I'm back with an ItaIzu moment! This one is kind of angsty. Sorry for the delayed updates, I have no excuses besides the fact that I sometimes have a confidence issue with my writing. Trying not to let it get to me!

I don't own Naruto.

Beads of sweat formed on Izumi Uchiha's forehead as she willed her aching legs to carry her faster through the outskirts of town. She had set off on a mission of her own, and would carry it out no matter what. She would find Itachi Uchiha if it was the last thing she did.

If said Uchiha was as ruthless as everyone made him out to be, she was almost certainly rushing to her death.

It had been five years since she'd come home early from a sudden mission, to find her mother laying in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor. Izumi felt sick to her stomach as she recalled the strong smell of blood that had filled the air. Blood and gore had been a fact of life for her, as it was for all shinobi. However, knowing who it came from had made it all the more sickening. She'd barely had time to register that her mother had been brutally slaughtered before Itachi came out of the shadows. He had looked a little surprised to see her. Izumi hadn't even had a chance to ask 'why' before Itachi knocked her out with his Tsukuyomi.

Upon waking up the next morning and realizing her entire clan had been slaughtered, except for her and Sasuke, she couldn't believe it. How could a man who loathed violence so much be responsible for such bloodshed? She'd known Itachi for years, and could never have imagined him doing such a thing. Even after seeing him standing over her mother with her own eyes, and hearing horrifying details from Sasuke, it was just unbelievable.

Izumi told herself that it was all a lie, that he had to have been under the control of some powerful genjutsu. It had to be some kind of mind control. The man she knew, the man she loved, was not just a cold-blooded killer. There had to be more to it.

A flash of red caught her eye among the lush green trees, and Izumi slowed to a stop in a small clearing. She could barely hold back a gasp as she spotted none other than Itachi resting against a tree, staring right at her. It was near dinner time, and he was alone. Izumi could only assume that his partner she'd heard about had gone searching for food before turning in for the night.

If Itachi was surprised to see her, he definitely didn't show it. A wave of nausea took over Izumi as she took a moment to survey his appearance. He was as handsome as ever, but had a cold look about him. He wore a black robe covered in red clouds, which Izumi guessed was the uniform of the Akatsuki organization she'd heard about earlier.

"It's really you," Izumi said softly, breaking the silence.

"It's been a while," Itachi replied nonchalantly.

The girl's eyes narrowed slightly at his relaxed tone. Was he really expecting her? Did her presence mean nothing to him?

"You don't seem very surprised to see me."

"My foolish brother came running after me after he caught wind of my showing up. I could only assume you'd do the same."

"How could you do that to him!? How could you do that to us!? You murdered the entirety of our clan, and then show up only to beat the snot out of your little brother! I thought you loved him! Why spare only us!?" Izumi yelled, cursing herself as tears began welling up in her eyes.

Word of Itachi showing up in Konoha had spread quickly amongst the village. Izumi had quickly made her way to the town she'd heard Itachi and Kisame were last seen in, but it was too late. Upon reaching the hotel, she'd found Naruto with Jiraiya and Guy. Over the toad sage's shoulder was a badly beaten Sasuke. She could barely believe her ears after hearing what had transpired, and ignored the cries of "Stop, don't go!" from the three as she took off to find Itachi.

"I owe you no explanations. Though, if you must know, my efforts would have been wasted on you both," he replied coldly.

Izumi couldn't hold back the gasp that escaped her. Overcome with anger at his insinuation that she was weak, she activated her sharingan. Doing so made her feel slightly woozy, but she shook it off quickly. Thankfully, years of practice had made her able to maintain the sharingan for longer periods.

"I see you can finally activate your sharingan without passing out. Impressive. Now what?" he coldly remarked, raising an eyebrow at her.

Inwardly, Itachi willed Izumi to simply go away. He hadn't expected Sasuke to show up earlier in the day, and that whole ordeal was painful enough. After seeing Sasuke, he could only assume Izumi would track him down as well. Unfortunately, he ended up being right. It was almost too much. He never wanted to hurt his little brother, but it had to be done. He didn't want to hurt Izumi, too.

'I'm so sorry,' he thought.

Izumi wordlessly advanced toward Itachi, though she had no killing intent radiating from her. She was much more calm about meeting him than his brother had been, that was for sure. Even so, Itachi kept his guard up. It'd been a long time since they'd last seen each other, and a shinobi could never be too careful. Though, what she did next caught even Itachi off guard.

She stopped in front of him and bravely looked into his eyes.

Surprised by her boldness, or perhaps foolishness, Itachi willed himself to hold her gaze. He had to maintain his cold demeanor. He had to drive her away.

"Fight me," she commanded.

"No."

"Why not? You could kill me easily if you wanted to," she challenged, placing her hands on her hips.

'I don't want to kill you. I don't want to hurt you. I want to hold you.'

"Were you not listening? My efforts would have been wasted on you before, and now is no different. I have no interest in you," he hissed, inwardly cringing at his cracking facade.

"You're lying. I always thought something wasn't right. When I saw what you had done to Sasuke earlier today, I almost thought I'd been wrong. But, there's pain in your eyes. You're hiding something," Izumi replied softly, never breaking her gaze.

No longer able to look at her, Itachi closed his eyes and took a deep breath. She'd always known him so well, but there was no turning back. His fate was sealed, and Izumi needed to move on with her life. Opening his eyes and looking at her with new determination, he spoke before he could talk himself out of it.

"I don't care about what you think you know. Go away and forget about me. Don't appear in front of me again."

"You can send me away, but I'll never forget about you," she responded.

'I'm sorry for what I'm about to do.'

"I'll never forget about you, either," Itachi murmured.

The girl's eyes widened, and Itachi didn't know why he said it. All he knew was that he had to say something, anything. His eyes bled red, and he inwardly cursed himself as he unleashed his Tsukuyomi on her, just as he did years ago.

He caught her as she lost consciousness, and gently laid her against a tree. If Kisame found them like this, there would be trouble. Itachi had to find him first.

As Itachi walked away, he couldn't help but take one last glance back at the girl who had loved him unconditionally.

"I'm sorry," he said to the wind, before walking away.

Sorry if this isn't my best work, but I wanted to get something out to you guys! I know a few people want a more mature chapter, so I'll try and get that out soon. Thanks for reading!