I don't own Naruto or any related characters, etc...
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Only I
Orochimaru's greatest fear...
No. He stopped himself there. Fear was the wrong word. Fear implied that it could cause him some sort of harm. It wouldn't harm him. It would just detriment some of his benefits. Many of his benefits.
What was it, then? Concern made it sound like he gave a damn beyond his own interests. So it wasn't concern. Anxiety sounded too jumpy. Worry? Eh, not quite specific enough, maybe a little weak-sounding, but it worked.
Orochimaru's greatest worry within all his carefully constructed plans, inevitably, was directly linked to Sasuke. The Uchiha, whom he'd worked so hard to obtain, played a key role in his preparations. To lose the boy would be to lose the Sharingan, and Orochimaru almost could not afford to lose a second intended container possessing a bloodline limit.
It wasn't Konoha that he was worried about. They did not promise the young prodigy what he desired. As long as Orochimaru offered that, Sasuke would never return to the Village Hidden in Leaves.
It was the very promise which was his poison.
Sasuke knew that his body was to become Orochimaru's within the year. The man could clearly detect a change within his trainee's manner resulting from this fact. He'd become more irritable, easily pushed into anger. There was a subdued agitation in all his movements. He'd begun to completely thrust himself into every training exercise without question, with a dangerous reckless abandon. He was desperately working towards the power which only Orochimaru could give him.
The only one who could take the boy from him was Itachi.
Sasuke didn't give a rat's ass about Konoha's fate. His ties with it had been severed long ago. There was, as far as the man could tell, no lingering loyalty that remained after his betrayal, over two years since passed. Orochimaru was certain that Sasuke wouldn't have much objection to the man's possession once his own goal had been reached. The boy lived, breathed, cried, sweated, and bled revenge.
But three years was not enough.
Even as he watched his disciple's wondrous progress, something nagged at the back of his mind. Even if he was given the whole three years, Sasuke would not reach Orochimaru's level. And, therefore, neither would he be on par with Itachi.
It used to be a simple task to convince Sasuke of his obvious inferiority to his older brother, persuading the boy back each time he took off. But lately that'd become less effective. Sasuke was stronger than before, much stronger, and he knew it. Without a way to gauge that strength, he had no way of knowing how much of the gap he'd covered. So, like the foolish child he was, he ran off yet again to track down his brother.
Orochimaru didn't like the expression Kabuto wore as he re-entered the room.
"Four of the five search teams have returned. They all reported no sign of Sasuke-kun."
The man felt his left eye twitch.
"And of the fifth...?"
"... They have not yet come back."
You'll be in big trouble if you've killed them, Sasuke-kun... Orochimaru thought, knowing that the least of his troubles were the lives of a few of his men. "Which team did not return?"
"They were... searching in the direction of the Rock Country."
His heart skipped a beat.
"If you like, I shall gather another..."
"Don't bother." Orochimaru stood up rigidly, walking towards the exit with large paces. "Prepare to leave immediately. We will be accompanied by no one.
"This is bad," he whispered to the boy as he passed. Kabuto turned, eyes wide, instantly understanding the meaning. They strode out of the base, taking off the moment they stepped into the sunlight. It wasn't until they had covered some distance that Kabuto spoke again.
"I take it things could get rather messy."
'Rather messy' was an understatement. If the two Uchiha met up, the chance of both surviving an uninterrupted fight lay between the realms of none and downright impossible. Orochimaru had never quite figured out Itachi's fixation with his little brother, but at Sasuke's current level, he could very soon present the man with a real threat.
Just not soon enough.
Kabuto accepted the silence as a valid response while Orochimaru's ever-calculating mind raced. Had it been coincidence? And if it hadn't, where the hell did Sasuke receive a tip as to the location of the Akatsuki main base?
Orochimaru wasn't so sure he'd be able to keep Itachi from killing the boy.
/\/\/\/\/\
The man slowly turned to the right, ceasing his walking. Next to him, his partner turned in confusion. "Itachi-san, what are you looking at?"
An almost imperceptible chuckle escaped his lips. "Go on ahead. We'll meet up later."
Kisame squinted off in the direction the other was looking. Seeing nothing of interest, he sighed and continued along the path. Leave Itachi to his whims.
The elder Uchiha stepped off the road, working his way around a cluster of rocks. No sooner had his feet touched the ground again than the sound of another landing met his ears. Looking to the source, his red eyes met with a pair identical to his own. He smirked slightly. "It seems you finally mastered the Sharingan."
"IIIIIIIIIITAAACHIIIIIIIIIIIIIII...!"
Sasuke's leg flew at his brother's head. An instant later there was a loud smacking sound as it collided with a hand, and Sasuke pushed away quickly. He had put all his strength into that kick, and yet Itachi blocked it as if it was nothing. The man had to be bluffing.
"I'LL KILL YOU...!"
In one quick, practiced motion, he leaned forward and charged at the man again, hand sliding to the holster on his leg, pulling up and gripping a sharp kunai. He plowed into Itachi with all his weight, pressing the blade forward. The echo it made indicated clearly that his brother had blocked with a knife of his own. Above him, the man chuckled. "You do not give me enough credit... bunshin."
Itachi suddenly ripped his kunai sideways, spinning around with the force of his swing. Now behind him, Sasuke emitted a popping sound, vanishing into thin air.
In front of him, Sasuke barely had time to raise his knife.
It had been a stupid move to come from the air, he knew. Dodging in mid-jump required a lot of effort, and his brother would obviously have noticed the shadow clone before his real self had attacked. But beyond his own foolishness, something else was bugging him.
What good is being able to read his taijutsu if the window is too small for reaction?
He'd never seen someone whose movements were revealed so closely to the action. Any later, and Sasuke would have thought that his brother could control his chakra outlines. But that was impossible... right?
The parry had only thrown him a short ways, and the moment his feet hit the ground he reversed his direction. Sasuke brought the weapon up for a forward thrust, determined to actually land a blow.
Mere inches from wounding his brother, something flashed before his right eye. The teen barely turned his head as blood suddenly streaked from a gash, cut into his face where his eye had been only a moment ago. For the first time he jumped back and stayed back, checking his anger long enough to evaluate the situation.
Itachi was still stronger than he was. Dammit. He was also fast; straight-out much faster than Sasuke, but with the Sharingan Sasuke was still able to move just in time. So at least that much was good. Sneak attacks would be tricky to pull off, but not impossible. Ninjutsu likewise. Genjutsu was out of the question. And then there was... that.
Be careful, Sasuke, he's aiming for your eyes.
Well, two could play at that game.
The younger Uchiha clasped his hands together, quickly running through the seal sequence. "Katon goukakyuu no jutsu!"
Itachi leapt above the fireball, moving easily despite the large cloak he wore. Sasuke followed his flight, and as his eyes met with those of his brother, a cold shiver shot through him. It wasn't Tsukuyomi. It wasn't even any genjutsu. It was only a look, the gaze of complete and utter contempt with which his brother watched his every move. A gaze which was devoid of any love. Any care. Any feeling but scorn and disdain.
Sasuke reached back, hands closing on two pointed objects. With a sharp ferocity he let them fly, speeding towards Itachi. It seemed as if the man merely spun in the air, avoiding the shuriken altogether. But something caught his attention.
Yes, you bastard. Here's the one thing of value I learned in that damn village. How to surprise.
Sasuke jumped towards his brother, kunai clenched in both hands. On the other side of Itachi, his two shuriken transformed with a popping sound into his likeness, also bearing weapons. All three of them sped towards his older brother, floating seemingly helpless in midair.
The man's chakra trail vanished.
When Sasuke and his clones touched the ground again, the only result they had to show for their efforts was a very thoroughly diced log. He barely had time to recuperate before a pop sounded to his left, and one of the copies vanished. When did he-?
Pop. The second one was gone. Sasuke looked around desperately, trying to find Itachi. The man had practically disappeared.
Blue.
That was the last thing Sasuke saw through his right eye before a kunai, swiping upwards, got one good clean strike. Then the pain came. Then he saw Itachi again. Standing before him, staring down with the expression of a killer. Completely calm. Slightly amused. Toying.
That was what pushed Sasuke over the edge.
A searing heat grew at his neck, rapidly spreading across his body. Every muscle burned as power coursed through his being, transforming every cell. Wings ripped through the back of his shirt, spreading out and flexing. His skin grew dark, and his hair spilled past his shoulders. His eye began to itch in a useless attempt to regenerate the lost orb. Itachi's gaze had become hard again as Sasuke glared up at him, hatred racing through him. "I... WILL... KILL... YOU...!"
The gap had been lessened. Sasuke raced forward, powered by the cursed seal, nearly taking off Itachi's head with one slash. The elder jumped backwards just in time, claws grazing the tip of his nose.
"Katon ryuuka no jutsu." The flame dragon sped towards Sasuke. With a quick flap he was airborne, escaping the clutches of the charging creature. Looking down, he caught sight of Itachi. The man glared up at him, and Sasuke took pride at the carefully masked unease that he could just barely make out on his brother's face.
I bet you've never had to deal with something like this.
A kunai raced towards him. The teen grabbed it with ease.
"Don't mock me!" he shouted smugly, letting the weapon fall to the ground.
The explosion tag ignited.
What explosion tag?
Before Sasuke realized what was happening he had been knocked to the ground. Itachi was above him, falling towards him, wielding three kunai. Sasuke barely had time to move away.
So he didn't move.
One knife found its way into his wing, piercing the flesh easily. The weapon intended for his heart found a lower target, digging into his side. The kunai that had been in Itachi's mouth was lost when Sasuke had made his counter.
Itachi stepped back, a look of pure shock on his face. He held one hand over his left eye, which was bleeding profusely. Slowly Sasuke stood, pulling the knife from his side, a huge smirk plastered on his face. Regaining control of himself, the surprise vanished from Itachi's expression, and he slowly lowered his hand. The wound wasn't as deep as the one he inflicted on Sasuke, and it might have been able to eventually heal. But for now, both Uchiha were down one Sharingan.
But Itachi still had the Mangekyou.
/\/\/\/\/\
Orochimaru found the two easily, once Sasuke started screaming.
He jumped into the clearing, stopping short in surprise as Itachi turned towards him. Sasuke lay on the ground, level two cursed seal engaged. His body had many wounds; one of which, Orochimaru noticed angrily, was on a precious Sharingan. He was breathing raggedly and close to tears. Clear indicators. He had been caught in the Tsukuyomi, and hadn't been able to escape quickly enough. If at all.
But what had surprised Orochimaru was Itachi's face.
He wasn't sure how Sasuke had managed to take out one of Itachi's eyes, but he'd find that out later. Now he was in a rather precarious spot, although, admittedly, it was a lot better than he'd expected.
"Orochimaru... ever the traitor."
"Step away from him, Itachi."
The two hadn't fought in ages, and were clearly gauging each other's skill beneath the exchange.
"He wouldn't want you to interfere. You know that."
"Since when have I cared about others?"
"You're trying to save him." The man smirked slightly. Orochimaru returned the expression. "Do you know what I'm going to do with him?"
Itachi's smirk slowly faded. Without another word, he turned and took off after his partner.
"Orochimaru-sama... what was...?"
"Kabuto. Do whatever it takes to restore his Sharingan." He motioned to the shaking boy at the edge of the clearing.
"... Yes, sir."