From that moment on I was painfully aware that Itachi was in Konoha, even when I moved further away from the teahouse. I did not want to be seen in close proximity to that place as it would be questioned how I had not been able to sense Itachi, however when Guy Might sought me out to inform me that Itachi was here in Konoha, I had no choice to pretend that I was not aware. "Impossible. Itachi would not return here." I frowned at Guy who looked and sounded as if he had raced across the entirety of the village just to find me.

"I assure you it is true, we must go immediately! Only another Sharingan user has any hope to properly defeat Itachi Uchiha, and he is also not alone. You are the only one I can turn to, Miyuki-chan, please assist me." Guy Might even bowed before me which I had not expected so I hurriedly requested that he stand up.

"I will go." Steeling myself I drew in a breath before flickering out of sight, following Guy towards a more secluded area of the village where I quickly surveyed the scene. Before I arrived I prepared a few shadow doppelgangers and they split off undercover, one of them even going under the water as I began to hear the conversation at hand. Kakashi was on his knees, struggling even to hold himself upright as Asuma and Kurenai, both team leaders and my seniors, stood either side of him.

"Kisame, change of plans. We're taking Kakashi with us. Make the other two disappear." Itachi instructed his companion, a powerful rouge ninja whom Itachi had warned me about whilst we were in the Tsykuyomi. I was already a little drained from having used my Mangekyo Sharingan once today, but my regular Sharingan should do well enough for pretences. I activated my bloodline limit the moment we were in range, and I dropped down behind Kakashi as Guy performed an extraordinary whirling kick which sent Kisame flying backwards.

"Severe Leaf Hurricane!" Guy certainly was an admirable and splendid ninja. From hits taijutsu skills and his ability to fight against the Sharingan, I think even I may struggle to defeat him. It is possible even that I would lose, depending on the situation. As the rushing water settled from being disturbed, I gently guided my arms around Kakashi just as he lost consciousness, keeping him afloat in the water as I channelled chakra to my feet. He has suffered the Tsykuyomi, Itachi must not have held back.

"Well, what do we have here?"

"I am Konoha's noble blue beast of battle, Guy Might!" Guy introduced himself proudly as I looked past him, narrowing my eyes and furrowing my brow to look with as much hatred as I could muster at Itachi and Kisame.

"Asuma-san, Kurenai-san. You may open your eyes now." I invited them both, still holding Kakashi.

"Miyuki? Is that you?" Kurenai opened her eyes and looked down towards me. "Is Kakashi going to be alright?" Shaking my head, I passed him over to Kurenai to hold before walking forwards, my footsteps causing ripples to expand on the water as I took my place beside Guy. I was trembling all over, struggling to control myself and I hoped that the others would mistake my struggle for rage.

"Itachi." Hissing his name between tightly clenched teeth, I flexed my fingers in preparation for a fight, even though I knew that I was outmatched against Itachi as well as Kisame.

"Miyuki." My second shadow clone had already appeared behind them, standing perfectly still in a battle stance ready to attack with a jutsu. "Shadow clones. How simplistic of you. Tell me, do you truly think that you are enough to defeat me? Do not be arrogant." Choosing not to answer, I continued to stand my ground, not making a move and instead allowing my third shadow clone underwater to move first.

She burst upwards directly underneath them, forcing the two of them to separate from one another. Divide and conquer. An old but effective tactic. "Great work Miyuki-chan! This will be over quickly with you here." I doubted it, but I did not say so. Instead I flicked my gaze over to Kisame, narrowing my gaze to place him under the influence of the Tsykuyomi whereby he immediately began to scream, clutching his head in his hands with his sword still tightly grasped against his palm.

"Fire Style – Great Demon Hellfire." Calmly making the signs, I pressed the chakra outwards and blew hot flames of pale green and white past my lips. They burned even over the water's surface, causing it to bubble and froth as it was heated past the point of boiling, steam rising all around us as I aimed the attack at Itachi. He countered with his own fire jutsu, out attacks colliding and exploding in the middle but my other shadow clones were already moving behind him. As I suspected, he dispelled them with far too great an ease that it was almost insulting to my pride.

Projectiles were launched at me with such blinding speed that I had to quickly draw them into my Kamui, allowing them to vanish from sight in order to continue unhindered in my direct path to Itachi. Now with the Mangekyo Sharingan activated, I clashed with Itachi with all the strength I possessed, needing to prove to the others that I was willing to do anything to defeat Itachi. My gaze faltered for the briefest of moments when Itachi and I locked together, my focus wavering until I snapped it back, more determined than before.

With my arms blocking his attack I pulled back in order to kick, attempting to find a weak spot in his defence however Itachi was flawless, holding me off before all at once out mid-air battle ended when he whirled around and slammed the top of his foot and leg down upon my torso, sending me crashing back into the water. I fell through the surface with the breath knocked out of my lungs, a rush of bubbles rising upwards. Shaking off the pain of the blow, I swam forwards and rushed back to the surface, flying upwards and landing once more on my feet, breathing heavily. "Miyuki! Behind you!" Spinning around as fast as I could I managed to evade the first attack, but then my own special ability kicked in and I began to see our fight play out before me.

Now I knew where he was going to be, I was able to move faster to avoid him, as well as anticipate his movements, his jutsu and everything else I needed to know. "Kamui." My right eye swirled as I activated my dimensional jutsu, allowing the several projectiles that Itachi had flung at me earlier to drop down directly over his head. Surprised, he leaped back out of the way and they fell through the water as he came to a halt. We faced one another down as I prepared myself for what would come next, knowing full well that it was going to hurt.

In the same moment we both sprung forwards, flying over the water with weapons in our hands. When we were no less than a few feet away from each other, Itachi disappeared with such blinding speed that had I not already foreseen that he would appear behind me, I would not have known at all where he had disappeared to. His kunai twirled in his hand as he reversed the grip, then with a rather brutal strength he slammed the weapon into my side. It was freezing cold and I immediately cried out, forcing my mouth to top so that I did not accidentally bite down on my tongue.

"Miyuki!" Guy came running to my side however Itachi had already kicked me away like a rag doll, skimming me over the surface whereby Guy caught hold of me, kneeling down on the water. "Miyuki! Are you alright? Just hold on!" Clutching at the wound I shook a little, feeling the blood seep out of the wound and drip into the water. "The black ops ANBU reinforcements will be here soon, I'm sorry I dragged you into this." Unable to help myself, I gave a small smile as my head naturally became nestled into the crook of Guy's arm as he lifted me up and jumped back towards the others.

"No…I'm…sorry. Sorry I…failed." Distantly I was aware of Itachi breaking my Tsykuyomi on Kisame, freeing him from his nightmare whereby I had inflicted as much mental damage to him as I possibly could, hoping to weaken him however Kisame, after a few moments recovery, stood back on his feet.

"Our purpose here is not to start a war. We will take our leave now." Itachi decided, forcing him to retreat with him as they both flickered out of sight. I hated to admit it, but Itachi had actually wounded me rather badly. Not enough to kill me, but now that our fight was over I was so drained of chakra from multiple uses of my Mangekyo Sharingan that I felt colder than if I had been tossed into ice. Noticing that I was too weak to move by myself and scarcely breathing, Guy kindly carried me to the hospital so that my injuries could be treated.

I was healed well but I required rest and my exhaustion was enough to leave me unconscious and requiring an oxygen mask to assist my breathing. I had not anticipated being incapacitated for so long, therefore when I woke up the next day to learn that Sasuke had also become a victim of the Tsykuyomi by Itachi after he had chased after Naruto hoping to fight him, I immediately disconnected myself from the monitor, drew the crutch towards me and used it to help me walk. "You can't be up yet! You're still recovering from your battle and…" A scarlet glare silenced the nurse, making her fall silent so that I could continue on my way.

Sasuke's room was not far away from mine, although by the time I got there I was exhausted. My vision was a little blurry at the rims, occasionally going completely out of focus but I managed to reach Sasuke, who was lying completely still with only his chest rising and falling in breath. There was a fresh flower at his side in a vase, so I assumed one of his friends had come to visit him and left it there. The crutch clattered to the floor as I lost my grip on it, stumbling against the bed before I dragged myself upon it, my faded vision still swimming before me as I lay down beside Sasuke, wincing when my wound twitched painfully but otherwise ignored it. Once I was lying down I allowed myself to close my eyes and placed an arm over Sasuke, wanting to keep him close to me so that he would not hurt anymore.

A caw from the window disturbed me, drawing my head upwards a little and I looked to see a crow perched there, black as ink and silhouetted by the lamplights of the street. It eyed me closely, tilting its head back and forth. In the back of my mind I wondered if the crow had been sent by Itachi or if it was merely perching for a rest, but either way I did not care right then. My head dropped back down and I succumbed to darkness, wanting to feel no more.