Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi, contents of the following text only serve entertainment purposes.

AN: Things are just about to close... I hope you're ready for it. Thanks all for having been with me. Just kidding, it doesn't end here... or does it?

Chapter: An End

She forgot all about her comrades. She forgot about Sasuke who was glaring suspiciously at both herself and his brother. Shikamaru with an 'I knew it!' look on his face. The troubled look on her cousing, Neji's, face. She forgot about all that. All she could see was that aggravating Uchiha that was smirking at her.

And all she could feel was the soft but powerful thumping in her mind. The furious beat of her heart that fueled the painful aches in her temples as she activated her inherited bloodskills.

Yuki saw the chakra-produced protection shield around him and stopped abruptly, kicking up dust - it nearly went to her eye but fortunately she had the sense to avoid it by running tight circles around him. She stopped running and then jumped high up and used a ninjutsu to keep her airborne for a short while.

From the corner of her eye she saw Neji charge through, palm first and connected with the shield. It didn't manage to pass through and break it completely, but it did manage to crack it slightly. Shikamaru assisted him by throwing a well-aimed kunai straight through the crack to agitate the 'broken' part even more so. She almost could've smiled when she saw the double combo being followed up by Sasuke charging through - as Neji did - only with some explosive fire skill instead.

She watched - slightly amazed at the combination and also amazed to see the fire 'eat up' the protective barrier. From where she was she noticed the smirk on Itachi's face as he flipped open one side of his coat to free up his arms. Already, they could tell that he was going to be very serious.

Sasuke was staying silent all this while. This was the fight he'd been waiting for - for too long. He had the power to kill him. He had the resources and all the help... but the thought didn't really appeal to him as much anymore. No. It was not so much killing him that he wanted anymore - but defeating him... once and for all. Somehow he felt sure that that would be enough for him. So at the moment... they had to work on their teamwork... and he felt sure that he could meet their standards.

"You've taken too long to come up to this level," Itachi said when they had eye contact. They had identical smirks on their faces.

"I don't need your acknowledgement," he spat back. He jumped away when he saw Yuki coming down from above. Itachi stepped away, just missing impact and then quickly transported himself even further away when Yuki tried to comeback at him by swinging her legs. That missed, but Neji was already on his tail.

He skilfully executed a direct palm-front attack right to the middle of his chest but it could only singe him as he even more skilfully dodged it. The others watched in anticipation, each nerve ready to jump at an opening, as Neji tried to battle him out one-on-one.

"Too slow," Itachi said in a bored tone as he flipped Neji over when he had tried to hit him from the back. Yuki saw him jump away and realised what he was about to do. Quickly she jumped over to Neji's side and brutely forced him to stand up. It took only one glance towards each other to understand that they were to do-

"Kaiten!" With demonic precision they executed the Heavenly Spin at the exact same time - causing all the trees to tremble as the initial effect - and then Itachi let loose a fireskill that shot straight at them - but the force of the spin, doubled, was too strong. The shot bounced right off and disappeared. The grass... shrubs... even the smaller trees nearby uprooted. Whoever was nearby had to crouch down very low to the ground or have a grip on the sturdiest tree to remain sure-footed. Even Shikamaru was almost blown away - and could have been if he hadn't grabbed on to the branch above him!

But that was only the effect on the edges of the spin - Yuki felt like she had just tossed herself into a mixer, and she was the mixing device. The overlapping bits of Neji's and her own spin ploughed through her mind and body like a bulldozer though a paper-thin wall. It shook the very centre of gravity for her and threatened to blow herself off as well. From what she could make out of Neji though the high speeds of the spin and all the bits and pieces of soil and greens that it was kicking up - she could see that even he was having difficulty maintaining his balance.

She could've cried in relief when the spin was coming to its end - however even then it was shaking the grounds violently. When it stopped shaking her world, she quickly looked for where Itachi was - and found even him shaken by the spin, trying to keep count of his steps. Not even completely unshaken, he pounced to the nearby Shikamaru, who couldn't seem to move at all. Just when the hit was about to connect, they were surprised with Itachi stopping completely.

"Wha-" It seemed Shikamaru used his quick-thinking and had binded him with his shadow. Unfortunately that forced him to commit the only move he could.

It took only a split second for Itachi to realise that being binded by the shadows - he was blocked at almost all sides. The only way immediately out was to use his mangekkyou sharingan.

"Close your eyes!" Shikamaru shouted frantically as he even closed his own. Luckily for him, Itachi's eyes closed with his as well. Yuki did not heed to his suggestion and made a full 360-turn to make sure everyone else was a safe distance away.

"Shikamaru! Let him go!" she shouted out as she dashed over to where he was. Shikamaru was, luckily, right on the timing and she did a mid air kick to force him away from Shikamaru. The act turned out right, but now forced herself into the most vulnerable position.

"Was that the right thing to do?" Itachi's voice rang in her ears, but she kept a firm grip on her frustration. What she was about to do would change the course of battle immediately. Just by the single glance of the mangekkyou... that would change everything. "Taka made some quite stupid mistakes on his own too..."

"Shut up! What is it with you against my father?" she said angrily, glaring at his feet - since she couldn't to his face... yet.

"But my dear." God. His voice was suddenly right next to her ear! He'd transported himself to her side in a milisecond! "He... was the person closest to me."

Her mind blanked out in confusion from what she'd just heard - and all she could think off was that he was practicaly breathing down her neck! ...She jumped from that thought immediately to the plan she was going to excecute.

Quickly she brought up her hands to form seals infront of her and succeeded in making a barrier in practically a single heart beat. The barrier trapped both her and Itachi in it.

"Bet you're wondering what I'm planning," she taunted as she brought her eyes up, doubly making sure that her blood limits were still functioning well. ...She didn't have much time left with them both on at the same time anyway. Whatever happens when their eyes meet... that'd be what'd change it.

Since she had already resolved to jump right into it, she brought her hands up once more to another seal to begin her next move. And then... their eyes met...

Darkness...

It seemed that darkness had been consuming her entire life since all this trouble came up. She'd blacked out... for a rather lengthy time for the first time at Itachi's first attempt to escape. She'd blacked out when the Fuyu Seishin was sealed in her. On the way back home. At Akatsuki's initial attack. The dawn afterwards... when else was that?

Maybe she was getting used to the darkness... maybe that was why she didn't feel so afraid of it anymore. Or maybe... it was the fact that she had anticipated this. The unending depths of nothingness. This...

Wait-!

There was colour. Colour? She looked on, baffled at it's sudden appearance. She was expecting some red... black, grey... not green. Or blue. Or the sun's gold... This was supposed to be the nightmare world that the mangekkyou created! It was supposed to be-

"Itachi!" There was a shout of surprise. She was unfamiliar with this voice.

"Uncle?" Where was the voice coming from? All around her was whirlpools of random colours. Some bits were like a rainbow... others like the murky swamps. This was definitely not her nightmare world. "Uncle Taka- No!" Uncle... Taka... wait... could it be...

"Itachi..." said the voice of the first person. It sounded grave, deep... malicious. The images around her started getting clearer. Shadier. It was a room - she could at least make that out. She saw Itachi in an anbu uniform near the centre of it, just out of the way from the moonlight coming in from the windows. There were two bodies piled up illuminated by the lights outside in the middle of the floor.

It couldn't be! This place looked... felt too much like...

"Uncle..." She saw Itachi turn to the shadows where there were two eyes glinting near the corner. Her heart skipped a beat when the figure in the shadows moved a little closer to the light. ...Just what was going on?

Suddenly the scene distorted and became another colourful whirlpool. The colours wouldn't stop spinning, but out of the chaotic messes she could somehow make out an image of Itachi training. Itachi practising kunai-throwing with Sasuke. Itachi sad. Itachi pleased. Itachi. Itachi. Itachi. Images of him getting younger and younger, until it seemed that it stopped to a point when he was at one particular age. When he was merely a child. The colours stopped spinning, and she seemed to be standing in the middle of a forest.

"Shisui! What's Uncle Taka doing?" Itachi hissed to his friend. They were crouched down near an overgrown shrub. There were two figures talking in the distance... and it was night time.

"Shush, Itachi. We're supposed to be keeping watch for him. We don't want him to get caught, right?"

"...I guess."

The scene made a fast-forward.

"...must kill closest person to you. ...must kill..." Yuki swiveled her head around to the voice to find the figure she kept on seeing in this dream-like place, pass right through her.

"Must kill who, Uncle?" asked the childish voice of the young Itachi. He was standing right next to him but the figure, the 'Uncle' didn't seem to have noticed earlier.

"Itachi! What-"

"I know... you want to do it for that girl right? Is she really that important to you? Are you going to kill her?" The man stood stock-still. She could almost read what was going through his mind. She. Reika. He wanted to be with her. He wanted to be with her so much. ...It was the mangekkyou, wasn't it?

That was what he was talking about, wasn't it? Taka... was this really her father? She couldn't see his face but... it had to be... right? He was planning to- Oh god... This was all too confusing.

"I'm not going to kill anyone, Itachi," said the father. Yuki let out a little gasp of relief, and to her shock the man that the little Itachi had been talking to turned around suddenly.

"Uncle?"

"Hm... it's nothing. It was probably just the wind."

"Are you going away, Uncle? With that Hyuuga then?"

"Yes."

"But-"

"I'm sorry, Itachi. I can't stay. I want to be with her. I need to. If these people here can't understand that, then there's no possibility of my staying. Until they can accept us..."

"Then can I go with you?"

"No! No, Itachi, you stay here. ...You're going to have a little brother, aren't you? Your brother will need you here, so take good care of him." Yuki felt odd as she let her heart feel some sympathy for the young Itachi. He looked like an abandoned pet. "Once they can understand... that I love her, I'll come right back. I'll be back and we can all be together again."

"Promise?"

"Yes, I promise. Until then, be strong."

"Be strong."

"Be strong." The two words echoed as the images around her made a fast-forward. Itachi growing up, training. Training... and even more training. Until it stopped... and he looked exactly like the last she saw him. Adult. Angry. Definitely pissed off.

"Did you enjoy walking through my memories?" He was talking to her. It took her a moment to fully realise that who she was looking at was really talking to her.

"Memories?" she echoed. The whole ordeal had shaken her and she was basically confused right then. There were so many pieces that didn't seem to fit.

"This is rather impressive," he said, unblinking. "You managed to repel the mangekkyou."

"That was the plan," she said, still a little shaken. She had planned to do something as soon as they were trapped in that barrier... she planned to end everything... now... exactly what was it that she was going to do. Her hands were in position... Did her father really plan to kill his closest... friend? ...Was it for the mangekkyou? Did Itachi tell her the truth?

"You slipped into my mind, it seems," Itachi was saying, but she was still feeling a little numb. "What? Were you surprised to find out the truth... Yuki-chan?" Her eyes snapped up angrily. Itachi smirked. "Ah... maybe you haven't seen enough of it yet. Did you get to see the part where Taka took Shisui's life-"

"Why are you so happy?" she nearly shrieked. She didn't need any more of his talk to add to the confusion.

"I don't think you understand your position, Yuki-chan. You're trapped inside my mind." She gritted her teeth and then looked down to her hands. The seal. What was it? Quickly... "I don't think there's any way to escape this place... Even me." Yuki's eyes snapped up at the confession. He smirked. "Surprised? I don't mind being trapped in this hell. As long as I can I can drag you down with me." His gaze turned down to the movements she was making with her hands. His eyes narrowed. "No jutsus will work here." There was that again. That tense moment of silence where neither spoke and all they could hear was each other breathing. "See? Nothing happened."

"No," Yuki said defiantly. "I'm pretty sure something did." Their surroundings shifted. Colours went spinning around them once more... and it slowed down to almost a stop to show them a bird's eye view of the events that only just happened in real time. They were both suspended in the air, and knew that neither were part of this illusion - and so watched intently at what was happening.

Indeed it was exactly what had happened earlier on, only instead of real-time as the previous memories Yuki had encountered, this was going at a slower pace.

"Why are we here?" she heard Itachi mutter under his breath. She glanced sideways, only to find him watching at the scene before them intently.

"Why aren't you trying to kill me?" Itachi looked at her in surprise at her sudden remark. Yuki looked like she was surprised at herself as well.

"It is my choice," he said stoicly, going back to his indifferent posture. "And I would rather make you suffer. You are trapped in my territory after all - I could do anything I want to you."

"...For what purpose?"

"Don't you know?" That was a first. That was definitely the first time Yuki had seen Itachi look befuddled. ...And she was suddenly reminded that she'd only just seen his younger self only minutes earlier. ...Did his remark have anything to do with her having seen through his memories? ...This was too confusing.

She wilfully turned her head back so she could view the scene again. If she was right... then it should happen any time now. She watched closely as she saw herself put a barrier around Itachi and herself. Itachi looked a lot interested at that too. The Yuki they were watching stopped for second, and then raised her head.

Suddenly the Itachi that was near her grabbed her by the neck.

"I've had enough. What did you do?" he snarled. The quickness of his movement stumped her as she stared at him wide-eyed, trying to make sense of all the confusion.

"Let me go," she said, bringing her hands up and tried to claw his hands off her throat. His grip tightened.

"What did you do?" he demanded. All of a sudden there was a weird hissing sound, that drew their attention back to the scene below them. There was a kind of white fog that started off from the ground and quickly blew up inside the barrier - enveloping both their bodies in the mist. "What-"

"I released the Fuyu Seishin," she said, smiling - though with difficulty.

"What!" he growled, tightening his grip even more.

"Your body will die, Itachi. Your spiritual presence too. Don't look surprised. I know Akatsuki has millions of ways of protecting the safety of their members."

"I know about your Seishin too. If you're own spiritual presence isn't inside your own body - you... you'll die too."

"I know," she said. "Watch..." The colours were spinning again. The whole scene that they were just watching dissolved into it. White mist. It was that mist again. "To make sure that you are completely trapped inside your body whilst the Seishin eats your physical presence, I hoped to be able to enter your mind... so I could lock you in myself." He looked at her in disbelief.

"You... knew that this would happen?"

"It was a calculated risk. ...Let me go, Itachi. There's no use of killing me now, we'll both die at the same time anyway," she said as she scratched his arm one last time, forcing him to finally let go. The white mist was thickening.

"You..." he looked even more surprised. And then suddenly- pain shot up both their arms.

"Actually," Yuki said breathlessly as the pain subsided for a moment. "I hoped that the Seishin would spare me, even though I'm not in my own body. Now it seems..."

"This... self-destructiveness," she heard Itachi mutter through the white fog. It was so thick now, and it was thickening still, and the pain... that numbing pain was eating her up inch by inch. "You must've... gotten it from your father. ...Cruel to the very end." Itachi? Where was he?

What about her dad? The white was turning an odd shade of grey now.

She didn't think that...

Even though she knew she was taking a big risk encountering Itachi like this...

Even though... she knew she was sacrificing herself... making it so Itachi ended like this...

What about... her father?

It can't end like this...

What... about...

Sasuke...

"What happened?" Sasuke yelled as he watched, mortified, as the barrier that Yuki constructed failed after only been activated for a split second. There was a flash of white and then suddenly both the bodies of Itachi and Yuki fell, limp, to the ground. "Yuki!"

"Neji! Get him!" Shikamaru yelled as he saw Sasuke jump from his position to where the bodies were. Neji immediately followed his jump and took a hold of him before he could disturb the bodies.

"Let go! What happened! Why aren't they moving?" At his uncharacteristic display of anxiety everything quietened. Shikamaru quickly moved beside the bodies and checked Itachi first.

"He's frozen!" Shikamaru said, half in surprise. He looked up, wide-eyed, at Neji, who returned it with a nod. It happened, didn't it? What did she do? Their eyes only met for- it wasn't even a second! Shikamaru quickly shifted from that side to Yuki's and checked her pulse. "...She's frozen too."