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Chapter Text

It took months for the baby brain to finally connect enough facts for Mei to realize she died before.

It wasn't a moment of grand illumination but more like her mind finally managed to connect enough puzzle pieces to reveal the bigger picture.

And what a picture it was.

She was reincarnated into Narutoverse. As a canonically nonexistent twin of Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Mei.

Fuck.

She cried a lot in the following days, grieving past life, her hilariously tragic future, and the unfairness of it all. Then Mei got her shit together because fate is a nebulous concept she refused to adhere to.

As it turns out keeping the balance of acting like a relatively normal person, even with her twin's prodigious status, and changing canon was basically impossible.

First, despite trying her best Itachi, THE ACTUAL CHILD, was still better at the whole ninja business, and that stung a bit. Second, she was failing at making a difference. Mei was a child of the main family of a powerful clan, constantly monitored, with no real influence.

She tried to say out loud she knew the future but it felt like The Death itself choked her into compliance where she obediently stuck to acting like a baby ninja should.

She could deal with it.

Time passed and with impossible frustration burning right under her skin, Mei pushed forward building her strength, trying to find a gap in the tapestry fate weaved.

Fukagu Uchiha took his children to the battlefield, war ended, Namikaze became the Hokage, Sasuke was born and woah, there were no words to describe Itachi's warm expression when he held his younger brother for the first time. Obito released Kurama, so many people died, faith in her clan was utterly shattered, twins were sent to the Academy, Mei barely managed to match her brother, always one step behind, they graduate together, although it was a closer call for her than she likes to think. Curiously enough Danzō does have a little chat with her but is not satisfied with either her philosophy, capability, or both. Shame, this could have been the thing to change the merciless Plot.

She never talked with Shisui.

Unlike Itachi, she decided to take it easier after becoming a genin. Team 4 becomes her oasis of hope, far away from reality. Who knows? Maybe detaching herself from the plot was the answer, while changing the fate of those who were meant to die might be impossible to change, she, her sensei, and her teammates were never even mentioned, so they might be safe. They just need to fly under the radar.

Mei hasn't even realized she has given up along the way.

She was still under pressure from the clan, constantly training, and considered a prodigy. Just not as good. Not as important. But disappearing into the background might be for the best, even if it makes her feel not good enough.

Itachi awakens Sharingan after his teammate is killed by Obito.

Mei is just glad she's not important enough to be targeted by the ninja Antichrist.

Hilariously enough, she gets to participate in the Chūnin Exam before him, even if team 4 didn't manage to pass on the first attempt, they do next time. She becomes a chūnin one year before her brother and it's incredibly satisfying, even if he solo clears the next one. Show-off. (Also she's pretty sure that only happened because people forgot to ban her from early participation.)

Her now chūnin team stays together.

Nonetheless, the whole affair puts some eyes back on her. There are talks of engagement (not great) from the clan elders, Fukagu takes some time to asses her skills (it's never enough) and Sasuke deems her good enough to train him. The last one is most surprising. She's still not as great as big brother Itachi (her heart slightly withers at that statement even if she knows he's just a bratty kid and she's an outsider from another world) but unlike her busier twin, she regularly spends time with her younger brother.

Obito does care after all.

She wakes up in the hospital after a week of medically induced coma to find out she is the only survivor. She's left with a huge scar after being nearly gutted, no longer able to hide her Sharingan. It was not worth it.

There is an invisible noose slowly tightening around her neck.

Both twins sink into ANBU, for different reasons with different yet so similar sources of their despair.

Shisui dies.

He was never more than an acquaintance to Mei.

It's funny that suddenly people remembered about her yet again. Somehow she also gets a few theories thrown around about her apparent jealousy and the possibility of her backstabbing the hope of the clan. Lovely. At least Sasuke was still glad to see her regularly and ANBU was content with her performance.

She was so busy working, that she forgot about the massacre. That is until Itachi put his tanto through her chest.

So this is it.

In a flash of anger, she grabbed the blade. While never breaking eye contact, she bitterly said her final words. They were cruel and deeply hurt him, after all she deliberately worded them that way. By the end her eyes burned with tears and fury as she slowly slid off the tanto.

Mei died with a scowl on her face, making Itachi question everything he knew.

It took months for the baby brain to finally connect enough facts for Mei to realize she died before.

Twice.

Huh, she got a second chance. It gives her hope for the first time in years. And now she figured out the rules of the game.

1. No acting out of character

She cannot communicate the knowledge she didn't obtain in the current timeline. Changing her behavior without reason is headache-inducing.

2. No trying to best match Itachi

It's simply impossible and not worth the effort.

So this time around she becomes the opposite. She smiles, hugs people, acts endearingly. And if by absolute accident she becomes Kushina's favorite kid, proves to have potential in Fūinjutsu (for 3yo standards), and absorbs everything she can before Obito does his thing, so what? It makes Mei almost guilty but there is a goal to be accomplished.

Saving her clan comes first.

This time she graduates only at the oh-so-late age of 9 with little interest in frontline combat. She spends years trying to mend broken relationship between the Village and her Clan filled with generations worth of prejudice and hatred. It doesn't work. Obviously. At least her relationship with Mikoto is amazing this time around. Also, her sealing becomes much better. Shisui still dies.

Mei doesn't even get the chance to activate any of her seals before Itachi skewers her once again. She wants to yell at him about how stupid his plan is, how easily manipulated he got duped, how his favorite sibling will suffer because of his choices and nothing will go according to his plan. But the ever-crushing presence that put her into this cursed world does not allow for any of those words to leave her throat. She settles for the most haunting self-fulfilling prophecy she can manage with a side of self-pity. The last thing she sees are tears of her fucked up twin brother and she counts that as a win.

Fucking pacifist her ass.

It took months for the baby brain to finally connect enough facts for Mei to realize she died before.

THREE TIMES.

She has a sneaking suspicion it won't be the last time.

Yet again she goes the Kushina route even scoring some tips from Minato before they both reach their timely scheduled horrific death. Still not good enough to recreate Hiraishin but she would probably never reach that level. She tries really hard to be a good sister. Before it was just quiet kindness, support and smiles. Now she goes above and beyond in expressing that she cares about him and will help no matter what.

He repays her in kind with a stab.

She might've expected that. That's why the death speech makes Itachi not only sob but actually look broken about it.

Mei savors the sick satisfaction as she takes her last breath.

It took months for the baby brain to finally connect enough facts for Mei to realize she died before.

She's stuck in a time loop.

There is always an out but it will be a long time before she figures it out.

Fuck this.

She wants the out now.

Good news, she knows how to remove a soul from the reincarnation cycle.

It takes weeks of careful sneaking out and scouting the outskirts of Konoha before she finds The Uzumaki Clan's Mask Storage Temple. It takes her years but just before turning six she breaks in and summons Shinigami. The God of Death looked almost perplexed as she explained how tired she was of her soul clinging to life. The whole ritual was surprisingly respectful and Mei would rate it an absolute success. As the process was heading to its end she even had a vision of a crying Itachi. Unprepared for having her dying brain indulge her favorite bit she just called him a 'stabby motherfucker with a moral backbone of a pocky stick who would rather die than actually think for himself' for the old times' sake.

It was the first time Mei died smiling.

It's not that easy to escape the fate.

It took months for the baby brain to finally connect enough facts for Mei to realize she died before.

She's still stuck in a time loop.

Not a time loop as time simply rewinds itself back. Apparently. But she will continue to call it that as the result is virtually the same.

Doesn't matter.

Fuck the plot.

For the first few years, she mirrors Itachi, always just one step behind. Sasuke is born and she smiles when holding him for the first time. Mei hoped the smile looked genuine enough to not inform anyone of her intentions.

Game plan this time around?

Derailing it all.

What will her brother dearest do if there is no one to spare by slaughtering the clan?

Swiping a practice kunai was too easy. So was sneaking into Sasuke's room. There was no point in feeling bad about it when everything would reset the second she died.

She raised her weapon.

Baby bro just gets a break from this miserable world. Lucky him, it would be longer than a minute.

Before the falling kunai managed to make contact with newborn's skull, Itachi tackled Mei to the ground. Boy looked terrified.

She always forgets that small Itachi does in fact emote.

How did he even...? Doesn't matter. Maybe if both of them are gone she'll be free. Might as well try. Whatever her opponent sees in her eyes makes him much more motivated to incapacitate her.

It's fucking embarrassing that she got overpowered by a 5 year old. 

"Not ready to kill me yet, Itachi?" she asks in a hysterical tone. "You should definitely do it now because I promise you, it's either that or I kill your favorite little brother the second I can." This was a bust, she needs to get stabbed otherwise she'll have to reset the timeline herself.

He doesn't kill her no matter how much she thrashes around, threatens, or insults him. A few moments later Shisui bursts into the room. Mei feels beyond exhausted as the older boy presses her into the floor. Doesn't matter. She has eight years at best, less if she can help it before enacting a better plan. She goes still, eyes glazed over as she disassociates busy picking what to try next time.

Itachi's shaking.

Bitch.

One could definitely call getting closed in Psych at a ripe age of 5 an accomplishment. Ironically enough this time around she gets an astounding amount of attention from her family. It's not really a good consolation considering she never managed to leave the building (escape attempt 4 out of 7 was suprisingly close).

Mei doesn't remember dying.

It took months for the baby brain to finally connect enough facts for Mei to realize she died before.

For the sixth time she gets the dubious honor of grasping that stupid fact.

She reevaluated few things.

First, she won't allow anyone trap her again.

Not in Psych.

Not in the clan compound.

Not in this cursed village.

She acts the part of Itachi's much less impressive copy for a few years while gathering resources needed for her plan to work.

She executes her grand escape during in village Chuunin Exam. After all what's a better time to disappear than when everyone is watching young Uchiha heir decimate his opponents in 1v1 fights?

It takes over 14 hours for the Konoha's tracking team to catch up to her (so close to the border with the Land of Rivers).

They expected a team of enemy nin and her incapacitated, kidnapped ass.

Not an Academy student booking it on their own.

Pursuing team definitely did not expect to almost get blown up by terrifying amount of exploding tags kid possessed.

Uchiha Mei and fucking Uchiha Shisui were last two standing members of the conflict because obviously her luck was beyond shit.

Her opponent was bigger, stronger, faster and more talented than her. Yes, even with all the resets she still had no chance at defeating him. Life isn't fair after all. 

Here's the thing.

She was not a genin and as such was not bound to serving village. But as a hime and member of a clan with extremly sought-after dojutsu there was a pressure to get her back. She couldn't even attempt exiling herself from Uchiha before becoming a legal adult. If she did that by becoming a shinobi of Konoha then she's bound to her place of execution. And she can't wait till she's fucking 18 because she'll die years before.

Running away was apparently not an option either.

She made an attempt at negotiating.

"Okay, but consider this: you let me go. I live my best life far away from the shitty shinobi lifestyle and bullshit clan rules. Itachi does his prodigy thingy. If things go tits up Sasuke the beloved will serve as an acceptable spare. Profit all around." Mei throws in a grin and thumbs up to sell her vision successfully.

Somehow Shisui looks stunned.

That is not what he expected to hear. Then again, he didn't know her so whatever he knew was probably highly affected by friendship with that little weasel.

Shisui gestured and slowly started approaching her same way one does to a spooked animal.

"I think there is a misunderstanding here Mei. Why don't we talk about it before you do something you'll regret."

Neither of them acknowledged the barely alive chuunins sprawled on the ground.

Yeah, this is not working.

She dropped the cheerful attitude.

"Uchiha are rapidly approaching their destruction and I'm not going to die with you all. The only way you're taking me back is in a scroll."

That did not happen. Shisui disarmed her in less than a second.

Somehow the guy deemed as The Hope of the clan once again brought her the most pure form of despair. For the first time in few lifetimes she cried. It was quite the pathetic sobbing she silently performed while bound and transpoted back to her cage.

Mei disassociated the moment she was deposited in front of her main branch family. Whatever was said didn't matter. They were all dead anyway.

She was detained in the house for weeks.

She couldn't go outside without at least two guards afterwards.

She killed herself months before the massacre on her birthday just to be spiteful. To be fair it was quite the accomplishment for a person under constant monitoring.

It took months for the baby brain to finally connect enough facts for Mei to realize she died before.

Suicide.

It took months for the baby brain to finally connect enough facts for Mei to realize she died before.

Itachi.

It took months for the baby brain to finally connect enough facts for Mei to realize she died before.

Itachi.

It took months for the baby brain to finally connect enough facts for Mei to realize she died before.

Suicide.

It took months for the baby brain to finally connect enough facts for Mei to realize she died before.

Itachi.

It took months for the baby brain to finally connect enough facts for Mei to realize she died before.

Twelve.

It was loop number 12.

And she finally figured it out.

She was reincarnated and could not use knowledge from her original life. Everything else? A huge misunderstanding.

Truthfully it was the fault of those magical eyeballs all along.

Mangekyō Sharingan.

Guess who has two thumbs and a unique dojutsu that upon death brings it's owner back in time to their first memory.

This gal.

Apparently.

And she wouldn't even realize that's what's happening if not for allowing Itachi to say his piece during the stabbing part of her dying routine. He went all 'oh my gosh, what happened, who did you kill to get fancy eyeballs?' And she was like '¿Que? I have what!?' Then she dropped dead.

Now, after finally finding the source of her misery she could make it someone else's problem. She even had a name in mind.

Shisui's worldview shattered after being ambushed by a feral looking copy of Itachi. He wouldn't believe the insane looking toddler if not for the fact she activated her Mangekyō Sharingan during an unbelievable story about death of everyone he ever cared or will care about.

He might be a prodigy with a promotion to jounin on the horizon but this is too much.

"Plan is simple. You take my eyes. You do not let anyone steal those before dying. You take however long you need to achieve whatever you want. Hopefully, eyes stick with you if not I'm willing to blind myself as many times as it takes. In the meantime I chill in the background. Perfect plan."

Plan was, in fact, not perfect.

It was a horrible, terrible, no good plan. One in which suddenly he had even more responsibilities.

He should heave declined the offer.

He should have alerted Fukagu-sama.

He should have alerted the Hokage.

But.

Something about the whole situation, how broken the kid in front of him looked, somehow made him (and he can't stress enough that part) reluctantly agree.

And the world changed.

Chapter Text

The most baffling part about gaining an upgraded version of the Sharingan was somehow not the doctor operating.

Orochimaru.

Also known as a legendary Sannin.

Also also less officially known as that creepy powerful guy in the village.

He has no idea how his (not actually if her words are to be believed but still looking like a) baby cousin managed to make a deal with that kind of influential and skilled figure. It all looks like a bad idea but he forces himself to comply despite every single one of his instincts screaming at him to run.

The whole thing is not fun.

Somewhere between looking at two Sharingan eyeballs in a jar and realizing that they are still juST TWO KIDS LOCKED DEEP UNDERGROUND WITH A CRAZY SCIENTIST SANNIN WHO'S CURRENTLY INJECTING SOMETHING INTO HIS ARM, he finally begins to panic. It's way too late.

When he finally regains conciseness everything in his body is screaming something went terribly wrong. For one his body feels sore, weaker. Was he kept in a medically induced coma? He can't see but bandages...and memories of a plan explained away that part. The plan! That stupid, terrible plan of his not-really-baby cousin. He needed to get away from here. 

He couldn't move. wherever he was he was bound quite thoroughly.

What else could he do?

Oh yeah. Voices. People were talking in the background.

"With that, my grand experiment comes to an end. I honestly cannot thank you enough," a voice he heard way too much of lately stated.

"I think you're paying enough of a price to render your gratitude simply unnecessary, child."

She replied with a quiet hum after which only the rustling of papers interrupted the eerie silence. Shisui waited for a short eternity before making himself known. Well...before making noise indicating he's awake.

"Oh, Shisui! So glad to see you're back in the land of the living!" Cheerly called out Mei followed by noises of different items being pushed before small hands carefully unwrapped his bandages.

To his surprise, he's greeted by a familiar face with not so much as a scratch.

"What is happening?" he wonders out loud with a slowly building wave of dread deep in his stomach. Orochimaru just stands in the corner observing them with hungry fascination.

"Well..." Mei's happy demeanor melts into something serious. "I'm so sorry, I lied." Oh no. No no no. "To be fair you were way too trusting. So." The tiny girl twirls a scalpel between her fingers before making eye contact. "You better activate those shiny new eyeballs of yours if you don't want to die". Mei plunged the blade into Shisui's neck just as he activated Sharingan. "Permanently, ya know?" She pulled the scalpel out.

Shisui is bleeding out.

"Now, I know what you're thinking. Mei, how could you trade two full-blooded Uchihas, one of them being you, for a chance to test out some crazy theory that might be a bust?" Her expression conveys pure joy. "Well, you see...I am not scared of death. But you already knew that. As well as you knew I didn't want to continue using that ability. And as a kind and gracious person I am, you were chosen to be the idiot to take care of the miserable future of our clan, instead of letting you all just die. Then again, you are too trusting and it would be a shame if someone undesirable gained that ability before you could use it."

Finally, the puzzle pieces fell into their place. "You didn't."

"I did." She grins as the scalpel buries itself into his chest. "It was my twelfth loop. Good luck."

The last thing he hears as he drifts away is an unusually emotional voice of the snake Sannin.

Shisui is five years old.

Again.

Not for the second time.

No.

For the thirteenth.

Apparently activating his new Mangekyō gives him memories of all previous timelines.

The only upside of the sudden flood of memories is that most of them repeat themself multiple times. The problem starts with the divergences in those timelines. Because they all center on a single person.

Let it be known there is nothing fun in seeing alternative futures when sorting through them also creates a timeline of your cousin losing her mind.

It’s only the second worst thing after reliving your own murder attempt, rapid eyeball removal and suicide twelve times.

But hey.

Now that he can reset it won’t happen again.

Hopefully.

Shisui curls into the fetal position and stays in it for a long time.

Mei is...surprisingly stable all things considered. She doesn't remember last loop. Shisui does but something stops him from mentioning it to her. That 'something' probably is the pure relief in her big Sharingan-less eyes.

After a long time, they manage to communicate an explanation and an actual plan of action. With a healthy amount of pantomime and frustrated noises, Mei conveyed that for whatever reason she specifically is unable to share the knowledge of the future. Which for some even less clear reason (she refuses to even attempt to explain) doesn't extend to anyone else who holds her bullshit Mangekyō. Whatever it is it's the same reason she still remembers and will remember previous loops but will forget any new ones.

As to the future plans Shisui decided, to Mei's absolute dismay, to come clean to Hokage about the whole time travel issue. It did nothing but sped up the Danzo confrontation by over ten years but this time he used the Mangekyō before it was too late. 

Shisui might've finally noticed the actual issue.

"Fate is a little bitch that will cling to the script with unparalleled ferocity. The best way to change it is by rendering original circumstances impossible," says Mei in the 14th loop. 

Something tells Shisui that the attempt at Sasuke's life was probably not as insane as he thought at the time. Still a deranged action made by a person in the middle of a psychotic breakdown but...he began to see merit in any attempts that made an actual impact on the timeline. Oh well, he can afford to make mistakes.

He informs Fukagu of his Sharingan dilemma. Nothing about Mei.

It does in fact end up in a coup attempt followed by a rebellion. People senselessly die. Itachi dies.

Again.

The derailing strategy does work. Miraculously. Now he needs to figure out how to direct the consequences in the right direction. 

He doesn't really have a direction beyond: please can Uchiha and village not kill each other, please, I beg. So he asks and Mei obliges.

"Still can't share the truth but if I were you, I would consider faking my death when it's supposed to originally happen and seeing what comes after. Timeline wise." And isn't that a refreshing idea. Especially since he failed at saving his clan in one go.

Everyone dies. Itachi kills everyone except Sasuke. His little, broken cousin is the first to fall. This explains everything.

Shisui does nothing and observes.

Village moves on too fast. Sasuke is left broken and alone. His Hokage does nothing. Orochimaru's invasion. Akatsuki. 4th Shinobi War. All that is left of the Uchiha legacy is death, resentment and betrayal.

So that's what she meant.

"Future sucks."

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry."

"Me too."

"I do have a radical idea that might help us save everyone easily."

"Kill Danzo."

"That too. But hear me out. We give Itachi one of the bullshit eyeballs."

"No."

"He's better than both of us."

"At being a shinobi. He's also a spineless moron incapable of critical thinking who would rather self-destruct and take everyone around with him than. Make. A. Single. Good. Decision. So...n o."

"I think it's a good idea.

"Of course you do. And have you considered it might break the ability to go back and remember in two, thus rendering it useless? At this point, I don't care if this is my last death but I thought you would. Besides, he's too unstable."

Shisui drops the subject.

He also absolutely goes through with his idea behind Mei's back.

Chapter Text

Itachi did not take it well.

Shisui should have expected it but his cousin took everything else in every single one of his lives with limitless composure so no one could predict that (except Mei apparently but Shisui would never admit it) this would be the straw that broke the camel's back. In time Itachi went responsive again and Shisui finally managed to explain the intricacies of the time loop as well as his own scheme to finally ending it. 

They could do it.

Mei’s twelfth loop was different.

Nothing was…as supposed to be.

She didn’t have Sharingan.

(Freedom at last.)

Changing the timeline meant consequences.

The biggest one being Itachi.

After so many years she genuinely saw the boy more as a brother-obsessed Shinigami just lurking on the edge of her vision to skewer her the second her guard was down.

So what if he feels guilty or ugly cries when doing so? The bastard has shown again and again what he prioritized - Sasuke, strangers and honor. Fuck that guy.

That’s why it was distressing when since the beginning of loop 12 her ‘twin’ decided to glue himself to her.

Highly anxiety-inducing experience.

Good thing as a toddler she didn’t have to explain why she cried for no reason. But why, why, why was Itachi hellbent on hugging her every time it happened until she calmed down?

After many attempts, she gave up on trying to struggle out of his death grip and let herself sob in the embrace of her killer.

He wasn’t letting her go. Mikoto and Kushina found it adorable.

Mei was slowly getting used to the murderous leech sticking to her side and stalking her from afar when she got too agitated.

At the end of the eleventh loop she had a prime candidate to take over her burden. But she thought nothing would change until Kyūbi attack or even the massacre itself. What went wrong?

The first thing she did after gaining enough mobility was track down the guy she probably gave her eyes to.

"Shisui, what the hell did you do? "

"I have no idea what are you talking about."

"Bullshit.” Mei wasn’t in the mood to indulge. “Did you hit Itachi with some sort of Therapy no Jutsu or just went and straight up traumatized him out of his original personality?"

Shisui's expression went from politely amused to slightly alarmed. "What happened?"

"He’s smothering me."

"What."

"It's," Mei threw her hands in the air, "weird, I guess? I'm so used to him being busy with either being an exemplary ninja or spending time with you, or Sasuke and that it makes me wary." Words began to leave her mouth faster. "Usually, I do my thing outside of the interest of Main Family and no one gives a flying fuck. But now he doesn’t let me out of his sight at best or physically latches onto me at worst and it feels like he decided to speed up my execution and I don't know if you fixed him or made him snap faster and it makes me so anxious."

By the end, Mei looked like she was at the verge of tears. "I didn't do anything this time around so that means it's your fault. I honestly don’t know if you’re even in the control of the time loops. What is happening?"

Shisui heaved a deep sigh. "I have theories."

"...why does it feel like I won't like them?" Mei rasped.

"Because you won't."

"Alright, bring it on."

"How much do you remember?"

"Full 11 loops. I just deduced you're the guy in the know."

"You explained to me the intricacies of our situation before. I tried out a few things, none of which worked in the end, and then consulted you on the whole bringing Itachi into this thingy. You said it was a bad idea. I didn't listen."

"Oh no."

"He had a pretty bad reaction but we managed in the end. After a few tries we figured out the ideal resolution."

"So why are we here?" Mei gestured to her toddler self and academy student Shisui.

"I would have found the solution on my own sooner or later. I think. And you might've been right." Shisui stalled. "I- turns out having an extra century worth of repeating memories where a single person is the only variable can make a number on a guy. Who knew?"

"You remember all the loops? Wait, no no no. Itachi remembers all the loops? Oh no."

Shisui winces. "You might be starting to see the larger picture. Let's say his idea of the good ending shifted dramatically after he processed all the information. Especially since you did that monologue of yours."

"Please tell me that he didn't overreact because I was talking shit at him as he was stabbing me to death."

"Answer me one question. On a scale of one to ten how petty, personal and vicious were you?"

"Twelve," she smirked. "Don't look at me like that, it was the only revenge I could get on the guy who killed me repeatedly."

"Good for you," Shisui's coldly declared. "Not so great for your brother who made it his life mission to not only save the world but also make your dysfunctional family work. Take a guess which one caused us to be here again. Take a guess whose actions made us loop again."

"Not only it's your fault he even remembers any of it but also why are you on his side!?" She paused furious before putting on a thin veneer of serenity. "It's your friendship, isn't it you hypocrite? Oh, I would love to see you instantly forgive Danzō and then let him cuddle you because his feelings were hurt."

"They. Are. Not. The. Same."

"I guess not, after all, one of them is a war hawk no one in their sane mind would trust and the other was supposed to be a family."

"You're not fair."

"Am I now?" She took a deep breath. "No, fuck that. You do know I am alright with staying dead, right? I don't need or want to be part of this story any longer. I give up."

"Too bad that's exactly the reason your brother won't stop trying to fix you. He will reset the timeline again if you're gone and I can't stop him. Not anymore."

For a while they just glared at each other in silence.

"Huh. I

                      don't know what to do."

"Could you please just try to live a long and happy life?"

"It's not like I have a choice," she sneered bitterly. "Either that or we're all trapped." Even she understood that holding humanity hostage was not a good way to throw a temper tantrum.

"Yeah."

"A mistake." Mei giggled. "Trusting you was a mistake. I should've either gouged my Sharingan out, donate to Madara, or made fucking earrings out of them. Why did I ever care about any of you?"

Shisui closed his eyes.

"I'll play nice since it's my fault you were alive enough to condemn me," she ranted. "Truly, I'm a despicable person guilty of saving countless lives instead of allowing myself to rest. The worst decision everyone will have to learn to live with."

By the time he opened his eyes again, Mei was long gone.

Itachi was wandering through the empty clan compound. The environment was in monochrome except for the moon glowing in ominous crimson and countless blood stains indicating where bodies should be. He wanted to run as far away as he could but his steady legs guided him further. The bile climbed up his throat. He knew what was coming next. The second something moved behind Itachi he pulled out his tantō and in between one blink and another the blade pierced his sister's chest.

Her face expressed not betrayal she expected him to kill her but anger and fear.

Mei snarled at him with bloody teeth. "Do you know how one activates their Mangekyō Sharingan? They have to experience the agonizing pain of losing someone they truly loved and blame themself for their death.

Fukagu and Sasuke would always choose you. You and Mikoto would always choose your brother. Mikoto and Fukagu chose each other by marriage.

And then there is me."

Itachi couldn't move. The world around them faded to black.

"Not as talented. Not as precious. Not as lovable.

Inherently less valuable.

Miserable little thing.

An impostor.

How fitting that you finally decided to dispose of me as insignificant trash I always was to you.

Don't worry, I won't misinterpret your actions as assassination or anything giving my life value. You're a shinobi and I am but another irrelevant mark with a familiar name."

He didn't move. He didn't say anything.

"It's not like anyone in the Main Family cared before and I'm not stupid enough to think someone would now.

After all my life is meaningless.

You know," she gripped the blade with her bare hand, not even noticing blood slowly dripping from it. Her Sharingan met his. "It took me way too long to realize that I had no family. I was simply never worth it." She rasped a horrible mockery of laughter. "And it took me even longer to kill that delusional girl who hoped for a scrap of your attention." Slowly spinning tomoe bloomed into a new pattern.

"Fuck you Uchiha Itachi for being a shit Clan Heir because you've never been my brother."

The burning hatred in her eyes was never entirely extinguished even after her lifeless body hit the ground.

Itachi woke up.

With shaking hands, he scrambled out of his bed. He silently gasped for air as he kneeled on the floor. Awake. Not in the nightmare anymore. With a covert flare of chakra, he made sure everyone was asleep and well.

Tiptoeing he sneaked next to his sister. Her chest, free of maroon stains, was rising and falling. She was alive.

"I'm sorry."

Itachi quickly slipped under her covers hugging her tightly. She was alive and breathing.

"I'm so sorry."

His cheeks were wet with tears, the salty aftertaste lingering on his tongue.

Regret was burning in his chest. He made countless mistakes. Uncreative problem solving she called it. He could fix them now. He is actively mending their relationship. Mei needs him, Sasuke will soon need him and there is nothing Itachi wants more than to finally be a good big brother. To protect them from the real danger. Sandaime, Danzō, Elders, Father, Madara. No one will manipulate him anymore.

He was going to be a better brother to them both and now he has all the time in the world to make it true.

Sasuke was born.

She didn’t even enter the room to see the baby.

Mercifully they left her alone in the corridor and for the first time in years, she felt like there was space to breathe.

Nothing happened on the 10th of October.

She spent that day at home with the rest of the main house members and the night was just as peaceful.

(Maybe there were a few more active shinobi on the streets.)

There never was an attempt at kidnapping the Hyuga heiress.

“Danzō is dead.”

Joy.

“Yondaime-sama plans to make me a viable Hokage candidate by the time he decides to retire.”

“Congratulations.”

“The profiles and goals of all current and future Akatsuki members were sent to other villages. Uchiha are making progress on reintegration with Konoha and during the last clan meeting, it was agreed that Hatake should-”

“Shisui, why are you here?”

"To collect you for your graduation exam at the Academy."

"I haven't been there once in the last 3 months. Am I still even enrolled?"

"As your favorite cousin with connections to the Hokage, I can say: yes! And as long as you don't sabotage your graduation, you'll even get a team. Isn't that wonderful?"

"There is nothing more I would like to do than fireball your ass medium rare right now. Alas, that would send me back into the diapers and a few moments of satisfaction are not worth it." She glanced at the clock. "Oh look at that, only five minutes and I'll be late. You're too late asshole." She flopped onto the carpet.

Shisui grinned as he threw Mei over his shoulder much to her audible dismay. "Love you too cousin, now let me show you why they call me Shunshin no Shisui."

Her breath hitched.

Neither of them said anything else during the travel.

"Now for Team 2. Uchiha Itachi." Huh, some things stay the same.

"Yakushi Kabuto." Now wait a second. At this point, Mei didn't know if Orochimaru was even alive so the boy's spy status was unclear. It still took all of her willpower to not ostentatiously stare at Itachi's new teammate. This was going to be a disaster. She did not envy any enthralled girl the dubious honor of getting the position on that team. From her experience meeting Itachi in person was the fastest method of getting disillusioned out of his supposed dreaminess.

"Uchiha Mei."

You've got to be kidding me.