Nevermore

The day had finally come. Itachi stared at the line up in his hand and smirked. He had this one down, no problem. His opponent was one he'd seen in the forest already, a shinobi from the grass named Yahshimi Zakuzu. His statistics showed top ranks in every category but Itachi had enough confidence he'd have this one finished in five minutes. He was due to go out third, after that he concluded he'd get his deserving chuunin rank and then continue on to the ANBU headquarters where he knew Kakashi and Shisui would be waiting. His eyes grazed his fellow leaf ninja, Takami stood three ahead of him and since that day hadn't made eye contact once with him. But that was the least of his worries, he wasn't about to apologize. From the stand he was at he could see his family. Sasuke was standing at the bar, feverishly watching as the two ninja down below headed off. He scanned the area until his sights fell on his father. Like always Fugaku had his arms crossed tightly over his chest, eyes glued to the stadium floor. Itachi's fist clenched, meeting his father's standards would be no problem. Especially after the conversation they had that morning.

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"Itachi, come here for a minute." The boy looked up from his pamphlet and nodded, sitting across from his father he looked him in the eye. All seriousness. "Your battle today, I know you've been training and I know you'll do well. I'm looking forward to seeing you win. Shisui tells me your looking to join in the ANBU ranks. Where did that come from?" Itachi broke contact and instead focused on a fringe hanging from the chair.

"It's been my plan for awhile, I was planning to speak to you about it but I felt you were too busy to discuss it with me earlier. I've already spoken with them and they all feel my abilities would best be put to use there. Don't you agree?" Fugaku nodded, still staring at his son.

"You do realize what work you'll have to put in to keep up with the rest of them, don't you? You're young still and naive to what it truly takes to be a shinobi. But I have faith in you, you've managed to live up to every standard of mine so far." His father shifted, finally turning his eyes away from the boy before he continued. "And you know that doing this will be stressful. I know you're aware that despite your studies and missions you'll still have to keep up with the clan's committee and their wishes." Itachi narrowed his eyes only slightly, his fist clenched.

"I understand," dark eyes flickered upwards, "I'll do my best to keep up with everything. To the best of my abilities." Fugaku narrowed his sights in and smirked, challenging Itachi.

"What about that girl? You'll have less time for her as well. What will she do while you're away? Tell me, does she plan to stay here until you can afford to support her?" His breath halted and he unclenched his fist. He had known all along that Hinamei would slip more out of the picture. It was something he tried to avoid thinking about. As it stood, he hadn't told her he was planning to get involved with the ANBU. Not that she would understand what it meant. But leaving her to stay at his father's house alone, he knew she wouldn't stand for that either. Itachi said the first thing that came to mind, knowing Hinamei hadn't the slightest idea.

"I've spoken with her already, after the trials she plans to return to her house. She's making a steady income at the floral shop. She'll manage." Even as he spoke his heart sunk. Hinamei hated that house, all the heavy memories that it carried along with it. She was going to hate him after today. "And she knows she'll see less of me. Things are changing, she's not an idiot, she understands what this means."

"Good, I'm glad to hear that. I hope this fares well for you today. We'll all be watching, I expect nothing less from my son but success. That's all Itachi."

Four hours later and he still hadn't seen her. He made a mental note to address the matter with her when he next saw her. Knowing she was working until the final trial started it would have to wait till afterwards. "Itachi, are you ready for this?" The Uchiha broke his sights away from the stadium to look at the boy next to him. He was three years older than Itachi with a shock of white hair and blue eyes, and he was scared out of his wits.

"There's nothing to be ready for, I've been preparing for this for three years." The boy slunk back, intimidated by the young boy. His eyes flashed back to the stadium, Hinamei should have been there by now. But with as many people as he saw not one of them looked to be his Uchiha. Down below the proctor called out the winner and two medic nin came onto the field and carried away the unconscious victim. One more battle and the floor would be all his. Five minutes into battle and he switched his direction back towards the people. His teeth edged together, where was she? Angrily, he turned back to the floor. Why should he matter if she showed or not? It took nothing away from him at all, regardless if Hinamei showed her daunting face or not he'd still win this.

"What are you waiting for?" He snapped his head back at the white haired boy, his eyes blazing with anger at his own thoughts.

"What did you say?" The boy motioned forward and Itachi realized he had missed his cue, the second match had already finished and his opponent stared haughtily up at him. "Dammit," he growled to himself. Hinamei wasn't even there and she was distracting him! Itachi jumped over the railing and landed center floor, his eyes dark and narrow as he was sized up by the grass nin.

"Little boy, are you scared or something?" The nin was a good four years older than Itachi and stood an intimidating foot taller than the Uchiha. His hair was a dull olive color and his eyes darted back and forth like he was always ready for an attack. Over his mouth and nose he wore what looked like a small gas mask. But as far as Itachi was concerned this boy didn't even deserve a comeback. "I promise, I'll try not prolong your death. But don't count on that." He sneered and Itachi clenched his hands.

"Shut up already, I don't want to listen to your moronic drabble!" The boy's eyes widened in surprise before he huffed with a laugh. Itachi took that chance to glance up at the stadium once more. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. Stepping through the entry doorway of gate number three stood Shisui, guiding a very sweet looking Hinamei in front of him. Her hair was pulled up into a loose bun that allowed the shorter pieces to frame her round face. The spring time peach dress she wore wavered in the breeze and she laughed, right before she settled her eyes into the rink and delivered that smile of hers to Itachi as she waved happily. Finally, took you long enough Shisui. Her eyes widened and she clutched onto Shisui's shoulder desperatly. "Hm?" But before Itachi could fully respond Zakuzu's fist collided with his jaw and he staggered back, shell shocked.

"Don't worry kid, everybody's already watching!" Itachi glowered, wiping the point of impact on his jaw he stood tall, fists firmly at his side.

"You're right, my mistake." He closed his eyes firmly for a second and reopened them with a grin, scarlet eyes blazing into Zakuzu's smug face. "Let's give them a good show." Crouched low, Itachi ran towards the other nin, darting to his left and right before he leaped up and brought his fist down into Zakuzu's face. The boy fell back into the ground hard, his hand secured over the bridge of his nose while his eye twitched in pain.

"You're faster than I gave you credit for," he said through his hand before angrily casting it aside "But it won't catch me off guard again." In a second he was back on his feet, crouched and ready for Itachi's next move. Each shinobi sized the other up, waiting for whoever was going to strike next. "I'll finish this fast!" From his sleeve, Zakuzu brought down six senbon needles, three secured between each hand. "In my village, we work hard to harvest a rare plant called the Talali Milkweed blossom, when it's finally ready to bloom it secretes a lethal juice that can permanently paralyze its victim if it enters the blood. And that's all it will take to bring you down. Plus, mixed with my chakra, this needle will hit you with twice the force and it will spread throughout your body even faster!" He darted to the left and from the first hand, flung three needles at Itachi. In response the Uchiha grinned and with his sharingan secured on the needles he easily pounced out of the way.

"Is that the best you can do?" But he spoke to soon as the other boy flickered in back of him and flung the last three. I've only seen Shisui move that fast! His feet hadn't even hit the ground yet when the first needle pierced the back of his hand. He dodged the rest before skidding back and pulling the posion needle from his skin. I've got to get this venom out of me now! Already he could feel his hand going numb. The grass nin crossed his arms and laughed, amused at Itachi as he pulled a kunai out from his hip pouch.

"Are you going to attack me with that thing? Don't bother, the milkweed venom will have you still within the next ten minutes. But if it makes you feel better I'll stand real still for you." Itachi's eyes narrowed and he jammed the tip of the kunai firmly into the back of his hand, bending it sideways, he stretched the wound till it tore. "What?" With the wound open Itachi stuck his mouth firmly to the wound and sucked, he could taste the venom as it filled his mouth. The grass nin staggered back, blinking in disbelief. "Are you stupid! You'll hit a nerve doing something like that!" To answer, Itachi spat the blood ridden venom from his mouth and concentrated on his hand. Any source of the chakra riddled venom was gone and he smirked, blood still oozing from his mouth. He clenched his hands around the kunai and brought his hand up, charging as he threw the kunai with full force. Zakuzu dodged the attack barely, it skimmed his shoulder, cutting through the fabric and leaving a small cut that pearled a small line of blood down his arm. "You missed." Itachi stood up straight and looked him directly in the eye, dripping with confidence.

"No, I didn't. That was the same kunai I used to open my wound, its tip was covered in your venom. The same venom that is slowly leaking into your blood stream as we speak. Throw some new tricks at me, whatever the case, by the end of this match you'll never use that arm again." Zakuzu's eyes snapped open and he slapped a hand to his arm, catching the blood on his finger he brought it up to his face.

"Y-you bastard!" The grass nin snarled, hurling himself at the younger boy. Itachi was prepared however and jumped back, moving his hands at incredible speed he pinned his two fingers over the other and raised it to his mouth in a circle.

"Fireball jutsu!" A flash of flames and the boy was consumed, or so he thought until the flames subsided and a charred log lie in the center of the rink. A substitution, how could I not see that? Itachi snarled and wheeled around, backing just as Zakuzu was coming down from above, a kunai secured in his hand. The boy landed where Itachi had just stood, his weapon lodged deep into the dirt. He never imagined he would see another person manage speed almost as well as Shisui did. Rage flickered over the grass nin's eyes and he threw the kunai down in a fit.

"You don't realize what you've done to me! My entire life, you've ruined it!" With a snarl the boy spread his feet apart and crouched. "I have no other choice but to use this on you, who would have guessed I'd have to succumb to this for a scrawny child like yourself." From his pouch he pulled out a thin scroll, crouching on the ground he snapped it open and put his hands together. "You'll regret this move, just you wait! Our village regards this flower as a forbidden tool, but as you've managed to ruin every goal I ever had within three minutes I'm sure they'll understand." He moved his hands quickly, summoning the blossom and in a small cloud of smoke a very peculiar flower lie center on the scroll. Its deep purple petals crawled over each other, almost like it was alive. Itachi narrowed his eyes and growled. Through his sharingan he could see a blaze of something emanating from the flower, something not good. Zakuzu took his finger and clicked a small button on the side of his gas mask and with inhuman speed he shot up with the flower in his hand and threw it into the air. His hands quickly folded and he said something in a language Itachi could not understand.

But that was the least of his problems now. The flower pulsed and with it pollen exploded from its center. Every bit pulsing with that same awful energy. It showered above the Uchiha and his eyes widened. It's in the pollen! If I breathe that into my system I'm dead for sure. His eyes flickered to Zakuzu's gas mask, of course, it all made perfect sense. Thinking as quickly as he could he understood the thing had to have a space range it could spread, after all it took a hand sign to activate. But with as much time as he had left he didn't have time to figure it out. Itachi yelled with frustration before clasping his hand quickly over his mouth and nose. Time was running out, if he didn't kill Zakuzu in under a minute he'd have no chance of escaping. Itachi lunged at the boy who at this point had caught on to the Uchiha's plan and dodged out of the way of Itachi's fist. He landed the hit on the ground and scanned upwards, straining his eyes. He could be faster if he tried harder, his sharingan focused on Zakuzu and ran again. Catching his movements, Zakuzu slowed down in Itachi's sights. But it still wasn't enough, the boy was still too fast for him to catch. He had one option left. Itachi jumped upwards, watching the poison cloud shift in the breeze as he did and carefully avoiding it's perimeter. His hands weaved a sign and quickly he produced two clones. All three Itachi's fell to the ground and crouched. His chest ached and he closed one eye, knowing that if he took one breath that was the end. The first Itachi weaved to the right and the second to left. The last one darted forward and Zukuzu laighed loudly.

"You think I can't tell which one is the real you? Both clones darted to the side of me, which means you're the one coming at me!" Zakuzu grinned from beneath the shelter of his mask and whipped a kunai out. With as much force as he could muster he threw the kunai straight at Itachi.

The kunai passed through his head and clattered to the ground behind him, two clouds of smoke appeared and both clones were suddenly gone. Zakuzu opened his eyes wide in realization, the real Itachi darted in back of him, kunai held directly in front of him. It was flawless. Itachi whipped the blade upwards, cutting straight through the clasp that attached the gas mask to his face. With a snap the elastic rebound and the mask fell from his surprised mouth. Out of surprise, Zakuzu gasped, inhaling his own venomous cloud. Instantly, his eyes went dull and through the light of the sharingan, Itachi watched as the cloud of poison dissipated away. The Uchiha fell to his knees gasping for breath just as Zakuzu's stiff body fell to the ground. The proctor eyed Itachi curiously as he struggled to regain his breath and figuring the Uchiha had made it clear the poison had passed he jumped back down into the stadium floor. He nudged the body with his foot and looked up, "the winner of this match is Uchiha Itachi." Through one eye Itachi looked back up, still breathing heavily. He spotted the one person he cared to find and smiled, letting out a small laugh as he breathed. Hinamei was standing up on the bench with her hands clapped over her mouth and even from where he kneeled he could tell she was crying.

"Cry baby," Itachi closed his eyes and struggled to stand. It was all over now, things were going to be okay. For a slight second he had actually doubted himself but like he had known the whole time he had won. Not as well as he would have liked but nevertheless, his opponent was dead. Slowly he made his way towards the stairs that led up to the second level, on his way he passed the nervous looking boy from before. Itachi smirked and looked him in the eye, enjoying as the boy flinched away from his sights. "You'll do fine." Uneasily, the boy smiled and as soon as he passed Itachi he darted out onto the floor. So maybe he had won in a better way than he had originally thought. Itachi ran up the rest of the stairs, that had taken longer than he had thought, if he didn't hurry he was going to be late. He slid the exit door open and came to a sudden halt. On the other side of the door waited two people, the first was Shisui who coolly rested against a tree with a look that was smug and sarcastic as always. The second person Itachi didn't even have time to consider before she wailed loudly and threw herself at the stiff boy.

"Don't ever do something like that, ever again!" Hinamei pulled back and sniffed, wiping away the tears the escaped. "You had me so scared Ita-chan, I really thought that guy had gotten you!" Itachi scoffed and waved her away.

"Right, like I'd really let a flower be the death of me." Shisui snorted and Hinamei blinked, shaking her head in dismissal. She was just happy to have him back. Itachi looked over at her and smiled and then did something neither of them ever expected. He grabbed Hinamei by the arm and pulled her into a tight hug, his nose falling into the crook of her neck. Truth be told, he genuinely thought he was reaching his end. And as much as he refused to acknowledge it, his mind had flashed instantly to Hinamei. Leaving her was not an option. For once Shisui had nothing to say. His mouth fell agape before he pulled himself together and smiled, looking away. Like he hadn't seen this coming sooner or later. Hinamei on the other hand fell stiff, her eyes as wide as they had ever been. Itachi, hugging her? It wasn't possible. But she quickly recovered and took it for what it was, knowing she probably wouldn't see it again for another ten years or so. Her arm wrapped tightly around the Uchiha boy and her fingers dug into his shirt. "Thank you Hinamei." He whispered so only she could hear. After all, his pride still prohibited him from admitting anything in front of Shisui. In response she nodded, knowing she'd really be sorry if she had acknowledged him out loud. He pulled away with a sigh and he adjusted his headband and stared at Shisui. "We really need to hurry, they'll all be waiting at this point."

Shisui held his hands up in defense and grinned like a cat, "if you've finished up here, let's go." Hinamei didn't catch his tone but Itachi did and he delivered a quick warning glare to the older boy.

"Wait, where are you going?" Hinamei asked suddenly, wheeling around on her heel. "Already? But Ita-chan you just got out." Her mouth quirked and Itachi found himself unable to look at her. Shisui stood up and brushed himself off, he glanced from Itachi to Hinamei and frowned.

"You mean you haven't told her yet?" Itachi peeked up at him and gave a knowing stare. Of course he hadn't, Shisui knew as well as Itachi did how Hinamei would fare hearing something like that. "Hinamei, we'll be back tonight. We'll explain everything then. Go practice or something." Shisui nodded at Itachi and he darted off down the road in a flicker. Hinamei's large doe eyes looked up, her eyebrows upturned in confusion and settled on Itachi's pale, placid face.

"Just go," she turned away from him and kicked at the dirt, "I understand it's your job to always be busy." At first he hesitated but as she looked back over her shoulder he knew he couldn't handle it then. He flickered off behind Shisui without another word.
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"This is a bit harsh don't you think?" Shisui asked one of the captains as he watched through a window as Itachi take another fist to the face. When they had arrived everyone was waiting impatiently but understood when Itachi explained. After weeks of planning this all that was left was the mock battle to see if he could handle a high stress situation without fail. The papers had all been signed and his uniform had been handed over to him. Shisui winced as Itachi was flung to the ground by a man two times his height.

"He's young, are you sure this was a good idea?" A man with glasses turned towards Kakashi, his eyebrows turned up in confusion.

"Shisui, what do you think? Can Itachi handle this?" Kakashi glanced over at Shisui and the latter looked back out the window. Itachi stood up, blood dripping from his mouth. His sharingan pulsed and he rushed forward, delivering a hard strike to one shinobi's chest. The man stumbled backwards and Itachi took the opportunity to sweep in under him and kick out his legs. He had a kunai to his throat in the blink of an eye. Shisui gave a firm nod and closed his eyes to the battle.

"I haven't got a doubt in my mind about him. Itachi's good, better than some of you." His dark eyes flickered up to the man with the glasses and he smirked. "Besides, he's got that hot Uchiha blood in him. Nothing can stop him now, he'll get this position even if it kills him. After two months of intense training he'll be a natural." With a wave of his hand he lifted his voice, "I bet he'll surpass even me."

Inside the room Itachi was backed up against a tree, his eyes darted from left to right, he was surrounded. With a lithe pounce he landed on the branch above him and pulled four shuriken out of his pocket, almost instantaneously he threw them and hit target. All three men staggered back with their hands to their chests. Itachi pounced down from his branch, delivering a swift kick to the first man and quickly spinning to round kick the second man. Both fell to the ground unconscious. "You'll have to try a lot harder than this," he hissed and quickly darted in behind the third man and he swung his fist straight to the man's lower back. With an aching scream the man keeled over and convulsed. "Only four more to go." He found it much easier to concentrate knowing Hinamei wasn't anywhere near him. Like a leech, it was awfully hard to shake her. Even from his thoughts. He spat out another round of blood and made his way through the trees towards the group that had perched themselves high above the trees. "It's no use, I can sense your weak chakra from here." Two kunai dropped into his hands and he cut up the tree until he landed on the branch, catching one off guard with his quick defense. The kunai plunged into the forehead of the first man and he fell from the branch dead. His hands moved quickly and he dropped from the tree, his eyes shut in concentration. With his fingers pinned together he blew the fireball past a large oak and listened as the remaining three fell dead from the fire. His eyes quickly changed back and he glanced at the small camera that rested at the top of the wall.

"Still think he's not made for this?" The man turned towards the grinning boy and flustered, pushing his glasses up.

"He wasn't actually supposed to kill any of them, only incapacitate them!" Shisui grinned and again shook his head at the man with the glasses.

"Remember," he tapped a gloved finger to his forehead. "It's that blood inside of him. It's unstoppable."
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Hinamei sat on Itachi's porch, her eyes endlessly searching the long road towards the end of the compound. She had been waiting for hours and still there was no sign of either of them. She furrowed her brow and tucked her knees in under her chin. It was unfair to leave her waiting like this, and without any word as to why. They were all friends weren't they? How was it she felt like she was quickly falling out of the loop? A loud huff to her right brought her attention back to the road and she stood up suddenly, her teeth pulled together painfully. "Itachi..."

Itachi winced as he walked up the road. His mouth tasted of stale blood and his face was bruising already. By this point he could hardly feel his legs but he refused to accept help from Shisui. After the first mock battle he had to fight Kakashi. Sharingan against sharingan and even though the copy nin had only one of them his was much more advanced than Itachi's yet. Of course he got beaten, the point wasn't to win but to hold his own. And he did, far past what any of the others expected. Unfortunately for him the outcome wasn't an easy sight. His breathing was ragged and he glanced over at Shisui. "You went through all of this too?" Shisui snorted and waved his hand in dismissal.

"No way, they didn't expect as much out of me as they do you. It's probably my fault too, the way I talk about you, they must think you're an untouchable monster or something!" Just as Itachi was about to beat Shisui for his loud mouth Hinamei skidded to a halt in front of them. Itachi blinked and scowled. He had forgotten, he still had to talk his way out of this to Hinamei, including the tid bit about her having to leave his house. It was something he didn't have the energy nor patience to deal with.

"What is it you want?" Shisui looked over at Itachi and frowned, he had told Itachi countless times to go easier on her. But nothing ever came of it. Hinamei narrowed her dark eyes and clenched her tiny fists shut.

"Don't start acting like this to me, I haven't done anything to you." Itachi sighed and strutted past her, trying his hardest to hold his head high like the pain wasn't taking a toll on him. "You really owe me an apology and an explanation Itachi!" She unclenched her hands and slouched, just the angry aura Itachi was giving her off made her exhausted. She hated to imagine how he must have felt. Her eyes flashed back towards Shisui and all he did was look away.

"I need to get home. Sorry Hinamei." Shisui bent over and gave Hinamei a quick hug and a kiss on the forehead. Ignoring Itachi's hot stare he smiled at her and told her softly, "be strong." He left in a hurry, leaving an exasperated Itachi alone with Hinamei. Another reason just added to the list of things he couldn't tolerate from Shisui. He sighed and sat down on his porch stairs, staring out at the setting sun as it painted the world orange.

"Hinamei, I'm not going to have much time with you anymore." She swept her dress under her as she sat, looking worried she bit back her lip. "I've joined the ranks of the ANBU black ops. From now on all my time will be spent preparing for missions and training in a special facility." He glanced over at her and winced, she wasn't crying yet. "Somewhere you can't go. Which means-" Hinamei stopped him with her hand, looking up at him with a faint smile.

"I know all of this, your Tou-san told me when I arrived on your doorstep to wait for you. He also told me I wasn't allowed to stay at your house anymore." She swept her gaze out to the horizon and her smile faltered. "I guess I can understand. He wouldn't take my money when I offered it. I suppose he really just doesn't like me. I'm more upset with the fact that you didn't tell me. I really thought that out of all people, you'd be the last to keep lying to me." Her gaze darkened and her voice got lower. "But I guess I was wrong about you too. Just like everyone else. We're all growing up Itachi, I'm not a baby you can tell me things like this. Don't you think it hurts more to worry than it does to hear you be honest?" Itachi watched wordlessly as she stood up, her hands raised to her side and finally she broke. "At least you'd be talking to me then! You can't just bottle everything up and treat me the way you do because you feel like I can't handle it! When you're the one that can't handle to form a few sentences to just let me know!" Her eyes shut and she took herself to the bottom step of the stairs. "You're not better than me Itachi! You weren't when we were five and you sure as hell aren't now." She looked away now, unable to even look him in the face. He still said nothing to her in response, his eyes were glued to her. Waiting for more. "You promised me I wouldn't ever have to be alone again. You promised that you'd be there. If that was all a lie to then why didn't you let me leave that night, at least I'd be off your list of stupid problems!"

But he couldn't take any more. Why couldn't she just understand?

"Stop yelling at me Hinamei. Who the hell do you think you are!" Despite the pain that shot through his legs he stood up, eyes bright and angry as he advanced on her. "If you've felt like this for that long why didn't you say something sooner? I listen to your endless problems day in and day out, and it has stayed the same since we first met. I-I can't even look at you right now!" He turned away and placed a hand to his hair. This was all going so terribly wrong. "I like you so much and I can't even tell you. Why can't you stop being so selfish, just for one day?" He turned back towards her and she took a step back. His sharingan had activated and he looked angrier than ever. "Don't you get it? I want to be there, I want to keep you close but I can't because I have bigger problems to deal with. How stupid can you be?" She pinched her mouth shut and glowered, something she had picked up from Itachi from so many stupid arguments passed. But this was different. "I don't tell you things because I can't stand the thought of making you worry, yet somehow you still find things to get upset over. Just, just get out of here. I can't deal with you right now." He waved his hand and turned away, each step he took his chest ached and he wanted desperatly to turn back around.

But he was stronger than that and evidently so was she now.

As she walked away, he noticed, she didn't shed a single tear.