at Shisui in hurtful disbelief that Harry could relate to and recognize.

"What did you think I was trying to do from the beginning? Oh, Itachi, still so trusting and naïve." Shisui tsked. The two started to engage in another battle and after a painful amount of time had passed, the battle ended with Itachi's katana lodged in the center of Shisui's chest whereas the other man's katana seemed to be off aim as it was currently placed in the empty air between Itachi's side and arm.

"Why? … Y-You could have dodged…" Itachi's eyes started to well up but the younger Uchiha was in too much shock to care about that. "Was it on purpose? Why?" Shisui leaned in close and whispered in Itachi's ear.

"Take care… little brother…" Shisui fell to the ground with those words as his last. As soon as this happened, the scene faded away and changed back to two people's reflection.

"Why did you do that?" Harry sniffed as he wiped off the tears on his face. He wasn't sure if tears were from the grief or the shock of seeing Shisui die in such a manner. "I thought you loved him."

"I still do." Shisui said as he held the weeping child in his arms. "But sometimes, you have to do what needs to be done."

"But he cried. He looked sad." Harry protested.

"I know what I did was unforgivable and it hurt him, but it was to protect them from greater pain and loss."

"I don't understand." Teary emerald eyes stared back to the dark orbs and Shisui patted the child's head sympathetically.

"And that's okay too."

"Shisui!" Harry and Shisui's heads turned up to another voice.

"It has been a while hasn't it Itachi?" Harry followed Shisui's gaze and onto the shore where another man wearing similar clothes as Shisui was standing with a stunned expression. Beside the man stood a silvery dog that appeared to be made out of light.

"I guess this is goodbye for now, little one. See you two again, but not too soon, okay?" Before Harry could say reply to Shisui, the wizard felt a hand on his back, lightly pushing him forward.

Unable to respond in time, Harry found himself in the water. He knew how to swim, however when he tried to surface, he just kept sinking. Within the blurry vision of the water, Harry saw Shisui and his boat vanish into thin air as though they had never existed. Just as Harry thought he couldn't hold his breath any longer, he was abruptly lifted into a strong embrace.

"It's okay. You're safe now." Harry could barely make out the words as he coughed and struggled for breath. He really hoped he hadn't drunk any of that river's water.

Tiny fingers grabbed on to the man, holding him like a lifeline. He took some time to observe his savior's face. Shisui had called him Itachi and the man did indeed look like an older version of the boy he saw from the memories.

Itachi rubbed the child's back in a soothing manner and started to head back towards the shore before gazing at the spot where Shisui previously stood.

"Itachi?" The Uchiha stared at the child with no expression before announcing the other's name as he continued to swim back to the shore.

"And you're Harry."

"Harry?" Harry replayed the words with his tongue. It felt right. "That's my name? How?" Harry inquired as Shisui refused to tell him earlier saying 'it was against the rule.' Itachi just motioned his head towards a dog-shaped bright, white light that approached them once on land. Without drying themselves, they started to follow the dog into the forest. Harry wondered about the dog, but turned back to Itachi and stared into his seemingly cold, dark eyes. He wasn't intimidated though - he knew now that it was the teen's usual expression.

"Shisui showed me a lot about you. He talked a lot about you too. He said he still loves you." Itachi froze at that last comment and narrowed his eyes at the innocent looking child who didn't seem to flinch under his gaze. While still in Itachi's arms, Harry turned towards the dog.

"What's your name?"

"I can't tell you if you can't remember." The familiar voice replied amusedly.

"Oh." Harry sounded disappointed. "Just like Shisui couldn't tell me my name because I couldn't remember?"

"That's right, but you know your name now, don't you?"

"Harry." Harry smiled, as he felt proud that he was able to recall correctly this time. "Harry's my name. But how come Itachi can tell me my name when I can't remember?"

"Because he doesn't have to follow all the rules, unlike some of us who take a temporary residence in this limbo."

"I don't get it." Harry frowned. He didn't like all these weird answers he was getting.

"It's okay not to."

"That's what Shisui said." Harry felt the arms around him stiffen again at the mention of Shisui and shifted his gaze back to Itachi then something hit him. "But if Itachi doesn't have to follow the rules, he can tell me your name, right?" Harry looked excited at the discovery.

"That's my boy! Finding a way around those pesky rules." The dog's chuckle caused Harry to beam brighter. The warm feeling he got from that laugher made him yearn for something that he just couldn't quite put his finger on.

"What's his name?" When Harry asked Itachi, the Uchiha replied flatly.

"Siriusu."

"Siriusu…" Harry repeated the word again. It didn't sound too foreign, but he couldn't recall much. Just some kind of black, blurry creature moving about was all he got. Black creature. Black animal.

"Sirius Black." Harry suddenly blurted out.

"That's right." And Harry could sense that Sirius was very proud. However, unlike the dog, Harry was starting to feel frustrated once more.

"I'm still confused."

"It'll all come back eventually once you're out of here. You had us worried, Harry. What have you been doing all this time?"

"I went on a boat ride with Shisui." The dog's pace seemed to falter for a brief moment.

"You weren't on the boat to start with, but rather you went on the boat?" Sirius then gave a nervous chuckle. "That's nice, but PLEASE don't do that in the future."

"Do what?"

"Getting on a stranger's boat on a strange river. I almost had a heart attack when you said that - though I don't think I can have one now." Itachi snorted at that last comment from their animal companion.

"Shisui isn't a stranger. He's nice."

"I'm sure he is, but if you went to the other side of the river… let's not talk about it. Just don't get on any more boat to cross the river in the future, okay?"

"Okay." Harry answered lightly enough Itachi was sure Sirius wasn't so convinced.

"You say that as though you expect him to come back here in near future." Itachi commented and Sirius seemed thoughtful as he reflected over those words.

"Good point. Please Harry, don't come back here to start with anytime soon, okay?"

"Okay." At such a quick answer, both Sirius and Itachi doubted that the promise from the young child would be kept.

By the time they reached at the edge of the forest, Itachi let Harry down on the dirt, but the wizard still held onto the ninja tightly.

"Look over there Harry." Sirius spoke, and in the aforementioned direction, Harry saw another light far away. It looked sort of like a dog, but was different from Sirius.

Wolf. The word suddenly crossed Harry mind and he believed it without any hesitation.

"Go back. He's waiting for you." Harry let go of Itachi and slowly started to walk towards the light, but stopped dead in his tracks when he heard a familiar voice from that light.

"Harry, my cub."

"Aren't you guys coming?" Harry turned back and asked his companions.

"This is as far as we can go," Sirius replied. "Now I have to take him back before he gets stuck in this limbo as well. I don't want him to be trapped here after he risked his life to help the both of us." He then nuzzled into the child. "I love you so much, Harry. Remember that." He detached himself and started to walk away with Itachi. Harry was about to follow the two, but that far away voice stopped him again.

"This way. Come this way." Harry bit his lips then turned around to obey. He started to walk towards the new figure.

"Hurry, cub." There was urgency in that voice now. Harry turned around to get one last look at Itachi and Sirius, but the only thing he could see was a darkness that seemed to be engulfing the forest behind him. Terrified, Harry started to run. He didn't want that darkness to catch on to him. Suddenly, the wolf like creature turned its back and started to walk away from Harry.

"Wait!" Harry yelled as he ran desperately. He didn't want to be left alone.

"This way." The voice called out and Harry pushed himself to run faster than before - if that was possible. He stretched out his arm towards the wolf in his frantic attempt to catch up to the animal. The darkness was getting closer and closer to the point when, when Harry finally grabbed on to the wolf, all of his surroundings suddenly turned pitch black. Nonetheless, he still felt something warm on his hand he used to grab the wolf with. The sensation turned into discomfort - suffocation almost - and he didn't like it. He opened his eyes to try to find the source, only to be blinded by the light around him. He closed his eyes and tried to open them again, but they felt heavy, and he was starting to feel very tired. His body was aching, and there were so many blurred noises surrounding him.

"I'm here, cub. Open your eyes," Harry tried to reach his other hand towards the voice, but found nothing.

"Wake up. Open your eyes, cub." It was difficult, but Harry struggled to lift open his heavy eyelids. His surroundings were a little less blinding than the first time, but they still hurt his eyes. He saw many people surrounding him, including an old man was holding onto his right hand. More importantly though, he found the same glowing, translucent wolf he was desperately chasing after a few meters away from the crowd.

A/N 1: It's not the River Styx. The river has nothing to do with Greek mythology. XD

A/N 2: I am aware that Itachi and Shisui are not brothers and they sure are not brothers in my fanfic either.