Sequel to Blood of the Immortal. That's right folks, the sequel is out. Yes, I'm an idiot as I now have four active stories. Wish me luck on that and pray I finish Just a Little Drink soon. Also still need a Beta (sweatdrop)

Mountains as far as the eye could see to the east. The landscape rolling with highs and lows, trees covering the mountain side and covered in snow. Even so, a warm spring wind ruffled Sasuke's dark locks. The white marble railing supported his weight as he leaned against it, staring off into the horizon. The sun was just peeking over the horizon, shading the sky with various pinks and oranges.

Christmas had come and gone, and so had Valentine's Day. It was already mid March. Almost three months since the incident in December. Just the reminder of what had occurred had him rubbing his hand through his hair in frustration. Anger still simmered underneath the surface just thinking about it. It still felt like yesterday when they all had been forced to run with their tail between their legs, defeated, broken. The healing afterwards was just as painful and humiliating for all of them.

There was one good thing that had occurred during that snafu. A smile pulled at the corner of the raven's lips. He could feel his lover's chakra moving within him. If he closed his eyes, he could locate where the original owner was.

As if on cue, he heard the distant cry of pain followed by a long string of curses. That would be him. Naruto. His mate. His husband. Though Naruto often tried not to say the word husband, claiming he was still too young to be married. Sasuke humored him. He knew Naruto wasn't embarrassed about it. More like he felt awkward about the whole ordeal. Naruto was still young and had a few more years until he outgrew the awkward young adult years of his life. Perhaps another six or seven years. It was a short amount of time compared to the length of time they should have together in the years to come.

"You should be training with Shisui."

Sasuke tensed at the sound of that voice. It brought a whole other set of emotions running through him, many of them conflicting. He wasn't sure how to feel about Itachi. Even after having over the three months to sort through them, it was hard to accept the truth his brother had laid out for him.

"Ahhhh!"

Naruto flinched at the scream. He looked back at Sasuke who was glaring at him from their bed. "Lie back down, Dobe. You aren't healed yet."

The blond man only gave him an exasperated look. "How can you be so calm? He's been screaming for almost two days."

Sasuke growled, grabbing Naruto's wrist and pulling him back into bed when Naruto moved to get out. "It can't be helped. He has no fresh blood in his system, and we can't go out and get some, so Itachi just has to put up with it until everything regenerates." At that brutishly slow pace. He didn't need to add that last part as the last four days made that obvious. Sasuke was impressed that his brother hadn't been screaming since the beginning. Whether Itachi was consciously keeping silent or he was just in so much pain at the time he couldn't feel it anymore, Sasuke didn't know, but by day three he had been screaming almost non-stop finally too tired and broken down to hold it back.

Sasuke gripped the man in his arms tighter. Naruto had been so close to going through that same pain. As bad as Naruto's leg was, it was still attached, barely, but still attached. Healing the damage was nowhere near as painful as having to regenerate entire limbs.

"It seems like the screaming stopped." Naruto whispered, burying his face in Sasuke's chest. His voice was still breathy from lingering pain throughout his body. Sasuke felt like shit because of it. While Naruto could offer blood and help him with his injuries, he could not do the same for him, so that left the fledgling to heal and a slower pace.

"About damn time." The raven nuzzled into his mate's hair. He smelled faintly of cinnamon from their shampoo. It suited him.

A soft knock on the door interrupted them. "Ignore it," was the vampire's muttered reply. He was in no mood to be disturbed. Unfortunately, the door opened anyway, causing another low growl to emanate from the raven.

Kakashi ignored the warning, coming in anyway. He was the only one in their party to not have sustained any injuries, but he also looked tired and worn. There was a bag under his one visible eye, his hair looked unwashed, and his shoulders were slumped forward. Iruka's mental state had been wearing him down the past several days. "Just came to tell the vamp that his brother wants to see him. Said something about owing you an explanation before he went to sleep." He left without waiting for a reply.

Sasuke didn't move, keeping himself wrapped around the blond teen. "You're not going to go?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke didn't reply. His eyes roamed the teen's battered body. His knee was wrapped tightly with clean bandages to keep him from bending it, his torso was discolored from freshly healed wounds, and his right arm was bandaged and in a sling. Sasuke's grip around Naruto tightened.

Naruto winced at the pressure, but didn't say anything about the discomfort. He was well aware he had scared Sasuke. He wouldn't take away Sasuke's reassurance that he was safe. "You should talk to him. You've been waiting for answers for a long time."

A worn out sigh escaped him. Slowly, Sasuke detangled himself from his lover. It was harder than he would have liked to admit. Every instinct told him to remain. It told him to protect. Naruto was still too weak to defend himself. The bond between them was still fresh and settling, so the urge to stay was screaming at the back of his mind. Naruto on the other hand was beginning to feel a bit smothered. It couldn't be helped. He was only a fledgling, so the vampiric instincts were only half as strong as his. And while Naruto wouldn't say anything about it, understanding Sasuke's dilemma, Sasuke could still feel his mate's restlessness. Sitting still was not one of the teen's strong points, let alone bed rest.

"I'll go, just promise me you won't leave the mansion." It would be foolish to think Naruto would actually stay in the room.

"Promise. Tired anyway." As if to confirm the statement, he yawned.

Sasuke smirked. "I'll take responsibility for that."

Naruto huffed. "Bastard."

The exchange put Sasuke in a better mood, making the trip to his brother's room less daunting. They had escaped to a large mansion hidden in the mountains. It had been Shisui's and Itachi's training grounds when they were children. There were three floors, and it was 20,000 square feet including the cellar. The architecture was of European influence as well though there were several rooms that were of Japanese design with rice paper walls and tatami mats. The surrounding grounds consisted of 100 acres of private property around the mansion. Though most of the 100 acres was mad up of forest, there were several spots cleared for training purposes.

Itachi was in his old room. One of the European rooms with a bed instead of a futon, a hinged door instead of a sliding one, and carpet instead of tatami. The furnishings were antiques, though they weren't considered antiques when they were first bought nearly 150 years ago. The four poster bed, the armoire, carpet, tapestries, curtains, and the dresser would all fetch thousands of dollars. Thankfully the mattress had been updated with a modern one. Sasuke was eternally thankful to whoever had the hindsight to update that at least over the years. He refused to go back to the uncomfortable spring coil beds he had as a child, or worse, the cast iron beds with cotton mattresses. His back ached at the thought, and he vaguely wondered how anyone survived. He'd take a futon over those any day.

Besides the few basic furnishings, the room was empty, the floor to ceiling windows had large heavy curtains drawn closed over them, and the only light was from a small bedside lamp. Someone must have wired the whole house at some point as well.

Itachi laid in the large bed, slouching heavily against the pillows that kept him propped up. His skin was the color of ash, his body looked thin and frail, his normally perfectly groomed hair was tousled, and his breathing was shallow and irregular as if at times he was forgetting to breathe. The thick blankets that pooled at his waist made him look even smaller. His eyes were hardly open as it was, dark irises barely peering under the heavy eyelids. This was a shell of his older brother. A hardly living shell. To kill him would not be revenge. He couldn't even stand let alone protect himself. To kill him wouldn't have satisfied Sasuke at all.

"Come sit, Otouto." Itachi's voice was rough, scratchy and just loud enough to be a whisper. The hours of screaming had taken its toll on the man's throat.

"I prefer to stand thanks," but he did get closer so he could at least hear. "Say your excuses already so I can leave."

"There are no excuses to make, brother. I did what I thought was necessary. It is as simple as that."

"Bullshit. It was necessary to kill off our family? To kill the people who loved and cared for you?!" His fists shook. Sasuke couldn't help it, and he tried to stop it, digging his nails into his palm, drawing blood.

"I will tell you what occurred back then. I don't expect you to forgive me Sasuke. I never planned on that, and I never planned to tell you either. But because of recent events, I don't have much choice. If you are to get through this battle, your heart cannot waver."

"Then why not tell me from the beginning," he snapped, his temper flaring.

"Because you were not supposed to get involved. I had hoped to keep you from it all." He chuckled. "A sad notion on my part. I knew from the beginning that it would be futile. Uchihas never had a good destiny laid out ahead of us." At that moment he looked even more drained. "I'll tell you what happened back then. It started back when I left for training."

"Itachi-kun, do not tell me you are reading Darwin again?"

Itachi looked up at the older boy leaning over him with an amused smile. He couldn't help but mirror it. "Is that a problem Shisui? I happen to find science and philosophy quite fascinating."

The elder boy just continued to smile. "Yesterday it was Socrates, the day before that John Locke, the day before that Descartes and Rousseau, and the day before that Francis Bacon. God forbid I go on about Voltaire, Aristotle, Newton, Hooke, Kelper . . . shall I go on?"

Itachi chuckled, sitting up. "You have brought your intentions across well enough. I have nothing to offer in way of my own defense other than my curiosity is insatiable. There is much of this world we are ignorant about. While my father appreciates the history aspect of my studies, he sees no purpose in the rest and often finds it distasteful if I should read these books in his presence. He says that human science is unreliable and is as fickle as humans are."

"Older vampires live in their stagnant world. My grandfather still believes the world is flat." Shisui agreed. "And what of our instructor? Is it so difficult to be punctual?"

"I am not certain. It is however not an Uchiha trait," though his voice was stern, Itachi's eyes twinkled with amusement.

"Of course not, Fugaku Oji-san," Shisui laughed.

"Uchihas laughing. I thought I'd never see the day." The sudden presence that appeared beside them had both Itachi and Shisui jumping back, kunais raised, searching for the intruder.

A middle aged man with long white hair, pulled back into a ponytail, smiled at them. His dark eyes were full of mischief, but also calculating as he watched the two boys. "Glad to see your reflexes are in order," he smiled.

"Ningen desu ka?" Shisui muttered.

"So desu. Boku wa ningen desu." The man smiled at their bewildered faces ─though as Uchihas they were quite subtle about it.

"What is a shinobi doing here?" Itachi asked. Shisui angled himself in front of him to get between him and the shinobi much to the younger Uchiha's annoyance.

"I am here to train you of course. Was not a simple task to get here might I add. No one told me about the whole barrier thing." He laughed heartily.

Shisui and Itachi shared a look. "No human has ever trained the Uchihas. Especially a shinobi,"Shisui said coldly.

"That is true," the man agreed. "However, me and your planned instructor thought it would be a wiser decision if you had a human instructor in order to tear down some of the tension between vampires and shinobi."

"And if we refuse?" Itachi asked cautiously.

"You do not have a choice. Both of you are well aware that I am stronger than you. I will do neither of you harm, gaki, but I will not allow you to leave until you are able to defeat me together and have a good concept of how to continue your training alone for when you go back to your respective homes."

"Very well. When shall we begin?" Itachi ask, stepping out from behind his elder cousin to retrieve his book he had dropped when they had went on the defensive.

"Now. Three days of your training has already past due to me being late. There is no time but the present."

Itachi paused. "Now?"

Ignoring the two, the man pulled out two silver bells. "Your goal is to collect the bells from me."

"That is all? Is that not too simple? Both of us have the sharingan already." Shisui asked, circling around the instructor.

"I promise you, it won't be an issue."

Itachi closed his eyes, thinking back on the memory. "Our sensei completely shut us down. I always knew that if trained correctly, shinobi could be as powerful as vampires. Despite being children, we had the sharingan. Both Shisui and I were pretty efficient with it, but it did not help as we thought it would. We were certain we'd be able to at least touch a bell. We were wrong. Not only did we not touch them, we couldn't even touch him.

"Father had always told us we were better than average humans. We were stronger and faster, and when we became vampires, we'd be even more so. In short, Father never considered his human children human, and for the most part, we believed him. I had my doubts. Doubts I didn't dwell on, until after I fought that man. He was stronger than some of our clan, and he had been right. He could have killed us if he wanted to, but he didn't. In the end, both Shisui and I lost miserably and any pride we had about being Uchihas was thrown far from our minds."

"And the instructor's name?" Sasuke asked.

"Hatake, Sakumo."

"Hatake?" Sasuke questioned.

"Hatake, Kakashi's great great grandfather. I was surprised to see his ancestor teaching both you and Naruto-kun in that shinobi school."

"Everything always comes around full circle." The youngest Uchiha whispered, quoting his father's favorite saying.

"Indeed it does. Hatake was a strict sensei, but he looked after us like we were his own. He told us about the history of shinobi, their ideals, their motivations. Most of what vampire's knew of them was wrong as were what they knew about us. Both sides judged the other based on the few who went against the norm. The vampires who went rogue and killed for fun, or the shinobi who enjoyed the hunt and killed vampire's indiscriminately. Eventually we met his son, Kakashi, your Kakashi's great grandfather. He partnered up with us, and we went on missions together, hunting down both rogue vampires and shinobi. We learned so much under our human teacher. Both Shisui and I who had hid our love for humanity, I for their lifestyle and knowledge, Shisui for their mortality, no longer had to veil that part of ourselves, and our teacher encouraged it and nurtured it, answering any questions we may have had.

"Those six months were too short. While we trained, Shisui became the strongest genjutsu user in our clan, and I became one of the best tacticians. With Kakashi as our senpai, we made a good team."

"So you made a good team, so what," Sasuke snapped. "This doesn't explain anything."

Itachi waited until the younger brother simmered down. Sasuke put a lid on his temper reluctantly. "It was great until Father found out. Sensei had wanted to reveal something to us. He said it was very important and that we deserved to know. He never had the opportunity to tell us. Father killed him before he could say anything." Itachi paused, considering his words. "Assassinated would have been a better word. Father killed him in his sleep while he was ill. We were greeted with Father waiting in Sensei's room for our return."

Blood. It had seeped into the futon, staining it a dark brown. Blank, black eyes stared up at the ceiling, his body lifeless, and his skin pale. It was the only thing he could stare at despite his father's body partially blocking his view. He wasn't sure what expression was on his face. Perhaps nothing, not registering that his sensei was actually dead.

"I see you have come back safely my son." His father's voice was cold and low. It was how he always sounded when Itachi had done something wrong, not that he was the cheerful, overly emotional father to begin with.

"Yes, Father," he could barely hear himself talk. All he could think about was the bottle of medicine he held in his hands that Shisui and he had gone to fetch for his teacher in the nearby town. "You killed him," he said matter of factly, his own voice void of emotion.

"I did. You will be coming home with me to finish your training." Fugaku moved out of the way, giving Itachi a good look at the dead body. Sakumo's throat had been ripped out.

Itachi didn't move, he continued to stare. "I do not wish to, Father. I belong here."

Fugaku stopped, already halfway to the door. "You will come home. You have played being human long enough. "

I am human. "Let me bury the body.

"There is no need. Leave it."

"Leaving a dead body exposed like this is breeding grounds for sickness." Itachi moved forward and kneeled before Sakumo's body, giving him a small prayer as he covered him with the blanket.

"That is none of your concern. Leave it." Fugaku voice was full of quiet authority. His son could tell that he was glaring without having to turn around.

I am still human. "This mansion is still training grounds for Uchiha who have not turned. It is best to keep the sickness out."

"It is nothing you need to worry about. " Itachi could hear the creaking of the floor boards as his father turned to leave.

He was at the door when he replied, "I am still human. It is something I need to worry about. You may not recall your time as being human but I am still capable of getting ill and dying."

"You are not like the other worthless humans out there."

"But I am, Father," Itachi said, his voice quiet and subdued. "I bleed, I get sick, and I can die from a small infected cut or tumble down the stairs. Are you afraid to admit you love your human children?"

"You are an Uchiha. You are destined to become a vampire and join us."

The young man turned, staring down his father. "Any human can become a vampire. Being an Uchiha has nothing to do with it."

"Are you calling yourself human Itachi? There is not much of a future for humans." His father's eyes were cold, colder than he had ever seen them.

"I do not understand."

Fugaku observed Itachi, looking him over, taking in his expression and stance. "You are young, but you have much potential, my son, potential to be the strongest out of all the Uchiha, maybe even as strong as the legendary Madara. But your heart wavers with human weakness. I think it is time to tell you of what is to come."

"What do you mean, what is to come?" Sasuke interrupted again.

Despite Itachi's weakened body, he somehow managed to give him a scolding look for interrupting. "Shall I wait until you are willing to listen?"

The young vampire just grumbled. He didn't want to hear a life story; he wanted to hear the reason why his parents were killed.

When Sasuke made no more moves to interrupt, Itachi continued. "Father told me what our family was planning. They were planning to over throw the vampire council and take charge. They wanted vampires to take control again. They didn't want to hide anymore. They wanted all humans to remember us, and fear us, and they were going to start with blowing up parliament and the Buckingham palace. They planned to walk out of the wreckage killing the survivors and letting everyone see their superior might in the chaos.

"While shinobi dominantly reside in East Asia, the templars serve the same purpose in Europe. Using the confusion, Father planned to wipe out the templars before moving in on shinobi headquarters while they were busy spreading their forces thin for damage control." Itachi's eyes became distant as he spoke.

"It was going to be a blood bath Sasuke. Hundreds of thousands dying, both human and vampire. Without a vampire council there would be no laws, no regulations to keep both humans and vampires safe and there would be nothing to keep balance. If vampires over feed, then there will not be enough humans to go around, and without the shinobi, templars, or other humans who safe guard the humans, there will be no one to keep vampires in check.

"There is a balance Sasuke. Life and death, humans and undead, progression and stagnation. Father sought to disturb the balance. I tried to dissuade him of his plan of course, but he would not listen."

Itachi let out a tired sigh, something Sasuke had never seen his elder brother do. "Father wanted what was best for us. I understand that. I understood it back then as well, but no matter how much I tried, Father would not listen to reason. After a month of trying, I stopped. I knew what I had to do in order to stop him, but I was not strong enough.

"A month later, Shisui and I met up in Scotland at Mealt Falls."

He didn't like it. It was out in the open where anyone could see them. Granted it was the night of the new moon in the country side to boot, but it was still disconcerting.

Itachi kept his face neutral as he made his way to the top of the falls. The cliffs the river went over were a straight 55m drop down. The cliff side was smooth with no protruding rocks to jump or hold on to if one were to fall and the surface was slick with moisture. At the bottom were rocks that went out 90m away from the waterfall. Even a trained shinobi would have difficulty surviving.

Deciding that looking over the side of a cliff that dangerous was a bad idea, he checked his surroundings again. Shisui was dressed in the uniform Hatake-sensei gave them, the traditional shinobi outfit. He wore the Konoha hitai-ate over his forehead proudly, but one eye was closed with dry blood trailing underneath it.

"Shisui. What happened?"

The elder teen looked over at him, a soft, but weak, smile gracing his pale features. "I was attacked by a young shinobi who calls himself Danzo. He took my eye from me."

"Tell me where he dwells and I will─" Shisui raised his hand, silencing the younger male. "Itachi, that is not important at this time. I have come to tell you I have been working for the Sandaime of Konoha named Sarutobi."

"How? He would know you are Uchiha."

"Kakashi spoke for me. He knows of what the Uchiha plans to do. He wants to help us stop it with as little bloodshed as possible."

"Then we are fortunate. We can negotiate─"

"Itachi . . . you and I both know there will be no negotiating."

He did know. He had hoped it wouldn't come to such measures. In 5 months, the Uchihas will gather for one final strategy meeting before the plan was set into motion. It was their chance to put an end to the plan. "I know."

"Sarutobi knows what we plan to do. He promises to smear only our names and not the clan itself."

Itachi nodded. "We are not strong enough to take out all the Uchiha however."

"That is true. However with the mangekyo, you will be very close." Itachi's chest tightened at the insinuation, taking in that ever gentle smile.

"No! I will not let you forfeit your life just so that we may stand a chance against them."

Shisui continued to smile, taking a step closer to the edge of the cliff. "You are kind Itachi. You look for the best in everyone while still not allowing it to cloud your senses. You would make a good leader some day if you were given the chance. Sasuke is lucky to have a brother like you."

"Shisui! Don't do it. Come back towards me." The elder Uchiha saw the panic in the young man's eyes. He was still a child. Only fourteen years of age. It was hard to remember that under his cool, grown up exterior. "Do not jump. I cannot do this on my own."

"You will be fine, cousin. Take care of Sasuke-kun." His gloved fingers moved to his remaining eye.

"If you take out that eye, I will resurrect you only to send you to hell with that accursed thing." Itachi snapped, his eyes bright with unshed tears.

It took Shisui by surprise to hear such words coming from the normally proper boy. So much so, that he laughed, bringing his hand back to his side. "Very well, I will not bestow you with a parting gift." He grinned. "Sayounara, Itachi."

It seemed to go in slow motion as he took the last step back that brought him over the ledge. His body fell, his smile the last thing the young man saw before there was nothing. He could not bring himself to look over the edge to search for him, to see if he had actually died. He would not be able to bear the sight of the mangled body on the blood stained rocks, or watch as it slipped into the sea.

Tears finally spilled over. Why must he be the one to do this? Why must he lose his only friend to this? How was he to protect Sasuke from the misguided words of his father? He was one man . . . one boy."

"I am sorry for your friend."

Itachi whirled around at the sudden presence, already weaving hand signs in preparation for an attack. A man standing about six foot in a dark cloak and wearing an orange mask stood before him. Even seeing him, Itachi could not feel any presence from him. He could not hear the rustle of his cloak or sense any chakra flowing through him or hear a heartbeat. There was nothing but silence. "Who are you?"

"My name is Madara. I am here to help you with your little problem."

"The man who called himself Madara helped me kill off the Uchiha clan 5 months later. He trained me to use the mangekyo."

"So you did not do it by yourself." Sasuke asked. He should have known. Despite how strong Itachi was, it would have been impossible to kill so many vampires in a closed space even with the mangekyo, but the imagination of a young child could easily believe the impossible, especially one so scared.

"No. I did however kill our parents myself. I will not lie and say I did not." Itachi closed his eyes as exhaustion took over. He was barely conscious, but he was fighting it with the little strength he did have.

"How could you? Surely you could have tried harder to convince them." He said desperately. He could no longer sit still and was pacing. His hands went behind his back then at his sides then running threw his hair. He didn't know what to do with them.

"You were there Sasuke. You saw the results of the arguments. Towards the end I was getting anxious and desperate. It became harder to keep my cool. I spent my time meditating or training for what was going to come, my anger and depression close to the surface. I worked it to my advantage. I made a show of the behavior, exaggerated it, and made myself look unstable. No one would question if I suddenly went mad and killed everyone. It certainly worked. You never questioned my actions."

Sasuke never did, that was true. "But they were still Mother and Father. How could you not at least give them a warning or something?"

"Both Father and Mother were well aware of my intentions when I entered the sitting room that night," the words were barely a wisp of air from his lips. "They did not even put up a fight."

"Then how could you?!"

"You are a kind child, my son," Itachi quoted, his eyes staring at the canopy in memory. "This will be harder for you than it will be for us. While our pain will last a moment, yours will last for eternity. You have chosen a difficult path, but it is your path. You have chosen your ideals and you are putting everything on the line to keep them. It is the Uchiha way, and I am proud to call you my son." A single tear fell. He did not move to wipe it away as the motion required more energy than he had. "Those were the last words our Father spoke, and true to his word, they have stayed with me since that night. Those words and his actions have caused me more pain than if they had fought back as they could not bring themselves to kill their own son."

A vulnerable Itachi. Something that Sasuke could not wrap his mind around even with him lying before him. Itachi had chosen this path himself. Sasuke would not pity him for his choices. "And what happened to Madara?"

"I apologize. I am unable to say anything more about Madara or the man named Obito than what I have told you."

Anger bubbled to the surface. "After everything, you will still keep secrets from me?"

"You misunderstand. I am physically unable to. While I was captive, Tobi made sure that I was unable to tell his secrets to no one. He placed a curse seal on my person that makes me unable to speak a word involving his plans, motives, and history."

"Of course he did," the younger muttered, stalling his pacing long enough to feel out where his mate was. Naruto had left the room. Figures. "Anything else I should know about?"

Silence followed the question. Itachi had finally succumbed to fatigue. Growling and worked up, Sasuke left to seek out his mate.

"Shisui had left to get food for all of us. While you and Shisui have sworn off blood, we have a human and my mate who still needs to eat solids and a newly turned and myself who require sustenance as well." Sasuke's voice sounded bitter. He never meant it to. After three months of going over the explanation in his head, he understood. He understood the delicate balance in the ever changing world. Being close to the council as he had and mingling in the human world, he understood better than most. Even understanding what he did, he could not push the anger and sadness that occupanied the sight of his brother, could not push away the memory of him covered in his parents' blood.

So Sasuke kept his back towards his brother as Itachi walked onto the large balcony. He never pushed or urged Sasuke to face him, never forced the younger male to talk to him, and truthfully, Itachi's acceptance of Sasuke's attitude towards him pissed Sasuke off to no end. Itachi was so goddamned perfect. Always was, always will be. That was why his father doted on the elder brother wasn't it? Cause he was so goddamned perfect. How did he ever look up to such a person?

"I see. He must have left early before the weather turned for the worse."

There was a pregnant pause between them. The only sound was Naruto's curses. "What the fuck Kakashi?! That fucking hurt! . . . . Don't be so goddamn rough! . . . Slower! Slower goddamn it! I'm not used to this! . . . Ahhh!" Sasuke's curiosity was peeking at such vague statements. What were they doing over there?

"Would you like to make me your opponent?"

Sasuke snorted. "You're barely healed, and you're a shell of your former self. It would be an insult to my pride if I were to fight you as you are."

"I may not be as strong as I once was, nor will I ever be if I do not drink, but you will still find me quite an adversary if you fight me." Itachi's presence was like the wind where it could come off as a gentle almost unnoticeable breeze, lulling you into a false sense of security before it became a hurricane that knocked you off your feet. The young Uchiha could feel that wind move closer, shifting constantly. "Tomorrow, we will fight. You will resolve your anger with me and you will ask the questions you have been wanting to ask me. Until then, grab Naruto-kun and the others and meet in the sitting room. It is time to see what is going on in the real world."

Before Sasuke could inquire about what he meant, he saw a red Honda Passport come up the drive way. He groaned when Kisame stepped out of the car. "Damn Uchiha, making me come out in the middle of nowhere," the man grumbled, slamming the door shut. "You owe me Itachi!"

Itachi looked over the railing, unimpressed. "Kisame, you are late."

"Hn, shove it you snobby bastard. I did what you asked." The bluish grey skinned man waved a briefcase at them.

Sasuke was about to ask what was in the briefcase when he was shoved aside roughly by a yellow blur landing hard on his ass. "You! I got a bone to pick with you!" Naruto yelled, leaning dangerously over the balcony rail.

"Still got that fire, brat? Don't worry; I'll knock you around for a bit before I leave." Naruto growled at the man's laugh.

"You wait right there!" The next second, Naruto was back inside, racing to meet Kisame on the ground floor.

Itachi waited for his partner in crime to enter the building before he chuckled. "Your mate is very energetic."

The young raven didn't dignify that with an answer, getting up from the ground and silently went inside ignoring his chuckling older brother following him.

It shouldn't have surprised him that Naruto was trying to pick a fight with the shark like man. Naruto had told him how Kisame had beaten him to the edge of his life for two weeks straight and the teen had held that grudge since then. The problem was he had assumed Naruto was smart enough not to use the furniture in his revenge scheme.

Kisame dodged another lamp that smashed into the wall behind him, looking purely amused when the teen leapt at him with kitchen knives. "Why isn't that cute, you actually have a backbone now, brat. " He laughed, dodging another knife, thrown his way. "Your aim's definitely improved."

"Why I oughta," Naruto growled, picking up the side table.

Sighing at the stupidity of it all, Sasuke picked up Naruto by his waist and carried him to the sofa. "Bastard! Put me down! I'll beat the shit out of you next!"

Kisame raised an eyebrow then turned to Itachi. "Mates?" He asked. Itachi gave him a curt nod. "Well I'll be damned."

"You got a problem with that, shark face!" Sasuke rolled his eyes at the blonde's antics.

"New mates make me sick. Can't keep their hands off each other and going off to have sex at every opportunity. Then the lovey dovey eyes," a shiver went up the man's spine. "Disgusting."

"Fuck you! You're just jealous!"

"As fascinating as this conversation is, I suggest we get this meeting done with so we all may get back to our training regimens," the elder Uchiha easily stopped the argument without raising his voice.

While Kisame grumbled something unintelligible under his breath, everyone sat down, including Kakashi who had walked in.

"Kisame, you have news for us?" Itahci inquired.

"To put it bluntly, everything is going to shit." Inside the leather briefcase, Kisame pulled out newspapers, magazines, and other various papers with statistics. "Sasori has taken control of creating the vampire council as discreetly as he can, but that also leaves the morgue unattended and news of their destruction has already reached the ears of most. Rogues are moving freely and there are more and more reported deaths of drained corpses in the human news. Meanwhile, the two brats are still being hunted down as terrorists despite Danzo's fall. It is a last ditch effort by the shinobi to cover the existence of vampires, but it's not gonna last. The reports of vampire sightings are sky rocketing. The net is going crazy. While some think its cool, others are looking to hunt and eradicate vampires. Some of Danzo's old followers are fueling that fire."

"This is all over the world?" Sasuke asked, picking up an Indian newspaper.

"Yeah. It's looking to be an all out war. Governments are trying to assure the people that it's all fabrication of overzealous imaginations, but it's falling apart. The world is going to find out about our existence again, and it looks like it's going to be another vampire hunt."

"And we still do not know what Obito is planning." Sasuke said, looking at Itachi who stayed silent.

Naruto made himself comfortable in Sasuke's lap since it became obvious the vampire wasn't going to release him anytime soon. "So what's the plan?"

Itachi stood. "We return to Konoha."

So please review. They do help me update and give me ideas.

As you can see, I am using the Japanese I have learned.

Ningen desu ka - A human?

So desu. Boku wa ningen desu. - That's right. I'm human.