A/N: Thanks to all who have reviewed/subscribed so far. Be sure to read Lehrain's "Vigil of Sorrows" as well! :)


Illusions of Serenity

Chapter II

"Resistance"

...

The wind continued to caress the motionless group, though a few expressions conveyed contempt and agitation. Itachi merely continued to gaze upon them, his plan to both stall and keep them alive solidifying within his mind. He knew Kakashi's techniques, had a vague understanding of Naruto's, and a rather elusive, yet useful grasp of the elderly woman's abilities. The young girl he felt unconcerned with as her chakra level, though well controlled, was severely lacking in any form of notable strength.

He would focus on Kakashi first before directing his attention to Naruto. He was quite certain that the other two would only be able to provide minimal assistance. The pair at the forefront were by far the most powerful, and would serve his purpose for them quite well.

He adjusted his stance before taking a deep, subtle intake of breath, preparing his eyes and his mind for the battle at hand. His head began to throb almost automatically as it tensed in anticipation of the techniques he would impose over himself. The physical results of a Sharingan's genjutsu, especially for him, were always acutely painful and every nerve in his body seemed to cringe in dread of this inevitable outcome.

"Itachi," the old woman stated then in a low, almost ominous voice before stepping forward. "This is him? The kid who wiped out his entire clan?"

Were they speaking of me on their way here? Itachi faintly wondered before deciding not to dwell on the irrelevant musing. His name had become rather infamous, after all. Though, the cause of which was an action he would forever lament…though never quite regret. Had he the choice to go back and do it all over again, he would undoubtedly walk the same path.

Despite himself however, he still felt a familiar ache in response to the woman's words.

He was quiet for several moments before his eyes shifted to greet the pair at the group's forefront. "It's been some time Kakashi-san, Naruto-kun."

They both continued to gaze at him with restrained expressions of contempt and in his peripheral he watched as the young girl's grimace intensified. He wondered what was on her mind as her eyes filled with a glimmering rage, implying that his presence was actually affecting her on a personal level. He decided then that she had to be one of his little brother's friends after all.

In any case, he found that it was extremely interesting to see each of their impulsive reactions.

"Bastard!" Naruto suddenly shouted, drawing the Uchiha's attention back to him. "Not just me, but Gaara, too?!"

Gaara? Itachi thought in response to the name. Is that the little Kazekage's name then? Having a name to the innocent face certainly did not make matters any easier on him. Once again, he found himself inwardly apologizing to the suffering Jinchuuriki. Not much longer now…and your anguish will finally come to an end.

He watched as Naruto extended an accusatory finger towards him, voice firm. "I'm gonna kick all your asses!"

Itachi remained silent before slowly lifting his own hand, resulting in Kakashi's eyes widening in alarm. "Everyone!" The Jounin warned, "Don't look directly into his eyes, or you're finished!"

It was a suitable enough tactic, though hardly effective. A fact he had yet to reveal, though withheld so as to encourage the success of his plan. He wanted to avoid harming a single one of them, if he could at all help it. He lowered his posture, bracing himself, with eyes attentive, vigilant and careful before lifting his thumb, index and middle finger in a simple, concentrated formation.

"Itachi's genjutsu are eye techniques," he heard Kakashi explain to his team. "In other words, they take effect through your vision. You're okay as long as your eyes don't meet his."

Naruto's brows furrowed briefly as he looked to his sensei. "I know that."

How ignorantly wrong they were…

"But then, how are we supposed to fight him?" Itachi heard the young girl ask, concern and confusion evident within the delicate tone of her voice.

He simply continued to wait in practiced patience, refusing to make the first move against them.

"Well, you…" Kakashi answered guardedly, almost gently. "You focus on his feet and body, and attack based on how he moves."

Itachi watched as their gazes all simultaneously lowered further, anxiety practically radiating through the air. He did not like conflict and detested battle. Therefore, he once again found himself entirely adverse to the obvious distress he naturally imposed over others. Unfortunately though, there was nothing to be done about it and so he forced such contemplations from his mind.

He watched then, in a brief swell of amusement, as the girl allowed her eyes to drift upward, hesitantly yet curiously. However, her inspection stopped at his hands as she seemed to strain against the will to withhold her complete observance. Danger was always such a tempting, alluring adversary.

Itachi released a breath before allowing his hands to part and lower, one fist clenching gently and the other momentarily suspended. He saw the struggle the girl continued to convey as her gaze wavered and her face contorted in determination. "That's easier said than done," she confirmed to seemingly no one in particular. He absently noted that the color of her eyes were a very striking, rare shade of green, one he had never before encountered. However, he also recognized the sheltered innocence within their depths, of such a nature that conveyed how very little she knew of the real world and the extent of evil therein.

"The Uchiha clan?" The elderly woman mused then. "Been a long time since I've fought a Sharingan user."

"Huh?" Naruto questioned, looking to her and voicing that which Itachi would not. The Uchiha found her information rather interesting as he wondered silently who she had fought in the past.

"They're nothing special though," the woman continued to the orange-clad teen.

No, indeed we are not…Itachi mused sadly.

"There are plenty of ways to fight eye techniques," she concluded.

It was then that a random memory of Itachi's aunt entered his mind. He nearly smiled in response to the recollection as he allowed himself to remember the crazy woman. He found several similarities between she and the old woman before him and, as unbearable as his father's sister often was, she was always extensively amusing. However, this happy image was quickly replaced with the one in which she had fallen dead at his feet, eyes blank and lifeless, blood freely flowing onto the paved street beneath her limp body.

He breathed in slowly, dispelling the haunting picture before returning his focus to the group before him. Vitality reigned uninhibited within their every expression and movement, intense and vibrant life carried upon every exhaled breath. He envied them that, envied their innocence and vigor.

"What should we do?" Naruto asked the woman beside him, somehow less confident than he was only a few moments ago.

"When it's one-on-one, run away," the woman replied with a straight, unconcerned face. "When it's two-on-one, get him from behind."

Naruto lifted a hand to his cheek, somewhat bewildered with her explanation. "What do you mean?"

"When it's one-on-one, run away is obvious, right?" she replied. "In that situation, you can't win. But if it's two-on-one, if one person gets caught in a genjutsu, the other can attack the guy from behind. And if you attack the user, the genjutsu vanishes."

Itachi listened, slightly impressed by the woman's knowledge of eye techniques. She certainly seemed to know what she was talking about, a fact that only validated her claim to having faced a Sharingan user before. However, he was no ordinary genjutsu user and the same rules did not necessarily apply to him…

"Or if an attack isn't possible," she added. "You can dispel the genjutsu by hitting your ally. In other words, since there are several of us, one person will be the diversion, and the rest will attack the Sharingan's blind spot from behind."

"I see," the young girl replied, her grasp on the subject a great deal sharper than expected.

"I guess old people have their uses!" Naruto smirked to the old woman.

They all then tensed and readied their postures in unison, a plan seemingly formed and a new aura of confidence surrounding the party. Itachi continued to watch them, yet made no move to attack or retaliate in any form. Had he been anyone else, their open and verbal discussion of their strategy would result in a negative and swift end to them all.

"Okay, I'll attack him-" Naruto began before he was cut off by Kakashi as the Jounin stepped forward resolutely.

"Wait," he ordered.

"Kakashi-sensei!" the blonde retorted. "What do you mean, wait?"

"Are you saying my tactics for fighting the Sharingan are wrong?" the elderly woman added.

"Well," Kakashi explained, announcing the very thoughts Itachi had entertained. "If we were talking about regular genjutsu, your strategy would be fine. But in this case, things are a bit more complicated."

"What?" the woman questioned, somewhat doubtful.

"He uses the Mangekyou Sharingan, an eye technique far more powerful than a normal Sharingan. You suffer the full effect of his genjutsu the instant you're caught. " Kakashi paused and the almost instant drop of morale pulsated around them, "In other words, while it only seems to be a second to everyone else, it can feel like hours, or days, for the one trapped in the illusion. I was lost in his phantom world for three days and ended up unconscious for a week." Itachi watched his eyes shift slightly, almost in resignation. "Dispelling the technique isn't possible."

The Uchiha watched the girl first as her brows furrowed and then Naruto as his eyes widened in response to this seemingly bleak piece of information. Itachi carefully sidestepped then, posture composed and almost graceful in its practiced and honed responses to the impending prospect of combat.

"He's a dangerous opponent," the elderly woman resigned, her voice grave and lacking in the nonchalance it previously possessed. "Just who is he?"

"Impressive as always, Kakashi-san," Itachi finally voiced, opting to break free from his voluntary silence. "You learned much from just one encounter with my Tsukuyomi."

"I'm not done yet," Kakashi boldly countered.

Itachi merely gazed at him then, now somewhat hesitant to find out what else the Jounin might have determined from their previous meeting. He had always been one of the most perceptive Shinobi of his acquaintance, something he continued to greatly admire.

"After using that technique," Kakashi's gaze narrowed slightly. "You were very fatigued and retreated immediately. Besides using a large amount of chakra, using that technique poses a huge risk to your eyes. Right, Itachi?"

It was right, every bit of it. However, he was hardly surprised by the ex-ANBU member's professional perceptions.

"An impressive analysis, for having only seen it once," Itachi decided to openly acknowledge.

"Itachi," Kakashi closed his visible eye before lifting a hand to the mask that covered his face's right side. "How bad has your eyesight become?"

Itachi's breath hitched slightly and entirely imperceptivity as these final words reached him. The blurred world before his vision seemed to clutter mockingly and tease at the contrasts and clarifications he would never again behold. His eyes widened despite himself and he flinched in response to the revelation of his greatest vulnerability.

Kakashi lifted on his mask, revealing his closed eye, the deep scar still every bit as prominent and marring. He then opened the lid to reveal a magnificent crimson iris, three specks marking it as a true Sharingan.

Itachi lowered his eyes as his expression regained composure, the blades of grass continuing to dance within the surrounding wind. However, as visions of his past infiltrated and overtook his guarded thoughts, his eyes closed and his brows furrowed in an attempt to vanquish the agonizing scenes of bloodshed. Something about seeing another Sharingan gazing into his own had triggered the otherwise buried specters of his murdered clan.

They plagued and resented him, torturing his soul into ever suffocating depths of darkness. He breathed in and out determinedly before, after finding a semblance of stability, he again opened his eyes to look upon the man before him. "Kakashi-san, you couldn't have…" his brows furrowed as he tried to discern the impassive expression of the Jounin. There was simply no way he had acquired the Mangekyou as well…

They stood in a lingering and oppressive silence as time continued to tick away the seconds of the day, Itachi briefly pondering why no one had yet made a move against him. If this kept up he would perhaps find himself relieved of his responsibility to delay them. However… were they not in a great hurry to save the boy? Why were they simply standing motionless?

Kakashi then finally lifted a hand to his head and placed the other upon his hip in a leisurely fashion. "Well, I may have let my guard down last time, but I'm no slouch, you know."

At this, he lowered his arms and the two younger individuals beside him turned and gazed upon him almost contradictorily. "Things will be different this time," he continued.

Itachi then watched as a smile found its way across Naruto's face, a pleasant warm expression that reminded him a great deal of his friend, Shisui. "That goes for me, too! You're making a big mistake if you think I'm the same as last time!"

"Naruto, I'll take him," Kakashi firmly replied.

His statement prompted the girl beside him to suddenly gaze up in alarm and Naruto to replace his smile with a gaping of his mouth and an expression of overall astonishment.

"Don't tell me you mean 'not fighting is our teamwork' again?!" Naruto asked desperately.

Itachi subtly tilted his head at this statement. It seemed Kakashi had not changed at all since his ANBU days…

"No, this time I need you to back me up," the Jounin replied without a hint of hesitance.

…or perhaps he had.

Naruto looked to him with continued surprise as Kakashi continued. "Well, I'd like to act cool and say, 'you go on ahead,' but I won't be able to hold him off by myself."

The girl frowned then, Itachi absently noticed, before she and Naruto turned to again face him, concern and dread replacing any motivation they might have started with. However, the blonde seemed to recover quickly and smirked, forcibly but determinedly despite the daunting nature of the fight.

Itachi was, needless to say, impressed by Naruto's apparent efforts. He then figured it was about time to begin the battle, despite how very greatly he wished to do otherwise. Lifting a hand, he watched as everyone tensed in response to his small action, the result of even such a slight gesture potentially severe.

"It's time for you to come with me," he raised a single finger and directed it towards the boy, "Naruto-kun."

It is time…Itachi thought, beginning to focus his mind and directing his genjutsu from his line of sight to the tip of his finger, where he planned to execute the technique over Naruto. He did not plan on casting the boy into the same realm as he had sent Kakashi, but merely wanted to create an alternate, twisted reality in which to confuse him for a while.

However, as he felt the release of chakra from his finger and diligently followed its almost instantaneous path toward the teen boy, he watched the rose-haired girl suddenly step in front of her teammate, arms outstretched and gaze narrowed in concentration. Whether she had done it out of impulse or some sudden, impossible deduction of his intentions, he did not know, though he reasoned that it was probable that she had also somehow been able to trace the nearly invisible path between a genjutsu and the intended victim.

In any case, the instant she stepped in front of the technique, he felt a strange and foreign resistance to the genjutsu, almost as if something were effectively preventing it. He allowed his eyes to briefly widen before he began to feel his own mind being pulled into some unknown force, a force that felt very similar to a genjutsu, though with a strange, almost ethereal aura encompassing it. His awareness lingered upon the edge of unconsciousness as his perceived reality began to spin and collide together in indiscernible shapes and colors. He closed his eyes in an attempt to break free from the curious and unprecedented technique. However, finding the effort entirely useless, he opened his gaze and wondered if perhaps that girl possessed a genjutsu even more powerful than his.

But how was that possible? As far as he knew, it wasn't.

Blackness than seeped through and devoured the many shades and hues until he could no longer see anything at all. He felt his mind slip past the final dimension of coherent perception until he finally lost awareness and slipped into a slumber of confusion and reluctance. Was this how it felt to die? When had that happened?

Sasuke…he silently called before this last thought diminished as well, leaving him entirely immobile and unreceptive.