True Love Is...
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
"True love is all in the timing."
Pairing: ItaIno
Comments: Requested by Anonymous
When Ibiki called her in for an emergency meeting at two in the morning, Ino knew something was wrong. Her mentor wouldn't call her away from her father's sick bed unless the situation was truly dire, to the point where all other options had been exhausted to no avail.
"There you are," Ibiki barked.
"What's going on?" Ino asked.
Mitarashi Anko and Aburame Shino were also present and sitting at a table over coffee. Beyond them stood a closed iron door and a one-way glass window looking into the adjoining interrogation room. Ibiki motioned for Ino to come inside, and Ino closed the door behind them.
"Yamanaka," Ibiki began. "What you're about to witness is to remain absolutely confidential, no exceptions. The Hokage wants this taken care of discreetly before a decision is made about his fate."
"Yes, sir," she said, although on the inside she was now thoroughly curious. Most interrogations were top secret, but Ibiki never got this riled unless the case was particularly hard to crack. Judging from the bags under his eyes and Anko's don't-fuck-with-me aura, it was obvious that they'd been at it for a while now to little avail.
"All right. Come with me."
Ibiki walked to the heavy iron door separating the meeting room from the interrogation room, and Ino found herself suddenly dreading whatever was on the other side. She'd done this kind of thing many times before, so why the cold feet? Hyuuga Neji was already in the room standing guard. The vision of the prisoner that greeted her in the cramped interrogation room, however, made her trepidation seem like a child's worries compared to the reality of this situation.
He was dirty and disheveled, his clothing shredded in some areas and exposing too-pale skin underneath. The uniform she would have expected to see on him was gone, leaving him clad only in nondescript black. Spindly fingers sat clasped tightly together, his wrists bound by chakra suppressing cuffs. If she looked hard enough, she could make out the heavy bruising beneath the shackles, a symptom of wearing the cuffs for too long. When she stepped into the room behind Ibiki, he didn't bother looking up. He wouldn't be able to see them through the thick blindfold, anyway.
Ino remembered thinking in that instant when she took in his visible features that she was looking at the ghost of an old friend.
"Uchiha Itachi," Ibiki said gruffly.
Not Sasuke, Ino thought to herself. She felt silly for thinking this could be Sasuke even for that fleeting second. Even blindfolded, it was obvious that he wasn't the missing Rookie. Itachi's lips were cracked and slightly parted, as if he couldn't breathe in enough air to satisfy him. Ino swallowed, suddenly more wary than she'd been before his identity had been revealed. This man was supposed to be the stuff of nightmares.
"Come to try again?" he said.
It was bizarre, but he sounded almost resigned for someone who clearly hadn't given into Ibiki. Blue eyes narrowed as she stared at the side of his head. This man was a criminal, a murderer, and the reason Sasuke had defected so many years ago. And now, by some miracle, he was a prisoner of Konoha. Ino almost wanted to laugh in his face. Here sat the great Uchiha Itachi, kinslayer and tormenter, Konoha's most notorious missing nin, and he was chained up and blinded like a common thug.
How the mighty have fallen.
"Take a seat, Yamanaka," Ibiki instructed.
Ino walked to the chair across the table from Itachi, and she didn't miss the way his hands clenched a little harder upon hearing her family name.
He knows what's coming, she thought. Somehow, the thought that this might actually affect him didn't make her feel any better about having to infiltrate his mind. She slid into the seat with little sound, now directly facing Itachi.
Ibiki put a hand on her shoulder while Neji remained standing by the door, watching Itachi for any sudden movements. "Go through everything from the time of the Uchiha massacre until now," Ibiki commanded.
Ino swallowed. That was years and years of memories, she thought to herself. This would take a few weeks of work. She didn't relish the thought of depleting her chakra over and over for this at all. "It would go faster with the amplification device," she said.
"The fewer people who know about this the better," Ibiki said. "I can't afford to involve the rest of the team right now."
Ino pressed her lips together. Even though she'd been expecting as much, it didn't lift her spirits any to know that she was basically going to be doing this alone.
"You're wasting your time," Itachi said suddenly. "Surely you don't think I haven't taken measures to safeguard my memories."
There it was again, Ino thought. He sounded tired, almost bored with this, as though he was simply trying to make them see how futile this all was. Well, if he thought this would dissuade her from doing what she did best, he was sorely mistaken. This was her area of expertise, and not even the great Uchiha Itachi could resist a mindwalker forever.
"If you think some little traps can keep me out," Ino said evenly, "then you're sorely underestimating me. And they say that underestimation is a kunoichi's greatest weapon."
She stared at the blindfold, imagining scarlet eyes glaring back at her had he not been shielded from view. In that moment, Ino realized that she hated this man. He'd never done her or her family any wrong, nor would he have ever had reason to, but the fact that he was the cause of Sasuke's fall from grace and, by extension, her best friend's misery in the wake of Sasuke's defection, was reason enough. His mere existence was repulsive to her. She wished he could see the disgust on her face right now.
Itachi released a soft breath. "Very well. Do your worst."
Ino's pride flared at the blatant challenge. She'd never had a problem proving herself to others; in a largely male-dominated profession, it came with the job. If anything, she relished in the challenge. "I always do."
Nodding to Ibiki, she executed a familiar set of hand seals and initiated the mind reading technique. Leaning forward, Ino placed glowing hands over Itachi's bound ones, ignoring the urge to recoil at how cold they were.
These hands killed Sasuke's entire family.
She pushed the thought out of her mind as her consciousness was sucked inside the mind of the elusive kinslayer. After the free falling rollercoaster sensation, Ino found her balance and looked around. She was at the entrance of a long corridor extending too far for the eye to see. On either side of the narrow space sat doors, all closed, and each with a date engraved on the front. Each door represented a memory, and all she had to do was find the right ones while dismantling any traps along the way.
Ignoring the draft, Ino set off down the hall at a brisk pace, checking the dates on the doors she passed by. They jumped around, as most memories tended to blend large chunks of time together. Sometimes, however, a singular event stood out so clearly in the mind that it had its own memory door. She passed a door that was dated only yesterday, a few hours ago, and figured that must be Itachi's recollection of his capture.
After several minutes of walking and too many doors to count, Ino came upon one that was isolated and releasing a faint glow. Immediately recognizing this memory to be rigged, she approached the door. It was dated several years ago, back when she would have still been a Genin. Frowning, she peered at the date more closely, wondering why it seemed so familiar.
"Go ahead, take another step."
For a moment, all the breath left Ino's body at the sound of another voice. Clenching her fists, she slowly turned to regard the intruder. "You're not supposed to be here."
Itachi's mental apparition was leaning against the opposite wall, studying her with an air of casual observation that a friend might employ. But Ino knew this was anything but friendly. Several thoughts registered in her mind at that point. The first was that Itachi clearly had much more chakra than the special restraining cuffs could sap, meaning he must be drawing on reserves from somewhere. The second was that he wasn't blindfolded in here, and though she was ninety-nine percent certain that he wouldn't be able to attack her in this state, the glow of the Sharingan was no less reassuring. The third thing she noticed, now that she had a look at him as he was meant to appear, was that he looked nothing like Sasuke at all.
"You're younger than I imagined you would be," he said.
Ino faced him fully. "Whatever you think you're doing, it's not going to work. I don't have time to chat with a prisoner."
He said nothing to that, and Ino decided that this was not the time to argue with a literal figment of her imagination. Turning her attention back to the door, she summoned chakra to her hands and began examining the structure of the trap in order to dismantle it without disturbing the memory it guarded. A few moments of silence passed as she worked.
A prickling sensation on her neck told her that Itachi was watching her carefully, but he made no move to stop her. Odd, she thought. He could attempt to push her out of the way at the very least, she thought, even if he couldn't hope to do much damage when she was in control of this technique in the first place. After some more tinkling with the trap and nearly burning herself when she released a little too much chakra, the trap disintegrated and the door lost its ominous glow. Ino smirked at her handiwork and reached out to twist the doorknob.
A cold hand clamped over her wrist, stopping her from opening the door. Forcing herself not to overreact and attack him, she fixed annoyed blue eyes on Itachi. "Let go of me," she said softly, the threat lingering in her tone.
Ruby eyes looked down at her, taking in her features in a way that made Ino feel small. She held his gaze defiantly; there was no way she'd let some apparition intimidate her.
"Everything you see in here is just as it happened," he said softly. "There are no illusions in memory."
Ino opened her mouth to respond to that, but closed it again. What the heck was that supposed to mean? Altering one's own memories was impossible, which was why interrogation of the mind was usually the be all end all of torture and interrogation. He was just telling her what she already knew.
Yanking her hand out of his grasp, she said, "I'm counting on it." Without sparing him another moment of her attention, she turned the knob and pushed open the door.
"Uchiha Itachi. I'm going to kill you."
Ino stared in shock at the scene unravelling before her. A twelve-year-old Sasuke stood at the far end of the hallway glaring daggers at Itachi, who was dressed in his customary Akatsuki garb. Itachi's partner, Hoshigaki Kisame, if Ino recalled correctly, was also there, as was a younger Naruto looking scared out of his mind.
Of course, Ino thought to herself. This must be from that day when Itachi infiltrated Konoha and fought Asuma and the others.
She'd visited Sasuke in the hospital after the fact, and she remembered thinking how unreal it was for one man to take out all three male members of Team 7 without even breaking a sweat.
"Just like you said." His hand began to glow with blossoming electricity. "I've hated you, detested you, and now, for the sole purpose of killing you," Sasuke continued, the sound of a thousand chirping birds suddenly filling the confined space. "I've survived!"
Ino watched with arrested fascination as Sasuke's eyes burned with mad hatred.
"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, clearly as anxious as Ino felt.
And then Sasuke charged, his lightning-infused hand tearing through the nearby wall with the roiling force of his chakra. "Die!"
Itachi in the memory simply waited, reaching out at the last minute to grab Sasuke's Chidori hand by the wrist, effectively halting his mad dash. Unbelievably, the fabled lightning technique fizzled out into nothing, like a candle dying under a sudden gust of wind. The ensuing crack signaled Ino that Itachi had broken Sasuke's wrist.
"You're in my way," Itachi said by way of explanation for the obvious show of brutality against his only remaining family. He threw Sasuke to the ground the way one might throw out a soiled rag.
The younger Uchiha gasped in pain and fury, sinking to his knees. Ino wanted to look away. The sight of Uchiha Sasuke, even though so young and clearly outclassed in every way, being tossed aside by the source of his hatred and pain, was infuriating. But this was just a memory—Itachi's memory—and she could do nothing but look on.
Jiraiya showed up soon after, and Sasuke managed to pull himself up. He warned Naruto and Jiraiya not to interfere, that he would be the one to kill Itachi.
"I have no interest in you right now," Itachi said dismissively. He then kicked his little brother aside when he tried to attack him again, expending almost no effort and hardly moving from his spot as Sasuke flew through the air and crash landed against the far wall.
Ino ran after him, wishing there was something she could do besides watch from the sidelines. This was what had happened to Sasuke all those years ago...
Itachi was right behind her. With one last burst of energy, Sasuke shot up from his crumpled position on the floor and lunged for his brother, but Itachi swatted him away once more. Ino could only stare in horror as Itachi delivered blow after devastating blow. Sasuke spun through the air like a top after a particularly nasty hit to the jaw, his blood splattering the wall. And all the while, Itachi remained impassive and emotionless, as though he wasn't beating the life out of his own brother.
"Bastard," she spat. "You fucking bastard."
But Itachi didn't hear her, of course. He simply shoved Sasuke's battered body against the wall by the collar. "You're weak," he said, leaning into Sasuke's ear. "Do you understand why? Because you lack hatred."
That was when the screams started, and Itachi's Sharingan changed. She didn't know much about the Mangekyou Sharingan other than the fact that it looked different from its normal form, but it wasn't hard to put two and two together. Whatever images Itachi was showing to Sasuke, they were enough to make him scream bloody murder and pass out.
It was too cruel. This was too cruel, and she couldn't bear to watch anymore. Ino focused her chakra and summoned the door, exiting the memory and slamming the door shut behind her. She slumped against it once she was back in the dim corridor of Itachi's mind.
After a moment, she realized the Itachi's apparition was still there, watching her casually, his expression unreadable. "I haven't revisited that memory in years."
Something in her snapped, and she fixed livid sapphire eyes on him. "What is wrong with you?" She marched across the hall and got right up in his face, though this seemed to unnerve him not at all. "How could you do that to your own brother? He was just a boy!"
Itachi looked down at her for the longest time, and Ino could only think of the way he'd looked down on Sasuke before breaking him, mind and body, without even batting an eyelash. If she'd resented this man before, now she loathed him with a passion.
"I'm not here to explain what you see. That's your job," he said finally. "What you see here is my past just as it happened, nothing more, nothing less. Losing your temper with me won't change it."
Giving into the urge she'd had since first diving into that memory, Ino smacked her hand hard across his cheek, drawing a grim satisfaction from the stinging sensation it left in her palm and the way his face snapped to the side ninety degrees. They stayed that way for several tense moments before Ino broke the silence.
"I don't know what turned you into a monster, Itachi," she began. His red eyes swiveled to glance at her askance, but he didn't turn to regard her fully. "But I'm going to find out."
Itachi slowly turned his face around to look at her, and if Ino hadn't been trained not to crack under pressure, she may have taken a step back to distance herself from the intensity of his gaze. He leaned closer to her face, the ghost of anger almost visible in the way his eyes narrowed down at her. "Don't presume to understand things you know nothing about."
Ino got the uncanny sensation that he was hiding something from her. Not that it mattered; whatever it was, no secret was safe from her. It was only a matter of time before she knew everything there was to know about Uchiha Itachi. While this thought served to bolster her confidence, she couldn't help the chill at the base of her spine. Something told her she would not be the same once this was finished.
"I'll know soon enough," she countered, stepping back from him and bringing her hands together in the Yamanaka clan seal. "For now, you can enjoy the last days of keeping your secrets all to yourself."
Not waiting for a reply, Ino released her technique and woke up back in her physical body. Registering that she was still touching Itachi's hands, she immediately pulled them away, making only the brief observation that they weren't as cold now as they'd been earlier. He was a statue sitting across from her, not even reacting to her withdrawal of contact.
Not so tough out here, are you.
"You're finished," Neji said, moving to the table to help her up.
Ino nodded, grateful for the hand he held out for her. "Yeah. How long has it been?"
"Four hours. Ibiki's waiting for your report outside."
Ino sighed. She hated how time seemed to pass her by in a flash on the outside while she worked. But there was no helping it. "Thanks."
She got up to leave, but just before she left, Itachi spoke.
"Your name," he said. It wasn't a question, but it wasn't a command either.
Ino blinked, half tempted not to tell him out of spite. But that would be childish. Neji just watched the elder Uchiha, seeming to think little of his words. What the hell.
"Yamanaka Ino," she said curtly. She waited a moment for a response, but when none came she opened the door to leave.
"Until next time...Ino," he said finally.
Ino's shoulders stiffened, and she shot a mild glare over her shoulder at the Uchiha. He couldn't see her, and suddenly that made her a little angry. "Ah, until then."
She left without another glance backwards.
It continued like this for days. Every memory she saw through Itachi's eyes as she travelled back in time was just as dark and grim as she would have expected of an Akatsuki. She watched him threaten innocent (and not so innocent) people with his partner, Kisame, whom she immediately learned was the type to rejoice in bloodshed. In fact, while Itachi tended to favor genjutsu to incapacitate his enemies, Kisame had no qualms about charging in, sword flaying and dismembering. Itachi's apparition continued to follow her from memory to memory, sometimes remaining silent as he remembered the past with her, and other times offering vague commentary. She'd taken to ignoring him until today, when she witnessed an extraction ceremony for the Jinchuuriki of the Five Tails. Had she not been trained to desensitize herself from the consequences of physical torture, she may not have been able to stomach the memory at all.
"Why, Itachi? Can you just answer me that much?" she asked, knowing that he'd never explain things to her. It just seemed wrong not to demand an explanation after witnessing such a vile example of human cruelty.
"Tell me, Ino," he said. "If your Hokage ordered you to assassinate a target, would you question her?"
Ino glowered at him. He was twisting her words and speaking in riddles, as she'd learned early on he was prone to do. Which meant this could be a trick question.
"If I were ordered to assassinate someone, it would be because that individual is a threat to the peace and safety of Konoha or the greater shinobi world."
He pushed off from the wall he was leaning against and took a couple steps toward her. "And what do you think your target's village would say about that? Or his family?"
Ino kept her expression carefully schooled. She knew what he was doing, and it wasn't going to work. "Konoha shinobi act under the legal sanction of the Hokage. We have enemies, and if necessary we deal with the threat by eliminating it, but everything we do is legal under the law."
"Under Konoha law, you mean."
"People will always disagree, Itachi. As long as people have opinions and values, no one will ever get along with everyone else in this world."
"Just as Konoha disagrees with Akatsuki's goals," he countered. "Did you ever stop to think that we act under orders from our leader much in the same way you act under orders from the Hokage?"
Nice try.
"The difference between you and I is that what you're doing is considered terrorism," Ino said, not bothering to conceal her disgust as she uttered the last word.
He smirked, and Ino forgot some of her irritation. She'd never seen him exhibit much of any emotion other than apathy.
"You see, that's the problem with people. They only see what they want to see, and blind themselves to different perspectives. What is reality? What is illusion? These are simply perceptions applied for convenience by people like your Hokage to justify their actions. But if you take the time to look around, you'll see that there's no way to disprove the truth."
"And what truth might that be?"
"That the strong overpower the weak. The organized and powerful force their way of life on those less united. And a shinobi's trade is death, regardless of affiliation." He turned to look at the door to the memory of the extraction she'd just witnessed, an unreadable expression on his face. "You may call it murder, or justice, or even mercy, but in the end death is simply death. It always ends the same way."
Ino opened her mouth to call him out on that, but she paused. What he said... It made sense. No matter how it was labeled, or how it was or was not justified, shinobi dealt in death and suffering. All that changed was the seal at the bottom of the mission scroll sanctioning it.
But that was no excuse for the atrocities committed by Akatsuki.
"I can see your point, but you're still wrong. Akatsuki abduct and murder innocents for power. Konoha would never do such a thing. We kill to preserve the peace, and only when it's absolutely necessary and justified."
Scarlet eyes found their way back to Ino, and this time she nearly did take a step back. He looked somehow older in that moment than he had before. It made her feel exposed.
"You're half right," he said cryptically.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded.
But he said no more. Instead, he turned away from her and walked down the hall. Ino watched his back until he faded into the darkness. It was only then, when she'd finally taken the time to look, that she noticed the large Uchiha fan emblazoned on the back of his shirt. She blinked, making sure it wasn't a figment of her imagination, but he disappeared soon after.
Ino stood there for several moments, unsure of how to proceed. Had that always been there these past days? Why hadn't she seen it until now?
And why did she feel like whatever Itachi was hiding, she would regret finding out when the time came?
"Itachi!"
Ino watched as if in a dream as a much younger version of Sasuke bounded toward his older brother from the Academy's front gates. Itachi smiled and didn't resist when Sasuke hugged him around the waist. Itachi then patted his brother's head and Sasuke pulled away.
"Where's Mother?" Sasuke asked.
"Shopping. She asked me to pick you up today."
If Sasuke was upset about this, he sure hid it well. A smile the likes of which Ino had never seen on the boy—or maybe she'd long since forgotten—spread across Sasuke's face as he grabbed his big brother's hand. "Can we practice the fireball technique today? Please?"
Itachi seemed to hesitate as he thought about this, and after a moment Sasuke's expression fell. "Come on, please? You never have time for me, so just this once? Please please?"
Itachi sighed, another small smile tugging at his lips. "All right, but only for a little bit. I have a mission later today that I need to prepare for."
"Ooh! Is it an ANBU mission? Are you gonna kill some bad guys?"
Itachi's smile faded. "It doesn't matter, Sasuke. Let's go, we're wasting time. You want to practice as long as possible, right?"
"Yeah! Let's go, let's go!" Sasuke tugged Itachi by the hand away from the Academy, trying to break into a run but failing as Itachi held him back.
Ino could only follow, absolutely stunned at the scene she was witnessing. After almost two weeks of nothing but Akatsuki violence, sinister politics, and a grinning shark man, she'd now stumbled upon the part of Itachi's life that existed before the Uchiha massacre. Logically speaking, she knew that Itachi must have been a more normal person before everything fell apart, but as the perpetrator behind arguably the most heinous crime in Konoha's history, she was expecting something more along the lines of the reclusive psychopath ready to snap at any second. She hadn't been expecting this.
She never expected to see Itachi, the loving older brother, idolized by the one person who'd made it his life's goal to end his existence in the most painful way possible.
The scene changed and Itachi was demonstrating the Uchiha clan's signature Great Fireball technique to an august Sasuke, whose eyes had widened to a seemingly impossible size. She could even feel the heat from Itachi's perfectly executed jutsu. He wasted hardly any chakra, and his timing was flawless. Even at such a young age, it was easy to see how he'd become hailed as a genius and a legend destined for greatness. Terrible greatness, but greatness nonetheless.
"Release when you feel your chakra buildup almost about to reach its peak, and not a moment after. If you wait until it peaks, you'll end up wasting chakra and releasing an underpowered attack," Itachi instructed.
Sasuke concentrated, trying very hard to apply his brother's instructions to his own jutsu. Ino watched as mini Sasuke performed the required hand seals, inhaled, and released a great breath. Unfortunately, what came out was simply a puff of black smoke and no fire. Itachi chuckled a little, but Sasuke looked absolutely downtrodden as he tried to suppress a coughing fit from inhaling too much smoke.
"Aw man! I thought I had it!"
"You released too early," Itachi explained. "Timing is crucial. You've almost got it, though."
Sasuke still looked miffed as he pouted.
I almost can't believe this is how he used to be.
Whether she meant Sasuke or Itachi, Ino could not clearly say.
Sasuke shook his head. "I gotta get better. Father says you're the best, but I wanna be the best too."
Itachi's expression suddenly changed. Where before he looked content to be helping Sasuke, now he seemed guarded, almost uncomfortably so. Ino crept close to them as Itachi put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and kneeled down before him.
"You know, being strong isn't all it's made out to be. The truly powerful become arrogant and withdrawn, even though at first they were just chasing their dream," Itachi said.
Sasuke frowned, not really understanding. "But you're strong. And I wanna be just like you."
Itachi ruffled Sasuke's hair, a sad smile on his face. "You are I are family, Sasuke. Remember that I'll always be there for you, even if it's just as an obstacle for you to overcome."
Ino was just as baffled as Sasuke. It almost sounded like he was saying—
"And even if you hate me... That's what big brothers are for."
It almost sounds like he's egging Sasuke on. Like he knows they'll be enemies one day...
The memory began to fade as Ino let go of her chakra. She took a step back through the door once more, and suddenly the pair of brothers faded from her sight, and she found herself back in the dark depths of Itachi's mind.
"Why aren't you trying to stop me?" Ino asked, still facing the now closed door.
Itachi didn't make a sound as he watched her from the other side of the hallway, but he obviously knew which memory she'd just seen. As per his usual, he took his time responding, if at all. "There would be little point."
Ino turned to face him, unsure whether to be angry or frustrated or to smack some sense into him again. "But you don't even try. It's like you don't care." She paused, scanning his features for any sign of a reaction. There was none. "If you're so complacent about this, why didn't you just talk to Ibiki? You don't strike me as the type to allow violence against you without defending yourself."
At this, he did react. Pushing off the opposite wall, Itachi closed the distance between them. Ino remained rooted to the spot, unwilling to let him intimidate her.
"People live in their own worlds, play by their own rules, and everything else is just..." he paused, searching for the right word. "White noise. Drivel." He leveled her with a heavy looked. "Fantasy. Do you know how difficult it is for people to accept fantasy as reality?"
"Stop speaking in riddles, Itachi. I'm not in the mood today."
His expression softened, but not in a nice way. He seemed world weary, an old soul stuck in his own body. "When is anyone in the mood to change their worldview?"
"I get the feeling you're trying to tell me something, but you're not sure if you want me to know," Ino said. "Or maybe you don't know how to express it."
"There's nothing to express. Anything you want to know is waiting behind these closed doors."
Ino shook her head. "What's the big secret? Why can't you come out and tell us and end this torture?"
Itachi remained silent, choosing instead to step away from her. Ino was not about to let it end like this without getting some answers.
"Who was that boy in the memory?" she said, stepping closer to him as he put distance between them. "Because he sure as hell doesn't look like a killer."
"Another fantasy," Itachi said softly. He turned to her once more. "But remember this, Yamanaka Ino. One man's fantasy is another man's reality. A liar is just someone who knows how to sell fantasies that suit him to those desperate for something to believe in."
He made to leave again, but Ino reached out and grabbed his hand in her own. Sapphire met ruby in a clash that was less hostile, more desperate than usual.
"I'll find it," she said with quiet conviction. "Whatever horrible secret you're hiding, I'll find it."
"If you do, your fantasy will cease to exist," he said softly. "And that's more of a tragedy than you know."
Ino didn't know what to say to that. When he pulled away and faded into the darkness once more, she found that she couldn't stop him.
But for some reason, she wanted to.
Every day it was the same routine. Mornings he would be fed, allowed to stand and walk about his cell instead of being strapped to a chair. Morino Ibiki would talk to him, mostly about mundane topics, but Itachi knew better. Ibiki was a master interrogator, and it seemed that he hadn't given up trying to get Itachi to reveal information about Akatsuki and his motives for joining the organization. Itachi never gave him what he wanted to hear. If they wanted the information so badly, Ino would have to rip it out of him.
Konoha's methods were just as brutal as remembered. Even though he was up for mental interrogation as a priority, it seemed that he wasn't exempt from a beating or two. Not that it mattered. Itachi had never been one to shy away from pain. Uchiha were borne of fire, raised with pain, and mired in blood.
Father would be so proud.
He had to chuckle at that. If only his father could see him now.
"Our pain will only last a moment, but yours will stay with you forever."
Perhaps after all these years, Itachi had finally learned the meaning of that warning. But there was no time to let go. He still had something he needed to do. No doubt the Akatsuki were mobilizing to retrieve him. They'd be here any day, of this he was certain. Tobi would not let him go so easily.
It was during the afternoons that the true trials began. The mindwalker was everything he hadn't been expecting, and yet he supposed that was the point. But she had no idea what she was getting herself into. Every day, with every door she opened, every memory she unearthed, brought her one step closer to her own downfall. He didn't want this at first. He knew they would resort to mind reading eventually, and he'd been anxious about how to keep his dark secrets from Konoha. It was a miracle Danzo hadn't found out about his presence here yet. This was likely the only reason Itachi was even still alive.
No one was supposed to know. He'd made sure of that when he came back years ago with Kisame, an indirect threat to Danzo that harming Sasuke would summon the wrath of the elder Uchiha. He'd played the villain perfectly all these years, biding his time, waiting for the day when Sasuke would finally be strong enough to end the madness and lay their family to rest once and for all. Itachi had always wanted to die knowing that he'd protected the ones he loved most, and what better way than to die by Sasuke's hand in retribution for their fallen clan?
But that, too, was a fantasy. Sasuke didn't understand the vile nature of the Uchiha, and if Itachi had it his way he never would. Just because a thing is fantasy doesn't make it evil. Sasuke's fantasy would always be kinder than Itachi's reality, no matter how ashamed he was of the pain he'd inflicted on the one person he cared about more than anything.
But Ino might find this out eventually, and Itachi didn't have the strength to stop her as long as they kept him bound and drained. His only hope now was Akatsuki's intervention.
How ironic, he thought bitterly.
He didn't want her to know because it would ruin his plans. He didn't want her to expose the dreadful reality of Konoha's past, of the Uchiha's past, of his past. But he also didn't want to taint this place for her. She clearly loved Konoha just as fervently as any Leaf ninja. And she was willing to break her body for it without complaint. Even blind to the world and too lethargic to move much, Itachi could feel it in her hands when she touched him for the mind reading technique. She was losing her energy little by little every day. If this kept up for much longer, she'd be in serious medical trouble. And yet, she persisted. It almost reminded him of his own devotion to the village he'd given his life for.
She didn't deserve to know the ugly truth. He didn't want to be responsible for ruining another life. The burden was too great already.
What's one more soul to devour? You're already damned, and misery loves company.
He didn't even have the energy to silence that vile voice. He could only hope they'd come for him sooner rather than later, before it was too late for her too.
But then, Itachi had all but forgotten how to hope.
This is it, Ino thought to herself. The Uchiha massacre.
Once she located the date of the massacre, she hovered outside the door just staring at it. There was a powerful barrier around it, visible from far down the hallway, and truth be told Ino had been procrastinating taking a look at it. She knew what was on the other side, and after all those memories of Itachi the Model Big Brother and Itachi the Akatsuki Psychopath, she wasn't sure what she wanted to see behind this door. The trap itself would take a long time to dismantle on her own. She estimated that once she removed it, she would have to rest until the next session to actually view the memory. This would take a considerable amount of chakra.
I guess it's now or never, she thought grimly.
"If I told you I had something I needed to do before I die, what would you say?"
Ino let her chakra fizzle out and focused her attention on her ever-present companion. "I guess that would depend on what it was."
He seemed to consider this, and Ino wondered if he'd take the bait. "Would you respond differently if I were a loved one?"
Of course he wouldn't fall for that.
"Well, my loved ones aren't likely to do something reprehensible, like murder their families."
He averted his gaze and Ino suddenly felt cheap for saying that. "I'm sorry, that was low."
Why am I apologizing to Uchiha Itachi?
Before she could rationalize the thought, he said, "It's the truth."
"Yeah, but..."
But what?
The look he gave her seemed to ask that same question. Ino shook her head. Something was not right with her, clearly. Between the constant strain on her chakra, the inundation of Itachi's memories, and stressing about her father's hospitalization, she'd had little time to properly rest and recuperate, and it was starting to catch up with her. Her mother was worried that the bags under her eyes would become permanent.
"Don't forget, Ino. I'm the villain here."
"A villain wouldn't say that so nicely."
He rewarded her with a half smile that seemed forced.
"What happened to you, Itachi? Why did you do it?" she found herself asking.
He reached for her, and for a moment Ino thought he would touch her hair. But he stopped himself just at the last second, letting his hand fall to his side. "You don't want to know," he whispered. "Believe me."
Never had Ino believed truer words in all her life.
"So what's this big secret project Ibiki's gotcha workin' on?" Chouji said through a mouthful of fried rice.
Ino frowned at her own half-eaten food. "Oh, just the usual. With my dad out of commission, I'm kind of in high demand. What can I say?"
"Huh. Well, just make sure you're getting enough sleep. I'm pretty sure that's not makeup under your eyes."
Ino smiled at her teammate and friend, knowing he meant well. Shikamaru, however, was not buying it.
"You're sticking to a pretty regular schedule lately, and you're drained after every session," he said.
Ino maintained an air of nonchalance. "What of it? Mind reading isn't exactly a walk in the park."
"Your mom's worried about you. There's a rumor going around Tactics," he continued, "that Ibiki landed a big fish. An S-class criminal."
Ino hoped Shikamaru didn't pick up the way she faltered with her chopsticks in an attempt to procure more rice from her bowl.
Wishful thinking.
"Well, you know what they say about rumors."
"Yeah. That they start with a grain of truth," Shikamaru said.
Ino waved him off. When throwing Nara Shikamaru off a trail, it was best to ignore his proddings completely. "Whatever. Chouji, pass the cabbage."
The rest of the meal passed mostly without incident, but Ino knew he wasn't going to let this slide. So she was not at all surprised when Shikamaru cornered her after the meal.
"Look, you're making this way more troublesome than it has to be," he griped. "Just...tell me you're okay."
Ino's irritation immediately melted at the show of genuine concern. It made her wonder what exactly Tactics had unearthed about what was going on if he was this worried. But asking would only open the door to more questions.
"Hey, what do you think about perception?" she asked instead.
"Excuse me?"
"You know, right and wrong, good and evil. What do you think?"
Shikamaru studied her for a moment, probably trying to glean her true meaning. "I guess I'd say nothing is absolute. It's important to analyze every situation individually and without prejudice. Battles have been won and lost because of personal baggage."
"Yeah but, if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, you know," Ino said.
"I guess, if that's how you want to look at it. But you'd have to cut that duck open and make sure it bleeds like a duck before you can be totally certain."
Ino made a face at that. "I really didn't need that imagery."
Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He turned to leave, stretching his arms out over his head lazily.
Ino also made to leave. She had her session with Itachi soon.
"Hey, Ino."
"Yeah?" she said, turning back to her teammate.
"Everyone's a liar these days. It's the ones who tell the truth that you have to watch out for."
Ino watched him walk away. Deep down, she wondered if it was really worth knowing the truth after all.
It took her the better part of two days, but she finally cracked it. The door to the memory of the day the Uchiha massacre happened was just a twist of the doorknob away. Even low on chakra, maybe a peek wouldn't hurt. She should know what to expect, she reasoned. This was something everyone knew about, especially her generation having Sasuke as a classmate. But she hesitated.
"You don't want me to go through this door."
Even without turning around, she knew Itachi was there, watching. "No, I don't."
Ino looked at him over her shoulder. "Why not? What could I possibly see that isn't already public knowledge?"
Itachi took a moment to study her, his stance relaxed enough to cover up the fact that he was clearly reaching his limits with all the interrogations. Even his mind was starting to shut down on him. "The truth."
Ino marched right up to him and looked directly into his eyes. "Itachi, whatever you may think of this situation, if I find something...incriminating, I can bring it to the Hokage. It's not possible to lie to me when I use my technique."
"What exactly are you suggesting, Ino?" he said, leaning his face toward hers to that she could feel his breath against her cheek.
He was baiting her, she knew. He wanted her to voice her theory. Well, she'd give him that if he really wanted it. They were running out of time anyway. "I'm suggesting that you're hiding something crucial about what happened that night. You play the villain well, but that big brother, the one Sasuke idolized, definitely isn't a villain. You can't be both. I don't know why you'd even try."
He merely watched her wordlessly, eyes searching but ever patient.
"That boy in your memories," Ino went on. "He's a hero. He's the model shinobi, the big brother everyone wishes they had, the pride of his clan." She laughed humorlessly. "He's tall, dark, and mysterious, the cool older guy all the Genin girls would have dreamed of marrying one day."
Itachi couldn't help the smile that escaped him just then, and Ino stared openly at the sight.
"Another life," he said. "It's a nice dream, but a dream nonetheless."
Ino was suddenly very sad for Itachi for reasons she could not quite name. But he was still smiling softly, and some unnamed force within her demanded that she sustain that feeling for as long as possible. "You'd grow up and have a team of Genin," she continued. "Because I don't think ANBU would really suit you. You don't seem like the type who loves the kill, not like Kisame. You'd be good with kids, maybe one of the best teachers in the village because you're patient, just like you were with Sasuke when he was trying to learn that fireball technique.
"And," she paused, wracking her brain. "And you're also the Hokage's adviser, because god knows Naruto's gonna need all the help he can get when he does become Hokage one day."
Itachi blinked slowly, but his smile never faltered. Emboldened, Ino went on.
"Sasuke would probably still be your number one fan, but he'd never admit it to the rest of us. It's a competition between you two, just like it used to be, but he's also your number one defender when someone tries to bring you down."
Itachi looked down momentarily, and Ino started to worry that she'd said the wrong thing bringing up Sasuke. But Itachi still had that softer look about him, if not a little melancholy.
"You'd probably be totally awkward with girls because you'd have no time for them. You're so busy with being the heir to the Uchiha clan that you don't even know flirting when it hits you in the face."
He met her gaze again, a glint of amusement in his eyes. "That's going a bit too far."
Ino laughed lightly. "You would be a total flop, a genius in everything except love. Until one day some girl just doesn't give up on you, even when you spill wine on her shirt or forget her birthday. She'll force you to lighten up and be a human being instead of some untouchable trophy ninja."
"Trophy ninja?"
Ino touched him lightly on the shoulder, smiling brightly. "Yeah, you're such a trophy. Killer pedigree, killer looks, killer...in general..." she trailed off, suddenly realizing the implications of her words.
Itachi seemed to overlook that slip, but Ino knew he'd heard her loud and clear. He pulled away. "It's a beautiful fantasy," was all he said.
She didn't want to shatter the moment. It was a fantasy, just as he'd said, but one man's fantasy was another man's reality. "Maybe I could have known you," she said.
"Maybe," he returned, holding her gaze.
In that instant she knew that there was much more to Uchiha Itachi than he allowed the world to see. For whatever reason, he had thrown himself into this life as the villain, the nightmare, and she had the distinct feeling that it was all bogus. He may have been a good liar, but Ino made it her job to find the truth in lies. The proof was there, just behind that door across the hall, but even now she just knew something was amiss about this entire situation.
"Itachi..."
"Wait," he said. "Just a little longer."
Ino had never been an overly emotional girl. She'd never been prone to tears or tantrums, always preferring to get even instead of getting mad. But something in the way he pleaded with her not to end the dream of a fate far kinder than what he'd been dealt broke her heart. This wasn't Itachi the Akatsuki, or Itachi the Kinslayer, but Itachi the man who'd somehow ended up wearing the villain's mask so well that he could no longer remove it if he wanted to.
"Tomorrow then," she said, voice cracking. "I'll wait until tomorrow."
When she opened her eyes, she was crying in real life. Neji stood in the far corner keeping watch, but he currently had his eyes closed. Ino looked from Itachi's blindfold to their clasped hands. He looked worse every day, from lack of sleep, sunlight, and the brutal mind probing he was suffering under her. But this man had to be the same one who'd just smiled for her, even if it was just a dream.
She gently squeezed his hands in hers. They felt stiff and spindly, the hands of an old man. She wished she could remove his blindfold more than anything and see him in this world, too.
"Ino," Neji said. He was immediately by her side, having just noticed that she looked upset.
Ino immediately retracted her hands from Itachi's and wiped at her eyes. "Hey, I'm fine."
Neji helped her stand, discreetly eyeing Itachi as he did so. Ino managed a tired smile. "Just the strain from overwork. Sometimes I get teary-eyed."
Neji didn't look convinced, but he didn't argue. "I'll walk you home."
Ino nodded, and they passed by Itachi's seated form. He didn't so much as twitch to acknowledge them.
That night, as Ino slept and dreamed, Akatsuki arrived in Konoha to break Itachi out of his prison. With so few people knowing the identity of the prisoner they were supposed to be guarding, Kisame made quick work of Konoha's defenses. They were in and out in ten minutes, and not a sleeping soul in all the village roused from slumber.
Itachi could not have wished for better timing. One more day of this, and Ino surely would have uncovered the truth about the Uchiha massacre and Konoha's involvement in its execution. Sasuke was his priority, his only reason for living, and he had to take that secret to the grave. Getting her to warm up to him had worked according to plan, he thought as Kisame shattered the chakra-suppressing handcuffs cutting off his energy. As soon as they were off, Itachi felt as though life had been breathed into him anew. The blindfold came off after that, and he got his first look at the reality all around him.
They exited the interrogation building in silence. No guards cut them off; they were all already dead. He didn't like it, but it was the more natural outcome in line with his Akatsuki persona. He ignored the smell of blood and death as they stole through dark hallways into the crisp night air. It was laughably easy to infiltrate and escape Konoha even weakened as he was. In another time, perhaps he would have been in charge of buffing up village security to better protect against the machinations of terrorist organizations.
But thinking about what could have been only distracted him from his tasks in this reality.
Itachi turned back to look at the sleeping village of Konoha. His thoughts wandered back to Yamanaka Ino, the girl he'd intended to throw off with his usual lies and tricks. In the end, he'd succeeded only after resorting the selfishness he swore to himself he'd never indulge again since that night.
What a beautiful fantasy, he thought, gaze lingering on the place he could only now call home within the darkest confines of his mind. I wish I could have seen more of it.
"So Itachi," Kisame drawled, a toothy grin reflecting the light of the full moon. "How'd you get around their mind readers? You didn't spill Akatsuki secrets, did you?"
"Nothing of importance. We're leaving, Kisame," he said.
Kisame just laughed, not even bothering to mention that Itachi had blatantly avoided the first question. As they sailed through the familiar trees he'd grown up with, Itachi wondered if this incident would haunt him.
Like all fantasies, it was best to dispel them before they consumed him, lest he start to wish for that which he could never, ever have. But for one night, maybe it was okay to dream of smiling faces, a loving family, and endless blue eyes.
Just for tonight.
Ino couldn't help but wonder, as she flopped down onto bed that night not even bothering to change her clothes, how long it was possible to dream while reality continued moving forward, leaving the dreamers behind. Probably not long, she decided.
Staring up at the stars, as she would do for many long nights in the years to come, after reality came crashing down and the world was turned upon its head, she would always wonder. Had she ever really seen the man hidden behind the blindfold? Had he seen her?
It terrified her that he could have been the right person sent to her at the wrong time, in the wrong life. They could have been great, but life, love, and happy endings are all in the timing. And their time had run out before it ever even began.