Taryn stared out over the desert, but she wasn’t seeing anything. She was thinking. She tried to remember everything Itachi had ever said to her. Somehow she’d have to be able to figure it out. She took her notebook and flipped through it, reading every entry she had ever made regarding Itachi since he had sent her with Orochimaru. ‘Itachi is ill… and he wants Sasuke to kill him.’ That statement was important somehow. It was the key to the solution.
“Little brothers are sacred. Those were the words he spoke to me when I came to Konoha. Little brothers are sacred. Then he told me he had killed his entire clan. To measure his capability. I don’t believe him. There’s something he won’t tell me. I know it is something else. He didn’t kill Sasuke. There is a reason for that. I’ll figure it out, even if he won’t tell me.”
“The Third Hokage died in battle. There was an attack on Konoha during the Chuunin Exams. Orochimaru… After the funeral, Itachi showed up in the village. When I asked him why he was here, he told me it was personal matters. How personal can it be when it’s not about Sasuke? The elders questioned me again when I returned and again I told them nothing. Why does Danzou keep giving me these looks?
She skipped ahead a few entries.
“Orochimaru told me I should ask Itachi after Danzou’s reasons to kill Sasuke. Does that mean he knows something? He always did know more than he let on about a lot of things. Sai came to Orochimaru with a message from Danzou. Does that mean they’re in league? Could Danzou have something to do with the attack on Konoha?”
A few pages back.
“When Itachi fought Sasuke in the inn, he didn’t go easy on him. ‘Little brothers are sacred’ he said. But he didn’t treat Sasuke as something sacred at all. It seemed as if he was really serious. Why would he spare Sasuke’s life while he killed the rest of his clan and treat him like this now?”
It was like the game connect the dots. Only these dots were one big mess and she couldn’t see the bigger picture. “Why did he sent me with Orochimaru that time? Why did he ask me to keep an eye on Sasuke if he treats him like that, that day at the inn?’
She remembered something he had said when she had run across him in the land of Storms. It had been right after Sasuke had left Konoha. ‘It has begun then.’ He had said. Had he been talking abut the approaching fight? Had he been planning to let Sasuke kill him already? She turned to another note.
“When he visited me in Suna after Gaara… I was too angry to really listen to him, but he said it would be better if I hated him. Why would he say something like that? Itachi always believed hate to be the worst emotion. He spoke a lot about hate that night. I do not understand. He said Akatsuki seeks to achieve world peace. What peace could ever come from hate?”
There was something else too. She remembered it now. It hadn’t seemed to be important at the time, but now she wasn’t sure. There had been that moment in Konoha, at Final Valley, he had seemed troubled by something. He had asked her if she missed the desert. She had told him she had no regrets. After that, something had changed in his eyes. Not long after that he had chased her out of Konoha. That was it. That was the answer. Something she had said then had lead to this. She wanted answers. And she was going to get them. It was time to confront Itachi and she wouldn’t take no for an answer this time.
***
“So no luck then,” Tsunade stated. She looked at Kakashi who had come to report.
“No,” Kakashi sighed, “we were unable to locate Sasuke. They outsmarted us.”
“What about Taryn?” Tsunade asked.
“What about Taryn?” Kakashi growled.
Tsunade narrowed her eyes. “Will she form a problem?”
“She has nothing to do with this,” Kakashi said.
“But you have met with her. She had met with Itachi. And she wasn’t very wiling to share her information with you.”
“Information about Itachi,” Kakashi said, “she would have given us what she knew of Sasuke, but she didn’t know any more than we did.”
“She could have lied to you to protect Itachi.”
“Taryn would never betray us,” Kakashi said, “yes, she loves Itachi, but she would not lie to me.” He sighed. “She knows Sasuke is after Itachi. If she wanted to prevent that, she would give us all the information we need.”
“You seem awfully sure of her.”
“I know her."
“You’re in love with her," Tsunade said. When Kakashi opened his mouth, she lifted her hand to stop him. “That is alright. I even understand why. But you need to consider this. She loves Itachi. And she will do anything to help him. What will you do if she stands between us and Sasuke?”
“It won’t come to that,” Kakashi said, but even he could hear the doubt in his voice.
“I hope you’re right Kakashi.”
***
“Gaara-sama,” a Jounin stepped into the office, “we just received word that your sister Taryn left the village without notice.”
Gaara stood at the window and stared outside. He didn’t answer the shinobi.
“Gaara-sama…”
“I know,” Gaara said.
The Jounin was silent for a moment. He knew how sensitive this subject was with the Kazekage. “Do you… want us to take action?” he asked hesitantly.
“No,” Gaara said quietly.
“My lord…”
“Leave her alone,” Gaara said, “she can make her own decisions.”
The Jounin nodded. “Yes sir.” He made a bow and disappeared.
Gaara sighed and leaned his hands on the windowsill. There was a deep concern in his eyes as he thought about his eldest sister. He sighed again. “Don’t do anything foolish, Taryn.”
***
She would start in the area where she had last seen him. Rain. She wasn’t even sure what she was going to do when she found him, but she was going to get some answers. He had promised her the truth. ‘One day,’ he had said. But she knew that day would never come unless she would decide on it. He owed her the truth.
Three days she had been looking. She would find him eventually. She always did in the end.
She was so occupied with finding Itachi that she didn’t notice the man standing in the shadows. His one visible eye followed her as she ran through the rain.
‘Are you trying to stop him, Taryn?’ he thought, ‘you won’t be able to. He’s made up his mind long ago and I won’t let you get in the way of my plans.’
Taryn stopped at a crossroad to determine which way to go next. She had to find him soon. She didn’t just want answers. She had to speak with him. There was something he needed to know before running off to his death. She took a left turn. There was a village nearby. She would find him there.
Taryn sighed. So much had changed these past few years. She remembered the first time she ever saw Itachi. Would this be the last time?
Slowly she entered the village and looked around carefully for any trace of him. She didn’t want him to notice her just yet. He would figure out why she was here and clear out immediately. She would never find him after that. He would make sure of that.
She saw a glimpse of him disappear behind a building and smiled to herself. She hid her presence as good as possible and walked towards him.
Kisame was nowhere in sight, but she had long since stopped wondering about that. He was either running an errand or seeking out company for the night.
Itachi hadn’t expected her. She could see it in the way he slightly jumped upon hearing her voice. He turned to face her and she tried to stay calm while speaking her demand.
“You owe me some answers. And I want them now.”
***
Taryn was out of the classroom the moment lunch break was announced. She didn’t need her other class mates annoying her. She usually ate alone. She had found the perfect spot. Underneath a tree at the edge of the school grounds. No one bothered her there and even if they made attempts, her look was enough to make them change their minds.
From the very beginning, her classmates had made it clear that she did not belong with them. Not that they called her names or anything, but they excluded her from any activity they had. Taryn didn’t care. She didn’t need anyone. She wasn’t here to make friends. She was only here because her father had sent her to her mother’s family.
Taryn seated herself under the tree and closed her eyes. She listened to the other students around her. Her father had taught her to observe from the time she was old enough to walk. Still, it took a while before she noticed him. Whether it was because she had been so focused on the others or that he could just conceal himself so well, she didn’t know. Fact was that she hadn’t expected anyone else here.
Of course she knew who he was, even though she had never paid him much attention, everyone knew Uchiha Itachi.
He was older than her and she didn’t know much about him, but what she did know was enough to form her judgment. He was popular, and she had to admit he was handsome, he was a good student and all the girls in school liked him. She couldn’t stand guys like that. And she couldn’t stand that he was here.
He must have already been here when she arrived, because she would have noticed his approach. It irritated her that he had been able to watch her without her noticing. She glared at him. Being popular didn’t give him permission to do that. She wasn’t one of his fan club girls. Speaking of… where were they? Why wasn’t he with them?
“Heh,” Taryn scoffed when his eyes stared back at her calmly and she averted her eyes. She crossed her arms and closed her eyes again.
“Itachi-kun,” a girl’s voice called sweetly.
A few other female voices fell in tune.
When Taryn heard an annoyed grunt above her head, she glanced at Itachi surprised. He didn’t seem too happy that those girls were looking for him. Had she misjudged him? She glanced at the girls again who were now crossing the schoolyard, looking around to spot Itachi.
Taryn slowly stood up and leaned against the tree, watching them suspiciously. If they were to come any closer, she would chase them away. This was her spot, with or without Itachi, and no one was going to infiltrate it.
When the girls noticed her, they stopped. She heard them whisper, but she ignored it. People always whispered about her. She didn’t care. She was better than all of them.
She gave them an arrogant look and they glared at her. The girls turned on their heels and stalked away.
Taryn grinned content and slid to the ground again, her arms crossed, knowing they wouldn’t bother her anymore.
***
“She just took off?” Hiro asked. He stared at his teammates.
“So it would seem,” Kuro said, “she left the village without notifying anyone. No one knows where she went.”
“I bet she went to see Itachi again,” Daro growled.
“What are you jealous about?” Hiro asked him, “she is our sensei, you know.”
“Shut up,” Daro hissed at him, ”that’s none of your business.”
“Don’t fight,” Kuro said, “we should discuss what to do now. Should we go after her?”
“Oh man,” Hiro sighed, “I promised Kakashi-sensei that I’d keep an eye on her.”
Daro grinned. “You did what?”
“Shut up you,” Hiro said, “like you’re one to talk. You’re the one with the crush on the teacher.” Daro glared at him and crossed his arms.
“Alright,” Kuro sighed. He rolled his eyes. “Can we get serious now? Should we go find her?” “The Kazekage didn’t sent a pursuit team to track her,” Daro said, “so does that mean he’s not angry with her this time?"
“Perhaps she’s on a secret mission,” Hiro mused.
“I don’t know,” Kuro said thoughtfully, “she was awfully distracted since we came back from Rain. What did she tell you?” he looked at Daro.
“Nothing much,” Daro said, “that she and Itachi go way back.” He didn’t want to give them too much details. This was something between him and Taryn. He wanted to keep it to himself. He sighed. “Even so,” he said, “We wouldn’t know where to look. If we go after her and leave the village, we’ll get in trouble too.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” a voice said behind them.
They turned and noticed Matsuri standing there. “Except with me,” she said, “I have a mission and the Kazekage told me to bring you three. So let’s get going.”
The boys exchanged glances. “Matsuri-senpai,” Hiro asked carefully, “about Taryn-sensei…” “That is no concern of yours,” Matsuri said, “if she said nothing to you then you’d best stay out of it. Or do you want to get her in trouble?”
“No.”
“Well then,” Matsuri said. She sighed and continued in a calmer tone. “I know you worry about her, but Taryn-sama can take care of herself. She’ll be back, you’ll see.”
The boys nodded.
“Okay,” Matsuri said, “let’s go.”
***
Taryn followed Itachi into an empty room. Before closing the door behind him, Itachi studied the hallway in both directions. He sighed and walked towards one of the windows and looked outside.
“What are you looking for?” Taryn asked.
Itachi closed the window and turned to face her. “Privacy,” he said.
It was silent. “Are you going to tell me?” Taryn asked softly.
“Tell you what?” Itachi asked casually.
Taryn narrowed her eyes. “Everything,” she said, “why you joined Akatsuki what your plan is with Sasuke, why you killed your clan. All the things you promised to tell me!”
“I can’t,” Itachi said.
“You said you trusted me!”
“I do trust you. I can’t tell you. I have orders.”
Taryn stared at him. “What orders?”
Itachi shook his head.
“Itachi!” Taryn snarled.
He looked away. “Tell me why you refused to kill your brother,” he said.
Taryn blinked confused. “Because I love him,” she answered.
“Why did you leave Suna?”
“To protect him.”
Itachi nodded. “Tell me then, is it so hard to imagine that I’m doing the same thing?”
“You’re protecting Sasuke?” Taryn asked, “against who?”
“Ah,” Itachi said, “against who?”
“Don’t play games with me Itachi,” she said.
Itachi sighed again. “It’s a along story.”
“I have time,” Taryn said.
“You’re not going to give up, are you?”
Taryn narrowed her eyes. She was suddenly angry. “And who is going to protect Sasuke when you’re dead?!” she bit at him.
Itachi was silent for a moment. He turned back to the window. “It was a mission,” he said. His voice almost inaudible and he hung his head. “When I killed my clan… I was commissioned to do so. It was a mission. And I couldn’t refuse.”
“What… are you talking about?” Taryn asked confused, “who commissioned you? Why would anyone want to wipe out the entire Uchiha Clan?” She understood the words, but it wouldn’t register in her head. She wasn’t sure what he was telling her.
“What do you know about Konoha’s history?” Itachi asked her.
Taryn frowned. What did that have to do with it? She had studied history at the Academy of course, but… “Why can’t you just tell me what this is about?” she asked instead.
Itachi sighed. “I told you already. I’m not allowed to talk about it. It was part of the mission.” “But if you die, the truth dies with you.”
“Perhaps it would be better that way, but I know you. You’ll never rest until you have figured it out. And you really shouldn’t get involved.”
“I’m already involved,” Taryn said, “you involved me when you asked me to keep an eye on Sasuke. I lied for you. I lied to people I care about. I betrayed my brother’s trust for you. You owe me the truth.”
When he didn’t answer her, she shook her head and turned to leave. A hand locked around her wrist. “Wait,” Itachi said.
Taryn stood still, but didn’t look at him.
“Konoha was founded by the Senjuu clan and the Uchiha clan in the days that the ninja world existed of nothing but separate clans,” Itachi said as if reciting from a book.
“I know that,” Taryn said, “Hashirama Senjuu became the first Hokage.” She turned towards Itachi.
He nodded. “What you may not know is that the Uchiha clan felt resentment over that. Why didn’t they choose someone from their clan to lead the village? Some accepted it in time, even when Uchiha was reduced to nothing more than the police force. Others never got over it.” “What are you saying?” Taryn asked. Her brain was working rapidly to make the connection. “They were going to start a rebellion,” Itachi said, “they wanted to overthrow Konoha. They would have started a war.”
“So you killed them?” Taryn sat down on the edge of the bed, trying to understand.
“The Hokage suspected something and tried to negotiate,” Itachi told he, “but it was no good. My father used my position in the ANBU. He wanted me to leak information. He wanted me to be loyal to my clan.”
Taryn listened quietly. She remembered hearing part of a conversation that wasn’t hers to hear. The day Shisui’s died. She had never asked Itachi about it and the conversation had been disrupted halfway when Itachi destroyed the bug she had placed. Now that she thought about it, had it already begun then?
“The Hokage and Konoha’s elders wanted me to give them information about Uchiha’s plans,” Itachi continued, “I was trapped. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t just kill my family, but I couldn’t let them kill so many innocent people.”
Taryn averted her eyes, because she couldn’t bear to see the pain in his.
“No matter what I did,” Itachi said, “I’d become a traitor. I have thought about it for a long time. It was Danzou that gave the order. Kill everyone that carries the Uchiha name, whether by blood or by marriage.” He gave her a sad smile. “It was you that gave me the solution. What you did to protect your brother and choosing banishment… even at the expense of your own happiness.” He looked at her. “You asked me once why I didn’t kill Sasuke, but you already know the answer, don’t you?”
She nodded.
“He saw me there that night,” Itachi said, “he recognized me and he knew what I had done, but I still couldn’t kill him.”
“You must have know he would hate you. That he would come after you.”
“I was counting on that,” Itachi said, “if he would kill me, he could restore honor to the Uchiha name. No one would ever find out the truth. He would become Konoha’s hero.”
“You planned this,” Taryn whispered.
Itachi sighed. He was on his knees now and stared at the floor. “Love over honor, remember?” he said.
Taryn shook her head in shock. She sunk to her knees in front of him. “You’ve kept this to yourself all these years?” She wiped away his tears and he leaned his head on her shoulder. Taryn locked her arms around him, trying to process the story. She still had some questions that hadn’t been answered. She understood why he had chased her away now. She would have distracted him from his mission. On a mission like that you needed complete focus. But there were other things.
“Why didn’t Danzou kill Sasuke? You disobeyed orders by letting him live.”
Itachi nodded, having expected that question. “I came back,” he said, “I pleaded with the Hokage to protect him. Sasuke didn’t know the truth so he would be no threat.”
“But the Hokage is dead,” she said thoughtfully.
“You were my backup plan,” he told her.
Taryn closed her eyes. “I failed you.”
“No,” Itachi said, “you didn’t. You saved his life. You even fought me to protect him.”
“Why don’t you tell him the truth?” Taryn asked.
“No,” Itachi said, “he must never know the truth. It’s better if he believes the lies.”
“Better for who?”
“For everyone. I won’t start the next Great War. And that is what will happen.”
“You don’t know that.”
”Yes, I do,” Itachi said, “you have seen what war can do. We grew up in the last war. I can’t let that happen again.”
It was silent for a while.
“Itachi…” Taryn started to say, but he cut her off.
“There’s more.”
More? How could there be more? “What?” she asked quietly.
It took a while before he answered. “The man who started the first rebellion, during Hashirama’s reign was one of Uchiha’s best fighters. Madara Uchiha.”
Taryn nodded slowly. She knew that name.
“He’s still alive,” Itachi said.
Taryn blinked at him. “That is not possible,” she said, “no one lives that long.”
“It is possible to prolong your life with jutsu,” Itachi told her, “Tsunade did it and Orochimaru did the same thing. That is how Madara stayed alive. And now he wants revenge. He assembled a group of missing nin.”
“Akatsuki,” Taryn said, “that’s why you joined Akatsuki. To stop him. He’ll take his anger out on Konoha.”
“Not just Konoha,” Itachi answered, “the entire ninja world. He plans to destroy the world.”
***
“Itachi-kun!” a girl’s voice sweetly sounded down the road.
Taryn, who walked a few feet behind, smirked as she saw Itachi’s back stiffen. He really did not like female attention.
She followed them amused, curious as to where this would go.
Taryn despised Itachi’s fan club. They went on and on about how amazing he was while he never even exchanged one word with them, except when he told them to get lost. Were girls in Konoha stupid? Or just that desperate?
She snorted. Instead of getting all obsessed with a guy, they should focus on their training. Itachi kept ignoring the girl and Taryn rolled her eyes. Boring. She had hoped he would at least snap at her.
She left the two and turned to the path that would take her back to the Hyuuga Compound, unaware of a pair of dark Uchiha eyes that followed her step curiously.
***
“You need to tell Sasuke,” Taryn said. They were sitting against the head end of the bed, her head on his shoulder. They had talked for hours, reasoning, arguing.
It was already dark outside, but she paid it no attention. She needed to focus if she wanted to persuade him.
“No,” Itachi said firmly. When it came to this point of their argument, Itachi could be incredibly stubborn. He wasn’t going to make any concessions. “He must never know. I need him to restore honor to the Uchiha name. Knowing the truth will only taint his memories of his family. Let him have is revenge and be done with it.”
“It’s never gong to be enough,” Taryn said, “killing you won’t sate is hate. It will only grow more hate. Why? Why do you choose death?”
Itachi sighed. He wanted her to understand. He needed her to understand. “I don’t want to die,” he said, “I just don’t have the strength to live anymore. I’m ill, Taryn. I’m dying. I’m just so tired.”
“We can run away together,” Taryn said, “you’ve done everything you could. You can leave Akatsuki. Take me with you. We can build a new life together. Somewhere far away from here.” ”We can’t.”
”Of course we can. We’ll just go…”
“Sasuke will still try to find me,” Itachi cut her off.
“Then tell him the truth.”
“No.”
“Then I’ll tell him,” Taryn growled.
“No,” Itachi said more urgent now, “you can never tell him. He must never learn the truth. Promise me Taryn that you will never tell him.”
“Why?!”
“I told you why.”
“To restore honor to the Uchiha name,” Taryn spat, “honor means nothing. Honor is empty. What good will honor do you when you’re dead?! Run away with me.”
“I’m ill, Taryn,” Itachi said softly. It sounded so tempting, but he couldn’t have doubts now.
“We can find a doctor,” Taryn said.
“I’m dying.”
“We’ll figure something out.” She was pleading now.
He decided to play his final card. “You’d leave Suna again? After all those years of being separated from your siblings?”
“They’d understand.” She had really thought about it.
“I’m dying,” Itachi said again, softly this time. They were both tired after this endless conversation, but things needed to be said. This would be the last time they’d meet, even though he was as reluctant to leave her as she was to let him go. He heard the tears in her voice as she was trying to find a way out. It hurt him that she was hurt. Out of all the things in the world, she was the one thing he regretted losing.
“We could…”
He cut her off with a kiss. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.
She stared at him with tears in her eyes.
“Promise me you’ll never tell him.”
Her lip trembled. “I promise.”
“Madara will try to get to him. He must never get his hands on Sasuke.”
Taryn nodded in understanding.
Itachi gave her a faint smile. “Okay. Go to sleep now. You’re tired.”
She shook her head, stubborn as ever.
“Taryn, we’ve been talking for hours. Go to sleep.”
“And when I wake up, you won’t be here.”
She knew him too well.
“I’ll be right here,” he said, “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”
Taryn gave an exhausted nod, her eyes already closing. “Okay,” she whispered and drifted off.
When she opened her eyes again, she was alone.
----------------
Check out the video I added on the right for Itachi and Taryn :) 'Till we ain't strangers anymore.
This was such an intense chapter to write, but I'm very pleased with it :)