Updated 8/9/2017

Forever & Always

Prologue: The Massacre

Cold rain pelted down on the four-man team of shinobi. It was not the first time this happened.

They were in Frost Country during the rainy season, a damn stupid decision if you asked Itachi. It began raining off and on days ago and wasn't about to let up. It made the terrain they trekked bleak and slippery – a damn nuisance to navigate.

They'd begun their mission a week ago and were almost at their destination, a small village at the foot of the tallest mountain in the Kingdom. There, they were going to pick up a family who intended on moving to Konoha.

Simple enough, and boring to one of Itachi's caliber.

One after the other, the shinobi team – composed of three newly minted chuunin and their jounin leader - climbed the mountain side. Eventually they made it to the top where they could see the tiny village below.

It was not what they were expecting.

Carnage, that's the only word Itachi could come up with. The village was no longer standing. Buildings were torn asunder along with the fertile soil beneath, many were collapsed entirely. Scattered across the scarred earth were numerous bodies.

Itachi's only female partner gagged.

Wafting up from below was a foul stench caused by the mixing of water and bodily fluids.

It was so bad that even Itachi was finding it hard to stay composed.

"Cover up," their leader commanded.

Itachi and his teammates did as instructed.

"I didn't realize this mission was dangerous," Itachi's male teammate, and cousin, said.

"It wasn't," their leader said. "It's just been upgraded."

Normally, the news would excite Itachi, but not this time.

Carefully, the shinobi followed a rocky footpath down to the valley bottom. It curved down next to a stream that they eventually crossed using a well-worn wooden bridge.

The valley they entered was a mess.

The landscape was overturned, and with the constant rain, it was a mud pit. Every step was difficult because their boots would get stuck.

The first body they came across was a woman – well, part of a woman. She was missing the flesh off her back.

They moved on quickly, hearts growing heavy with dread. The closer they came to the village, the more bodies they came across. No one, it seemed, was spared.

"What," Itachi's female teammate, Utae, tried to speak, but didn't quite know what to say. "How?"

Another body, this one a boy. He was brunette and young, if his size was anything to go by. There were no eyes, most likely picked out by ravens, and his mouth was full of maggots, eating away at his tongue. The rest of his body was a hodgepodge of deep lacerations.

Itachi's leader, Hyuuga Fumihiro, leaned down over the body, poking a finger at one of the wounds.

"This is the work of a sword?" He said.

Itachi's cousin stepped up next to their leader. "Do you think the people who did this are still here?"

Fumihiro scanned the landscape, analyzing the possibility. "It doesn't appear so. The bodies are already starting to decompose, so it's been more than a day since the killers were here."

"What should we do?" Utae asked.

Their leader stood. "Survey the wreckage, and hunt for survivors, though I doubt there is any." He said.

Order delivered, Itachi and his team separated.

Itachi headed for the center of the village. The sharingan was activated and swirling agitatedly. In his mind, he was recalling the aftermath of the Kyuubi attack. This massacre looked a lot like that one.

At the center of the town, the streets were cobbled, and the buildings were made of brick and mortar. They had held up much better than the newer wood buildings at the edge of the town, but they were no less effected. It appeared that the killers had set most of them on fire.

Itachi forwent searching any of the smoldering remains. While the walls of the buildings were standing, their more fragile innards had collapse and were charred beyond recognition. There was no way anyone survived if they were inside.

He walked down the street taking stock of the damage. The town was extremely small, and naturally well-fortified. The town, known as Heaven's Gate, was surrounded on all sides by mountains and it butted up to a ravine that descended a good 100 feet to a raging river below. On the other side of the ravine, the mountains rose up passed the clouds.

Someone had had the bright idea to connect a flimsy robe bridge from one side to the other and carve steep steps up to a nearby ridge. On the ridge was a traditional monastery. It was still smoldering.

Itachi headed there.

He passed more dead bodies, none of which he paid any particular attention to.

Itachi jumped the ravine rather than take the bridge, and bound up the steps at a clipped pace. When he arrived at the top he stopped, eyes wide.

The family, their name had been Higure, made there last stand here, there was no doubt in his mind about it, but none of them survived.

Through the broken gate, Itachi walked. It led to an open courtyard.

Most of the bodies were in the courtyard.

Itachi leaned over a man in ceremonial garb. He held a sword in his right hand, and carried a quiver of arrows at his back but his bow was missing. The man was killed after taking a blow to the head that dug through the skull, down to the mouth.

Itachi moved to another. This man also wore the ceremonial garb, but instead of a sword, he carried a pike. He'd been beheaded.

The other bodies shared similar wounds. Itachi wandered through them all, but found no living.

He decided to head inside.

Since the bodies were concentrated heavily around a specific room, he started there.

Itachi slid open the shoji door that was coated in blood and missing several panels. Beyond the door, the bodies of maids were piled. At the center was a woman garbed in a simple white kimono.

Itachi looked away. The woman had been brutalized.

He left the room quickly.

Through hundreds of rooms he walked, but found nothing. Every once and awhile, he'd encounter another body, but the majority were out front and so it was rare.

Finally, he came to the last room. On its door was a seal. It read 'good intent'.

Itachi cocked his head to the side, curious. He reached for the door, expecting something unpleasant, but nothing happened. The room was more like a closest. The only things inside were mattresses.

There was no body and nothing else of significance. He decided to leave.

A board creaked and from below a muffled whimper caught his ears.

Itachi froze. He collapsed to the floor and banged on it.

Another cry, this one louder and longer. He banged on the boards until he came to an area that sounded hollower than the others. Pushing chakra into his hand, Itachi punched the boards, breaking through into an open space. Through the hole he created, Itachi could see a baby.

He gasped.

The child was small, no older than his own baby brother – an infant, really.

Itachi tore at the floor boards desperately. "I've got you," he said. "I've found you."

The baby, a girl, was swaddled in a bloody yellow blanket. She was pale and weak, barely able to utter a whimper, but she was moving and alive.

Itachi laughed.

Out in the hall, the floor creaked.

Itachi swiftly turned around, kunai out defensively. He crouched over the hole he'd made in the floor and the baby hidden inside.

In the doorway appeared Utae. "Did you find anything?"

Itachi put away his kunai. He nodded and turned back to his task.

"What i it?" She asked, coming over to see. She gasped when she saw the baby. "There must be a trap door."

Itachi shrugged. At this point, he was almost done. He'd be able to pull the baby out without hurting her.

Realizing that Itachi wasn't going to stop, Utae helped.

And then she was free.

Itachi reached down, and pulled the girl out.

She was beautiful.

A full second passed where Itachi just looked at her, wondrous. Utae watched him curiously.

"We need to take her to Fumihiro-sama." She hedged. Itachi nodded, but did not move otherwise. "Itachi?" Utae urged.

Itachi stood, tucking the child into his side. He covered the baby with his coat, and left the room.

Together, Utae and Itachi made their way down the mountainside, back to the town entrance where both their leader and Itachi's cousin stood waiting for them.

There was shock in Fumihiro's eyes when they presented him with the towns only living survivor. "Where?" The man asked, reaching out to take the baby.

Itachi pulled the girl back. For some reason, he felt uncomfortable with his leader holding her. Fumihiro, luckily, was unperturbed by this behavior. "In the monastery," Itachi pointed to the top of the mountain.

Fumihiro looked to the ridge, then back to Itachi. "Good job, Uchiha. You may have just saved this mission."

Itachi blinked, curious as to his meaning, but not inclined to think on it too long.

"Can we get going now?" Itachi's cousin griped.

There leader nodded. "Yes, of course. We must find shelter. The baby won't make it if we don't." He said, already leading them away from Heaven's Gate. "Utae, scout ahead, find us something suitable."

"Yes, sir!" She obeyed.

Itachi paid little attention after that, engrossed in taking stock of his charge. She had yet to open her eyes, which worried him.

"Sir," He called. "I think something's wrong."

Fumihiro slowed, and came to his side, surveying the child. "Why do you think that, Uchiha?"

Just then, as though sensing his worry, the girl blinked her eyes open. Behind heavy lids, cobalt eyes were revealed. They were the most luminescent things Itachi had ever seen. "I," he stuttered. "I don't know."

And he didn't. He didn't know how he knew there was something wrong, but he did.

Fumihiro hummed. "Shelter first, we need to get out of this rain, then we can take stock and see if she has any injuries."

Itachi realized the sense in his leader's thinking.

They continued until Utae returned. "There's a cave 5 klicks southeast of here. It's dry, a good spot until the rain lets up."

Fumihiro nodded. "Good, thank you."

They traveled to the cave in good time, the baby tucked into Itachi's side comfortably. She hadn't made a peep since they found her, too exhaust it seemed.

The cave was not big, but it would do. The four member team piled in, Itachi and the baby closer to the back where it would be warmer. Utae and his cousin busied themselves setting up a fire with the equipment they had while their leader kneeled in front of Itachi.

"Let me see her."

Itachi released the child hesitantly.

Itachi's leader pulled her onto his lap and removed the bloody blanket. It was thick, made of down feathers and delicate silk. Underneath was a more common cotton swaddling cloth that was also coated in blood. With each layer removed, both boy and man grew seriously concerned.

After pulling away the last layer, Itachi and Fumihiro reveal a great deal of abuse. Bruises littered the child's torso and legs. On her arms were several serious lacerations and she was covered in over a day's worth of dried shit. It was atrocious! But, what really stuck out the most, was the infected hole in her hip that was right next to a crescent shaped birth mark. It looked almost like someone bit a chunk out of her side.

"What the fuck?" Fumihiro was concerned.

Itachi too was vibrating with nerves. What the hell happened?

"Utae, the medical equipment, now!" Fumihiro demanded.

Itachi hovered, feeling useless. He was terribly worried though he really didn't understand why. Something about this child pulled at his heart.

Itachi caught his leader's milky gaze. "Will she live?"

Fumihiro didn't seem optimistic. "I can't say for sure, Uchiha. What I can say is that she's in a pretty serious condition. Where did you find her again?"

Utae answered for Itachi. "Under some floor boards." She handed Fumihiro their medical kit.

Fumihiro got to work immediately. "Uchiha," Fumihiro said. Both Itachi and his cousin looked at him questioningly. Fumihiro sighed. "One of you, get some water. Boil it."

Itachi looked pointedly at his cousin, who bowed his head respectfully. He was gone the next instant.

Itachi went back to watching over the child.

"Don't be useless. Here!" Fumihiro shoved gloves and surgical pads into Itachi's hands. "Put those on."

Itachi got to work immediately.

Fumihiro fumed. "If I wasn't concerned about the effects, I'd have Utae use her chakra to close up the wound." He said. "For now, we need to do it traditionally. When the water is ready, we need to clean every inch of her skin."

Both Itachi and Utae nodded.

Itachi's cousin arrived a few minutes later. He placed the metal canister next to the fire to heat it up. It didn't take long because they didn't want it too hot.

"That's good!" Fumihiro said. "Bring it."

The water was almost too hot, but not terrible. They poured it into three bowls and got to work.

The warmth seemed to bring some life back into the child. She began to fuss.

The team ignored it.

They worked diligently, removing the encrusted blood, feces, and dirt from her skin and wounds. Fumihiro focused on the bite, delicately cleaning away anything out of the normal.

When they were done, Fumihiro made his young teammates stop. "We'll need to clean the wounds with disinfectant before applying ointment. I forewarn you, she's going to scream."

Scream she did.

Fumihiro worked fast, but he didn't stop.

Itachi fidgeted, anger and worry infusing his bones as he watched the child struggle. Finally, he had enough and picked her up, cradling her against his chest. "Enough," he barked.

Fumihiro blinked. "Uchiha, I'm not done."

"You are," Itachi said coldly.

"Uchiha!"

Itachi did not relent. "She needs to eat and warm up. We can finish when she calms." He reasoned.

Fumihiro wasn't having it. Calmly, he tried to explain the situation. "The quicker we get this done, the better. That wounds of her is already infected, if we leave it too long, it'll fester and she'll die."

Itachi hesitated, but the baby's cries allowed him to stand firm. "No."

Before Fumihiro could react, Utae laid a hand on his shoulder. "I have a bottle of broth ready. A few minutes will not make the wounds worse." She said.

Their leader glanced sharply at Itachi. "Fine." He relented and moved away.

Utae came forward, offering to take the child. Itachi shook his head. "I'll give it to her."

Utae sighed. "Itachi…"

"Please."

She blinked, then carefully handed over the bowl of warm broth. Itachi placed his charge in his lap, taking up the bowl and spoon, and slowly beginning to feed her.

She calmed, too tired and hungry to fight for long.

Itachi smirked. She was a fighter.

Fumihiro continued with the treatment after Itachi finished feeding.

Itachi watched it all silently, tense for reasons he couldn't explain. That night, he didn't sleep, too restless and upset with everything that had happened.

The next day, when they set out again, he held the child the whole way. No matter what any of his teammates said, he wouldn't relinquish his charge. Fumihiro eventually gave up asking.

Unconsciously, Itachi had proclaimed himself the girl's protector – the consequences of which he had no understanding.

AN: Please review, thank you!