Naruto: A Red Eye Hidden by Shadow

by Tatanka4Life

On the fateful night of the Uchiha Massacre, a girl of Uchiha and Nara blood is spared and left with no memories of her past. Now she must walk on the path left by her family to help her build a new future for herself. Her path will be hard, full of struggles and pain, but as long as she has her friends and family at her side she will keep forging ahead, even if it was a drag.

53. Chapter 52: I'll Always Be With You

Chapter 52

A Promise of Pain: I'll Always Be With You

"Thank you so much, dear," an older woman thanked Amari. Her weathered features wrinkled more around her eyes and lips when she smiled. "I wouldn't have been able to get so much done today without your help."

Amari set down two large bags of cat food—her final load—on the kitchen counter inside the woman's home. The furry tails of two cats brushed past her legs as they danced between her limbs, bodies rubbing up against in search for food or attention. She wasn't sure which. Another cat, eyes green as emeralds and coat pitch black, watched her intently from the counter-top, meowing at the stranger who carried in food.

I wonder if Tora escaped being squished again, she mused.

Taking a breath, she turned and smiled at the old woman. "You're welcome."

Six loads of groceries—including bags of food for dogs and cats, plus litter box materials—carried from the market center to her residence on the outskirt of the Leaf made for a long, heavy walk.

Talk about an exercise. Discreetly, she eyed the woman again. Wrinkles and gray hair revealed the many winters she had seen, yet she didn't look like a slight breeze could knock her over. She looked lively and physically capable, or as physically capable as an old, hunched over woman could look.

"Such a fine young lady, and shinobi, to take two hours out of your busy schedule to help a troubled old woman." The old lady smiled warmly at her. "I'm sorry for being such a bother, but my back has given me trouble ever since I hurt it in my garden."

Her well-attended garden could make the Yamanaka flower shop jealous with its vibrant colors. Beautiful. Lively. Just seeing it made Amari's day better.

"Oh, it was no bother really," she tried to reassure quickly. "I'm just glad I could help."

Even if it means I'm running incredibly late for a meeting with sensei, she added inwardly, nearly twitching at the thought of it.

Late. She was running late.

I'm never going to hear the end of it from Kakashi-sensei, she groaned in despair. "Oh, this is a surprise. Why are you so late, Amari?" "Sorry I'm late. I was helping an old lady deliver her groceries." Internally, she deflated faster than a popped balloon. It even sounds like one of his stupid excuses!

What a critical defeat for the great Amaririsu Yūhi.

A cat head rubbed against her shin, followed by a distinct meow. Her eye glanced down and met two sets of cat eyes looking expectantly at her. An awkward smile worked its way onto her face. Needy little guys or girls, aren't they?

She reached down and patted them gently on the head. I'm more of a dog person, but your tuxedo markings are adorable. They were like professional hit-men. Dressed to kill as they struck in the wee hours of the night, unseen and unmerciful.

The thought made her giggle.

"At least let me pay you for your work," the old lady said, reaching into her pocket.

"No, no," she stood up, putting her hands out to coax her to stop. The cats resumed rubbing against her legs in their excited dance. "Really you don't have to pay me, ma'am. This wasn't an official mission or anything. Acts of kindness aren't for payment, at least mine aren't."

"Nonsense!"

Amari flinched at the raised voice. Sheesh, I'm just trying to be polite and she argues. Troublesome adult.

"You took precious hours out of your day to carry all of my groceries for me. You will not be leaving empty-handed young lady."

The old woman dug into her purse, pulled out a roll of money and then something that made Amari's eye illuminate. "Is that a coupon for a free meal at Ichiraku?" Her stomach rumbled happily, and loudly. Amari's cheeks tinted pink. Do you have to make it so obvious how hungry I am? Troublesome stomach.

Absolute mirth sparkled in the old woman's eyes. "Yes it is. It, and the money, are yours." She handed her the roll of money with the ticket, which Amari took and bowed in thanks for the gift she didn't ask for. "Thank you very much, Amaririsu Yūhi, and be sure to tell your Sensei I'm the cause for your lateness."

Probably won't believe me.

Amari bid farewell to the old woman, patted the two tuxedo cats on the head and exited the house. Back in the afternoon sun, she glanced one last time to the bright and life filled garden. Such vibrant life. She smiled to herself then departed.

A lot had been destroyed during the invasion, but at least this small sanctuary escaped unscathed. Maybe something good could bloom from this pain. Something as joyful and beautiful as the flower garden.

Who could say?

An incoming pair of wings perked her up, causing the Uchiha to lift her left arm up unconsciously as a landing zone for the Head of the Crows. "Well done, Young Haya," Atsuko greeted upon landing.

"I only carried groceries. It wasn't a big deal, honestly," Amari deflected.

"Perhaps not in your eyes just yet. Allow me to change your perspective. In troubled times such as these, and even when all is well, good deeds of all sizes help make the Will of Fire in the Leaf stronger. That woman will tell her friends of your deed, and those who saw you will not only remember you, but will now be inspired to perform an act of kindness for a stranger."

Atsuko made a wide encompassing motion with her wing. "Like a stone thrown into a river, you have created a ripple of kindness to spread throughout the Leaf. If that is not worthy of praise, then I seem to misunderstand the purpose of the word."

"I…I guess," she replied, eye shyly looking away.

"Hm," Atsuko hummed pleasantly. "While far shyer than your father and cousin, you have inherited their humble nature, as well as your mother's sense of punctuality. I am astounded you are not yet squirming, or rushing in a panic to meet Kakashi."

"Ha. Ha," she drawled out, the corner of her lip twitching up. "I already mentally squirmed the entire walk. I'd rush, but that'd just be a drag at this point." Amari shrugged and kept walking to the dango shop Kakashi set up as their meeting point.

She was already late. She accepted that. Or, more accurately, she had no choice but to accept her reality, even though it was a big stupid drag. Body Flickering there now would just expend needless energy.

Kakashi could consider it vengeance for his consistent tardiness.

Atsuko hopped up onto her shoulder, allowing her to relax her arm at her side again. "You never finished telling me about Naruto," Amari said.

Before the impromptu delivery, Atsuko had wanted to discuss something she deemed of great importance in regards to Naruto. However, before they could begin she saw the old lady struggling, putting their conversation on temporary hold.

Her mind was already certain Atsuko found a threat to her best friend. What else could it be? None of them had gone beyond the walls on a mission since the invasion. He didn't hurt himself training, not yet anyways. Hopefully another trip to the hospital was far, far away for all of them.

It could only be a new threat. A new danger on the approach, whether imminently or in the future.

Amari wasn't an inept fool. She hadn't forgotten her fight with Gaara, his madness or the power of his full transformation. She hadn't forgotten Osamu's lesson on what a jinchūriki was either.

I can never say I understand the lives they have lived, because I don't. I haven't lived the life of a jinchūriki. That's an experience only they could understand. But, she thought, feet carrying her down the street as she stared up at the sky. I can see how it affected their lives. I can see how others have treated them, and how those experiences twisted Gaara into what he was, and how they could have twisted Naruto into something similar.

People resented them for what they contained. Yet that same power would be sought after by fools with bad intentions. So, was that threat Naruto faced? Or was it something else? Something she didn't yet know about?

When Naruto practically sprinted past her during her delivery, buzzing with uncontainable excitement, her curiosity for what Atsuko had to say grew even more.

She had called out to him in an attempt to figure out what had him on the verge of bouncing to the moon. What he told her, well, quite frankly she wasn't able to make heads or tails of it. He talked so fast, too fast and full of grand gestures of an excited child.

All she really learned was Master Jiraiya planned to take him on a trip to teach him a jutsu better than Chidori, and he promised to see her when he got back.

Amari hoped he'd be okay.

"Ah, yes," Atsuko started, voice smooth but serious. "This information I am about to impart to you is not widely known, nor should you speak of it to your peers for the time being. But I believe it wise you are aware of the purpose of Naruto's sudden departure, as well as what the future may yet hold so we can prepare properly."

"So Master Jiraiya is really taking him somewhere for a real purpose," Amari stated.

Something about it hadn't sat right with her. Master Jiraiya hid his intelligence and skills of observation behind his very real perverted nature. But Amari saw through it. Like her Shika, he saw more than he let others believe.

"I get it," she began to think out loud. "He may teach Naruto a new jutsu, and it may even be more powerful than Chidori, but that was just a way to coax that knucklehead to join him. No questions asked. And Naruto's desire to be stronger blinds him to the ulterior motive completely."

"Correct on all points. As you learned, Naruto holds within him the spirit of the Nine-Tailed Fox. Up until now, the only threat he has faced because of it is the disgraceful resentment of the villagers. He has been sheltered well here. The secret of what he holds has been kept as well as your own, but there is a growing threat beyond the likes of Orochimaru."

Amari's head snapped to face Atsuko, eye wide as she continued to walk. "Beyond Orochimaru?"

How could there even be a beyond Orochimaru?

"Indeed. Orochimaru is an exceptionally powerful shinobi, but he is only one man. This new threat is an organization of S-rank rogue shinobi called the Akatsuki. A minimum of nine, but I have reason to believe there are others hidden from even our eyes, either true masters or shinobi better suited to work from the shadows."

Pieces were already falling into place in Amari's mind. S-rank rogue shinobi didn't gather together for nothing. All that power in one place? The egos alone should guarantee self-destruction, but it didn't. That could only mean they had a common goal. A serious objective beyond petty thievery.

And since this conversation revolved around Naruto…

"They want the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox," she stated quietly, shocked, frightened, but still determined.

Now Master Jiraiya's recent interest in Naruto was beginning to make sense. Before now she hadn't been able to figure out his real motive for training her best friend. One of the Sannin just magically reappeared after Orochimaru showed up, and he just decided to train Naruto of all people? For what purpose? Why Naruto?

Sure, he fixed the fūinjutsu Orochimaru placed on Naruto. She was grateful for that, but if that's all he had to do, why did he stick around to train him? It never made logical sense. From this new perspective, though, she could finally see the hidden motive behind the illusion of a dumb pervert.

"That's why he taught him the Summoning Jutsu during our month of training," she realized. "It wasn't for Neji; it never made sense to be for Neji, or anyone else for that matter. Because of how massive Gamabunta is, the sheer chakra to summon him forced Naruto to start learning how to control the Nine-Tailed Foxes chakra."

She pressed the nail of her thumb to her bottom lip. "Master Jiraiya's real goal must be to teach him to harness its true power, that way when these Akatsuki guys come around he can defend himself from them."

Pieces were still missing. Pieces for why Master Jiraiya cared about him as more than just a weapon. For now she would wait and observe him. His actions would tell her more than his words ever would.

"Exactly," Atsuko nodded. "While their true purpose is yet unknown, our safest assumption is they seek to gain the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox for themselves."

"They're going to be disappointed, I assure you." Amari's brow set in steely resolve. "I'll have to train even harder to become strong enough to keep him safe."

An entire organization of S-rank shinobi. Nine at the minimum, possibly more. And she was barely strong enough to handle Orochimaru toying with her. There wasn't a way to increase her strength to their level in a month. Not even two months or half a year. These shinobi garnered their reputation and experience over time. Through years of battle she didn't have time to wait for.

"I suppose this doesn't really change anything," Amari said at length. "Because of the power I hold, I've never had the luxury of time. This just cements that fact further. I'll nee—"

Swift movement above caught Amari's attention. Eye flicking up and body instinctively preparing to attack, she spotted several crows bursting out of a canopy of trees. At first she began to relax; the crows were her allies, after all. But then she tensed again. Osamu flew among them, fending off an aggressive assault, outnumbered and visibly wounded.

Crows fighting crows, a bad omen.

"Osamu!" Atsuko took off to aid her fellow crow. Amari stood by, unsure of how to act. Why were these crows attacking? What was going on? An attack with ninjutsu guaranteed hitting Osamu, who looked worse for wear even at a distance, or Atsuko. Should she still risk an attack?

Before she even had time to blink a second time, Atsuko eliminated every enemy crow in a flurry of quick attacks she struggled to trace without her dōjutsu. Black feathers floated slowly towards the ground in the aftermath as the bodies of the enemy crows crashed onto the road.

Amazing.

Osamu, seemingly unable to fly any longer, plummeted from the sky. Amari reacted instantly, jumping up and catching the crow in her arms.

"Osamu, you're hurt." An obvious and stupid statement, she realized, but one full of concern.

He breathed heavily. Open gashes and cuts marked his feathered body; crimson meshed against the night sky of feathers. She knelt down, cradling his body as she would a newborn, eye wandering over his injuries first, and then to the crows Atsuko dispatched.

There was only one answer to who did this. One answer that filled her with dread.

Atsuko landed on Amari's shoulder. "Osamu, is he here? Is Itachi within the Leaf?" she demanded.

"…Yes…" The single word took no small amount of strength to get out. "His crows…came out of nowhere."

"Do you know where he is now?"

"In battle…against Kakashi, Kurenai and Asuma."

Amari's heart stilled. Itachi…was battling her mom, sensei and Asuma?

Osamu took a sharp, wheezing breath, feathered body puffing up then shuddering as he exhaled. "He wasn't…alone. Two other Akatsuki…joined him. Ki- Kisame Hoshigaki and—" Whoever else joined him remained unknown as Osamu's shuddered breaths became faster.

Amari stood up. She heard more than enough. "Hang on, Osamu. I'll get you to a medic. You're going to be fine." She looked to Atsuko. "Atsuko, they'll need all the help they can get against Itachi and the other two. Can you go find Guy-sensei?"

The Crow dipped her beak in a nod, black eyes sharpened. "At once, Young Haya. But under no circumstances are you permitted to seek them out. I forbid you."

"I won't. I'd only be a liability anyway," she lied.

Atsuko didn't suspect it and left in search of Guy. Amari flashed away in a Body Flicker, leaving no trace of her previous presence other than a few swirling leaves of a nearby tree caught in the wind and the fallen enemy crows.

She crossed most of the distance to the hospital as quickly as she could move. Then she stopped on the roof of a building, created a clone and handed Osamu over to her.

"Get him to a medic immediately," the Uchiha ordered.

"Lady…Haya…" Her onyx eye fell onto the wounded Crow struggling to dissuade her stubbornness. They held one another's gazes for a few brief seconds, but it was enough to express an entire conversation.

She couldn't stand by and hope for the best. She had to do something. Intel could be gathered on their enemy's attack styles, or even their true goals confirmed. And if these shinobi were beyond Orochimaru, a Shadow Clone rescue operation could be what saved her precious people.

Osamu might have sighed, but it might have also been an attempt to breathe. "…Do not…be reckless. Only…act…if you must."

"I will," she agreed.

Again she flashed away, Byakugan and Sharingan activated, darting around frantically in search of the chakra signatures of her sensei, mother or Asuma.

Itachi wouldn't take them too, she vowed in that moment. Even if it cost her own life in exchange, he wouldn't take this new family from her arms too. That was a promise.

Two other Akatsuki are with him, she thought. That's what Osamu said, which means he's a part of the organization after Naruto as well.

Three S-rank shinobi, all of whom made it within the walls of the Leaf without alerting anyone. If they had, more than Kakashi, Kurenai and Asuma would be fighting them.

Beyond Orochimaru seemed an adequate description.

Itachi Uchiha, Kisame Hoshigaki and another. She recognized the second name from her mother's bingo book, a book Amari decided she needed to read more of after the invasion. Kisame Hoshigaki, a former Seven Swordsmen like Zabuza and the wielder of the sword known as Samehada.

Would he live up to his reputation as the Scourge of the Hidden Mist? And Itachi, how much stronger had he become since he murdered their entire Clan? Was there anything left of the boy who cried that night? The one who apologized to her?

Mom's chakra! Amari's heart fluttered in her chest like a bird trying to break free of a cage. She landed on the side of a telephone pole and burst off it with chakra, flickering away as fast as she could towards them.

A bead of sweat slid down her cheek; her fingers trembled. Anxiety, anger, thrill. The man who killed her family, two other S-ranked shinobi, she was getting closer to them. Closer to a battle between elites.

Was her mom okay? What about Kakashi? Asuma? Had Itachi or the others hurt them? So many questions, no answers. Not yet, but soon. Soon she'd get her answers.

She passed over a building and kept running, kept Body Flickering, dōjutsu eyes locked on to the target ahead of her. With every step closer to the battle, the more she could see of the current situation.

Kakashi had a Shadow Clone backing up Asuma against the tall Mist shinobi wielding a blade of similar length to Zabuza's. The real version stood behind Itachi on the surface of water, kunai blade at the latter's back.

The mere sight of Itachi made her heartrate accelerate. He was really here. He had grown taller too, and his hair longer. But otherwise he was just like she remembered him.

Her mother knelt on the water, back to Itachi—he clearly had the upper hand before Kakashi showed up.

Mom's a master of genjutsu, but Itachi's Sharingan allows him to see through them, reflect them back on her and use his own without even making a single handseal. And an advanced Sharingan genjutsu can outmatch normal genjutsu.

Amari grit her teeth, frustrated, worried. She was terrible with worry.

Itachi was the worst match for her mother. Kisame would have been better, but the Uchiha boy knew that. He saw the threat her mother posed to his ally and separated her from him, forcing Asuma to duel his imposing partner instead.

Another bad match. Asuma's special blades required him to fight in close-range. Kisame's blade, from what she read and could see of it, gave him more reach and strength to shred those caught in its way.

They're fighting a genius and master of the Sharingan. Not even a number advantage can make that easier.

Buildings turned to trees as the last obstacle between Amari and the battle became an area of forestry. She shot even faster through the trees.

But where's their third partner? Osamu said he was backed up by two other shinobi.

She stopped at the edge of the forestry, hidden among the canopy of leaves overlooking the battle taking place below on the cement walkway and the stream it closed in.

Itachi's clone suddenly exploded. Water surged upwards, obstructing the naked eye fully to what happened to the two Leaf shinobi. But not her eye. She saw the entire scene unfold in her Byakugan. Kakashi, hidden in the water, dove out just in time to grab and shield her mother, jumping out of the immediate radius of the explosion. Burns marked his flak jacket protected back.

He seemed okay still. She hoped it wasn't just a brave face.

Asuma jumped down off the walkway to join his comrades. Kisame rejoined Itachi so fast, she barely caught his movement even with her dōjutsu. Their enemies were clad in matching black cloaks adorned with red clouds, the symbols on their headbands with a single horizontal line carved through them.

An organization with a particular dress code. No doubt so people know who they are when they finally make their move.

Amari's eyes moved to examine her allies. Asuma-sensei's left bicep is ripped up. He must have been hit by that blade of this Kisame guy. Mom's not visibly injured, but Itachi's genjutsu prowess obviously outmatched her in the first round of this fight.

That left Kakashi. His chakra depleted by the second, the Sharingan in his eye the main source of the drain. He couldn't out last Itachi in a Sharingan to Sharingan battle, it was impossible.

Her eye moved back to their enemies. Kisame bore a thin cut on his cheek, likely from Asuma's blades, but nothing else. Itachi didn't even have a mark on him yet.

The chakra coming off Kisame is insane. It's on a level like Naruto's.

Was he a jinchūriki too?

Amari bit her lip. All right, Amari. You're here now. Now what are you going to do? You can't actually battle toe to toe with these two.

To them, she'd be nothing more than a stationary fly waiting to be swatted, which left Intel gathering and operation Shadow Clone Rescue as her only two options. If the worst happens and I have to use Shadow Clones to rescue them, I need to be prepared for the fight of my life.

Opening up her hip pouch, Amari pulled out her storage scroll and unrolled it across her lap. She pressed her hand down onto the Seal and released what laid within: A black harness holding her cousin's tantō.

It seemed appropriate she and her cousin would fight side by side today to defend against Itachi of all people.

She hastily fastened it over her shoulders so the tantō was strapped to the back of her right shoulder then stretched her arms around, checking her range of motion and nodding to herself when she finished. The material was flexible and comfortable to wear; it wouldn't obstruct her in a fight.

Please hurry, Atsuko.

"Quite the interesting predicament, wouldn't you say, Haya."

Amari's entire body went stiff as a corpse. Her Sharingan eye bulged in terror.

The third Akatsuki member…

They were right behind her. Within range to slit her throat. Her sensory abilities and dōjutsu didn't even pick up their presence until they spoke. Why? Why hadn't they killed her? Why did they alert her to their presence? To toy with her? To terrify her before killing her?

Slowly, in fear a fast movement would end morbidly, she turned her head to look the person in the eye with her terrified expression. A black cloak and red clouds towered over her crouched form, overly large on the slender frame of the woman.

Sharingan eyes met.

"Aimi…Uchiha," she gasped. The kunoichi smiled and hummed. "You…You're—"

"Alive?" Aimi offered, so obviously amused by her terror. "You're the third person to say that to me today. Color me surprised when Kurenai Yūhi of all people recognized me. You two must be very close."

Intense anger replaced terror. Amari growled and clenched her hands into fists. "Stay the hell away from her."

Dangerous mirth flashed in Aimi's red eyes. "Or what, my little sweet? What can you hope to do against me?"

It was a question Amari was asking herself.

Aimi didn't wait for her to find an answer. "Never mind that," she dismissed. "You see, I'm searching for a particular child who has something we need."

Naruto… Amari's brow furrowed and her lips curled in a snarl. So, they were after the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox. You won't lay a finger on him.

She didn't speak a word, yet her reaction spoke volumes. The sight of her snarl turned Aimi's lips into a menacing yet pretty smile. "Ah, so you do know of whom I'm searching for. That makes you valuable to us."

"Go to hell," she spat.

"You've grown much, my little sweet. Such spirit and backbone you possess, telling an enemy who holds your life in the palm of her hands to go to hell." Aimi's hand ran into her wild hair, gently playing with the tresses just like she used to. "You're not even trembling in fear anymore. Quite impressive. Your cousin would be so proud of you."

The taunt made Amari bristle, but she didn't dare to act recklessly. Not when Aimi was absolutely right: Her life really was in the palm of her hands.

Before the massacre, Aimi Uchiha had been like an older sister to the blue-haired child and the closest of friends with Itachi and her cousin. Like her two male counterparts, she was praised as one of the strongest Uchiha's of her generation. Skilled with the Sharingan, Medical Ninjutsu and powerful ninjutsu, Aimi used to be one Amari's greatest inspirations and supporters.

How times had changed.

Her nickname, my little sweet, once upon a time was endearing. Now it was a sharp barb. A reminder of a life she couldn't go back to.

"For one who is not of the Uchiha Clan, you have mastered the Sharingan well," Itachi's calm analytical voice met her ears. Amari ignored the hand playing with her hair and turned her attention back to the battlefield. "However, not being of Uchiha blood, you lack the physical strength needed to wield the Sharingan. That's something you can't copy."

That's Kakashi-sensei's biggest drawback. While his Sharingan is powerful, lacking our bloodline takes too much off a toll on his chakra. Me, Sasuke, Itachi and Aimi can all keep ours activated with little draw to our chakra, but not Kakashi-sensei.

Amari tightened her white-knuckle fists. "You killed my family. Why? We considered you and Itachi a part of it. You all used to have those quiet conversations."

"Come with us and we'll tell you the truth."

She suppressed a snort. "The truth? Or just more lies? More spins and half-truths to play me like some pawn?"

"Hmph. Wise of you to question my intentions, however it is unwarranted." The hand left her hair. "Tell me, Haya, given the choice, would you choose a path where nothing you love is left or a path where nothing you do is right?"

Amari furrowed her brow. "What kind of question is that?"

"Answer it," Aimi ordered, stern and unflinching.

"To hell with those paths. I'll make a different path and I'll walk it my own way."

"Hm. I'd like to see a world like that. Unfortunately we live in reality."

"Then I'll change this reality by walking my path. I'll light the way for others and reach out to as many people as I can so the world can change," Amari stated resolutely. "That's the path I've chosen. That's my nindo."

"You've certainly inherited his spirit."

"Tell me, why is the Uchiha Clan known by all, and feared by all?" Itachi continued down below. "I'll show you what the Sharingan can do when it is wielded by a true heir of the bloodline."

"Close your eyes! Don't look in his eyes!" Kakashi's panicked voice echoed from the river. Alarm filled the Nara at the sound of pure fear in his voice. What kind of dangerous power could make her cool-headed sensei react like that?

She strained to hear his next words. "Listen, both of you. Don't look. If you meet his gaze, you are done for. I'm going to have to do this alone. My Sharingan against his."

"Indeed, your abilities are impressive. They may even be enough to resist the Mangekyō Sharingan."

The…Mangekyō Sharingan? What the hell is that? Full black pinwheels accented by red eyes flashed through her mind. Wait a minute. That night…Itachi's eyes weren't regular Sharingan, they were different. Is that it?

She gulped. If it is…then he could do to Sensei what he did to me…or worse.

"However," Itachi continued, "there is something they can't defend against. This special Sharingan jutsu called Tsukuyomi. Only someone with the Sharingan and Uchiha blood can defeat me."

Of Uchiha blood? Her heartbeat began to beat faster and faster in her chest. If this jutsu is unbreakable to only us…that means Kakashi-sensei is done for…unless I…

"Careful, Haya. Your next decision is very important."

Amari shut her eyes, took a deep breath then opened them again. Her fingers stopped trembling and her fists uncurled. "I made my choice long ago."

"As did I."

Amari spun around, tantō gripped in her hand to clash against the kunai meant to cut her down. Sharingan eyes scorched one another, but Aimi was quicker. Her foot slammed into Amari's gut, sending her flying out of the tree down towards the concrete.

She's faster than me, she analyzed. Much faster.

Amari flipped to land feet first on the cement then Body Flickered back, narrowly dodging a bolt of lightning striking her previous position. Shards of concrete shattered and flung into the air around her; small bits pelted her skin, but she kept moving towards her goal.

Kakashi-sensei…

"Let me show you," Itachi taunted.

Amari skipped gracefully back on the water, chakra flooding her right eye and tomoe spinning within the red orb. Aimi was already within a meter of her. She had time for only one attack, so she chose the best option.

Her red eye flicked over to catch Kakashi's wide Sharingan eye.

Sharingan!

---

A red moon and sky hung over the genjutsu world. Black clouds passed overhead, reflected in the water beneath their feet. So far Kakashi survived two days within the Tsukuyomi. Two exceptionally long days where every second elapsed at Itachi's control. Every moment here was his to command.

Unfortunately for Kakashi, he had one more day to go.

Itachi could only applaud his former comrade's mental fortitude. An average shinobi wouldn't have survived the first second. Yet here they were. Two full days and he still hadn't broken. Then again, Kakashi was one of the Leaf's best shinobi.

This performance was to be expected.

"In the Tsukuyomi, time and space, even physical mass, I control them all." The thousands of versions of Itachi lifted up their blades, plunging them methodically into the thousands of Kakashi that were restrained to T-shaped walls, repeating this chant over and over again. "Twenty-three hours fifty-nine minutes and fifty-nine seconds to go."

Or so was his plan. However, Itachi sensed a sudden disturbance to his genjutsu. An outside interference he had seen a glimpse of before his attack, but not one he expected would actually break into the Tsukuyomi.

"Itachi!" she shouted in fury.

The elder Uchiha's blade halted. "How fortunate for you, Kakashi, that a member of the Uchiha Clan came to save you."

His former comrade struggled to breathe through the agony. He did find enough strength to look surprised, though.

"I wonder, is she strong enough to fully break the Tsukuyomi, or will she only be able to take your place?"

"Leave…her…alone…" he wheezed. "This is…between you…and me."

"Then perhaps you should teach your student not to meddle in the affairs of adults."

Turning his head to the side, the thousand Itachi's took note of the lone child playing hero. Anger burned in her Sharingan eye. It appeared torturing her sensei touched a delicate nerve.

"What kind of monster have you become?" she hissed.

Itachi smiled vindictively. "Would you like a demonstration?"

"Try to touch him again and I'll make you regret it," Haya snarled.

"Is that so?" The several forms of Itachi lifted their swords up to prove a point. Then their bodies froze. "Hm. Impressive."

To be able to exert even the slightest control over him in the Mangekyō Sharingan genjutsu proved her genjutsu prowess improved since their last meeting. He wasn't surprised. The bloodline she wielded, and the woman who took her in, made it inevitable.

Itachi glanced over his shoulder again to see the cold, scaled claw of death clutching his body. A dragon. Quite the frightening choice. He almost smiled at the sight of it.

"You're done torturing my sensei. Demonic Dragon: Darkness Flames!"

Black flames erupted on invisible tracks of oil, engulfing the Itachi's in their soul burning flames while circling protectively around Kakashi. Slowly the Copy Ninja began to vanish, and with him the Tsukuyomi proceeded to fade away. Itachi merely stood there, a disinterested look in his eyes as he burned.

Haya glared at him before she too vanished. Her eyes spoke for her.

They had unfinished business to settle.

Itachi smiled.

Let us see how much you've grown, Haya.

---

The real world came flooding back into Kakashi's view. Blue sky replaced red. Sunlight replaced darkness. And he was alive, if only by the skin of his teeth.

Vision blurred and breathing unsteady, he struggled not to fall over when the cool breeze touched his heated skin. Every inch of his physically unwounded body was screaming in agony. His pain receptors sent false information of thousands of open stab wounds to his brain, overloading it with pain that wasn't physically real.

He tried to convince his mind it was just a genjutsu. That the pain wasn't even real, just an illusion created by the Tsukuyomi. None of it worked. Illusion or not, for Kakashi every moment in that hell was as real and valid as real life.

My body… He wheezed while his body began to tremble. It feels like I have punctured lungs.

Even though he could feel the oxygen entering his body, even though he knew his lungs were intact, his body instinctively acted to suck in precious oxygen. And with every renewed, desperate inhale, more pain constricted his chest.

Kakashi could hardly make out Itachi's general shape across from him. He couldn't make out a single detail on his face. He couldn't see how his facial features twitched ever so slightly in pain or how his normal Sharingan eyes were now focused on Amari. Everything blurred and meshed together in an incoherent mess.

Amari…

The thought of his student awoke Kakashi. It gave him focus. Clarity for even the slightest moment. He turned his head to his left, slowly, in agony, and made out the small frame of his student ducking beneath a blade. The foot of Aimi—she was still alive after all this time?—slammed into Amari's arms, held up in a guard. But the blow sent her flying away, closer to Kakashi and Itachi.

I have to move. I have to get her out of here. Kakashi flexed the muscles in his legs but stopped immediately. I…can't, he despaired. If I try to move my legs, my body will collapse. But there has to be…something I can do, at least to separate her from these attacks.

As her sensei, he had to protect her. That was his duty. His will.

Amari's body skidded across the surface of the water, a wave forming behind her as she channeled chakra to her hands, back and feet to stay afloat.

He lifted his gloved, trembling hands closer together. I can…still move my arms. Painful. But he could handle pain. Pain meant he was still alive. It meant he was awake and in a position to act. Even if he couldn't physically move to rescue her, he was the shinobi who copied a thousand jutsu; surely he had one to save his student.

He willed his hands to weave handseals as quickly as he could. Amari sprang up, tantō jumping from its scabbard into her hand to block and parry Aimi's lightning fast strikes. The veteran kunoichi smiled playfully as she struck. She was just toying with his student. Having fun.

She's faster than Amari. Her Sharingan keener in its ability to predict her movements.

His student didn't stand a chance.

Aimi broke Amari's guard with a single, upward strike. The Nara stumbled back, teeth grit and body left open as her left hand jolted into her pouch for a second blade. She wouldn't be fast enough. Aimi was already on her.

"Water Style: Water Wall," Kakashi rasped.

A wave of water, strong as steel, sprang up to shield his student from the attack. Aimi broke around the wall to attack from Amari's flank. His student danced on her toes, spinning to her right side as her kunai blade spun in her hand to defend. Then another wall of water jolted up between them.

"Kurenai…Their vision is blocked… Go!"

The single order was all the mother needed.

Wind ripped past Kakashi. Out of the Body Flicker, Kurenai materialized low in front of Amari, arm wrapping around her small waist as a kunai coated in lighting cut through the wall of water in search of blood. The blade did not physically touch either kunoichi. Even still, crimson blood splattered through the air.

Kurenai bolted back to their side of the battlefield. Her left arm hung limp at her side, an open and deep cut through the bicep. She crouched in front of her daughter, blade held out in front of her protectively and her features pulled in a grimace as she waited for the next advance.

It didn't come. Not yet.

The waves Kakashi produced fell, revealing Aimi still there, kunai blade coated with crackling blue lightning.

"Intelligent move, Kakashi. You realized your body couldn't move after what you endured, so you used the Water Style: Water Wall to break our line of sight, affording Kurenai the opportunity to save Haya in your stead."

He couldn't quite make out the smile on her face, but he could hear it.

"You haven't lost a step, nor has your strength of will lessened over the years. To think you were able to perform a jutsu after enduring the Tsukuyomi. Although, Haya deserves some credit for bringing you back to reality." The lightning faded and Aimi lowered her arm back to her side. The kunai vanished up her cloak sleeve. "What an interesting twist this little diversion has brought."

"Kakashi, Kurenai, is it safe to open my eyes now?" Asuma asked.

"No," Kakashi struggled to get out the singular word.

"What's happening? One second Itachi was talking, the next you're struggling to breathe. And what's Amari doing here?"

Two days…two days in that hell, and only a moment passed in the real world.

"Not that…I'm not grateful you…spared me…from another twenty-four hours of hell." Kakashi focused hard on every single syllable, eyes squinting as each new one became harder than the last. He felt faint. Dizzy. Blackness fought to overcome his vision, but he willed it away.

He couldn't pass out. Not now. Not while his student was here.

He glanced down at Amari, whose blades were once more sheathed, as she pulled her Leaf headband off and tied the blue cloth tightly around her mother's wound. Her worried eye watched the blood trail down her fair skin as she worked.

"But…what the hell are you…doing here, Amari?" he finished his question.

Amari looked up to him. The smile she forced didn't reach her eye. "Sorry I'm late, but an old lady with back problems needed my help carrying groceries," she offered weakly.

She sounds like me. He might have laughed in a different circumstance.

This was not a different circumstance.

"Little one, you have to go," Kurenai ordered, hand moving to grab her bloody arm. "We'll hold them off to—"

Kakashi couldn't hold strong any longer. The torture he endured became too much to bear. His knees buckled, and he soon found his body braced by his smaller student.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "Had I been faster, I might have—"

Kakashi put what little energy he had into shaking his head. "You did enough. Now get out of here…Now," he ordered. "Get the hell out of here…Amari."

She forced another smile. "I wish I could. I hoped, if it came to it, that I could use Shadow Clones to rescue you guys and escape, but that's no longer an option. She's too fast for me. And I have information they want. I've become too valuable to them to let escape."

"Information? What information?" Kurenai questioned in surprise.

"Their real goal isn't me or Sasuke or even you guys. It's Naruto. And Aimi knows I can lead them to him." Amari shook her head. "It was a rookie mistake. But now I've made myself a target. And a good shiny object shines brightly."

Kakashi's stomach dropped. She's planning to be a decoy.

"Amari, no."

In a different circumstance Kurenai's firm voice would have stopped Amari in her tracks.

This wasn't a different circumstance.

"There's something I have to do. Neither of you are going to like it, but it's what has to be done."

Amari moved to stand, but using the remaining strength he had left, Kakashi snatched hold of her arm. "Don't be stupid," he chastised. "You know you're no match…for them. And with the genjutsu…he placed on you…who knows what he could do to you."

She nodded in solemn agreement. "You're right. But this is the only way I can ensure you guys survive this. You can't fight anymore, and the risk of the Mangekyō Sharingan means Asuma-sensei and Mom have to keep their eyes closed."

Another weak smile crossed Amari's face. "I'm the only one who can break free of his special genjutsu, or fight with my eye closed." With little effort she broke free of his grasp. "I'm sorry, but if I leave now, you all die. I can't do that."

I don't have the strength to physically stop her. Amari smiled sadly at him. And she knows it too.

She wrapped him up in a hug. "Thank you for teaching me and your support over the years. I'll make them fight for every inch. I promise."

No physical blade could hurt as much as that goodbye did.

His student was leaving them to fight a battle she knew was hopeless.

Amari was leaving, and there was nothing he could do but watch helplessly as he had done too many times before.

Please…don't do this.Kakashi's plea wouldn't stop her. He knew that.

"Amari—" Kurenai's words were broken off by an even tighter hug.

"Thank you for being my mom." Even in his blurry vision, Kakashi could see the shimmer of tears form in Kurenai's eyes. "Thank you for giving me a life worth living. Thank you for giving your love to a broken and hurting girl in her greatest time of need. I love you. Please, no matter how this ends, please don't blame yourselves. This is my choice. My path."

"Get out of here, little one," Kurenai pleaded one last time.

"I can't. You know that. Even if you could battle with your eyes open, your arm is numb because of that attack."

Kurenai squeezed her eyes shut. "Please. Don't do this."

"I love you, Mom. Never forget that."

Her tears finally fell. "I love you too."

Amari released Kurenai, standing up then stepping back and away. "Asuma-sensei, if the worst happens, promise me you'll take good care of my mom and Shika. They'll need you."

"Amari…"

"Promise, Asuma-sensei."

"I swear I will."

"Thank you." She smiled again, warmer. "Don't look so worried you two. I'll be okay. After all, you guys are the ones who trained me. And I've got back up from my cousin today."

Kakashi and Kurenai could only watch her step towards a hopeless battle.

---

Itachi's eyes stung. The Mangekyō Sharingan's great power came with a high price, as all great power did. So long as he used it sparingly, though, he could prolong the inevitable as long as he needed to.

"Well, well, well, his spirit isn't broken, and it seems Aimi found a new toy to play with," Kisame Hoshigaki said. Itachi could hear the grin on his face, wide and full of sharpened shark teeth. "I thought you said only an Uchiha could break that genjutsu, Itachi."

Itachi said nothing. He watched silently as Haya said her final words to the three Leaf shinobis. Meanwhile, Aimi meandered closer, a pretty smile on her face as her waist-length dark hair flowed behind her.

"She's gotten quicker," she said.

"She has," he agreed.

Kisame frowned. "I'm starting to get the feeling I'm the only one who doesn't know this kid."

Itachi's Sharingan eyes did not leave Haya. He had not intended to encounter her. But it was clear to his eyes she wouldn't leave voluntarily. She was driven to stall them, maybe out of hope other shinobi might notice the battle, or perhaps she already sent for backup.

Both stood out as distinct possibilities. His opponent now was a child, yes, but a child with the intellect of a Nara and the strength of an Uchiha. A dangerous combination.

Underestimation here was most unwise.

So far too much time had already been lost to these Leaf shinobi, and Aimi's return meant her part of their mission reached its end. Yet he was hesitating to retreat. He hadn't hesitated since that day.

There was something he needed to do. Something he had planned to do later but decided could and should be done sooner. They didn't have time to waste anymore. Time was no one's ally.

Haya stood no chance of pushing him or his partners, which meant he could dictate the pace of the fight, just as always.

Unfortunately, Kisame could see the threads of the past connecting the three Uchiha, even if he had yet to realize Haya's heritage himself. Soon, though, he would see for himself there was another Uchiha who lived. One more survivor. One stubborn child playing the sacrificial role of a martyring hero.

As for Haya, there were key names he could use to unlock the Pandora's Box on her mind, ridding him of her interference whenever he so desired. For now he chose to wait.

Itachi would indulge her foolish actions to teach her a valuable lesson.

Haya stepped away from her protectors and exhaled a soft, resigned breath. Then she spoke. "It's been a long time, Itachi."

True. Years had passed since their last meeting. In that time, Haya had grown from a small, fragile child to the beginnings of a stubborn, maturing adolescent. Still small, he supposed, for a child her age.

The resemblance to her parents she bore, it strummed at strings of nostalgia he wasn't prepared for.

Years had passed, hardening him as he walked down his path of darkness, yet seeing her again, it still…

Haya turned around fully, three tomoe Sharingan meeting three tomoe Sharingan. In it he could see the reflections of her path and the pain it gave her. Scars crept out from her mesh sleeve. He could even see the necklace of her fused Clan crests hanging around her neck.

The girl he once knew, the child who idolized him, Aimi and her cousin, no longer looked at him with adoration. Her solitary eye met his indifferent gaze without fear; she was ready to fight and die to protect the three behind her.

Time changed them. The events of their lives shaped them into the people standing on opposite sides of this battlefield. Whether or not she had a future beyond the battle would be his to decide.

"Hohoho! This tiny girl has Sharingan like both of you!" Kisame grinned. The word tiny coerced a noticeable twitch from Haya. It would seem her height remained a sore subject. "Looks like you'll need to kill her to finish the slaughter."

"Her death is an undesirable conclusion," Aimi interceded rationally. "After all, she has valuable information about our true target."

"Does she now?" Itachi drawled. "Yes, that does make her death an undesirable conclusion. For now, anyways."

"So, who is this kid, Itachi?" Kisame asked.

"Her name is Haya Uchiha. We used to train her."

"Oh? " Kisame chuckled. "Student and teacher coming face to face after years of being apart? I think I might shed a tear at this little reunion."

The sarcasm was unneeded. His comrade could not hope to realize how personal this reunion was, and Itachi wasn't including the massacre or teaching Haya. No, those two facts did not accurately reveal the personal threads sewing the three Uchiha here together.

Internally, beneath the unexpressive mask Itachi wore, a plethora of emotions reared up. Seeing Haya again, five years older, taller by some inches, wielding that blade on her back with her Sharingan activated, it brought back old memories. Good memories he couldn't afford to look back on.

Itachi never looked back. He had to continue moving forward, even if it meant walking through darkness only the Sharingan could guide him through.

"Not bragging about me to all of your friends, Itachi? I'm heartbroken."

Despite the jest in her voice, her body language and facial features showed no amusement. Itachi cracked the faintest of smirks. Yes, this is definitely like old times.

Not with Haya, of course. No, that comment and light tone reminded him of someone else entirely.

An old friend.

"Amusing as this diversion has been, it's time for pleasantries to come to an end," Itachi said.

---

Amari lowered her gaze to the water beneath her, hands clenching into fists, steeling her heart for the inevitable futile battle stampeding towards her. This was it. She was about to duel against elite shinobi out of some misguided belief she could actually make a difference. Sheesh, no wonder her Shika called her troublesome.

"You two used to be family to me. I can't remember everything…" She brought her hand to her heart and clenched her shirt. "But I feel it in here. The bond I had with you two…and my previous family."

And it hurts…really badly. You're both within a couple steps of reaching distance, yet you feel as if you're kilometers away.

"Times change, Haya," Itachi's voice was completely devoid of all emotion.

Amari shut her eyes and exhaled the softest of chuckles, hand releasing her shirt. He was so right. They all walked different paths now. And they carried the convictions to walk them to whatever end awaited them.

She wouldn't falter here.

"You're right, Itachi. Times do change. We've all changed, and now I have a new family. This village, my mother, my sensei, my cousin, my uncle, my aunt and my teammates, all of them are precious to me. That's why if you ever lay a hand on my family again…" The dark hatred dormant within her heart permeated in her Sharingan eye. "I will kill you."

"Feisty girl!" Kisame chortled. He grabbed the hilt of his blade tighter. "Hey Itachi, mind if I take this one? You did wear those eyes of yours out."

Wore his eyes out? Amari looked away from Kisame to examine Itachi's eyes. Pain. She could see his pain. He did well to hide it, but the unconscious and almost imperceptible muscle movement around his eyes couldn't be hidden.

It hurt him, she analyzed. The Mangekyō Sharingan must be like keeping the Byakugan activated for extended periods of time, except more extreme. It strains the eyes and depletes his chakra at an accelerated pace. That's why he's using the normal Sharingan now. But does that mean he can't use the Tsukuyomi again?

Mentally she shook her head. No. I can't assume something like that without real knowledge on the Mangekyō or Tsukuyomi. I'll have to stay on my toes and be prepared to get out of any genjutsu.

Itachi took a step forward. "She's mine. Stay out of this, both of you."

"'Tachi, you're overdoing it," Aimi chastised gently. "Let me finish this."

"It's better if I do it," he replied. "You two need to be at full strength for our true mission. Furthermore, Kisame's liable to take a limb or two if he fights her, which will render her capture pointless."

"Can't argue there," the swordsman chuckled.

"Haya was also reckless enough to take her eyes off you to save Kakashi. She may be reckless enough to allow you to land a mortal blow, if only to kill you with a Shadow jutsu. My fighting style is the best suited to capture her."

"Heh, I wouldn't underestimate me, Itachi," Amari returned. "I'm not the same girl you used to train."

"That remains to be seen, Haya."

All I have to do is stall long enough for Guy-sensei to arrive, Amari coached herself. Which means I can't be reckless. If I screw up, everyone will die. Determination reinforced her backbone with steel and ignited her warrior spirit. I won't let them die. I'll protect them, even if it costs me my life.

Amari reached up and grabbed her tantō. "To be honest, I hoped you would just leave the Leaf and never return, but I already know what you Akatsuki bastards are after."

The mention of their organization earned her three satisfying surprised looks.

A good shiny object shines brighter than the sun.

"Heh," she smiled cockily against the acceleration of her heart, "oh yeah, I know all about you and your little squad of S-rank criminals. And soon the entire shinobi world will know of your existence, as long as I have any say at least. Then you'll all be hunted down and destroyed like the scum you are."

"I see." Itachi hummed, eyes shutting for a moment. "It seems we have no choice but to capture you then. You know far too much already, Haya, and we can't risk a war with the Five Great Nations. Not yet."

Silence fell between them after that.

The time to fight had come. Uchiha verses Uchiha. Her past and present finally colliding on this battlefield of water, where reflections of the past battled alongside visions of the present.

"Sensei, Mom, Asuma-sensei. Don't worry about anything. I won't let any harm come to my family." She turned to look at them with a closed eyed smile. "I promise."

---

Haya turned to face Itachi, eyes full of determination.

She's finally prepared to fight, Itachi thought.

"I hope you're ready, because I'm going to go all-out, Itachi!" Haya spoke, but it wasn't just her voice he heard. He swore he could hear her cousin as well.

Startled, he barely leaned his body out of range of her strike. She's faster than before. He grabbed her forearm at the end of her swing. But not fast enough.

Weight pressed down on his knee, drawing his attention down to the child's foot using him as a stepstool. Haya stepped up and swung her opposite foot for his jaw; wind brushed past his face he dodged his head back and released her, allowing her to use the momentum to throw herself into a backflip.

How unorthodox.

The tantō sheathed, Haya's hands caught her on the water in a handstand, quickly shifting into several back handsprings to retreat. Itachi didn't wait. Haya was quick, but so was he. Years of battle experience put him at an entirely different level than her. They weren't even on the same spectrum of strength.

A lesson she would soon learn.

Itachi sped behind her as her feet planted on the surface of the water. Sun reflected off his kunai as it appeared out of his sleeve, searching for flesh and the definitive end of this battle. In those motions, she had no hope of reading his movements, let alone dodging them.

The sharp clang of metal meeting metal cut his arrogance in half.

Haya didn't even turn to block. She hunched slightly forward, her right arm wrapped behind her back, the tantō firmly gripped in her hand to block his strike inches from her flesh.

How did she…

In a single fluid and graceful move, Haya pushed his blade away, spun and slashed at his midsection. Her blade found only empty space as Itachi, upon reading her movements, evaded her short sword. Immediately he prepared a Sharingan genjutsu to strike her down.

The elder Uchiha expected her red eye to meet his. Upon doing so he would end this diversion immediately so they could be on their way. Further battle served no purpose.

His expectation did not come to fruition. All he found was the flesh of her eyelid shut over her right eye.

She anticipated my genjutsu, Itachi realized. Although Haya proved she could infiltrate the Tsukuyomi, even rescue Kakashi from it, she decided to act with caution, using the one weakness of Sharingan genjutsu against him: eye contact. Without eye contact he could not cast a Sharingan genjutsu upon her.

A good move on her part. In the end, it didn't matter. He had other means of attack planned, as well as a theory forming around her ability to fight without her eye.

Itachi's right hand appeared out of his sleeve, shuriken equipped between the gaps of his fingers. All around Haya, water shaped drills surged up to strike her, but she flickered away.

The feint hadn't worked on Kakashi, and it appeared it wouldn't work on his student either.

She was good. The title of Leaf's number one rookie appeared well-deserved. But a rookie was still a rookie, just as inexperienced in the reality of shinobi warfare as her peers.

Zigging and zagging closer in the Body Flicker, Itachi's experienced eyes did not fail to see her every movement. He threw his shuriken. The circular blades whirled through the air, and as they neared their target, more appeared from their shadows. Haya jumped up, eye still closed, twirling in space as a dancer might with a kunai slipping into her free hand. Together with her tantō she blocked his shuriken effortlessly.

All except one.

Itachi yanked back on the nearly invisible thread of ninja wire. Every move she made in that jump worked towards his overall goal and could end in her inevitable capture. The Akatsuki member did not bet on it, not this time.

Such simple tricks won't work on you, will they?

The yank of the ninja wire tightened the sharpened thread. Sunlight glistened off it, revealing the coils prepared to capture the floating form of Haya as a constrictor captures its prey. Before it could be pulled taut, the tantō flashed into action, slashing quick strikes through the wire to sever the snake.

Itachi halted on the water and titled his head to the side; air whistled past his ear as a kunai flew by.

Once her feet touched the water again, she bolted in to attack, so he let her close in with a kunai at the ready. Kunai and tantō clashed and clanged together, strikes and blocks requiring exceptional speed and precision from both parties to perform. Sparks jumped from their blades as the intensity of their duel grew.

No matter how fast her attacks came or what angle she struck from, his eyes could see them clearly. Every muscle ripple offered insight to her movements; every step she took, every swing of her blade, none could escape his eyes.

Conversely, Haya showed her ability to read his movements with similar, but not nearly as accurate, predictive abilities. Had she done this with her Sharingan, he would not have been too surprised. After all, he knew her bloodline better than she did.

The keen sight she was destined to inherit could have made her a future threat to the Akatsuki's plans. However she would be dealt with long before she posed any threat. He would see to that today.

But Haya was not predicting his attacks with her Sharingan. Her right eye never opened, and yet she could fight him seemingly with no vision at all. Although a shinobi could train to fight with their eyes closed—blind shinobi were rare, but did exist throughout the shinobi world—Haya had not done so.

Which can only mean you wield the Byakugan in your left eye, Itachi concluded.

The thought of an Uchiha wielding the Byakugan made his lips twitch up, but only for an imperceptible moment. Should the Hyūga Elders ever learn her secret, they would scream and stomp their feet like misbehaving and spoiled children, and how satisfying that would be to see.

One could say the only difference between the Hyūga Clan and Uchiha Clan was the name of their Clan. Both carried an unhealthy obsession over their coveted dōjutsu, blinded by a false sense of superiority and ignorant pride.

In Itachi's eyes, the Hyūga Elders were nothing more than old fools jockeying for political power, while the young and innocent paid the price for their outdated rituals.

Their ancestors must be turning in their graves.

The elder Uchiha parried her strike with his blade, grabbed her arm again with his free hand and vaulted over her. Maintaining his grip, he landed behind her and, with his superior leverage and strength, threw her across the water like a light stone.

She skipped twice before recovering. Rather than facing where he threw her from, Haya spun around one hundred and eighty degrees. Crimson blood spilled through the air, flesh splitting beneath the sharpened edges of two kunai—one a surface leveled cut over her right cheek, the other only slightly deeper on her left shoulder.

"Heh, so that's what it feels like when someone attacks from my blindspot," Haya chuckled under her breath. "Should have known you would figure it out. You were always perceptive, you troublesome boy."

Itachi didn't reply. He loomed over her from the guardrail. The placement of the sun cast his dark shadow onto the sun warmed concrete behind him, away from his opponent. Behind Haya, a second Itachi stood, paralyzed in place by their connected shadows.

Keeping his distance had been wise.

With her empty and closed left hand, Haya mimicked turning a kunai blade towards herself and thrusted the invisible blade into her stomach. The clone behind her popped.

"Hope I'm not being too troublesome for you," Haya provoked.

"Hardly."

"Hmph, good. I was just warming up. Wanted to see if you'd take me seriously or not."

Again her voice melded with her dead cousin's. So familiar, yet so foreign and distant. As out of reach as his past was. He couldn't let it distract him. He couldn't act carelessly. The longer this battle continued, the longer she struggled, the higher the chance of reinforcements arriving.

"How childish," he replied, jumping back down onto the water.

It was time to end this futile struggle of hers.

---

I have to step things up, Amari thought as Itachi strode calmly towards her. I hoped I could delay by dragging this fight out, but nothing I've done has given me the power to dictate the pace of our fight. She frowned internally. I knew from the start I didn't stand a chance, but the gap between our abilities is even greater than I could have predicted.

He could kill Orochimaru. Easily.

If this was Itachi's strength, how powerful were his partners? Stronger? Weaker? What about the other members of the Akatsuki?

Questions she hoped to answer later. If there was a later.

Well, that was a motivating pep talk, she quipped to herself. All right. Time to get serious!

Amari holstered her tantō quickly and brought up her hands into the clone seal. Shadow Clone Jutsu! Ten Amari clones took form around Itachi. He stopped and glanced at them but said nothing at first.

Despite the numbers, his face remained frustratingly blank. Could he even express other emotions? Or was his face permanently stuck with that unimpressed gaze like an old piece of gum stuck under a table.

Itachi's red eyes scanned around. "Shadow Clones, and quite a few of them," he commented dryly.

Without further delay, one Amari clone jolted in to attack. Itachi merely leaned his upper body out of the way of her tantō, the downward slash missing him completely. His knee connected to her sternum hard, knocking the wind right out of the clone, leaving her choking and gasping for air on all-fours. Itachi pivoted out of the way of another attack. Before the second clone could even blink, a kunai slashed down her back and popped her.

Three clones jumped in simultaneously, but they struggled to even get in range of attack. Itachi moved fluidly. Dodging. Blocking. Then landing a blow of his own. His fist crushed the insides of one of her clones. As she bent forward, he placed a hand on her back, using it as a platform to vault over and kick the other two, popping them.

Another clone Body Flickered after him, following him over her sister clone and slashing at his back. Again Itachi effortlessly pivoted on his feet to dodge, snatching her wrist in his hand and breaking it.

Seven clones left, two currently disabled. Amari realized then and there that her plan to stall through numbers wouldn't work. Even if she kept creating clones, he'd destroy them all, all the while her chakra would continue to diminish on a pointless tactic.

A new plan was necessary. But what? What could she possibly do against someone so out of her league?

Itachi made short work of two more clones. Five more left, two still unable to breathe.

A clone of Amari Body Flickered to attack, feinting with her tantō to hide her planned kunai stab. Her opponent blocked the real strike and allowed himself to step back as the clone, backed up by another, performed a dance of duel blades to overwhelm him.

Her blades spun deftly in her hands. Every spin and every move meant to attack from every angle possible. Not a single strike passed Itachi's defenses.

I'm so outclassed, it's not even funny. Amari ground her teeth together in frustration. At least Orochimaru gave her the illusion of an effective offense. This was just ridiculous.

She grabbed three kunai from her pouch. This isn't a fight. It's just a diversion to him. In her own words to Temari, it didn't matter if Itachi made the first move or the last. This battle was over before it even began.

I'm not done yet.

The two attacking clones met their end quickly. Switching gears, Amari dispelled her final three clones, knelt down and launched her Shadow across the water. Ahead of the shadow were three kunai.

Come on Atsuko. Where the hell are you and Guy-sensei?

Surely the Bushy-Browed shinobi would sprint at max speed for a chance to save his eternal rival.

Itachi blocked the three blades, sending them flying left, right and up into the air around him before throwing his kunai at the girl kneeling in a singular position. The kunai pierced into her chest and popped the clone.

Out of the three kunai, the real Amari and two clones appeared. She floated high above Itachi with her hands, as well as her clones, in Tiger.

Itachi lifted his bored gaze up to her. "An interesting choice of attack."

Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!

Three torrents of flames erupted from their lips. At the last moment Itachi's body exploded into crows, sweeping past the flames without ever being touched by them.

Damn it, he's too skilled.

Her Byakugan recognized him reform behind her before her body could react. As she spun to face him, his fist connected to her face, sending her plummeting back towards the water.

A clone caught Amari from her fall. Before either could react, Itachi appeared in front of them, plunging his blade into the clone to vanquish her, forcing Amari to fall towards the water. She gasped for air as he kicked her square in the ribs. That one hurt. The force of the blow sent her skipping across the water.

Damn it. Damn it. Damn it, she cursed as she spun back onto her feet, chakra covered heels gliding backwards on the surface of the water. She coughed while trying to catch her breath. Luckily no blood this time in her mouth; a small victory, she supposed, given how bad that kick hurt.

"How many times must I tell you, Haya? You cannot fool my eyes." He swung his arm out, clocking her final clone along the head as she tried to attack out of a Body Flicker, dispelling her on impact.

"Ugh, not this speech again," Amari groaned.

How many times had she been told the same thing years ago every time she tried to beat him in a spar with a new tactic? How many times had it always been at the precipice of defeat?

Too many to count.

As she was about to start preparing her next attack, a menacing twist to his lips halted her in fear. "In that case, allow me to teach you a different lesson. The genjutsu I placed on you, it was created by your cousin in order to protect you. But I changed its purpose." Itachi lifted up his finger and pointed at her. "The jutsu I casted on you wasn't to protect you, it was to torture you."

"Amari, get out of here now!" Kakashi ordered in panic.

It was too late.

My body, she grunted in effort. It won't move. A paralysis jutsu. He caught her in a paralysis jutsu by pointing a single finger at her. The fear flooding her made her heart sound like a herd of horses stampeding to war.

"Amari!"

"I…can't move," she struggled to get out.

"Why would you want to leave? Don't you want to know your precious cousin's name?" The sight of her eye bulging twisted a malicious smile onto Itachi's lips.

Move body! Move! It refused to respond to her commands.

"Your struggle is pointless. No amount of sheer will can break my jutsu."

"Shut. Up. Itachi." Amari gritted her teeth and struggled even harder than before.

"Your cousin cared so deeply for you, Haya. He would have done everything in his power to protect you. It's only a shame he wasn't strong enough to succeed."

"You really are evil, Itachi," Kisame commented with a sadistic grin.

Aimi said nothing, eyes watching the entire affair in boredom.

The comment made Amari's anger spike. "Shut your damn mouth, Itachi! You have no right to talk about him! None!"

"I'd bet you'd give anything to have him back," he continued like she hadn't even spoken. "Even the smallest scrap of a memory. To be able to see his face again one last time, I'm sure you'd take on any pain."

He was right. She'd give anything to see her cousin again, to know his name and face. But she also knew what it would do to her. The pain that awaited her, it'd be worse than holding Ryu in her arms as he died.

"Let me go and I'll make you eat your teeth!"

"I will grant you your wish to know him again. Consider it a belated birthday gift. His name was—"

Amari shut her eyes and tried in vain to somehow shut off her sense of hearing. Don't say it. Don't say it. Don't say it.

"Shisui Uchiha."

With the drop of his finger, control over her body returned. But even without a paralysis jutsu holding her in place, her feet refused to budge. Her wide eyes gazed into the reflection of the water as the missing piece of her heart returned, and was severed at the same time.

Shisui…

She could see his face. His big grin that could illuminate a dark cave, his unkempt dark hair, those onyx eyes filled with the light of life and happiness. She could see him again. Feel him in her heart and the bond they once shared.

Then a tearing pain ripped through her skull. She could only scream a wordless, agony filled scream that sent birds hidden within nearby canopies flying away. It felt like someone was tearing her insides out of her. Ripping and tearing and laughing as she screamed.

Tears built in her eyes as she gripped her head, legs buckling beneath her and bringing her to her knees.

Flashes of memories, too many to grab hold of, jumped through her mind, bursting out of the containment cell they had been held in all these years. Every memory held happiness and joy lost to time.

Every memory opened a new wound in her heart.

Another shred of pain tore through her skull. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks while a wordless cry of pain, sorrow, and heartbreak ripped her vocal chords apart.

Shisui…Shisui.

She could see him carrying her on his shoulders as they walked through the Uchiha District. Their smiles, their joy, their love, all of it she felt in her heart.

Another claw tore her apart accompanied by an anguished sob.

She grasped onto another memory. Shisui took her into the backyard to teach her the Body Flicker Technique—a technique he mastered. Her first use nearly ended with her face planting into a tree, but Shisui Body Flickered in front of her, catching her and falling backwards into the tree. Despite tackling him into a tree, they both fell into laughter.

More pain.

A memory of him poking her forehead and smiling fondly at her.

"I love you, Haya."

Pain.

Finally the world around her started to darken, her eyes closing like the shutter of a camera, never to reopen again.

Shisui…

As the darkness swarmed her vision she grasped onto one final memory. Shisui had blood flowing out of both of his eyes.

His eyes…they're gone.

In front of him were Itachi and Aimi as he stood with his back to the same cliff she found his tantō on.

"I know Haya will succeed without me, no matter what. You'll see. She's my cousin after all and I believe in her." He took a breath. "Well, I guess this is the end of the road for me." Slowly he let himself fall back and off the cliff with a smile on his face.

At the sight of her cousin's death, all the darkness dissipated in a burning light of pain and hatred.

They took Shisui's eyes!

In that moment, something snapped in Haya Uchiha.

---

Itachi took no pleasure in Haya's pain, but she brought this upon herself. Foolishly entering a battle with him, openly bragging about her knowledge of the Akatsuki, what did she expect to happen?

There was nothing left to do or say now. The mental anguish and genjutsu would keep her incapacitated long enough to leave the Leaf behind.

"Man, you really are cruel, Itachi," Kisame chuckled.

Itachi said nothing. He stepped forward, moving towards Haya to retrieve her for their imminent departure.

It was almost sad to see her reduced to such a pitiful mess. If her cousin had been alive, he would have likely killed him for putting his beloved cousin through so much pain.

"This diversion is over. Kisame, Aimi, let—"

"'Tachi! Be careful, her chakra is spiking!"

"You. Bastards!"

Itachi stopped mid-step. His red eyes widened in horror. Impossible.

Haya gripped her head tightly, visible eye pointed towards the stream with tears pouring down both cheeks. Yet she was awake. And he sensed something ominous. Very ominous. His hairs began to stand on ends. The air around the child was becoming stifling. Suffocating. The invisible force constricted around his chest.

It was then a green cloak of chakra formed around her body. "You bastards killed Shisui and took his eyes!" Haya seethed.

What?

"He trusted you, we trusted you. We considered you family! And for what?!" She was not shouting. Her voice, cracking with pain and laced with hatred, cut through him in a quiet whisper.

Did she witness his death? How?

The black tips to her green chakra shroud began to trickle down and consume the green. Angry lashes of chakra whipped around her. Finally she lowered her arms and moved to stand. Her arms hung limply at her sides, but the now fully black chakra cloak expanded to a greater size, towering over her small frame.

"You won't get away with what you did to him. I promise you right now."

When their eyes locked with one another Itachi couldn't help but flinch backwards. Her eye, it's—

"I will kill you for what you've done!" she bellowed.

The black chakra cloak loomed the battlefield, and anyone who looked her way could see the face of a demonic dragon taking form within it. The hellish demon finally had its freedom. Its red eyes seared into his very soul, and he felt a shiver shoot down his spine.

Suddenly a shockwave of pure energy irradiated off of Haya, lifting her long hair up ever so slightly to float around her. The trio of Akatsuki raised their arms up to block the wind whipping past them.

"The demon-like chakra coming off of this girl, it's almost a mirror image of Zabuza's!" Kisame said, stunned by the sight. "The air is ripe with her desire to kill us. This isn't the same kid anymore. She's become a demon."

"Such violent and vile chakra. Haya…" Aimi whispered.

Killing intent flooded off her. Killing intent on levels he hadn't sensed outside of the shinobi within the Akatsuki.

This was the power of darkness.

This was the power the Curse of Hatred could give an Uchiha at the cost of their soul.

What have I done?

---

Kurenai sensed the change of chakra in her daughter almost immediately. It was impossible not to. For her it was like feeling the bright girl she adopted disappear on the wind, only to be replaced by a person she didn't even recognize.

Suffering. Anguish. Evil. Hatred. Her daughter's chakra ran cold, colder than a winter blizzard. What was left of her daughter's essence had slipped right through her fingers before she could even try to grab it.

Hazarding a look, Kurenai cracked an eye open and felt her heart stop.

"Amari…"

The black chakra swirled around her with a life of its own. And with its immense energy, her wild blue hair defied gravity, floating around her like some sort of demonic spirit possessed it. Tears streaked her face, but her features, once full of determination, protection and love, were set in unadulterated hatred.

It looked like Amari. The person had all the same features, hair and size as her daughter. But this child was not Amaririsu Yūhi. This child was someone else. Someone darker. Someone who had nothing left except hatred.

This was the child Amari could have become. The child she was becoming because of Itachi Uchiha.

Kurenai's eyes fell away in sorrow, but the sight of her daughter's headband wrapped around her arm awoke something in her heart.

"I love you, Mom. Never forget that."

No. Her daughter was not gone yet. She could still save her. She refused to lose her to this hatred or the Akatsuki members.

Flexing her numb fingers into a fist once, twice, she tested its strength. While not fully healed, it would be enough to do what needed to be done. Her daughter had preserved time and again through injury and overwhelming odds to defend her dream or those precious to her.

Now it was her turn. This time she would defend her daughter with her life. As her mother it was her duty to save her, even if it meant saving her from herself.

Kurenai moved to stand, but a gloved hand wrapped around her wrist. "Don't try to stop me, Kakashi," she told him.

"I'm not. Help me…up. I'll be your backup."

"Ah, to hell with it," Asuma cursed under his breath. "I'm not going to sit here with my eyes closed. We're not losing Amari to these guys."

No. They were not.

---

All Haya Uchiha could feel was the flood of burning hatred coursing through her veins. That and the feeling of knives piercing her eyes over and over again. Persistent pain. Persistent agony. Persistent darkness.

She didn't care, though! These bastards took her cousin's eyes like some sort of trophy! Her cousin couldn't extract revenge, so she would do it in his stead. She would turn them all into unrecognizable ash!

Nothing else mattered except their deaths!

"Itachi, I won't stand by any longer." Aimi activated her Sharingan. "Kisame, with me!"

"You got it. Samehada is itching to eat that chakra!"

"Wait! Don't try it!" Itachi tried to ward them off.

Aimi and Kisame charged past Itachi, ignoring his plea.

Amari equipped two kunai. "I'll kill you for what you did to him!" she roared, the demonic dragon's roar interlacing with her own.

She darted forward, yet a wall of water cut off her charge and her enemies. On the opposite side, Kurenai and Asuma blocked the paths of the two Akatsuki members, catching their blades with their own.

"You won't touch another hair on my daughter's head," Kurenai stated firmly.

"Is that so?" Aimi replied.

"Your fight is with us now," Asuma followed.

"Hehe! All right, let's have some fun then," Kisame chortled.

Haya growled in irritation and annoyance at the wall. No one was getting between her and killing them. No one! She made to cut around it, failing to see the other four shinobi completely. Her eyes zeroed in on Itachi, who continued to stand in the same position, eyes wide.

"Little one!"

"Amari, wait!" Kakashi cried out to her.

She didn't hear them.

Finally she had a chance to kill this bastard. He stirred this darkness in her. He stole Shisui from her! Nothing in this world mattered anymore except making him suffer! And it would feel so good!

He deserved it. He deserved to die. She'd send him straight to hell, even if she had to drag him down there with her! Even if it meant sacrificing herself to this darkness, she would do whatever it took to kill him and Aimi. For Shisui. For her parents.

I'll never forgive you!

"You're dead, Itachi!"

Unbeknownst to Haya, who charged after Itachi in a blind and feral rage, thick black lines of fūinjutsu began to spread out from behind her bandana, over her body and across the water in a wide and circular seal that captured everyone on the battlefield.

As she prepared to strike down her cousin's murderer, her body halted on its own. She growled and snarled, nostrils flaring as she tried to break free of the new paralysis. Itachi just stared. He couldn't move any more than she could. Yet his red eyes revealed his shock. At the fūinjutsu he didn't know about. At the hatred irradiating off this child.

Again Haya snapped. "You bastard! I'll make you suffer! I'll break every bone in your body! And then I'll continue to break you over and over and over again until you are begging for my mercy!" the darkness within Haya Uchiha screamed at him. "But you'll find no mercy! None! Because you don't deserve it! You- you," her voice wavered, more tears spilling over, "how could you kill him?! How could you?!"

"Amari…" Kurenai murmured.

"You stole my family from me!" she wept. "Why am I still alive? Huh?! Why didn't you kill me too?! Did you just want me to suffer?!" Itachi said nothing. It infuriated her. "Answer me, you bastard!" She tried to struggle against the paralysis as the Seal finished. "Stop standing there in silence! Say something!"

"This has gone far enough."

All three Uchiha gasped at the sound of the new, deadly serious voice. A bolt of lightning may as well have shot through Haya's body. Her hands released the kunai in shock, but they did not fall. They remained suspended in space.

Her heart raced along in her chest. Fear and hope replaced the hatred flooding her veins as she slowly, hesitantly, looked over her shoulder. Between her and the other five shinobi stood an ethereal being, glowing brightly as it began to take form.

Kakashi knelt at the very edge of the seal, his desperate attempt to run and catch her still leaving him several meters away. Her mother's kunai clashed against Aimi's while Asuma's body was frozen in a narrow dodge from an upward slash of Kisame's blade.

But it wasn't them who she truly saw. She knew that voice. She remembered it. And as the glow lessened, she saw him standing there through her tear obscured eyes.

"Shi…sui?" she asked, the name so hard to form.

He grinned at her. "Yep!"

Itachi no longer mattered.

Haya's feet were heavy. Step by step she hesitantly approached him, afraid the next step would make him disappear. And when that one didn't, she feared the next even more.

Please…be real. Just this once. Let him be real, she begged.

Slowly her steps began to gain speed. The distance between them felt like miles, every next step a little quicker than the last. Soon her walk became a jog, and her jog became a run just like all those times she used to run into his arms.

Please…

Shisui crouched down, grinning with his arms held out ready to catch her.

Let him be real.

She crashed full forced into his solid chest, wrapping her arms around his neck as she nearly knocked him over.

"Shisui!" she cried.

"Whoa, look at you! You've gotten so big!" Shisui replied happily.

Haya could only sob brokenly in response.

Shisui didn't let go. One arm held her tighter as the other rubbed gentle circles on her back. His chin rested lightly on the top of her head.

"I missed you too, Haya," he said warmly.

He was real.

---

Review Response to ChillinInKonoha: It freaks me out that you thought about that Yugao suggestion. It's like you know... Like you've read this before...

Haku and Amari letters will definitely have comedy due to those around her, and Anko definitely will have her fun at poor, poor Amari's expense. Definitely a dirty mind waiting to torture and corrupt the young and innocent Amari. Mei will also have plenty of fun with Zabuza and Ao equally.

I'd say those are accurate interpretations of Ino as well as Shikamaru's and Temari's relationship, and Amari and Temari will definitely have an interesting dynamic later on.

Thank you for the review and hope you enjoy the chapter!