Hidan, Kakuza, and Zetsu had no desire to chase after Itachi.
But they didn't have to.
Just as they exited the Akatsuki lair, Itachi walked up to them, barely giving the group a glance as he passed them and entered the Akatsuki's cave hide away. Kakuza glanced at Hidan; the Jashinist shrugged, and both men darted back in after Itachi. Zetsu followed wordlessly, unsure entirely of what was going on. Kakuza and Hidan caught up to Itachi, one on each side, but Kakuza was the first to speak.
"Where the hell were you?" he hissed, grabbing Itachi's upper arm. Itachi whipped around and tried to wrench his arm out of Kakuza's, but to no avail. Kakuza tightened his grip on Itachi, wrestling the teen back into Hidan. Hidan wrapped his arms around Itachi's neck and waist, and Kakuza dealt Itachi a harsh blow to the ribs. Itachi flinched in pain, but said nothing still. He twisted out of Hidan's grasp, and shoved the missing-nin hard into a wall. Itachi just kept walking, ignoring Kakuza and Hidan both yelling at him.
Zetsu shot up out of the floor in front of him.
Itachi stepped back, startled, only to find himself stumbling into another person's body. Itachi spun around, fists flying, but he was too late. Strong hands caught his, twisting his hands over and around each other until Itachi's knees buckled with the strain. His arms simply wouldn't bend any more, so his legs gave out in hopes of relieving the pressure. Itachi found himself suddenly spinning before he hit the ground, and he could feel bruises blossoming on his arms and wrists. Itachi recovered quickly, using his attacker's own motions against them to propel himself into a tucked roll that carried him away from the fight for a moment. He vaguely noticed that Zetsu was nowhere in sight, and both Kakuza and Hidan were standing against the far wall. Then, who was fighting him…? Itachi's eyes slowly traveled up the body of the person standing in front of him, stopping when they reached the man's face-
A heavily-pierced face.
Itachi's heart almost stopped, but he tried not to show his fear. Instead, he offered Pein a nasty smirk, rising to his feet and moving a hidden kunai down his sleeve and into his palm. "Such a loving, welcoming greeting," he flatly, face suddenly smooth and emotionless. "I feel right at home already."
"Where is he?" Pein growled, fingers already flashing in the signs of a deadly jutsu. "I know you took him with you, now where is that damn Hatake?!"
Itachi sighed, bowing his head. "Leader-sama, I couldn't let him stay," he said softly. "And besides, I promised him…I promised him, that I would love him. That I would protect him. He deserves better, he really does. He's so much more than you could ever see…Leader-sama, I'm sorry I disobeyed you, but I needed to keep him safe." Itachi raised his head, shaking his bangs out of his eyes. "And don't you dare doubt, for even a second, that I love him more than life itself!"
Pein paused in his jutsu, the last sign in his fingers. "You would be willing to sacrifice your life for that little slave? Impossible. You, who slaughtered his entire clan for-"
"You have no idea," Itachi whispered. "You have no idea what it's like to be so afraid. To be so alone. All he wanted was to be treated fairly, and that was the one thing you denied him. Leave him alone, Leader-sama. Leave him to live his life in peace. He never did anything to you, or any of us."
Pein's lips lifted off his lips in a feral snarl, like a predator hell bent on killing the prey that lay before it, mocking him even at death's door. "You don't know what you're dealing with," he growled, and he finished his jutsu with a surge of chakra. Pein vanished from sight, and Itachi knew he was done for.
The strike came to the back of his neck, and Itachi accepted it without a sound, his eyes long closed for such an attack. Itachi fell to the ground, unconscious.
Unconscious, but he had a smile on his face.
OOOOOOOOOOOO
Itachi awoke on his back, his hands underneath him.
Trying his limits, he found that he couldn't move his hands or his feet. He was tied at wrists and ankles, with his knees bent and his wrists behind him. He was on his back and, upon glancing around the room, Itachi gathered that he was on a table of some sort. It looked like he was in a prison cell. The walls were a dull, monotonous concrete, and the door was a heavy wood, reinforced with steel. Itachi sighed and let his head fall back to the table, closing his eyes and trying to bring himself under control. He found his coil of chakra, deep within himself, and began centering himself. He needed a way out of here-
"So, you're awake."
Itachi started. Since when was Pein in the room?!
The leader of the Akatsuki circled the table where Itachi lay like a viper, eyes raking over Itachi's defenseless body. But, somehow, Itachi made no movement. He didn't even speak. He just opened his eyes, and then closed them again. Pein could see Itachi beginning to breathe deeper, and he could almost taste Itachi's fear. Pein licked his lips eagerly and raised himself up onto the table next to Itachi, sitting down next to the Uchiha's dark-haired head.
She never slows down.
She doesn't know why but she knows that when she's all alone,
feels like its all coming down
She won't turn around
The shadows are long and she fears if she cries that first tear,
the tears will not stop raining down
"My dear," he murmured. "It didn't have to be like this." His hand moved to Itachi's hair, running over it in a gentle, stroking motion. "You could have just obeyed me, instead of going against me so badly. And now, here you are, offering yourself for the sake of a mere slave. You offer your life for his, so nobly, and think that your sacrifice alone will save him. Well, Itachi, answer me this: when you are dead, whose hand will stay mine? You can't save him. You never could. Once I kill you, there will be nothing stopping me from taking Kakashi as mine. He won't have anyone to run to, and only sadness to look forward to. Once you were gone, Itachi, someone else will take your place, and that someone, I can assure you, will be better than you ever were."
So stand in the rain
Stand your ground
Stand up when it's all crashing down
You stand through the pain
You won't drown
And one day, what's lost can be found
You stand in the rain
Itachi closed his eyes against Pein's goading, trying to ignore the traitorous hand running through his hair. All Pein did was contradict himself. Itachi took deep breaths, trying to control himself as Pein spoke again.
"Darling Itachi, you stupid, stupid, teenager. It was fool's love: teenage hormones. You simply wanted a fuck toy. Too bad it will cost you your life. I hope your dear Kakashi was worth it. Because even if he wasn't, he'll be gone, too! You won't have saved him, Itachi! You won't have done anyone any favors! It's all over!"
She won't make a sound
Alone in this fight with herself and the fears whispering
if she stands she'll fall down
She wants to be found
The only way out is through everything she's running from
wants to give up and lie down.
Itachi shuddered. Pein was right, in a sense. Once he was dead, there would be no one who could possibly stand up to Pein. He couldn't leave Kakashi-he just couldn't! But, at this point, there was no alternative. There was no way out. But…he had placed a seal on Kakashi as they parted, ensuring that Pein could never touch him. He could only hope that Kakashi would figure it out in time.
Pein flicked his wrist once, and a kunai was delivered to his waiting palm. "In that knowledge, Itachi," he whispered, taking his other hand from Itachi's hair, "despair…
"And die!!"
So stand in the rain
Stand your ground
Stand up when it's all crashing down
You stand through the pain
You won't drown
And one day, what's lost can be found
You stand in the rain
The kunai came down, and Itachi closed his eyes, chakra exploding all at once. He felt the knife enter his chest, but there was no pain. He could feel the life slipping from him, and the movement of his chakra stopped. The blood leaking from his ruptured heart slowed, and then stopped. Itachi's eyes closed from their wide-open state of shock, but Itachi had enough life left in him to shed a single tear and cry out one last time in a desperate whisper for the lover he lost-
"Kakashi…baby. I'll miss you."
So stand in the rain
Stand your ground
Stand up when it's all crashing down
Stand through the pain
You won't drown
And one day, what's lost can be found
Kakashi felt it like he had been stabbed in the chest.
A strangled cry of pain burst from his mouth, and he doubled over, clutching with one hand at his chest. The other he fisted in the bed sheets, and he felt a choked sob escape his throat. "Itachi!" he cried. "Itachi, please! Itachi, what's happening to you?!" He knew, deep down, that something had happened to Itachi. He let a whimper fall from his lips, and he bent over again, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. The pain in his chest gradually subsided, but the second it did, a sharp stabbing pain in Kakashi's eyes caused him to cry out again. Kakashi plastered his hands over his eye; the one with the Sharingan, but not his normal eye. Tsunade rushed in, bolting over to Kakashi and kneeling at his side.
"Kakashi!" she cried, crouching down and putting her hands around Kakashi's shoulders. "Kakashi, let me see you; are you okay?" She could see the tears, but no blood…what was going on?
So stand in the rain
Stand your ground
Stand up when it's all crashing down
You stand through the pain
You won't drown
And one day, what's lost can be found
You stand in the rain
As Kakashi felt the pain recede, he felt foreign chakra creeping into him and merging with his own. He lifted his head, and slowly brought his hands away from it. He couldn't bring himself to look at Tsunade for a moment; he knew, all in a flash, what had happened. He knew this chakra-he knew it! He was sure that he knew what happened-
"Kakashi?"
Kakashi slowly turned his head to face Tsunade, his Sharingan closed. "Tsunade," he whispered. "Don't…please, tell me it isn't true. I know it is, but…tell me anyway." He opened his eye-
Revealing bloody Mangekyou Sharingan.
Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan.
Tsunade could only stare in shock. She shook her head, turning away with a choked cry and touching one hand to her forehead. "Kakashi," she whispered, "Did Itachi give that to you?"
Kakashi nodded softly, and Tsunade sighed lightly. Kakashi withered, crying out again and hiding his face in his hands. Desperate sobs escaped his throat, and Kakashi found himself having trouble breathing. "He died!" he screamed. "he died for me, and left me everything…! Tsunade, I can't live with it! I can't live with seeing him in the mirror every day, not when I can't ever see him again!"
Tsunade hushed Kakashi, sitting next to him on the bed and wrapping her arms around him. Kakashi clung to her, sobbing like there was no tomorrow. Tsunade quieted him, gently stroking his hair and whispering to him whatever comfort came to her. She stared up at the ceiling, tears on her own eyes. They really loved each other, she realized, enough for Itachi…to maybe have sacrificed his own life for Kakashi. I hope he's found happiness, wherever he is. He was redeemed by whatever he just did for Kakashi. Dance in the rain, Itachi. Don't ever hold yourself back because of your past. Go into that damn light that everyone who dies says is there, and hopefully, Kakashi can meet you someday. I hope…
I hope you didn't die in vain.
A/N: Wow, tragic. And yes, Itachi is actually dead. No tricks in the next chapter like, "Oh, Kisame found me and got me healed and now I'm back!" Nope, dead. But, I can promise you, Kakashi will not go about life in pain forever. He'll have a sign, that much I can give you. Lyrics are Stand in the Rain by Superchick. I know the lyrics say "she" instead of "he" as pertaining to Itachi, but I love the song too much...review, or that next (last) chapter will not come!