Chapter 18
The ANBU platoon that had been recalled for the emergency had been split into several small squads.
They had set up three lines of defense, one would go inside the Uchiha compound, the second on the district's border wall and the last in the woods surrounding the village.
All to try to stop any escapes.
Team Ro had been split up and Keigo had ended up in the woods under the leadership of Captain Lion, along with Turtle, Cow and Horse.
Keigo was lurking in a tree with Mai as they and their teammates waited for news.
The bulky radio Lion had turned on and for the first time they had news since they had left.
"it's a massacre here, men, women, children, no one escaped" came the anguished voices of those who had entered the district.
"wait a minute-" the voice was interrupted by static.
The tension in the clearing was palpable, depending on the information they received from the radio made them nervous.
"the S-class enemy has been identified as Itachi Uchiha also known as ANBU Deer" frantic voices rang out over the radio, "in the last sighting he was running away towards the woods to the north".
Keigo's blood ran cold.
He could feel the eyes of his companions burning on him but he couldn't pay attention to it.
Itachi, the sweet child he knew had just massacred his entire clan and was now trying to escape and become a missing-nin.
How had he not noticed, yes since Shisui's death he had been seen much less but Keigo would never have thought that he was capable of certain acts.
"The fugitive is headed to our location, Duck, I hope I don't have to remind you to put aside any feelings of a personal nature" Lion spoke after a moment of silence.
"The goal is to capture Itachi dead or alive"
Keigo's mind was in turmoil, doubts overwhelming him.
Mai's hand on his shoulder reassured him slightly but one thought continued to haunt his mind.
If necessary, would he be able to kill Itachi?
Keigo's sensor skills came in handy when he felt Itachi's familiar chakra heading towards them.
He warned his companions and they took off running to catch him off guard.
"For whatever reason you never meet his eyes, one look and you will be taken by his genjutsu" Keigo gave as a final warning.
Just ahead of them a figure suddenly changed direction when it spotted them.
From behind, Keigo recognized the tail of black hair swinging with the wind.
Their plan was simple: surround and conquer.
Turtle and Cow went forward to try to block Itachi's way while Lion and Horse headed to either side of him.
When they finally managed to surround Itachi they were in a clearing not far from the east wall.
Now that Keigo had clear vision he saw that Itachi was in his ANBU attire, armor included, and his Deer mask resting on the side of his head.
He saw no visible injuries and aside from being a little low on chakra Itachi was at full strength.
Keigo was the one who knew him and his way of fighting best so he expected his companions to follow his example, but they didn't.
Turtle rushed headlong into the fray perhaps thinking that their greater numbers would intimidate Itachi and that was the end of him.
He didn't even have time to give the first blow before his body was hitting the ground with a wet sound and Keigo felt the emptiness taking the place of the chakra that previously occupied the body.
At that point Lion, Cow and Horse all lunged at Itachi with shouts of rage.
Keigo could do nothing but watch and make shadow clones in case they needed support.
It was clear to him that none of them had ever fought anyone on Itachi's level, their techniques and teamwork was sloppy compared to the dodges and attacks thrown at them in response.
One of Keigo's clones was called for a combined attack of elemental jutsu.
Fire, water, earth, and wind were directed into the clearing where Itachi stood. When they hit a cloud of dust rose and no one saw anything anymore.
When the dust began to fade and the moon illuminated the battlefield once again Itachi was no longer in sight but ahead of them a dark mass was approaching.
It looked like one of the Nara's shadow techniques.
When it swallowed Captain Lion they realized what it was.
A black fire.
They didn't even hear a sound from the captain, one moment he was there and the next only the dust remained.
Next down was Cow, no matter how much he tried to escape that demonic fire caught up with him.
Horse was hit while trying to help him.
Keigo gathered all the water he could summon to try to douse the fire that was eating Mai alive.
The fire was burning the water.
Keigo, too busy listening to the cries of pain from his companions, didn't notice that the fire was rising up the jet of water of his jutsu until the protection of his right arm also caught fire.
His glove was smoking and the metal protection was melting and his skin with it.
Keigo panicked and tried to wave his arm to try to put out the flames to no avail.
In one last attempt he prayed to Kurama and in a flash of red the demonic chakra was engulfing him and killing the flames.
He couldn't look at his arm for fear of seeing what it was like. He was a goner anyway, his dominant arm was ruined and although he was able to use one-handed seals, hand-to-hand combat was out of the question.
"You continue to amaze me Keigo" Itachi looked at him as if he couldn't believe he was still alive.
"You may have defeated my Amateratsu but you will have no escape from this"
A red figure of chakra began to grow on Itachi, a skeletal torso holding a massive sword.
Keigo was absolutely a goner now.
'come on brat, let your true power flow now'
The voice rang in his head. Kurama was interfering more than normal.
'you really care about me old rock.' Keigo teased the fox, 'well you will get what you want'.
Keigo let his chakra flow like he never had. He let it swell and shape as Kurama requested.
He looked up and saw the translucent chakra version of Kurama.
Terror could be seen in Itachi's eyes.
A boom was heard as the two figures collided. Unfortunately for Itachi his offensive didn't last long, his chakra was suffocated by the demonic one and he had to abandon his projection to save what little he had left.
Keigo also had to abandon, his body was exhausted from the burns and the strength to hold Kurama was proving to be too much.
"Just tell me why? Why did you waste your life like this?" Keigo begged the one he thought was a friend.
"Power" Itachi replied.
Keigo stood still, staring at him. The black eyes looking back at him were as cold as they had ever been.
Before he could think to say anything else, Itachi once again charged with his katana drawn.
Keigo was trying his best to respond but he had left his katana at home that evening.
Despite one less arm he managed to get by trying to gain time until a sudden attack forced him to swerve with his injured arm.
Sharp pangs of pain made his step falter. Itachi ever attentive did not miss the opening and impaled him with his katana.
The blade pierced him from one side of his abdomen to the other.
Keigo, struck by pain, makes the mistake of looking up into the red eyes.
His body was weightless, left to float in infinite nothingness.
Then gravity reached him once again, he felt it was crushing him, taking his breath away.
Another change of scenery leaves him with his feet in the water.
All he sees is water, he doesn't understand where it ends and where the sky begins or if it even exists.
Keigo couldn't look around for long because the water level began to rise quickly without stopping.
Where previously only his feet were immersed, now it was his knees, then his navel up to his neck.
He had lost control of his body, his muscles were unresponsive and he had no choice but to be completely submerged.
Ten, twenty, thirty, forty seconds was the time that had passed since he last breathed.
Keigo was a decent freediver but even he couldn't hold out much longer.
The pressure in his head was building, feeling like it was trying to explode from the inside, and his body was starting to spasm from the lack of oxygen.
He knew he was nearing the end, his body needed oxygen and when he lost consciousness his lungs would fill with fluid.
His eyes turned over in his head
Now the sky was red.
He was lying in the shallow water and had regained control of his movements.
He sat down slowly, there was nothing in the street except for the black liquid in which he was immersed.
His gaze fell on his hands, they were stained with what he thought was water.
But the water wasn't that viscous.
Blood, he was immersed in blood.
His hands were stained with it and his clothes soaked.
"In Tsukuyomi, space and time are mine to command" Itachi's voice rang out. He stood there on the dark surface towering over Keigo like he was some kind of god.
Their eyes meet once again.
"Eighty-seven hours, twenty minutes and fifty-six seconds left to go" Itachi's distorted voice reaches his ears.
Keigo in his compromised state didn't understand what the countdown was referring to until the pain hit him.
A blinding white pain.
It was as if billions of needles were penetrating his entire body at once.
Keigo couldn't move, couldn't scream, couldn't run away.
All he felt was pain.
His breathing was labored and sometimes the air was knocked out of his lungs by a particular wave of pain.
He no longer knew whether hours or seconds had passed.
"Why- why are you doing this to me, I loved you like a brother, please stop" through waves of pain Keigo tried to beg
"ITACHI"
No response back before the pain returned with triple force.
Keigo was going crazy, he was sure his mind couldn't handle it.
Keigo was back on his feet, his hands still gripping the blade that pierced him and was now keeping him upright.
His face felt damp and he tasted the ferrous taste of blood on his lips.
They were back in the clearing, the sky was the right midnight blue and the moon was shining in the sky. Keigo's mind couldn't keep up with the changes.
Were they still in Tsukuyomi?
Had they returned to Konoha?
Everything was as he had left it before the Tsukuyomi, but how was it possible that not even a second had passed when he had lived through days of torture?
Itachi releases his grip on the hilt of his katana and Keigo, no longer having anyone to support him, falls to his knees.
"So is this my last night duckling?" the words struggle to leave his mouth, his tongue feels too thick and his mind struggles to find the words. Keigo had no intention of dying but he definitely couldn't fight at that moment.
At his words a flash of something passed behind Itachi's eyes before he was drowned out by the coldness.
A step was the only movement Keigo let him make before desperately unleashing his chakra. Tongues of fire snake across the clearing.
Itachi, who had remained wary despite Keigo's condition, managed to avoid most of the fire.
Despite everything, the flesh of his arm and part of his face showed obvious blisters and burns.
"There is no version of this where you defeat me.” itachi's voice breaks through once again.
"You are right"
But Keigo wouldn't stop fighting until the last drop of chakra left his cold body.
The words his father had said to him on the night of his birthday rang in his head
'- I promise I will always come for you'
He knew someone was coming, he could feel it in his belly.
"But unlike you I'm not alone"
The night was lit up like day. Keigo's heart skipped a beat at the familiar light.
Kakashi with his arm lit up by a chidori flies above him heading towards Itachi.
Even though Kakashi was the fastest and the first to arrive he wasn't the last.
A pair of hands snaked under Keigo's arms to drag him away from the fight.
He was leaned sideways against a tree so as not to disturb the katana still impaled in him.
Tenzou behind Cat's mask was the one who crouches in front of him. His hands hovered over him unsure of where to start and what to do.
The adrenaline coursing through Keigo's body was starting to wear off and his eyelids were getting heavier every time he blinked them.
At some point he must have lost consciousness because the next time he opened his eyes Kakashi was in front of him trying to wake him.
The hand that patted his cheek remained to support his head once his eyes focused.
"You found me" Keigo somehow managed to spit it out.
"The giant red fox was a nice suggestion" Kakashi managed to joke, in the meantime he tried to get him to stand up.
Keigo let his full weight fall on him, his legs unable to support himself.
They both realized that he wouldn't be able to make the way back.
Kakashi then gently lifted Keigo into his arms bridal style.
"You took your time coming, huh 'kashi?" Keigo's voice cracked.
It began to rain, the drops of water washing away the dried blood on Keigo's face.
Now no one could see the tears falling from his eyes.