Till the End of the World

Circa 2010 - 2013 ?

Summary: She followed him like his shadow, even though she knew of the crimes he'd committed. In return he taught her everything he knew, but what happens when she meets his younger brother, Sasuke? Will Itachi let her go, or keep her forever?

Genre: Action / Drama / Romance

Rating: T

Prologue:

Whispering Darkness

She stumbled, her legs barely keeping her upright as she moved forward, her breathing beginning to deepen with weariness. Only eleven-years-old, but she was determined to continue forward, blood dripping from her arm as her mind flashed with things that had happened to her. She hissed, her breathing becoming more ragged as she fought to stay upright, her father always having told her never to show weakness and to never sleep unless in a safe haven. However, she hissed again as she thought of that, knowing the reason why she'd suddenly used her Kekkei Genkai—something she never knew her family could use—was because of the man she'd once called father.

He was no father was hers.

Her right hand came up to clench the now red bandaging that she normally wore, wrapped around her arm in order to hide the kanji for darkness that lay there. The left sleeve of her haori had been ripped away during the battle, but she didn't mind, since the bandaging was wrapped from her fingers, up her arm, before it was wrapped around some of her neck. The rest of the dark blue haori was still intact, hanging around her almost like it seemed far too big for her—this was not the care, it merely wasn't closed correctly. The hakama she wore were black, and had been sliced at the knee so that they weren't so restricting, and allowed her to run more easily. Her legs were also bandaged, but with a dark material that bent and moved with ease, giving her no residence should she need to fight off an opponent; this ended at her feet, where she wore normal open-toe sandals that were common among villages.

It was winter, snow fell gently around her, but she did not notice as she moved through the forest that she'd come to know in her younger days. Before she'd begun training to become a shinobi, even though she'd barely ever paid attention to anything that anyone inside her hidden village had told her. This she did not care to think of at the moment, and she pushed these thoughts away, blood trickling down from the side of her mouth. She should have been freezing inside the cold morning air, but she wasn't, only noticing the shadows that seemed to move beneath her feet, whispering that she needed to continue forward, instead of falling into the snow and dying from the cold winter air.

This way, this way, something continued to whisper to her. She heard it, but she couldn't decide from which way it was coming from as she searched for the path she knew should have been there. Her mind was spinning, though, the trail of blood behind her calling to predators, while she seemed to walk in circles. She knew this because each time she began moving off her current path something would whisper, no, this way. Come this way. It sounded so soothing, and with her left arm throbbing with pain she didn't know if it were a threat or not—not that she cared at that moment.

The place where she knew her kanji symbol was located burned, and she hissed again, her knees nearly collapsing beneath her. She felt something wrap around her knees, keeping her upright and balanced, before she stumbled. She lifted her foot higher in order to set over a rock, but the tip of her sandal caught on it and she stumbled forward again, something wrapping around her waist in order to pull her to her feet. The whispering continued, telling her to hurry, before the eleven-year-old sped up her movements, though her legs protested from the movements. She'd been walking for so long, the whispering only recently started, her brain feeling like it was beginning to shut down, while something else rose within her.

"Father… wha? What are you doing?" she heard, shaking her head. She remembered what Kikyo had said, after he'd exited from the birthing room, their mother having another child, hopefully a boy. Their father had wanted a boy so badly. She'd been watching from behind a corner, inside the main house—her father loved her even though she was one of the worse shinobi within the family—, as her father walked passed her sister, a kunai gripped tightly in his hand… dripping with blood. There was crying after that, before she'd heard screaming.

Their father had lost his mind… all because the son he thought he was going to have had somehow ended up with brown eyes, instead of his and wife's dark blue. The boy that their mother had birthed had had the eyes of their father's younger brother. She didn't remember much after that, except the fact that soon the whole village was up in flames, the three houses' all screaming as the shadows around them seemed to move and come alive, killing anyone within the village, no matter who they were, what rank they had, or what house they came from. Something had whispered to her then, telling her to run, move, get away, anything as long as she no longer stayed there.

…She… she'd ran into him before she could get away, though.

Red flames lapped around her, the fire bright and moving within the night. He was standing before her, different black masses seeming to rise from the ground around him, before popping like soap bubbles. She'd taken a step back, seeing the crazed look in his dark eyes, before he'd whispered, "Kagome…"

"F-father," she replied. "Father, please, this is madness."

A dark mass rose near her foot, never touching her, but glowing with the fire around her. She felt anger, revenge, and blood lust raging throughout her mind, but it was not her own and it confused her while she un-clipped her holster; ready for anything he threw at her. Her eyes flooded over with tears, having seen him cut her older sister down, before she took a step backward.

"Kagome… my final child…" he whispered. His own eyes were streaming with tears, and he smiled like he used to toward her. "…How do I know you are truly my child, though…? You could be his child and I would never know. That bitch, how dare she lie with a man beneath me," he hissed, lifting his lips like a growling dog.

"Father… I-I—"

"You cannot answer," he growled. "Only she can answer, but I dispatched her myself. Your whore of a mother is gone, and in order to remove the taint from my village I must remove you as well, my little one. You came from the woman who willing gave herself to one beneath me. I am the leader of our house, yet she gave herself to a lesser man. You, Kikyo… and little Souta, were the results."

"No," Kagome said. "I am your daughter."

Something sliced into her arm, before his eyes narrowed. "No, nothing tainted shall ever call themselves mine. You are hers, not mine. You shall die this day, bastard child, and then the village shall be pure once more." Kagome had cried out in pain, the left sleeve of her haori fallen to the ground, blood suddenly spraying into the air and onto the ground. She nearly fell forward, but managed to pull herself from whatever had attacked her, before turning her teary eyes toward the one she knew deep down was truly her father.

"You're wrong, father," Kagome, tilting her head downward, whispered. She felt something inside of her bloom, before she seemed to pass out. It could have minutes, it could have been hours, but she awoke later, standing completely upright over her father's body, his blood dripping from his body and into the soil, her sandals completely covered in it. She'd stepped through it, listening to buildings falling, while the dark masses continued to move around her—at first she didn't realize why, until she realized it was her own shadow.

Gripping her arm tighter, she coughed, leaning so that her body was leaning onto her knees. She could barely move her left arm without it hurting; feeling like it was going to fall off, actually. She knew that there was still blood on the side of her sandals, and on her leg bandaging, but she didn't care. It was proof that she'd survived, she'd taken on the leader of her house and won, when everyone else had fallen by his hands. It proved that she was the strongest, and her heart only ached for everyone else, but not that man, no.

This way, come this way, she nearly whispered herself. She nearly tripped over her own feet for a moment, before shaking off the daze that had filled her mind. However, it felt like darkness was beginning to sweep into her mind, and she did whisper, "This way. Continue this way. You'll be safe this way… you'll find those who will protect you. This way." She didn't even realize she'd said it until she gripped her head, wondering what was wrong with her.

Maybe she was a bastard child? Perhaps there was something wrong with her, or maybe it was the darkness that was beginning to make her believe she was going insane. Perhaps it was killing her father, or perhaps it was from watching her entire village die by his hand. She didn't know what it was, but she continued forward, gritting her teeth in order to keep the pain from registering completely in her mind. Kagome allowed her eyes to harden, pushing herself forward, feeling her leg muscles tense upon her determination, knowing that she'd somehow make it through.

As long as she didn't fall into the snow and stay there, she'd be fine; she'd survive. She'd freeze within the snow, though. Either that or some animal would sneak up upon her and devour her once it killed her in her sleep. She wasn't willing to give up her life for something like that, thus she pushed herself to her limits, knowing that her chakra was dangerously low, her body was ready to give up, and her mind was beginning to ask her why she was continuing.

The area around her seemed to grow darker, and she felt her chakra spike, trying to revive itself in order to keep her moving. She noticed that the darkness around her feet darkened, expanding deeper into the forest, before she felt dirt beneath her feet, the crunching of snow no longer present. She blinked in surprise, thinking for a moment that she'd seen white with swirling red, before looking down to see the path she'd spent nearly a day digging up from underneath thick snow.

Blood seemed to burst from her wound, before she cried out, something seeming to drain away from her as the darkness faded from around her, the whispering dying away from her mind. She fell to her knees, the colors she swore she saw moments before returning to her vision, when she felt powerful chakra surround her. She tensed completely, trying to bring herself to her feet when she felt the soft shifting of feet traveling her way.

She would not be an easy target for another!

Her body shook from the effort, her chakra beginning to weaken completely. She knew this was a very bad situation, and she needed rest in order to regain her strength, her chakra, and her will to move. However, there was something coming her way, it sounded human, and she felt like she was a sitting target waiting for any shinobi to come by and pick her off. She knew there was a chance she would die if she continued this way, but she didn't care as long as she died with honor. Hell, she'd probably die if she ended up sleeping, and though the need for sleep began becoming more and more needful she still tried to stand, gulping hard from the effort, beginning to feel the need for water.

The white of her vision became stronger, red swirling around within the white, before she saw a figure set into her path. Her body shook harder, obviously drained off all its will to move, before she felt like her knees were buckling underneath her. However, she felt her strength growing within her, and pushed herself up onto her hunches, staring at the figure that came into view as a young boy, perhaps a few years older than herself. Watching him stop before her, she pushed herself up until she was nearly standing, shaking harder.

The fingers around her arm tightened, before falling away, blood falling from the fingertips of her left hand. She wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to use it again, but as she breathed deeply, trying to calm her pounding heart, she reached for the holster attached to her thigh. Before she touched it, though, the sun finally peaked over the horizon, and she hissed with pain, her eyes feeling like they were being burned. She closed them, bringing her haori sleeve up to block the sun, taking her eyes away from the figure before her, before the pain finally swam through her body, and she blacked out.

The crackling of a fire entered her ears, before she finally began opening her eyes. Everything seemed hazy and out of focus, within moments, however, the night sky came into her view through the trees. It didn't register to her that she'd been out for at least a day or more, simply that she was not alone, and she tensed with this knowledge, finally feeling hands touching her skin. She didn't seem to notice that she was not lying in the snow, but on top of some type of fabric, all she noticed was that her feeling was beginning to come back and that someone was touching her wounded arm. She turned her eyes to look at the boy next to her. She got nothing from looking at him about his age, or his appearance, only the red eyes that were staring at her; the eyes that seemed to be of a demon's, yet stared at her with no emotion.

She tried to pull her arm from his grip, only for him to tighten his hold, continuing to wrap the new bandaging to her fingers. She hissed in pain, glaring at him for a moment, before realizing that she wasn't dead. Her mind began coming into focus, and she realized that she could have died, but she wasn't… but how? Surely this silent boy had not saved her. Or had he?

Relaxing a bit, she felt movement return to her, before she finally turned her head in order to take him in completely. She could not tell his age, but noticed that he carried a strong presence, while his chakra seemed to crackle in the air around them. His onyx hair seemed to blend into the dark sky above them, while his red eyes merely watched what he was doing. He didn't seem to have a scratch on him, but that was not what made her wish to blush within his gaze when he finally turned his emotionless eyes toward her.

"…Why?" she whispered, hearing the silent voices return to her mind, the shadows of the night rippling upon her call. Fog formed before her mouth upon her words, when she realized that he was wearing thin clothing, and the cloak she'd seen him wearing was wrapped around her. It blocked the cold, but she frowned at the slight shiver of his skin.

He said nothing.

Frowning deeper, Kagome continued, "You must be so cold…" She noticed that he remained silent, continuing to wrap her arm, until he was finally done and placed it back at her side. She watched him sit in front of her, watching her with his strange demon-like eyes, before turning his attention to the fire at her right. When she turned her eyes to look at the fire as well, she heard him speak, his voice cold and distant.

"It is not that cold," he replied.

She snapped her head to look at him, finally noticing the headband he wore. Her eyes widened upon seeing the slash through the symbol, her mind clicking to the information of what that meant, before she allowed her frown to slip into nothingness. Surely he could not be that evil, if he'd saved her from the cold and blood loss. "You were once apart of the Village Hidden in the Leaves…?" True, the slash only meant that he'd once been apart of the village and was no longer loyal to it, but she had a pretty good idea that he might be an S-Rank Criminal, or a missing-nin. She could be wrong, though. Most members of an organization known as Akatsuki put slashes through their headbands symbol, but she didn't see their ring on his finger. So… he was simply not loyal to his village and he might or might not be an S-Rank Criminal. That was certainly interesting.

He merely nodded.

"What did you do?" she asked. She kept her voice quiet, remembering how he'd sounded the first time he'd spoke, when she'd spoke in a normal tone of voice. She'd always been one to tell what a person liked and what they didn't, and it was clear to her he liked quiet. She would have to remember that until her strength returned to her.

He glanced at her, "I killed my entire clan in order to test my strength." He turned away from her then, listening to the crackling of the fire, wondering to himself why he'd saved her at all. Obviously she was more powerful than she seemed at first glance, but right now she was weak and useless. He hated weakness. He noticed that she said nothing, before turning to look at her again, "Does that not bother you?"

"…No," she said. She smirked a little, "I killed my father after he destroyed my entire village. He destroyed it in order to remove the taint that my mother had placed upon us by sleeping with my uncle and birthing the son for him, when it was obvious it was not created by him. He lost himself to insanity, and killed everyone, no matter who they were—even his true children—before he tried to kill me. I killed him in order to survive."

She stopped after that, turning her attention to the stars. Even with the fire it was still easy to see them, and she watched as one shot across the sky, which caused her to smile. Strange that she managed to smile in the presence of a stranger after listening and watching her so-called-father kill everyone she'd ever known. Maybe that one star was a sign, though. Because she thought this she turned her eyes until he came back into her line of sight, asking, "Why did you save me?"

He seemed to think this over, before saying, "You're not weak."

Strange choice of words, but she seemed to understand it nonetheless. Nodding a little, she said, "I see." With that she began listening to the sounds of the night, thankful that her left arm no longer hurt and that she would probably be able to use it after all. However, she narrowed her eyes in thought, and added, "My name is Kagome."

"Itachi," was all he said. Kagome nodded, allowing her eyes to drift close. She felt something touch her, before cracking her eyes to watch as his shadow seemed to move around her and touch her hand. It whispered it her, causing her to smile in response. Even if she gave up contact with all living humans she would never be alone, because the darkness whispered to her.

Her Kekkei Genkai had been activated, and she had no idea what it was.

Chapter One:

A Human Shadow

The sun rose above the horizon; causing the shadows to shrink away, almost shriek inside her mind, as she shot up, confused and bewildered about where she was. She shivered, the cold biting against the skin that she had carelessly allowed herself to slip out of the cloak wrapped around her during the night. Without much thought she clutched the cloak closer to her, almost wondering where she'd gotten it. After her hand came up to grip her hair, wondering why she could hear shrieking, though, she remembered it all. Her brother's birth, her father's insanity, his death, stumbling through the forest, and the boy with the demon-like eyes; she remembered all of that, though some of it was a bit blurry.

Her head was light from the noise inside of it, but she tried to ignore it as she swung her head around, trying to see through the brightness of the new day. Once focused, she noticed that the boy, Itachi, was staring at her, almost like he had been up most of the night. He didn't seem to be tired, though, and even sat with his back against a tree trunk, far enough away from the fire that she was sure he wouldn't feel its warmth.

Obviously he either was a demon, or he didn't care that it was winter. Whichever it was she was sure that the cold didn't bother him, even if he did shiver every once in a while. If it did bother him he probably would have brought heavier clothing then what he was currently wearing. She shook her head, trying to get these thoughts to leave her alone, the screaming inside her head beginning to become overpowering. Far worse than her concern for his health, which was important, but the screaming was beginning to make her skull feel like it would split in two.

He stared at her, wondering why she suddenly shot up, or why she was gripping her hair, baring her teeth like fangs. There seemed to be something wrong with her, other than the fact that she was still very low on chakra. He could tell that she had an unnaturally high amount, for she'd managed to not only find her way onto the path he'd found her on wounded, but she'd managed to heal herself within her sleep. On top of that she was constantly using chakra when she'd cocooned herself while she slept, though it had dissipated before she awoke. Obviously she didn't realize she was even doing that, but it was interesting to watch the shadows around her reach up from the ground on their own accord to touch her.

The girl was certainly interesting.