Disclaimer: READ! I do not own any of the character's, ideas, definitions, names, or symbols from Naruto. I did not copy anyone else's story; I write all the chapters on loose leaf paper during study hall at school, so don't look at me. I'm obviously not looking off anything during school, and then I come home to type them. Also, there are some spoilers in this chapter. You have been warned.

EDIT: 7-15-07

At Odds with Itachi

It was the end of his first week of traveling and Kakashi had made it to some stretch of land between the river country and the Sand. Technically, Kakashi hadn't traveled far; he was still somewhat near Konoha. He had spent most of his time in scattered villages, asking and hinting for any signs of any mysterious activity, by anyone. He'd met up with some vile merchants, and a few young couples, and everything in between. He'd found nothing. Acid rose in his throat. This was going to take a while….

He continued on his way, walking across an old bridge in front of small river harbor. This particular village had probably been of the most help to him, he thought sarcastically, and it was empty too. Nothing was here besides splintered fish shacks and crumbling roads. Everything seemed to be layered in dusty films of river grime. It had been a rainy season that year. The river must have overflowed one too many times, causing irritation in the villagers. That might have been what made them leave. The jounin scratched his chin while looking down at the water. It looked clear enough, not muddy. It hadn't flooded recently at least…he'd be able to use this.

He bent down in a refined manner, loosening the knot that held his water pouch in place on his back. Spinning off the cap, he tucked it in his vest pocket and dipped its nozzle underneath the surface of the water. There were a few gulping swishes of air bubbles before the container began to take the water in. He watched it with a tired gaze. He hadn't slept since last morning.

His face tilted up towards the sun, its golden cast now halfway hidden by the field of abandoned wheat growth to his left. He yawned lazily. No luck on news, no luck on Itachi, no luck in the mission. Something told him that it was going to be a long time until he would be going home. He hated missions like these. More think time and no action. What was he going to do with all this sulking and thinking? It would drive him to the edge of insanity. Not like he wasn't a bit off to begin with….

He lifted up the pouch and screwed the cap back on with a simple flick of his fingers and tied it back onto his pack. He stood up and finished his walk across the bridge. Water trickled from the material of the water sack

A thorn bush snagged at his arm as he passed it, tearing a small thread of his shirt from its stitching. He glanced at the bush for a moment and took the thread back, putting it in his pocket. He noted that this breed of bush only grew in arid conditions. The air had changed and was dryer than it had been actually…. He was getting closer to the desert. But he just had a hunch about this area.

For a while he pondered on whether to bring out his Nin dogs or not. He decided against it as it would waste chakra and would obviously make him more detectable. He needed to keep as low of a profile as Akatsuki had done for the past few years. He continued alone with his own skills.

Nightfall came again on the seventh night and he found himself quite weary. In the middle of a cluster of trees nearby, he jumped up in a catlike manner and decided to make do with a branch to rest in. It would be smarter than to just lie out in the open on the earthy ground. He sat down his bag and quickly did a scope of the area, setting as many traps as he thought necessary. He had to be cautious in this region. Kakashi realized that he was taking a large risk sleeping out in the middle of the forest like this, but he had no other options.

After he was satisfied with the setup of his traps, he returned to the tree and quickly swallowed a small, lime green food pill. He took a short chug from his water pouch and let it fall back to his side. The silver haired jounin took a quick glance around before he let his exhaustion consume him.

Sleep.

Four hour's later, at a heartbeats pace away, a tall figure paced back and forth, his uniform Akatsuki cloak skimming across the ground and his huge sword smacking to the ground when he slumped. He stopped only to glare at his partner in a frustrated manner and continued pacing.

"Itachi…are you being chicken?" The question brought a kunai flying towards him, hitting the man straight in the center of his forehead protector. Itachi gazed at him with the cold expression that had always been a simple reflex to him.

"Shut up Kisame." The Uchiha looked intently into the forest at a spot on the ground. At first you wouldn't have seen anything, but underneath the green veins of at least forty leaves, there lay a complete and clever set up pulley system. Ingeniously and carefully set up... Something had to lie beyond that single, wide ranged trap. He sniffed at the air. The only outcome he received was the burning sensation of dry air rushing down his throat, fusing into his lungs. They weren't far from the lair, so the reason that the intruder must be there, was exactly that.

Itachi's sharingan activated immediately as he jolted forward, dodging all of the tiny steel threads that suddenly crisscrossed into his path.

Kisame Hoshikagi looked after him in exasperation, a sick grin on his face. He flung Samehada (1) upon his shoulder and stalked off in the opposite direction. He'd leave the fun for Itachi to handle. He snickered.

Itachi's white leggings seemed to whirl together with speed as he drew closer and closer. The spacing of the taps grew closer and closer together. He deftly passed them, but had to stop a few times for him to contemplate on what to do in order to get past them.

There….

The ruby tinted eyes caught a glimmer of a silver head up in the tree just five feet from where he stood. Alertly he looked around before deciding that it was safe to approach. In an instant he was up on the branch, his muscled hand grasping at the neck of the sleeping body, death in his eyes. A split second later he threw his hand away from its neck. It was not a person at all but a scarecrow…. Kakashi. His features turned into a grimace. Damn.

The next moment, Itachi was leaping off of the bark, blocking three shuriken that were let fly in his direction. They plunged into the tree trunk where, just moments ago, Itachi had been. The missing Nin darted directly towards the area in which the weapons had been thrown from. He brushed against the jounin with unmistakable speed, stabbing him in the stomach. There was a resulting poof and clunk as a small log tumbled to the ground. He whirled around in irritation. He had been too hasty.

"Still playing your old tricks, Kakashi-san…" His face was shadowed as he caught a glimpse of the leaf shinobi. His eyes were wide, emanating his scarlet powers.

"Itachi-san…you found me." Kakashi stared back at him with both eyes, the marked sharingan uncovered. He had almost said this in a perky way, but his features showed otherwise. "I've been searching for you."

"I see." Itachi's eyes narrowed as he placed two fingers to his forehead, in the center of his eyes. Mangekyou Sharingan.

Kakashi jumped back a few meters, closing his non-sharingan eye. If Itachi used this technique it was all over. It was his strongest attack, giving him the ability to enter another's mind and make them feel or see anything that he so pleased. The last time Kakashi himself had come up against it, he had been unconscious for several days.

The Uchiha was far above the leaf Nin's jounin level, but the match was not completely hopeless…well at least Kakashi hoped so. Kakashi's retreat brought forth an amused glint from Itachi's eyes. "Is the copycat scared?"

Inside, Kakashi shook. Would Itachi stoop so low as to mock him?

Thoughts rambled into the jounin's head. Recently he had been able to unleash his own new Mangekyou Sharingan, but it was different, and not as efficient as Itachi's was due to the fact that he was not an Uchiha. He couldn't use it now; he would be out cold afterwards. He didn't have the chakra and stamina that the Uchiha clan did. He tried to calmly decide the best route of action.

Itachi seemed to grow impatient and advanced forward. All that Kakashi was able to do now, was stare at the other man's feet. There was no other choice. He'd have to last as long as he could without using his mangekyou. Honestly, he didn't even know if it would work against the Uchiha, or if he'd even be able to activate it. He'd only been successful a few times….

"Are you alone?" The tone that came from Itachi's lips was cold and almost emotionless. The Uchiha even seemed to sneer at him. The sneer wasn't actually there, but it was horrifyingly vivid in his dark eyes.

Kakashi's silent and pained expression was his answer. Images of ANBU flashed across his mind. How close were they anyway? He hadn't detected a single one since he had set out, but until now, he hadn't needed help. He admitted to himself that he couldn't handle Itachi alone, but now was the time that he really needed help, but didn't sense anyone around for miles. He was alone.

"Yes?" Itachi stepped closer. Kakashi also took a step back. This brought the sides of Itachi's mouth to curve slightly. "Then let's get this over with." The wave of his voice was harsh and implied the continuation of the fight. Their silhouettes glowed in the soft moonlight that filtered in through the branches again.

The two shinobi clashed once again, each bracing against each other with brute strength. All of the jounin's reactions were slow at first, but then eventually got accustomed to the missing Nin's foot movements. It was a complex struggle. They flashed around one another, jabbing out with various weapons. Kakashi created the Chidori two times, only managing to scathe Itachi's left arm; it's gruesome scorch marks visible from where he was standing twenty feet away.

Both were covered in scratches and bruises, but the Uchiha was obviously the one with the least amount of damage. Scarlet streams of life leaked out from all of Kakashi's various wounds. His breathing was thick and somewhat labored. The food pill he had eaten earlier had allowed him to last this long already. It had been a half hour, and already he was feeling the strain. He just couldn't keep up. He looked over to his foe.

Itachi watched him unblinkingly, with an odd glower in the red of his eyes. Kakashi, however, was unaware of this, for he still looked only at feet of his opponent. How much longer would he be able to last? The enemy had so much stamina and power, dodging the majority of his attacks. It was a miracle he had lasted this long, but using his sharingan any more wouldn't lead to a happy ending. It was the same he hoped, for Itachi as well. How long could Itachi keep using his own sharingan?

Itachi's white leggings blurred into a run yet again, this time he was coming directly at him. What was he…? The leaf Nin jumped back, but was slightly delayed. Staring at only the feet proved difficult among all of the shadows of tree roots and underbrush. There was hardly any light now that the moon had shifted its midnight position. All at once, there was a spray of silver lined blood as itachi's hand cut through his abdomen. Doing so forced Kakashi's eyes to meet the pair of dreaded black pupils. Immediately he knew it was all over.

But it wasn't.

Now, glaring at each other, both suddenly dripping in sweat, were two Mangekyou Sharingan; both cancelling each other out. It was an effort to fight off the effects, but so far it was working. Itachi gasped quietly, eyes wide.

"Kakashi...you…?" The silver haired jounin couldn't help but smirk at this. It was one eye against two, unbalanced, causing a throbbing ache to travel from the back of his head to the center of his gut. He couldn't even keep this up for long. They leapt back from each other. Kakashi cringed in pain as he placed a bruised hand to the bleeding gape in his lower torso. This was a serious infliction. Soon, he would be out of both blood and chakra. He propped himself against a tree. He could barely move his limbs now. His vision grew hazy, but was able to see Itachi's shadow begin to advance forward. It was over now…he couldn't even stand. He slid down the tree, consumed by pain and exhaustion. His entire front was drenched in a bold crimson dye. What was to become of him now…?

His head drooped down a little, causing strands of silver hair to fall down, dripping blood into the soil. It was hard to see anything in the blackness of the forest. The Uchiha grabbed the jounin's collar and pulled him up straight to meet his gaze. His stiff body pulled back in protest with the last of his strength.

Itachi gazed into Kakashi's Mangekyou. He glared angrily at the Jounin, shocked and frustrated. This wasn't going to get anywhere if they were canceling each other out. He attempted to grab at Kakashi's neck, but failed. He tried a few more various attacks that were so quick no normal eye, or even a normal sharingan could follow. Each time Kakashi had blocked him in the nick of time. Itachi bared his teeth slightly, staring into Kakashi's eyes, seeing the pain that he was in. Just a bit longer…and maybe he could overpower him….

There was no hope of escape this time. Kakashi's gaze widened in transfixed fear and pain, the moon had seemed to turn red in the dark sky, his body soaked with its color.

Itachi was now staring into the now deactivated Mangekyou. Kakashi was out of Chakra. How convenient.

Shit, now it was over…. Kakashi watched as Itachi's eyes narrowed in triumph. He was thrown into an illusion for a few seconds.

The final blows of pain inside Kakashi's mind caused by the technique left him gasping air in the real world, only to fade out of consciousness. He lost awareness right then and there, and was soon drifting off into another land; far from the terror and aches that he had just experienced.

1.) Samehada- the name of the large sword that Kisame carries around with him.

Please R&R!!! Thanks a bunch.