Hello everyone! I hope you are enjoying the story so far. A big thanks to Aniwolfgirl and (new reviewers) sPaRkzZz and sage for revieiwing! Aniwolfgirl has posed a question on whether or not I will wait until the manga reveals Tobi's identity and I can say that this story has already been written in full. I will not be making an attempt to guess Tobi's true identity, but I, hopefully, deal with the matter in an appropriate way. The way I have done this will be revealed in the next few chapters being that we are nearing the end. Also, sage mentioned something about vampire academy. I have never seen vampire academy, so if there is any similarity there, then it is coincidental. Anway, with all that being said, please review and enjoy the new chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters, just those of my own design.
Chapter 16
They arrived at the Uchiha safe house the next day and while Kikyuu and Kisame went about making themselves at home, Itachi remained outside for several hours. He had sent two clones out into the surrounding area: one had the intention on finding Sasuke in order to set up the place for their final battle; the second had gone to intercept the Konoha team tracking them, specifically Naruto in order to converse with him concerning Sasuke. The strain that both clones were drawing on him from their genjutsu and shadow clone use was great, being that it was amplified by the weakness from his illness; an illness that grew stronger with each passing day.
Finally, when it was all said and done, Itachi turned to head inside after dispersing the individual clones. He looked up the steps of the house and met Kikyuu's eyes.
"When do you fight?" She asked as the light of the sun began to become more orange and had difficulty breaking through the trees surrounding the home.
"Tomorrow," he calmly replied as he began to mount the stairs before suddenly falling into a coughing fit.
Kikyuu sighed as she helped him inside and gave him his medicine before placing a plate of onigiri in front of him. He blinked at the food before looking at her:
"When did you learn to cook?"
She chuckled, "It's not that difficult. Besides, it's your favorite; I thought you should have it… especially since…"
Itachi smiled and placed a hand over one of hers, "Thank you."
She smiled before standing and returning to a large pot on the counter and spooning out a fair amount of soup into a bowl. After grabbing a cup of tea and placing it next to Itachi, she picked up another and walked over to Kisame on the counter and held the items out to him.
"Hm? What poison are you trying to feed me now?" He asked as he peered curiously into the bowl.
Through gritted teeth, Kikyuu replied, "Apparently, this house was more well-stocked then I expected. It's a shrimp soup; my grandfather's secret recipe."
Kisame looked up from the bowl and eyed her carefully before taking the food from her and beginning to eat. After a few moments, he looked up at her and gave her a look of approval and a nod. The kunoichi smiled before grabbing her own plate of onigiri and cup of tea before sitting across from Itachi.
"Hey Kikyuu, you need to give me this recipe. What did you put in this?" Kisame asked as he greedily slurped the soup.
"Oh, I can't do that. It's full of secret ingredients," she replied before looking up at Itachi as the Uchiha smirked at her.
He leaned forward and whispered, "What's the secret? What's so special?"
The kunoichi chuckled softly and replied in a very soft voice, "Nothing. You only have to believe something is special for it to be so."
They both chuckled loudly as Kisame gave them a curious look before returning to the pot for seconds.
The next morning, Kikyuu awoke to a cold spot next to her. She sat up before rubbing her eyes then stretching. She could see the medicinal scroll open on the small table in the room, signaling that Itachi had already taken his morning medicine. She also noticed that Itachi's belongings were missing in the room, so she followed suit and packed her things after dressing in her typical attire. After straightening the sheets on the bed, she slipped on her Akatsuki cloak, its meaning still heavy on her shoulders, before walking into the common room.
She found Kisame sitting on the couch scarfing down a large plate of eggs and a large, steaming cup of tea sitting on the table next to him. Kikyuu, her stomach uneasy with the somber air that filled the house, passed on breakfast before stepping outside to find Itachi standing at the bottom of the stairs. Quietly, she moved next to him and watched the light breeze rustle the trees and grass. Kikyuu surveyed the land for a moment before gasping softly as, beneath a nearby peach tree bloomed a small patch of white tulips.
"I was wondering when you would notice them," Itachi stated with a chuckle.
"Such beauty on this day… it seems ironic," Kikyuu replied.
The man turned to her, "Tell me, Kikyuu," he paused as she looked at him, "Why was that flower your favorite?"
The young woman smiled, "Because, it was the first flower I ever received."
"You remember that?" Itachi asked, a small smile dancing at the corners of his mouth.
She nodded, "I could never forget. Do you know what the white tulip represents though, Itachi?"
The man furrowed his brow slightly before shaking his head.
Kikyuu smiled, "They mean forgiveness. Ever since I left the village, I've been praying to see them," she looked at them, "And it is now, that I am with you, that I see them."
Itachi sighed a bit before hugging her tightly to him. She was caught off guard by this action before she hugged him back, biting the inside of her cheek so as not to let him see her cry.
"I hope you are right and that their appearance means that we are both forgiven so that we can be together in whatever lies next for us when we leave this world," Itachi whispered in her ear.
Kikyuu could barely muster a response for it felt like her mouth was filled with cotton, but she did manage to reply, "I love you, Itachi."
The Uchiha lifted his head from her ear before kissing her softly on the lips and when he pulled back, he whispered, "I love you as well, Kikyuu."
She stepped back from him and smiled before dabbing her eyes with the sleeve of her cloak to stop the tears that were forming there from falling. They both gathered their composure as they heard Kisame exit the safe house.
"All right, no sense in delaying this any longer, right, Itachi?" Kisame asked as he stepped in between the two of them.
"Well said, Kisame," Itachi replied before adding, "I want you two to move to my little brother's position. I want him to come alone to the Uchiha Hideout to face me."
"No problem, Itachi. Kick his ass," Kisame stated before looking at Kikyuu, "Ready, snowy?"
She didn't even glare at him for calling her that for her gaze was locked on Itachi's. If everything went according to plan, this would be the last time she would ever see him standing before her, alive, breathing. She took a shuttering breath before replying:
"Yeah, let's go."
She quickly leapt off with Kisame close behind her. Itachi stood in the same spot for a long time, watching them go. Through the icy exterior of his heart, he could feel it aching. He glanced at the tulips, growing out of season amazingly, and wondered if what Kikyuu had said was true. He shook his head quickly and headed off towards the hideout, banishing such thoughts from his mind for he knew that those things would only create weaknesses during his battle; fatal weaknesses that he could not allow, too soon that is. After all, he couldn't make it easy for his little brother, could he?
Sasuke and his team leapt at a steady pace through the forest towards the Uchiha Hideout. They had fallen silent after his harsh order to Karin and Suigetsu to stop their bickering.
"Sasuke?" Karin asked quietly.
"What in Kami's name is it now, Karin?" he asked, growing quite frustrated as they arrived at a clearing with the large ruins of an old building.
Before she could reply, however, two figures leapt down before them, halting them atop the decaying roof. The Uchiha remained calm, while his teammates readied themselves in defensive positions.
Sasuke smirked, "Hello… Kiki."
"Nice to see you too, Sasuke," Kikyuu replied, returning the malice in his voice.
"What are you two doing here?" the raven-haired boy asked.
Kisame grinned, noticing the Suigetsu was eyeing Samehada, "Itachi asked us to make sure you arrived at the hideout alone."
"Sasuke, there's no way you're going there alone," Karin stated as she looked at the man.
"Quiet, Karin," he replied before stepping forward.
"Follow me, Sasuke," Kikyuu stated before heading in the direction of the hideout.
In two quick leaps, Sasuke caught up to her before maintaining her pace. Behind them, they heard Suigetsu ask:
"So, Kisame, what would it take for you to hand over Samehada, hm?"
Kikyuu could hear the grin in the shark-man's voice as he replied, "A battle."
After a few minutes of travel, they had moved out of the range of the battle and silence fell over them. The kunoichi glanced at Sasuke, who was nearly as tall as Itachi now, standing nearly half a head over her. She looked forward again as she stated:
"You've grown up well, Sasuke. Quite powerful…but a darkness lurks inside you."
Sasuke shot her a glare before stating, "Apparently, one exists in you as well if you would associate yourself with the Akatsuki… and my brother."
She growled in her throat before replying, "Save your remarks about your brother for him."
He quirked an eyebrow at this, "Surprising you still care for my brother after what he did."
"People change," she replied, biting her tongue to save her from mentioning anything that could ruin Itachi's plans before leaping down to walk towards the hideout.
"Yes, they do. Tell me, what drives someone to the Akatsuki?" He asked, smirking again as he leapt beside her.
"What drives someone to Orochimaru?" She quickly countered, looking at him to find his eyes bearing slight shock before she continued, "if you must know, they needed me to hunt jinchuriki, being a sensor and all."
Sasuke merely fell silent as they continued down the path. However, Kikyuu stopped three hundred yards from the entrance and turned to him.
"From here, you go alone," she stated as she looked into his eyes.
For a moment, they stood there staring at one another before Sasuke finally turned and left her behind. The kunoichi stepped into the woods before leaning against a tree and sliding down into a sitting positing at the base, tears rolling freely from her eyes as she released the pent up emotions she had been harboring.
After she had composed herself from her emotional release, Kikyuu stood and began walking away from both fights, not wanting to interfere in either of them. She felt numb to the world knowing that, in a few short hours or less, she would be utterly alone. What would she do? She entertained the idea of returning to Konoha, begging for amnesty from Lady Tsunade; she didn't deny that she did miss the sunrises over Hokage Mountain and the view of the sunsets from the monument. However, she knew that once word of her Akatsuki affiliation was known, she would be thrown in jail. She also knew that she couldn't go to any major village for they would recognize her; so she thought about a small, out of the way country; the Land of Tea, perhaps. That would be nice, she decided. Once she saw to it that Sasuke was returned to Konoha, she would disappear forever and live out her days in whatever way that made her happy.
She halted in her tracks as she heard the rumble and crackling of lightning. Leaping up into the treetops, she turned back towards the hideout in time to witness Sasuke's Kirin tear through the sky and destroy the building along with a good portion of the landscape. A second alarming sight caught her attention as she saw black flames eating away at the surroundings.
"The flames of Amaterasu," Kikyuu whispered.
Fearing the worst had happened as she was too far out of range to sense if any chakra signatures remained after such an attack, she leapt down to the ground and dashed towards the ruins.
However, as she became in range for chakra sensing, she gasped as a sickening feeling swept over her. The chakra she felt was darker and more evil than any that she had felt before and it made her lean against a tree as she shuddered.
'Orochimaru's chakra…but how?' She thought before pushing forward.
Sasuke cried out furiously as he leapt up into the air and stabbed his katana down at his brother; however, the Susanoo protected him with a shield-like object and he merely rebounded.
"This is the Yata Mirror," Itachi stated as he continued walking forward, "Another specialty of the Susanoo that provides protection."
The younger Uchiha stood and backed away from his brother, looking for a means of escape when coughing drew his attention. Itachi was hacking furiously into his hand as he gripped at his chest, feeling his heart racing and hearing the old woman's warning of not overexerting himself. Blood seeped profusely through the fingers of the hand that covered his mouth before he shakily rose up and walked towards his brother, the Susanoo barely remaining around him as he stepped directly in front of Sasuke. He lifted his hand, holding out two fingers as he raised it towards his brother's face. Itachi knew that Sasuke believed he was about to steal his eyes, but he surprised him as he merely tapped his brother's forehead as the Susanoo faded out.
"Forgive me, Sasuke… There won't be a next time," Itachi stated with a smile before taking his last breath.
His hand slid down his brother's face before he collapsed next to him, dead eyes staring up into the clouded sky. Sasuke, blood now streaking his face, blinked for a moment before looking down at his brother's corpse as rain began to fall. Then, he simply collapsed forward, as well.
Kikyuu heard the thunder crack overhead and growled in frustration as she stared at the wall of black flames, wondering how she was going to get over them. Suddenly, she snapped her head in the direction of Sasuke's chakra and realized that Itachi's had faded. It was gone; she couldn't sense it, couldn't feel it. It was simply gone.
She flashed rapidly through hand signs before thrusting her palms out to her sides and facing the ground. A large, gusting stream of wind erupted from her hands, lifting her up over the flames. She angled her hands in order to drive her towards Sasuke's dimming chakra and when she landed, she sighed as she took in the sight of the Uchiha brothers.
She felt a massive amount of heat radiating from her right side and, when she looked down, she saw the black flames eating away at the Akatsuki cloak. Kikyuu quickly discarded the cloak and watched it burn next to her, feeling a small weight lifting off of her shoulders.
"Hello, Kikyuu," a familiar voice crooned with a touch of nervousness in it.
Turning her head to her right again, she saw Zetsu was before her, partially above ground and partially below.
"Hi, Zetsu," she replied before looking back at Itachi's corpse.
"It was a good battle. You shouldn't have missed it," Zetsu stated.
She shook her head, "No. I would've only been an interference. What happened? At the end, that is."
"Well, it looked like Itachi was going to win and steal Sasuke's eyes for the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan….but…' Zetsu began.
"But what?" Kikyuu pressed.
"He began to cough. There was a fair amount of blood and he was clutching his chest. He was staggering too," he finished.
The young woman closed her eyes, knowing that his illness was the true cause of his death. She sighed as she made her way over to Itachi's body before falling to her knees as the rain soaked her to the bone. A sob hitched in her throat as she stretched out her hand and caressed his cheek before closing his eyes. She pulled her hand back and covered her eyes with that hand as she cried softly while Zetsu slowly slipped into the ground.
Kikyuu lifted her head some time after Zetsu disappeared and wiped her eyes before standing. She knew where he was going: to inform Tobi of the outcome of the battle. This masked man would come and try to reveal the truth to the young Uchiha and this she could not let happen. She moved around the bodies before kneeling to pick up Sasuke and take him to the Konoha shinobi that were nearby.
"How interesting…" a deep voice purred behind her.
She paused before turning in the direction of the voice and saw Tobi standing behind her with Zetsu behind him.
"Tobi… how positively serious you truly are," she stated as she drew two kunai from her pouch.
The masked man chuckled as he stepped forward, "Zetsu, take Itachi's corpse. I'll take Sasuke."
"Not on your life!" Kikyuu shouted before dashing forward.
She slashed at Tobi's throat and blinked as the kunai merely slipped through, causing her body to fall forward with the momentum from her attack. When her arm and body cleared his, Tobi swiftly turned and front kicked her back, sending her flying and crashing into the remains of a wall. She coughed heavily and felt the pain erupt from her back as she fell to the ground before she stood on shaky legs.
"Honestly, is that the best you have? Pity, I was led to believe Itachi trained you better considering you were his true lover. And here I believed he killed her on the night of the massacre, but no. That was just someone his father forced him towards, wasn't it?" Tobi taunted as he stared at her through the swirled mask as the thunder continued to crack overhead.
She began to flash through hand signs before she suddenly found herself slammed back into the same boulder she first crashed into. Tobi's hand was wrapped around her throat and it began to tighten as he spoke:
"I don't have time for this charade."
In one swift motion, he rendered her unconscious.