Disclaimer: Anything you recognize – be it character, location, idea or line – belongs to others; I may be playing with them but I make no profit from this.

When Worlds Collide

So Much More

Itachi padded the darkened rooms in the quiet of the night, as silent as a wraith, his presence no more noticeable than that of a gust of wind.

His chakra-enhanced eyes, black dots swirling in a sea of red, took in every shadow, checked every silhouette, pierced the dark to categorize every possible danger.

It was his job to ensure his Lord Summoner's safety and he took it seriously.

That was the duty of a good shinobi and he would have performed it flawlessly with any pompous dignitary or fat wealthy merchant who'd hired the services of his Village... but with Harry, it meant so much more.

So much more...

Ninja were assassins, thieves, spies. They didn't have things like 'honour' and 'nobility'. They did, however, have a Duty. To their Leader, first and foremost; to their team-mates, and Village, then. And to the client, while the mission lasted.

Harry however had always been more than all that, more than just a client, more than a 'duty', more, even, than the revered Third Fire Shadow, the leader he had served before, had ever been to Itachi.

And it had been so right from the start, even though Itachi hadn't recognized this truth at first.

Unbidden, his thoughts flew back to when they'd met. The longest night of his life just behind him, and the most dreaded day just begun, and then that surprising encounter...

Out of habit, he tried to shut the memories down, lessons of old taking over: never let emotions cloud your judgement, never let personal angst invalidate a mission, never lose focus in the labyrinth of remembering.

But he was honest enough, at least with himself, to be forced to acknowledge that they were safe in these odd rooms of a most intriguing building and besides, he trusted his fellow Guardians to do their share: he couldn't hide behind his duty to avoid the past as usual.

So he took a deep breath and let the memories come...

He had been but a boy then, not very much more than a child in body, though his spirit had long been forced into adulthood. And he had been running with everything he had – running for his life, despite not truly believing in his right to survive. Not after what he'd done.

But his mind shied away from the haunting memories of his crime, now after so many years exactly as it had back then, and Itachi focused on what had come next instead. The strangest meeting in his experience.

As he'd swung lightly from tree branch to tree branch, every inch of his body taut with the tension of flight, he hadn't truly believed that he would get away. He was the best, a member of the Special Assassination and Tactical Squad, top of the elite even among shinobi; but those who were hunting him were his companions and they weren't any less good than him.

Moreover, his heart had been heavy with guilt and sorrow at the loss of everything he held dear; his mind had been full of his village – the village he was leaving even if he wanted nothing more than to stay, the village that would forever think him a crazy traitor and never know how much he'd sacrificed for its safety – and of his little brother – the brother he loved so much, who would grow up hating him ferociously.

He couldn't concentrate properly on his escape. Deep down, he hadn't thought he deserved to get away. And thus, the hunters had been gaining on him.

Suddenly, he had registered a presence on the ground a bit further on, that had seemed to appear out of nowhere – which was simply impossible.

Anything living had a chakra signature and it couldn't be muted or fabricated without consequences, without recognizable effects. Effects that hadn't been there.

One moment nothing, the next it was there. Absurd.

Considering his status of hated missing-nin and the fact that he wasn't yet far enough from the Village Hidden in the Leaves, he couldn't afford to consider the presence anything other than an enemy; especially since whoever it was had seemed to have an incredibly vast, if wild and untrained, chakra capacity. To his Sharingan, it had looked like a lit beacon.

And too sudden to be real.

Intrigued and wary at the same time, he'd dropped to the ground without a sound and disappeared in his surroundings, years of training allowing him to investigate with no risk of being noticed.

He just had to be cautious, for his pursuers were bound to pick up on the chakra concentration as well, and likely react the same way.

Quickly and silently he'd got closer.

The source of the chakra signature had turned out to be a boy about Itachi's age, though it was obvious at first glance that despite his potential he had to be a civilian: the way he held himself and the curiosity without wariness with which he looked around had been dead giveaways. Not to mention the beautiful, but quite eye-catching, intense blue of his clothes.

Itachi had arrived at the strange boy's back and at first he could only see a mass of unruly black hair.

To his great surprise, the stranger had seemed to notice him immediately, despite all his training and the care he'd been putting in staying invisible: he'd turned around sharply and stared through odd-looking goggles directly at where Itachi was hiding, making the shinobi re-evaluate his possible training. But then, maybe it had just been chance because he'd looked surprised when Itachi had stepped out. It had been frustratingly confusing!

As had been the strange weapon he'd held – which Itachi hadn't been sure was a weapon at all, but hadn't known how else to classify.

He still didn't know nowadays, even if he'd long grown familiar with the slender staff that looked like a bō, but a very short one, about half the stranger's height, and made of some sort of metal rather than wood, primarily bronze-coloured, but with a spiralling design that made it change with the light in an almost hypnotic manner.

Back then he had only been able to estimate that it had looked like a combat staff and yet not at the same time and that he could have sworn it was chakra-infused, yet it hadn't felt like a charged weapon.

In short, it had been beautiful, foreign, and confusing.

Exactly like the boy who'd been holding it.

Itachi hadn't known whether he should feel threatened or not and reluctantly, he'd raised his gaze to meet the other's eyes, despite the long-standing habit ingrained in his Clan of avoiding eye-contact outside of the heat of battle.

And something had happened then, no-one could have expected.

The newly-declared missing-nin had found himself mesmerized by the brightest pair of green eyes he'd ever seen; not that he'd seen many, he had to admit.

But these had been special.

They had shone through those thick, very technological looking pair of intriguing goggles that gave the boy a mysterious look and all the way to Itachi's very soul.

They still did, whenever Harry studied him with his peculiar, soul-searching gaze. They weren't just luminous. They shone with warmth and determination and hidden power.

The shinobi's breath had caught: even from a distance, the boy's charisma had been beckoning.

It hadn't been attraction, of that Itachi was sure: nothing so silly as a sudden infatuation. He might never have felt such a thing himself, but he had had far too many occasions to observe the phenomenon of 'crushes' in loathed fan-girls as well as in most of his slightly older colleagues. He had also been warned of the natural changes in body chemistry that puberty would bring upon him and how they would increase his susceptibility to such uncontrolled reactions. He had even tried to prepare himself for it and had studied carefully both written accounts and real-life examples.

What he'd felt that day for what amounted to a perfect stranger had nothing to do with hormones and the perception of an appealing form.

It had been... magical, except of course nothing of the sort existed. The Mystical Ninja Arts were techniques, they might look like magic to civilians, but they were perfectly explainable, perfectly teachable, perfectly scientific.

This was not.

Almost without realizing it, Itachi had stepped further out of his hiding place and toward the other boy, forgetting his situation and the hunters on his trail, focused only on those green orbs. Something in the stranger had called to him at such a deep level that even instinct was closer to consciousness than that.

Even after years, Itachi was at a loss to explain it.

There was no denying, though, that the bond between them was real – and deep – and precious to Itachi. Maybe it was because in his entire life, Harry had been the first person to truly welcome him – him, not what he represented.

As soon as the boy had caught sight of Itachi, he'd smiled: a wide grin, full of welcome and hope and just a little bit of pleased surprise. There had been no sizing him up, no instantly classifying him under pre-determined labels with their burdens of responsibilities and duties, no covetous tally of all the ways the precocious child-genius could be of use. He had been smiling like someone who has been waiting for a dear friend and has just seen them arrive.

Itachi had felt something inside himself snap into place: relief and peace had spread and settled into his soul, filling him with a joy that was echoed by the mystical tune the forest all around them seemed to hum.

He'd frowned at his own thoughts then: forests do not hum tunes, mystical or not. He'd sighed, suddenly realizing that it had to be an Illusion. A clever one, preying on his innermost thoughts and desire, and powerful too, because... he'd felt… complete.

But his almost automatic response of an Illusion Release, performed with resignation but nevertheless flawlessly, had not shattered any false sensory perception. An instant later, Itachi had been shocked by the realization that, if it truly was an Illusion, then it was fooling his Sharingan, that, as usual, had reflexively activated in response to his surprise. Which was impossible.

So he had been forced to conclude that either he was being lured into a sophisticated trap by someone of unbelievable power... or else, it was real. This feeling that, beyond any doubt, his place in the world was right beside that strange boy, a feeling that was giving him a stronger sense of belonging than even swearing himself to his Leader had given him, that was filling him with the immeasurable relief of a much needed peace... was real.

Accepting that had left not the slightest doubt in his mind: the boy was Home.

Sounds of his pursuers had intruded in the serenity of the moment.

The stranger had been the first to break the growingly uncomfortable silence: "Are they hunting you?"

Itachi had started, abruptly reminded of his quandary. His gaze had darted here and there, on the verge of panic – how could he have let himself so open! But the other boy had hastened to reassure him: "Don't worry. I can hide you effectively. They'll lose your trail and be forced to give up."

He had spoken with confidence, but Itachi had stared at him dubiously. The boy – a child, really, by Itachi's standard – couldn't know what he was talking about and...

The green-eyed stranger had smiled again and with a flourish he'd produced a bangle, made of a silvery metal Itachi could not identify for sure. It had looked pretty, but Itachi could guess of no real use for it, especially in their situation; that is, until the boy had wrapped it around his wrist.

And disappeared.

Not only had he no longer been visible, not even to his Sharingan, but his very chakra signature had completely vanished. There hadn't even been the void usually associated with someone suppressing their presence: the chakra patterns of the forest hadn't been disturbed in the least, it had been as if the boy simply wasn't there anymore.

Only he had been: a moment later he had taken off the silvery ornament and his presence had flared up again where it hadn't been an instant before.

This was ten times better than any Illusion he'd ever heard of!

When the green-eyed boy had raised the bangle in invitation, he hadn't hesitated and had held out his arm in one fluid motion. Apparently the ornament could be twisted and reshaped, as the stranger had quickly managed to wrap it around both their wrists.

And for all intents and purposes, they had disappeared from the quiet clearing.

Itachi hadn't known what he'd been expecting, but the sensations had caught him off-guard nonetheless. It was, he'd reflected, like watching the world through a transparent, liquid veil. A rather disconcerting experience, especially when he'd remembered that others could not see or even sense them.

His new companion had seemed unruffled by the situation. "Traded this from Uncle O'aka some time ago. It lets the wearer go around undisturbed by fiends and such... Cool, huh?" He'd said in a barely-audible murmur, and had shot Itachi a grin that had disconcerted him, so unused he was to easy camaraderie after years in the Special Assassination and Tactical Squad, adding quietly: "By the way, my name is Harry!"

Weird. Most weird.

"I am Itachi," he'd shot back, just as quietly. No use in giving a surname. The clan was dead anyway, and it's not like they were anything to be proud of. He wasn't going to use the name Uchiha ever again, if he could help it.

Harry had nodded in acceptance, then stilled and turned his attention to the hunter-nins who had just dropped all around them, looking around in angered confusion.

"Where are they? They can't have disappeared!" had shouted an angry voice. Itachi had recognized his former partner Wolf and stifled a wince. He had to have been taking his 'treason' as a personal offence, knowing him.

"They must be hiding somewhere around here." This had been the voice of a dismissive, almost bored male.

"We would feel their chakra if they were!" had retorted a sensible sounding female. Itachi guessed it had been Sparrow: he had worked with her and knew her for a level-headed kunoichi whose knowledge of Illusionary Techniques was unparalleled outside of Clan specialities.

"Unless they were masking it." Wolf again, bitter.

"Impossible. Masking one's chakra is a gradual process." Sparrow's lecturing tone had given Itachi a pang of bittersweet familiarity. "If they were hiding, we would have felt their chakra signature slowly fading. It is impossible to make it completely disappear abruptly, not without leaving a hole in the chakra background that is as telling as a presence."

"Except that there is no such hole," had pointed out a voice Itachi had instantly recognized as Sharingan no Kakashi, "and they did disappear. Abruptly and effectively."

"I don't…" had started Sparrow, but a deep voice Itachi hadn't known had interrupted: "Transportation jutsu."

There had been a silence.

Then Kakashi and Wolf had started swearing at the same time.

"He must have had an accomplice, then," had commented the bored voice.

"The chakra surge earlier!" The disgust was prominent in Wolf's voice .

"No sense in continuing," had sighed Sparrow. "They could be anywhere by now."

One by one, the hunter-nins had turned towards Konoha, giving up the chase. At least for the moment.

Itachi had stared after them, unable to believe he was off the hook. Relief, grief, a turmoil of powerful, sad emotions had choked him, an ache growing in his chest at losing his former companions, at leaving his home for which he'd sacrificed so much… overwhelming sorrow and lingering disappointment for the choices and consequent fate of his Clan... a sliver of hope for his brother… the terrible doubt that maybe, he hadn't done the right thing for Sasuke, despite his best intentions…

A rustling sound beside him had caught his attention. Harry had been rummaging in his backpack. Then he had turned to Itachi, beaming brightly: "What are you going to do now?" he had asked.

Itachi had regarded him impassibly, all his attention focused to figure out what the true scope of the question might be, but the other boy had radiated genuineness. He really had just wanted to know – not to use it against Itachi or to his own advantage, but just... well, Itachi hadn't been able to tell why, but he'd felt relatively sure that there wasn't a hidden meaning in anything Harry had been saying. Maybe it was a civilian thing.

"I... have no idea," he'd answered carefully, a little unsettled at being so honest to anyone – let alone a virtual stranger. But the feeling of comfort and belonging was still strong in him and if it was a technique of some sort, he hadn't been able to believe that Harry was doing it on purpose.

"Oh, well, wanna come with me?"

There had been too much innocence and delight in those eyes. And maybe those were the qualities that had pushed him to accept the candid offer.

"Where?" he'd asked, more out of the need to say something than of any true interest.

"Don't know," Harry had grinned behind his goggles, "except that it's that way."

He'd pointed his weapon that maybe wasn't a weapon straight to the north and the illusionary hum that had quieted somewhat, though never fully vanished, had intensified, making him beam.

Itachi had frowned a little, his genius mind rapidly forming and discarding hypothesis and coming to the conclusion that the Illusion was tied to the odd weapon – and that Harry was apparently using it as a guide.

The boy had stared at him expectantly.

Well... it's not like he'd had any true plans for after... well. He hadn't expected to get away, for one. Maybe keep an eye on Tobi, but...

But.

The Village Hidden in the Leaves had demanded so much of him. It was his duty as shinobi of the Leaf, of course... but still, it had taken and taken and taken and left him with nothing but despair and then it had asked for more.

A surge of irrational anger had swept through him.

It was his duty... but he was no longer a shinobi of the Leaf, was he?

As a missing-nin, he was free to offer his loyalty – dubious as it was – to whomever he pleased.

He'd bowed formally to the strange boy who had saved him: "If you will have me, I shall be honoured to guard you in your quest."

Harry had seemed caught off-guard, but only for a moment. Then he'd quickly grown serious and twirled his weird weapon, bringing it to his side and tucking it in his armpit like an expert bo wielder, and had returned the formal greeting with a strange, graceful movement, bringing his hands in front of his chest with a circular gesture and positioning them as if he were holding a sphere before bowing.

"Thank you, Itachi. You are most welcome to come!"

Lost in the darkness of the quiet night in a strange world, Itachi closed his eyes relaxedly, remembering that moment – the moment that changed his life so radically... and for the better.

In that one simple sentence, Harry had offered him more than just something to do with his time and skills. He had given him a purpose, a place; belonging.

Day after day, over the last few years, he had felt the bond of loyalty and affection between him and his Lord Summoner growing stronger. Not once had he regretted it. He was sure he never would.

'Home is where the heart is', goes the old saying.

For a long time, Itachi's heart had been in Sasuke's hands, but he had been forced to make the harshest decision in order to ensure that his little brother would grow strong enough to face the dangers lurking ahead in his future... and after that, he knew, his heart could no longer remain with the child he was forcing to grow up, as Sasuke was bound to hate him.

He'd tried to offer his heart to the Village Hidden in the Leaves… but that had ended as it had ended.

Now, however… now his heart was with Harry – his liege, his captain, his brother. And he was always home.

With a small sigh, he turned his thoughts to more productive musings than recollections. They were about to face another daring challenge that would hopefully grant Harry another Aeon. It would be the third one for Itachi...

Quiet steps approached him unhurriedly.

Startled out of his thoughts, Itachi tensed fractionally before he recognized his Lord Summoner's powerful presence.

"What's wrong?" asked Harry very softly.

Itachi glanced at his barely visible silhouette out of the corner of his eyes, once more amazed at the other teen's insight.

Itachi knew his blank face gave nothing away – he'd been trained for that by harsh taskmasters – yet Harry could always read him no matter what.

And always knew just what to tell him to help.

Itachi felt his affection for his companion swell every time it happened.

"I was thinking of the Cloister of Trials we shall have to face soon," he murmured in a monotone, "and that led me to remember the first we ever faced."

He did not need to see to guess Harry's familiar, small grin: "Yeah… it was quite the adventure, hm?"

Itachi noticed the faint brush of Harry's very peculiar energy stretch slightly towards the presences that were always there at the very edge of Itachi's perception, just a hairbreadth too far to be reached.

It was a small caressing touch, not quite Summoning but sort of waving hello. A flicker of sharp wind curled around them, carrying a hint or rain, a hint of moist soil, a hint of fumes…

The Elemental Aeon was quite temperamental – they never knew how it would manifest. Sometimes it was ice or fire or lightning or whatever. Sometimes it was a bit of everything.

Itachi turned his gaze upon the silent night before them, his mind flying to when Harry had gained it…

It had taken them nearly two months, since they'd been travelling at civilian speed, through most of Fire Country, then Rice Field Country, then a fortnight by sea to the Land of Snow.

As Itachi had suspected, the Rod acted as a guide for the other boy and, according to Harry, it would lead him to find a helpful entity of some sort. What he needed it for hadn't been clear in Itachi's mind, but he had long been used to not know or understand fully the reasons behind his missions.

To know the whys and wherefores was the Village Leader's job… and now, Harry's.

Whatever the boy chose to do with his life, Itachi would follow him and protect him. He had had no doubt that he could keep Harry safe, no matter what was thrown at them. Nothing else had mattered in the least.

It had made Itachi feel strangely calmer, renouncing control like this, concentrating only on the job. It had helped numb the pain of having lost everything.

Harry had also been a joy to be around, to Itachi's great surprise. The shinobi had figured out quickly that his new companion didn't know much about survival and next to nothing about fighting, even if he was clearly used to travelling and extremely resourceful in combining things that could be found or traded along the way to achieve new and often surprising results. It had made Itachi protective and solicitous but it had also made him feel useful and valued, especially since Harry hadn't expected anything from him. It had been Itachi's own choice – for the first time in far too long.

He had taken care of everything with impeccable skill and matter-of-fact ease; he had both been surprised and warmed by Harry's gratitude for what Itachi had seen as simply part of his duties. He had also been gratified by the other boy's slight awe. It was good to be appreciated, even if only as a tool, as he had believed himself to be; it's not like he'd ever been anything other than a honed instrument, to the Hokage, to his clan even, but they had just taken it for granted. Harry's happiness in him had been a balm for his soul.

What he had not understood – it had not even crossed his mind, so alien a concept it was to him – was that Harry didn't consider him a tool or a weapon, however useful, but more… a friend.

Back then, he could not even imagine that the boy he'd vowed to serve could possibly care for him.

They had stuck to merchant roads and the smaller civilian villages, in order to avoid trouble as much as possible; Harry had turned out to be surprisingly good at haggling and had displayed an almost uncanny ability to trade stuff Itachi wouldn't have possibly considered useful only to trade it again in the next village or so. It had made getting rid of his far too distinctive ninja clothes easier than Itachi had feared and guaranteed that they never wanted for food or what they needed for their night camps.

"Uncle O'aka taught me," he had told Itachi with a happy grin. "He's a Trader – O'aka XIII, Merchant Extraordinaire!"

As always, he'd been excited to talk about his friends and family and past adventures. Itachi had envied him a bit, but it had been a pleasant way to pass the time, listening to Harry's never-ending chatters about places he's never even heard of before.

Itachi had also been amused by the way Harry cherished the little odd details of his outfit and relished telling him about how he'd happened upon one or the other. From time to time he had even added a new one – always after a particularly meaningful encounter or memorable stop: he continued doing it to this very day. As if he was tying to his clothes mementos of his path in life. It was oddly endearing.

For his part, Itachi hadn't had much that he could, or would, share about himself or his past. Most of it was either classified, or too painful. Harry hadn't seemed to mind, thankfully, and while he'd never refrained from asking questions, he had always respected Itachi's choice of not answering. After a while, the ninja had grown less uncomfortable with his companion's easy manners.

Harry's odd bangle, whatever the Seal powering it, had been amazingly helpful. They could pass unobserved in any wild environment. And in villages, well, Itachi wasn't a Master of the Arts of Illusion for anything.

Harry had loved 'transforming'. He had giggled wildly every time – still did, as a matter of fact, though they did it rarely these days.

Itachi had found he didn't mind. On the contrary, he had surprised himself by choosing different disguises every time and going for shock value, even if it had been more dangerous because it attracted attention and didn't allow to create a trail to confirm their fake identities, just so that Harry could have fun. Had he remembered how to do it, he knew he would have smiled often at the other boy's enthusiasm.

Eventually they'd reached… wherever it was that they'd been headed to.

The Land of Snow had been new territory for Itachi. He had read everything his old Village had managed to collect about it, but it hadn't been much, all in all. About the only information of importance had been that their shinobi wore special chakra-laden armours that made them virtually immune to most chakra-based techniques. As he had been determined to avoid any confrontation and steer clear of its Hidden Village as well as any patrols, that hadn't been of much use.

They had moved from settlement to settlement at leisure, easily pretending to be travelling merchants: Harry's experience with the role had been very useful and Itachi had always been a quick study, and well-trained in infiltration and impersonation.

The unusually advanced level of technology everywhere had rather caught him off guard. He had seen things such as railroads and power generators before, but they were generally rare in the Elemental Nations. He had also been surprised at the familiarity Harry had showed with snow mobiles and hovercrafts, guns and cannons, elevators and even airships – though he had tended to call them all 'machina', a term nobody had seemed to have ever heard.

Trading around this and that until they'd managed to rent a snow mobile had certainly made the last few miles much easier, anyway. Itachi would have been terribly worried had they been forced to trudge through the deep snow of a chilly, hostile land on their own power alone. He would have managed, of course, but Harry had no training and even if the boy never complained, that hadn't made Itachi feel any better.

The other boy's excitement, too, had not been too hopeful a sign in his eyes. His Rod, apparently, was claiming they were close. Itachi had been careful not to voice his scepticism. That an item could be powered by a Seal so that it acted as a compass towards a peculiar chakra signature, he could accept. But a form of sentience? Was that actually possible?

But Harry had already done the impossible a couple times, hadn't he? Maybe he could give him the benefit of doubt…

Besides, he'd seen weirder things, and anyway, Harry was his client, in a way.

For all his scepticism, anyway, he'd been too well-trained not to notice how the humming vibration emanating from the Rod had steadily increased and too intelligent to dismiss evidence, however odd, out of prejudice. It just might be possible that it was all true.

The hum had climaxed into a song the moment they had stepped into a half-hidden cave. A mysterious, pervasive tune, daunting and moving. One that in later years Itachi had become extremely familiar with, yet it always had the power to touch something deep inside him.

It had soon waned to a barely audible background hum, but hadn't disappear the whole time they'd been there. It had given the atmosphere a sort of sacred feeling, like in a Monk Temple.

Itachi had been highly tense but had hid it as usual, holding himself ready for anything.

Harry had warned him, in a roundabout way, about the fact that they would have to overcome a sort of maze. That made sense, but it had also worried him. Still, if that was what Harry wanted, that was what Itachi would do.

They had made their way down the cave and elaborate, refined ornaments had started appearing, mostly centred around the symbols of the five Elements and their combinations, as the area divided into several interconnected passageways.

Complex patterns of coloured tiles had covered the walls of the corridors, forming mosaics dedicated to what Itachi could easily identify as elemental attacks. Sculptures of odd-looking creatures with wings and claws had loomed over every stone archway.

Harry had been awed, eyes huge in wonder. "I know I'm supposed to face a Cloister of Trials to earn the right to Summon the Aeon," he had said determinedly, "but my first one was nothing as impressive as this!"

Itachi had winced at that, but kept silent.

It had not taken long before their path had been blocked by the first 'Trial', a puzzle of sorts, requiring them to reconstruct a particularly complex pattern by moving around sliding tiles over a wall. Fortunately, it hadn't been difficult: Itachi was a genius after all and his Sharingan guaranteed he would remember the configurations effortlessly. Harry's quiet and sincere admiration, so devoid of any adulation, disconcerted him.

The completed design had lit up under Harry's hand. A Glyph, the boy had called it – a kind of Seal Itachi had never heard of before. It had vanished the wall supporting it, to the ninja's surprise.

Shortly after, they'd encountered another, similar puzzle, then another again. The theme linking the various challenges had helped: the whole maze seemed centred around the five Elements, so it had been easy for Itachi to select the right route, simply by avoiding the passageways dedicated to elements whose Glyph they had already passed.

Eventually they'd found themselves in a vast, dim area, where a series of glowing spheres had been lying about and an etched design covered the floor, with holes the size of the spheres in key points of it.

Harry had quickly figured out that they had to match the colour to the symbol, once again based on the elements. Whenever they put a right sphere in the right hole, lines of energy alighted on the floor, making the biggest Glyph so far take form on the floor of the cave.

Itachi had hesitated before activating the last connecting line. All his instincts had been screaming at him to expect something bad upon completion of the figure.

Harry unfortunately didn't have such honed instincts. He had happily pushed the last sphere into position.

The completed Glyph had flared with coloured lights – purple chased by green bleeding into blinding white – and the daunting music they had almost tuned out had spiked suddenly, overwhelmingly.

With a quiet rumble, the lights of the Glyph had shot upwards in piercing, vertical rays.

Harry had cried out, momentarily blinded, but Itachis' training had allowed him to not be bothered by the flashy technique. Smoothly, he had grabbed Harry and jumped him out of the way and behind the relative safety of a rocky boulder, before turning to face the monstrous creature that had, somehow, been summoned, with a resigned sigh.

It had been an impressive, fiery figure: an enormous winged creature of smoke, with brown skin and long horns and claws, and spouting scorching flames, hot and hungry enough to consume all they touched and turn the world to ashes.

Itachi had never even imagined something like it could exist.

It had roared so loud that the ground had trembled and rising flames had bathed its bulky frame, spiking up all around it arrestingly.

Itachi had braced himself and when the burning beast had abruptly slashed the boulder protecting Harry with a fiery claw, he had been ready to intercept it, shoving his charge behind him, protecting him from all harm; and he had instantly retaliated, a volley of kunai nailing the huge, brown body, eliciting a pained howl.

He'd started running along the wall of the cave, keeping up his barrage, drawing the attention of the creature away from Harry's hiding place.

The beast had roared again and thrown a hastily gathered ball of flames at him, but with his speed and reflexes, it had been easy to avoid the blast.

Face impassive, he had concentrated fully on the battle, choosing and discarding strategies with quickness. It was reasonable to expect a fire elemental to be weak to water, so he had displayed his unfortunately not so vast knowledge of Water Techniques, aiming a pressurized jet of water straight at the creature.

It had warmed almost to boiling point in the few seconds it had taken it to cover the distance between him and his opponent, steam already rising from it, weakening the attack as part of it evaporated, but when it had reached its target, it had struck true.

The creature of fire had cried a long moan and Itachi had fallen back lightly, still on guard. Unfortunately, instead of being defeated, the monster… had changed.

All his flames had died out abruptly and it had fallen to pieces, blackened and charred, collapsing to the ground, where, however, it had reformed even as it crumbled into a stocky mass of stones, loosely resembling a bull but with the legs of a feline, all made of hard rock.

A mere stomping of one of his huge rocky paws had been enough to provoke an earthquake. Itachi had been forced to use chakra to maintain his balance and Harry had cried out in fear from the other side of the cave, dangling from a spike of rock he'd been pushed off of, his Rod cluttering away from him.

Thankfully Lightning Techniques had always featured prominently in Itachi's arsenal, so he had the advantage against this earth elemental. The piercing damage of the wave of lightning bolts he had shot at it had broken the creature apart with ease: the rock had shattered and crumbled under his finishing kicks until the creature had fused and melted, dripping to the floor in a diluted puddle that had slowly morphed into a fluid water-wave, rising again and gathering momentum, towering over him, gaining a sort of vaguely serpentine form.

Resigned to leaving Harry more or less to his own devices for the moment, Itachi had slammed his hand into the ground, raising an Earth Wall to protect them both from the incoming water blast, and forced his battered body to ignore his growing fatigue. Only his unnatural speed had allowed him to to form the lengthy sequence of handsigns needed quickly enough that the Water Dragon he'd copied on a mission in Mist had been evoked in the nick of time to contrast the threat. The watery constructions had clashed into each other with a great, noisy splash.

He had not been at all surprised when crackling lightning had started running up and down the watery limbs, turning more and more water into electricity with every passage, until a vaguely bird-like figure could be guessed, not defined or corporeal but all too real and dangerous, made of running lightning energy, clear and bright. He'd guessed by now that the terrible opponent would switch through all the elements. Hopefully just the basic ones. At least what had been left after this had been the best match for his abilities. He had just had to hope that he would have enough chakra reserves to outlast the monster.

In the meanwhile, his mastery of Wind Techniques being even lesser than of Water ones, Itachi had had no choice but to resort to physical attacks. Thankfully, while he generally preferred more sophisticated and discreet methods, he could, when needed, unleash brute, devastating power through chakra-enhanced hits.

He had jumped as far away from Harry as possible, however. Lightning users were generally faster than any other: he had known he would most likely not be able to evade the creature's attack that time, and he hadn't wanted Harry to be electrocuted, not even just in a sideswipe.

The lightning attack had slammed into him, alighting his nerve endings with pain. It had hurt…

His impassive mask had shattered for an instant and he had vacillated. Harry's terrified, painfilled cry had resounded in his ears. Panic had jolted through him. Had his charge been hurt after all?

But a moment later he'd realized that Harry's cry were morphing into something else... a rhyme?... something had been glowing at the edge of his vision, dark purple streaks and white stars drawing an illusionary sphere around him... and then cool relief had spread through his body... his vision had cleared, his balance steadied.

On the other side of the monster, he'd caught sight of Harry bracing himself in what looked like a finishing stance, his Rod glowing with slowly fading energy. With a jolt of shock, he'd realized that his companion had healed him: casual chatters Harry had shared with him countless times about 'white magic', that he'd not taken into too much consideration, suddenly had acquired a whole new importance.

But it hadn't been the time to wonder about the other boy: the creature had been charging him, sparks of lightning growing at its command, and whatever his power, Harry's lack of training had made it impossible for him to avoid the attack.

Spurred by his panic, Itachi's retaliatory technique had sprouted a spear of lightning from his mouth, and he'd put enough destructive power in it to pierce the crackling form just an instant before it reached Harry and thunderously nail it to the rock walls behind, which had cracked and crumbled under the impact.

Panting, Itachi had painstakingly climbed to his feet, feeling woozy with the loss of chakra, but a whole lot better than he'd expected: somehow, all of his minor injuries, the scrapes and bruises that slowly accumulated, had been fully healed. It had amazed him almost to the point of distracting.

Fortunately, the hit had been puissant enough and the yet again reforming creature had retreated into the shadows. Itachi could barely see its outline and that had told him that his genetic Eye Technique had automatically switched off, probably because he was reaching the end of his chakra capacity. There had been no mistaking the tornadoes it had been raising at its sides however, this had to be the wind incarnation.

Weary, Itachi had forced himself to stand up, locking away his pain and gathering his chakra to reactivate his hated Sharingan, ignoring his ever growing exhaustion.

Wind was the most dangerous element, but also the one he could contrast the most easily. Fire affinity was a mark of his line after all.

Determined to stop the monster before it could launch any other attack that might have a chance to hurt his charge, Itachi had compressed as much chakra as he could still afford to inside his body and skilfully released it into a dragon-shaped fireball of devastating potency. Its power and reliability made this one of his favourite techniques and the wind currents of his opponents had only worked in his favour, feeding the flames.

The blast had been something to behold.

Itachi's vision had obscured and his body had slid slowly to the floor. A deep, booming voice had resounded, oddly distant: "...I shall serve you, Summoner…"

Had he remembered how to, he would have smiled. Mission accomplished.

Then thin arms had closed around him and he had heard sobs, his name chocked out among them… Harry? Why was he crying? Was he hurt? He hoped not… he couldn't muster any energy to help him… Had Itachi failed after all? Had Harry been caught in the last backlash perhaps? He had fought against the blackness raising all around him… he had to make sure Harry was alright…

The cool relief had returned, pouring through his body just as soothingly as it had during the battle... so odd... he really should have paid more attention to Harry's chatter...

He'd come slowly to his senses, realizing that he lay on the ground, that someone was sobbing: "Itachi… please…"

Then he'd realized he was being held close to Harry's lean body. Sounds of someone rummaging frenetically nearby... a bottle brought to his lips... his hearing had been coming and going "Please… please drink this… from O'aka… feel better…"

Confused, Itachi had tried to tell him: "Doesn't matter… I'm... not important..."

"Don't!" had cried Harry, frantic. "Don't ever say that!"

"But..."

"You're important to me!" had shouted Harry, tears in his green eyes. He had looked so desperate, so pain-filled, that Itachi's breath had caught. "You're important to me, Itachi," had repeated the child, brokenly.

For a long moment, Itachi had been too stunned to react.

Then he'd drunk, and leant back to contemplate his young companion, and finally given a tiny nod – an acknowledgement of the disorienting revelation.

Harry's tremulous smile had been as beautiful as the sun dancing through the leaves, back home…

From then on, Itachi had been more careful with his own life. Nothing would ever stop him from taking the blows directed at his Lord Summoner, or laying his life down for him if it was ever needed, but he was careful not to throw it away.

He glanced to his side again and could easily guess the other teen's knowing gaze in the darkness.

"You're still important to me," said Harry. "You always will be."

Itachi didn't smile outwardly, he never did, but he relaxed completely, like he only ever did in Harry's company. And as always, his Lord Summoner understood.