Chapter 21

-Confrontation

Morning rays creep through the window, illuminating the once dark room. It pans across Shizake's face, interrupting the deep sleep he was in. I haven't slept that good in a while, he thinks to himself. He goes to scratch his neck when his hand bumps into something soft. The boy looks down to see a head of pink hair and a face buried into his chest. Not wanting to wake her, he dares not move muscle. A few minutes go by before the girl begins stirring as well. She opens her sleepy eyes, blinking a few times before realizing she's looking up at Shizake. The Uchiha boy faintly smiles before Sakura realizes her positioning in the bed.

Instantly her face becomes red hot as she leaps out of bed and crashes into the ground with a thud. Shizake peers over the side of the bed with a worried look, "Sakura, you okay?"

Sakura springs up and begins scratching the back of her head, "Sorry! I uhm... I forgot we fell asleep together," She flusteredly explains.

The sound of muffled voices comes from next door, an obvious sign that Naruto and Kakashi are already awake. Shizake releases a lowly single chuckle before getting out of bed and gathering his things. As he's packing his bags he thinks to last night and all the feelings that flooded his mind and body. I'm not sure what to make of them... my life in the ANBU taught me many things but never how to act in situations like that. It's like the once dead spark is being reignited yet... I don't know what to do with it. I've been without it so long that having it would almost feel unnatural. I feel as if I'm reaching for the threads of something... something I once felt.

"I hope I wasn't too much of a bother," The girl quietly says, an obvious sign of a struggle with esteem.

Shizake, interrupted from his thoughts replies by shaking his head, saying, "Not at all... I usually have very troubled sleep actually. So... thank you for offering a spot to rest, Sakura," He finishes.

The girl smiles ear to ear, her warm affect radiating throughout the entire room, "Anytime."

An abrupt pang shoots through Shizake's heart, causing him to place a hand on his chest. The Uchiha confusedly looks down, unacquainted with such an emotion, so much so that it catches him off guard. It's as if the rigid barrier he put up in his heart and mind is suddenly crumbling, cracking and allowing something bright, something so illuminating and radiant to seep through that barrier, lightly touching the troubled boy.

The both of them finish gathering their things before heading over to Kakashi and Naruto's room to discuss the plan. After finding out that Pakkun had delivered the location of the hideout they all make their final preparations. They find themselves in front of the valley entrance to the Hidden Sand, waiting on a group of sand shinobi that they will be working with. Temari appears from around a corner, four other sand shinobi in tow behind her.

Kakashi nods, "Well, if that's everybody."

"Alright lets get this show on the road! No point in waiting around!" Naruto yells, eager to leave as soon as possible.

Suddenly Baki drops down from a rooftop. He tells Temari that they are to stay in the village and patrol the perimeter. The girl protests at first but finds out that the orders are from higher up.

"Well I'm going!" A voice interrupts.

Everyone looks up to see lady Chiyo, a retired sand shinobi. A few of the other sand shinobi question her and her motives but she assures them she she'll be no hassle to the group. The sand shinobi then escorts team Kakashi to the valley entrance and sees them off on their mission. Shizake and the others then sprint away, headed towards the supposed hideout.

A few hours of travel go by in a blur, leading the group out of wind country and into the bordering river country. The group had a discussion about tailed beasts along the way, discussing why Akatsuki has started making moves. Shizake knew that the tailed beasts were used as weapons as well as for power intimidation but he had no idea the circumstances that led to the current situation. Most of the conversation was kept to a minimum since leaf shinobi are forbidden from speaking about the nine tailed fox spirit even amongst them selves. While Shizake and Kakashi possessed such knowledge, Sakura had only her suspicions, knowing that Naruto had some great power. All while, Lady Chiyo did not, remaining unknown to the fact of Naruto's jinchuriki status.

As they continue their grueling sprint through the forest, they bank around a corner yet are stopped by Kakashi, holding his arm out. Shizake eyes a black and red cloak, his pupils trembling as his gaze shifts to the clouds among the robe. Finally he makes icy cold contact with none other than his older cousin. Naruto grunts, having seen those same eyes three years ago when they came for him. Sakura stares intently, wondering whom the man is.

"I know you," Naruto begins, "Itachi Uchiha."

"So that's the one. The one who wiped his entire clan in a single night." Lady Chiyo states, curious as to why he stands before them.

"Kakashi. Naruto..." Itachi says before shifting his stare to the other Uchiha, "Shizake. It's been a while."

His sharingan... it's the same as Sasuke and Shizake's. He's the one who's been tormenting Sasuke, Shizake, and Naruto all along, Sakura thinks to herself.

"I wasn't enough for you, huh? YOU had to go after Gaara as well!" Naruto accuses.

"Itachi...Hah...heh..." Shizake whispers closing his eyes before erupting, "ITACHI!!!" he then roars at the top of his lungs.

"Not good," Kakashi says, turning in preparation to stop the berserk young Uchiha.

Shizake's whole body tremors violently with bloodthirsty rage, his Sharingan activating on pure instinct. The boy takes a step forward but is stopped by Kakashi's arm across his chest, "You need to keep it together! Being hasty will get you killed!"

The outraged Uchiha clenches his fist, swallowing his hatred and regaining his obviously rattled composure.

"What's with this kid?" Chiyo harshly asks.

Kakashi sighs, "This is one of the two surviving Uchiha minus Itachi right in front of us." He grimly states.

Shizake glowers at the old woman before refocusing his deadly stare on his cousin. All sorts of violent thoughts flood his mind causing his aura to radiate intense murderous intent. He continuously broods, allowing the whirling anger to build up like a volcano gathering up intense pressure. Sakura looks at Shizake in shock, having never witnessed his rage firsthand. The girl becomes afraid yet compassionate, trying to understand his emotions. She shakes it off, realizing they still have an enemy to deal with. "How do we fight the sharingan?" She asks.

"Don't look him in the eyes. I know it puts you at a handicap but he uses Mangekyō Sharingan, which is even more powerful. Standard anti-genjutsu tactics won't work here. If he catches your stare for even just a second, it'll be the longest second you've ever lived," Kakashi cautiously elucidates, having had direct experience with the deadly genjutsu.

Out of nowhere another Itachi appears behind the group, catching them all off guard. Kakashi equips a kunai, ready to slash Itachi but is futile as Shizake is grabbed by the collar and thrown deep into the forest. The Itachi that threw the younger Uchiha disappears into a poof of smoke, revealing that it was just a clone. The remaining Team Kakashi and Lady Chiyo look back to the original Itachi, settling into battle stances.

"My little cousin would be a nuisance... removing him was the first step," Itachi says.

"Tsk. Makes sense. His Sharingan could probably read through your genjutsu the best out of all of us," Kakashi says, "But even so... it won't protect him from the Mangekyō."

Shizake comes tumbling to a halt, shaking twigs and leaves out of his hair. He leaps up to his feet, looking around the unfamiliar forest that he had been thrown into, "WHERE ARE YOU?! ITACHI!?"

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A figure rises out of the ground, revealing to be Itachi. Shizake shoots forward, using a large burst of chakra to blast himself towards his cousin. He brings his fist back as it slams into Itachi's palm, the older Uchiha catching it with ease. Itachi brings up his knee, aiming for Shizake's stomach. Shizake blocks it with his free arm but is caught off guard as Itachi spins around and delivers an elbow to Shizake's face, sending him careening across the dirt. The younger Uchiha catches his footing while creating hand-signs, "Fire style: fireball jutsu!" Shizake roars, unleashing a large fiery blast.

Itachi explodes into a mass of crows, repositioning himself behind his younger cousin. Shizake realizes this but is too late as his head is slammed into the dirt and held there. Itachi bends down, talking into Shizake's ear, "You've grown... that much I can tell, but... you're still so very weak."

"...I'M NOT WEAK!" Shizake roars, substituting himself with a log. He jumps up, swinging around a tree branch and launching himself into the sky all while pinpointing his cousin with his Sharingan, "Fire style: Giant flame spear!" He yells with an earth-shattering roar. Itachi fails to step back just as the attack slams into him causing a small explosion of fire - rocks and pebbles raining down as a result. Shizake immediately dashes into the smoke and dust, squeezing Itachi's throat all while making sure not to completely crush his windpipe.

"Your rage is much different from Sasuke's. His is akin to a thunderstorm, powerful yet poised while you're more like a boiling volcano, destructive and chaotic. I wonder... just who's rage is more powerful," Itachi says.

Shizake slams Itachi's body into the ground, staring murderously into Itachi's eyes, "I don't care about that! I'll kill you in my own way, with my own strength! My hatred for you has been an everlasting source to push me even further beyond my limits. You took – no – ripped away everything that was precious to me!"

"You certainly are different from my little brother but at the same time you harbor similar feelings. I wonder how my experiment will turn out," Itachi continues.

"What experiment?!" Shizake questions.

"In due time... you'll find out. Our time here is over, goodbye, foolish little cousin."

The older Uchiha flashes the Mangekyō for a brief second causing the younger one to stumble back from just mere milliseconds of genjutsu. With that, Itachi's figure dissipates from existence, revealing to be someone else. Shizake's sharingan fades from his eyes as he drops to his knees defeatedly after recovering from the stun. His left fist slams into the ground with an accompanying destructive scream as the images he was shown for those brief moments flash like multiple lightning bolts in his head. His knuckles are completely obliterated as a result, huge gashes, cuts, and lacerations leaving the skin hanging by its bits. Red gooey liquid softly drips onto the dirt and grass swirling around in the muck and grime.

"I could hardly even land one blow... and to a fake. How can I be so... weak? " He says with an infuriated shudder.

He scans the henge, wondering whom Itachi forced to replace him. Shizake's eyes go wide in shock as he notices the leaf headband tied around the young man's head. The Uchiha looks around for any other signs of the person's identity, stopping when he finds a tattoo on the man's bicep.

There's no doubt about it, he's from the scouting and intelligence division. It's definitely one of Azumi's men... I'll have to break the news when I get back. All of my efforts in tracking him were just a façade the entire time. How foolish of me to think I could keep tabs on him.

Shizake takes a deep breath and then exhales, desperately trying to regain his composure. The young Uchiha then closes his eyes, focusing his chakra to extend outwards in an attempt to locate his teammates. Once he finds the chakra signatures, he heads off in their direction.

As he emerges from the tree line he spots Kakashi, Sakura, and Chiyo gathered around a woozy Naruto. The boy holds his head as he comes to, standing up and shaking his head. Itachi is nowhere to be seen which means their battle with him is finished as well.

"Shizake!" Sakura yells, running over to check on the Uchiha, "Are you okay?"

"Yes..." He emptily responds, "It was just a henge though."

"Same thing here," Kakashi interjects, crouching over an older man with a goatee.

"It's a jonin from the sand, Captain Yura," Chiyo says.

"Then they were just trying to slow us down! Come on! We need to go save Gaara!" Naruto exuberantly yells.

"Calm down Naruto, we can't just go charging in there. Those weren't even the real Itachi and yet they put up that much of a fight. We need to stay levelheaded. We'll keep travelling and then stop and set up camp once nightfall hits," Kakashi says.

Everyone nods their heads, acknowledging Kakashi's orders. They travel deeper into river country up until the sunset and exhaustion settles in. After gathering supplies the team sets up camp and proceeds to take shifts on watch.

Nighttime settles in like a dark blanket over the land, bringing the day to an end. The squad gathers around a fire, Naruto and Sakura both asleep in their respective sleeping bags. Elder Chiyo rests against a tree her eyes closed in deep thought. She ponders on the times when Sasori was a kid and how all those events led to him siding with Akatsuki.

Shizake and Kakashi both stare into the fire, resting their tired muscles from the day's trials. The sensei lets out a yawn before reaching into his pocket, pulling out his usual book and picking up from where he left off. The young Uchiha boy holds the fire stoking stick in his left hand, gripping it unusually tight. His dark coal eyes pierce deep into the burning fire before him, his mind settled on one thing and one thing only. His hatred burns just like the raging flames in front of him, his wrath oozing into his every demeanor.

Kakashi looks up from his book, noticing the shift in Shizake's aura. He sighs to himself before clapping his book shut and saying, "Hey."

Shizake pulls his eyes from the fire, meeting the Hatake's gaze, "Yes?"

"I know how much finding Itachi means to you... you're just like Sasuke, there's nothing stopping you," He starts," But. We aren't just dealing with Itachi here... we're dealing with multiple Akatsuki members. "

Shizake lets out a harsh, "Tsk," while clenching his teeth. He throws the stick on the ground and looks back up to Kakashi, "First of all I'm nothing like Sasuke... but in that regard I suppose you are correct. Plus... I know... and I apologize. It's almost like an involuntary reaction," The boy affirms, looking down at his hand while realizing how hard he was gripping the stick.

The silver haired man utters a low, "Hm," before continuing, "I don't want anyone getting hurt here. Considering what we're dealing with, I would like to keep casualties to a minimum."

"What're you trying to say...?" The Uchiha mutters.

"Keep your temper in check. Don't go rushing ahead without thinking."

The Uchiha clenches his teeth even harder, looking back on his past actions. His fingers wrap into a fist, trembling before giving in, his hand falling onto his lap, "Yes. I understand."

Kakashi's eye rises along with his face pulling into a smile, "Thank you. These two have watch duty here pretty soon. I recommend you get some rest and clear your head."

Shizake solemnly nods his head, picking the stick back up gently and stoking the fire with it. Soon enough the jonin wakes Naruto and Sakura from their slumber to which they both protest but eventually, give in. Sakura smiles sweetly at the boy as they rotate shifts, placing her hand upon his as she gets up. She feels the rough destroyed skin around his hand, forcibly grabbing it and bringing it up to her eyes. Her delicate fingers run along the layer of exposed skin tissue between every curve and bump of his knuckles. The boy winces when she touches a tiny piece of bloodied bone sticking out of his middle knuckle.

"What happened?!" She angrily yet worriedly yells.

"My... my own doing," Shizake coldly says.

Her round green eyes fall into a stare of sympathy, desperately trying to understand his mind. She shakes herself out of her own thinking, feeling fresh blood on her fingertips, "Please... just let me heal you," She softly and compassionately says.

Shizake nods once, his hair falling over his eyes as he struggles between the black coldness of hatred and a seemingly small yet powerful speck of light. Sakura slowly places him back on the log bench remaining quiet as a mouse while she focuses on repairing the skin on the boy's left hand. The green glow joins with the orange glow coming from the small fire casting odd shades of a ghoulish yellow across the campsite.

Naruto shakes the slumber from his body, throwing on his orange and black jacket while yawning. He looks upon Sakura healing Shizake's hands with laser sharp determination, wondering just what happened.

"You okay, Shizake?" Naruto asks.

Shizake remains still as a statue, uttering a low, "Yes."

Naruto's face scrunches up into confusion, seeing right past his fake answer, "Ahh you don't have to lie right to our faces! Sheesh. If you have something on your mind you might as well spit it out," He says.

"Naruto!" Sakura yells, angry at Naruto's inconsideration.

"It's not... it's not..." Shizake begins but trails off.

Both Naruto and Sakura remain silent, allowing the Uchiha to gather his thoughts.

"It's not something you would understand... and... I'm not sure I could ever explain such a dark and miserable feeling than the one I constantly live with," Shizake emptily conveys.

"I know he's your cousin... I know he's your family and I know that he committed something horrible and unforgivable. You're right... I don't understand your feelings or what you live through. I'll never know. But friends don't let other friends suffer and I won't just standby if one of them is."

Sakura grabs both of Shizake's hands, pulling them close to her heart while tears sting at the corners of her eyes, "He's right... it hurts... to see you suffer... to see you hurt."

The Uchiha's eyes go wide, looking upon Sakura and Naruto from behind his messy hair, finally understanding their caring intent. Never had he pondered on the thought that others would feel pain through his misery. The thought makes the boy sad yet hopeful. Hopeful that one day this pain may finally be extinguished, sad because these painful feelings have the power to reach into other's lives and affect them personally.

"Thank you... both." He murmurs, finally relaxing from his rigid position.

"Of course! And if you ever get knocked down, well, we'll be here to pick you up," Naruto enthusiastically says with a thumbs up.

The boy returns a faint eyes closed smile, grabbing Sakura's hand and helping her up after she had tied the bandages around his injury. He wipes the small tears from her eyes before resting his undamaged hand back atop hers.

"Sleep tight, Shizake," She says with another beaming smile before going to sit on the log in front of the fire.

The boy's shoulders relax, a wave of calmness travelling through his body. He lays down in the sleeping bag, closing his eyes while placing his hands behind his head. Every time... that feeling. Every...time... he trails off in his thoughts before falling into a deep slumber.