'MOVE!' I told my leg in my head, but it wouldn't budge. 'No, no, no, no, no. This can't be happening. This can't be happening.'

I looked up at the man before me. Danzo. And the boy behind. Sugaru. Danzo and Sugaru had had me paralysed with a poison in one of Sugaru's bugs.

Danzo neutral expression in his face that made me want to punch him. "Don't worry, you won't die here."
'WHAT?' I thought, panicking. 'What does he mean, "here"?'

Danzo gave out a little humourless laugh. "I see the panic in your eyes. Yes, you will die. In only a few hours, you will be dead, and your Sharingan..." Danzo took a step towards Shisui. "... will be mine!" He put out his hands towards my right eye. I couldn't do anything to stop it and the powerlessness I felt made me want to lie down and die.

The pain when Danzo took my eye was beyond this world, as if someone had set my eyeball on fire. I refused to let it show. To my surprise, Danzo turned and started walking back before taking my left eye as well.
"I'll spare you the left eye until you're dead. So that you can see that boy your heart desires one last time."

I was stunned. 'What on Earth...' I thought. I looked at Danzo as he left, Sugaru behind him. How did he...

Still clad in his ANBU gear from his mission today, Itachi waited at the rock next to one of the areas they used for training. The wait was excruciating. He felt himself tremble with anticipation.
"Come on Shisui, come back. Come back to me."

He couldn't contain himself. He wondered how this meeting would play out. He wanted to hear everything; how he had gone about trapping Fugaku in his powerful eye jutsu, how the meeting then went, if the rest of the clan had listened to Fugaku. But most of all, he wanted to be close to Shisui again. To talk for hours. To touch him. He was yearning to feel his skin against his properly, not only the fabric of his clothes that were but a whisper of what was underneath. He wanted to plan a whole world together with him, as they used to but this time with a whole new meaning in it as they wouldn't be two separate entities but a whole. Oh, how he hoped Shisui thought the same.

"Come back to me, Shisui of the Body Flicker."

A ringing had started to go off in my ears. It troubled me more than the loss of my eye. 'It must be the poison having a go on my hearing nerves...'
I came closer and closer to our meeting point. I dreaded the moment Itachi saw me like this, blood dripping from my empty eye socket. I dreaded the moment Itachi would realise I had failed him. But most of all, I dreaded him realising I were to die. I felt a desire to cry building up as a thickness behind my throat. It was a new sensation to me as I hadn't cried for as long as I could remember.

'Itachi, what are you doing to me...'
I saw the silhouette of him from behind. His hair had gotten so long, well past his shoulder blades. Oh, how I desired to see it grow along his spine to his waist. The thought of me never experiencing that broke my heart into pieces. He was so close now. I had covered up my chakra, needing the time to prepare myself, but now I let it on. Instantly, Itachi's head jerked up and that's when I realised, that's when it truly dawned on me how excited and happy he was that I had arrived.
He desired me there...

Itachi sensed Shisui's chakra before he saw his silhouette.
"Shisui?"
Itachi noticed Shisui wouldn't show his face, and realised that something was wrong. His heart sank. But he didn't feel disappointment or shame or anything of the sort; only worry and something else, something warm deep, deep within that made him want to embrace Shisui and never let go until everything was all right again.
"Shi... sui?"
"Come with me", said Shisui, using his Body Flicker technique to move. Itachi followed. Shisui was much faster, being known as a teleporter, but Itachi knew he was heading for the cliff. When he arrived, Shisui stood and looked out over the water, his back turned to him. The light from the setting sun wrapping around the shape of his body from where Itachi stood. "Itachi..." Shisui turned around.
That's when Itachi saw his empty eye socket and everything in his mind became completely black with rage.

"Who?!" he screamed. "Who did this to you?! Was it Father?!"
I had never seen Itachi like this. I didn't know what I had expected, but it wasn't this. I had expected disappointment and also a caring type of chock. But I had forgotten that Itachi was a shinobi full of the sense of righteousness, and he wanted to fix things. I had underestimated the strength of his psyche and I was ashamed of it.
I had stopped opposite him, completely exhausted. Not from the poison, that luckily hadn't yet given me any other trouble than the ringing in my ears since the paralysis had worn off. But of relief from all the nerves that had built up for Itachi's reaction. Here it was, and it was a relief he was angry.
"Danzo", I told him, which made him go limp. "Itachi..."
"Shisui..." Itachi whispered
"Itachi. It's up to you now. The clan, everything."
"What do you mean? You're not giving up, are you?"
"No. Of course not." I looked down. "I want to achieve peace by your side. I want to stand next to you building a new world without war. I want to be your right-hand man when you become the first Uchiha Hokage."
I looked up at him. Itachi would never have been trapped by my a genjutsu cast by my eyes in battle, but realising what I was about to do, he gave himself over to me completely. I lit my Sharingan, and instead of telling him, I cast a genjutsu on him that showed him everything that had happened since I met Danzo.
Danzo.
Sugaro.
The bugs.
The poison.
My inevitable death.

And all in Itachi's world became black.

Snake.
Sheep.
Monkey.
Boar.
Horse.
Tiger.
Repeating over and over or he would go mad. Snake.

Sheep.
Monkey.
Boar.
Horse.
Tiger.
This can't be happening. This can't be happening.
"Itachi..." He heard Shisui's voice from far away. He didn't understand where he was. And then the realisation somewhere deep, deep down in his subconsciousness that he must, at any cost, do everything he could with the time he had left.

He took a step forward, then another, forcing his legs to move towards this man in front of him, the one he desired so much, the one who he wanted by his side for everything. Until he snapped back, gained control over his body, and ran into his arms, colliding with him, putting his arms around his neck, pulling him closer and closer and closer and closer.

I held on to him. I held his back so hard I was afraid I would crush him. The love I felt pouring from my heart was beyond this world.
"Itachi, look at me." He refused, only hugging me closer. "'Tachi..."
At the pet name, he looked up at me. I had still my Sharingan lit and looked deep into his eyes, searching for what I knew was already there. I put my finger under his chin, tilting his head up towards my face. "Can I trap you again, please?" I asked him. Itachi nodded, and once again I used a genjutsu to show him exactly what I wanted in life. It wasn't extensive, only snippets of us training side by side, talking on the cliff, embracing. Seeing peace between the clan and Konoha, growing up together and doing everything to be everything the world needed, and everything the other needed as well. It wasn't because I didn't dare to talk to him, but to save time, because time was precious; I was dying and there was something I needed to explore. "'Tachi..." I said, releasing him into the world where we lived now, with my inevitable death. "I don't care about my Sharingan. I just want my regular eyes to be able to look at you forever." "Shisui...", Itachi whispered which made my entire body go limp. I put my fingers into his hair, stroked his cheeks, and saw Itachi reach his hand towards my face, too. He dragged it out, as if it was a very important moment to him. He lit his Sharingan, which made my heart sing with joy and burst into pieces out of sorrow at the same time, as I knew he did it to conserve the memory as well as possible, for the days to come when I would be dead; when I wouldn't be there.

I leaned my forehead to his, and let our lips touch.

Itachi's mind first went blank, then bursted with sensation. Shisui's lips were soft; a contrast to the rest of his body. Itachi closed his eyes, leaning his body in to press his lips closer to Shisui's. There was no hesitation in Itachi's movement as he craved more, more, more. Shisui's hands tangled Itachi's hair up as he grabbed it, the other hand sliding up to the back of his neck. Itachi let his arms rest around Shisui's back.

'This man can't die yet', Itachi thought. 'This can't end. I can't stand it if it ends.'
Itachi felt tears burn behind his eyes. He parted slightly but reluctantly from Shisui's lips. "Does your eye hurt?" he asked.
"Shut up", said Shisui, but with a smile in his voice, pulling on Itachi's hair to once again connect their lips.
Itachi shut up.

I dared to slightly part my lips and heard Itachi gasp. It was the first sound he had made from us kissing and it sent shockwave after shockwave of shivers up and down my spine. I put a hand on his face, carefully licking his lips and he whispered my name which made me go absolutely mental. I sat down on my knees and pulled him with me, carefully leaning over so I was on top of him. I took both of his hands in mine, one on either side of his face, pinned them to the ground and entwined our fingers. I looked him in the eyes, tracing the lines in his face and his exquisite eyelashes with my gaze. He stared back at me, seemingly awestruck. I leaned in again, kissing him with an open mouth, tracing his neck with my lips, whispering things. For over an hour we continued. Kissing, stroking each other's faces, whispering to each other. He called me 'Shisui of the Body Flicker' over and over which caused me to groan of pleasure; it sounded so different coming from him rather than from an enemy. I told him that in a few years' time I would have shown him what 'Shisui of the Body Flicker' really meant. I told him there would be no limit to how far we could go together. I let him interpret the meaning of that himself.

And throughout the time, we cried together. No one has seen anyone of us cry, but together we released our hearts. The complete unfairness of it all. The utter suffering we got to go through during these last hours of my life.
"I love you, Shisui", he said. "I love you and I always will."

"I will wait for you", I told him. "Please live a long life, marry happily, reach your goals and die of old age. And I will wait for you forever, for that's how long I will love you."

"Danzo will probably come after my left eye as well. I will give it to you before he gets a chance. Promise to protect Konoha and the honour of the Uchiha name."
Itachi looked up at Shisui.
"I love you, Itachi", Shisui told him over and over, getting up to his feet, standing on the edge of the cliff, looking back at Itachi.

"How long will it take?" Itachi asked, a lump in his throat.

Shisui turned around, taking one last look at Itachi before pulling his eye out, seemingly without pain, although Itachi believed the pain must be mind-numbing.
"Shisui..." he said and then started to openly cry because that was the last time Shisui would see him. Shisui didn't say anything but summoned his crow and transplanted his eye to it. Then he stood still, facing Itachi but unable to see him. Shisui teared up himself again, the tears blending with the blood on his cheeks.

"I won't last long, anyway."
"Wait, Shisui!"
"Don't try to stop me, Itachi!"
And with that, Shisui relaxed his body and made himself fall backwards over the edge of the cliff.

"If you are truly my friend."

Snake.
Sheep.
A scream. Running towards the edge.
Monkey.
Boar.
Trying to grab Shisui's hand but failing.
Horse.
Tiger.
Wanting to jump down to save him but respecting his wish too much. Standing on the edge, watching him falling.
Watching him hit the surface of the water.
The impact wouldn't kill him; breathing in the water did.
Feeling as if he would choke, himself.
Gasping for air.
Snake.
Sheep.
Monkey.
Boar.
Horse.
Tiger.
Snake.
Sheep.
Monkey.
Boar.
Horse.
Tiger.
"SHISUI!!"