AN: Aaand onto the second one. In all honestly, I think I had this planned, written and almost done (got a little stuck in the middle) before One Night! This one just seemed to grow easier than the other one did - probably my fault for making Dei sick for so long . Anyway! In case it isn't obvious, I will mention that THIS IS SET MAINLY BEFORE/DURING TDA: One Night. It doesn't have much of an impact until the last few chapters, but I think you'll be fine. Enjoy!

OOO

The demon was indomitable. He continued to hurl himself into the solid walls of his confined cell, firm in his belief that he could break it. He'd been trying it for the past three days, continuous and relentless in his efforts. The medical staff had tried to sedate him more than once a day, but it didn't seem to have any effect. Finally, it had been down to Itachi to greet the insane being that was disturbing the entire Uchiha Corps Facility.

Some of the inmates had even started bargaining, that if they'd shut the demon from across the hall up, knock him out perhaps, then they'd reveal some precious piece of information. It was highly doubtful that they would, but that hadn't been the point. Even they wanted the demon to shut up - and it could easily turn into a mess if all of them riled up at once.

"You need to stop that" Itachi spoke in the same tone he'd use with anyone, but he was hardly heard against the sounds of the raging beast inside the cell. The walls were glass, but infused with a compound that the Uchiha's were also famous for founding. Its properties of strength went unrivalled and the compound could, in theory, be placed into anything. It was work in process, but the glass was their first victory and it had held well since the facility was renovated ten years ago. They'd never had anything break through it, but the demon wasn't giving up.

"You're going to damage yourself" Itachi said, his face unchanging as the hulking body stopped its repetitive shoulder-bashing. He'd been pounding at the far wall, but now turned with his fists clenched, his arms bulging, as he faced Itachi through the glass. He crossed the space between them in a stride and then he placed his hands spaced out on the glass. For a flicker of a second, Itachi felt his spine prickle with anticipation. What is he doing?

And then he roared.

The demons eyes sharpened as he did, focussing only on Itachi's face. It was for this reason only that Itachi found himself taking note of the demon's features. His skin was a soft-blue colour, darkening with every second of his rage. His nails blackened and sharpened, growing and making a god-awful scratching noise against the glass. His body seemed to grow, but Itachi suspected it was just the muscle mass. The roar died down and the demon regained his breathing control.

"Nobody will listen to you if you keep that up" The demon snarled in reply to Itachi's reasoning. "Do you have a name?" Itachi asked.

"What is this place?" The demon panted, removing his hands from the glass door only to slam them back against it. "Answer!" Well at least he can understand me.

"You're on the wrong side of the cell to be demanding answers, demon" Itachi folded his arms. "Do you have a name?" The demon didn't answer and Itachi took it as a step in the right direction. At least he was listening.

"What is this place?" The demon asked again, focussing his eyes on Itachi again; he ignored the question.

"You're a high-level demon - your strength alone shows me that. There are markers in the cells to dull the full impact of certain powerful frequencies. You're breaking it"

"Good" The demon snarled. "Release me"

"Your name?" Itachi bargained, knowing the demon wasn't as naive to think that trading a name for freedom would work. The demon almost hissed, his lips drawing back in a way that reminded Itachi of a wolf. Don't think about those. "If you refuse to co'operate, I can only promise that things will get worse, demon"

"You" The demon flexed his muscles again, planting his feet and pressing onto the glass with his large hands, his biceps bulging as he shifted his weight forwards. Several things seemed to click into place in that moment, and Itachi saw it all happen as if the demon's eyes were a flip-book of revelations. He's realised something.

"You're a Uchiha, aren't you? Take them off" The glasses? Itachi reached his hands to his black-out specs, but barely flicked a finger over them before he realised what he was doing. His hand fell to his side, his glasses remaining over his eyes as the demon snickered in response. "Almost, wolf" The demon's snicker shifted, now a full on laugh. It was mocking him. Itachi's face grew slack. "I know all about you" The demon grinned, seeming amused and a little happier. "The family pet, now?"

"Keep your observations to yourself, demon. Nobody else cares. Will you tell me your name, or not? It seems fair if you know who I am"

"Fair?" The demon echoed, his laughter dying down - his voice husky and coarse. His hands slammed into the glass again. "Is this fair?" Itachi said nothing. "I'm going to rip you limb from pretty-long limb when we're done here"

"I'm sure" Itachi turned with disappointment and began walking away. As soon as he did, the beast started raging against the walls again, laughing to himself now. Father was not going to like this.

-LINEBREAK-

Sasuke could hear everything from his rigid position outside of his fathers office. Though still in training - and not technically supposed to be anywhere near the facility yet - his father had taken him around the building a few times to adjust the young teen to the work there, but it hadn't taken Sasuke long to figure out that something was wrong - and that Itachi had been right all along.

Sasuke shifted his right foot so it rested against the wall, biting his lip in that typical teenager way that he sometimes hated. He felt the walls reverberate beneath his hands - palms tingling - as his father continued to yell at Itachi. He finalised it with a loud noise - which was either an object being thrown, slammed down, or hit. Seconds later, Itachi opened the door and closed it behind him, not sparing Sasuke even a glance as he stepped out into the corridor.

"Itachi" Sasuke said, firmly, in that confident way which he'd been brought up to speak. Itachi kept walking, ignoring his brother completely.

Had it not been an everyday occurrence, Sasuke might've felt abandoned and slightly ignored. But it was an everyday occurrence, and it had been for the past three years. Their father had banned Itachi from all immediate contact to the family with the exception of the patriarch himself, and Itachi had complied without question. All for the sake of a disability. Or a liability, depending on what kind of mood Fugaku was in.

The two brothers had been close, so close that Sasuke had doubted Itachi would ignore him for long. So close that he'd hoped Itachi would sneak into his room again. So close that, even after three years, Sasuke still greeted and talked to his brother in hope, even if Itachi never spoke back.

He bore the bruises if he spoke to his brother in front of his father, he blocked out his fathers hate-filled words towards his brother and - when alone - sought to correct them. He caught every sliver of a reaction that Itachi dared show so that if the time came, he could understand what Itachi needed.

But his patience was wearing thin and he hated himself for it. He loved his brother, his patience should be unlimited. But there was only so long he could pretend that his brothers' lack of interest didn't hurt him.

-LINEBREAK-

Overnight, the demon had been relentless in his efforts to get out of the cell, but futile all the same. Nothing he did had worked and when the facilities night-shift left (exhausted and shaking) and the morning shift had taken over (bright and refreshed) it hadn't taken them long to see why. The demon seemed completely made of energy. He'd angered eighty percent of the inmates and they'd revolted as much as they could - which was basically how the demon had been acting all night. The night staff had gassed all of the cells to put them all to sleep; the demon was just a little less sturdy, Itachi had been told.

Once the ruckus from the other inmates had died down, the night staff had turned their focus to the demon. They'd gassed him, blasted him with chemicals from the vents in the ceiling, but nobody had dared enter his cell. Itachi was going to be the first, given the privilege by his father.

The demon quieted as Itachi approached the cell, hands and forearms resting on the glass door, his violence dissipating despite his haggard breaths.

"Wolf" He grinned. "Sleep well?"

"Your name" Itachi pressed, keeping a two-foot space between him and the glass for the moment. The demon simply grinned.

"You're easily becoming the highlight of my day" It quickly became apparent that he wasn't going to comply with anything Itachi had to say. He asked all of the necessary questions - name, species, age, home, business - but the demon had deflected all of them with an ease that began to irk even the generally-stoic Uchiha. The demon seemed unbreakable. Finally, when nothing else seemed to work, Itachi motioned for the security staff to come over. Then the demon seemed attentive.

"See those circles on the floor?" Itachi nodded to the shapes but the demon didn't move his eyes. "Stand on them" The demon didn't move. "It's in your best interest" The demon had the nerve to smirk, so Itachi motioned for the security man to open the door.

When it was opened the lasers switched on instantly, flickering like a strobe light around the cell. Only the small square surrounding the two circles was exempt from the attack. The lasers burned, would normally cause almost-severed limbs - but on the demon it simply caused a deep gash. Still, he complied and shifted back - his pride slipping away with each step he took in retreat to the safe box and its two circles - one for each foot. He planted his feet in the circles on the floor with the lasers inches away from his huge limbs, his face set with anger. Usually, the lasers left a few inches or so, but the demon went rigid with fury as they repeatedly skimmed his skin.

He's too big and the box is too small. At least we know he responds to the lasers, Itachi thought.

The strobe lasers stopped at the same time as another set switched on, rising from the square patch and boxing the demon inside. The controls were external and specific to each cell. The person working the lasers would make them fit just around the demon's shoulders, so only his head would be visible - and they'd also extended the width of the box by a few inches to tailor to the demon's broad shoulders and bulging arms.

Itachi stepped into the room with the freedom to pace around now, after all, the lasers were only trapping the demon in the centre of the room. A few seconds later, a trolley was brought in with a number of weapons on it. Itachi reached for the long sword and the demon grinned in response.