Never Forget

Itachi Uchiha

I'm so sorry for having to do this, everyone! T.T here comes the beginning of the end...

by the way, I think the series will have three books. the last one will be focused on the great shinobi war.

Chapter 25

After we got past the introductions and the Q and A ("Izanami? You two are related?" "Are you sisters?" "You can fly too?" "Are there more of you?" "What jutsu do you specialize in?"), we settled down for the night. Since it would be a short sleeping break, Melissa – who'd been traveling for far less time than the rest of us, since she'd flown – volunteered to keep watch.

Melissa had been working under the Third Hokage since before I'd returned from Iwagakure. She had reached Jonin rank around the same time I did in Iwagakure, usually working on solo missions rather than in teams. As such, she usually took care of low profile assassination jobs – the higher profile ones were usually left up to ANBU or teams of Jonin. Like most of our clan, she specialized in Lightning and Fire type jutsus. Unlike me, she had a summoning contract with the wolfpack. I'd never learned to summon, simply because I was never taught.

"Well?" said Melissa, as we settled down for the night. She purposefully sat down on a tree stump beside me. "Tell me more about your teammates, yeah?"

"Sure," I said. "You know Kakashi, but he has the Sharingan and specializes in Lightning and Earth. He copies stuff. And all that."

"That's... very insightful of you." Unlike me, Melissa was also the nice one. She was less sarcastic.

"Thanks, dear. Naruto Uzumaki is the blonde – you've probably heard a lot about him. He's kind of dumb, but he has a good heart and some strange strength. Sakura Haruno is our resident medic; she's also learned a lot from Lady Tsunade when it comes to strength and punching things."

Melissa frowned. "That's terrifying."

I laughed quietly. "It is indeed. Neji Hyuga is the Hyuga genius, despite being from the branch family. Hinata Hyuga is talented enough – she's a Hyuga princess, but I think her little sister is the heir."

"Sounds like a solid team."

"I think so, too."

Melissa was quiet for a moment. "So how's Amaterasu?"

"Well enough, I think. You know about the telepathy and all – that relies on her chakra, of course. Other than that, and today's training, I haven't had the need to rely on her."

"That's probably a good thing."

"Probably."

"What about your confidant?"

I paused. "You heard?"

"Lady Tsunade told me. I know who he is, too."

My lips turned upward into a small smile. "That's a highly classified secret, you know."

"Yes." She smiled, a bit sadly. "It's a heavy secret to keep, too. But that's why I was sent on this mission – because I know the truth."

I sighed. "It's hard because he's expecting it. He wants it to happen. He's not going to fight – so I can't save his life and pretend to be a hero, because he'll resent me. I'll have ruined everything."