Itachi

In the midst of the night, the stalemate of war, Itachi and Nagato were still wandering aimlessly. What was their controller's purpose for them? Itachi had a few ideas, but he didn't like any of them at all. Between his Mongekyo Sharingan and Nagato's Rinnegan, the duo could do absolutely anything.

"This is strange," Nagato stated suddenly in a hushed voice, "I sense other sharingan users nearby."

"What?" Itachi asked. Had his clan been revived by the Edo Tensei as well? If they had been, Itachi had a bad feeling that the user of this jutsu wouldn't even need to control the Uchiha clan. Anticipating the worst, Itachi braced himself for any kind of attack, but the traveling forms only passed. There were four of them. Two with a sharingan, two without. Itachi's eyes widened as he got a good look at who the group was.

The first one was Haru of the Venom. He and his teammate Kokoro the Terrible didn't seem to notice Itachi at all. But then Saya passed with Father at her side. They both glanced and stared at Itachi in shock. Saya grimaced and started to veer toward him, but Father placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "keep moving. We don't know where this jutsu is supposed to take us."

"But-!"

"And do not be angry with him, it appears that Itachi has also died…" Father's voice sounded a little sad as he noted Itachi's slightly altered appearance, but then the Uchiha redirected the conversation and asked, "Do you sense what we're chasing?"

"Yeah," Saya spat, "It's Ari…"


Ari

Dammit, where the hell did Naruto go? I had run into several Edo Tensei Shinobi and managed to seal each one (thank goodness for being from the Uzumaki Clan!), and the more I encountered them, I knew the closer I was drawing to the battlefront. And in the middle of the night with Naruto running around like a giant glowing beacon, you'd think he'd be easier to find!

I panted as I ran, growing tired much faster than I had anticipated. In order to hide Hana, I had to give her some of my chakra to conceal her own, but I had not yet recovered what I had lost. I couldn't even mask my own chakra signature anymore, which meant I was prey just waiting to be hunted.

I slowed my pace to a walk, taking extra precaution. Even though night was a stalemate of war, things were starting to get a little too quiet. I looked up into the trees, not sure if the forms above me were wildlife or something else. An owl stirred and flew out from the tree I was watching, on its way to hunt for a mouse it had its sights on. I grimaced, to the enemy, I was practically a mouse right now.

But that's when I saw Naruto's form glowing like a flashlight. Bee followed closely behind, both of them moving at a pretty good clip. They hadn't noticed me yet as they were several hundred yards away, but I let my guard down and went to join them.

And that's when the attacked.

First the senbon needles. I gasped as one grazed my arm, breaking the skin, but the wound wasn't deep enough for the poison to get into my body. I leapt into the air, dodging the rest of the needles and deflecting them with my kunai.

Then I felt it. The paralysis genjutsu of the sharingan. After all my years with Itachi, I could easily break free of the genjutsu, but then I realized that there were two genjutsus acting on me, which made it harder to break free.

"Dammit!" I cursed, "Just who the hell is out there?"

"Oh just your best friend," I heard a feminine voice answer. My eyes widened as I saw none other than Saya leap from the trees with Fugaku closely behind her. She took a couple of steps forward, glaring fiercely at me as she corrected, "or should I say ex-best friend?"

"S-Saya?" I asked in disbelief. She was so…little! She hadn't aged a day, and now to me she looked like a child. "So the Edo Tensei is controlling you too?"

"Not right now," she spat, cracking her knuckles, "because right now I have a score to settle with you…"

"What score?" I asked. What was she talking about?

"You mean you don't remember all that crap you said about my brother? About my clan? You don't remember acting like some Bijuu Fan Club member and stomping all over my family's name?" she asked.

I grimaced. Oh. That. I was sure that neither of us had meant what we said in the last fight we had, and I had bought her a pair of earrings to make up with her. But when I got to her house…Ita had already finished his mission. That fight was the last time she saw me, and now here I was, grown up looking at the teenage girl as if she was nothing more than a distant memory.

"Saya, come on, you know that neither of us meant what we said in that fight," I apologized, "and I am so sorry for what happened, believe me. But let's be honest, that wasn't the first time we got into a screaming match and—"

"Well it was certainly the last!" Saya barked, "and you never bothered to apologize! And then, and then your boyfriend had to go and destroy us! Itachi and Shisui were supposed to help us lead the Revolution! Itachi killed my brother and then the rest of his clan and it's all because of you!"

"Me?" I retorted, trying to buy some time to break free of this confounded genjutsu, "I didn't even know about the coup until after the massacre! And Ita didn't kill Shisui! Neither of them were for this so-called Revolution in the first place!"

"Ugh! You're such a liar!" Saya roared, charging towards me. I grimaced, managing to break the last invisible string which held me still. I lifted my leg kicking her hard in the ribs as she approached and sent her flying back to the trees. I sighed heavily, man, not only had I aged, but I was amazed at how much stronger I had become since Saya had died.

Fugaku took a step towards me then, his sharingan activated. I braced myself for his attack. Even though he was technically my squad's sensei, I never really had a chance to see him in battle, I didn't quite know what he was capable of.

"Ari," he said in a low voice, "I do not hate nor resent Itachi for what he did, but as Saya said, I can't help but wonder if his resolve was because of you. And if I'm not mistaken, Itachi has died too, am I right?"

I lowered my head and grimaced, "when you live the life of a criminal, heart medications are hard to come by."

"That's what I feared," Fugaku sighed, "now tell me, were you the one who convinced him to join the village's side? Was this all because of you?"

"No!" I cried out, "at least I hope not! If it was because of me, I had no idea what was going on at the time. All I knew was that you guys were distancing yourselves from the village. Itachi tried to keep me away. Look, I'm sorry for what happened, I truly am, but I didn't intentionally harm Itachi. Nor did I mean to cause your family any problems."

"Yeah right! You run around with that jinchuuriki! What are you, the Kyuubi's brat, or something?" Saya snapped at me, charging again. I immediately saw through her genjutsu and released four chakra chains from my body. Kokoro and Haru took the opportunity to attack me, dodging my first two chains

"Oh? The little brat who took us down, eh?" Haru chuckled, "you certainly all that much without your boyfriend with you, now are you?"

I let out a growl and unleased my Bijuu Mode, my tails swirling angrily behind me as two more chains bubbled out, drenched in the Nine Tails' cloak, each one with a sealing tag bound to them. They struck Haru and Kokoro, binding them and sealing them instantly, their bodies falling apart into the paper that seemingly recreated them.

Fugaku looked back at the sealed away tag team and then back to me in awe, "What the hell?"

"What are you, some kind of monster?" Saya asked, staring at my chakra armor in awe.

I glared at her with blood red eyes and spat, "Yes. It's just as you said, Saya, I am in fact the Kyuubi's brat. His filthy, traitorous brat!"

I wrapped my chakra chains around the two, binding them, but not sealing them completely. I couldn't do that to them just yet.

"Ari," Fugaku said in a solemn voice, "it seems you've suffered just as much as Itachi. But what I don't understand is, why? Why would either of you make the decisions you have?"

"I wish I knew," I responded, closing my eyes.

"I don't understand," Saya stared at me in fear, "you're joking, right?"

"You don't know anything about me, Saya," I snapped at her, "you scream at me and throw a temper tantrum because things don't go your way. You try to tell me what to do, how to be, and yet you never stopped to actually try to get know me. You called yourself my friend, yet you knew nothing. And when you do learn the truth you go around treating me like the bad guy. Don't you get tired of this shit?"

"Don't coddle me like a child Ari!" Saya roared.

"Well I hate to tell you this, but you are a child!" I growled back fiercely.

"You're just nothing more than a monster! I can't believe I ever called you my friend!" Saya shouted, fighting confused tears. I sighed heavily, shaking my head.

"You know nothing about me," I said in a low voice, "and you know nothing about Ita. Either of you. You know, this whole mess could have been avoided if you guys had just listened to the Third Hokage!"

"Ari, there was a lot going on at the time," this time it was Fugaku's turn to snap at me, "the Uchiha Clan was being pushed to the side, cast down by the Senju! We had no other option, and when Itachi was born with his gifted abilities, we only had one shot of reclaiming our greatness. It was the only option we had."

I narrowed my eyes, "and you're wrong again! I don't know the entire history of the Uchiha and the Senju, but did you know how much the Third Hokage loved Itachi? How much potential he saw in him?"

"And just what do you mean by that?" Fugaku asked, slightly confused.

I took in a deep breath, thinking back to a conversation Ita and I had had with Lord Third just before the massacre. I hadn't paid second though to it until recently, but I had a feeling that the Hokage's remarks were because of the impending bloodshed.

"Itachi," he said, "since you were a boy, you had the resolve of a hokage. I'm sure if he were standing here today, Hashirama, our first hokage, would have said that you were a greater shinobi than even he. I hope there comes a day when you are able to succeed me as the Fifth Hokage, and the first one from the Uchiha Clan."

"Lord Hokage," Ita said with wide eyes. He knelt down on the ground and bowed his head, "I am not worthy for such an honorable position."

"And it is for that reason, Itachi, that you truly are of worth," the Hokage smiled.

Ita never wanted to talk about that conversation, but I had felt it too. Itachi was a great leader, and he probably cared about the village more than anyone else. He would have made a great hokage.

I looked into Fugaku's eyes and stated, "Fugaku, Itachi cared more about the village than he did the clan's needs. He wanted both to be happy, but the safety of the Leaf weighed more heavily on his shoulders than the Uchiha's desires. But you know what? If you had ceased the coup, given up on trying to bring the Uchiha to the top, you guys would have been able to rise to power."

"I don't understand," Fugaku said, "you aren't trying to tell me that an Uchiha could have actually become Hokage, are you?"

"Indeed I am," I said, "in fact, the Third Hokage wanted Itachi to succeed him. If the massacre had never happened, Itachi would be standing as the Fifth Hokage today, and he would still be alive. Whether or not this war would have ensued, I don't know, but the village would be a hell of a lot more stable than it is now."

"That's just a load of bullshit!" Saya snapped at me.

"Wait," Fugaku said, lowering his head, "Ari, did the hokage really say that?"

"He did," I answered, "and he mourned for your death. The whole village did. You may have felt exiled, but you were still loved. You just needed to open your eyes and see what stood before you."

"I see," Fugaku stated, a sad smile growing on his face, "he would have made an excellent hokage…I saw that potential in Itachi. His wisdom far exceeded his years, and yet I only could see his skill in battle…and I only saw you as a distraction…you're all he could think about, you know? Ari, I was a fool, please forgive me…"

"I was never angry with you," I answered. At that, Fugaku smiled, and I watched in amazement as the Uchiha's soul lifted out of his reanimated body as the body turned to paper and dissipated, leaving only the sacrifice required for the Edo Tensei behind.

I looked from Saya to where Fugaku had been and back. I narrowed my eyes at Saya, really confused, "what just happened?"

"Like I know!" Saya barked, "and let me go so I can kick your ass!"

I groaned and rubbed my temples. This wasn't going to go anywhere…I needed to make up with Saya, I couldn't let her die still angry with me. Despite everything, she had still been my best friend. And she still was.

"Did Fugaku say that you guys ran into Ita?" I asked.

"Yeah," Saya grumbled, "what's it matter? He's dead too!"

I sighed heavily and looked to the sky. Did I really want to see him again? Of course I did, but…was it worth the pain of having to say goodbye again?

But as if to answer my question on whether or not to go, I heard a loud summoning and one of Pein's giant birds and Hell-Hounds appeared in the distance. I saw Naruto's little glowing form struggling against Pein's grasp. Well, guess I was going to say hi to Itachi then!

"Come with me," I said, pulling Saya onto her feet. The chakra chain disappeared but I placed a seal on the back of her neck. I activated it only half way, which layered another jutsu over the Edo Tensei. Now, Saya was under my control.

"Dammit, Ari!" Saya grunted as she was forced to follow me. I ignored her and we ran through the trees to where the battle was ensuing. We came across a clearing and I found Killer Bee draw his eight swords and was dancing around Ita in battle.

"Bee! Itachi!" I called out. Both glanced over at me, but otherwise kept fighting. I groaned. That asshole didn't even say hi to me! Suddenly, Itachi got the upper hand in the battle and was about to take Bee out. I immediately drew my twin swords and ran in front of Killer Bee, blocking Itachi's attack.

"Ari, what are you doing here?" Itachi barked at me.

"Good to see you too!" I retorted, pushing Ita off of me.

"Stop looking at my eyes, Ari!" Ita ordered, but he was too late. He dissipated into crows and came up behind me. I sparred with Itachi and managed to break through the genjutsu, however, it was at the cost of releasing my half-seal on Saya. Within moments of fighting Itachi off, Saya came crashing down on me, focusing all of her chakra into her fist.

"Dammit!" I screamed out, barely able to fend her off.

"And who is that pretty lady?" Bee yelped as I attempted to dodge Saya's punches. I had forgotten how fast this girl was…

"She's my best friend!" I called out, "and a little help would be appreciated!"

"Ex-best friend, you whore!" Saya snapped.

"And who are you calling a whore, you freaking Barbie?" I growled.

Ita paused from his fighting and gave Saya and me a really confused look, "what the hell happened with you two?"

We both turned at Ita, struggling in each other's grasp and snapped, "YOU DID!"

"Uh…" was all Ita could muster.

"She's just throwing a tantrum because we never resolved our argument before she died is all," I elaborated once I finally pushed Saya off of me.

"A tantrum? For the last time, I'm not a child!" Saya retorted, "and I'll never forgive you for this! I swear it!"

"Agh! Teenagers!" I growled, kicking Saya away from me, "I swear to God, if Hana ever gets this bad I'll-!"

"WHO THE HELL IS HANA?"

"MY DAUGHTER!"

At that Saya paused and gave Ita and me a disgusted look, "Gross…"

"She's adopted," Ita explained, groaning, "But Ari, where is Hana anyway?"

"She's safe," I explained, "she's with Kurenai."

At about that moment, the Edo Tensei jutsu took control of Ita again and I had both him and Saya coming after me.

"How long have I been gone?" Itachi asked between punches, "has Hana grown at all?"

"Oh man, she's shot up several inches since you've been gone," I answered, "I can't find anything that fits her for more than a month right now. She's started learning gymnastics, though I couldn't give her too many lessons before this whole war broke out. But you've only been gone a few months, so don't worry. You haven't missed too much."

"Not yet at least," Ita said in a low voice. I frowned, fighting the tears. He had a point after all. Ita's eyes were full of sorrow, but then he closed them as he grimaced. He looked back up at me with his Mongekyo Sharingan, his expression filled with more determination than I had ever seen before. He then leapt up into the trees and to Nagato's bird summoning and sat on its beak. I observed Ita in confusion as he stared down at Naruto. The air shifted suddenly and panic arose within me. Oh no…Amaterasu!

Nagato only confirmed my fears as he warned Naruto, who was standing in Itachi's line of sight, "Naruto! He's going to use Amaterasu!"

"We've got to stop him!" I cried. This wouldn't end well at all! Bee threw one of his swords straight at Itachi, but Nagato only deflected it.

But to my surprise, no black flames came out as Ita activated his Mongekyo.

Naruto pitched forward, gagging on something and I leapt up to his side. Was he caught in a Tsukuyomi instead? "Naruto!" I cried out, placing my hand on his back. In response, Naruto's mouth was forced open as a giant black crow poked its head out. I jumped back in shock as Naruto spat out the crow. In its left eye was a sharingan.

"That's my brother's!" Saya cried out angrily as she leapt next to me. The crow flew off and I looked up at Itachi in awe. What had he just done? Before I had time to think, black flames sprouted on the Hell-Hound's heads and began to spread. Fast. The three of us leapt off the giant dog and onto the tree tops, still confused. Ita's Amaterasu…missed? Was he really that blind?

But then Ita looked back at Nagato and set both him and the giant bird on fire before leaping to where we stood.

"What?" I stared at Itachi horribly confused.

"Relax, I'm not under the control of Edo Tensei anymore," he explained. He then glanced at Saya who jumped as their sharingan locked onto each other, "and now, neither is Saya."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked. The crow came over and landed on the boy's shoulder. I took a closer look at the bird's left eye. Yep. That was definitely Shisui's Mongekyo alright. But why…?

"I layered a new genjutsu to the enemy's jutsu," Ita said, "a jutsu that orders me to protect the Leaf, so it erased the effects of the Edo Tensei. I rigged that crow to appear in response to my Mongekyo Sharingan just in case a time like this came."

I was starting to catch on when Bee joined us and asked, "What are you talking about?"

"It's implanted in that crow's left eye," Itachi said, "Shisui Uchiha's eye. Within it lies the ultimate genjutsu in existence."

"Koto Amatsukami," I finished for him. I had only ever seen Shisui use it once, and it was just before his death in Nagano River.

"Yes," Itachi nodded his head, then explained to a still confused Naruto, "using that genjutsu, I was able to restore myself and Saya, though the Mongekyo has already worn off.

"Shisui…Uchiha…?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The Uchiha's most powerful genjutsu user, Shisui the Teleporter," Bee explained.

Saya crossed her arms and glared at Itachi, further stating, "and my brother. Why do you have his eye in the first place? Did you steal it after you killed him?"

Momentarily ignoring her jab, Ita continued, "Shisui's visual prowess creates a powerful genjutsu that allows you to control someone without them ever realizing it. I programmed the genjutsu with the order, 'protect the Hidden Leaf' into Shisui's eye which I then put into the crow. After that, I gave that crow to you, Naruto. Though, I never realized that I would be using it on myself one day.

"But…why did you give that eye to me? And Saya has a point, why do you have that eye anyway?" Naruto asked.

Itachi deactivated his Mongekyo and wiped the blood from his eye. Sighing, Itachi began, "Self-sacrifice…a nameless shinobi who protects peace from within the shadows. That is a true shinobi. Shisui taught me that. Shisui anticipated a battle would ensue for his eyes, so he erased his existence and made it seem as if his eyes were destroyed. I helped him by becoming the target of suspicion in the village. When I last saw Shisui, however, Danzo had already confronted him and stole his right eye. He entrusted his left eye with me and disappeared forever. I gave that eye to you because you share Shisui's feelings. If Sasuke, whom I left behind, ever became a threat to the village, I would have betrayed all that Shisui entrusted me to do. But you are the one who can make things right. You once said Sasuke was your brother and that's why I felt, Naruto, that you were the only one who could stop him. Who could save him. I figured that in pursuit of power, Sasuke would transplant my eyes to obtain the Eternal Mongekyo. If that ever happened, then the crow was supposed to emerge, reacting the my transplanted eyes when you came in contact with him, using Koto Amatsukami on him to protect the Leaf. That was my plan, anyway."

"I don't buy it," Saya grumbled, "You can't just waltz in here with my brother's eye and Koto Amatsukami in tow, and proceed to tell me that he gave it to you! Not after you killed him!"

"Saya!" I barked at her, "you don't know what happened the night your brother died. You were at the Uchiha's secret meeting, remember?"

"He killed Shisui to obtain the Mongekyo, and then took his left eye to obtain Koto Amatsukami and that's that. Don't try to make out like some kind of saint, Itachi," Saya spat. Ita grimaced in response, a little hurt by her words.

"Saya, it's true that I obtained the Mongekyo because of Shisui's death, but I did not kill him. He asked me to come and witness his final moments so I could have the strength to do what I had been ordered to do. He took his life in order to protect the village—"

"NO!" Saya stomped her foot, "you're nothing more than a traitor! You killed my brother!"

"Saya, shut your mouth before I shut it for you!" I growled at her, "like I said before, you were not there when your brother died! You didn't see Ita crying when he knocked on my door that night, you didn't see just how much Shisui's death affected him, so stop being such a spoiled brat and grow up!"

When I finished yelling at her, I realized that I was holding her by the collar of her shirt. She glared at me with her sharingan, fighting back tears, but otherwise said nothing back.

"Ari, it's alright," Itachi said, "she has every right to be angry."

Sighing heavily, I released Saya and crossed my arms, fighting off every single ounce of anger which welled up inside me.

This time it was Bee's turn to interrogate, "but wait, why didn't you just cast that jutsu on Sasuke from the start with Shisui's eye?"

"It's not that I didn't, I couldn't at the time," Ita explained, "Shisui's eye would take decades to reactivate after using Koto Amatsukami without his body or chakra. Also, there were many things I wanted to do for Sasuke with my death."

I sighed heavily, unable to truly make eye contact with Ita just yet. I couldn't believe he was standing before me, and I had to constantly remind myself that he was nothing more than a revived corpse, that he wouldn't be staying here, even if he was free of Edo Tensei's control.

"Itachi," Naruto said in a low voice, "Thank you for trusting me, you don't have to worry anymore. You've done more than enough for the village, so let me take care of the rest."

Ita's eyes widened for a moment before he looked down, smiling sadly as he said, "I'm so grateful that my brother has a friend like you…"

"Ita…" I managed to say out loud, finally looking at him. It was so hard to look at him, without breaking down into tears at least. It was like seeing a ghost.

Ita looked up at me and we locked eyes with each other. He opened his mouth to say something, but then we heard sudden movement on the ground beneath us as Nagato disappeared. We looked around, trying to find the man, but then he appeared in the sky suddenly and used Shinra Tensei to blow us all away. Ita grabbed both Saya and I by the waists and leapt out of the attack's range. We fell clumsily to the ground and Ita used himself as a shield to protect us from debris. I grasped tightly onto Ita's hand as he hugged my shoulder, protecting me.

*Ugh…he smells like a corpse…* I thought to myself as I breathed through my mouth. He didn't smell like Ita at all…

*Well I am a corpse, thank you for pointing that out…*

"WOAH!" I yelped, looking at him. It had been long enough that I almost forgot that our minds still connected.

Ita raised an eyebrow, "I take it I wasn't supposed to hear that?"

"No!" I snapped, "Ugh…sorry, it's been awhile."

At that, Itachi sighed heavily and said in a sad voice, "have you…moved on? At all?"

"Uh…no?" I answered, raising eyebrow. Why would I?

"Dammit," Ita cursed.

"Should I? Because I'm not going to, Ita," I said heavily, "you can't love someone so hard for so long and just let them go like they never existed. I might never recover from the pain of losing you, but I don't really want to. We may not have had long together, but those memories we made are more important to me than just moving on and finding some other man who can't give me in a lifetime what you gave me in three years."

At that, Ita glanced at me with his sad puppy eyes and squeezed my waist tightly. He chuckled and said, "you're too good to me…"

"Oh my god…" Saya groaned.

"This is all your fault, I hope you realize," I teased her, "if you hadn't made me open my big fat mouth that day on the trampoline and forced me into admitting that I had a crush on your cousin in the first place, you wouldn't have to be listening to this right now!"

"Oh shut up, Man-Hands!" Saya snapped back at me, trying to keep from smiling.

I laughed, part of me regaining my childhood again.

Ita jumped, staring at both of us in shock, "Wait, so that's what that was about? That day on the trampoline before our first ANBU mission?"

"Yep," I nodded, "actually, most trampoline conversations involved you."

"Which is why you weren't allowed on it," Saya added.

"Hmm," Ita hummed, his shoulder's sagging a little as he glared forward.

"What's the humming for this time?" I rolled my eyes.

"I'm an idiot…" Ita spat.

"No, you're just a really dense genius," I corrected. I then looked up and was startled to find Nagato holding Naruto up in a choke-hold, using the soul-sucking Pein's power to rip Naruto's soul right out of him. "Okay, we really need to move!" I said.

"Well then let's get him!" Saya began to stand. I grabbed her by her shirt collar and pulled her back down. She fell backwards and landed on her butt hard before she shot me a nasty glare.

"Hold on," I said, "see those camelions and the statue thing over by Nagato? They all have the Rinnegan so that means their vision is connected to Nagato. He can see what they see, so there is no way to sneak up behind him."

And just to prove my point, Bee attempted to run up behind Nagato to attack, but the man in turn sprouted mechanical arms from his shoulder and blocked Bee, also holding him in a choke-hold.

"Leave this to me," Ita said, patting me on the shoulder as he stood. I drew out several kunai and leapt into the air, using a technique that had been used in sharingan training for years, but was hardly ever needed in battle. He struck each camelion and the sealing statue in the eyes and before he even landed on the ground, he summoned his Susanoo, the beast's still skeletal hand striking the ground and slicing Nagato's arms, freeing Bee and Naruto.

"How does he come up with these strategies?" Saya asked in awe as we followed to meet up with him.

"I wish I knew," I groaned, "and trust me, listening to his thought process doesn't do anything to help you understand that at all."

We leapt inside Susanoo's energy field as it held Naruto and Bee in its hands.

"So this is Susanoo! Wow, what a show!" Bee rapped.

"I never thought I'd say this, but thanks for the save, Itachi!" Naruto cheered as Susanoo set the two down. I walked over to Ita and grasped hold of his hand. We watched as Nagato regenerated, trying to figure out what he was going to do next.

His form tensing at my touch, Ita swiftly wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close. I placed my hand on his chest trying to ignore his absent heartbeat and he clasped his other hand on top of mine, connecting our thoughts.

*Alright, I've never fought Pein directly before, do you have any idea what he will do next?* he asked me.

I shook my head, *Not at all. The most I fought with was the Pein which used Shinra Tensei. Naruto's the only one who has encountered all six forms of attack, but even then I'm not sure Naruto is able to predict his movements.*

*Well that sucks.*

I looked up at Ita, stifling a laugh. I hadn't seen him get this pissed over a battle in a while. Behind me, I heard Naruto groan, "Let me guess, mind-reading?"

"Yep!" I rolled my eyes.

"And I don't suppose that the closer and more gooshy you two get with each other, the better you two can hear each other?" Naruto placed his hands on his hips and nagged.

I turned my head towards him and shot him a glare, "Hey! We're engaged, thank you! And he's been dead!"

"Ari, get ready," Ita said, crouching with me still in his arms. I averted my attention back to Nagato and narrowed my eyes, watching in confusion as the man lifted his hand up and sent a small black orb up to the sky. At first it didn't do anything, but then I felt a strong pull try to lift me off the ground as trees and rocks and rubble began to fly towards the black orb.

"Gagh!" Naruto yelped as the ground beneath us shattered like glass. I was ripped out of Ita's grasp as we began to float towards the sphere, using all of our strength to try to stay on the ground.

"What is that?" Bee yelped out. Saya screeched as she shielded her eyes to avoid getting hit by the boulders flying around her.

"That black sphere has an enormous gravitational pull," Ita noted. I groaned. No shit, Sherlock!

"Got a plan?" I asked him, figuring he was stating the obvious to come up with one of his full-proof schemes.

"Working on it…" Ita gritted his teeth as he fought to keep Susanoo active, the gravity felt as if it was pulling our very chakra out of us.

"Oh man!" Naruto began to panic, "He got me with this jutsu once! It's a nasty one! Sure death! If you get caught in it, it's over!"

Ita narrowed his eyes, trying not to sound too condescending as he groaned, "Uhhhh, hello? Naruto?"

"WHAAAT?" Naruto shrieked.

"If it's a sure death, how are you still alive?" he asked.

Naruto gave Ita a stupid look and grunted, not sure how to answer the question. I sighed heavily. Naruto just wasn't the brightest bulb in the box, even if he was glowing.

At that, Bee started laughing and rapped, "We'll be alright, we can still fight!"

"This is no time for laughing!" Naruto snapped at Bee, "How can you be so easygoing when we're in a bind like this? If we're caught, we'll never be able to get out! I only got out because the Nine-Tails went on a rampage and—"

Ita cut Naruto off before the boy could panic anymore, "It's not about being easygoing. You have to be calm and analyze the situation. It's safe to assume that the sphere Nagato threw earlier is the central core of this gravity. We should all aim our strongest attacks at that sphere."

"But we can't aim with all of this crap flying around!" Naruto shrieked, trying to dodge several tree trunks flying up.

"You don't have to aim," Ita said, activating Susanoo even further until its armor covered it, "the gravity will pull our attacks straight to the center. Every jutsu has a weakness!"

Susanno lifted its two right hands and created a shuriken-like rosary in its hands. Bee quickly transformed into the Eight Tails and opened his mouth to create the Bijuu Bomb. I followed suit and generated my chakra cloak and lifted my hands above my head. My tails all pointed towards my hands and began to generate a mass of glowing chakra which looked similar to a Rasengan. Saya sighed heavily and held her hands out, summoning a ball of fire in each. Finally, Naruto generated a Rasenshuriken and readied himself to throw it.

"Yasaka Beads!" Itachi called out as he relased his attack, throwing the rosary at top speeds.

"Bijuu Bomb!" Bee cried.

"Light Release: Nine Phantom Dragons!" I growled as I released my attack, nine glowing dragons spun out of the orb in my hand, ready to strike its enemy.

"Fire Style: Pheonix Flight!" Saya cried as she released her signature attack. She threw the flames in her hand as it melded with my dragons, adding speed to my attack.

"Wind style: Rasenshuriken!" Naruto roared as the Rasenshuriken spun out of his hand, swiftly flying up to meet with the rest of our attacks. They flew straight towards the orb, momentarily disappearing before the sphere exploded with such intensity, we were all engulfed in light and blown back to the ground so hard, that Saya's arm had to regenerate once she sat up, recovering from the shock wave.

As I sat up, I watched as Itachi struck Nagato with the Totsuka blade, sealing Nagato away after he had said his final words of encouragement to Naruto. When it was all said and done, and after a minor argument with Naruto, Ita resolved to put a stop to the Edo Tensei himself.

He turned to leave just as I mustered up the courage to say, "So this is it?"

Ita looked back at me sadly as he sighed, but didn't say anything. He then lifted his arm and the crow landed on it. Ita used the Amaterasu to destroy the crow, Shisui's eye with it.

"But why?" Naruto and Saya both shrieked.

"Shisui's eye won't reactivate for another decade," Ita explained, "so you won't be able to use it on Sasuke. Besides, you possess something greater than this eye, you share Shisui's feelings. That's something he really wanted to pass down. You don't need his eye anymore, as you are now, you can stop Sasuke without something like this."

Naruto took a step forward, sorrow filling his blue eyes, "but you can face Sasuke now! You can—"

"No," Ita said, "I tried to do everything myself and I failed. This time…I think I'll leave the matter to my friends."

Bee smiled and said, "You're not just a powerful shinobi…"

I frowned and looked away as Ita turned his back towards me. There was nothing more for us to say anymore. But then Saya stopped him and said, "you know, the least you could do is let your girlfriend go with you."

Ita paused and glanced back at me, his eyes wide. I looked down at Saya in shock, but she looked up to me and smiled, "and the least I can do is make amends with my best friend. We'll help you end the Edo Tensei."

"What?" I asked in awe.

Naruto smiled and patted me on the shoulder as he said, "Yeah! You should got with Itachi!"

"But Ari, I don't want you to get hurt. This battle will be dangerous," Itachi said, "and I don't want you to have to see me die again."

"Then we'll take you to where you need to go," Saya placed her hands on her hips, "and then we'll face off the other asshole causing problems around here."

"Guys, it's fine," I said looking to the ground, "Itachi is capable of handling this himself…and Naruto's more likely to run into Madara and he needs my help and—"

"Ari!" Naruto groaned, "I can handle myself now! And you at least deserve to spend time with Itachi, especially after all you've been through! And Itachi, you just said that you can't do everything all by yourself, so at least accept her and Saya's help!"

Ita looked from Naruto to Saya to me and back. He sighed heavily, but then managed a smile and held out his hand. "Ariala Uzumaki, would you do me the honors of accompanying me on one last mission? For old time's sake?"

I trembled as I stared at Itachi, trying hard to maintain my composure. I closed my eyes and allowed the tears to fall and I whimpered as I wrapped my arms around Ita, crying. I couldn't hold it in anymore, I just needed to cry. I just needed to hold Itachi in my arms…just one last time…

"Ari…" Naruto muttered as he watched me. I felt like a complete idiot falling apart in front of the boy, but I didn't have the strength to care anymore. "Ari I had no idea…"

"It's alright," Itachi hushed, "I'm here."

"You smell like rotten flesh," I spat through my tears. He didn't actually smell that bad, but part of me had grown angry at him for dying and I had to say something. I then pulled out of the hug and glared at him before I snapped, "and don't think this means that I've forgiven you for dying on me! Or for not telling me about your heart condition to begin with!"

At that, Ita broke out into a light laughter. A laugh which I had longed to hear for so long. "I'll try to remember that," he said.

"Naruto," I said, wiping my eyes, I turned to the boy and said, "I'll meet up with you as soon as I'm done."

"Take your time!" Naruto smiled, giving me a thumbs up.

I nodded as Itachi added, "Killer Bee, take care of Naruto."

"Sure thing!" Bee said. And with that, Ita, Saya, and I took off to find the controller of the Edo Tensei.

We ran through the trees and I noticed that we were traveling in the general direction of Konoha. I couldn't help but get this nagging feeling in the back of my mind. If we were going to pass the village…should I even bother to…?

"Ita," I said, coming to an abrupt halt. Itachi and Saya both stopped and spun to face me. I sighed heavily and said, "if we're going towards Konoha…do you want to see Hana?"

Itachi stiffened and looked away, "I…Ari you know I can't…"

"She knows you're alive…er…kind of alive," I stated, "she came downstairs one morning and out of the blue told me that you were going to come back for a little bit. I don't know if she's just going through denial or what, but when you're the child of a Tailed Beast, you learn to trust your instincts, even if they are just hunches."

Ita shifted around uncomfortably. I felt bad for bringing the topic up. He obviously wanted to see her, but he wasn't sure if he should. "Will she be alright? I won't end up hurting her more, will I?"

"She's a resilient girl," I said, "if I can handle seeing you, I know she will be just fine."

Sighing, Itachi gave into his emotions and we began traveling in the direction of Konoha.


Saya

She kept her trap shut, but she still couldn't believe this. Itachi had destroyed the clan, Ari was the daughter of the Kyuubi, and the two got married? Well, they were at least together and they had a kid. This was just unbelievable.

Although they didn't say it, Saya had a feeling that their relationship was secret, and that Itachi was living as a criminal for his deeds against the Uchiha. But she didn't get it, if Itachi had been acting on orders from the Leaf…why was the Leaf treating him like a criminal?

It was late at night when they reached the village and Saya had to take a step back in awe. Konoha looked completely different, and several outlying buildings were under construction.

"This is…" Itachi began but he didn't finish.

"The layout of the village has changed completely," Ari explained, "when Pein attacked, he completely obliterated the village. Thanks to Tsunade and Naruto, few lives were taken in the rampage. A man who is an incomplete clone of my uncle Hashirama used his Wood Style Ninjutsu to quickly rebuild the majority of the buildings. Stay close to me and I will take you to Hana."

Saya frowned, watching her friend. Ari walked stiffly, as if she were a mother trying to stay strong in a difficult situation without showing her fears or her sorrows. Saya looked up at her cousin, several years older than when she last saw him, he had a stoic expression on his face and he watched Ari sadly. What had the years done to them to make them both so sad and so hardened? Ari could once tell Saya anything. She was once a loud mouthed firecracker not afraid to speak her mind. Itachi was once a carefree and gentle spirit so full of kindness. The best friend and the cousin Saya once knew were still there, but they were tucked away deep within the adults which now held in almost all of their emotions. Sighing heavily, Saya felt incredibly bad for the two. How cruel this world could be sometimes…

They approached the back of a house and Ari peered into the kitchen window. All of the lights were out and the residents of the home were asleep. Ari then motioned for Itachi and Saya to follow her as she leapt to the windowsill of the second floor and pried the window open, then crawled in. Itachi followed suit and then helped Saya inside.

"Oh my…" Saya whispered in awe, staring at the sleeping little girl who occupied the room they stood in. She looked just like Ari…her face was rounder and her hair was lighter and silkier than Ari's but Saya found it difficult to believe that she was actually adopted. She could have easily passed as Ari's and Itachi's daughter!

Ari sat down on the bed and gently shook the girl awake. "Hana, dear," Ari said gently.

The girl opened her eyes to reveal tired, but beautiful violet irises as she looked up. Next to her, Saya felt Itachi stiffen as he covered his mouth. He let out a small gasp and he closed his eyes, as if he were trying hard not to cry. Saya frowned, she had never seen her cousin so upset before.

"Mommy? I thought you were out on that mission," Hana said sleepily.

Ari smiled sadly as she kissed Hana on the forehead and said, "I was, but I came back to check on you. We can't stay for long, but someone is here to see you…"

Ari leaned back a little so Hana could see Itachi. The girl's eyes widened and she rubbed them gently as if she thought she was dreaming. Hesitantly, Itachi took a step towards Hana and lifted his arms slightly.

"H-Hi, sweetie," Itachi choked out.

"Daddy!" Hana whispered, a huge smile spreading across her face. She sat up in bed and held her arms out for a hug. Ari stepped out of the way and allowed Itachi to sit down as he pulled his little girl into a tight embrace and allowed the tears to fall from his eyes.

"I've missed you so much…you've gotten so big too!" Itachi whimpered. Saya's jaw dropped. She hadn't seen Itachi cry before. At all.

"I told Mommy that you were coming back, but she didn't believe me," Hana explained, sitting herself down on his lap.

Itachi frowned, fighting the sobs as he explained, "well, I'm not staying for long. The bad guy brought back people like me who have died before. I escaped from his control, but now I have to stop the bad guy. But when I do, I'm going to go away again."

"No you won't," Hana shook her head, hugging Itachi's neck. Ari quickly covered her mouth and bent over slightly as she turned her head away. She let out a squeak as tears began to stream down her face. Saya stared at Ari in shock and tried to place a comforting hand on Ari, but her touch only made her friend tremble and inhale sharply as she fought to control her own sobs.

"Hana," Itachi said with a shaky voice, "I love you so much, but I have to go. I died, and as much as I want to stay here with you, I have to move on, but I'll still protect you."

"I know," Hana nodded. She then held up a flower-shaped locket around her neck and said, "I can feel you protecting me and Mommy like when you saved us from Pein. But I'm telling you, Daddy, you'll be able to come back, I just know it."

"Oh, my sweet flower," was all Itachi could say as he pulled her into a tight hug. They shared a long embrace before Itachi laid Hana back down and pulled the covers up to her chin, "I have to go now, but you be a good girl. I'll always be here with you, alright?"

Hana nodded and giggled as he kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, Daddy," she said, "I'll see you soon."

"I love you," was all Itachi could say. Ari then composed herself long enough to give Hana another kiss goodnight before they left. They walked out of the village in silence and prepared to make camp, the three not saying a word. Saya glanced up at Ari occasionally, but regretted doing so each time as she found Ari struggling to keep from sobbing her eyes out.

"Ari, I'm really worried about her," Itachi said suddenly. As dense as he was, he spoke without realizing what sort of mess his lover was, "she thinks I'm going to come back…that's not healthy, is it?"

And at that, Ari finally broke down. She collapsed to her knees and held herself as she broke out into loud sobs, unable to control herself. Startled, Itachi ran to Ari's side and held her shoulders, trying to pull her into an embrace. Embarrassed, Ari covered her face with her hands as she shook her head continuously, apologizing over and over again, but that only made her cry harder.

"Ari…" Itachi said tearing up, "I am so sorry…"

The two held each other close and Saya backed away slightly, feeling as if she was intruding on a private moment. But as Saya watched the two, she found it incredibly hard to believe that Itachi was just going to go away and die, leaving Ari and Hana alone forever. There was just something wrong about that. And not just wrong, but Saya couldn't help but wonder if Hana was right about what she said.

"I hate to interrupt but…is Hana a…psychic?" Saya asked out of the blue. Ari stiffened and looked up at Saya in confusion.

Rubbing the tears out of her eyes, Ari asked, "What?"

"Well, you made a comment earlier about how half-bijuu learn to trust their hunches…and you said she predicted that Itachi would come back before you even knew about the Edo Tensei…" Saya noted.

Ari stood abruptly and dusted herself off. She glared at Saya and said in a low voice, "Don't try to get my hopes up, Saya. People just don't come back to life after dying."

"Well, Itachi and I have both just proved that wrong," Saya crossed her arms, "and I'm not trying to get your hopes up, I was just asking a question. Hana seemed pretty sure about what she was talking about back there. So is she psychic?"

"Ari is," Itachi stated still kneeling on the ground, "she doesn't predict the future but she uses telepathy."

Saya's eyes widened as she glared at Ari in disbelief, "Since when?"

"Since I was born," Ari shrugged.

"And you didn't tell me?" Saya sounded outraged.

"I never used it until I was in ANBU and I hardly went on missions with you anyway!" Ari snapped back, "And what's your point with all of this?"

"My point is," Saya began, "I don't think you should write off Hana's comments as outright denial. Try to keep an open mind, the both of you."

Ari scoffed and looked away, "you're acting like a kid again…"

"Well, maybe that's a good thing!" Saya snapped back, "you guys have grown up, but it sounds like you've all but lost your hope in the process! Just…try to enjoy your time together and stop being so depressed. We'll get through this, we're all practically family, right?"

Ari glared back at Saya but sighed, trying hard to force down a smile. She then walked over and gave Saya a hug, "I've missed your pep talks, you know that?"

"That's probably because you haven't had any since me," Saya grinned arrogantly, "at least no good pep talks…"

After that, Saya allowed Ari and Itachi some time alone for the night. The cuddled, holding hands, but didn't say anything. Though by the way they looked at each other occasionally, Saya had a feeling that they were communicating through Ari's mind tricks which she had heard about. Saya drifted off to sleep that night thinking about what that little girl had said.

And somehow, thinking of how impossible it seemed for Itachi to just be separated from his wife and daughter for eternity, Saya had a feeling that the end of the Edo Tensei wouldn't mean the end of Itachi Uchiha.