Well, it's been a year. And I suppose it's cruel of me to stop this story at a point which some people regard as the climax. Sorry if some characters are OOC or if it's a bit out of rhythm - I haven't written in a long time.
Madara Uchiha
"Now," Itach murmured, making himself comfortable on the only seat in the room. The pair of soon to be ex-Akatsuki had arrived to the abandoned Uchiha monument fifteen minutes prior, short of breath after running at ridiculous speeds through the forest. "We need to discuss the plans: if we want to pull this off, we need to be extremely careful," he frowned, thinking of the many errors that could be made. "Fooling the world is not easy; fooling Sasuke and his team might be, fooling Madara will be near impossible. And if we want to remain off the charts, we need to-"
"I'm sorry," Hinata interrupted, biting back a smile. "I just can't seem to take you seriously while you sit on that thing. You look like you're the Daimyo, or the Emperor or something. Is that the next step in your evil plan leading to world domination?" she giggled, because the whole image was just so ridiculous.
He refrained from pouting. "I am certain that there are individuals on this vast land that follow your line of thinking precisely," he cleared his throat, and awkwardly stood up to face her. "But jokes set aside, in order to fool Madara, we need substitute bodies. Real ones."
Her face twisted. "You mean innocents?"
Itachi nodded gravely. "Yes. If Madara is alive, I have come to the conclusion that he, without a doubt, has been behind this organisation. I have actually been looking through my photographic memories of Uchiha scrolls that I have read in the past. Madara is a great danger-"
"That is no longer yours to deal with!" Hinata interrupted crossly.
"Yes," the word escaped his lips rather resignedly. "But nevertheless, I have no doubts he will be keeping a tab on both our fights. Probably through Zetsu - as his abilities allow him to sprout through the earth at any place he wishes. It can be quite inconvenient."
"So in order to fool Madara, we'll have to fool Zetsu," she finished for him grimly. She had already known that this would in no way be easy, but still, she hadn't expected it to be this difficult and convoluted. "Can't we just project the Genjutsu onto Zetsu as well?"
"I have no doubt that Madara will come looking for our bodies. Your Byakugan and my Sharingan are priceless, especially combined. So it would be feasible that as a self defence, we would destroy our bodies before death. Are you following?" he queried, shooting her a smirk.
"Of course I am," she would've stuck her tongue out at him, but she was above such immature behaviour. "We'd need to destroy the bodies we already obtained. But won't he be able to tell that they aren't ours?"
"Normally, yes. However, if we transfer enough of our chakra into the bodies, the flesh should be able to retain our essence even after they explode. But it's going to use a lot of chakra," he warned, his eyebrows twitching downwards ever-so-slightly. "I can use my own to transfer yours so you lose less either way; however, you'll still have around 40% less chakra at the start of the fight than you would normally."
"And what about you? Won't you be fighting the greater threat? Won't you need all of your chakra for it?" she fretted slightly.
He smiled wryly. "You don't have to worry about me. I naturally have more chakra than you - and actually, I'll probably have less of a task than you."
Hinata's eyebrows raised. "Really? In what way?"
"Sasuke will probably activate the Mangekyou Sharingan in this battle. However, after he does so, he'll achieve blindness sooner or later - he'll follow the same path that I was on before you healed me with your Hyuuga voodoo magic. The only way to avoid this, is if he has my eyes. We need to swap eyes. Obviously, I alone cannot achieve that."
"You want me to do this?" disbelief coloured her tone.
"Yes," Itachi answered simply. The answer that followed wasn't so simple. "I want you to finish your battle as quickly as possible, make your death as believable as possible, come back here and switch our eyes quickly enough so that Zetsu won't be suspicious, and guide us to safety because I will be more or less incapacitated. Oh, and I want you to find the substitute bodies now, because I need to meditate before using up such large quantities of chakra all at once."
Slightly stunned, Hinata stood there for a couple of moments in silence.
"You best be off now," Itachi advised, settling back on his chair (it was totally a throne). Regaining her bearings, Hinata gave him a quick nod, and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sighing back into his chair, Itachi tried to concentrate. It was difficult, however, because the moment would be soon upon him. The moment that he would be finally reunited with Sasuke. Speaking of which... did Sasuke even know that they were meeting at the abandoned Uchiha monument? In all the excitement, Itachi had neglected to send a clone to kindly inform him.
Well, better late than never, Itachi thought, quickly making the hand signals and summoning a clone. With a quick nod, it too was merrily on its way to confront Sasuke. Itachi was almost jealous of the fact that his clone would see him first after all this time. It's been what... two years? Three? Sasuke was still a prepubescent teenager in Itachi's most recent memories. He couldn't help but wonder how much his little brother had grown up.
But he had to concentrate... there was a reason why he sent Hinata to do the dirty work while he sat here on his behind. Closing his eyes, Itachi focused on all the chakra he had largely concentrated in his torso. He slowly started spreading it along his limbs, thinning it out and shaping it - so his core wouldn't suffer quite as big a blow as it normally would had he done this jutsu unprepared. After a few minutes of maneuvering his chakra, Itachi was ready.
And luckily, so was Hinata.
"There you go," she muttered, laying the bodies in front of him. One was male and the other female, which would only make it more believable. He grabbed her hand, entwined their fingers, and laid them on top of the female body. Clenching his eyes shut, he steadily managed to guide Hinata's chakra along the body, so steadily, all of the cells became enclosed in just enough of her chakra to make it believable. It helped that it was a civilian that had no chakra of their own. Finally, the last touch had to be added: he focused on Hinata's image, on all the details of her face; her pert nose; her wide silver eyes, that had just a touch of lavender; her flowing black hair. And in a puff of smoke, a now transformed body lay in front of him, looking exactly like Hinata.
Even though he knew it wasn't real, it still hurt to look at.
"Now," he gasped, a bead of sweat dripping down his forehead. "You need to summon a raven, Hinata. A large one, so you can store the body." Nodding briskly, she bit into her thumb, drawing blood. Quickly murmuring the jutsu under her breath, she was pleased when a rather large raven emerged, meaning that she had accomplished her task. It was a good thing that Itachi forced her to practice her summons during the break they had in the forest.
"Rori," Itachi said, his eyes focusing on the raven. "Take this body to your realm. You need to bring it again when summoned. This in theory, should happen shortly."
The raven gazed at Itachi gravely, twitched its head in what appeared to be a nod, flew onto the Hinata look alike, and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Having had a short break, he was ready to repeat the procedure for his own look alike. Closing his eyes, he put both hands on the body, and steadily transferred the chakra necessary - it took slightly longer this time. And when he was finished, his body collapsed on top of the dead man's one. He had yet to transfer his own features to it.
"Itachi!" Hinata exclaimed worriedly. She crouched down and hugged him from behind. "Are you okay? I'm sure I can do the next bit. You should rest."
"No," he countered. "No, you need to save your energy for the eye procedure."
"But!"
"No buts. Honestly, you have a big task ahead of you, Hinata. Don't make me feel worse by adding more onto it," and with a tired smile, he focused his chakra to transform the features of the man in front of him. When he looked like what Itachi saw when he gazed into a mirror, he was satisfied. "Except... you're going to have to summon another raven," he wanted her to practice as much as possible so she could be ready for the real thing.
As Hinata summoned yet another raven, Itachi slathered his own lookalike in explosive tags, knowing that he probably wouldn't have very much time to do it during battle. And when the raven arrived to take it away, Itachi repeated to it what he'd said to the other raven that was named Rori. Just after this raven disappeared, Itachi felt a jerk in his consciousness as memories started to filter in. Rather recent memories, telling him that his clone had been successful. Showing him how much Sasuke had grown up, how ready to kill him he was... how close he was. They were running out of time.
"Hinata, you need to go," Itachi said softly, starting to walk to his throne. "There are three people that you need to intercept and fool with genjutsu. And hurry back," his voice cracked a bit, showing his unwillingness to let her go.
She hugged him from behind again, and forced him to turn around. "Itachi," she whispered, cupping his face in her hands. "You need to stay safe. You promised me you would survive. Please don't forget that promise," she pleaded, her hands tightening on his face. "Please," she repeated.
"I won't," he promised steadily, leaning downwards to peck her lips. Just as he was about to hug her back, a voice interrupted their activities.
"I see that you lovebirds haven't changed!" came the annoying voice of white Zetsu. Itachi scowled, promising to himself to kill Zetsu at some point, and untangled himself from Hinata. Their eyes met and an understanding was reached; Hinata disappeared without another word, gone in a puff of smoke. Itachi turned his glare to Zetsu.
"You have incredibly bad timing," he told Zetsu, settling himself upon the chair with a sort of finality that wasn't there before. The next time that he'd get up off it, it'd be to face Sasuke. Sasuke, who had grown so much from what he remembered: longer hair, broader shoulders than Itachi's own, and worse fashion sense than before. Really, why would anyone adopt Orochimaru-style belts and what looked like a skirt? It wasn't classy at all. Urgh. Hopefully though, Sasuke would be able to reach this realisation on his own.
His eyes flickered to Zetsu again. Even though he had interrupted their farewell, Zetsu had relatively good enough timing; he missed all of the events that had transpired before that. Itachi decided to ignore Zetsu; after all, he needed to mentally prepare himself for this meeting. He'd been waiting for it for approximately seven and a bit years of his life. This is what it had all been leading up to.
If it weren't for Hinata, this would've been it. This would've been the last moments of his life, before his final battle.
Death suddenly didn't seem like such a far away prospect; it felt so much closer, even though Itachi knew he'd fight his hardest to evade it. Death had always been on the fringes of his subconscious ever since he was seven; but then again, that was something normal for ninja. Their jobs were so dangerous, that it was a given that there was a large chance that they could die on each mission they did. It was sort of a miracle that Itachi hadn't died yet, as someone that had been part of the ANBU from such a young age, as well living as an S. Class ninja for a large chunk of his life.
But he'd move on from the blood and battle; he'd promised Hinata this, after all.
He sensed Sasuke's chakra approaching the building. It felt like no time at all had passed since Hinata had left; but at the same time, he felt like he'd been contemplating his life for years.
This was it. Even if he'd do his best not to die today, this was the last time he'd ever see his younger brother, the person he dedicated his life as Itachi Uchiha to. It was strange to think that this was the end. For all of the times that Itachi had thought about this last confrontation, he didn't think he was prepared for today, for this battle. He didn't think he could ever be prepared.
Finally, a creak was heard from across the room, before the door slammed shut again. Footsteps echoed across the room, and Itachi crossed his hands over his lap, and leaned back against his seat. "How much can you see with that Sharingan of yours?" Itachi wondered aloud, not waiting for Sasuke to finish his trek across the room. What he really meant to ask, was if he managed to awake Mangekyou Sharingan - and if so, who had he killed to acquire it? Naruto, the fox kid? His teacher? Or some other person that Itachi wasn't aware of?
"What I can see with these eyes, Itachi," Sasuke began in unbearably angsty tone, "is you dead at my feet." To say the least, Itachi was not impressed. He understood the fact that this was an emotional reunion, but that didn't mean that there had to be so much drama.
"You see me dead?" he answered, trying to mask just how unimpressed he was. "Well then," he said, activating his Sharingan, and effectively trapping Sasuke in a genjutsu once he made eye contact. "Try your best to kill me," he told Sasuke, now within the genjutsu. He flew towards Sasuke, landing behind him, and turned around to hit him with a kunai. Sasuke blocked at the same time, and they made eye contact.
Itachi quickly let the moment past, twisting his body in an attempt to take a hold of Sasuke. Once again, Sasuke evaded his offensive, pulling out his sword as a defence. This wouldn't do, Itachi thought irritably, and ensuring that both Sasuke's hands were still locked in his, he used his younger brother's body as a step to rise above and kick him in the face.
Sasuke flew back.
He took out his sword, the Kusanogi that he stole from Orochimaru and finally tried to properly attack him, failing in the process, as Itachi once more used Sasuke's own body against him. Tightening his grip, he twirled Sasuke in the air and through him high towards the ceiling; lodging the sword there in the process. Immediately, Sasuke started making hand signs... for the Chidori, Itachi vaguely realised. He must have realised that they were in a genjutsu... And if he hadn't, he must be an idiot.
Maybe there was a reason why Sasuke hadn't tried to dispel it already, Itachi thought, with more than a shred of doubt.
But Sasuke proved himself to be smarter than that, running to him with a Chidori, but actually attacking him from above using a shadow clone. The sword pierced through his body, and it barely hurt - as they were, of course, in a genjutsu. But still, Itachi was impressed.
"You have grown stronger," he told Sasuke, smiling inwardly. This is what he wanted. For Sasuke to be strong enough to protect himself, and the cursed Uchiha legacy that Itachi was selfishly leaving in his hands.
"Listen closely Itachi," Sasuke said, with more than a bit of arrogance. "I have one final thing to ask of you."
And Itachi might have answered his question, if Sasuke had phrased it more politely. All these years, and his younger brother still hadn't learned any manners, Itachi thought crossly. Who has been teaching him what?!
Too bad that Orochimaru was dead, or else he would have had a word with him.
Itachi flicked his hands over to the throne, manipulating the genjutsu so his body appeared where it was before Sasuke had burst into the room. The body that Sasuke had stabbed disintegrated into ravens; Itachi had always had a fondness for those animals. Not only where they his favourite colour, but they also had so much freedom; they could fly wherever they wanted to.
He was still caged.
No. That wasn't right. Today was the day he'd finally free himself from this cage, from these chains that bogged him down and suffocated him with every step he took.
"So we've started with your favourite genjutsu farce, huh?" Sasuke asked, interrupting his older brother's trail of thought.
"So what was it you wanted to know?" Itachi replied back, cocking his head quizzically. He honestly thought that Sasuke would have no patience for conversation, and that he would go straight for the kill. "It won't be the last thing," probably, "but I'll hear what you have to say."
"Let me try this again," Sasuke all but snarled, his eyes narrowing. Itachi felt a sword pierce him once more. Which was useless, he thought in slight exasperation, as they were still in a genjutsu. Was Sasuke incapable of basic human functions? Was talking really that difficult for him, especially when it was something that he wanted to ask in the first place?
How childish.
Then again, Sasuke had never had the opportunity to grow up. He'd taken that from him. It was his fault... The least he could do was answer his questions.
"I have one last thing to ask," he repeated, his volume increasing with each word. "You hear me, you bastard?! Answer my question, or the pain in your chest won't stop until you do." Oh, how endearing his little brother was. He thought that this was painful? This was nothing, compared to the illness he had had for years. This was nothing, compared to killing one's own parents (who loved you). "Remember what you said," Sasuke continued, digging his sword further into Itachi's chest. "The third one, the other one with that Sharingan - who in the Uchiha clan obtained it?"
A question Sasuke could've easily found out by himself if he could've gotten over his pride to visit a library. No matter, Itachi had no qualms informing him of the evil that was Madara Uchiha. The man that was probably (but he still hadn't completely confirmed it yet) behind Akatsuki, and he was someone that Sasuke might have to look out for in the future.
"But why," Itachi was curious, "why would you even concern yourself with such a thing?" After all, Itachi imagined, that in Sasuke's mind his only priority, his top priority was killing the man who killed his parents. In other words, him, Itachi Uchiha. Why was he concerning himself with the past?
"I'm going to kill him after you," he replied, much to Itachi's shock. "That is why."
He wasn't aware that his brother knew that Madara was still alive. Hell, he himself had been avoiding thinking about that evil for years. Itachi was officially impressed.
"Kill him?" he repeated, resisting the urge to raise an eyebrow. There was no way that Sasuke would be able to achieve that in his current state. Not if they were still conversing in the genjustu Itachi had weaved in the beginning.
"Back when you slaughtered our entire clan," Sasuke just had to keep mentioning that, didn't he? "You mentioned the existence of another. The other Uchiha that you didn't kill. He must've been a co-conspirator," and who, dear Sasuke, were really the conspirators? He wanted to so badly ask that, but he wouldn't because that would ruin everything he'd spent his whole life to achieve in one fell swoop. But Sasuke was right, it was Madara had helped him kill everyone that faithful night - and he, along with everyone else, was blurry in Itachi's bloody memories. The only thing that wasn't blurry was Sasuke, ironically.
But now, who had his little brother heard this from?
"Because even you couldn't have taken down the Leaf Police Force alone," Sasuke answered his unspoken question. So Sasuke had come upon the same conclusion as Itachi,; and as he was still clueless of the Uchiha's betrayal and that the massacre was a mission, Sasuke had logically come to the conclusion that the only one that could've possibly helped him achieve the mission that night was a fellow Uchiha. And he was, for all intents and purposes, completely correct.
"So you figured it out," he smirked a bit, felt a healthy dose of brotherly pride. Even though, could one even call him a brother? Debatable, after what he did.
"Who is it?" Sasuke demanded, sounding a bit desperate.
Once more, child, this is why you shouldn't avoid the library as if it were the plague.
"Madara Uchiha," Itachi finally answered, his tone solemn and truthful.
And that is all for today, folks! Thanks very much for reading and I hope you inform me of any inconsistencies in this story. It's been a looong time, after all. Wow, a year already.