Hello again! I hope your day is going nicely! For me, everything seems to be in order, and life is good! :) If you're having a bad day, I hope it gets better darling! :)

Itachi appeared at The Cliff. "The Cliff" being the place where eight-year-old Shisui and Itachi met. This little incident became known as the Nara Deer Incident between the two.

It was an honest and complete accident, what had happened. Though of course, it left a lasting impression on both boys...

Itachi had just had his 6th birthday, and had decided to spend his day exploring the woodland area outside of the village. Unluckily, Itachi had unknowingly stumbled into the Nara woods.

Of course, Itachi had been told of many stories of trespassers, thieves, murderers, and many other unfortunate souls who would wander into the forest, and never return to see the light of day.

Obviously he never thought that he'd be one of those people.

His parents always warned him about entering the woods without the Nara's permission. They told him of the people who didn't heed this warning, and went into the woods.

Now though, as he wandered through the dark woods as a child, he realized he should've listened to his parents. A very large herd of deer had been following him for quite some time. Whether they were observing him, or waiting to kill him, Itachi had yet to find out.

Maybe the animals sensed that he really didn't mean to end up here. Maybe they sensed that he never meant to explore these lands, and rather than killing him, they were in fact herding him along, away from their sacred forest.

Whatever their intentions, Itachi didn't want to know.

As he ran in fear from the animals, he failed to notice the faint sound of water in the background which was beginning to grow louder and louder.

Suddenly, he ran face-first into a person.

Itachi fell unceremoniously onto the dirt. Looking up at the person, for a second, he was worried that it was a Nara, and that he was going to get in huge trouble.

The person turned around, and looked at the small boy on the ground at their feet.

The mystery person was in a hurry to get out of here. He was normally very laid-back, and hardly ever caused mischief, yet today, for some unknown reason, his classmates had irked him enough where he decided to do something very dangerous and very stupid.

His classmates were taunting him viciously, saying that he wouldn't accomplish anything ever. Calling him stupid, and dumb. Finally, he said that he'd go into the Nara forest and take one of the deer's antlers.

Of course, now he was questioning why he'd ever let their childish insults get to his head.

He'd never let their words get to his head before. So why now?

Well, the past is in the past, and he was currently in the present. He needed to keep on task or else he'd probably get impaled by the sharp antlers of the deer. Yes, it would be quite embarrassing to go back to his classmates empty-handed, but he'd rather be empty-handed than to have no hands at all...or arms...or legs...or a head...

Obviously, he was prepared to fight off an army of deer. He did not expect a snot-nosed little kid to run into him.

Turning around, he was surprised to find that the little boy didn't look afraid.

Well, he did. But not afraid of the deer...rather the boy looked afraid of him.

"What in Kami's name are you doing here?!" He snapped. The boy narrowed his eyes.

"I could ask you the same thing." The little child shot back. He blinked in surprise.

The little midget child had sass.

"Long story." He replied. The little boy continued to stare into his eyes. It was slightly unnerving.

He over the little boy's shoulder as he asked, "Do you know the way out of here?"

The boy shook his head. "Nope. I guess you don't either?"

He shook his head.

"Great." The little boy huffed, then suddenly held out his small hand. "My name is Itachi. Who are you?"

He stared at the boy's hand for a moment, then hesitantly shook it. Was this a genjutsu? What the hell was a child doing in the Nara forest? And why wasn't he already dead?

"I'm Shisui."

Itachi smiled at Shisui.

"I know you. You're from the Uchiha clan right?"

Shisui narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Something seemed unusual...

"How'd you know?"

"I've seen you around the district before."

"You've seen me around the district? Wait...Do I know you?" Shisui asked. Itachi winked at him.

"You should."

"Who-?"

Just then, the bushes rustled, and the herd that had been following Itachi burst through the undergrowth.

"Dammit." Shisui mumbled. He needed an antler, but couldn't kill any of the deer. If he did, the Nara would find out via deer, and then a war between the Uchiha and Nara would ensue.

All because he killed some dumb deer.

He never meant to be trailed by wild animals like he was some scared bunny rabbit. He just wanted to prove his snarky classmates wrong.

He heard a whoosh a breath pass from Itachi's lips.

Escaping was out of the question since they were backed against a cliff. Jumping off of the cliff was out since there was a raging river at the bottom of the cliff, not to mention the monstrous waterfall that would make it nearly impossible to escape the river without being dashed against sharp rocks and trees. Also, the deer were blocking their path in front of them. So they'd have to fight their way through.

"Alright, can you fight?" Shisui asked.

Itachi looked at him confused. "Of course I can. Is there any reason I shouldn't?"

"Well, any normal kid normally is about as useful as a sack of potatoes in a battle."

"A sack of potatoes could be useful."

"No. They couldn't."

"Yes they could!"

The deer inched closer to the boys, slowly surrounding them and cutting off every mean of escape.

"Why are we even having this discussion?" Shisui said exasperatedly.

"You're the one who brought up potatoes in the first place. You said they aren't useful."

"I didn't say that! I said a kid is normally about as useful as a sack of potato-!"

"Exactly. Which means that I'm very useful."

That was when, what Shisui assumed was the leader of the herd, stepped forward. It's eyes were blank, empty, and completely devoid of all emotion. It's eyes reminded Shisui of his dead brother-

No. You're not allowed to think about that. Not now. Not ever.

Shisui took a deep, calming breath and stepped forward to face off with the deer.

Perhaps, this entire situation would seem comical if the deer were not indeed the reincarnations of the previously dead Nara clan members.

This tidbit of information was a closely guarded secret of the clan for centuries. The only reason Shisui knew about it was because he happened to know a Nara clan member who had very loose lips...Especially after getting drunk off of Shisui's father's supply of alcohol.

The incarnations were exactly the same as they'd been when they were living humans. Same sense of purpose, intelligence, and general aura of knowledge.

Which basically meant that Shisui and his new friend were colossally dead.

"Um...Shisui?" Itachi asked, eyeing the deer off to his left warily. "What are you going to to do?"

The deer and Shisui were locked in a silent battle of wills. If the deer won, they would die, and then their deaths would be mourned, yet they'd have brought shame upon their clan. If Shisui won...

Well, they probably still have to fight for their lives. But they'd still have a much better chance of survival.

Suddenly, the deer did the most unexpected thing ever.

It bent it's knee and bowed.

The first thought to go through Shisui's panicked mind was, 'What the hell?'

The deer of the Nara forest guarded it with hoof and antler. Any uninvited trespassers were immediately hunted down by the large herd and slaughtered, sometimes brutally.

Right now, his mind was having trouble processing what was going on. The only reason they'd show any form of compassion towards them was if a Nara member had granted them access.

Which neither boys received any sort of permission, so what the hell?

"Uh..." Shisui meant to bravely ask what was happening, however he couldn't form the words. They seemed to be getting trapped in his throat.

"What...is going on?" He looked around at the rest of the herd. They had surrounded the boys, and were all bowing, same as their leader.

"I think they are trying to tell us something." Itachi's voice came from behind him.

"What makes you think that?"

"Look."

Shisui turned around to see two deer oddly connected together by their antlers. For a moment, he crazily thought that the deer were stuck. No, if they had gotten stuck together, the Nara would've helped them.

"Are they...holding a set of antlers?" Itachi asked, confusion evident in his voice.

Shisui then realized, indeed, that they were holding a set of antlers and presenting it to them.

Why though?

"I believe they are." Shisui responded, then took a cautious step forward.

"Careful." Itachi warned. Shisui almost laughed. A 6 year-old was telling 8 year-old to be careful.

He stepped forward, and slowly approached the deer holding the antlers. Shisui watched the deer, to see if they would stand up and attack. However, they did not move at all.

So, when Shisui was now directly in front of the deer, and within hoof-whacking distance, he ever so slowly reached out to take the antlers from the deer.

The herd made no move to stop him. They continued to kneel, silently and statuesque.

Shisui, wrapped his hand around the base of the antlers, and then yanked them away and jumped back to his former place next to Itachi.

"Why did they give us antlers?" Itachi asked.

Shisui didn't answer. He continued to watch the herd for any signs of aggression. Yet they made no act of anger towards the two boys.

Suddenly, the herd simultaneously began to retreat from the cliff, leaving a confused Shisui, and very confused Itachi.

"What was that about? Why didn't they try to attack us?" Itachi asked. Shisui looked at the antlers in his hands, and decided not to question their strange and unusually good stroke of luck.

Rather, he turned to little Itachi, and grabbing him, did the hand seals to reappear near the Uchiha district.

"Hey!" Itachi protested. Shisui released him, still staring at the antlers.

"Don't grab me like that!" He huffed, then realized that Shisui wasn't listening to him. So he decided to inspect Shisui's new trophy instead.

"Wow...it looks so cool!" He said with a smile.

"Yea...It does." Shisui mumbled, stroking the smooth pearl-like antlers.

"What are you going to do with it?"

Shisui was quiet, thinking of his peers at the school.

To hell with trying to impress them.

"Here." Shisui held out the antlers to Itachi, who's eyes widened to a extreme amount.

"Really? You're giving them to me?!" He said gleefully. Shisui smiled.

Itachi's child-like innocent and pure happiness was much better to see than his classmates smug grins.

"I don't need it. They're yours, little guy."

"I'm not little! Don't call me little guy!" Itachi snapped immediately. Shisui chuckled, and held out his hand.

"Do you want to be friends?" He asked. Itachi looked at Shisui's outstretched hand, then to his smiling face.

" 'Cause honestly, you're pretty cool for a 6 year-old-Hey!" Shisui was interrupted by little Itachi hugging him tightly.

"Of course I'll be your friend!"

Shisui rolled his eyes at Itachi's childishness, but couldn't help but admire the little kid for his obvious strength and bravery.

Itachi couldn't believe it. He'd made a friend who actually liked him...

Itachi shook his head to clear it of the memory. It was a slightly happy, slightly sad memory. It was slightly happy because he met Shisui and they became friends, but slightly sad because he remembered the ever-constant feeling of loneliness, and then the joy of making a friend.

That seemed so long ago. It seemed like a million years had passed since that time of purity and child-like innocence.

Now, Itachi knew far too much to be considered anything close to a child. He could never regain that beautiful devotion and love for the world and everything in it.

Especially now that he knew what the world truly was.

Itachi finally stopped on the cliff by the waterfall in the Nara woods. The deer were no where in sight, and neither was Shisui.

Itachi stood there silently, until he heard someone behind him. He whipped around to see Shisui...covering his right eye, which was profusely dripping with blood.

"Shisui-san." He breathed. "What happened?"

"I apologize Itachi-kun, but there is little time to explain."

"Explain what? You don't have to explain anything, we just need to get you help-"

"No." Shisui interrupted. "I told you, there's no time."

Shisui could see that Itachi's eyes reflected the same pain that existed in his own dark eyes. That pain of realizing something terrible was going to happen, and there was nothing that could be done.

"Shisui-san, what happened to your eye?"

"Danzo-sama." Shisui replied evenly. Itachi's eyes narrowed. "When I tried to stop the coup d'etat using the Kotoamatsukami, Danzo stole my right eye. He doesn't trust me...and rightfully so." Shisui let out a pained chuckle at his own words. Itachi continued to stand silently, listening to Shisui.

"So I decided to protect the village in my own way. He'll probably try to get my left eye as well...I'll give it to you before that happens." There was a sickening wet pop, as Shisui pulled out his left eye.

Itachi couldn't move.

"You're my best friend...the only one I can ask this. Please protect the village, and the Uchiha name." Shisui said, a smile breaking his stoic expression as he held out his left eye to Itachi.

Itachi stared at Shisui's closed hand, then reluctantly took the eye from his hand.

"Shisui..."

"You'll need to leave a note for the clan letting them know that I am dead. Preferably something heroic sounding." Shisui said dryly.

"Wait, you're-?"

"Yes, you know what has to be done." Shisui took a blind step backwards towards the edge of the cliff.

"No..."

"It has to be this way, Itachi. Protect the clan. Protect the Uchiha." Shisui took a deep breath. The blood from his eyes dripping over his lips and down his cheeks.

"I will." He replied.

Suddenly, Shisui took a few steps back, and with a sad faraway smile on his face, plummeted over the edge of the cliff before Itachi could tell him to stop or to rethink things.

Instead, he ran over and managed to catch the last glimpse of his friend as he disappeared in the river forever.

So this is what Shisui wanted him for...

Itachi could feel another panic attack coming on, and hurriedly turned away from the cliff and it's dark waters, and his dead friend. So he began to take deep breaths once again, and tried to not let this get to his head. He had a mission to carry out.

And he had to carry out Shisui's dying words as well.

Itachi finally managed to get a hold of his emotions. Taking another breath, he managed to clear his head with only one thought...

'Protect the Uchiha.'

Yay. I finished.