CHAPTER 2

The gates have opened and all the teams sprinted off in their respective directions. Itachi and Shisui are roaming high in the tree tops keeping a watchful eye.

"So, are you gonna tell me what's up?"

Shisui tries to drag the information out of his best friend with his usual banter. Something is amiss and Itachi has not breathed a word to him since they were "assigned" to patrol the Forest of Death during the exams. In itself this is an odd request he admits to himself, but he has a feeling that before the day is through everybody would be glad that they were there.

Sure, things usually get a bit intense during these exams but rarely is anybody actually hurt seriously anymore. At least not since the Hokage decided that no lethal force is to be tolerated since these exams are merely to test the young shinobi of their skill and abilities. The entire exam is set up in a very controlled environment to protect the younger generations of learning shinobi but still maintain the vigorous and strenuous requirements needed for this harsh life.

"Hn"

"…"

An elegant eyebrow is raised.

"Aww come on!" A very exasperated Shisui comes to a standstill on a branch behind his cousin throwing his arms up and dropping them to his side with a loud clap against his thighs to show it.

Itachi lands on the next branch and pinches the bridge of his nose in almost annoyance willing the coming headache to dissipate before it begins. He knows Shisui will not let this go but he does not have the answers to give at this point and he really does not feel like engaging in this senseless chit chat topic currently.

"I don't know…. yet" he finally answers to try and silence his very inquisitive friend.

"Is it that serious?" the solemnness in his voice is not missed by the long haired young man as he ponders the question.

"…. Perhaps" Itachi allows this much to be shared as he knows that Shisui is only trying to be realistic and look out for him.

A moment of expected silence ensues, until Shisui's eyes lights up suddenly with almost clarity and confusion. His crimson Sharingan twirling to life of its own volition in response to his sudden emotional confusion.

"You saw the Light again!" Shisui exclaims in shock. "What did IT say? When? Wait, what's going to happen now?"

He chuckles softly under his breath at his cousin's comic reaction and realisation but feels he still needs to reprimand him only slightly for his inadvertent disrespect.

"Firstly, not IT – SHE. Secondly, SHE said nothing. I have merely been dreaming about that night." Itachi says with what could be translated as a sigh if it was anybody else, his usual monotone drawl seems to be a bit sharp to Shisui so he decides to try and lighten the mood.

Ever since that night he watched his younger cousin become nearly obsessed with "the Light" that had appeared and possessed Itachi for a full day. It was strange to see and interact with his cousin and yet at the same time be interacting with a completely different person. Shisui knows in his heart that The Light was their saving grace and that both their lives and that of both clan and village as a whole was very positively affected by Its appearance but he also could not deny the fact that ever since then Itachi has been on some kind of personal mission. The likes he himself was not truly aware of if he was being brutally honest with himself.

He and Itachi both owe the Light for the gift of their eternal Mangekyou and Shisui even more so because his stolen eye was replaced and repaired for him. Neither one of them also suffer from the dreaded after effects from using this particular Uchiha bloodline trait like history dictates, the Light merely saying that it was "Her" gift to them for their assistance. But still, Shisui does not like seeing his beloved younger cousin so lost in seeking something that he will never possess.

It was the one thing Itachi refused to share and it was the only thing that has kept Shisui from blindly being indebted to The Light since then.

"Okay, let's just continue with our mission for now but we ARE going to try and do something about your obsession with that Light. I mean really, you have nearly the entire villages ladies drooling over you and you keep on fawning over some ….. Light." He says while rolling his eyes at his best friend with a playful smirk on his lips.

An expectant pause hangs around them.

"I do NOT fawn." Eyebrow arched in his usual manner at the comment made.

Shisui chuckles softly and shrugs his shoulders. "If you say so little cousin, if you say so. But still, why are you so obsessed with it? Yes, it did assist us in our time of need and yes, it DID gift us but…

His eyes become their usual dark brown so unlike the usual Uchiha ebony due to his mix parenthood and his brow furrows in a frown that looks as out of place on his face as a snow storm in summer.

"…but what does IT want?"

Itachi just allows a sigh to escape for he knows his cousin is merely trying to understand that bizarre night. He could never quite explain well enough what had actually happened then. He was there yes, but also he was not. His consciousness was tucked away looking on like a spectator.

"Fugaku! If you wish to spare your clansman and your family, you need to choose wisely NOW!"

The foreign voice commands from his lips as it appeared in the middle of the secret meeting room under the shrine in the Uchiha district.

"Danzo has already deployed Root to murder your entire clan and plans to have my Weasel, your heir, take the blame. Will you really allow yourselves, the mighty powerful Uchiha to be played like mere shogi pieces and gamble away everything that is beautiful and good you possess just for the sake of vain and senseless pride?!"

Gasps and shocked whispers start to erupt in the once disciplined meeting. Itachi has now addressed not only his parents and elders on the raised wooden seating area but also the rest of the clansman currently present and who are all prepared and ready to advance with their initial coup d'état plan.

Fugaku had been shocked by Itachi's sudden appearance but when the sound of the female voice ringing with crystal bells fell from his lips, he had been stunned to immobility.

Before anybody else could do or say anything Mikoto who was seated next to her husband at the table stood up and bowed at her possessed son.

"I feel no ill will from you but as a mother I am still bound to implore you to leave my son unharmed. What is it you wish us to do?" she asks without ever lifting from her deep bow.

"We cannot…." Fugaku immediately start to interject before he is silenced by Itachi as he had flickered from the middle of the room to right behind his father, his hand on Fugaku's head fingers splayed over his forehead and the clan head falls backwards. Itachi catches his father and settles him softly on the ground.

"Mikoto-sama forgive me but time is of the utmost essence at the moment. I already fear that for some of your clansman it is already too late. We need to leave NOW. The fight has begun and all your fighting men is currently here while innocent women and children are being butchered. Your husband is safe and he will understand when he wakes but please, will you help us?"

The plea in a foreign tongue spoken from the lips of her eldest moves Mikoto into action. Drawing her husband's katana from his sheath at his side she bows "Let us ALL go and fight to save who we can." Her command is met with no resistance and the once kneeling warriors move in unison taking up their arms with Sharingans blazing to protect their loved ones.

"My Weasel requests that I keep you safe Mikoto-sama, so please shall we work together." the female voice speaks softly now next to her, she nods her agreement before making their way out into the night.

The fleeting memory rocks him to his core as he desperately tries to forget how many was actually lost that night. Thankfully not ALL was lost and to this shred of light he clings with gratitude that fills his heart. His mother had been so brave that night, standing up not only to the elders but also her husband whom she loves and respects dearly and Itachi had seen her (not for the last time) choose her children's wellbeing over the clan.

All he knows in that moment is that the Light had not only gifted him and Shisui the highest level of their blood trait with no negative side effects as is usually the case, single handed saved nearly the entire Uchiha clan from annihilation AND brought around the start of a blooming reform in their clan making them viewed with less distrust from the rest of the village, was able to return Shisui his stolen eye but also and (he thinks most importantly) had healed him from the unknown disease that was plaguing his young body at the time. Since nobody knew of his illness then nobody would know how he felt when he could finally have a deep breath without his lungs catching fire.

This was why he was eternally thankful to the Light. This and the immense calm and peace he felt in her presence, something he will forever cherish and even search for as it the one thing that his soul longs for the most.

"In time all will be revealed I believe, for now…. we just need to stay vigilant" was his only reply as a way to placate the curiosity he sees growing within the depths of his best friends' eyes.

Drifting voices from below pulls both of them out of their revelry and with a nod they decide to tuck away the discussion for a later time. After all they are here to watch the young Gennin teams especially the chosen three, Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto. The exam is underway and both Itachi and Shisui are very curious to see what results will be had from the promising Gennin team 7.

Kakashi Hatake, now retired Anbu captain and Jonnin sensei is seated on his usual spot in a tree close to the training field with the three posts stuck in the ground, reading his favourite Itcha Itcha book.

He thinks of his Gennin team currently in the Forrest of Death undergoing the Chunnin exams. He sighs a bit as he remembers that the three-man squad in his care, as gifted as they are, are still only children and not yet aware of their potential and capabilities much less the realities of the shinobi way. Mentally he ponders on, not for the first time, their traits and differences to himself.

Sakura - the pink haired konoichi on the team – also viewed as the weakest of the three. She is not a prodigy nor from a clan as she is civilian born, she does not wield a special jutsu or born with a blood trait, she does however have excellent near perfect chakra control and her affinity for genjutsu is really admirable yet despite this there is a strength he sees in her that rivals both her team mates. He is convinced that with the right guidance she will become a true legend in her own right. He just wishes he could steer her to that guidance as he feels completely at a loss when he thinks on how to help her mature to her full capabilities.

Naruto - the Kyuubi vessel and the village goof - with his vast chakra reserves thanks to the fox sealed within him and his even bigger heart and smile brings his own brand of strength to the team. He keeps them rooted in their shared friendship and comradery, without any lessons from parents or family he has that ingrained in his very core despite his hard life up to this point and this can only promise him great things in the future. Although he should have been honoured as their saviour he has been ostracised for being the fox's vessel. An unfair treatment seeing as he does not even know why he is looked at with such fear and disdain by his beloved village, despite this he still holds everybody dear to him albeit he started off trying to grab any kind of attention and recognition with childish pranks and misbehaviour. Kakashi chuckles as he thinks that perhaps that is all that Naruto will need to indeed become the Hokage one day.

Sasuke – brooding and dark younger brother of Itachi - the final member of his somewhat haphazard team in his opinion. Although he is not labelled a prodigy like his older brother he is not as weak as some may think he is especially his father. He has a very fickle temperament and this could well be why he seems to constantly be struggling to keep up, Kakashi has concluded. He is burdened with having to live up to his prodigal brother and is always drowned in another's shadow, struggling to accept love and affection from others. He has attached himself more to his team than even they know as he views them as the only family who truly accepts him for just him, a true feat as he still pushes them both away with his harsh words at times. Kakashi feels even more drawn to him than the other two because he can sense the darkness lying in wait beneath the surface just waiting to drown this young man the first chance it gets. If for no other reason except that then he will be sure to keep the boy from falling prey to that pit like he himself once did, it is after all harder to climb out of than it is to fall into.

The three teammates as different as can be and yet, they share the one thing that many shinobi lack instinctually…the will of fire. They were born with it and it rages in them making them strong beyond their years. For this reason, Kakashi has put them forward for Chunnin at this time. He knows they have a tough road ahead and he just wants to have them as best prepared and armed as he possibly can.

Kakashi looks up from his book and looks at the sky through the leaves above him from his perch.

"Am I really the best choice of a teacher for them? Do you really believe I can do this?" he muses and a memory flits before him as if in answer.

"You are your father's son no matter how hard you fight against it, Kakashi-san." the ringing voice chimes in his ear as he watches on while Itachi's body and Mikoto bring down the Root members that are targeting the innocent in the district. He sees where Itachi has gained his elegant fighting style, Mikoto moves with ease and grace with the lethalness of a tigress protecting her cubs, it seems like she is barely exerting herself she is so lithe and deadly.

The fight is intense and on more than one occasion this…. entity had saved an Uchiha from being cut down by the men that was commissioned to kill them this night. Always ensuring that Mikoto is out of harm's way, falling back to protect her even though she did not need it.

"He saved me, you know. Taught me what true love feels like for the first time since my creation. He gave his life for me even when I did not ask it of him. He died to save me, his only regret was leaving you behind. You were his pride and joy, his heart outside his body. Much like what you see before you, the bonds created between people make you stronger."

She continues softly to him. "I am trying to repay my debt and promise to him, you are being drawn deeper into the darkness and you light is too bright to be swallowed in that pit. You are needed to make them strong, pass on what was given to you and continue building what your father has started. Nurture, grow and love Kakashi, not kill and destroy."

Her words still ring in his ears as he thinks of that night when he finally learnt that his father was not a coward but a hero.