September 27, 13 AK

Itachi sipped his tea quietly, showing no outward sign of the pleasure he took from even that simple act to his partner. In truth, he was quite enjoying being back in Konoha after so long spent wandering the Elemental Nations for Akatsuki. The quality of fare from this particular tea shop hadn't declined at all in the years of his absence he was pleased to note, and the Hashirama trees were just as beautiful as ever, tall and pale and that lovely shade of green that no other tree quite matched.

Sadly it was not to last, the treasured moment fleeing before duty's call. He felt a tremor at the edge of his awareness as a few Jounin walked past, and shifted the angle of his head very slightly to indicate to Kisame that it was time to leave.

For a moment it might have appeared that no one was following them, but Itachi's instincts were still niggling at him that the danger was not yet gone. He had learned long ago to trust such feelings, and his faith was rewarded yet again when their path out of the village was intercepted by a tall masked figure on the river.

"Lovely day, isn't it? How have you been Itachi?"

Itachi blinked placidly back at Kakashi and began to ready himself for combat, weight shifting ever so slightly on his feet in preparation for rapid movement. It would be difficult to end this before more reinforcements could be called than he and Kisame could be assured of handling without unnecessary casualties, but if he used Tsukuyomi then perhaps-

"Oh goodness! Itachi-sama, what in heaven are you doing here? Hi Kakashi-sensei!"

There was a sudden presence between Itachi and Kakashi, one which felt vaguely familiar, though he didn't recognize it immediately. He was mildly surprised to find that he was surprised, for he hadn't possessed the faintest inkling of the arrival's immanence.

The newcomer was lithe, and wearing an unzipped Jounin vest over a bare torso. A Konoha headband hung around his neck, just barely brushed by the tips of his long spiky black hair, and he was loosely clad in flowing pants ending just above bare feet. Every inch of visible skin was covered with thinly drawn lines of ink, seals crawling everywhere in a massive array, leaving only a small portion of the face clear of the climbing symbols. As the interloper spoke the opening of his mouth was accompanied by a faint wisp of steam, and Itachi could feel something odd in the deep and placid thrum of chakra oozing from his every pore. There was an air about the face, something which resonated with the elder Uchiha; a certain angle to the cheekbones, a certain similarity in the stress lines, and that chakra…

"Oh, but of course you don't recognize me, it's been years, hasn't it? It's me! Hiroki! Remember? You let me go?"

Hiroki the Pariah? Uchiha Hiroki? But, how…

"Izanagi. Such a peculiar coincidence, I thought. But it seems fate had grander plans for me."

Itachi blanked for a moment, unable to process for a brief moment while he reevaluated his expectations, updating on new information. Another Uchiha had survived the Massacre? Where- ANBU probably. It was where the village tended to shove all of its dirty little secrets. A living Uchiha, one who knew, who was loyal, would be a valuable asset, to be protected. Hiroki had only ever been someone he was peripherally aware of within the clan; another 'prodigy' though Itachi had never felt that his junior's skill was quite as effortless as the Elder's seemed to think. Loyal, a medic, not a threat. He had always assumed- he hadn't heard anything, afterwards, so- well. The boy has survived after all. He wasn't sure what to feel about that.

"Missed a spot, eh Itachi? That's not like you."

The fond and wistful smile on the other Uchiha's face was replaced by a look of intent interest as Hiroki inspected the large fishman.

"Oh! You must be Hoshigaki-san then. Goodness me but you are a sizable hunk of man aren't you?"

Kisame appeared more amused than offended by the slightly flirtatious edge to the Jounin's tone, and Itachi suppressed the urge to sigh. Hiroki the Muse as well, and likely more than slightly cracked it would seem.

He would need to act fast to salvage this. It wouldn't do for his cover to be lost just when Akatsuki was starting to move. How to spin this though...

"Hiroki. You finally made Jounin then. Though it seems as if you're still hiding from reality."

The smile Hiroki offered in return was vague, wistful, and ever so faintly mad.

"Hmm… no, I think I'm done running. Do you know what the absolutely best feeling in the world is? It's not drugs or sex, not duty or honor, not even holding your firstborn child, though all those things feel nice."

Hiroki shifted his face upward to catch the sunlight, smile losing a touch of the mania to be replaced by simple pleasure. After a moment he glanced back down at the Akatsuki pair, gaze smoldering from the corner of his eye.

"It's the sudden removal of fear."

The shift from lackadaisical reminiscence to hyper focus was made more jarring by the shift in his cousin's chakra. Itachi could hardly reign in his surprise at the sight of a Rinnegan sitting in the younger teen's left eye socket. At his side, Kisame shifted nervously, jocular mood morphing into something more serious as they assessed the new threat. The motion caught their opponent's attention, and the purple eye focused in, three aberrant tomoe drifting in counter-rotating circles around the pupil.

"Well, I'm always eager to make new friends."

The transition was instantaneous, with no cues for his Sharingan to track before Hiroki was abruptly directly in front of Kisame, single Mangekyou spinning lazily as he spoke in a calm and fond tone.

"You are my very best friend. You hold me dear above all other things. My hopes are your hopes, my dreams are your dreams, my values are your values, and nothing in this or any other world matters more to you than me."

His partner's flat fish-eyes glazed over for a moment before he smiled, relaxing his stiff ready posture and releasing Samehada's hilt.

"Ahh, Hiroki-kun. It's been a while hasn't it? How's the little one?"

Itachi didn't think he had ever seen a smile so genuinely relaxed and joyful on the face of any Uchiha, anywhere, ever. He rather imagined that the unlamented clan elders would be spinning in their graves at such an open and honest expression being shown in public. What would the village think? Probably that all Uchiha weren't stuck-up, self-impressed assholes, and we wouldn't want that, would we? Itachi noted, in a dim distant way, that he was in shock.

"Saiko is doing wonderfully. She's still just crawling, but she's been trying to stand. Such a precious child." -Hiroki turned his attention towards Itachi, doujutsu fading- "But we're being rude. Itachi-sama, won't you join us for some tea at the compound? It's been so long since you've been home, you deserve a rest."

There was a nearly bone deep terror tingling down his spine at the completely casual way the other Uchiha had thrown everything out the window. Kotoamatsukami, it had to be. Kisame had an entirely new set of memories now, a new life where his best and dearest friend had always been Uchiha Hiroki. There were only loyal Konoha ninja here, and he wasn't sure how to respond to the sudden shift in threat. His fingers twitched beyond his control, a gesture which his cousin caught, and which elicited only a small, sad smile at the show of nerves.

"It's okay now. Everything will be okay. I told Sasuke everything, he understands. He forgives you, Itachi. Danzo is dead, the elders are gone, the clan is growing again. You have a new cousin. You don't need to worry anymore. You don't need to fight. I'm stronger now than you could ever hope to be. I will deal with Akatsuki. I already know everything about them. You can rest."

Itachi was shaking, eyes darting around, trying to understand. He caught Kakashi's gaze, and his fellow ANBU wasn't looking at him with fear, or loathing, but pity.

Did he know? Did everyone know? His sacrifices, all for nothing. Sasuke- his brother wouldn't kill him now, he'd have to live with… everything. That wasn't the deal. He was supposed to die, the clan was supposed to be avenged, honor satisfied with his ignominious end, so he could finally be free.

He couldn't breathe, the tightness in his chest was building, and though he was certain his face betrayed nothing the look of concern his cousin directed his way told him he wasn't successful in hiding his distress.

Firm arms wrapped around him, holding him tight and twisting away his chakra when he tried to flee, absorbing his attempts to strike out without a whisper of effort.

"It's okay, Itachi. Everything you've done, it was worth it. You were loyal, you were true, and now all that effort will be paid back to you. You have given up so much, you don't need to give anything more."

The tingling warmth of medical chakra surged through him, brushing away the constriction in his chest like a warm breeze. As he took his first real breath in years, Itachi felt himself begin to cry.

. . .

A/N: Thus begins the end.

Goodbye Kisame v1.0. You were kind of overpowered. Hello Kisame v2.0! You might be fun in bed. Thematic music: Monster by Meg and Dia - Nightcore mix