Hi all! Okay okay I know I suck for not coming out with this chapter until now. I've been struggling with writers block (not regarding what this story will become but how to get through the freakin war.. plus this semester kicked my butt in terms of personal life crises so chaos just got in the way.) Regardless, you can trust that I will be continuing with the story as soon as I possibly can, perhaps even getting another chapter out within the next couple weeks. Also, I've been thinking about posting some deleted scenes from the previous story that I decided not to put in because they furthered the ItaHika friendship/relationship but not the plot. And maybe a scene of Hikari fighting Diedara if I get to it. Message me if you think I should post those one day! Anyways, enjoy what I have so far.

Sasuke looked at his brother's back, wondering if the last fight had meant anything to him at all. Had the battle changed anything? Even in death, he was in the dark when it came to what his elder brother was thinking. No matter the change in circumstance, there was still distance that would never be crossed. Itachi commanded the first few seals.

"Even if you protect the village now, I will destroy it someday," Sasuke's resolved confident voice echoed through the cave.

Itachi continued with the seals, but felt a lurch in his stomach. What the current Sasuke wished could not be allowed to happen. But now he knew there were others he could trust to show him the light. Furthermore, Sasuke was in a period of transition. His new knowledge of his brother's life might push him further into the dark at first, but that was because he was only human, and anger was often a part of grief. There was still something Itachi had left to do. His final gift before departing and largely resolving the Fourth Great Ninja War, was to plant the seeds of closure into his brother's suffering heart.

Itachi ordered Kabuto to make the last hand sign. And with it, he knew he could not turn back no matter what. No matter how he might want to talk with Sasuke forever and ever, any less time would be far too high a price to pay. With these last words, peace would return to the ninja world in time. And more importantly than all of that, peace would return to his younger brother's heart.

"There is still time. I can feel myself slowly losing consciousness now. I must tell you everything before I say goodbye and we part for good. There is no need to lie anymore. The night I left you, I did everything Danzo and Tobi told you I did. I'll show you the entire truth..."

It was then, that through the years of shame and self delusion, Itachi gathered up every single piece of himself. Every single memory and thought and feeling Sasuke needed to know was brought forth into his heart and mind. He took ownership of them all. They tore through the core of his being all at once and released through his eyes like a vision. He looked into the face of his younger brother, who had recieved the very pieces of his soul he had so desperately yearned for.

Itachi had never felt so intimately linked with another human being before now.

All this time, I never faced it... I thought that it was because you were my brother.. but it was always more than that. Since the very beginning of you and me, we have truly needed each other. I cherished you to my core. You were my reason for living, and I was yours. Now you must pave your own way.. and I believe that in time, you will find your way back home.

"There's nothing more to say. I have told you the whole truth. I won't have to ever again. I have.. always lied to you and asked for your forgiveness for keeping you at a distance.. because I wanted to keep you out of this. But now I think.. that perhaps you could have changed Father, Mother and the rest of the Uchiha as well. If I had only come to you from the start, looked straight into your eyes and told you the truth, then I wouldn't have to stand before you as a failure, telling you all of this. But I want to impart at least this much truth to you. You don't ever have to forgive me. And whatever you do from here on out, know this. No matter what..."

Itachi had always had a hard time being accustomed to much physical contact. He had simply gone too much of his life without. But now, there was no more hesitation or fear of vulnerability. Out of the purest desire to simply acknowledge the depth of their connection, Itachi placed his hand on his younger brother's head, almost cradling it to pull him closer. There, he rested their brows together and genuinely smiled. It was the purest expression of his love that he could think of.

These are the truest words I have ever spoken.

"I will love you always."

His brother gasped, and seconds later the last strands of consciousness Itachi had clung to dissolved into warm light. His soul ascended from a body like once before, and he felt himself return to a place of peace where time did not exist in the same way. Itachi took one last look at his brother and saw every other moment Sasuke had looked up at him all at once, even from the first moments of their existence together.

Thank you, Sasuke. Being able to live as your brother made me... happy.

Two hours later, Hikari hacked through another Zetsu clone, pulling a bloodless blade out of his abdomen. She heaved and wiped her brow, readying herself for the next onslaught.

How many have I killed? What time of night is it?

The Zetsu clones in the forest wisely concluded that strength in numbers was only an asset if they took her by surprise. It was in both of their interests, however. If Hikari used larger attacks this close to the battlefield, it ran the risk of being detected by Madara. It took all of her brainpower to use her remote viewing in the darkness. Deep in the dark forest, she waited, desperately trying to sense when the next might attack.

I don't understand. Why is it so much harder for me to sense them? Why can they stay out of most of my sensory range? Hikari had long pondered the origin of their plantlike appearance. After spending time confined in her cabin with them, she had begin to believe the stories that they had indeed been created from Hashirama Senju's chakra. Still... Hashirama loved the village. It doesn't explain why creatures like these are in the Akatsuki.

A poison kunai shot through the air behind her, directed at her head. The woman expertly dodged, and felt vertigo take over her sense of space for a moment. She was exhausted. Without turning, the woman shot a wooden bolt at the creature who had fired. He fell down crumpled to the ground. Just as soon as he did, another sprang at her from atop a tree with an evil grin. Hikari met his blade with hers, growling.

"Why won't you leave me alone?! Give up! Didn't you see? Madara isn't even your master anymore!" The creature gave a sinister chuckle as Hikari's blade tore through his stomach and up into his chest. Another creature grabbed her ankle from underground. The woman gasped and sent roots into the ground to pierce him. Her chakra was running low. She flipped away, and placed a chi patch on her right upper arm. Each one of these I use runs a little more risk of impacting the baby. I'm sorry love, it's been a hard night. This will all be over soon.

"For a woman who worked closely with the man you once knew as Madara, he certainly didn't tell you much. Perhaps he viewed you merely as a tool after all." The woman's eyebrows furrowed, looking up in the direction the voice came from. It was far enough away and there were enough moving figures that it was impossible to pinpoint the speaker.

"Wait... so you knew?"

Sasuke stood alone in the dark cave, listening to the water drip from the ceiling to the ground. In his mind, flashes of his brother now remained, stronger than before.

...Itachi beaming up at their father, feeling proud to walk beside him down the streets of the first compound...

...Itachi lazily eating his dinner, watching his rather alert brother scrutenise him from in his highchair...

...Itachi sharing dumplings with Shishui and talking about the world the way they saw it...

It was these early memories, before the world turned so dark for him that Sasuke found himself first embracing, then fighting to push out of his mind. Then, more vivid visions of Itachi running through a battlefield with hundreds of fallen shinobi strewn on the bloody ground soon followed. Sasuke understood by now that his brother had always been too gentle and kind to tolerate a violent clash, even if it resulted in a more just world.

The trauma of his early childhood, Sasuke thought, was the reason why his brother could not permit a new revolution. If Itachi's life had caused him to work for peace and avoid more bloodshed as a weakness, then Sasuke's own life was the solution. His own brother had taught him to have a strong resolve. He had taught him to seek justice. That was why Sasuke would go against his brother's wishes. He was doing what Itachi could not do, for the both of them. He would rid the world of the corrupt Leaf like his brother had unintentionally prepared him for.

The visions lightly swirled around Sasuke's eyes and senses, bringing him closer and closer to understanding his brother and the world he had been too young to see. While some gave him a sense of closure, others only created more questions. He wanted so badly to take each one apart, but knew that the same pressing questions that used to nag the heart of his five year old brother now needed to be answered. For the first time, Sasuke was uncertain, and he didn't like it.

What is a clan? What is a village? What are shinobi? he thought to himself. What is a village that was so valuable that my brother sacrificed so much? But the thought that scared him more than all others, was where he fit into all three of those things. Sasuke looked briefly at Kabuto, still under the effects of the Izanami as a pit welled in his stomach.

What am I?

No sooner had he begun to ask these questions than his thoughts were put on hold. The wall nearby him crashed open revealing the faces of two people he had almost forgotten somehow. The first was Suigetsu, the second was Jugo. After several minutes of conversation that seemed completely pointless in relation to what had just occurred, Sasuke found himself with an ancient scroll in hand.

This scroll was the key to everything. With it he would learn the truth.

Not even the hands of fate would get in his way.

Not even if that fate was to revive the serpentine man who had died by his hand only a season ago.

"We knew," the direction came from another area this time. "You do look so tired after all this time running from your own secrets. It must have been so hard looking after Itachi and Sasuke all of that time. And now Itachi's left you all alone with the baby. You should sleep." The woman scowled and swore.

"You know nothing about me."

"Nothing? Do you really think that after all of this time working around you in the Akatsuki we have learned nothing at all? You are Hashirama's heir to the wood style gene. You are a Senju who fought hard against an Uchiha and even learned to resist the Tsukuyomi. We took an interest from the very beginning. It's time you realized the truth. Don't be a so naive. We've watched and learned all of your attacks so there's no use struggling. You've struggled so much already in your time in the Akatsuki. You've suffered your whole life. You can let go of all of that now." Hikari's head was swimming. If she was keeping track properly, it had been over two days since she had last slept. But Hikari was pregnant with Itachi's child, so she would stay alive and fight, no matter what it took.

Three Zetsu came at her this time, one from above and two from the sides. Hikari fought them off as soon as they came forward, but with each one she disposed of, another took its place.

No matter how long I can stand out, there will always be more left to kill. How can I get to the battlefield in time without completely running out of energy? The green haired men continued their onslaught as she felt more of her energy dwindle. Five came at once this time, and mustering out yet more willpower she sent wood splinters out in all directions from her. The woman panted, fighting to keep her eyes from closing. The Zetsu that had spoken had been right. It had been a hard life for her in many ways, burdened with responsibility and trauma. The world was filled with so much pain and more problems than seemed surmountable. Many of them originated with the nature of people. So what was the point of fighting when the people themselves would not change? It would be so nice just to let it all go, knowing she had given it her all. It would be an end to a world that did not learn form history. It would be a world with no more cycles. Perhaps a reality of dreams would be the only justice the world could ever know. Just then, directly behind her, she felt another presence. The woman turned to lunge, but was surprised to see the etheric presence of Itachi beside her.

"Itachi I-" filled with shame, she sought to defend the decision she had made.

"I know. You couldn't help it." The young woman was uncertain whether his words and tone were irritated or truly understanding. Before she had the chance to question, another message came to her mind. "It's good to be with you again." Hikari smiled. It hadn't been until she had spent time fending for herself that she realized how much she had truly come to value his company.

"It's good to see you too."

"Head towards the battlefield as if it were the day. I will be your eyes." The woman nodded, and began running due Northwest. "Ten o'clock in three seconds. Two more at four o clock in six seconds." Itachi continued listing off attack zones as the woman ran through the pitch black forest.

Sasuke stood in a great hall with his teammates facing the four former leaders of the village he so despised. Now, at last, Sasuke had the truth, or a version of it that those in the room agreed upon. Sasuke glanced at Tobirama with malice and resentment, muted only by the fact that he was a relic of the past. If it had not been for that man, he gathered, the Uchiha might not have been ostracized from the beginning.

Was conflict and insurmountable division inevitable in a village ruled by two sides who had historically opposed one another? Was power shared between rivals ultimately a recipe for disaster? What could have prevented such a power struggle? Sasuke mulled over the new questions in his mind, deciding which path to go down. The system that had oppressed his family for generations could not be allowed to continue. Whether by completely extinguishing its flame by killing all those who supported it, or by gaining enough power to take control, the leaf village as these men knew it would end.

One thing was certain. In order to bring about justice, Madara Uchiha had to be taken down. The war against the Allied Shinobi Forces centered around one last goal, and that was the acquisition of the nine tails. An image of the blond haired, bold eyed Naruto came to his mind, and with it, a pit in his stomach he still could not name. It was of little importance. If Sasuke were to reach his goal, he would use the Allied Shinobi Force to stop their common enemy. He would use the sentiment of his former teammates against them, by fighting alongside them. In this way, he would minimize the risk of his interference being opposed. Then when the war was over, he would begin his revolution. How it looked he did not yet know, but it would mean an overthrow of the ninja system they knew now, and the beginning of a new era where injustices like Itachi's would have no reason to exist.

Sasuke looked at the four men before him, from the first to the fourth. He saw his brother sitting alongside them, smiling. Itachi would have been named Hokage, he thought, clenching his fist. Everything that he did from here on out would be dedicated to him.

"I'm going to head to the battlefield. I won't let the village and Itachi become nothing."

Shortly after his will and been approved, they all took one last look at the deserted village in the moonlight. Eerily silent, Sasuke could not stop but envision the village as he had once seen it, warm and full of potential. He saw himself walking down the streets beside his brother, unaware of the extent of the pain welling in the hearts of his family. Now in the darkness, he saw it for what it truly was: a shell. A shell once filled with people who walked unaware of the core of the village, a shell which would soon be replaced by something new. Sasuke turned away from his homeland and towards war.

"Let's go."

A Zetsu clone gave out a blood curtling scream as Hikari tore through his body, stopping at his neck.

"Why don't you just leave me alone?!" the girl spat in the face of her pursuer. "Madara doesn't care about you. He probably doesn't even know about you! He's been dead... for many decades!" The man snickered and died. A new clone immediately followed, answering the question.

"We are older than Madara Uchiha and the late Hashirama Senju. Our orders come not from him but from the Great Mother." Hikari held a knife to the man's neck.

"Wait.. you told me... that you were genetically related to Hashirama! You're not human, so you had to have come from him!"

"We... lied..." the man confessed with an evil grin. Hikari's eyebrows furrowed.

"I don't believe any word you say. So either confess or stop talking about a Great Mother!" A quick slash to the neck finished her victim before she continued running.

"They've retreated. It seems the white Zetsu must be regrouping. Hikari, take this time to rest and replenish your chakra." The etherial image of Itachi hovered feet off the ground, scanning the terrain for threats.

"How long... do I have?" His wife heaved, slapping on another patch and catching her breath.

"I will let you know when they move forward again."

Time passed. Seconds turned into minutes. Expanding her sensory range, it seemed as if some of the clones had moved further underground. What were they doing?

I have to use this time to my advantage and get out of here. If I run as fast as I can to the northeast, I can quietly evade more Zetsu than I have to fight. She thought to herself.

A vision flashed in her mind.

Sasuke was heading out with Orochimaru and his teammates in tow. What surprised her was that in the time she had been fighting, he had also managed to summon the previous four hokage. The woman gasped astonished at the turn of events, but just as soon as the surprise faded, another, two uglier feelings rose up.

The first was longing. Hikari had never grown up with family who shared her beliefs and ideals. Yet here, now in this strange twist of fate, the man who she had once idolized was running straight in the direction she was headed. This was the man who had first attempted to bring everyone together and stop the senseless fighting. Perhaps her not so distant ancestor he had the answers she was looking for.

The second emotion was resentment. As soon as Hikari's fists clenched at the look of the faces of the men whose actions and inactions indirectly resulted in the corruption of the village. She wanted to yell at the others, especially Lord Second, for their poor leadership. It took only a moment to make up her mind.

"Itachi, how many more Zetsu are there?"

"I cannot be sure from beyond the living. It seems that there are quite a few more." She nodded.

"I'm so tired. I don't have the energy to face them all... I need to get out of here. I'll use the majority of the remainder of my chakra to turn into ether and escape this place. Tell me which direction to move in." Itachi nodded, supportive of her precautions.

"I will move with you every step of the way. Due north. Hurry." With that she took a deep breath and changed form, running at top speed towards the edge of the forest.

Great grandfather... I'm coming for you.

Hope you liked it! I thought it was really important to put the first scene in there from Itachi's perspective. I think people really don't realize how beautiful and pure that scene is and how much character growth is there. I've heard people say that Itachi should have hugged his brother, that he was still distant. They don't realize how utterly intimate and vulnerable it was for Itachi to do what he did, so I wrote it that way.

I'm going to do my best to zoom through the rest of the war quick. Mother Hikari is not far away!