Chapter 1

What is anguish? How do you describe fear? When does anger dissipate and turn to hate? How long does it take to become filled with such loathsome emotions? Where is the line between honor and stupidity? And why does it always seem that nothing but a void, where feelings should be, is left?

Welcome to the life Itachi Uchiha, welcome to the mind of a murderer…

Itachi Uchiha is a s-ranked criminal, member of the most notorious group of ninja the Akatsuki in addition to being one of the most feared men in the world. A reputation that he was quite proud, though it only took a minimal effort on his part to achieve. He lived for no one but himself, he answered to no one but himself, and lived his life without worry, fear or regret.

His scarlet eyes were gazing outside, looking into the unknown as he allowed his mind to slowly wander to times that were long past…

"Like this mommy?' the boy yelled back as he lunged forward, his arms crossed over his chest while holding twelve, six in each hand, kunai expertly.

The boy was full of vigor and energy. Eager to please and a hardworker, he focused his chakra in his feet and ran up a tree. After reaching a branch sixty or so feet off the ground he pushed against the tree and began falling back to the earth with incredible speed. He was in complete control as he began releasing the kunai from his hands using different amounts of speed, angles and spin. After his hands were emptied he did a back flip and landed lightly on his feet, allowing his knees to bend and absorb the shock.

As he straightened up, he surveyed his handiwork, all eleven targets had been hit perfectly in the center and each kunai was embedded well into the wood.

"Who would have thought that such a small child could possess such skill," she mumbled as she scrutinized his actions and went to look at the small target around the tree.

Itachi had come up with this course all on his own, and it was extremely advanced for a four-year-old child.

'No,' she amended mentally. 'It is advanced for any shinobi.'

It took two kunai to hit the one target before her, and that's not counting the precision it took for the move to work. She had even gone through the course herself when Itachi wasn't around, and although she hit the target, her knife didn't go in as deep, nor was it as accurate.

"Hai my Itachi. Well done, the Uchiha blood runs strongly in your veins. Your father will be quite proud when he sees your progress."

Itachi's younger self beamed at the praise just as any other four-year-old would.

He swiftly maneuvered over to the each of the eleven targets and with ease pulled each kunai out in a simple gracefully motions, like he was pulling a pencil out of a cup. His graceful motions showed no trace of a struggle in removing the knives from being buried so deep into the wood. He slipped the knives into the pouch at his side and he stood expectantly in front of his mother within seconds.

A small look of surprise due to Itachi's speed crossed her face as she looked down at him. 'How did he move so fast? He's too young to possess that speed and strength, isn't he?' she thought.

'Hmm…I can say he is small, yet he is only four and actually, he is in better shape and more skilled than most of our clan. That is quite a feat, and on top of that he has such deadly accuracy coupled with such intense strength. He is the prodigy of the Uchiha clan, but I simply can't believe that he is so advanced. He has mastered at the tender age of four, what his father only begun to learn and practice at eleven. It must have something to do with my amazing coaching capabilities.' She thought arrogantly.

"Are you okay mom?" Itachi looked up at her and became concerned as she seemingly spaced out. A simple look, which Itachi thought looked rather smug, crossed her face, but he refused to believe that his mother would become conceded. That was beneath the Uchiha clan, so he decided to dismiss the thought as a lack on his part to understand and read the thoughts and emotions of others.

'Hn, if I am not good at reading other's thoughts and gauging their actions, then I'll be caught off guard. Dad said that to be caught off guard was the same as being weak, and weak people die. I don't want to die, that would hurt and be scary so I'll have to become strong.' His young mind concluded.

"Come Itachi, I'm curious if you can perform a certain jutsu. If you can't, its okay, honestly, I don't expect you to have enough chakra, but still, I wonder…"

Itachi looked at her eagerly. He was so excited, he couldn't wait to prove her wrong. Little did his mother know how many hours he had devoted to training at night, all alone in the woods under the cover of darkness.

"Itachi, lets go." Kisame's voice sounded, bringing Itachi back to the present.

"Hn." Itachi lazily replied.

He slowly stood up and took one last look out the window.

'It's a full moon tonight…perfect for an easy assassination.'

He turned his back to the window and walked toward the door. His ebony coat flittered about and softly followed his graceful movements. The contrasting red clouds stood out, yet matched his scarlet eyes and raven locks perfectly.

'What a pain in the ass. Why do my parents pester me so much? Don't they have their own damn life? They need to stop telling me what to do with my own life. It's becoming tiresome. On second thought, this entire so-called clan has become rather annoying. They have all become such arrogant bastards, thinking they are better then everyone. They have become overconfident and lax in their training and abilities, trusting so much that their precious Sharingan will overcome any adversary. I hope they all get their ass kicked one day, and if someone doesn't come around soon to do the deed I'm afraid I will have to take care of it myself. I still can't belie...'

"Happy Birthday nii-san!"

The two brothers stood looking at each other, one with pure joy and the other with annoyance. Outside of the obvious difference in disposition, the smaller of the two was practically a cookie cut out. Their dark locks, black eyes, and slender, yet sturdy build and even their fair skin.

"Arigato Sasuke. Now go." Itachi mentioned emotionlessly.

The smaller boy looked slightly disheartened, but his older brother's attitude didn't seem to effect him too much.

"Itachi-san..." Sasuke mumbled as Itachi began walking away.

Itachi stopped and released a quiet sigh.

"Hai Sasuke."

"Where are you going nii-san?"

"Training." He answered vaguely.

Sasuke's face lit up, "Can I come? Please, Itachi, I promise not to get in the way. I want to train too."

"No, go home." Itachi said flatly. 'Why is he so annoying?'

"But Itachi, you're the strongest, please help me train."

"No." Itachi replied harshly.

"Why not?" Sasuke began pouting.

"No, go ask mom or dad. I don't have time. Go home." Itachi stated with a slight edge showing his annoyance. 'Yes, ask mom or dad, maybe then they will quit bothering me and start attending to you. I wonder how much trouble I would get into for kicking him around a little. Mom and dad would have a cow,' he smirked inwardly, being careful not to let his outward façade fall.

'But Sasuke is so weak, it really wouldn't be worth it. Why isn't he as strong as I was? Perhaps it has something to do with mom and dad. They were always helping me when I was younger, little Sasuke doesn't get that because out parents are always bothering me instead. But he still lacks the dedication I had, I trained on my own, Sasuke doesn't work half as hard as I did.'

"But..." Sasuke was cut off by a harsh glare given to him compliments of his nii-san. The smaller boy took two steps back hesitantly, then turned and ran. Itachi watched his weak little brother run like a coward towards their home.

'What's his problem?' Itachi wondered annoyed. But he didn't need to think too hard. 'Shit. How could I have been so careless.'

His pointless anger had unconsciously activated his Sharingan. He blinked once and the deep red disappeared into a dark onyx. He once again turned to glimpse his brother's retreating form, then continued on his way to the river to meet up with other ANBU.

Sasuke didn't think he could outrun his brother, but at the moment, it was the only thing he could think to do.

'He is scary. I-I thought he was-was going to k-kill me. Why nii-san? Do-do you really hate me?'

He ran past his house and into the woods, towards his usual training area, where Itachi trained so long ago. Once he was in the small clearing he fell to his knees gasping for air.

'I love Itachi, and he loves me. I love Itachi, and he loves me. I love Itachi, and he loves me.' Sasuke chanted like a mantra trying to convince himself of his brother's care for him. 'He would never hurt me. He will always protect me. He will protect me. I just know it. I was annoying him, it was all my fault. He told me no, but I kept insisting. I shouldn't have continued to bother him. I hope he will forgive me. He looked so mad, he was staring-no, he was glaring at me with his Sharingan. I really hope he'll forgive me. I know he will always protect me, he's Itachi, the strongest ninja ever, and he's my brother. I love Itachi, and he loves me.'

Sasuke stood up slowly and looked around at the eleven targets around him. They were all at different heights and angles, and he had yet to master hitting all of them with the precision that Itachi had at his age.

Actually, Sasuke could hit ten of the eleven targets perfectly, but the last one was tucked behind a tree and required the use of two kunai to hit it.

'Just like Itachi's old course.'

Sasuke remembered asking Itachi once how to hit the final target. All Sasuke could really remember was that the first kunai needed to be aimed at the tree's side with a large amount of force behind it. Then the second required more power and was to be thrown about three-quarters of a second later, about an inch to the left of the previous shuriken and needed to be nearly level when it hit the first kunai. Itachi had mentioned many other things, but they meant nothing to Sasuke when his brother explained about the different angles.

Sasuke practically gawked at his brother for mentioning the "trick" so off-handedly, making the hidden target sound so easy and simple. Itachi even demonstrated it for Sasuke, but despite his brother's efforts all that time ago, Sasuke couldn't master it. Itachi just made it look so easy, that Sasuke often became disheartened and jealous of his brother's obvious talent.

The large man watched his partner's back as they sped through the woods. He stood well over six feet, towering over most everybody he's ever met. His muscles were well toned, causing his presence to be overbearing and intimidating. However, it was the actual tint of his skin that usually turned women off and struck fear in men. It was a light bluish gray, like the color of sharks, and just as tough. Kisame knew that the smaller man in front of him was probably one of the few humans alive that could actually compare to him.

'However,' Kisame amended himself, 'I can hardly call Itachi human. In a sense he is, but I don't see how any person could possibly possess the sheer strength and speed that Itachi seemingly came upon without doing anything. Even in his attitude, Itachi has never lost his temper, but holds a silent air about him which demands everyone's respect. Including my own, Itachi is, simply put, a natural genius.'

That brought Kisame to wondering if Itachi had ever actually had to practice-really practice-anything in his life.

"Itachi."

"Hn." Itachi replied nonchalantly.

Kisame noticed that Itachi's speed had picked up, so he quickly adjusted his own speed to match his partner's pace.

"Do you know anything about our target?" Kisame asked gruffly.

"Hai. Name Kudan Hizaru, age 24, currently in the village hidden in the Mist."

Both men continued moving…there was nothing left to say.

'I doubt that Itachi would talk anyway though.' Kisame concluded. 'But I wonder what this Kudan person did to earn the wrath of the Akatsuki…'

OoO

'I hope this mission doesn't take too long. I want to get back to Konoha as soon as possible.'

Her pink hair floated behind her as she easily ran through the woods. Each step propelled her to another branch which were usually twelve to fifteen feet apart. Despite the distance, Sakura stepped surly and moved with a simple fluid motion, mocking the distance with ease that few ninjas possessed.

She no longer was the same twelve-year-old girl, chasing after boys (or a single particular boy more like it) while having to be protected. She was stoic and strong, yet quiet in her disposition…until you pissed her off, then she'd knock the shit out of you.

But she still lived a simple life, admiring the simple beautiful things, such as a sunset or a mountain. Her nineteen-year-old self stood with a trained mask over her face, not revealing the slightest emotion. All ANBU were like that, and she reveled in the idea that she could now hide her true thoughts and feelings from the world.

But her fantasies of families and happy endings were now dead. Some people even called her pessimistic, but she really wasn't negative. She knew her limits and what she was capable of, as well as the strength and weaknesses of her comrades. If a mission could be done, she'd say it, but if she doubted the skill of others for a particular mission, she never failed to say what was on her mind. She never thought of it as pessimism, but realism.

'Tsunade said it should be fairly simple, protect a guy. How hard can that be, right? What was his name again…Heza…no…Hik…no…hmm…Hiza…Hizaru? That sounds right, Kudan Hizaru. I'll have to check the specs of the mission again to make sure though. I guess this is as good a time as any to take a break.'

Sakura glanced down at the ground for a few more strides before she saw a small clearing in the branches. Taking a short step, she jumped to the ground, landing lightly on the balls of her feet. Allowing her knees to bend slightly and absorb the shock of her impact, she straightened up and walked over to a tall tree.

A young blonde landed beside her, not quite as gracefully though. His cerulean eyes sparkled with anticipation at the upcoming mission. His messy hair swayed a little with the gentle breeze as he watched his comrade.

Sakura lowered herself to one knee and leaned her back against the oak. Her backpack slipped off her shoulders as she slung it around her body. She opened up the first pocket and pulled out the scroll.

"What'cha doin' Sakura-chan?" the blonde asked inquisitively.

"Hmm…we need to learn this information and understand all circumstances of this mission. Plus, you're probably hungry by now, ne Naruto?"

Naruto gave her a lopsided grin as he nodded his head and sat down to begin his personal picnic. Sakura decided to ignore him for the time being so she could focus on the necessary information. She knew Naruto could care less, nor would he retain the facts if she tried to tell him. Both were well aware of this and simply stayed content in silence.

Sakura stared at the parchment for a moment, and began absorbing the information so that she wouldn't need to look at the scroll again.

'Okay, so his name is Kudan Hizaru. So, I was right. Let's see, says here he is 24 and is asking for an escort from Mist to Sand. But it doesn't say why. People don't simply hire people to guard them do they? That would be rather pointless and silly if you ask me. I wonder…what would he have that would attract others to him? He is paying for a B rank mission, so that is against thieves and low ranked ninjas. I'll have to ask when I see him I suppose. We need to meet him at sundown tonight in the Rhinegold Cavern.'

Sakura looked up from her musings. 'We need to get going if we want to make it on time.'

Rolling the scroll back up, she stuffed it back into the same pouch that it had been resting in previously. As she stood up, she slung the bag over her left shoulder. She took a quick glance back to make sure she had everything and hadn't left any traces of her presence.

"Naruto, we need to leave now if we want to make it in time. I don't want to sprint, that would just be a waste of our chakra and energy if we happen to need it in battle."

"Hai Sakura-chan," the blonde stuffed the last bits of the potato chips Choji gave him in his mouth and stood up. He took a quick survey to make sure he wasn't leaving anything and nodded towards the pink haired kunoichi.

Once satisfied that neither of them left a trace, she proceeded to slip her right arm through the other loop on the backpack while summoning chakra to her feet. Within a blink of an eye, she had pushed off the ground, with her chakra enhancing her strength, thrusting herself back up into the tree limbs. Naruto followed suit and landed on a tree branch just above Sakura's waist.

Once again she took off, heading towards the land hidden in the Mist, Naruto keeping pace.

OoO

Itachi stood under a clearing with a small piece of bread. It wasn't much, but it was substantial enough. It wouldn't weigh them down and bread was more filling so it wouldn't require as much to fill them.

He looked off to the North, that was where his little brother lived in their old village.

I wonder if Sasuke has gotten any stronger. He mused simply. Probably not, I will never understand why he can't be as strong as me. Maybe he wasn't meant to be ninja…or maybe I was meant to be a killer. Either way, makes no difference, I doubt he'll ever catch up…foolish little Sasuke.

Kisame sat under a tall oak, basking in the delight of rest but sorely missing sake.

I haven't drank in a while, which being around Itachi, is probably good. If I'm drunk I might say or do something stupid and Itachi could put me through a hell of a lot of pain just by looking at me with that damn Mangekou Sharingan of his. Sober is definitely the way to go with him. But damnit, I want a drink so bad!

"Kisame…" Itachi looked over towards the large man. It was time for them to go, but one of Kisame's qualities that Itachi did enjoy was that he rarely had to say much to get his point across. Furthermore, Kisame never talked much either. Itachi enjoyed the silence, talking about irrelevant things was pointless. In silence, he could think and plan different angles and what to expect from enemies and targets. Itachi didn't doubt that he was the strongest, but he didn't want to become overconfident and arrogant.

That was the "great Uchiha clan's" downfall, their arrogance. They got so overconfident that they became careless. They deserved to die, I don't want any claim to them and their stupidity.

"Hai Itachi, I'm ready."

Kisame stood up and slung his sword over his back. Stuffing the last bit of bread into his mouth, he dashed off a second after the elder Uchiha.