Chapter 4- Betrayal

"-the money we are gaining greatly surpasses the losses!"

"Yes, yes, I will keep that in mind. Now please, I need my rest." With a sigh, Kazuhiku Hayashida closed the door to his study, shutting out the face of his business partner. Stress lines etched on every inch of his face, the middle-aged nobleman walked tiredly to his chair, and collapsed in it. He buried his hands in his face, his voice coming out muffled, "Damn old geezers, why can't they see that if they continue with the mines, just more and more people are going to get killed? Grass isn't that kind of country! Agh."

Ox. Horse. Rat. Snake. He was satisfied with his observation. Not that, he would have had much a choice if he hadn't; he had accepted the job after all, and nothing should stop him from doing it. Still, he felt a lot better about helping a good man than an evil one. No… if he had felt that Hayashida were hiring them for evil purposes, he would have dealt with the noble accordingly. That's what the Hokage had meant by 'take care of it' after all. It would have been all too easy to make Kazuhiku Hayashida's death look just like the other ones that had been going on recently. No matter how much he distained killing, he would do it if it saved the lives of many.

But right now, he didn't need to let his mind wander to his darker thoughts. Hayashida was a good man, so none of the scenarios that he envisioned needed to take place. With a determined nod to clear away the rest of his straying thought, Itachi jumped down from the roofs and greeted the nobleman.

Hayashida jumped about a foot in the air, and Itachi had to strain himself to force down the smile that was crawling up his face. "Guards! Guards!"

"There's no need to call for them," Itachi said easily, bowing, "I am after all, someone you hired."

It was then, that Hayashida seemed to catch the leaf symbol etched on Itachi's forehead protector. He instantly relaxed, bowing in return, "I'm Kazuhiku Hayashida, but it seems as if you already know that. Are you the messenger?"

A trickle of annoyance slithered up Itachi's spine, "I am the one you hired. Ninja are not judged by age, but by ability. We decided it was beneficial to come as exchange student- much less suspicious."

"What? Someone as young as you shouldn't be ANBU, and that is what I paid for!"

"Well I-" Itachi took a breath, calming his nerves. What was wrong with him? Was it because he had of the conversation he had with Edward last night, and his emotions were still loose? That wasn't good… Itachi needed calm in able to deal with his clients. "Please, allow me to prove my skills to you before you judge."

"It's not that!" Hayashida ran a frustrated hand through his hair, "It's just- you're so young! I thought Konoha was moral, but letting kids become ninjas…!"

"That is how all ninja are raised. Surely Grass is the same way?"

"Not until they're the age of an adult! We don't let our children graduate until they're 14!"

Itachi felt a small smile drift across his face. That was a nice concept, and he was glad that yet another thought so strongly towards preserving innocence. Still, that peace was not for himself. Perhaps he would talk with Hayashida later on, but right now he needed to get his mission details, "I agree that this is nice, but this is how things are. I am simply a soldier, and arguing with me will create no changes. Please, let us move on."

"A soldier-!" Hayashida sighed, shaking his head, "You're a kid too, don't forget that. But alright, let's move on. Now first of all, how did you get in here?"

Itachi's smile fell from his face, "Your security is laughable Hayashida-sama. Any ninja could easily get in."

Well no, not any ninja could get in, but any competent jounin could, certainly. Personally, Itachi hoped that Hayashida would take his warning to be more careful to heart. The world didn't need to lose any more of its peacekeepers.

"Very well," Hayashida nodded easily, "You're the expert here. Alright, onto our next order of business. I suspect that one of the higher nobles is killing off anyone who opposes them, including other nobles. Now they're doing extraordinarily well, since not a lot of people have picked up on this, and even I didn't suspect foul play until… well, it's a personal matter really, but don't worry, it's not relevant. Let's just say I got a tip-off from a trusted friend. Anyway, he just warned me to stay secure, but of course I couldn't do nothing while people were being killed…

"So, I hired Konoha nin, because I didn't know if I could trust any Grass ones. You came at a perfect time actually. Just yesterday, another noble -Iriye- has been killed. Apparently, some servants heard a bang and went running to the scene, only to find Iriye's body broken at the bottom of the stairs. Nobody wanted to touch it, so they're getting a professional to go pick it up. I suspect it'll still be here tonight, and gone tomorrow, along with all the evidence."

Hayashida was a very shrewd man. Itachi wouldn't have guessed.

"This could of course," Hayashida continued, starting to pace, "Be completely unlinked, but I'd like to get it checked on the off chance that it isn't. If somebody is plotting to overthrow the Daimyo… no, that's too ridiculous, but I can't see what else can be gained from killing all the nobles systematically like this, unless this person is trying to destroy the Daimyo's support. And the Daimyo cannot afford to be destroyed! Grass is in need of structure, and a rebellion would only bring chaos… Anyway, please ignore my ramblings, and just report to me of everything you find."

Itachi nodded, used to the commanding tone, and quickly left. He found Iriye's house easily enough, though getting in was not so easy. Still, he was ANBU, and he had the advantage of a bloodline. Added to that, the Grass ninja weren't nearly as trained as Konoha's nin.

The room reeked of death. Itachi quickly covered his nose, activating his Sharingan so he could see through the darkness. Instantly, the room became as bright as day…

Itachi's eyes widened.

There, on the floor beneath the stairs, lay the silk covered body of Iriye. His elbow was bent at an odd angle, as if he landed on it the wrong way and broke it before he broke his head. His hair was fanned out towards the living quarters, a silk blue hairband still holding the very ends of his hair together. A bloody hand splayed out beside his broken head, as if he were reaching for something but couldn't quite reach. His limbs askew, Iriye did indeed look like he had just fallen from stairs, and if Itachi didn't know there was fowl-play involved, he would have never had guessed. This was big coming from someone well-versed in the arts of killing silently. Itachi stalked the corpse, looking for some kind of clue- anything.

And then he saw it; there was a little rip in Iriye's blue night shirt. Why would there be a little rip…? Itachi quickly scanned the stairs, but found no tell-tale piece of blue cloth stuck along any of the steps. Where…?

Eyes widening, Itachi quickly bent down, undoing Iriye's hair. With shaking hands, the red-eyed Uchiha unrolled the blue 'hairband', and quickly read the bloodstained contents. With every word, his breath got shorter, and Itachi felt his world become stiller.

I have heard something downstairs; and I fear that it is the one who is killing off all my comrades. It may come to be nothing, but I write this as a precaution. Dear reader, know that if I am dead, then the murderer is…

"…then the handsign for rat, the deceitful one. Watch closely… Henge (Transform)!" A cloud of smoke surrounded the academy instructor, and when it cleared the red haired man was no longer there, replaced by a quiet, cowed looking little boy.

"Wow…"

Uchiha glanced over, his bored eyes gaining a curious glint to them. Edward assumed that it was because Uchiha had little to be curious about in Grass Academy. After all, though some of the things the instructor was teaching were new to Edward, Uchiha would have no doubt learned about them before. However, they had to attend class as part of the charade that they were exchange students. Edward's aggression towards the boy had gone down since coming to Grass, where he found that most ninja were the same if not worse, and now Edward even felt a little bad for him. The worst thing for Edward was being bored. And if Edward had to admit it, even he was bored sometimes, having already read much of the theory of chakra in books. Uchiha's situation was not one Edward envied. Still, this time…

"The Henge," Edward breathed, watching the instructor with enraptured eyes. At Uchiha's slightly confused look, Edward couldn't help but expand. At the moment he couldn't have cared less that Uchiha had a problem with morals and was an all-around bastard; here was a person puzzled and willing to listen. It was the scientist in him. "It's an amazing array of particles and wave patterns. As you know, colours are caused by wave patterns, and the pitch of a voice can also be adjusted using these frequencies. Somehow, the founder of technique was able to induce a state in which the user can simply think of the colours they want to project, even if they know nothing about the physics of how it's done. Instead, using handseals, the thoughts they have are projected as waves, thus creating the image they want. I would have never thought of this in a million years. The person who created this was amazing."

"Oh?" Uchiha blinked, a slight frown appearing between his eyebrows. The dark haired boy turned back to the teacher, examining the academy instructor slowly, a small, interested glint entering his eyes, "I'd never thought about it like that…"

"Well I guess since you've been surrounded by it all your life…"

"But why would the waves not extend past a certain point?" Uchiha mused aloud.

"What?"

"Your theory is fairly sound, but if the mirage were simply caused by wave particles, would the surroundings not also change?" the Konoha ninja asked calmly, "If one were to say, imagine that they were a certain person, and associate a background with it, would reality's background not also change? What would stop the waves from affecting everything besides the person in question, especially if the wave frequencies for sound are able to reach another person? This leads me to believe that Henge is perhaps caused by reflection of water molecules of the sunlight, causing different colours to arrange themselves in patterns which form the specific image."

Edward was thoughtful for a moment, "Good point, but what would cause the water molecules to spontaneously arrange themselves…"

Their debate went on. Sometimes, one of them would take several minutes before they could think of a counter, while at other times the reply would be instantaneous. It was never outrageous, though. Not one suggestion couldn't have worked, but both of them seemed to be searching for the perfect answer.

And then the bell rang.

Edward glanced at the clock, blinking. He hadn't realized three hours had passed. Had he even paid attention to the teacher while whispering to Itachi? It was almost like being absorbed into his books, expect this book could argue right back, could actually disprove of Edward's theories.

It had been… surprisingly fun, now that he thought back on it. He had never really had someone on the same intellectual level as him; well, who would talk to him, anyway. As bad as this was to think, even his brother had not matched him- not really. Sure, Al was smart, but Al could never contradict Edward's theories and force him to refine his proofs. His theories and perceptions could finally be presented now, without being looked down upon and with an equal amount of input. It was… nice.

He almost snorted at himself for that thought; he didn't do nice.

Itachi rose gracefully, head tilted towards the door as the stream of academy students all rushed out, "Where to lunch?"

Edward almost fell over in shock at the question, but managed to thankfully stay upright. In the past week that they had been attending the Academy of Grass, Edward and Itachi had almost completely ignored each other, eating lunch in completely different areas. Now… the cold ice prince was asking him?

Well… it sorta made sense Edward supposed. He was feeling amiable towards the dark haired Uchiha, and perhaps Itachi was feeling the same towards him. Besides, lunch would be a great opportunity to continue discussing their theories. And… there was one place that Edward had been meaning to visit.

"Satran District," That was the name, if Edward remembered correctly. He ruffled around in his pockets, pulling out the crumpled map he had been gifted with, "South of here."

Itachi nodded, and bounded off towards the direction indicated on the map. Edward rolled his eyes; well, the Uchiha may have become amiable, but he still didn't know how to wait for other people. That was fine though, because Edward didn't like waiting either.

Putting the map back into his pockets, Edward bounded after the Uchiha, relishing in the new ninja techniques he had learned in the past month. Just applying a little bit of chakra to a certain area like the legs, could make so much of a difference in speed! Edward couldn't help the slight grin that spread across his face.

The grin faded however, as he neared his destination. The rustle and bustle of Grass seemed to come to an abrupt halt as he finally made it to Satran District, the noises of life and laughter dying down. Itachi stood in front of him, his fists clenched and his body trembling lightly. Edward worriedly took a step forward, and almost had to squeeze his eyes shut as a wave of strong stench assaulted him. His eyes watered, and his nostrils stung, but Edward took the step forwards anyway to Itachi's side, and it was then that he saw what Itachi's body had blocked his vision from.

"Who…" Itachi's voice was hoarse, shaken, "Recommended to you this place?"

People lay on the sides of the streets, pale and wrinkled, skin dangling loosely from their frail bodies. Children lay everywhere, bellies bloated and plump while the rest of their limbs looked like yellow bones. Flies were everywhere, probably due to this blasted humidity, circling the people and feeding off their sick sweat. What…?

Edward staggered back, almost tripping over his own feet as his mind flashed to the day that he went to visit Lior. Blinking away tears, Edward stumbled forwards, landing on his knees in front of a plump bellied lady, who's arms and legs looked as thin as the pencil Edward had been using at the academy.

"Who did…" Edward gulped, not really able to stand the intense look the lady was giving to him, "Who did this to you?"

The lady gazed at him for what seemed like eternity, before she tilted her head up, looking instead to the skies. When she finally spoke, her voice was coarse, as if she hadn't used it in a long time, "We have always been like this. I have a disease, a weak body. Grass has no use for people like us. This is simply one of the districts where we are kept."

Edward sucked in a deep breath, falling back at the woman's words. There were more? Distantly, he registered a hand holding him by the arm, pulling him up. Edward looked up with dull eyes, and Itachi didn't look much better. This had been hidden from them, obviously, maybe because the Daimyo was embarrassed, or simply didn't want to be looked down upon. This had been going on while they were happily chatting in the academy.

Edward stood, nodding towards Itachi in thanks and brushing off his clothes. With one last glance at the people of Satran District, Edward turned away, walking back into the lighter parts of town; he hated the concept but… he hated how the people of Grass were treated even more. He could not afford to keep living in the past. He needed… he needed to contact Katsu.

"Who recommended that place to you?" Itachi asked again as soon as they were in a more secured area. His voice was back to being a monotone.

"Katsu," Edward murmured distractedly, "Of the rebel forces, I think."

"Rebels…?" Itachi froze in his tracts, then narrowed his eyes. He grabbed onto Edward's arm, practically dragging him as the dark haired boy ran towards their hotel.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Edward demanded hotly, unsuccessfully trying to tug his arm back. Itachi had a strong grip, and Edward's body wasn't quite as muscled as it used to be (would become?).

"To the hotel room," Itachi stated in a voice void of emotion, even as he jumped over carts with Edward still in his grip, "Talking about such matters in public would be stupid."

Edward opened his mouth to protest, then realized that Itachi was right. He had been an idiot for bringing up rebels in the middle of the street. If they'd continued with the conversation, surely some drunken idiot would have heard and reported it to the wrong person.

But seriously, did the Uchiha have to drag him all the way there?

Edward was about to ask Itachi to release his arm, when he realized that they had arrived. Itachi released his arm without being prompted, and Edward realized he had nothing to say against that. Huffing, he followed the Uchiha to their room.

As soon as he got in, Itachi closed the door, shutting it with a slight click as it locked.

He turned to Edward, his expressions serious, "When did you meet the rebels? Tell me everything."

Edward wanted to snarl. Itachi was a kid, younger than him even! He didn't have to tell Itachi anything.

Itachi seemed to have realized where Edward's thoughts went to. "Forgive me, I did not mean to demand the answer from you, but do realize that this is an important matter to Konoha."

"Why not just tell Hikari-san, then?" Edward grumbled. Here Uchiha was again, acting like an adult even though he couldn't have been more than eleven years old.

Itachi's expression closed off. "Rebels have nothing to do with our mission, but I can tell that you want to get involved. I simply wanted to warn you off it, if it could potentially harm Konoha."

Edward tensed, then snarled, "How could you say that? You saw those people! How could you forbid me from helping them?"

"Do you know, Elric-san, what a war looks like?" Itachi asked in a flat tone, "Have you ever seen one?"

Edward hesitated, and thought back to Lior. Yes, he had seen one, and it wasn't pleasant.

"So you have…" Itachi's eyes were dark, "I had wondered if you were too isolated to see the Third Great Ninja War. It's not pleasant is it, war? You must realize that if you aid the rebels, a civil war is what will result."

Edward clenched his fists; he knew that, but… but…! "We can't sit around and do nothing!"

"It's not our concern."

Edward growled; actually growled. He took a breath, telling himself to calm down. It wouldn't do to strangle the kid in front of him. Still… Edward snorted, "What hypocrisy. You say that you don't like war, yet by your logic, if Grass started a war, you wouldn't prevent it either."

"That is up to Grass to decide."

"Alright," Edward said slowly, trying to push down his building anger "So then why do you even care what I do about Grass?"

Itachi turned away, looking at the window rather than at Edward's face. "It is not our place to meddle. It could reflect badly on Konoha if you were discovered."

Edward rolled his eyes, "Then all I have to do is deny all involvement with Konoha, right? I'm not even a ninja of Konoha, really. I think it'd be easy to pretend that you were just keeping an eye on me and then this happened, so Konoha wouldn't get the windfall of the responsibility. There, Konoha gets off almost scot-free."

"Why are you so insistent on helping Grass?"

"Why are you so insistent on avoiding help? You saw those people there! And I know you weren't as unaffected as you'd like to pretend."

Itachi hesitated, then— "You are wrong, I can be perfectly unaffected."

"You mean you can act like it," Edward snorted, "But you don't really feel that way, do you? So why won't you help?"

Itachi's reply was soft, and surprisingly not without emotion. It bespoke of hidden pain, hidden tragedy. "You cannot help everyone in the world."

Bull was Edward's first response, but hearing Itachi's voice made him reconsider his words. Itachi didn't sound like a kid who was just repeating philosophy because he thought it sounded cool. Itachi was… And then, Edward remembered what Itachi had said about the Third Great Ninja War. How old had Itachi been at the time? How could he have been affected?

Edward sighed, as he realized that he didn't really know anything about the world of ninja, after all. He'd been so quick to judge, so quick to point out their flaws. Killing? Uncaring? No, Itachi had demonstrated he was far from uncaring about life. Edward had simply assumed, when he had known nothing about the ninja world. He did not know anything about Itachi's reasons, either. Itachi, a kid who didn't know anything and tried to hard to act like an adult? No, it was Edward who had been immature.

And it was time to stop acting like a child.

"No," Edward replied finally, the anger drained completely from his voice, "You cannot help everyone in the world. But if you don't try, how can you hope to change the world at all? Stuff's probably in other parts of Fire Country, but I don't know about that. All I know right now is what's happening in Grass, and once something is in front of me, I can't abandon it."

There was a long moment's of silence. And then—

"The Third Great Ninja War occurred when I was four years old, but I still remember it as if it were yesterday." It was Itachi, his voice softer than Edward had ever heard it before. "People came back with missing limbs weekly, and people you used to see everywhere were suddenly no longer around. No one laughed, no one joked; the air was always tense and suspicious glances were cast everywhere—even at family members. I do not want to see war again."

The other occupant of the room swallowed, remembering Lior. He did not particularly want to see a war again, either. Itachi moved away from him, walking towards the large apartment windows. They oversaw the streets of Grass; abet the nicer ones. Itachi stopped there, looking out towards the chattering people as they passed by each other on the streets, blissfully unaware of how badly their lives could turn.

"If the rebels cause a civil war, I will annihilate them myself, so that the civilians will not have to suffer for the mistakes of the few. However…" Itachi paused, turning back around. His eyes were burning with a fire Edward had never seen before, a fire that Edward found surprisingly familiar. "If you think that by joining the rebel forces you can prevent a civil war, then I will help you to the best of my ability."

Edward blinked, surprised at the sudden turn of events. He felt something tug at the edge of his lips, and realized that it was a smile. Maybe Itachi wasn't so bad, after all.

"How can you be so sure?" Itachi demanded forcibly, flinging Edward's shirt towards the ground. What Edward was suggesting… was absolutely ridiculous. While Itachi respected Edward's intelligence levels, Itachi was starting to have doubts about the blond's common sense.

"I trust them! And you should too! We've known each other for two months now!"

"Two months isn't enough!" Itachi growled, "They could still be playing us for the fool, especially since we don't know the full situation here!"

"They aren't!" Edward said stubbornly, his face dangerously red, "I've been meeting the rebels for two months and they all care about Grass! They only want the best for it!"

"But what about Katsu?" Itachi grounded out, wishing the other boy would just see his point. "You've admitted to me yourself that he's a slippery one. He's the head of the rebellion, and who knows whether he's just misleading the others or not. I've checked his record- he's an old Grass ninja!"

"I know; you've told me, Katsu's told me. He says it's because he doesn't agree with Grass's military policy, and that's partially the reason he started the rebels group in the first place."

"Do you really trust him?" Because Itachi didn't. When he had met Katsu, he knew right away that he would never trust the man. Katsu had a hidden agenda in everything that he did, and Itachi had a bad feeling that it pertained to them.

Narrowing his eyes, the blond nodded, "I do."

"But you know what information I told you," Itachi said tiredly, "Kazuhiku Hayashida, the noble who hired us- he's nice towards the civilians, seems to sincerely care for Grass, and trusts the Daimyo completely, yet…"

"Yeah," Edward sighed, the energy draining out of him as he slumped back against the wall. "I know."

"So can we really trust Katsu Kurkawa? And what if we do get involved, then what? We are Konoha nin Edward, first and foremost. If we help Grass in a rebellion, Konoha will be held responsible, and the international consequences will be colossal. I've let you get away with meeting the rebels so far because I thought you wouldn't be doing anything of importance, and therefore not reflecting badly on Konoha, but that they actually want to move…"

"We ditch?" Edward shook his head, closing his eyes. "Not going to happen. I know it'll cause lots of deaths and stuff, if the rebellion goes through, because there are still citizens who want to support the Daimyo. They still have loyalty to the nation, after all. I'm trying to keep that casualty down, while still trying to induce change, and Katsu is as well. We're not blood-thirsty barbarians Itachi."

Having spoken his piece, Edward stopped talking, waiting for Itachi's retaliation. This was always the way they debated, and Itachi knew eventually one of them would finally see the error of their ways and go with the more logical solution. But of course, there were many times when neither of them could convince the other that their solution was more logical.

"War is a horrible thing, I think we've both witnessed that," Itachi looked away, his eyes not really seeing the blond in front of him anymore. He thought of the wreckage he found outside of Konoha's walls- the people who had insane with bloodlust; people who had never picked on a cockroach before. The screaming that Itachi had thought was normal, until war ended. He didn't want to bring that to Konoha again. With an inward sigh, Itachi turned back to the blond, hoping against all hope that Edward would see the consequences of helping Grass. "I think it is best to forget this journey, We can't afford to drag Konoha in this too. We'll tell the Hokage about the political situation, and of our incapability to complete the mission, and then…"

"Wait a minute! Listing them together like that…" With a large grin, Edward grabbed onto Itachi's hand, ignoring the shocked look in the black haired boy's eyes. Without warning, Edward started running, tugging Itachi after him. Of course, Itachi could probably go faster, but not if Itachi had no idea where they were going.

They raced down the streets, and finally, into an old, beaten down pub. The bartender looked up at the sound of his doors, raising his eyebrows when he was met with the sight of two eleven year old boys. "How may I help you?"

Edward grinned, slamming the door shut behind him, "I want only the best of Grass; it's unfortunate that the best is only offered in so little places."

The bartender's brows rose even higher, but he nodded anyway, and motioned for them to follow him. They had after all, said the password. Edward did so readily, but Itachi was not so inclined.

"They changed places again?" Itachi asked, feeling annoyed behind his blank mask. The rebels were paranoid, and perhaps that was a good thing, but… "Why did you not tell me?"

"I figured that you wouldn't come without me anyway," Edward shrugged, and held on tighter to Itachi's wrist as he felt the brunette pull away, "Hey! Stay for a while won't ya? I've thought of something interesting."

Itachi raised his eyebrows, feeling just a slight bit intrigued. Well, he supposed it couldn't hurt; it wasn't like Edward would be leading him to his death. Itachi never would leave a mystery if he could help it. They finally made it to the staffroom, and the bartender rolled up the rugged brown carpet. Underneath it was… nothing. Or maybe not nothing.

"Where is it?" Edward asked with a frown.

Itachi's eyes slowly bled into the familiar red of Sharingan, and the eleven year old child took two steps forwards. Lifting his foot, he kicked at the now visible hatch, and jumped through. Itachi landed gracefully, the cosy staffroom disappearing as the surroundings changing into a dimly lit, underground cellar. A moment later Edward dropped in after him, landing in a crouch.

Edward rolled his eyes, glancing around the room with distaste as he slowly stood again, "Man Katsu, you could've afforded better rooms. This place is downright gloomy."

A loud laugh rang through the air, and Aki -another rebel- stepped into the light. He grinned at Edward, "I admit, I don't agree with our hideout this time either, but Katsu says it's just temporary."

Itachi stiffened, his mind racing at the implications, "Temporary… as in less than two weeks?"

Aki gave Itachi a sly look, "Well, we've got to act while we've got you two here, don't we? Ninjas are so hard to come by these days."

So then, Katsu was planning for Konoha to take the fall. After all, what could two eleven year old ninja do that a whole rebel army couldn't? But before he could say anything, Edward clamped a hand over Itachi's mouth, ignoring the glare the dark haired boy sent him, and the laugh that bubbled out of Aki.

"Take us to Katsu," Edward ordered, removing his mouth from Itachi with an apologetic look. Itachi didn't look at him.

"Fine, fine," Aki grinned, turning from them and walking away, "For you."

"I'm leaving," Itachi informed Edward quietly. He was going to inform Hikari, like he should have done, and ask her to help him drag Edward back to Konoha. It stung to have failure, and to need to ask for an adult's help, but this time it was needed. Itachi was not so stupid as to not recognize his own weaknesses.

"Wait," Edward hissed, latching onto his wrist again. Itachi glared, but Edward simply grinned in response, "You can leave after, okay? For this whole rebellion thing… I have a plan."

Edward didn't say anything after that, because Aki engaged him in a conversation, but the blond didn't need to. Itachi was intrigued. He had to admit that Edward had some interesting ideas, and with the rebel leaders to help smooth out the finer details, whatever the blond was thinking of just might work.

It wasn't as if Itachi didn't want to help Grass. He liked Grass's situation as little as Edward did; Itachi simply was less vocal about it. He hated seeing the children on the streets, hopelessness in their young eyes. Woman driven to do… less savoury things in able to survive. If Edward's plan isolated Grass, Itachi would definitely help him.

But if it wasn't isolated… Itachi felt his fists clench. He wouldn't let anything happen to Konoha, he couldn't. The village that was his home, the place that had offered him sanctuary. The Hokage with the same ideal of peace, and the wits to get it. The place where his brother resided…

Itachi would listen to Edward's plans, but if the time came… Itachi would only do what was best for Konoha.

"Quick! To the second wing!"

Hidden by the shadows, Edward listened as the guards ran towards the blazing second wing of the palace, giving a silent word of thanks to the rebels. It would cost them, he knew, but he hoped that it would be worth it. No, he knew it would be worth it. Besides, if all did go according to plan, no one would even lose their lives. It was a simple break in, set fire to an important place, then quickly get out. Their spy had provided them with guard clothing, so they should be able to get out easily.

Then, Katsu had gone one step further, and issued a command to all the rebels to start a riot in St. Peters Square- the largest market place in Grass. The rebel army numbered… well, Edward wasn't too sure on the details, but he was quite sure it was a lot. Funny how many people were dissatisfied with the Daimyo's rule. Then again, if there weren't that many people, Edward wouldn't be helping the rebels. Thinking about that, it was time for Edward to concentrate on his own job.

Adjusting his stolen outfit, Edward moved out from his hidden corridor and quickly started running towards the first wing. In this confusion, hopefully no one would care where a lone guard was going, even if they noticed. After all, people were running everywhere, and it was very dark out.

He easily slid into the Daimyo's personal dwelling, the knowledge once again, provided by their very useful spy. Heh, being in the center of an organization was great. There were two guard there, but Edward easily knocked them out. He was after all, a well-known fighter in Amestris, and he had the element of surprise on his side. It was almost pathetic how easily the guards were taken out. Why hadn't anyone tried anything with the Daimyo before?

Keeping his footing as soft as a newborn kitten's, Edward slowly crept towards the Daimyo's sleeping quarters, deftly avoiding any patrols coming his way. With his skill in Alkehestry, it was no problem to sense people before they appeared. It was almost too easy.

He should have known that nothing ever went easy for him. When he opened the door to the Daimyo's sleeping quarters, he was instantly pinned to the ground, the breath being knocked out of him. More of a reaction than anything else, Edward kicked upwards with his left leg- the one that should have been metal. Of course, it wasn't, but it did its job.

His attacker grunted, but didn't let up his death grip on Edward's neck, making the blond see stars. Instead, Edward felt familiar cool hard metal press against his throat, and instantly knew it was a kunai. Edward froze.

The lights flickered on, and Edward had to blink several times before his eyes could adjust. Gritting his teeth, he squinted up at his attacker, and felt his eyes widen, "You-"

"Good job Itachi!" A high, ratty voice rang out, and a tall man stepped within Edward's vision. Dressed in elegant robes and with an arrogant expression on his face, Edward instantly knew that this was the Daimyo. "You really were telling the truth after all!"

"Of course, Daimyo-sama," Itachi replied in a monotone, still poised with his kunai to Edward's throat, "Grass and Leaf are after all, allies. Will you please keep your end of the bargain, and keep Konoha out of this? After all, this person was only being tested to see if he were trustworthy. He failed."

"Of course," The Daimyo let out a high pitched giggle, "I would never think of blaming Konoha. We all have our black sheep, don't we?"

"Itachi you-" Edward let out a chocked breath, "You betrayed us- how dare you-"

"I think the correct thing to say is," Itachi's voice was flat, his red eyes boring down without the slightest hint of guilt, "You betrayed us. Our mission was to stop the murders, not to assassinate our ally."

"But, the people!"

Itachi shrugged, as if this were no great concern to him. Edward gritted his teeth at the display; why couldn't he-! As if taking their silence as the end to their conversation, the Daimyo giggled once again, "Now, now, Elric-san, the people are doing fine. This is my country after all. Now tell me, were you a great part of the rebellion? You must have been, if you staged this whole scene tonight, and all the rebels followed you. Itachi, what do you know?"

The traitor simply nodded.

"Great!" The Daimyo clapped, "Kisuke, Manto, take Elric-san to the cellars; I want to personally interrogate him later. After all, not many people try to come and assassinate me personally. Plus, I want to know all about the rebels. I need to think of appropriate punishments after all…"

To his dismay, Edward noted that there were two other ninja that he had never noticed. Probably, these were the Daimyo's real guards, and if the Daimyo hadn't wanted to rub in Edward's face the fact that he had never stood a chance, he probably would have been killed before he could enter the Daimyo's household. Edward looked up to Itachi with resignation, and for the first time he saw something akin to guilt flash across the black haired boy's face. In an instant though, it was gone, and Itachi raised his other hand in the form of a fist. A splitting pain lanced through Edward's head, and then everything went dark again.

When Edward awoke, he was in his least favourite position. Hands bound behind him, he was once again in a dingy cell, the cool underground air making him shiver slightly. His clothes had been ripped, just to make sure he wasn't concealing any hidden weapon, and his head was still throbbing from the blow Itachi had given him. Ugh, didn't that boy know how to hit lightly?

He didn't know how many hours he spent like this, but finally, blessedly, he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. The Daimyo had arrived.

Edward glared up at the noble, "Isn't it a little dangerous for you to come here by yourself?"

The Daimyo let out a tickling laugh, and glanced down mockingly at the eleven year old. Purposefully, the Daimyo let his eyes drift to Edward's bound hands, his torn clothes, his hazy eyes, "You really do overestimate yourself don't you? Please, I don't need a guard to deal with a kid. Now, tell me about the rebellion army, and I might consider letting you off easy. You are a kid after all."

"Like hell!" Edward spat, "I'm not going to betray my friends just to save my own skin!"

The Daimyo's eyes hardened, "So, I'll have to torture the information out of you, hun?"

"You'll never get the information at all! I won't betray the people of Grass like this! I've only been here three months, but three months is enough! It's disgusting how the people are living; and you don't even care!"

"Well, that is true," The Daimyo replied lazily, waving a hand dismissively, "I don't really care about the people, as long as they pay their taxes. It's true that I only want to further my own wealth, and the speeches I give about a better future are just pure rubbish that'll keep the civilians obedient, but hey, has any leader ever cared?"

"Yes," Edward gritted out, "Good leaders."

The Daimyo shrugged, "And then they always get overthrown someway or another by powerhungry nobles like me, don't they? I have no wish to be overthrown."

Slowly, Edward felt a dawning horror fill up his being, "You're… you're the one that's behind all the killings aren't you? The random accidents that's happening to the nobles? You've been killing anyone who's opposed you."

The Daimyo blinked, then let out a pleased laugh, "Ah, so you've figured it out have you? Such a shame that your friend hasn't. He's told me all about your real mission you know; it's too bad he never suspected the Daimyo. But then, I suppose who would? Yes, I killed them, I killed them all! I can't have anyone disagreeing with me, I can't! But, I couldn't have anyone suspect me either, so I ordered the deaths of some of my loyal followers as well, so that no one would suspect me."

"That's too overboard! It isn't even the rule of a monarch anymore; it's the rule of a tyrant! You're killing your followers too; it's not safe to be around you!"

"Maybe," The Daimyo giggled, "But I'm safe, and that's all that matters. I really don't care if this country falls to crumbles around me, as long as I'm living nicely…"

"You're disgusting," Edward spat, "Really, really disgusting. If anyone heard you…"

"But thankfully, they haven't. And no one would believe a rebel who tried to assassinate the Daimyo, so don't even try to tell anyone. Not that you can, of course, because really, I think I'll have an especially painful punishment for you."

"What will you do?"

"For riling me up?" The Daimyo looked to be thoughtful for a moment, then let out a vicious smirk, "Well, you're rather pretty, aren't you? And rather young. Now, I'm not into that type of stuff, but a lot of my soldiers are. And trust me, they aren't gentle. After they're done with you, I'll let my team torture you some more. We've just got these new branding toys, and I'd love to see your skin get flayed. Finally, after you won't even know your name anymore, I'll sell you as a slave to the Kastrian slave traders. Ah, you've heard of them? Good, then you know that they won't be… ah, easy on you. Then, when you're actually a slave, you can live out the rest of your days in relative peace with half a piece of bread a weak."

Edward turned pale despite himself, "Would you… really do that to me?"

"Of course, nothing less. In fact, that'd be going easy on you. You don't even want to know what I'd do to you if you don't cooperate. You should not have messed with me, boy."

"But the- Kastrian slave traders?" Edward's voice was starting to sound desperate, but he couldn't help it, "Won't people consider it odd that you're suddenly meeting them? I mean-"

He was cut off by a loud, high pitched laugh from the Daimyo, "Odd? Oh my boy, I've been meeting them secretly for years! Surely you've heard the rumours of girls suddenly disappearing from this village? Well it's true! I get my ninja to kidnap them, sprouting some nonsense about how their parents have committed treason. If their parents object, I execute them. Perfect for me, no?"

"You're- you're-" There were no words Edward could use to describe this. Even Cornellio had been better than this.

"Yes, me," The Daimyo said mockingly, twirling around with his arms wide, as if he were proud of the fact. "And the best part is, no one suspects."

"You're wrong," Edward murmured quietly.

"Excuse me?"

"You're wrong," Edward repeated again, "People do suspect; at least, our spy did suspect."

The Daimyo stopped twirling, giving Edward a fish out of water expression, "What?"

"He suspected," Edward raised his voice, "He suspected, and so he told me! So, I was able to try and lead you to that point in our conversation!"

"What are you… talking about?"

"But you're right," Edward continued as if he hadn't heard, his golden eyes sparkling fiercely, "You're right in that the common people didn't suspect you, and that is why they still follow you. But now, no longer!"

"Just what are you insinuating!" The Daimyo demanded, his face red.

"I'm saying," Edward couldn't help the grin that spread across his face as he looked over the Daimyo's shoulder, "You really shouldn't have underestimated us."

The Daimyo whipped around, shocked. Itachi stood behind him, his eyes spinning with their familiar tomoes, and a barely perceptible smirk on his face. He inclined his head at Edward, and then the wall behind him shimmered out of existence, revealing the thousands of startled faces behind the well-crafted illusion.