Chapter Nineteen

Several months later…

"Again!" barked the woman clothed in black flames.

Itachi lunged forward, paying the cuts on his cheeks and arms no mind as he flung himself back into the dance of blades with the spirit of his Zanpakutō. The song of steel rang out as their swords clashed repeatedly, a lightning-fast rhythm the pace of which seemed to increase with each passing second. Steel met steel in a rapid exchange of strikes and parries as the combatants whirled like dervishes, their moves little more than blurs as their melody of violence continued.

He had come quite some ways since the early weeks of his time within his inner world. Whereas his foe would once give him breaks after her blade had drawn blood, now he gained only a second or two of respite at the most before their dance continued. The fights were lasting even longer now than before, and for all Itachi knew some of their matches could've gone on for days before his opponent had finally decided to grant him rest. His endurance, speed, precision, and efficiency with regards to Zanjutsu had improved immeasurably, but that was not the only area in which Itachi had sought to hone his skills. While his Zanpakutō had decided to train him exclusively in the art of swordsmanship, Itachi had eventually learned to take it upon himself to maintain his other skills, less all that he had learned from his Academy lessons before the soul fracture had occurred go to waste.

Parrying his foe's latest blow, Itachi dropped low to make a sweeping kick instead of countering with his blade. His opponent backflipped to avoid the attack, but it still gave Itachi a chance to take the offensive. Moving swiftly, he launched a fierce series of slashes and thrusts, pressing hard against his adversary.

When she inevitably moved to counter and retake the initiative, Itachi was ready. Switching to a one-handed grip, Itachi reached out with his free hand and pointed his index finger at his foe.

"Hadō 1: Shō!" he called.

Since it lacked an incantation and his Kidō studies had been in their early stages when the soul fracture had taken place, the energy behind this simple attack was weak. Nevertheless, the invisible pulse of kinetic power was enough to force his foe back just a step, and that was all Itachi needed to disrupt her counter. Itachi seized the opportunity and advanced, bringing his sword down in a hard overhand strike. His opponent was able to block the attack, but Itachi still saw an approving smile on her face.

"Not bad," she said as she held him at bay, "Not bad at all."

Itachi's only reply was to press his assault. He attacked hard and fast, raining down an unrelenting barrage on his opponent. His blows were swift, powerful, and relentless. As his foe fell back, Itachi was determined to do what he had been unable to accomplish since he had first arrived in his inner world; land a hit on her.

Unfortunately, that was far easier said than done. Even when put onto the defensive, the woman never showed a hint of fear. It had proven almost completely impossible to truly knock her off balance; his earlier Kidō attack was his most successful effort to date to do just that, and even then, it hadn't exactly done much. She was as implacable as she was skilled, and most of the time it felt like she knew what his moves would be before he even made them. It was an eerily familiar sensation.

No, Itachi firmly told himself as his eyes met hers, the color might be the same, but that is not the Sharingan that is looking at me.

It was most fortunate that was the case; she'd be all but unstoppable if she had that kind of power at her disposal.

Their duel raged on, and Itachi knew that he was approaching the end of his rope. His endurance had improved immeasurably over the months of training, but he still could not fight forever. If he was to have even the smallest of chances to score something resembling a victory, he would have to make his move before fatigue began to make itself known in earnest.

He feinted low with a thrust at her knees, but as soon as she moved to parry he pulled his blade back. That was when he made his second thrust, this one going right for her neck. However, his foe did not try to block this time; instead, her blade too went for Itachi's neck, and the two combatants found themselves in a standoff, their swords at each other's throats.

The woman smiled again, and there was what looked like just a hint of pride in her expression. "A draw… impressive."

Itachi didn't dare remove his sword until he knew for sure that she wasn't going to pounce the second he let his guard done. "Is that all for now?"

She nodded before he saw her gaze turn skyward. "Yes… and not a moment too soon, it would seem."

Itachi looked up and saw that, for the first time since he'd arrived here, there were no longer flashes of crimson lightning. The clouds were still there, but they were no longer the dark and stormy ones that he had become accustomed to.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"The lightning from before was brought on from the turmoil caused by the soul fracture," said the woman, "It's finally subsided, which means one thing."

Itachi's eyes widened. "The resurrection jutsu is fading…"

As he spoke the light of the crimson moon behind the clouds began to intensify. The clouds parted a moment later, and Itachi and the woman were bathed in blood red light. At the same time Itachi could feel a rushing sensation, a surge of energy so strong that it felt like a heavy wave crashing into him. He dropped to one knee as he tried desperately to brace himself.

A gentle hand fell on his shoulder, and Itachi looked up to see the woman staring intently at him. "Don't fight it. Lie down."

Itachi did as she instructed, and she knelt beside him. "Your time in this world is coming to a close, but do not fear; now that you have opened the door to your inner realm, you will be able to return at will."

"How?" asked Itachi.

"You already covered the basics in class before you came here," the woman replied, "Recall your lessons and learn to apply them once you awaken, and you will find your way back here."

Itachi nodded, although the light from the crimson moon had become so bright now that it was difficult to keep his eyes open. "Very well, then."

Her smile was the last thing he saw before the red glare became so intense that he was forced to shield his eyes. "You've done well so far, Itachi… but you have a long way to go yet. Once you've reconciled your memories and have resumed your classes, meditate upon your sword. There is still much that I have to teach you."

Itachi could not help but give a small smile. "I'm looking forward to your next lesson."

He heard her chuckle. "Oh, really? You know how harsh a taskmaster I am; do not expect me to go easy on you just because of how well you've performed so far."

"I wouldn't dream of it," said Itachi.

There was a sound like an oncoming gust of wind. Louder and louder it grew, until Itachi felt as though he were at the heart of a great cyclone. Yet even over the roaring gale, Itachi could still dimly hear the parting words of the spirit of his Zanpakutō.

"Until we meet again, Itachi Uchiha."

And then the onrush of memories from the second half of his soul took his mind by storm.

….

His head hurt so badly that Itachi swore it was about to burst, but somehow, he still found the strength to open his eyes. He found himself lying in a bed near an open window. A light and cool breeze filtered in, and as he looked around, wincing against the splitting headache, he quickly found that he wasn't alone; none other than Unohana was standing by the bed.

She smiled when his gaze met hers. "I felt your spirit energy begin to strengthen, and I'm glad to see my hunch was correct; the soul fracture has healed. Welcome back, Itachi."

He gave her a nod as he tried to sit up in the bed. "Captain Unohana…"

She gently pushed him back down. "Best you lie still for the moment. Tell me, how do you feel?"

"Like someone lit a thousand fireworks inside my head," he groaned.

Unohana nodded. "I thought that might be the case. The memories from two halves of the same soul becoming one… I can only imagine how intense that might be."

"You could say that," quipped Itachi, still trying to make sense of it all.

She laid her hand on his forehead, and soon it was surrounded by sea-green energy. "Take deep and controlled breaths, Itachi. The pain should pass soon."

Itachi winced; the power that was flowing from her hands felt good, but it still seemed like someone was inside his skull with a hammer and a ton of nails. "I hope you're right…"

"Close your eyes," she instructed, "Don't try to make sense of everything that's come back to you just yet. Don't focus on anything at all. Just relax."

Itachi tried to follow her instructions, but it was definitely a case of easier said than done. There were so many events and faces flashing through his mind that trying to set them all aside or ignore them was all but impossible. Every instinct he had was telling him to grasp the flow and control it, to bring order to the chaos that his memories had become, and he had to fight it with every ounce of willpower that he could muster.

"Do not focus," said Unohana, as if she were reading his mind, "Do not do anything, Itachi. Think of your memories as a river, one that you want to follow. Do not fight the flow, and do not try to control your pace; let it carry you all on its own."

He wasn't exactly sure how to do as she was telling him to, so he simply settled for keeping his eyes shut and acted like he was trying to fall asleep. Of course, sleep had ceased to come easy for him ever since he had massacred his clan. Still, the attempt seemed to unlock something, for he felt the pressure on his mind ease. Slowly but surely, the memories started to settle down, and he could gradually begin to make sense of it all. The pain in his head was receding as well, which he definitely took as a good sign.

As the flow of memories slowed, he began to recognize certain faces. Kabuto, Madara Uchiha, Pain…

Naruto…

Sasuke…

His eyes snapped open as every memory his resurrected half brought to him regarding his younger brother flashed before him. Their clash with Kabuto, the undoing of the resurrection jutsu…

…and his final conversation with his beloved sibling.

"Itachi?" said Unohana after a moment, her voice soft and concerned, "What is it? You're crying."

Itachi's eyes widened as he touched his cheek to find that she was right; a single tear had fallen. He then closed his eyes again to focus on that last moment, his final words to the brother that he had sacrificed everything for.

"You don't ever have to forgive me… and whatever you do from here on out, know this…"

"No matter what, I will love you always…"

He smiled as he opened his eyes again, not even bothering to fight back the tears. Finally, after so much time, he had been able to relay his true feelings to Sasuke. He had gone to his first death believing he would never have the chance to do so, but the resurrection had given him one final opportunity to say what he had long desired to.

His little brother finally knew the truth.

All of it.

And that was enough.

Not enough to bring true peace to Sasuke; the road ahead would remain difficult for his younger brother. Not enough to bring peace to Itachi, either; the nightmarish memory of what he had done to their family would be his darkest shadow for the rest of his afterlife, of that he had no doubt.

But it was enough to bring closure.

Closure to a blood feud that Itachi had never wanted.

Closure to the violent chasm that had been so cruelly carved between him and his dear little brother.

Closure between him and the member of his family that he had loved above all the others.

The pain in his head was gone now, and Itachi realized that Unohana had actually removed her hand a little while ago. She smiled down at him, and while it was impossible for her to know exactly what was going through his mind, he had a feeling that she could at least comprehend his joy and relief at what had transpired at the very end.

"You left without regrets," she said after a moment, "When your resurrection ended, I mean. May I infer at least that much from your smile and tears?"

Itachi shook his head. "Not quite. With all that had happened before, there will always be some regrets. There were far too many mistakes made along the way. However… I was able to right the biggest of those mistakes. I was able to tell someone the truth that I should've told them so long ago… and that was all I wanted."

Unohana nodded. "I see. I'm glad to hear it."

"What will happen now?" he asked.

Unohana regarded him carefully. "With regards to how you reconcile your memories, that is for you and you alone. Your condition, on the other hand… well, I would like to keep you under observation for at least a week or two, but as of right now I'd say that you're through the worst of it. There will be some physiotherapy, but since I was able to use Kaidō to preserve the portion of your soul that remained here and maintain your health it shouldn't be too extensive. You have returned to us, Itachi, and for that I am most grateful."

"As am I," he replied.

She stood up and headed for the door. "I'll come back soon. I promised a few people that I would let them know when you regained consciousness. If you wish for a way to pass the time, I might suggest starting with the bedside table; you had quite a few well-wishers come by here while you were out of it."

As she left the room, Itachi turned and saw that she was right; there were quite a few get-well-soon messages left on the table. It was quite surprising; Itachi wasn't used to people actually caring about him.

He idly flipped through them. Most were from fellow students, but he found a few outliers. He was a little taken aback to see that Captain Kirio Hikifune was one of his well-wishers, along with Lieutenants Lisa and Mashiro. There was also a card from Soi-Fon, another pleasant surprise to be sure.

And of course, there was one from Yoruichi. More than one, actually; Itachi found two messages from her as he went through the pile. He felt a warmness slowly grow in his chest as he read her well-wishes.

In all the time that I was alive, I never realized just how much small gestures like this could mean…

Finally, at the very bottom of the pile, Itachi found something other than a card; a book.

A book with a familiar title, in fact.

Lovers' Strategies, Book One: Oasis of Desire.

You actually got it published, Jiraiya, he mused as he opened it, I suppose congratulations are in order…

And that was when he spotted the dedication on the first page.

'For an unexpected friend…

…Itachi Uchiha.'

Itachi chuckled. "An unexpected friend… yes, I suppose that's a good way to put it."

With that, he leaned back and started reading the first chapter.