If Itachi could choose only one particular aspect he despised about returning to his original age, it would without a doubt be the boneless exhaustion he felt. His limbs shook from strain and his legs felt as if he were being pricked by thousands of needles. All that ran through his mind was his need to put as much distance between himself and Sasuke as possible. If Sasuke did not see him, he would not be at risk of joining Madara and Obito. Itachi could not risk his brother losing himself.

He moved silently through the mountain path, groping the wall for support. Twice he fell as coughs wracked his body. Soon blood began to accompany his violent coughs. He had foolishly left his medication behind in his escape. Utter foolishness. Itachi leaned his head against the stone mountainside, eyes clenched shut as his coughing finally subsided. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, painting it scarlet.

Standing was difficult. How spoiled he had been in his child body. Healthy and agile. Now look at him. He could barely walk. If only his clan could see him now. What would they think of the traitor? A fitting end indeed.

It was on the third day that he was found.

Itachi had just made it down the riverside when he sensed familiar chakra quickly approaching. No longer having the strength to run, Itachi closed his eyes and waited.

"We've been searching for you, brat." Obito called out as he approached Itachi. Itachi turned to face him, noting that Zetsu stood just behind the Uchiha. Obito chuckled and shook his head. "You've gotten Madara quite frustrated. Seducing Kisame to ensure your escape was brilliant."

There was a grey pallor to Itachi's skin and that had Obito frowning. He walked towards the other slowly and took in the rest of his appearance. His eyes were hazy as they had been months ago before battling Sasuke. The shadows under his eyes were prominent.

Itachi was sick once more.

He noticed how itachi seemed unsteady his feet. He motioned for the younger to sit. Surprisingly, Itachi did so without complaint.

"You ran without your medication." Obito flicked his tongue, kneeling in front of Itachi and tipping his head back. "It's progressing quickly..." The masked man shuffled through his bag and pulled out a bottle of Itachi's pills. The younger Uchiha watched him through heavily lidded eyes as the man brought two pills to his lips.

"C'mon brat, don't be difficult." Obito muttered and Itachi relented. He swallowed the pills painfully, eyes shutting in exhaustion. He felt Obito press his pam against his burning forehead and leaned into the cool flesh offered. Obito cursed softly. It usually was not this bad. Itachi would have never allowed himself to get into this state.

"Zetsu, carry him." Obito ordered, standing and placing the pills away. Zetsu approached the Uchiha and knelt down, scooping him up from the ground. Itachi's head lolled back heavily, staring at the sky. Zetsu shifted him to support his neck and Itachi closed his eyes.

"Will...will this kill me soon?" Itachi asked, voice warbled. Obito approached, his single eye staring at his cousin.

"If you don't get help." He replied and watched as Itachi's eyes drifted shut, consciousness fleeing. Obito sighed and motioned for Zetsu to move on. Madara would not be pleased. One Uchiha stubbornly refusing to join, the other stubbornly dying.

Uchihas were a mess.

"Is he even alive?"

"No, I'm carrying a corpse. Of course he's alive!"

"He doesn't look alive."

"You're one to talk, Deidara."

"Shut up, un!"

Itachi cracked his eyes open and instantly regretted it at seeing Deidara standing nose to cheek with him and staring. When Itachi's eyes opened them bomber leaped back with a yelp. Itachi looked from face to face of his former teammates. Behind Deidara, Sasori and Kakuzu watched on in could even hear Hidan. He had wondered where the Jashinist had run off to... Kisame stood in the back of the group, arms crossed over his chest and expression closed off. Zetsu moved by the group and towards the infirmary, carrying Itachi as if he weighed nothing. The humiliation ran deep.

Kisame did not look at Itachi as Zetsu passed by. Perhaps he was angry Itachi had gotten caught. Yet Kisame did not want to admit that he was relieved that Itachi was now with them, but the guilt of knowing that he had let Itachi go without his medication left Kisame in disgust of himself. Itachi ran knowing he could die. And Kisame had let him.

The cannibal closed the door in the faces of the resurrected Akatsuki snd settled Itachi onto his feet.

"You can walk?"

"Yes, thank you." Itachi replied, ignoring the rush of vertigo that blasted through him. He followed the taller man to one of the beds and sat on the edge of it, fingers gripping the edge as he watched Zetsu shuffle around the room.

"How did you find me?" He asked. Without looking at the Uchiha, Zetsu answered.

"We realized that you would be able to convince Kisame to give you a head start, so we followed the chakra trail you left. It was getting considerably weaker and Obito guessed that your illness had resurfaced. He was correct and he was smart to bring your medication with him." Zetsu turned, bottle in hand and approached the Uchiha. He handed the bottle to the younger who opened it and took two of the bitter pills out.

"Obito thinks you're going to start needing a stronger dosage, or start taking it by needle." Zetsu murmured and Itachi scowled as he took the pills.

"I won't live long enough for it to effect me."

"That's the spirit." Zetsu regarded the other closely. "You're looking worse. I'll give you a mild sedative so you can sleep."

"I don't need a sedative. I need to get away from here."

"What is with you Uchiha's being so damned stubborn?" Zetsu shook his head. "In any event it's not your call. Madara's given the order."

"Madara's orders mean nothing."

Zetsu went to speak again when the door opened and Obito strode in. He approached Itachi, a swagger in his step.

"You always have to make things difficult, don't you?" He asked and Itachi narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, and I saw Sasuke." Obito casually stated, tinkering with the medical supplies. Behind him, Itachi tensed. "He's as stubborn as you are and refuses to come quietly." Itachi closed his eyes in relief. Obito turned on his heel and walked over to Itachi, extending his hand. "He's quite done with you, Itachi. In fact, he wanted me to get this to you." Itachi's eyes opened and he blinked as he stared at the necklace in Obito's hand. The necklace Sasuke had taken from him and worn when he faced Danzo. It was broken, split right down the middle. Itachi fought down the hitch in his breath and reached for the necklace, taking it from Obito's palm and pulling it into a closed fist on his lap, avoiding Obito's amused stare.

Itachi had expected Sasuke's anger. So this did not surprise him. Yet, it still hurt to know that he had truly lost his brother in the was already reaching for the syringe and Itachi's shoulders slumped in defeat. He said nothing as the man approached him and did not struggle as he brushed his hair from his neck and injected the fluid into his throat.

Zetsu left the pair and Obito made himself comfortable in the chair by Itachi's bed. He watched as the drug began to take effect and he lifted Itachi's feet into the bed, settling the Uchiha's head on the pillow. Itachi had lost too much weight since first getting sick, and it showed with how quickly he was losing focus. He was boneless already, and if Obito was a different man he would have found Itachi's fall from grace tragic.

Now it proved as an opportunity. Alive or dead, Itachi would be of use. Madara would not have it any other way. Obito reached out, brushing Itachi's hair from his face. He removed his mask with his free hand and watched as Itachi sluggishly looked up at him. Obito smiled softly, eyes warm. Just as Itachi began to nod off, Obito left him with gentle, ripping parting words.

"It's over Itachi. You might have protected Sasuke from us, but you are nothing to him now. There is no need to run when he won't ever follow again."

The months passed by with little event. Summer gave way for Autumn, which soon gave way for Winter's approach. There was frost in the mornings and a nip in the air. Soon, Naruto came to the realization that a year had passed since Itachi had first turned into a child and came to them. Soon, it was nearly five months since Itachi ran. It felt like only yesterday, Naruto had dragged the Uchiha out for ramen. Time flew by like that. The Akatsuki had gone quiet. There were no sightings or attacks near Konoha, until recently that is.

Hooded figures were seen making appearances. The red clouds visible. There were even mentions that the figures seen were Akatsuki members that had already died. Could the rumor be true that someone had resurrected the dead Akatsuki? Naruto thought so. He had gone through some major changes in the last few months. Kyuubi and him had reached an accord, he had met his ghostly mother, who by the way was just like him! He had also met the Eight Tailed carrier who was a rapping muscular man called Killer Bee. He now carried the Samehada, which irked Suigetsu.

The rumors about this is what brought the nin to the mountain range. They were to investigate these rumors. Sakura seemed skeptical about it all and Sasuke was as silent and cold as ever about it. Naruto wished his friend would be himself again. Not that Sasuke was ever warm, but not so...detached. He was certainly doing much better than he had when Itachi first ran, five months ago. He was even cracking smiles again! Yet, Naruto had always been good at reading Sasuke. No matter how much the Uchiha tried to pretend he was fine and nothing was bothering him, there was an Itachi sized hole in his heart.

Naruto hoped that it would one day not hurt so much.

Uchiha's despised the cold. It was hereditary probably. They loved the heat. Warmth and sunshine was good for them. Ice and snow and hard nipples were not. Sasuke fought down the urge to wrap his arms around himself. Naruto, the little freak was in his element. Perhaps the Kyuubi kept him warmer? Yet even Sakura and Sai did not look as miserable as Sasuke felt. And Sai's bellybutton was on display!

Group missions like this did not help Sasuke's temper either. Tsunade had sent the whole of Team 7 out, which included Yamato. Normally, Sasuke could deal with that but having Genma and Aoba included seemed unnecessary. Genma was trying to yuck it up with Kakashi who was nose deep in his porn novel.

"They've been seen gathering just past,this path." Yamato stated, dark eyes narrowed. He brushed snow off his shoulders. Kakashi snapped his book shut and sighed.

"I suppose that means, their base is nearby." He concluded. Sakura made a face as her leg sank into a deep part of the snow.

"This is ridiculous." She snapped, pulling free. Sai smiled at her, eyes closed.

"It is rather chilly here."

"Yeah, how are you not freezing with your bellybutton hanging out?" Sakura asked.

"Shhh, I sense someone." Kakashi stated, halting the group. Aoba slowly moved forward, his sunglasses glinting the sunlight. They stood with baited breath and soon Sakura felt the chakra signatures as well.

There were five of them...no six! Five of the signatures were strong, while one was barely there. They were not trying to hide their signatures and had yet to sense Konoha's. Kakashi motioned for group to move forward. If these people were working for the Akatsuki, they needed to be brought down. They kept their chakra smothered and Sasuke activated his eyes.

"Move." Kakashi ordered, his lips barely moving.

The reunion is coming up people! And I know the timeline is a little wonky, but it's not called fanfiction for nothing! Love you! REVIEW! I-LOVE-TRUNKS IS GETTING ALL THE AWARDS!