A/n: I got bored and didn't want to do any work during my spare, so this came out. Don't worry, it's not a 'real' chapter, so it won't interfere with my next update. Think of it as a Bonus! :)

Interlude: Blue Skies

The skies used to be blue.

Black eyes blearily opened, as the owner registered the soft steps which signaled his partner. Rolling over, Itachi lifted the blankets from his person and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He stood soundlessly.

Kisame had gotten up, that much he knew. He trusted the missing Mist nin to a certain extent, but he also knew that complete trust would be foolish. It was obvious from their various conversations that Kisame was spellbound with Akatsuki's true leader, and Itachi could not risk Madara getting a whiff of his true emotions. Itachi rather thought that part of the reason he and Kisame got along so well was because Kisame thought Itachi was just as fanatic as he about world peace.

Well, Itachi was just as fanatic. But not about Madara's vision. And not outwardly. Never outwardly.

Wishing to sigh but knowing that the ability to regret had long since left him, Itachi took a silent step towards the chair where he had hung his Akatsuki cloak. In the other room, he heard Kisame cursing and banging on chairs as the mist nin tried to remember where he had stashed his things. Itachi felt a thin smile spread across his lips.

For an expert assassin, Kisame made a lot of noise. It reminded Itachi of someone else he knew, someone with a foul mouth and blazing golden eyes. But that was neither here nor there. Unlike his former (dare he say it? No, he did not dare) associate, Kisame was only being loud to relax. When the situation called for it, the Swordsman of the Mist could go so still that even Itachi had a hard time sensing him. Kismae was talented, there was no doubt about that.

Which was probably the reason that Itachi always awoke when Kisame did. As soon as Itachi heard the other man arise from his bed, the Uchiha would shift from tired to alert. It was not that he thought his partner would kill him, but ANBU habits were hard to break and quite frankly, Itachi had made no effort to break them. For the sake of Konoha, Itachi could not afford to be caught off guard.

He finished putting on his clothes, and just in time too. A knock sounded on his door, and looking bored, Itachi went to answer it. His right arm was hanging out of the front of his lcoak in its usual lazy manner, and there was nothing on his face that indicated anything was different from usual.

The thick paper doors slid open to reveal the Mist nin, his hair as spiky as ever and no signs of doziness on his face, despite the amount of cursing just moments before. Like Itachi, Kisame knew the Poker Face.

"Hey Itachi," The shark man grinned, his sword already strapped to his back. "You ready to leave?"

Itachi nodded silently, not seeing the need for a verbal response. That was alright; Kisame was used to that. He took a step out of his room, and then shut the door behind him. The pair made their way down the stairs, slowly and languidly as they had always done. It was very rarely that an Akatsuki member had to run. Then again, Itachi wouldn't know, considering the fact that he had not seen any other Akatsuki member for four years.

When they got ot the receptionist desk it was Itachi who gave the inn owner the money. The inn owner had seen their headbands and looked slightly fearful, but knew how to stay out of business to stay in business.

"Man," Kisame said as soon as they were out of the inn, "I still don't know why you always insist on giving the innkeepers money. That one looked like he was about to piss his pants. Heh, he probably would have let us stay there for free if I sneezed or something."

Itachi glanced at his partner, then let his eyes wander to the street again, "You know why. Leader would not be pleased if we attracted attention to Akatsuki prematurely."

But that was just a convenient excuse, of course. The truth was very simple –Itachi did not want civilians to get involved in the tricky business that was ninja. They did not deserve to be targets simply because they were weak. There was more to life than strength and weakness after all. Civilians deserved to be able to carry their life on normally. They had not killed, pillaged, and murdered. They did not deserve to be dragged into Akatsuki's shadowy business. And that was why Itachi made no fuss with the innkeepers, preferring instead to pretend to be an ordinary citizen with an odd attitude.

Kisame however, would not understand that. The swordsman was brought up in the blood fields of Mist, where friend could turn on friend and everyone was potentially an enemy. No one could have had the heart to care about civilians there. No, Kisame would not understand Itachi's reasons.

"You are such a goody two-shoes," Kisame muttered with a roll of his eyes. Itachi was still watching the swordsman out of his peripheral vision as they walked down the street. Again, this was not because Itachi thought that Kisame would turn on him, but Kisame had a rather bad tendency to explode on anyone whom he felt slighted him. Whether that meant escaping from Samehada or accidently bumping the Mist nin on the shoulder –Itachi had to be prepared to take care of it. "I mean really Itachi, you take everything Leader says to the letter. Even when we both know that—"

"Kisame," Itachi intoned, "Watch what you say."

Kisame's eyes flashed with recognition. The shark man bowed his head, and kicked at a pebble with his toe. He snorted, his voice indignant, "You don't seriously think someone is listening? Even with you and me both here?"

"You never know what may happen, If a civilian happened to overhear and remembers, and if by chance the people we least want to hear about that connects the dots…"

"Yes, yes, I know," Kisame muttered, "Death, doom, disaster, and all that fun stuff. Man Itachi, you're such a stick in the mud. It's sometimes hard to believe that you massacred your clan."

Itachi forced himself not to stiffen. He had spent months mastering it, then years perfecting it, and it had thankfully paid off. The subject still rattled him, but his heart no longer beat faster, and his facial expressions didn't so nearly as twitch.

"Where is our client?" Itachi asked instead, his voice still in its normal monotone.

"Huh," Kisame pulled out a sheet of paper from underneath his cloak, and squinted at it, "We're not too far from his place. A day's journey if we travel at our normal pace. Let's get something to eat before he head out. I'm starved."

Itachi nodded his agreement, and they went to find a restaurant for breakfast. After eating, they took off. The client –a noble this time— greeted them coolly, businesslike. The mission was simple; he wanted his opposition killed, but the opposition had already bought the best ninja of the village for bodyguards. The noble had heard of Akatsuki from his underground gambling and decided to use them. Leader had assigned Itachi and Kisame this mission, because the noble was willing to cut any corners to use the illustrious Akatsuki, who had yet to fail an assignment.

They found and doubt with the targets quickly. It happened in a small clearing near the middle of a forest. They were done within minutes, as high class fights usually were. Soon, they had four bodies in the clearing.

Itachi's eyes lidded, "Kisame, go collect the money from the client, I'll clean up here."

Kisame hesitated, "Itachi, what—"

Itachi waved a hand, dismissing Kisame's fears, "If this looked like outright murder, the suspicion would fall on client-kun, would it not? If that happens, he will not hire us again. Go, and wait for me at the Starbuck Inn. You will disrupt my genjutsu if you come back here."

The hesitation disappeared completely as Kisame rolled his eyes and left, muttering about arrogant geniuses.

Itachi put his hands in his pockets, and glanced up at the sky. It was late afternoon now, and the sun was fading. "You can come out now."

An amused chuckle sounded from his right, and there was a rustling of bushes as a figure stepped out from the forest. He could have done so silently, Itachi knew, but such was not in the personality of that man.

"My," Madara Uchiha said in a humoured tone, "I wonder if I am losing my touch or if you are simply getting that much better, my dear pupil."

Itachi resisted the urge to shiver, and instead turned his eyes to meet the ancestor Uchiha's soulless black eyes. Madara did not have his mask on. He did not need it when dealing with Itachi.

A wry grin crossed the century year old man's face, "But I must wonder, why did you send Kisame away? Surely you know that an Akatsuki member is not allowed to travel without their partner."

Itachi simply looked at his 'mentor' coldly, "Would you have come out if I didn't?"

"No," Madara smiled, showing all teeth.

"What mission do you have for me?" Madara after all, never just visited.

"Hn, you know me so well. In fact, I do have a mission for you, so listen closely…"

Itachi soaked in the information, and nodded at the end of the explanation. There was a moments of silence.

"What?" Madara finally said, looking surprised, "Do you have no questions about this assignment."

"Your outline was clear," Itachi replied.

"Thank you for the compliment," Madara smiled, but then suddenly, the smile turned almost predatory, "But it wasn't that clear was it? Is perhaps, the reason you're not asking for clarification because you want to interpret it your own way? So you won't have to kill who I did not specify to kill?"

A trap. His heart thumped. Itachi had thought Madara was done testing him. He replied coolly, neither too quickly nor too slowly, "I had assumed that it was standard Akatsuki procedure. Leave no witnesses."

"Hm, indeed?" There was something strained about Madara's smile, but then it turned clearer, "Ah , by the way, have you heard of your brother's recent graduation from the academy?"

"Oh?" Itachi tried not to sound interested, "Well that is expected. He is of Uchiha blood."

"Not so expected," Madara grinned, "That he graduated at thirteen. Such a disappointment, isn't it? Then again, it could be because your friend was holding him back."

"What Sasuke does is no concern of mine," Itachi said uncaringly, "If he is held back, then so be it."

"You are happy because he would not have to see lives taken at an early stage in life, are you not? Thirteen is certainly much older than four—when you took your first life."

Itachi said nothing. To say something would signal that he was defensive. He had to act uncaring.

"Then again," Madara mused, "You are different from your brother. Still, how do you expect him to achieve the Mangekyou Sharingan with Edward Elric-kun holding him back?"

Itachi was silent for a moment. Then—tonelessly—"I highly doubt that my brother being with the 'Edge of Death Elric' will be to his disadvantage."

"Ah," Madara smiled, "So you've been keeping tabs on your old friend too."

"Hardly," Itachi replied coldly, "But it is hard not to hear about the Edge of Death and his… techniques."

He wondered where the blond had learned such techniques. They deeply disturbed him on an intrinsic level where his values of ninja resided, but at the same time… it was just like Edward. Could he be the key to peace? The final puzzle that the Sage of Six Paths left incomplete when he died?

Madara's lips stretched into a grin that was anything but reassuring, "Indeed, it is hard not to hear about the ninja who shakes the foundation of the ninja world. I would not be surprised if he's had to deal with more assassination attempts than you. He is very… interesting, is he not?"

"He is a genius ninja," Itachi conceded. Even enemies could admit to that.

"Genius he may be, but he does not have your… ruthlessness." Madara's lips twitched upwards at the last word, as if he were sharing a silent joke that Itachi should understand but couldn't. "Your brother will be held back from this bloody ninja path simply because of Elric-kun's humanitarian ways."

"You seem well informed of Elric's movements," Itachi commented dryly.

"Yes well," Madara replied with a sudden, amused expression, "I do like to keep an eye on potential enemies… or allies."

Itachi felt his blood freeze. What?

"After all," Madara continued with that odd, scary smile of his, "We both desire world peace, don't we?"

Itachi felt his heart settle back from his throat and his circulation start again as he blinked. Ah. Of course. It was just Madara and his insane delusions again. There might be something to fear, since Madara was deadly intelligent and equally as unpredictable. When he set his mind on something, Itachi had the terrible feeling that he would eventually get it. Still, the situation was not as bad as Madara's words had made it to be. Itachi was sure that Edward could resist anything that Madara threw at him. He was strong.

"Your definition of peace and his are very different," Itachi replied in a monotone. If possible, he'd like to keep Madara's attention off Edward. He wondered about the sudden interest, when Madara had not mentioned anything about the blond since the first night—the night of the massacre. "I have observed him well the few years I was his partner."

There it was, that odd smile of his. "People can change. Are you sure our ideals of peace are so different, Itachi?"

Itachi was silent. Then— "Perhaps, I cannot tell. I do not care much for peace after all."

A wry smile spread across Madara's lips, "No, I suppose you do not."

"Quite frankly," Itachi continued, adding a hint of contempt into his voice, "I think it's a waste for someone of your talent to seek world order. I follow you because you are strong, but you should give up on your foolish dream. If you do not, I will surpass you."

That was almost the most he'd ever said to Madara at once, but he had to keep up his pretence. He was someone who sought only power, and murdered his clan for power. He had to be passionate about it.

"Surpass me?" Madara said, sounding amused. He took a step forward, and gave Itachi a sneering once over. Then, he smiled, and it looked almost… the emotion was gone as quickly as it came, only leaving a sneer of mockery. "No… your eyes are not the same as mine. Not even close. How disappointing, my apprentice."me

Itachi stood stalk still, and Madara turned away. The ancestor Uchiha looked to the sky, putting his hands in his pockets. "Itachi… I expect the mission to be done within a week. Do not let me down."

And then, he was gone.

Itachi waited a moment, spreading out his sense to make sure that no one was near. When he was satisfied with his analysis, he finally let out a small breath of relief. He was not sure what Madara wanted from that conversation, but it had put him on edge. Actually, every time he dealt with the ancestor Uchiha, Itachi couldn't be sure he would come out alive. He had thought that the suspicion had been lifting these past few years, to the point where Madara almost trusted him, but evidently something had happened to raise Madara's reservations again. Question was, what?

As far as Itachi knew, there had been no big events recently, especially not anything done by Edward. Was it possibly, just the graduation event? But why in the world would Madara care about that? Also, if so interested in the graduation, why not mention Naruto-kun? He was a Jinchuriki, and Itachi would have thought that Madara would be interested in— Unless… Itachi's mind made some quick calculations.

Possibly… was it possible that Madara simply wanted to test Itachi's reactions about his brother? It suited the ancestor Uchiha's personality to want to test the waters now that Sasuke was joining the ninja world. By not mentioning Naruto-kun, Madara wanted to see if Itachi would accidently bring up the blond, and thus reveal that he was in fact, keeping tabs on his brother. Madara had always been suspicious of Itachi's reason from sparing Sasuke, even if Madara conceded that he would do the same. Was the whole conversation staged so Madara could gauge the level of truth Itachi had given him all those years ago?

But something didn't sit right with Itachi about that conclusion. If Sasuke was the topic, why bring in Edward? Itachi didn't know, and at the same time, he knew that he probably wouldn't be able to know until he found out more about Madara. That was why he was in Akatsuki, right? To spy on Madara. That was why he was doing such despicable acts such as…

Itachi's eyes shifted to the pile of bodies in the forest clearing. Even throughout the whole conversation, he had not forgotten they were there. He had pretended that the lives he had taken did not affect him, but truthfully they were never far from his mind. Itachi took a step forward, towards the pile of bodies.

He bowed his head in a quick moment of respect, then separated the civilian's body from the ninja. Going through the hand gestures, Itachi took a deep breath and blew out fire. It was not his family's fire jutsu— he could not use it for something like this— it was another jutsu he had copied somewhere down the line.

The flames consumed them. Smoke billowed into the air, making Itachi's eyes sting and the sky seem red behind them. He coughed, a wave of dizziness hitting him as his illness took hold of his body once again.

Itachi went to his knees, but was glad that his sickness had decided to wait. He hacked into the dirt, fists clenching as he fought of the ripples of pain. He shuddered, but did not dare scream. He did not want to attract any attention. He wondered how long he could hide it from Madara; Kisame he knew, was on the verge of discovering.

The illness had hit him sometime after he joined Akatsuki, though he wasn't of the reason. Perhaps… perhaps it was his ancestors haunting him, for the despicable act he had done. Even if it were for the peace of Konoha, the murder of the Uchiha clan was…

Itachi crouched there for a moment, shivering with pain. Finally, the episode passed, and his expression closed off, Itachi arose. The pile of bodies was still burning brightly in front of him.

The Uchiha turned, and slowly started walking away. He walked towards his meeting place with Ksiame, towards the new mission for Akatsuki. He walked away from the pillage of flames behind him, of the ones whose souls he had taken.

Itachi closed his eyes. The episode had reminded him of his crimes. He had the ghosts of everyone he killed haunting him with every step he took. He could never escape. He did not need smoke to distort the colour of the sky. He had not seen the colour of the sky for years now, and only in his dreams could he revisit that peaceful brilliance.

Blue skies?

No, all he saw now was a bloody red.

A/n: Wow, lots of stuff happening with Itachi. Hoped you enjoyed seeing him again! ;)

When I first sat down to plan Madara, I realized that he had to be really stupid or overconfident to do what he did at the Kage's Summit. And then, I realized why why Kishimoto did it— it has something to do with Madara's true objectives I think. If I'm right, my respect for Kishimoto will have gone through the roof (because seriously, I never would have thought of it if I wasn't racking my brain for ideas on this fic). This whole last arc suddenly makes so much sense. But if I'm wrong… well then, I hope that Kishimoto has something equally as surprising his sleeve.