Hey y'all! Welcome back for the next chappie of, Whisper. I hope you all will like how this goes from this point onwards. It'll definitely be an interesting time; especially with what I have planned. Hehes

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Chapter 2: Ember

Kakashi

Seeing him in this state does hurt, hating myself for being unable to keep him safe. What might Minato think of me now if he saw me? In my tent, I sit on my bedroll, unsure if I'll get any sleep tonight. There are too many things in my mind right now. At least I can still approach him, knowing very few are able to. Something he nor anyone else has let others know is why he won't talk. Has he grown mute? No, maybe that's not it at all. There must be some events that have come to pass that prompted him and the others of his kin to make such an oath to one another. I understand it of course, recalling I did a similar thing after the incident with Obito. Eventually, I grew out of it when I had my own team to worry about. That's when I moved on to try living my own life. It's what he probably wants out of me anyway. Lost in thought, I don't notice that Yamato comes to join me. Glancing up, I see him there, quirking a brow in his direction.

"It's not your fault," says Yamato as if he's somehow able to read my thoughts.

"I'm aware," I sigh, unsure of how I feel about all of this, knowing it must be harder for Naruto than anyone else. "But I can't help to feel a little bad. I promised Minato….. I feel like I've somehow failed him."

"Look at it this way," begins Yamato to explain to me, trying to assure that I've done nothing wrong though still validates my feelings, glad to see even with everything that's gone on through the years that he and I are still friends to a degree. "You haven't really failed him, you know. Naruto is still alive. If you honestly for true failed him then he would've been caught by the Akatsuki by now."

Considering this, I nod slowly, figuring he has a good point there, "Thanks, Tenzo."

"No problem," he reaches over, patting my shoulder for further reassurance before he leaves me to return to his own bedroll to rest for the night.

Turning onto my side after I lie down, I gaze up, unsure of how I need to feel about this. Perhaps he's right after all. I haven't done wrong by my vow so far. Maybe I'm taking it too close to heart with how he is now. Blinking a few times, I don't know if I want to embrace or reject sleep. The thought of troublesome dreams doesn't appeal to me. If I have to relive that fateful day over and over then I'd prefer not to be swept away by darkness until we need to leave in the early dawn. Alone with my thoughts, I don't know what will happen from this point onwards. Brushing some of these thoughts aside, I know that whatever may happen I'll be ready to face it without hesitation. My former students are a part of this team. What I need to do is ensure their safety even though I'm no longer their sensei. Besides, Tsunade will have my head if any harm comes to Sakura and Naruto. A yawn escapes me, trying to avoid falling asleep. Unfortunately, I. Can't fight against it for much longer. The yawns keep coming at me, eventually sinking down deep into a restless snooze. It's not until five in the morning that I suddenly wake up without warning in a cold sweat. Panting, I try to settle my breathing, knowing my eyes are probably dilating at the faint memory of the night terror I came across. See, this is one of the reasons why I hate sleeping even when I need it, deciding to get up to find a nice tree to read in while I wait for the others to wake. Well, they'll probably expect me late anyway due to my track record.

Still, I need to watch over him…. Minato, wherever the hell you are, please don't be disappointed in me. I'm trying my damnedest here.

()()()()()

Naruto

Startling awake, I recall vaguely what Kurama and I spoke about. The sense of someone watching me probably is what brought me back up to the surface. Blinking away the last dregs of sleep, I pull myself up into a sitting position. Breaking out some morning rations, I eat quietly. Well, I try to at least, knowing the others are still fast asleep. Glancing around, I see no one in near nor far sight that might be the culprit. Kurama assures me it's no one unknown that might be causing this feeling. If that's the case then maybe it's Kakashi again. If so, then why? Is there a reason why he of all people might be watching me? More importantly….why don't I feel unsettled by the thought?

He's your mate, points out Kurama smugly.

What? Uh, it's possible, I shrug, not knowing if that's really the true reason behind it, opting to keep that as an option in the back of my mind. If that's the case then why does he have to look over me in a way I can't sense him, huh?

He doesn't want you to know, suggests the fox, agreeing that this makes the most sense to me right now while still trying to wake up.

Nodding, I guess that's probably the case. I mean I can't think of anything else that can be it. Anyway, the thought of seeing Gaara again is exciting. It's been a while since last I've seen my brother. We aren't that way by blood. I wonder how it's been for him considering he's the Kazekage and all. Probably it's been hectic for him as well. The vow isn't easy on him due to his siblings trying to weasel in to help him. Can they truly understand what he's going through? How can anyone if they haven't gone through something similar to us? There's something that Kurama told me during my sleep that still bothers me. If the Akatsuki are after us then what's their endgame to it all? Slumping my shoulders out of defeat, I decide to stop pondering over it for now. The only thing that'll happen if I continue down that train of thought is a headache. It's still an adjustment to how my body has changed. At least it's one I accept with no regrets. The choices I make are ones that I don't look back on. If I do then it's a rarity it happens in the slightest. Pulling out the notebook, I jot down a few things off the top of my head. Well, this is a different one. There's the previous one that's leather-bound I use to speak with others. The silk bound one is a journal. No one is given permission to view it except for Kurama. They live inside of me so I don't really have any privacy with them.

Hey, um I guess, Diary,

Here we are again it seems. On another mission for delivering important papers…. Can Granny give us something better? I mean seriously…..being messengers isn't that bad….but still…. I don't know how well or poor this is going to end up being. There's the Akatsuki sightings nearby…. That spells bad news…

Then there's Kakashi…. Damn it! What do I feel about him? There's no hatred there of course. But what does the electricity mean? What does the butterflies and nervousness mean? Why do I feel so tense around him? Uh, I do know what a crush is like, but this is different than anything else I have felt before.

Anyway, I need to get ready. I'll write in here again when I feel like it. So, bye I suppose…

Putting up the silk bound one, I put it back into my pack, keeping the leather-bound one on hand for whenever I might need to speak to one of my comrades. There are certain noises I can elicit that I use for a signal of sorts if we're needing to split up. Rolling my bed up to put back in its scroll, I go up a tree when I'm done, coming face to face with the person of my supposedly affections.

"I thought I might find you up here," I grin sheepishly, feeling that rush to my cheeks without a warning.

"Oh? Well, you indeed have caught me it seems… Alright, you want to go now, correct? Let's waste no further time then. The others will be waking up soon to leave as well."

()()()()()

Orochimaru

Well, well, I thought convincing him might prove harder than this. He accepts my offer so quickly…. It has me wondering what motives he may have aside from the ones with his brother. He really wants to find the truth so badly? What will he think when all reveals itself to him? Anyway, a few days have come to pass, preparing for the journey to Rain. It will take a while to reach there if we go on foot. Kabuto does want to accompany although I ensure that I will be fine. It's not necessary for him to come along when there's those down in the depths of our hideouts that require his attention. In short, he has work to be done that warrants his skillful hands more so than with me.

"Are you all set?" I ask him, waiting at the entrance to the main base in my village, contemplating idly what Tsunade and Jiraiya might think when they eventually figure out my plans.

"Hn, I am," confirms Sasuke, ensuring he has all of his belongings that he thinks are necessary for this excursion.

"Then let's go, shall we?" I motion, departing from here to start our travels, knowing it will be an interesting time while in the company of my former pupil. "You finished all of the training quicker than I ever thought…."

"Indeed," agrees Sasuke, paying me no heed while taking purposeful strides, knowing we will stop for camp when night falls.

A companionable silence settles between us. Walking alongside one another, I notice he glances every once in a while at me. Does he know of the condition? If so, then it's none of my concern what he may think about it. One of my pets is coiling around my shoulders. Usually, one of the serpents remains on my person majority of the time. The others are found through summons most of the time. What I wonder is what may happen between us during this trip of sorts. With these thoughts along with others in mind, we continue on until dusk passes, setting up camp in an area that isn't going to be easily found by any other ninja including bandits or AMBU. Good, it'll hinder our progress if we're going to encounter any roadblocks along the way to our destination.

Creating a small fire, Sasuke sits on a log, gazing into the flames to seemingly be lost in thought. Paying me no heed, I move to sit beside him. Noticing nothing amiss, I place a hand on his shoulder. Tension rises for a moment before he relaxes, knowing it's just me. It intrigues me how someone who tries to be so impenetrable can let down his walls given the chance around the correct type of people. He has done it before amongst his former comrades. Though he cut those ties long ago to agree to the path he chose on his own accord. He seems to be one of few regrets when he makes up his mind. Hmm, well, it's merely another factor that increases my curiosity about how an Uchiha works. After several long moments, he then glances over at me, noticing the close proximity with a stoic gaze. There's a flicker behind those walls with a certain emotion.

"What are you doing?" He asks warily, unsure of what my intentions might be.

"Oh, nothing in particular," I chuckle lightly, removing my hand from him, not wanting to rush anything nor wanting to make him uncomfortable. "We'll move at your pace if that's what you wish…."

Furrowing his brows, he considers this, being patient to give him all the time he desires before coming to his own decision about this, "What do you mean?"

"Oh my, do I hear confusion from an Uchiha?" I tease, clicking my tongue at him to further it a little.

One of his eyebrows twitch in annoyance, "Don't patronize me…. Explain what you mean then considering I don't know by your standards."

"I'm sure you know, but you might not understand how to put it into words," I sigh, guessing it requires me to spell it out to him. "Do you have an attraction towards men?"

Blinking a few times, shock initially overtakes his expression, cracking through his armor, enjoying how it falls sometimes so easily when he and I are alone with no one to intrude, "Well, that's a good question you propose…. I thought to like women when I was in Konoha. A while before I left and in your company I discovered what I truly want."

"What is that precisely?" I ask, genuinely curious because it has to be him that instigates this before moving forward.

Leaning in closer to me, he captures my lips fiercely before pulling back, seeing his gaze darkening in a mix of raw feelings, "I think you know. If you must require me to say it aloud then I will… It's true I began starting to feel drawn more so to the same sex a while before I left. Naruto was my first crush…. But then I met you to have everything change in more ways than one."

"Do you regret anything that's gone by up to this point?" I question him, feeling pleased at hearing this confession, knowing it's private between us at recalling how Uchiha's aren't kindly to their secrets being on air in full blast to public ears.

"No, not one single moment."

()()()()()()

Madra

It's only a matter of time now it seems. Orochimaru is shortly going to arrive with the Uchiha. It'll be interesting to see the interaction between Sasuke and Itachi. The older of the two knows of his imminent arrival here. It appears as if he's preparing himself for it. Well, he needs to after all, considering what he'll divulge is going to be hard for him to swallow. There are other plans in the works of course. The capture of the jinchurriki is still in progress. So far we only have a few of them. There are those who remain out of our reach. Am I furious about it? No, of course not. We will have them in our clutches no matter how long it may take. Besides, the Root is in our employment for spies. A few of Danzo's soldiers are in our use. While I'm not a fan of relying on a fellow Elder has trying times in need of assistance from an unlikely source. A knock at my door alerts my attention, sounding permission for whoever it might be to enter.

"Have you sent everyone out?" I ask my partner when Nagato comes in to close the door behind him before coming to join me, settling down on my lap.

"Yes, they are," confirms the redhead, knowing his place with me, not complaint about it even to this exact moment. "Soon, we'll have the remaining jinchurriki here in our web."

"Indeed," I murmur in agreement, anticipating when we'll at last complete our goals, wondering how well our subordinates will do with persuading the fox and sandman.

The plans change over time. Our previous method of trying to capture jinchurriki has worked before except after a while seem to fail. It's why we are trying a new course of action. This will prove better considering there are those that can lead our targets to agree more so than others. Wrapping an arm around my lover, I know he has no objection to our further plans for the organization. We come to an agreement between us before enacting it amongst the others. Indeed I can put forth orders on my own whenever I deem it necessary. Most of the time I run it by Nagato first since he is the leader everyone outside of Amegakure knows to run Akatsuki. Only those behind the walls of Rain know who truly is the ringleader. All in all….it isn't going to take much longer at this rate. Two pairs are out to look for Naruto and Gaara. One pair is after the Two Tails. The rest have duties within the village to see to until they're given an imperative mission that will tire them out more easily than anything mundane they encounter here.

It's all coming together quite nicely. The rules of the past will be blown asunder when Akatsuki finally accomplish what no one else has before; eternal peace.

Oks, that's the nd of this chappie. My goal is to reach 3k word count wise each time. If I go over or under then that's alright. At least it will have plenty of content relative to the plot more or less. Sure, there might be some filler once in a while, but it's necessary scenes. Hehes

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed what happened this time. The next chappie will be out shortly whenever I have it finished being written up. Hopefully that won't be too long of a wait for it. Until then, please remember to review, darlings!