Chapter 29: Faux Betrayal.

When Jiraiya told me he was taking Naruto with him to search for Tsunade, I knew something was off. Konoha's aim had always been to keep the Kyubi within the village for safekeeping, and to break that pattern now of all times seemed more than a bit unusual. I decided, however that I would learn nothing from it if I showed my suspicions about the matter.

It made no sense to me then, I knew they were keeping something from me. For it to be Jiraiya who took the kid when the seal was clearly still unstable, added to the fact that the council did not oppose to it when they clearly had not been told the reason behind it, it all rubbed me the wrong way.

I would find the reason behind it soon enough though, and I would not like it one bit. Because after five years of absolutely nothing, after all the uncertainty, Itachi returned. He turned up right in the middle of Konoha, eating dango and drinking tea with none other than Hoshigaki Kisame, all without setting off a single alarm. He had always been good, so nobody noticed him until he made himself known, and with how vulnerable Konoha had been after the invasion and without a Hokage, it was almost laughable just how much easier it had been for them to infiltrate.

Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma were the first to engage, all of them bested the second Itachi revealed his scarlet eyes. Hoshigaki, thank Kami, had decided not to intervene, and just become a spectator in what could have been a spectacular battle. Still, they were outmatched, and when Itachi put Kakashi under a genjutsu, all seemed to be lost. It was when they first engaged that Gai came to fetch me at ANBU HQ.

I don't think I ever ran as fast as I did then. I remember thinking the sprint to downtown Konoha had never felt as slow, as tedious, as infinitely long. My mask remained on, my colak a black blur under the sun, dragging behind me; and my hair in a braid like a whip against the air.

Gai did make his entrance quite flamboyant, as it was expected of him, just as it was expected of me to remain in the shadows and wait for an opening. I did lag behind, half to assess the situation and half out of habit. That didn't stop neither Itachi nor Kisame from noticing me.

Itachi.

He looked the same, but taller and with the baby fat completely gone from his cheeks. His Sharingan had three Tomoe, and I couldn't help but feel proud of him. He looked strong and powerful and very much himself. I was so ecstatic, that neither the hard line crossing his hitai-ate, nor his black and red cloak deterred me from wanting to hug him, welcome him home, ask him to stay.

I had missed him so much, I realized, I'd been so worried for him, and now, here he was, tall and proud and strong, and staring straight into my eyes through the holes in my mask. He smiled, brightly, honestly, with so much fondness I thought I'd melt. His hair was longer, his eyes wiser but more tired than ever. His smile, however, his smile remained the same.

"You've grown, Akane." He said as I dropped to the ground silently from the tree I'd been hiding in. "I expect you've made Captain by now."

His voice was deeper, softer, if that was even possible, as gentle as ever.

I took my mind and hood off, to let him see me properly after four years apart. We had both grown into out adult bodies, and now at eighteen, we had to re introduce ourselves. Four years was a long time in the life of a shinobi.

He scrutinized my face, memorized the gentle waves of the wisps of hair that had fallen out of the braid and now framed my features, studied the new scars in my neck.

"You've grown." He repeated,

I smiled.

"So have you, red always was your color." I looked around once and smiled at him once again "Your genjutsu are as beautiful as ever as well. You even managed to make it look as if it were seen through an active Sharingan. How did you know?"

He simply watched me walk around observing his handiwork and answered quietly:

"Orochimaru is quite fond of you."

I nodded and turned to him once again. He looked so real. I smiled again.

"He told me of your plan to send Sasuke away." His tone gave nothing away as he approached me slowly. I frowned. He stretched his arm towards me and I didn't dare move as he took a leaf from my hair and held it up.

"Is that why you're here?" I whispered.

He looked at the leaf and turned in his fingers, slowly, in silence. I just watched him.

"Akatsuki sent Kisame and I for the Kyubi. But I couldn't come to Konoha and not make sure Sasuke and you were doing okay."

I frowned and took a step back.

"You are not taking Naruto, Itachi. I won't let you."

My retreat seemed to have saddened him. He used to be better at hiding his feelings. He let go of the leaf and let it fall to the ground.

"I've never failed them once since I joined them, I do not intend to start now, Akane. I need connections to the Akatsuki to be able to serve Konoha."

I turned my back to him and stared resolutely ahead, not wanting to see his face as he told me he would give away Naruto's life in exchange for information.

"Fuck Konoha, I'm trying to keep my family safe. Naruto is a part of that family, and if that means I will be forced to fight you, so be it."

I felt his hand on my shoulder before he made me turn to face him. He said nothing and just took me in his arms and embraced me like it was the last time. It very well could be.

"I'm sorry. I truly am. My decisions should not have to affect your life. I'll do my best, but I need to keep up appearances."

I looked up at him. He'd grown in those four years he'd been away, and now, he was over half a foot taller than me. I smiled.

"If you need to stab me again, please spare me the genjutsu. Those are getting boring."

He chuckled and let go of me. His smiles still crooked to one side, his eyes still shone a little when he squinted; and his hair still fell from where it was tied at the nape of his head.

"I've missed you, Akane. I'm glad it was you who was there for Sasuke when I couldn't. Thank you."

His image started to fade, and I felt the urge to hug him one last time. To make sure he was still there, to reassure myself that Itachi was still Itachi. It would give me strength to keep going, knowing that somewhere in the world, he was fighting still.

"Goodbye, Itachi." I whispered, and kissed his forehead, like Shisui used to do, before everything faded back to the real world.

Somewhere along the line, the shinobi present had managed to make Itachi and Kisame retreat. Everyone looked unharmed, everyone but Kakashi, whom, I was told later, had been put under a torture based genjutsu by none other than Itachi. I understood the reason behind it, but I couldn't help but resent my friend for hurting Kakashi.

Team Seven's leader was very averse to hospitals, which made everything a tini bit worse since I didn't just have to sneak Sasuke out of a military village; I also had to make sure Kakashi's childish attempts to escape his 'Imprisonment' didn't end up killing him.

It was a busy week, but I finally managed to set up Sasuke's escape. I didn't really give him a heads up, which would have been risky, information could have leaked, and we could both have been killed for it. On the other hand, my otouto didn't really get to say goodbye to anyone.

The face he pulled and the way he screamed when he turned on the lights to his room would have been funny had it not been for the circumstances we were under. I wasn't wearing my mask, but my black cloak still gave me a very close resemblance to a death reaper. If it weren't for the fact that Hana had told Tsume the reason I was there, I would have feared the Inuzuka's treatment of trespassers.

"What the hell are you doing here, Akane-nee san? I thought you weren't supposed to be seen with me…" He asked once he realized I wasn't a threat.

He went to take off his gear, but I stopped him with a raised hand.

"You'll need those where you're going, Otouto." I threw a bag I'd prepared at him, "You have a long journey ahead and you will definitely need as much help as you can get."

He asked where was it he was going, why, and whether I was coming with him. He did not like any of the answers I gave him, and even tried to convince him to let him stay and help him fight Danzo. He made such an effort, even went as far as begging, that it almost made me feel bad about my decision. Almost.

I told him everything without sparing any details. I told him of how Shisui and Itachi had attempted to stop the coup, how they had offered a non-violent way out and Shisui had ended up dead for it. I told him about the genjutsu Itachi had put me under when he stabbed me, about how Orochimaru had been framed for following orders and how he saved every child that had been being experimented on under Danzo's orders. Of how I'd plotted to kill Hiruzen and how Danzo had threatened to take him by force if I refused to hand him over.

"Do you trust me, Sasu-chan?" I said in the end with a look I knew looked every bit as desperate as I felt

He looked me in the eyes, and nodded.

He was silent all the way to the gates, and only spoke his goodbyes when the time came. Orochimaru's envoys, the Sound Four, were an odd bunch, but if the Snake Sannin trusted them with Sasuke's safety, I'd have to do the same. I was worried, not only for my little brother's safety, but for the state of his mind as well. I'd dumped a lot of information on him in a very short time, like a bucket of water to the face, and it would take some time to process. I just hoped he'd choose a different path from mine. I did not want him involved in politics and national treason yet, even if we were pretending he was betraying Konoha.

I tied a blank porcelain mask behind his head and pulled the hood of his cloak over it. Asked about his provisions, and named those I'd packed for him. I told him to lay low, to move only among shadows, to obey the sound four only as long as he deemed it safe. Told him to contact me in case of an emergency only and how to get in touch with Doyun should he need anything.

I was being a worrywart, I knew that, we both did, but none of us commented on it. He respected me enough not to. Even if he had grown up under the Inuzuka's care ever since the massacre, I still considered him my little brother. I hadn't spent much time with him, but throughout the years, I'd made sure he was as safe and happy as his circumstances allowed him to be. I was responsible for him, and I'd become attached to him long before his survival had become my obligation. Sasuke had spent a lot of time at my place when Itachi and Shisui had been out, he'd told me a lot, and I'd returned the favor.

"Be careful and obey Orochimaru-san. He's agreed to mentor you while you are under his care," I said making sure his bag remained snug to his back. "Trust Orochimaru and his people only, and if anything seems off, run."

"I don't want to be running away my entire life, Nee-san."

I straightened myself and looked at my wristwatch. Two minutes before the next patrol arrived.

"Then become strong so you don't have to." I replied and kissed the mask where his forehead should have been. "stay safe, Otouto. I'll see you some other time."

"You promise?"

It was then that I found myself at the brink of tears.

"I promise to try my best, Sasu-chan."

He nodded, a silent promise to hold me to my word. And then he turned and got into formation before disappearing into the forest. I realized then, how much I hated farewells.

Voices rounded the corner of the street and before they could see me, I fickered away. I let my tears fall freely as one of the men on patrol duty yelled in alert to the fallen guards at the gate that I'd put under a genjutsu. And, as everyone raised the alert, I ran back to my quarters to await the call. After all, if a member of a clan disappeared, the head was to be informed first. I dried my tears and raced through the village. Sasuke would be okay, because if he wasn't, the world would know the extent of the Uchihas' rage.