Never say Never (Kakashi x OC)

Last Goodbye

Author'snote: This one's for all the Itachi-lovers out there. But don't worry, the nextchapters will revolve around Kakashi again ;)

Hearing the news of Naruto's curious incident with her old childhood friend Itachi a few weeks later got her worried. Yet another crazy person from my past I have to deal with, Hajita sighed. But this was not just some crazy-ass lunatic like Ryu. This was her former best friend and one of the world's most talented shinobi. When she first had heard what he had done to his clan, she couldn't believe how the sweet and gentle boy from back in the day would be able to do such a horrible thing. She needed to know his reasons. And somehow, she knew that Itachi also needed to tell her. She had always been the one person Itachi would pour his heart out to. Thus, when Naruto told her that Sasuke had killed Orochimaru and was now on his way for his older brother, Hajita knew that if she wanted to see Itachi once again, time was running out. It was now or never. She knew Itachi well enough to see his meeting with Naruto for what it really was - a part of something bigger. If he was willing to meet with her little brother in order to give him some of his powers, this meant something. And if he was willing to meet Naruto, he might as well be willing to see me one last time, she thought.

She knew that Kakashi would never have allowed her to leave Konoha alone in order to go looking for one of the most dangerous rogue ninjas out there. But when she had put her mind to something, she wasn't going to let anybody stop her, not even her husband. So, she simply snuck out one night, leaving Kakashi with nothing but a note on his nightstand behind. If all went down like she had planned it out, she would be back before dawn, and he would never have to read those lines.

When she had managed to cross the village's borders without being noticed, Hajita sat down in one of the trees and started to think. She took a long overdue trip down memory lane reminiscing about her short but happy childhood in Konohagakure. She thought about how she would always be the one to lose their little playfights, about all the times she had listened to the sweet but sensitive boy's sorrows (even though Hajita was in fact a year older, Itachi always had been very mature for his age and kind of an old soul) and about all the different games they would make up. And suddenly she knew exactly where to start looking for her old friend. When playing hide and seek, Itachi could always be found in the same place. His favourite spot. Back then she had no clue why he went there, but now she was aware of the place being the former Uchiha's hide-out. Deliberate as always, Itachi, even at such a young age, Hajita mused as she took off towards the familiar hill nearby.

Sure enough, she saw a tall figure standing on top of the weathered stones. She took a minute to calm herself down before starting to approach him slowly.

"You remembered." Itachi greeted her and Hajita could hear the smile in his voice.

Itachi didn't answer. He had grown into a man Hajita never had imagined him to become. The once gentle soul now seemed to have aged beyond its years. Even if he still looked the same, his chakra felt different than before. There was more to it now. More sadness, more anger, more despair. Nevertheless, Hajita could feel the connection they once had coming back. And so, he needn't tell her to wait for him to begin his story. Hajita instinctively knew that he would begin as soon as he was ready. And as the rain started pouring down, Itachi started to talk.

"After you were gone" he began to explain "everything went downhill for me."

Itachi took a deep breath before going on with his story. He knew he wasn't supposed to tell anyone, but he also knew that his secret would be safe with her if he asked her not to tell anyone. Hajita had always been the only person he could talk to. The one who understood when no one else could.

"My childhood ended the day you vanished" Itachi went on while keeping his eyes locked on something far away, avoiding any eye contact.

"After Kurama's attack, I went looking for you everywhere in the village. But nobody had seen you. Nobody knew where you were. So, I assumed you had been killed together with your parents. As if experiencing the war at such a young age hadn't been bad enough. Losing you really made me grow up fast into a resentful and determined teenager. When I held my own little brother, I often thought about how excited you had been for yours. I promised myself to protect Konoha from further destruction, just like your family had done. That's why I killed my entire clan. As an ANBU member I had been assigned the task to spy upon the Uchiha clan and was ordered to stop the uprising rebellion. In servitude of Konoha's peace I did as I was ordered and became the villain of the town, I loved the most. Until this day, I have not told this to anyone, Jita." He admitted and then finally looked her in the eyes smiling a sad smile. "But I figured, since you have always been able to sense what was going on with me, I might as well tell you the truth."

"Oh, Tachi ..." Hajita whispered showing her sympathy by using the old nickname she had given him when they were little.

He wasn't quite sure why he had wanted to tell her so badly. Maybe he was looking for an absolution or he just wanted to let somebody in on his secret after all these years. Maybe he wasn't as noble as he once had thought and needed someone to know the truth about him. That in fact he was not the stone-cold murderer everyone believed him to be.

"However" he continued "You shall not be the only one to know the truth behind the slaughter. Since Naruto knows my little brother well, I'm sure you have heard about Sasuke's plans of revenge. In short time, the last remaining member of my family is going to fight me. And I intend to tell him, too, this exact story and then die in this fight." He stated quite calmly.

Hajita gasped. "What? Why?"

Hajita's thoughts were racing. She was trying to process all of this new information while making sense of it at the same time. She was so deep in thought, she didn't see Itachi's move coming. With one swift jump he had crossed the distance between them and pulled her close into a tight, almost frantic hug. "Thank you for listening to my weeping one last time. I am grateful I got to call you my friend. Take care of our little brothers, will you?"

" 'f course" Hajita whispered as tears started to stream down her cheeks. She knew this promise was all she could do for him and that this meant Goodbye. As she closed her eyes, she savoured the feeling of the once so familiar chakra one last time before Itachi vanished forever.