Disclaimer: I made the very foolish mistake of trying to attack Itachi after he burned the shed full of papers giving me official ownership of the Naruto franchise. If you've never had your ass kicked by Susano'o, let me advise you now to never call Itachi a "mangy, brother-fucking weasel" to his face while trying to kick him in the jimmies. Where's the damn Ouch Mouse…?

This time we get to look through Sasuke's eyes! Yay, emo bastards!

Apology Again: I've decided that NejiSasu goodness is currently of higher priority than Through Shadow and Fire chapters. So sorry.

Ember and Crystal


It was easier than you thought it would be, wasn't it? Getting him to submit to you took hardly any effort at all. Of course, you knew in the back of your mind that he wouldn't fight you, didn't you? Somewhere in your mind, before you even decided that this would happen should he confront you alone, you already guessed that he would be so willing to let you do this.

His eyes burn up at you now like pieces of stone lit by some strange, immortal fire. Except that you know what that fire is, even as you think of it as alien. You've seen the same look in your own eyes, in those precious few moments you had to yourself while you were with that bastard pedophile. You know need when you see it, fool – don't even try to tell me otherwise. You don't even believe that you're so naïve that you can't understand the way he's acting now.

The way you're acting now.

It's always been like this, hasn't it? Even with your countless admirers – some of whom weren't honestly that hard on the eyes – you never felt this way, did you? True, you were still young, but the ghost of this compulsion never really reached you until the Chunin exams, did it?

Not until you saw him. Not until you spoke to him that first time.

His hands grab at your biceps so hard you can feel your own pulse squeezing through the constriction. This should be painful, but right now you're only focused on making him feel as desperate as you have before in his presence. You want him to come as close to insanity as you've been, don't you? How selfish of you.

He's only haunted your thoughts in every lonely moment you were graced with. He's only pushed your body into such a state of fervent need that you found yourself waking up some nights in sheer agony. It was only the thoughts of this moment that were able to relieve that pain. Well, those thoughts wand the way you spent that "alone time," right? Come on, don't try to deny it – your hand still carries your scent from the fantasizing you did this morning.

It was easier to leave when it was your idiot blonde teammate who caught up with you, wasn't it? Easier to believe that he didn't want you enough to come after you, but you knew the truth. When the clumsy idiot told you "everyone" was fighting for you, you didn't really believe he hadn't also meant the one boy who could have made you stay, did you?

How bad was it, brat? How hard was that first time with the snake bastard? How much did it hurt to have him touching you in ways no one had that right to without your permission? How much did it infuriate you to know you had to live with this if you wanted the power to truly defeat your brother? (Poor fool, but how could you have known your precious nii-san was an innocent pawn in a vile game?)

How long did it take to put your true desire in the place of the old pedophile who did such disgusting things to you whenever he chose? How hard was it, the first time you tried, to imagine a much more desirable partner was with while you moaned and pretended, for your sake, that you enjoyed what was said and done?

His moans are like breathless growls now, aren't they? You can almost feel his need turning into something much more desperate. How much pain do you think he's in? How much more do you think he can take?

Oh, wow, nice response, brat. Even I could feel the hormones there. You're really getting off on tormenting him, aren't you? And he's certainly not appreciating the taunting smirk you're giving him; he growls a little louder this time, which of course only heightens the hormonal reaction. You lean down and start nipping his ear, and a gasp drags itself from his throat, as though he can't breathe. His nails dig into your skin, and soon you can feel blood – your blood – trailing down your arms, moving quickly despite the shallow wounds it comes from.

Your pulse is getting a little haphazard there, isn't it? Are you perhaps not as in control as you would like me to think you are?

Blood pools in your mouth as your teeth bite down hard on his earlobe, startling a sort of surprised moan from him that resonates through both of your bodies. You feel the muscles in your chest and abdomen writhe as you momentarily enjoy the surge of pleasure that's been coursing through you since you managed to get him alone.

Not that getting him alone was all that difficult. He found you here, in this cheap little inn just outside one of the many unknown villages in the Land of Grass, and followed you of his own volition to the room you've been staying in for the last two days and nights. He thought at that time he was the hunter, but he was wrong, wasn't he?

Because you knew he was following you. You had felt his presence before you came to this place, and recognized it almost immediately, despite the years that had passed. You knew he was closing in, and you knew he was alone. The trap was already set at that point.

Because of course they would send a Gentle Fist master after you first. He would be the most likely of their pathetic little group to cause you enough damage that you would be weak enough for the others to be able to finish off. They might have hoped to catch you off guard, but you knew enough about them now to be sure of how they would act.

So you let him watch you return here, even when he sat out in the open on the second day and waited for you to notice him. You saw him, but you let him think you were too focused on something else to notice his presence so close to you.

Was it hard to walk right by him and not acknowledge him? Was it painful, knowing he might surprise you and leave before your trap could have the chance to work?

Almost as much as it hurt during that last hour, before the bar next door closed, when you thought that he had really left to get reinforcements, right? Almost as much as it hurt to wait until that very last moment, and still see nothing of him until you left the place. The relief when you saw him across the street was something you were new to, wasn't it? You'd never been happier to see someone in your life.

And then to hear and feel him so close behind you, to know that he was truly following you – alone – that's not a feeling you get to experience every day.

Was it hard to wait for him to finish getting his room (even though you both knew it was just an excuse for him to be upstairs)? Was it hard to wait for him to walk into your room – hard to keep your back turned to him as though you hadn't noticed he'd come in?

His hands move from your arms to your back now, clutching at the muscles there and leaving more small scratches in your flesh. You can feel his mouth on your neck, sucking at the skin there. You can feel his tongue sweeping across your skin, sending pins and needles down the length of your spine and eliciting a moan from somewhere deep in your chest. Damn it, and you thought this was entirely your moment, didn't you? Looks like he's not quite as submissive as you'd like, but that somehow doesn't bother you, does it?

His hands start to move to your chest, and for one tense moment, you brace yourself for an attack. Could he have been submitting just to get you to lower your guard?

You raise your head and look into his eyes. Are you surprised to find confusion in them? Are you surprised to find that he is just as unsure of what he will do as you are?

Now, fool. He's hesitating; don't give him the time he needs to remember what he should be doing. Unless, of course, you want him to have to put something over your body so he can show the others you were careless enough to let him kill you.

You lean down and kiss the spot where his ear and jaw line connect, and his hands tremble and almost go limp against your chest. You flick your tongue out to tease the bite mark on his ear and his hands slide up the lengths of your arms, back to your shoulders again. Does he groan in defeat, or is he still reacting to your "expertise?"

The look on his face when you used your chakra to "materialize" behind him was almost precious, wasn't it? Never had that arrogant face shown any surprise or – even though you still can't believe it – fear. But it did then. He was surprised at your speed. He showed fear when you closed and locked the door, and threw the key to a corner of the room. Only then did he realize he hadn't been in control of any part of this cat and mouse game he'd played with you.

He's already entirely naked, of course; between half-heartedly trying to fight you off and eventually giving up and tearing your shirt open, I wonder if he ever noticed you cutting away his clothes with the knife you'd kept in your hand, just in case he wouldn't wait for you to turn around before jumping at you. If he did, it was probably only because he felt the tip of the knife scrape into his skin. The marks in his sides and legs are still bright red, even though the bleeding has stopped now.

And as for you? Well, since you didn't exactly let him pull away long enough to get lower than your shirt, you sort of had to work at that while you were getting on top of him. You managed – after several of your own injuries, of course. Couldn't exactly let him have enough time to get up, could you? Bet cutting your only outfit up was a bitch, wasn't it?

Come on, runt, at some point you'll need to move lower. Either drive him just close enough to the edge that you can let his arms go, or tie his hands to the damn bed.

Oh, no. Wait a minute; it looks like he's starting to relax now, too. Well, not relax, but at least he isn't fighting you anymore. You can't help the taunting smirk that spreads across your face again, can you? Maybe you do it on purpose, just to see him glare at you again. He growls at you again and digs his nails into you arms, but now that you're already thinking about moving down to his member, you ignore you idiot pride for once and do what he wants.

How does it feel to have him vulnerable like this – to have him almost entirely under your control? Do you understand how simple it would be to kill him now? One little Chidori – he probably wouldn't even notice what you were doing until it was too late. Until he was already dead.

Whoops, what that the wrong thing to suggest? Seems you've suddenly got the urge to hurt him. What is it about the thought of him bleeding before you that makes it so hard to control yourself? Maybe you really have spent too much time with perverted old sadists – not just the snake bastard, but the only other member of your clan alive now. The one who told you the truth about your brother and goaded you into killing the seventh Hokage.

Come on, don't lie. It was the same thing all over again – it was just easier to pretend with the snake bastard, and easier to block the memories out entirely with the schizo. No wonder your brother wanted him to stay away from you. The things the schizo did were too horrible even for me to dredge up for you – you should be thankful for that, at least.

You can feel the muscles in his abdomen cringe and writhe as you drag one set of nails from his collarbone down to his thigh. His hands drop from your shoulders and clutch the sheets as pain and pleasure war over his body. It feels like every muscle you touch is pulsating and writhing with his need.

Now, damn it, he growls at you, Stop dragging it out.

Oh, feisty, isn't he? You smirk up at him and drag your tongue very lightly across the plane above his member, drawing a hiss from him as his back arches off the mattress. His knuckles go white as he fights against another moan. Looks like he's done playing the victim. Too bad you're not done with the power play.

You slide up so that you're nose to nose with him again and stare into his eyes. Your hands bring his up to the sides of his head, pinning them there as your fingers lace through his.

I'll take as long as I please, Hyuga. Your voice is low and hoarse with your own need, and tempered with your irritation that he isn't cooperating entirely. He glares back up at you, his pride getting in the way as always. Apparently you really are going to have to cut your fun short.

Come on, have a little pity. Or have you forgotten how it feels to be completely submissive, vulnerable to whatever your partner decides to do to you? Don't make me remember what the schizo did to you – this man isn't the only one who wants this to reach its climax. And don't tell me to shut up; if I was lying, you wouldn't be so defensive.

You lean down and lick his ear, sending shivers through his body. He moans loudly and presses up against you, no longer demanding but pleading for you to finish it. Have you had quite enough fun tormenting him now? Or are you simply tired of holding back? Don't think I can't feel how much pain you're in, brat.

You slip two of your fingers into your mouth, wetting them before you thrust them into his opening. Immediately you find that area where the sensitive bundle of nerves is, and he lets out a breathless cry that's nearly a shout. His body turns to a squirming mass of stone as you drive him close to his breaking point. His eyes squeeze shut; his mouth opens in wordless gasps as he throws his head back, exposing his throat.

Perfect.

You lean down and put your lips to his throat, sucking on the flesh there as he continues to moan and writhe. You take your fingers from his opening and ram into him before he has time to react. With your teeth scraping lightly against his neck, you can feel his voice reverberate into your mouth as he screams in agony. His hands fly up to claw at your back as you keep driving into him, not letting the pain fade away between thrusts. As soon as you move to nip at the side of his neck, he bites down on your shoulder, muffling his cries and drawing blood from the deep wounds he's just inflicted.

You growl and bite down just as hard on the side of his neck, but by now you're both too far along to feel any pain – much less react sensibly to it. You might be in trouble if one of his teammates is nearby and heard him screaming like that. Then again, he won't exactly get a hero's welcome, either.

He surprises you by suddenly grabbing your arms and twisting until he's got you pinned. You hiss as you're forced to pull out of him, but he ignores you, still sucking up the blood pouring from your shoulder as he positions himself. You barely have time to tell him to stop before he slams into you.

Hurts, doesn't it? Your insides feel like they're on fire – like they're being torn in half as he pounds into you again and again, and now you're the one who has to try to stifle his screams as the pain and quickly-growing pleasure drive you towards your climax. Soon it's almost impossible to breathe; your lungs are constricting under the ecstasy he's putting you through.

Through the blood roaring in your ears, you can hear him murmuring something in a voice so husky it's almost a deep whisper.

Do you think you're the only one who needs this? Did you think this was one-sided, Uchiha?

Fire tears at you as you finally cum against his stomach, and you squirm and cry out uncontrollably as the rapture takes you. There is nothing in this moment – no sound, no scent, no taste. Any awareness you had before is burned away in the white fires that burn behind your eyelids and deep under the surface of your skin. Only the thrill – so intense it rests upon the line between pain and bliss – greets you in this centuries-long second. All you can do is scream, and the only word that comes to your lips is his name as you feel him join you in the searing heat.

As one, your bodies writhe against each other until the fires die down, leaving you both exhausted and gasping for air. He collapses on top of you, moaning something too slurred by his weariness for you to understand, though it isn't hard to guess what he says, is it? What else is there to say after something so powerful?

He drifts off almost immediately afterward, breathing lightly against the hollow at the base of your neck. You would be content to let him stay like that, but for the first time you realize how frigid the room is. As drenched in sweat – and other things, obviously – as you both are, there's no way the two of you can sleep naked and uncovered. Where is that pesky blanket when you need it?

Oh, that's right, it's on the floor. Because you two kicked it off the bed while you were screwing each other. Way to go, genius. Now you have to figure out how to crawl out from under him and grab the stupid thing without waking him up.

Have fun with that.

Author's Note: Did that blow your MIIIIIIIIIIIIND?! (I love the ending. So beautifully evil. XD)

For those of you who don't know (aka, anyone who hasn't read the manga or watched the English subbed Naruto Shippuden episodes), the schizo would be Madara/Tobi. Anybody who can pull off such a high-pitched, whiny, sloppy, ignorant role when he's the exact opposite has to have something wrong with his head. Besides, I only promised Madara screen time; I said nothing about said screen time being dignified. (And yes, I do enjoy making fun of people who can kick my ass to Kingdom Come. I may be slightly psychotic that way.)

I liked making fun of Sasuke in this. And I've always sort of imagined that Sasu-chan's subconscious would be more bitter and insulting than Neji's. Come on, Sasuke lived with Orochimaru for two years – if that didn't make him even more of an asshole, I don't know what would!