A/n: FYI, lightning actually goes from the ground to the sky, but in Sasuke's battle with Itachi it came from the sky so I guess that's how lightning works in the Naruto-verse. =P

My, my, my, I do think this is my favourite chapter in Arc 1, though I'm afraid that some parts might be a little OOC. Also, I'm not sure I wrote the last part exactly how it played out in my head, and reading it over it seems a little weird... Ah well, we'll see how it goes.

Onii/Nii- older brother

San- polite form of address

Chapter 5-The Meaning of Family

24 February, year xxxx

It's been a month since the mission at Grass, and the Hokage has finally deemed me trustworthy enough to cancel my 24 hour supervision. Itachi is relieved about this, though he has too much pride to show it. Just like that bastard Mustang. I swear, Itachi has no emotions! It's scary to think of a kid his age thinking like he does; I wonder if he wasn't hit on the head as a baby or something. Though, during the three months in Grass, Itachi had seemed to be getting better. And during the week with Ares, Itachi almost seemed normal. Ares had that effect on you. I'd never say this aloud, but since this is my travel log, and no one will read this… Ares is the most adorable kid ever, even though he's only nine. And he isn't annoying -thank goodness- like most kids his age are. Ares is… Agh! Enough, I sound like Hughes.

Since I haven't updated this log in a while, I suppose I should quickly fill in the events of the past month. The Hokage has decreed me a trustworthy ninja after the Grass event, because he clearly sees that I have a good heart or whatever. So, Itachi's been taken off my back, and I can do all the research I want! (Well, I am supposedly a 'research jounin' after all, whatever the heck that means.) It's been a pretty calm month, though I've had one stupid mission. It was also with Itachi, because he's a chuunin so he has to do B-rank. It only lasted four days, but four days were enough. I'll never look at noblewoman the same way again…

And what have I been researching this past month? Well, ninja arts really. If I'm going to be in this world for a while, I'd better learn them. That encounter with the Red Eyed Swordsman or whatever really showed how… different ninjas were. I know my skills, and I'm not sure I could have taken him. Besides, all the time/space texts are getting confusing with their different references to chakra points and stuff. I think it'd be prudent to learn from the foundations of things. I'm still researching time/space techniques of course, but I've simply also added in ninja basics. Though, I'm a little beyond basics now. Still, something things must come with practicability, so I've enlisted Itachi's help on that. Something things after all, one can't learn without a teacher, no matter how skilled you yourself may be. Besides, if I can survive Izumi, I can survive an eleven year old child. It was humiliating asking him but… I'll do anything for my goals.

-excerpt from Edward's Travel Log

Edward blew a strand of hair out of his face, feeling a little annoyed. Why exactly, was he learning how to throw kunai when all he wanted was to learn how to perfect chakra? Oh yeah, because after Itachi had seen Edward's abysmal kunai skills, the dark haired boy had insisted on teaching it first to Edward, stating that it would be the blond killed if he couldn't properly aim a simple kunai. It was brutal.

Throwing a few at a specific target hadn't been too hard. After a few tries, and watching Itachi's demonstration, it had been easy enough to figure out. But now…? Itachi expected him to throw six kunai all at once and have them all land on a tiny, specified target? It was crazy!

Itachi seemed to sense Edward's annoyance. Looking at Edward through half lidded eyes, Itachi strode to the center of the clearing in the forestry training grounds, and shuffled out six kunai from his pouch. Then suddenly, he threw, one coming straight at Edward. Edward's eyes widened, but he didn't have time to dodge. The kunai was too fast for his body to follow. Thankfully, the kunai whizzed past him, almost cutting him on the cheek. Edward's body relaxed.

The blond let out a sigh of relief, then glared the Uchiha, "…the hell? Are you trying to kill me?"

Itachi cocked his head, gesturing with one hand towards the spots the kunai had landed, "I thought you were a genius."

Edward's eyes widened as he took in all the weapons positions. He turned behind him, and sure enough, that kunai was in spot too. Itachi had thrown all six kunai, and each and every one of them had struck the targets the black haired boy had set for Edward.

"It's not impossible," Itachi stated, walking up to Edward. He took the six kunai from Edward's hand, and twisted them every so slightly between his fingers. "All you have to do, is hold them like this, and it'll be easier to aim while you throw. Calculate the wind velocity -though I'm sure you can do that already- and release. Don't look for where you're throwing; hear it, feel it, sense it. I notice you've been trying to see your targets for the past few tries, but you don't have to. All you need to do is-"

"What are you doing?"

Both boys turned their heads, looking towards the interruption. It was a small boy, possibly six, maybe even seven. Edward blinked as he took in the boy's features; black hair, dark eyes, heck, even the clothes were the same! The blond inclined his head, glancing at Itachi, but the black haired ninja's face was as impassive as always.

"Nii-san!" The little boy whined, "Why are you teaching him but not me?"

What the? This little boy was Itachi's brother? That meant… Edward looked to Itachi, only to be met with a blank expression.

"He is someone important to the village," Itachi answered without emotion, "And therefore he needs to be trained."

"I'll become someone important to the village too! I'm already in the ninja academy!"

"That is different."

"How? Besides, that guy doesn't look like a ninja! He's not even very old. He looks-"

"My age." Itachi cut in, then sighed ever so slightly, "Edward is as much of a genius as I am, but he's only been recently instated into the ninja world. I am to teach him our ways. Sasuke, why don't you go ask mother to teach you some ninja techniques?"

"I don't want mother!" Sasuke cried, "I want you!"

"I am bus-"

"Sure," Edward grinned, deciding that he'd help the little boy. He remembered all the ridiculous things Alphonse used to do to get his attention; fighting him, or fish catching competitions, anything.

Itachi turned to give the alchemist a warning look, "Edward, that is not-"

"I don't see why not," Edward broke in, "Hey don't worry on the account of me, I can learn this. Besides, I don't see why you can't instruct your brother and I at the same time. I'm sure that can't be very different from teaching me alone."

"…" Itachi couldn't argue, just as Edward knew he wouldn't. After all, Edward for once had faultless logic, and he knew that Itachi secretly wanted to teach Sasuke, but was conflicted with duties. After all, what brother didn't want to teach their sibling something? Finally, Itachi nodded in consent, turning back to the kunai.

Sasuke shuffled out of the bushes and walked past the blond with a withering glance, "Don't think I'll like you just because of this. I still blame you for taking my Nii-san's attention."

"You little brat!" Edward growled, feeling his sense of accomplishment vanish. "No sense of appreciation at all! See if I'll help you next time!"

"Good!" Sasuke spat, "Don't!"

The two glared at each other, then with a huff, ignored the other's presence. Or at least, Sasuke ignored Edward's presence. The blond haired ninja, was still keeping an eye on the smaller child. It seemed that while Sasuke may have been Itachi's younger brother, he didn't exactly inherit all of Itachi's gifts. Oh sure, Sasuke was beyond a standard student, but he wasn't on par with Edward and Itachi in natural understanding yet. Sasuke could be amazing, and he'd definitely stand out in a crowd, but right now with Edward as his adversary Sasuke seemed like a slow child. When explaining the proper way to throw a kunai to achieve the maximum effect, Edward could get it within the third try, whereas Sasuke took fifteen, and a regular child would take hundreds. And the problem was, Itachi wasn't slowing down for his brother.

So, while Sasuke struggled to master the previous exercise, Itachi was already giving Edward a new one. It was a vicious cycle, where Sasuke kept missing lessons, therefore making it all the harder to master the next step. Did Itachi really not care to teach his brother properly?

Edward sighed at the problem; it wasn't that it mattered to him but…He had to help somehow; because they were brothers. "Hey Itachi, mind explaining that step again?"

Itachi raised a brow, not having been asked to repeat a step before, but then again, he'd only been training Edward for an hour. Thankfully, Itachi chalked it up to the level of difficulty in the exercises he was giving Edward now, so that was why Edward seemed to be slowing down. This time, Edward also completed the exercise just a little bit slower than he usually did.

The next problem came when Sasuke didn't understand a concept Edward had gotten right off the bat. Though Sasuke didn't ask outright, Edward had seen the furious glance the black haired boy had made to his index finger during the explanation. Edward coughed into his hand, "Hey Itachi, why exactly is the index finger's position so vital to throwing it this way? I mean, wouldn't the middle finger have the same effect?"

Edward saw Itachi's brow furrow, ever so slightly. It was a valid question, so Itachi couldn't possibly find it suspicious, "Well…"

The third time Edward asked for 'pointers' though, he knew he was in trouble, "Hey Itachi, why-"

"Edward!" The black haired Uchiha snapped, then glared at his younger brother, "I know what you are doing. Stop it."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"Did you not think I would realize?" Itachi asked coldly, "Anyway, I was asked to train you, because you might be assuming chuunin level duties. By doing this, you are quite frankly slowing down your progress. I haven't all the time in the world; do not waste it by doing something as pointless as this."

Edward felt heat rise from his stomach, though he knew technically he was in the wrong, "Pointless? You call teaching your own brother pointless? Don't give me that crap, I know you care for him!"

"He is my brother," Itachi replied without any inflection in his voice, "And he is not the one required to learn the techniques of an assassin. You were wasting my time, Edward Elric. Do not think to trick me again."

"Fine," Edward growled, "Next time I'll just ask."

Itachi shot Edward a cold glare, then turned to leave, "Now you know the proper way to throw kunai, you must practice on your own, so it's ingrained in your reflexes. Next time, we'll be practising hitting moving targets."

With that, Itachi disappeared from sight. Edward let out a loud sigh of frustration, running a hand through his growing hair. What a disaster.

"You didn't need to do that."

Edward whipped around, his eyes finally leaving the spot that Itachi had been. Sasuke stood a little ways off, his cheeks flushed and his eyes fierce. Whoops, it looked like Edward had upset more than one Uchiha. Most likely, the younger brother didn't take well to being manipulated. Ah well, what was done was done. Besides, Edward had promised he'd never do it again. It wasn't like he was good at it, anyway.

"I could have handled it on my own," Sasuke elaborated, crossing his arms, "You don't need to pity me."

Edward cocked his head, then snorted, "Life's not all about you, brat. What I did wasn't for you, it was for your… bond. It was for Itachi, really."

"Bond?" Sasuke furrowed his brows, looking extremely confused, "Itachi? But… but he never cares about what I do."

"Eh? Really? Because it seems to me that Itachi cares quite a bit about you. That is the bond of brothers…"

Sasuke must have noticed the wistful tone in Edward's voice, because he suddenly sneered, "Jealous?"

"Yes," Edward answered truthfully, erecting a surprised look from the black haired boy, "I have… a younger brother, but I can't find him right now. When I see you and Itachi together… anyway, as an older brother I kind of understand how Itachi feels. He wants to protect you, and the way of ninja doesn't is all sort dangerous. He's also not the most sociable person on the planet, so interacting with you like some other brothers you might see is not his forte."

Sasuke looked unconvinced, but then, words alone could hardly even convince anyone.

"Do you need more proof?" Edward's lips twisted as he closed his eyes and tried to recall what had happened that day, "Alright, how 'bout I tell you about the first time Itachi and I met? It wasn't on friendly terms. In the end, he defeated me, but there was one point in time where I had captured him and he thought I was going to kill him. His exact words to me were 'If you ever see my brother, Sasuke Uchiha, please tell him that I am sorry I cannot teach him more ninja techniques'. He didn't even mention your mom or dad."

"What?" That got Sasuke's attention, "H-he really said that?"

"You can go ask him yourself."

There was a long moment a silence, then… "No, I believe you. You wouldn't dare lie about Itachi nii-san. But… can you… can you teach me how to throw kunai?"

Huh? "I thought you wanted your brother to."

Sasuke bit his lip, fingering the kunai in his hand, "Yeah, I do, but I want to impress him more! So… can you please teach me?"

Edward felt a pang in his chest, as he remembered similar instances from a long long time ago. Ever since That Day, Al had stopped obviously depending on him, asking for help. Most likely, Al didn't want to burden him. That fool, he should have known that not asking for help was more burdensome… Edward grasped Sasuke's fingers, curling them into the correct position, "Like this, so that the index folds only a third of the way to the palm, to increase the…"

Hikari set out the plates, smiling. Today, she had guests, after all. It had taken a world of work to get both Edward and Itachi to come, but she had done it, somehow. The two wanted to think that they were adults, and they did do a might good job of acting like it most of the time, but at heart they were still kids. And all children needed affection.

The doorbell rang.

Hikari slipped off her apron, folding it neatly on her counter. Dusting off her slightly floury sleeves, she made her way towards the door, deftly avoiding a giggling three-year-old Konohamaru. The image on her front porch warmed her heart. Edward was scowling, an impassive Itachi by his side. And, there was one more little creature for her this time. A little boy, who couldn't have been older than six, stood between her two favourite eleven year olds, his dark hair in a lovely disarray. She fell in love with him instantly.

Opening the door wide, Hikari smiled down at the three boys, "Welcome."

"This is Itachi's brother," Edward introduced, all of the sudden turning very nervous, "Sasuke. I hope you don't mind, but I didn't want to leave him and…"

He was babbling, but Hikari didn't interrupt him. It was her impression that all children needed to babble, sometimes. When he was finally finished, Hikari nodded, a wide grin spreading across his face, "Well, that's lucky. I thought I made too much food for everyone, but it looks like now it'll just be perfect. Anyone's welcome to my home. Are you going to spring a little brother on me too, Edward?"

"Ah," Immediately Edward's face fell, and Hikari instantly recognized her mistake. Oh no, she hadn't meant to…! Her father had explained to her the reason Edward was staying in Konoha the night just before the Grass mission, but she had nearly forgotten it because it was so long ago. She looked down at the golden eyed child sadly, and opened her mouth to apologize, but Edward beat her to it.

"It's fine," The red cloaked child said softly, "Al would have loved to have dinner with you, too."

Wordlessly, she nodded, and motioned the three in. Ah, Edward was such a sweet boy; he didn't deserve to have lost his brother. Then again, who in the world deserved their circumstances? Shaking her head, Hikari moved back towards her kitchen, noticing out of the corner of her eye, Itachi closing the door for her. She felt a smile spread across her lips; there was another considerate boy. Edward and Itachi, what a pair. The sweetest little boys on earth. What mother wouldn't want to have them?

Just then, she felt a heavy weight on her leg, and glanced down to see the pleading brown eyes of Konohamaru. Laughing gently, she picked up him, bouncing him up and down a few times just to hear his shrieking laughter. Catching him one last time, she changed her course to the dinning room, and quickly set him down in a high seat. She squeezed his cheeks lovingly, and sternly ordered him to stay. Konohamaru pouted, but Hikari knew he would obey. Yes, she couldn't complain, not when she had her sweet little angel Konohamaru.

She patted his head, and made her way towards the kitchen again. This time, she was unhindered. Taking the food off the stovetops, Hikari whirled like a waitress back to the dinning room, setting down the various dishes with a distinctive flourish. Edward, Itachi, and Sasuke were already seated, like she had ordered them to. Edward and Itachi had been to her meals enough, to know that Hikari didn't like it when they helped out in the kitchen. They were children, and meals should be taken care of by adults; they already did enough to help Konoha.

Finally, all the dishes were brought over, the utensils placed, and cups filled with orange juice. Hikari took her seat at the round table, besides Konohamaru and Sasuke, feeling a tender smile spread across her face. Nobody had even touched their plates. They had all waited for her. Hikari felt her heart warm, and she had just the slightest bit of trouble picking up her utensils.

As soon as she did though, so did the others; Edward and Konohamaru digging into her food with relish. Itachi and Sasuke followed at a more sedate pace, delicately placing food into their plates, and cutting it in perfect etiquette.

"This is delicious," Itachi took a bite, his voice monotone, but Hikari knew the little kid well enough to detect the subtle changes. There was sincerity in that voice.

Hikari smiled, and winked teasingly at the eleven year old boy as she leaned over, scooping up one of her dumplings with a spoon, and plopping it down on Itachi's plate, "Then you must try this. It's our family's secret recipe."

As always, the children started becoming more open as the meal progressed, just as Hikari had hoped they would. Hikari cocked her head, half listening to the conversations around her table as she fed the gurgling Konohamaru; they were terribly amusing.

"Itachi nii-san! Try this seaweed onigiri! It's amazing!"

"Thank you Sasuke. However, although it is delicious it is not my favourite selection."

"Tch, Itachi, I saw the way you were drooling over the onigiri at the festival, so don't try to deny it. I know you're just trying to get Sasuke to eat whatever you perceive as his 'favourite foods' and all, but really, it won't work. Sasuke's favourite food isn't onigiri —and you'd know that if you spent more time with him— it's the omusubi here. So, by sacrificing yourself and saying you hate the food you love, thereby making Sasuke eat the food you think he loves, won't work. He'll just think he's doing you a favour, and you'll think you're doing him a favour, when in reality the both of you are just being idiots. It's one big chain of… idiocy. I really don't have a better word for it."

"Re-really Itachi nii-san?"

"…are you quite done with your speech, Edward?"

Hikari smiled as she fed another dumpling into Konohamaru's awaiting mouth; yes, she quite liked her little dinners.

"Ah, greetings! I'm so glad you came!"

"As if we had a choice," Edward muttered, glaring at the cheerful chubby man.

Beside him, Hikari tsked, but also made sure to keep her voice low, "No Edward, be nice. He's our client, after all."

Edward snorted; some client. The guy was overly paranoid, that's what. He'd used all his money to hire ninja guards; five ANBU, and just enough money left over for a chunnin-level ninja- all to explore some abandoned mines. Seriously, why didn't the chubby man just hire one ninja, and gotten the ninja to check out the mine for him? But no, Mr. Chubbs wanted to look at the mine himself, and have six ninja as escorts. So now, here they were, outside the entrance of a hot, smelly mine.

And it was raining.

"We are glad to be here," Itachi said calmly behind his weasel mask, bowing ever so slightly to the chubby man. No, they were not glad to be here, especially not since they were getting wet, but Itachi could lie very well.

"That is great! But, let's not waste time." Turning on his heel, Mr. Chubbs walked decisively towards the tunnel, his boots making faint scrunching noises on the mud. The soaking ninja didn't glance at eachother before following him. Edward was nearly at the threshold, when he felt something off. He stopped, causing Hikari to bump into him.

She put a hand to his shoulder, her voice concerned, "Edward, what…?"

What indeed? Furrowing his brows, Edward looked around, spreading out his senses. For some reason, something didn't feel- Edward turned back to the mine, shrugging off Hikari's hand and running towards it full speed, "Get ou-"

He hadn't even said the warning, when the roof suddenly cracked. Eyes widening, Edward lunged forwards, but felt his body fling backwards. A loud boom echoed through the area, and the air exploded in a shower of dirt and rock. Edward was knocked off his feet, flying backwards due to the force of the explosion. He landed in a tuck roll, putting his arms over his face to block the stray shrapnel.

The winds finally died down, and Edward stopped feeling stray bits of rock hit his arms. Panting, he got up, looking around wildly, "Hikari! Ita-"

A hand clamped over his mouth. Edward's eyes widened, and his hand dropped to his pouch of kunai! The voice hissed out in warning, "Stop it! Do you want our enemies to know where you are?"

The blond haired boy froze. As if knowing that he wouldn't attack now, the hand was slowly removed from his mouth. Blinking, Edward turned around, registering Hikari behind him, her rabbit mask resting on the top of her head.

She was okay. Edward let out a sigh of relief, making sure to keep his voice to a minimum, "Are the others…?"

Her eyes dimmed ever so slightly, "I saw Itachi turn at your shout, but they were deep into the tunnel by that time. And… I don't see them now. But don't worry, Itachi's tough, his ANBU commander even more so. They'll be okay in there. It's only a matter of time before they get out."

"But you'll be dead by then!"

Hikari and Edward turned as one, heads whipping to the new voice. A smirking female stood in the rain, two gorillas of men flanking her. She flipped her dark black hair over her shoulder, and the two men disappeared, "Though, I congratulate you on not getting trapped in that mine. Don't know how you did it. It was never meant to kill anyone of course, but we thought it'd separate everyone until we could take care of them. I suppose we'll have to take care of you first."

Hikari narrowed her eyes, "Watch out, Edward. They're taking advantage of this rain; using it to mask their sounds and scents, as well as blur our vision. My guess is that they're trained for this method of fighting."

"No problem," Edward murmured, spreading out his senses. Slowly, he felt human-like figures flicker to life in his mind's eye, overlapping with the mental image he already had with his surroundings. He hadn't only been practising the ninja arts these past nine months.

Ever since his first fight with Itachi, Edward had seen the potential of using alkahestry as a chakra sensor. Though the results of alkahestry were similar to alchemy, but the methods much harder to use, Edward didn't bother with those. But, the sensing ability was damn useful. Still, Edward wasn't a master at it yet, or else he would have definitely picked up on the enemies' chakra signatures way before they could have acted, like Mei Chang would have. But, he was proficient enough to use it effectively if he was concentrating on it.

And… he felt something now. "Behind!"

But, he didn't need to warn Hikari. He supposed she wasn't the daughter of the military leader, and an ANBU at that, for nothing. He didn't even see her move, but he saw the one gorilla man pound into the ground where she had been seconds before, creating a huge crater in the earth.

Hikari reappeared behind him, sending a kick his way. It was intercepted though, by the other gorilla man, who caught the foot with one hand, and threw a punch with the other. Hikari's hand flashed through seals faster than Edward's eye could follow, "Fire Release: Ball of Flame!"

Letting go of her foot, the man jumped back, just in time to avoid the large fireball that erupted from Hikari's mouth. When Edward caught the man's smirk however, he knew something was wrong. Eyes widening, Edward dug into his pocket, and threw a slew of kunai at Hikari. The first gorilla man, who was just about to punch the back of Hikari's head, jumped back to avoid the weaponry that sailed over the ANBU's shoulder.

Hikari sent him a grateful look before she disappeared again, reappearing a little distance off. Edward moved to help her, but suddenly had to jump backwards to avoid being skewered by a shower of shuriken. He followed the path of the weaponry to the predatory eyes of the black haired girl.

"Now, now," She admonished, "We can't have you interfering with the Bloody Duo's perfect teamwork, can we? Don't worry, you'll be able to fight them once they're done with that woman of yours."

Edward gritted his teeth, slamming his hands together to form a circle. Carbon, Silicon, Lead, Lithium! Her mistake for giving him too much time. The earth around her erupted in landmine of metal spikes, covering a five meter radius on all sides; even if she dodged, she wouldn't have anywhere to dodge to.

This woman was a professional though. She jumped up as soon as the first spike broke through, Edward's alchemy only grazing the side of her leg. As soon as she was in the air, her hands flashed through various seals, "Earth Release: Acid Mud!"

Spewing something out of her mouth, the black liquid melted Edward's carefully created spikes, hissing and bubbling before quickly solidifying into obsidian stone. Edward didn't waste time to mourn his missed attack though. He threw a barrage of shuriken at the descending lady, and body flickered out of his position. She deflected it, as expected, landing in a crouch on the black land.

"Wind Release: Razing Winds!" A long ranged attack; perhaps it wouldn't kill a professional like her, but it would at least distract her.

"Tch! Water Release: Foam Shield!" The surrounding raindrops condensed around her, and like its name suggested, shielded her from his attack. "Ha boy, you're still too early to attack a natural water affinity in her element! The only reason you got me at first was because I was surprised! Water Release: Waterfall Dragon!"

Edward inwardly cursed; it would take too much time to perform alchemy on the incoming dragon-like structure. He rapidly formed handseals, "Earth Release: Hiding Wall!"

A large chunk of earth in front of him rose, absorbing most of the water. But what the woman had said about challenging a water element when it was raining was right. The dragon's tail curled around the earth wall, whipping Edward through the air. A barrage of kunai followed its wake, surrounding Edward before he could react and exploding. Edward disappeared in a poof of smoke.

The earth around the woman shot up, swallowing her in a mount of stone. Only her head remained exposed, her eyes glaring balefully at the blond. Edward winced slightly as the memoires of his shadow clone assaulted him; he didn't particularly like exploding to death. It was a good thing he had made one as a precaution when he set up his Hiding Wall. But finally, this woman was defeated, and he could go help Hikari. He took stepped towards the woman, wanting to knock her out.

Just then, he felt two strong arms wrap around his, preventing him from moving. Edward's eyes widened as he cranked his neck upwards to get a better view of his attacker's face; it was one of the gorilla man! The other man walked over to the woman, delivering a hard punch to the stone wall. It cracked, then broke open.

The woman brushed mud off her clothes, a furious expression on her face. She growled, taking a few steps back, "How dare you do that to me? I'll make you pay, brat. Adachi, move out of the way! Godo, get prepared!"

Edward struggled harder, but to no avail.

"What?" The woman smirked, putting her hands together, "Want to cling onto life? You should have thought of that before you challenged me."

"Hikari! What have you done to her?"

"Oh… that woman. Dead, probably, or else the Bloody Duo wouldn't have interfered with my fight. Dead, like you're soon going to be!" Slowly, the air started to bake and cackle, flaring blue at odd times. Smirking, the woman went through a series of handseals, then pointed one long, bony finger at the blond, "Lightning Release: Primitive Strike!"

A bolt of blue light raced down from the heavens, stopping a millimeter from the woman's outstretched finger before it bended, striking like a snake towards Edward's frozen body. Edward couldn't move, he knew it; the gorilla man wouldn't let him go until the last second. They were professionals.

Would it all end here? His dreams, his plans, his hopes for the future? Would he never see his brother again? He couldn't believe it. His fists clenched, his eyes hardened, but there was nothing he could do. All he could do, was await the coming lightning. What a stupid way to die.

And then, a shadow flashed in front of him. Hikari! The lightning struck, and blood splattered Edward's face, dyeing his pale cheeks a dark red. The grip on his arm slackened, but Edward couldn't register that. What…?

Hikari arched backwards, looking eternally beautiful as the lightning lit her body a radiant blue. Edward lunged forwards, catching her body before she hit the ground, ignoring the slight shock that came with touching her. He knelt on the ground, shaking her, his tears mixing with the rain. "Hikari! Hikari!"

Warm brown eyes fluttered open, and she looked at him with a faint smile, "Edward."

"Oh thank God!" Edward hugged her, burrowing his face in her chest, "Oh thank goodness you're okay…"

He trailed off, his cheek touching something that didn't feel quite right. Eyes widening with horror, Edward straightened, looking at the small, black hole on Hikari's chest. The older woman smiled sadly, "Edward… I'm not okay. I don't think, I'll make it."

"No… no! You're a medic nin, you can heal yourself! You can-"

"Edward, stop." Hikari let out a little cough, her hand weakly coming up to grasp Edward's, "I… I know my own limits. I don't have enough chakra to heal myself, and I'm the only medic around here. It's not your fault, I would have died from my wounds from the Bloody Duo, anyway. I just wanted… to save you."

"Then teach me how to heal you! Teach me-" The boy chocked, his throat closing up.

"I… I…" Hikari's eyes fluttered closed, her voice getting weaker, "Hehe, this kinda reminds me of when I was giving birth to Konohamaru. It's a good memory to have. He's such a sweet boy you know, and he always wants attention. His father died a while back, and he's kinda lonely without him. I wish I had been around for him more, but I can't disappoint my dad…"

"Stop… stop talking like that. You can… you can make it up to Konohamaru when you get back to Konoha and… I mean, you can't look to the past, you must keep walking forwards!"

Hikari smiled at that, her hand slipping away from his, "What a great speech Edward, I hope you go by it. Please… take care of Konohamaru for me…"

Edward simply gripped her hand tighter, "I won't have to! Because you'll be there, because you'll-"

"Edward, stop."

Like a zombie, the blond turned, his mind taking a moment to register the dark haired, red-eyed boy. Itachi.

The Uchiha knelt down by him, gently removing the blond's fingers from Hikari's hand. Her arm slipped down, falling with a soft plop to the muddy ground. Itachi rested a hand on Edward's shoulder, his voice as sad as the bluebirds in fall, "Stop it Edward, she's already dead."

"She- she-" Edward shook Itachi's hand off, gripping his mother-like figure all the more tightly, "She isn't! She's not dead! She can't be, she-"

"LOOK AT HER!" Itachi roared, his face uncharacteristically angry. Slowly, it softened again, going back into that blank mask, "People die. That's the ninja life."

"It doesn't have to be that way! I can bring her back, I know I can! I've done it before! A blood seal, that's what I'll do! I'll… I'll… I'll…"

Hikari's body slipped from his arms, because he didn't have the strength to hold it anymore. She slid to the muddy floor, the pit-pattering rain drops cleansing her face of her blood. She looked beautiful like that, peaceful in her eternal sleep.

Edward pulled his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around himself. He looked to the sky, ignoring the hissing raindrops that assaulted his eyes. Itachi sat down beside him, hesitantly putting a hand on his shoulder, "Edward…"

"No," Edward whispered, still staring at the heavens, "No… I won't bring her back. I made a promise not to mess with human life again. She's dead."

There was a certain tenseness in the air, as if Itachi didn't quite know what to say. That was fine, Edward didn't want Itachi to say anything. Slowly, he noticed the four other chakra signatures, the signatures of the ANBU. They must have gotten out of the mine then, and came to clean things up. That was why nobody was attacking them right now. If they had come sooner, would things have turned out differently? No, no he couldn't afford to think like that. His motto was to forget the past, and move on. So why… why did he find it so hard to follow that at the moment?

He squeezed his eyes shut, his fists clenching; why couldn't he move on already? Why did he still feel this pain? Oh yeah, because… "It was my fault."

He felt Itachi tense beside him, and he didn't blame the brunette. After all, Itachi had also been somewhat close to Hikari, so it only made sense if the Uchiha abandoned Edward because he murdered her. Itachi though, only shook his head, "No you didn't, that's survivor's guilt talking. She died, and you didn't, that's all there was to it. It wasn't anyone's fault."

"She took the attack meant for me," Edward's lips twisted, "It should be me dead, not her."

"But she wanted you to live," Itachi said slowly, "It was her choice to jump in front of that attack, not yours. Would you have wanted her to live her life in guilt if the situation were reversed?"

Edward closed his eyes, burying his head in his arms, "I'm not going to live my life in guilt. I know better than that. I'll move on. I'm just indulging in grief, right now. Can't I do that, Itachi?"

There was another, long moment of silence. But Edward found that he couldn't stand that, either. He lifted his head again, giving Itachi a deadened look, "Hey, could she have been treated? I mean, she was still alive for a few moments before…"

"I don't know. I'm not a medical expert, but I think her wounds were pretty serious. Maybe if you were Lady Tsunade, you could have cured her, but don't go thinking that you could have done something, because you couldn't have."

"Yeah," Edward muttered, his eyes blurring as he gazed at the dreary landscape, "I couldn't have. I… I think I hate that feeling of helplessness, of knowing that you can't do anything. I… I don't want to experience that again."

Itachi simply looked at him, not offering any comment. Edward was thankful for it. He knew he was being stupid, and that people were obviously going to die, but he was thankful to Itachi for not pointing that out right now. Even he wasn't sure how he'd react.

"So…" Edward leant forwards, putting a hand on Hikari's face and brushing away a stray strand of hair. He put his face to her hairline, kissing her on the forehead softly as he gently closed her eyes. That done, he stood, his fists clenched tightly. He would move on. "And so… I'll become the best medic there is, so that people won't have to die around me!"

In the background, the soft pitter-pattering of the rain went on.