Amaterasu

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I realize this is very much a niche pairing and idea, so I really do appreciate whatever feedback I get. Anyway, I hope that you all like this chapter.

Chapter 3

"Gaara, Karin, can you watch over them?" Itachi sighs. "I'm going to need to speak with Jiraiya immediately and I don't want them to sneak off." The very idea of leaving behind his Mate was a painful one, but it had to be done.

The Toad Sage was his best hope. After all, Jiraiya was one of the leaders of Konoha. If anyone could help him, it was probably the white haired man who had a weakness for writing erotic literature and women with large chests. (Which was probably why he was married to Tsunade).

Gaara nods. "Of course." Itachi had always valued the Sunaese's professionalism. Though he supposed that was probably just something that went with the territory of being from a Kage Planet.

A planet wouldn't get that prestigious title, if its inhabitants weren't capable of focusing on important tasks. Kage planets were extremely rare for good reason. It was almost impossible to get that designation.

"Thank you, my friend." Itachi smiles as he places his hand on the red head's shoulder and turns to go.

Karin smiles at him. "Don't worry, I'll make sure that they don't go anywhere!" Upon hearing this, Itachi nods gratefully. Just as he was about to leave though, Kisame had to go and open his big fat mouth.

He should have expected it, really. The Samehada race was not exactly known for its subtlety, especially Akatsukis.

"Hey! Why didn't you ask me to watch them?!" He glares at the other alien and this prompts a sigh from the Sharingan Prince.

Wonderful. "Because, I know you." Itachi smirks. "You're more an attack dog than a guard dog." Then he pauses. "Well perhaps, shark would be more accurate in your case."

Kisame smirks as well and he nods in understanding. Good. That was one crisis adverted. Now, he just had to figure out what he was going to do with his newfound Mate. His Mate who likely had only the faintest idea what it meant to be a Sharingan, let alone someone's Mate! This was a disaster in the making!

A beautiful disaster though. Sasuke had certainly grown well. Itachi sighs and shakes his head as he quickly heads off to find Jiraiya. He needed to concentrate on more important things than the other Sharingan's fortunate looks.


Meanwhile Sasuke wakes up and looks around. Immediately, he notices that he was restrained by a very special kind of metal. One that he recognized was designed to hold even the most hardy of aliens.

"Oh good!" A skinny red headed girl smiles at him. "You're awake." That's when Sasuke notices her feathers. "How are you feeling?" She was an alien.

He wasn't the only one waking up though. Sasuke could hear Suigetsu groaning and his friend immediately tries to sit up and walk off. He didn't get far though. He could sit up, but he wasn't getting off the hospital bed anytime soon.

Suigetsu blinks. "Um Sassy, where the Hell are we?" He looks around warily.

"You're both inside the medical wing of Konoha's Headquarters." A winged alien watches them like a hawk. "You're fortunate that your injuries were relatively minor, but you were still trespassing. So you're being restrained until it's determined what we're going to do with the two of you."

Which judging by those wings and talons, the male alien might actually be part hawk or something. Not that Sasuke could judge. That was actually one of the more "normal" looking body types for even humanoid aliens. Compared to the Squidus, this alien looked like a supermodel.

Kisame gives Gaara a dirty look. "Don't go scaring the brats off, particularly the pilot." Sasuke raises an eyebrow at that.

Why was the Akatsuki so worried about scaring him off. Did he know that Sasuke was a Sharingan? Certainly, his shifting abilities could be useful in a group like this. Though didn't he realize what sort of political trouble, adding him to the team could create?

The Senjus were still out there. Most likely, they still had their sights set on Earth. And it was almost certain that they were still competing against his people. Locked in what seemed to be an endless struggle for supremacy.

"I'm just being honest." He glances at Sasuke and Suigetsu. "I'm Gaara. You can call me that or the Kazekage." The red head gestures towards the female Uzumaki. "That's Karin. Her superhero name is Banshee."

Sasuke looks at Karin a little more warily after that. One didn't get a nickname like Banshee without good reason. She was probably tougher than she looked.

"That's good to know and everything, but we were really just curious." Oh boy. Suigetsu was apparently really going to try this. "We weren't going to like do anything!"

Kisame chuckles and rolls his eyes playfully. "You really have no idea what you just got yourself into." He pauses for a moment. "I think you brats are telling the truth and normally, it probably wouldn't take that long to release you. Unfortunately or fortunately, this is now a very delicate situation though."

Gaara snorts in amusement. Sasuke had a feeling that delicate wasn't a word that the Akatsuki often uttered. Nor did he particularly feel like it was often associated with him.

"And why is it a delicate situation?" Sasuke highly doubted they were the first people to try to sneak a peek.

Surely, they had some kind of protocols in place. That was almost a given really. So why was the other man acting like this was such a big deal. He seemed almost embarrassed?

Karin giggles and blushes. "Well…that's not really up to us to answer." Oh yeah. Sasuke was officially freaking out now. Banshee was blushing!

That couldn't be a good sign. What could possibly make someone with that particular nickname blush?

"Alright. Well who can answer it?" Sasuke smirks as he hears Suigetsu ask that question. "Cause we don't really wanna lay around here indefinitely." That was his friend. He always so wonderfully direct. No bullshit! " You know what I'm saying?"

Gaara playfully rolls his eyes. "That's for Itachi to answer. At the moment, he's in a discussion with the Toad Sage." He shrugs. "He's the one who will decide your ultimate fate."

The Toad Sage?! Wonderful! If Kisame was one of their star players, the Toad Sage was one of the managers. He was big time.

Sasuke didn't get it. Why were they going to such lengths to deal with the two of them? Yeah, they were both aliens. But so was almost everyone on this base. So that shouldn't be an issue.

That meant something strange was going on and Sasuke didn't like it. They were dealing with a large group of powerful aliens. He probably only could identify a handful of their species and that wasn't good.

If it came down to a fight, he knew almost nothing about them. Knowledge was power. Hopefully, it wouldn't though. As Suigetsu had repeated said, they were the good guys.


Elsewhere Jiraiya blinks when he sees Itachi walk into his office. That wasn't particularly unusual as of late though. The man was the Sharingan Prince and Earth had just been recognized an ally of his home planet with the formal announcement being scheduled in just a few days. What was unusual was how panicked Itachi looked.

"Itachi, what's wrong?" He had never known the other man to be so forlorn about anything before.

The Sharingan sighs. "Well we found a couple of joyriders by our island. Normally, I wouldn't worry about it." He pauses. "But one of them is a Sharingan and apparently, my Mate."

Jiraiya blinks. Whatever he had expected, it hadn't been that. Though that didn't explain why Itachi looked so worried.

"Well that's wonderful news!" He smiles at Itachi.

The other superhero takes a deep breath and shakes his head. "In most cases, I'd be ecstatic about finding my Mate. Unfortunately, it's complicated." And that was putting it rather mildly.

The Toad Sage tilts his head to the side and it wasn't hard to guess why. Complicated and Mates wasn't usually a thing for the alien species who had evolved in that way. It was just supposed to be automatic.

"Well then uncomplicated it." The old man winks at him.

Itachi chuckles. "I wish that it was that simple. He also happens to be my brother." That was the issue.

Well that wasn't exactly the issue. To his people, that fact would have raised only a few eyebrows. Even then though, no one would have actively protested it. A Mate was a Mate and really, it was as simple as that.

Sadly, that wasn't the case on Earth. Humans tended to make everything more complicated than it had to be. Honestly, it was a wonder that they ever managed to produce, let along that there were almost ten billion of them.

"I thought that your brother was dead though. Do you have a second one?" Jiraiya frowns in an utterly baffled way.

The young prince could only shake his head. "I thought he was dead as well. Somehow though, he ended up on Earth. And I only have one brother. Sasuke. My adorable baby brother is now all grown up and he's presumably been raised in a mostly human way for well over a decade." Itachi had faith that Jiraiya was now more than capable of seeing the problem.

The older superhero frowns and Itachi sighs again. Yes, Jiraiya had connected the dots and now understood the situation at hand.

"That's…well you're right. That is complicated." He pats him on the back reassuringly. "Well still. It's an instinctual process. So it shouldn't be that difficult. Congratulations."

Itachi raises an eyebrow. He didn't really think that it was going to be that easy, did he? He couldn't possibly be that naïve.

Jiraiya chuckles. "Well if nothing else, Itachi…you do have your good looks to fall back on."

He supposed that was true. "You had better hope that Tsunade doesn't find out that you said that." The busty blonde might take it the wrong way and Itachi had no desire to create a rift between the husband and wife.

"Oh believe me, that woman is fully aware that I'm only interested in females." He shrugs. "No offense. Love is love, but to me there's nothing that can surpass the beauty of the feminine form in all its glory."

That didn't exactly break Itachi's heart. It wasn't as though he was trying to seduce Jiraiya and he knew the man well enough to realize he wasn't prejudice.

"No offense was taken." Itachi sighs again. "They came close to our base and were trespassing." He was doing entirely too much of that today. "For obvious reasons, I would like for you to overlook that or let them off with a warning, perhaps?"

It was against protocol, but he could only assume that the superhero would humor him. After all, Jiraiya understood the situation. Certain accommodations were only to be expected.

"Yes, I think that I can let them off with a rather stern warning." Jiraiya chuckles. "I must be getting soft in my old age. Now, let's go back to your Mate and see if we can't get you a date with him or something." And with that, the two men quickly head back to the hospital room where Suigetsu and Sasuke were staying.


A few minutes later, Sasuke tries his best not to stare as the Toad Sage and a gorgeous superhero walk inside. He could tell by his scent that this was the one who had worn the Weasel Mask.

Now, Sasuke knew why. No one would have ever been able to focus on superhero stuff, if someone that stunning was walking around all the time. He had a face to match his voice.

"I do apologize for the rough welcome that you both received." The white haired man chuckles.

Suigetsu apparently was feeling lucky. "No biggie. So we're just gonna go now and we'll call it a day." He grins at the other man. "No harm, no foul. What do you say?"

Sasuke barely refrains from snorting. Nothing was ever that easy. That was especially so when you were dealing with this many aliens.

"Well I wish it was that simple." The younger alien stares at them with beautiful crimson red eyes.

Sasuke felt almost hypnotized by them. He could practically feel his own eyes turning red. Well he supposed there was no hiding what he was now. That was a distinctly Sharingan Trait.

"Perhaps, we should give them their privacy." Gaara releases Suigetsu form his binding. "You are to come with us. This is… a family affair." And with that, the red head drags Suigetsu off.

It seemed that the Kazekage would book no protests. He completely ignores the flailing Suigetsu, in favor of gesturing towards his comrades to follow him.

Kisame sighs. "I always miss the good stuff." He looks back at Itachi. "You better tell me what happened or I'll just look at the security tapes." He winks, before heading off after Gaara.

Karin looks at Sasuke somewhat apologetically. Probably because she felt like she was being rude by allowing his friend to be "kidnapped." That didn't last long though. In almost no time at all, the red headed woman follows after her friends.

"COME ON! LET GO OF ME!" The sounds of Suigetsu's struggles could be heard, but it was to no avail! "THAT'S MY FRIEND BACK THERE! I'M NOT JUST GOING TO LEAVE HIM BEHIND!"

Sasuke smiles upon hearing that. If nothing else, Suigetsu was definitely loyal. Though he was more worried about getting them out of this alive than anything else.

Jiraiya rubs the back of his head sheepishly. "Well you certainly do have a very loyal friend." He chuckles.

"You could say that." Sasuke smirks.

Itachi just shakes his head as he sits on the bed next to Sasuke. "I want to undo your restraints, but you have to promise not to attempt anything foolish. We are not going to play Hide and Seek." He pokes his forehead and Sasuke's eyes widen in recognition.


"Foolish little brother, you're good at Hide and Go Seek." Another Sharingan smiled at him and poked his forehead. "But I will always find you."

Sasuke grumbled. His big brother always found him. He was just too good at guessing where all the good hiding spots were!

He didn't know how the other prince did it. "What gave me away?"

Itachi smiled and pulled him close. "Instinct, I suppose. Come along. Mother and father told me to fetch you for dinner."

The younger Sharingan cuddled into his brother's affectionate hug. "Do we have to? I heard that it's going to be all the yucky kind of vegetables?" He whined up at him.

His big brother shook his head in amusement. "You're a Sharingan Prince and you're hiding from vegetables?" He shook his head again. "You really are foolish sometimes. Don't worry. I saved you some of those tomatoes you like so much."

Sasuke broke into a big grin at that. Tomatoes were amazing! They were this fruit from some far away planet called Earth. As they weren't an allied planet though, it was pretty expensive to import them.

"Really?" He beamed at his older brother.

Itachi smiled and nodded. "Yes, I did. Come along now." He laced his fingers with Sasuke's and led him off. "We really shouldn't keep mother and father waiting."


He blinks and looks at him in shock. "Brother?"

Could it really be him though? The name Itachi sounded so familiar, but it was all so distant. Like the memory of a dream. He scarcely thought about Amaterasu anymore. He'd lived on Earth for twelve years and he never thought he was ever going home. So why would he?

Itachi wasn't really sure if it was a good thing Sasuke had recognized him or not. If he hadn't, there was a chance he could have slowly warmed the other man up to the idea of them being Mates. Though this could also help to build trust.

"Yes, it's me." He smiles and kisses his forehead. "I told you that I would always find you and I've never lied to you before." The Sharingan Prince sighs. "It's just this time, we had to play a particularly long game of Hide and Go Seek."

He could feel Jiraiya's eyes on them, but at the moment the elder Uchiha just didn't care. He had his brother back and his Mate was sitting on the same bed as him. His instincts were purring with primal pleasure, while his more analytic mind was panicking.

It was highly unlikely that Sasuke was going to immediately agree to be with him. His human upbringing no doubt would have soured him against the idea of such an unconventional relationship, but still he had to try. A broken Mating Bond was a fate far worse than death.

Sasuke stares at him in shock. "Yeah. About twelve years long. T-That's got to be some kind of record." There were so many emotions dancing in his ruby red orbs, but they were all passing too quickly for Itachi to properly identify them. "But yeah…it'd be great, if you could undo the restraints."

Itachi nods and quickly frees Sasuke. "I really am sorry about that. I didn't realize who you were at first and I needed time to explain things." He still needed time to explain this, but right now…that would be enough.

Maybe, if he could reestablish their old bond…the rest would fall into place. That would be ideal. Then again, when had anything ever been that easy for the Sharingan Prince? Never. That's when.

Sasuke immediately hugs him. "It's alright. I understand." He rests his head on Itachi's neck and deeply inhales his scent. "I missed you."

It was a natural reaction for an alien. Aliens in general were creatures that highly valued their sense of smell. It was a comfort thing and that just made Itachi feel guilty.

Guilty for responding to such an innocent gesture in such a not so innocent manner. "I missed you too. More than you'll ever know." He smiles at Sasuke. "And I'm sure that our parents will feel the same way."

Did Sasuke feel it, wondered? Could his foolish little brother and beautiful Mate feel what he felt or had his Sharingan instincts been buried too deeply for him to notice? Even if they weren't, perhaps he would just interpret them as a brotherly affection rather than a romantic one.

Oh well. For now, he'd work on establishing a platonic bond with him. His instincts might be screaming at him just to mark that elegant, creamy pale neck…but Itachi wasn't an animal. He could control himself. Well at least he hoped that he could.

Sasuke blinks at that. "Our parents? They're still alive?" He didn't know why that shocked him.

They were the King and Queen. Most Monarchs on Sharingan tended to live long lives and Shariganians had long lifespans to begin with so that was certainly saying something.

"Of course, they're still alive. There's so much that I have to tell you, Sasuke." Itachi sighs as he embraces him tightly. "So much that I have to share with you, but first…I have to know. How did you survive?"

The younger Sharingan bites his lower lip. He didn't want to make Itachi feel guilty, but he had asked. "I managed to Shift and get into an escape pod. There wasn't enough fuel to get home. So I had it go to the nearest inhabitable planet."

For once, Sasuke knew that he had truly surprised his brother. Itachi looked absolutely stunned. There was no other way to describe it.

"And you must have realized that it was a neutral planet that we were disputing with the Senju." Itachi sighs. "It's difficult not to hate them sometimes." He then smiles. "None of that matters now though. You're back. That's the important thing."

It was bad when Itachi said it was difficult not to hate someone. His memories might be fuzzy, but he remembered the other man being a very loving person. Itachi was a Pacifist by nature, which was why it was strange to see him here.

The Kasai Alliance was definitely not a passive one. They fought the "Bad Guys" a lot. So what was Itachi doing here, if he wasn't necessarily a member? That or perhaps, his brother had simply changed a lot in the past twelve years. Twelve years was a long time.

Sasuke nods. "I asked around and figured it out. I was lucky." He smiles, hoping to make his brother feel better. "I was taken in by a very good family. I was well looked after." The Hyugas were a bit aloof, but they always made sure that his needs were met and Sasuke couldn't honestly say that they were ever cruel to him.

That and he had grown close to two or three of them in particular. Hinata, Neji, and to a lesser deal Hanabi. He still kept in touch with them, despite the fact that he had moved out about a year ago.

"Good. I'm glad." He smiles. "We owe this human family a great debt. They were human, right?"

Sasuke nods. The Hyugas were very human, even if they did seem a little alien at times!

"Yes, they were." He hugs him tighter, almost afraid to let him go. "Do you really think that it's a good idea for me to see them? It's been so long and I've lived like a human for twelve years. I'd be a stranger."

Itachi shakes his head. "Sasuke, never doubt for one moment that you're part of this family. I highly doubt that they are going to care that you assimilated in order to survive." The elder Sharingan holds him even tighter as if to further illustrate his point. "I know that I don't. It'll come back to you. It'll be like riding a bike as the humans say."

Sasuke nods. He wanted to believe that. He did want to see his parents again, but he couldn't help but feel more than a little terrified.

And there was also the fact, that he had been checking out Itachi. He shouldn't have done that. His eyes definitely shouldn't have gone red for the other Sharingan.

"Alright. I guess we'll try it and see what happens." He smiles a little uncertainly at him. "How did you get here anyway? It's a neutral planet. You're taking a big risk."

Itachi smirks. "It's no longer a neutral planet. We cut a deal with the Senju." He pauses. "Long story short, we still have to make the official announcement, but now this planet is allied with ours. Which means we can travel here and to Sharingan as much as we want and your precious tomatoes will be less expensive."

Sasuke beams at that knowledge. Itachi had remembered his favorite food! He was such a good Mate.

He mentally scolds himself for such a thought. His instincts must be going haywire. Somehow, they must have confused his familial love for Itachi with another kind of love. Yeah. That was it. It would go away. Eventually.

"That's very good to know." Sasuke smirks, hoping to hide his distress at the turn that his thoughts had taken.

He just had to wait it out. Eventually, his instincts would go back to normal. At least, that's what Sasuke Uchiha was hoping as he looked up at his gorgeous brother and mentally winced. He really shouldn't think that his brother was gorgeous, but there really was no denying that Itachi Uchiha truly was gorgeous. Sasuke wasn't blind.