~Chapter VIII~

~Our Truth~


Clock is ticking while I'm killing time / Spinning all around / Nothing else you can do to turn it back / Making partnership in this crime / Ripping off the best / Condescending smile


What were the chances? What were the chances that the second they ventured back home, they were presented with reasons to turn away? Sasuke repeated such questions for what had to be hours in his head. They had spent so much time on that uncharted island and so much time exploring the world's wonders. All he had wanted was to settle back at his birthplace for a while. He had just wanted to reminisce and make a few memories. Why were so many obstacles rising up to stop him?

"Sasuke?"

Itachi crossed into the spacious bedroom from the sheet of glass looking out to the porch. His fretting brother had been in bed since his venture to the cemetery the day prior. He had returned to the mansion in a downcast mood, unable to keep up with the conversation Itachi attempted to engage him in. Itachi allowed his brother to take up a position in bed, hoping that if he left him to his thoughts he'd have an easier time calming down. When the morning had come the present Sunday, and Sasuke continued to stare at the floor and clutch a pillow, Itachi began to worry even more.

He claimed a spot on the edge of the large bed, tentatively laying a cold hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Sasuke? Are you alright?"

"I've been much better," came the airy reply.

"What can I do for you?"

"Just stay safe."

After so long a time of his gaze on one spot, Sasuke finally moved it elsewhere; up at Itachi. Said Uchiha met the look in relieved silence. He slid his hand down the length of Sasuke's arm until his fingers twined with the other's. He waited for his raven-haired companion to continue on.

"I'm afraid that if our secret expands further into the human half of the town, they might figure out how to hurt us."

"I really doubt that will happen," Itachi chuckled. "Humans really aren't that smart."

"Heartbreak can do many things to a person," Sasuke murmured, laying his head back down against the pillows.

Itachi stared at his brother in fretful silence for a few moments longer before drifting down to lay beside him, not stirring the bed in the slightest bit.

"You're worried about Naruto," he acknowledged, positioning his arm along Sasuke's, their hands remaining clasped together.

"He saw me at the funeral," Sasuke said, voice low and thoughtful.

"You told me."

"He was so…broken and…full of turmoil. It was clear on his face how conflicted and heartbroken he was…"

"It's an obvious emotional reaction," Itachi said and the lack of caring in his voice troubled Sasuke. "It won't be easy for him to get over it."

"He believes he loved her."

A frustrated growl thrummed from Itachi's throat, sending vibrations through Sasuke. The elder's arms flexed as they tightened around him, almost feeling possessive.

"He does not know what love is. His feelings for her are purely of lust. She used him and made him believe she would give him what he sought. He is naïve to real love and it disgusts me."

Sasuke didn't respond immediately, honestly shocked at his companion's intense opinion. He turned in Itachi's arms; a fluid, soundless motion. He met the man's motionless gaze, laying his head on the pillow inches away from Itachi's face. He searched the black landscape of his frigid stare, not understanding his unfeeling words in regards to the grieving blond.

"Humans make a mockery of the word 'love,'" Itachi explained further.

"We've been spoiled," Sasuke murmured, seeking to change the subject.

"And lucky," Itachi agreed, breezily moving his hand to Sasuke's face, his frosty touch dancing along his jaw.

Sasuke smiled at him, reaching up and grasping said hand, tenderly. With an easy twitch of his wrist, Itachi drew his brother's hand to his lips, trailing ghosting kisses along his knuckles.

"You really think everything will be okay?" Sasuke asked in a whisper as he slid up against Itachi, tucking his head against the man's neck.

"Hmmm…" Itachi hummed, resting his chin upon Sasuke's raven head. "I can't muster an honest answer. I really don't feel too threatened. Naruto is the only human that knows about us. Given his reputation, even if he did cry wolf, I doubt he would be taken seriously."

"Reputation?" Sasuke repeated, leaning away from Itachi and propping himself up on his elbow to look down at him. "What reputation would that be?"

"He's quite rebellious, actually," the older immortal explained, nonchalantly. "He ran away from foster care once. He's also quite the prankster. He likes to toilet paper houses on Halloween a lot and shoots fireworks off without a license on New Year's."

"Itachi! You went digging through his personal file? I hate it when you do that!"

Sasuke sat up on the bed, turning a thunderous glare on his brother. Itachi was unfazed by his lover's outburst, rising into a sitting position at a more human speed.

"Why are you so upset?" he asked, calmly.

"I hate it when you use your powers to dig into other people's privacy," Sasuke answered, sharply. "If the Countess hears about you snooping around for private records, what do you think she'll think of us?"

"I thought you weren't worried about being made suspects so long as we were honest."

"This isn't about the murders!" Sasuke snapped without meaning to. "I just wish you weren't so nosy! Naruto's been through enough crap without us spying on his past."

"You sound as if you know more than me."

Sasuke turned his face away from Itachi's roving gaze, fixing his eyes on the walls again instead. He hated what these murders were doing to him. The events of the past weeks were making him doubt himself and Itachi. He was keeping things from his lover. Although they were small, insignificant tidbits of knowledge, they weighed heavily on Sasuke's shoulders when he didn't share them with Itachi. After telling him everything in the past three centuries, the tiniest secret seemed monumental.

"I'm sorry," Itachi murmured, reaching over to touch his arm. "I didn't mean to upset you."

Sasuke fought with himself for a second before shaking his head and replying with, "I shouldn't have yelled at you. You're only trying to keep us safe."

Itachi reached up and laid feather-light touches along his brother's jawbone, gazing at him longingly.

"I don't want to fight," he said. "I love you to much to do that."

"I love you too," Sasuke sighed, pressing his forehead to Itachi's and letting his pale eyelids flutter closed.

"Forever and always?"

Sasuke could hear the smirk in Itachi's voice and allowed one of his own to curve up his alabaster lips.

"Yeah. Forever and always."

Their lips pressed together in a mutual, silent apology to seal that they forgave each other for each of their misgivings. And then…the yearning for his brother vanished and Sasuke bolted away in shock. It was not one-sided. Itachi sat beside him with the same rigidity and anxiety. The air was heavy with the over-bearing power approaching.

"They're here," Sasuke whispered in disbelief as he recognized the power alerting them of the presence.

"Tsunade doesn't waste any time," Itachi mumbled, although his voice was still tense.

Sasuke didn't turn to look at him, instead staring at nothing as the possible severity of this arrival caught up with him.

"They're here to see us," he said, his voice hollow in realization. "Why? It's not our fault."

Itachi's hand found his on the sheets, grasping it firmly and drawing Sasuke's widened eyes to his somewhat more calm ones.

"We may not be the prime suspects in the human investigation," Itachi said, forebodingly, and drastically lowering Sasuke's hopes. "But, we are the prime suspects in the investigation by the Council."


Nervous could not begin to describe how Sasuke felt as he sat and waited to confront the immortal Council. He had not seen them - together in the same place - since he abandoned his human existence. The Council was ferocious when it came to upholding their laws. Tsunade was scary on her own but, when she was joined by the other two…You just wanted to drop dead and get the meeting over with.

"What's the matter?" Itachi asked beside him, very aware of his companion's distress. "Are you scared?"

"I don't know," Sasuke replied, digging his nails into the wooden seat beneath him, anxiously.

He didn't look up at Itachi to answer, his frozen, black eyes remaining glued to the wall far opposite him.

"There's nothing to be afraid of," the elder brother crooned, even though it was unconfirmed that Sasuke was in fact frightened. "The Council may be strict but, they're also fair. They won't punish someone who hasn't committed a crime."

Itachi's hand slid over Sasuke's clenched one, prying his fingers out of the wood. He gave it a squeeze to get his attention but, Sasuke's gaze remained forward.

"You're not afraid of the impression you're going to make, are you?" Itachi chuckled, taking Sasuke's chin in his other hand and forcing him to look at him.

"Of course not," Sasuke replied, softly, turning his gaze down.

"Then what's wrong?"

"…They just intimidate me I suppose," the younger sighed, briefly closing his eyes to gather his bearings.

"You're embarrassed," Itachi noted, looking back at Sasuke's eyes as they drifted back open.

"I guess so…" Sasuke agreed. "I can't believe we're stuck in this position."

"Everything will be alright," Itachi said, just as the large doors to the court room opened.

It was very ironic that the only place in town the Council could think to meet was at the town court. That may have been what had Sasuke so on edge. Shizune stood in the doorway leading into the courtroom and she sent an encouraging and sympathetic smile in the Uchihas' direction.

"The Council's ready to see you."

Sasuke tensed, slightly, and Itachi squeezed his hand in reassurance before helping him to his feet. Shizune let them into the court room and, instantly, Sasuke felt weighed down. The power flooding the room was indescribable. There were three members to the Council. They sat in three chairs in front of the judge's podium, facing the rows of seats going back to the door. It was somewhat of a relief to Sasuke that he was familiar with Tsunade. She still scared the crap out of him, regardless but, at least she was on their side.

The other two Council members were the ones to worry about, especially since he didn't recognize one of them. The white-haired Sage, Jiraiya, was present as usual in Council meetings. Sasuke had only met him once before but, his memory was fuzzy about the interaction. The elderly immortal sat rigid in his seat, like he was preparing himself for some great confrontation. His eyes stared straight ahead at the vacant space in the air, his mouth set in a firm, unhappy line.

Sasuke's searching gaze shifted to the third member of the Council whom he did not recognize. Although his memory of the last Council meeting he'd participated in was vague, he knew for a fact that the man sitting there was not the original Council member. The lower half of the man's face was wrapped in bandages so all Sasuke saw was his cold, ruthless eyes, glaring at every single person in the room. Everything about him demanded power; from his bulging muscles to his steal-tipped combat boots. Sasuke specifically remembered the former Count being much more thin and pale, although he still could not recall a name or face. Glancing around, he could see no one else was very concerned with the change.

"Good evening boys," Tsunade greeted the brothers, very casually but, with a clipped sound to her voice as if she was speaking carefully.

"Good evening Countess," they replied, more formerly, as Shizune showed them to their seats in the front row of benches. "Good evening Sage. Good evening Count."

They greeted the other two Council members the same way, respectfully acknowledging their position. The Council consisted of three roles to play: there was the role of Countess, Sage, and Count. Tsunade had been the Countess for centuries upon centuries, overseeing the constant changes from human to immortal and posing as Supreme Judge for cases where her kind threatened humanity.

The position of Sage came with the responsibility of cataloging important events in history for future reference. The Sage's job was to listen carefully to the problems presented to him. As much as they enjoyed bragging about their perfection, even the children of the night had their issues. That could have explained why Jiraiya always seemed so upset: he had to listen to so many depressed thoughts every day. He was also a very young Sage. He was only about two decades into his undying existence. Sasuke could barely fathom how difficult the old man's job was.

Finally, the Count was to oversee weapons and war. It was a boring responsibility really. There wasn't much to fight over in their world…not recently anyway. When he wasn't charging out on the battlefield the Count was also given the opportunity to discover. He was in charge of immortal science and kept tabs on all the new inventions belting out from the ingenious, undead minds across the planet. Sasuke could not imagine the stranger sitting before him in a lab coat and surrounded by test tubes. By the look on the man's face, it was easy to tell he couldn't wrap his mind around it either.

"Itachi. Sasuke. Do you know why we've called you here today?" Tsunade asked, her flaming gaze urging them to speak honestly.

"We have a rough idea," Itachi answered, flicking into business mode with a clear and level voice. "You suspect us to be the minds behind the recent murders in Konoha."

"As if that wasn't obvious," the Count grumbled from beside Jiraiya, disheartening Sasuke quite easily with that gruff, raspy voice.

"Zabuza," Tsunade warned, shooting a glare over the white head beside her and at the muscular man.

The Count rolled his eyes and leaned his head against his scarred knuckles, boredly. Tsunade twitched, repeatedly, in aggravation before she (slightly) regained her composure.

"Yes," Tsunade huffed in response to Itachi's answer, continually shooting glares over at Zabuza. "That's part of it. You were at the location of Haruno Sakura's murder."

"Yes," both brothers confirmed.

"You do not, however, claim to be the ones who murdered her."

"No. We don't."

"Of course you wouldn't," Zabuza laughed to himself, heartlessly.

"You say you saw the murderer," Tsunade said through her silvery teeth - trying not to shatter the arm of her chair – as she directed the statement at Sasuke.

"Yes," he agreed, alone this time, carefully maintaining the calm composure he'd managed to build up over his nerves.

"Describe what you saw please."

Sasuke did as he was told, keeping his eyes forward instead of constantly glancing at Itachi. The Council - together - picked up on every little detail in someone's performance and always used what they saw to their advantage. He had to stay calm. He'd done it millions of times before. He just had to remain unfazed by the titles sitting before him.

He repeated his experience the night of Sakura's murder - this time without any comments from Zabuza throughout. When he mentioned the wings, Zabuza was clearly interested. An excited and curious gleam entered his bloodthirsty gaze and he sat up straight to participate, formally, in the discussion bound to follow. Sasuke thought he saw Jiraiya's jaw tighten at the mention of wings but, his eyes didn't move to see fast enough. The Sage had not moved a breath since they entered.

However, when Sasuke finished his recollection with Naruto's entrance, the flicker of Jiraiya's eyes was like an explosion of movement on his frozen face. It was an accident that Sasuke met the man's gaze full on and he had a feeling the Sage hadn't intended for him to see the emotion that was in his eyes. It confused Sasuke. Tsunade had had a reaction at Naruto's name when he told her the story, too. Zabuza did not react to the name but, when Sasuke glanced at Itachi, his brother's eyes were narrowed in suspicion. He was keen enough to have not missed the look in Jiraiya's eyes.

"So, a vampire with wings, eh?" Zabuza said into the silence afterwards.

"Yes," Tsunade replied, tapping her red nails on the chair arm awkwardly - she was obviously frustrated with the man's loose use of that word (it wasn't common that they used the word "vampire" to describe their kind). "It sounds like the Forbidden Flight."

"You're positive it was a vampire?"

"I don't know what it was," Sasuke said, taking a deep breath and forcing himself to look Zabuza in the eye. "It drank blood like we do but, I'd never seen anything like it before."

"Let's recap, shall we?" Tsunade chimed in, clearly wanting to do something to prevent Zabuza from talking. "Shizune."

"Milady."

The dark-haired assistant stepped forward, folding her hands behind her back and reciting the mass of information gathered in the past few weeks.

"On the night of October 31st, the body of Tenten was found behind Yuhi Kurenai's home on Kiba Drive. The body was found, severed in three places. The body was brought to autopsy where the immortal experts erased the red marks on the neck that would possibly direct attention to us. The human detectives only examined the cuts on the body. Unable to identify any clues from the body, it was returned to the family and promptly buried on November 2nd.

"On November 3rd, an anonymous call came into the police station stating the location of Haruno Sakura's body. When the police arrived at the alley downtown between Warehouses 12 and 13, they found citizen, Uzumaki Naruto over the victim's body, mutilated the same as the first victim. Uzumaki was sedated and rushed to the hospital where he was put in the custody of detective Hatake Kakashi. Haruno's body was brought into autopsy and underwent the same examination as the previous victim. The body was released to the family a week later and was buried on November 8th, yesterday.

"Uzumaki remained hospitalized for three days prior to the burial and has been continually questioned by detective Hatake about the incident. No information has been given that would implicate anything other than human as the murderer."

"Thank you Shizune," Tsunade said when she finished, the assistant stepping back behind the Countess's chair with a respectfully bowed head. "I've dispatched non-human detectives to investigate Naruto as well but, they can't get anything out of him."

"Odd," Zabuza murmured, those hawk-like eyes fixed on Sasuke again.

The room went silent as the stony individuals waited for an elaboration on the word from Zabuza. Sasuke wasn't sure if the bulky man was oblivious to their anticipation or if he was deliberately holding back to annoy them all again. Tsunade seemed to be thinking along the same lines, raising her voice to demand the Count to speak.

"Zabu -"

"Why would you call the police?" Zabuza asked the Uchihas – Tsunade growled in frustration at the Count's childishness.

"I was hoping they could help more the sooner they got to the scene of the crime," Sasuke answered the intimidating Count.

"How idiotic," he snorted, a smug and superior look in his eyes as he leaned back in his chair.

"Care to clarify?" Itachi growled through his teeth, his silent and calm demeanor breaking, instantly, at Zabuza's rudeness to his brother.

"Not really," the Count sighed, stretching his arms up above him and folding them behind his head.

"Zabuza, for the Devil's sake - !"

"Knock it off! All of you!"

It was the oddly stoic Jiraiya that bellowed this out at the meeting participants. It was the first time Sasuke had heard his rough voice throughout the entire meeting. The unbridled anger in his voice unsettled Sasuke and he could see it troubled Tsunade as well. She instantly stopped bickering with Zabuza and fixed her amber gaze on the Sage, anxiously. The Count grumbled something under his breath and leaned his head on his hand again, the current situation boring him yet again.

"You."

Sasuke wasn't sure if he jumped in his seat when Jiraiya's thunderous sights fell upon him. What the hell had gotten the Sage so angry?

"Repeat exactly what Uzumaki Naruto said to you the night he discovered what you are."

Sasuke blinked once at the request, not seeing how it would be of any help to the situation. It was also a huge slap in the face that the Sage referred to him as a "what" and not a "who." He wasn't an object. He knew Jiraiya held a lot of resentment for the immortal race but, the least he could do was be courteous to everyone who was enjoying their existence. Regardless of his bitterness, Sasuke politely repeated Naruto's exact words that he recalled. Jiraiya's expression never changed again but, he abruptly turned away from him, ignoring him completely afterwards.

"Shino! Keep tabs on the human. Zabuza -"

"Yeah, yeah. I got it. Haku, get to work."

How the hell had he not noticed the two figures standing behind the two Council members? Shizune had been standing in the same position behind Tsunade and he'd been conscious of her presence throughout the entire conference. Only when they had been spoken to did Sasuke realize there were two more individuals in the court room. They blended from the shadow cast by the judge's podium like phantoms at their masters' calls.

He knew each Council member had an apprentice that had special talents. The responsibilities of the Council positions were passed down to the three apprentices in case - by some freak of nature disaster - a Council member had to be replaced. The apprentices of the Council were not widely spoken of and existed in secret from the rest of the immortal society. They carried out jobs for their masters according to their abilities and were somewhat responsible for carrying out orders that kept their world balanced.

The two pale boys looked more corpse-like than any other immortal individual Sasuke had met. Zabuza's apprentice, Haku, had the emptiest and most vacant stare upon his face. He was clothed in a black robe that vividly contrasted against his snowy skin. He was the most undead out of all of them, Sasuke thought and it was quite easy for him to mistaken him as a wandering spirit instead.

Shino was just as void of life. His eyes were hidden behind dark glasses that stood out like a raven in a blizzard against his face. His black jacket had a very high collar that surrounded and hid the bottom half of his face. He seemed very calculated and collected with his hands in his jacket pockets and Sasuke couldn't tell what he was looking at from behind the glasses.

As quickly as they materialized from the shadows, they bowed to their masters and melted out of the court room, sliding down the aisle between the bench rows like a December wind. Sasuke didn't even hear the door open or close behind him as they departed, as if they had passed right through the solid object.

"There's nothing else useful you can share with us today?" Tsunade asked of the Uchihas when the two apprentices had gone.

"No Countess," Itachi answered, evenly, focusing on her to distract him from his irritation towards Zabuza. "There is nothing more."

"Then Shizune will escort you out."

She nodded to them in farewell and Shizune quickly strode to their side to show them out. Itachi stood, immediately, upon her arrival but, Sasuke remained sitting, gazing at the Council intently. The three of them returned the stare in question.

"What will become of Naruto?" he openly asked.

He ignored the intense burning in his skull at Itachi's confused stare and remained focused on the Council. He got vague reactions: Zabuza yawned in disinterest, Jiraiya's eyes hardened and narrowed in suspicion, and Tsunade blinked once in curiosity.

"No harm will come to the human," she answered slowly. "Shino and Haku have not been granted permission to make contact with him if that's what you're worried about."

Taking a mental deep breath, Sasuke calmly rose to his feet beside Itachi and added, "I am aware of the laws concerning humans with knowledge of our kind. The usual solution is the extermination of the human."

"Uzumaki Naruto will not be sentenced to death."

Sasuke's black gaze flickered, almost motionlessly, to focus on Jiraiya. The Sage had answered him, before he even finished his sentence, with a definitive voice that assured him completely that Naruto would be left unharmed. Tsunade's slitted eyes, full of concern and aimed at Jiraiya, were not so comforting – neither was an annoyed growl from Zabuza.

"The meeting is over," he heard Shizune say nearby, pretty much ordering him in the most subtle way possible to stop talking and leave.

He gazed at the Council for a moment longer, trying to decipher the cause of tension between the three of them. When he could come up with no solution, he bowed his head, curtly, and followed Shizune and Itachi out of the court room.

"Best of luck to you both," Shizune murmured to the Uchihas as they stepped into Konoha's streets outside of the courthouse.

Her voice was a comfort in the burdening silence and Sasuke sent her a grateful smile. Her own had not faltered once throughout the encounter and remained steady still as she bowed her head in farewell and went back inside. Sasuke stood beside Itachi in the frosty air for an instant, the silence between them ringing with the absorption of the information shared. Sasuke glanced at Itachi but, he flitted down the courthouse front steps and to their black car waiting in the lot. Concerned that something about the meeting had upset his brother, Sasuke rushed after him, landing in the front passenger seat a split second later.

"You're troubled," Sasuke said as Itachi gripped the steering wheel and turned the car on.

There was a pause as the elder brother backed the vehicle out of its spot and pulled onto the empty road. The soft thrum of the engine vibrated the car but, the brothers remained unmoved, weighing into the seats like two blocks of ice. They drove a few blocks in subdued silence. Sasuke waited for Itachi to say something, focusing on the road ahead to stop himself from pestering his brother with questions.

"You're concern for Naruto unsettles me," Itachi finally said into the stillness.

Another silence passed over them, Itachi's words enveloping around Sasuke. Both of their eyes remained fixed ahead to the distance and the road disappearing beneath their car.

"Why?" Sasuke asked, softly.

"He is human," Itachi replied, coldly.

Sasuke glanced at his brother, brows furrowed in confusion. Itachi didn't have anything against mortals. Neither of them did, being human themselves once before. So where had this sudden resentment come from?

"Why are you so upset by that?" Sasuke dared to ask, holding his ground when Itachi rounded a tumultuous gaze on him.

"Why are you?" he replied.

"He's my friend," Sasuke answered, evenly, trying to suppress the disappointment rising in him at the accusing gleam in Itachi's eyes.

"Someone who accuses you of murder is not your friend."

"He was justified in his accusation."

"Regardless, he has seen your eyes. He has seen your fangs! You can't trust him. He is a threat to us now that he knows."

"If he's such a threat, then why doesn't the whole town know about us?"

"He is a coward."

"Where do you get that logic from?"

"He is afraid no one will believe him."

"You've reassured me of this already. Why is there a problem?"

"I don't want you to see him anymore."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed in defense and he stared his brother down, the road ahead ignored by both brothers now. Neither of them glared - neither of them were angry. Both were confused and tense, anticipating a not so bright future for them in their old home.

"Naruto won't tell anyone about us," Sasuke told Itachi, his eyes hard and unsympathetic. "I have to remain near him to make sure that motor mouth of his is kept clamped shut."

Itachi held onto the stare for a moment longer, double-checking Sasuke's eyes for any detection of a secret agenda. He visibly relaxed - his grip on the wheel loosening and the muscles in his neck unflexing - and he resumed driving humanly, sitting up straight and returning his gaze to the road. The car continued to glide along the road, unaffected by the recent lack of eye contact with the surroundings.

"Fine," he murmured. "I trust you'll keep yourself safe."

"Was that all you were worried about?" Sasuke chuckled, his previous doubt in his lover completely wiped out. "You think Naruto can hurt me?"

"We've never been discovered before," Itachi stated, simply. "There are ways to kill the likes of us. There's no telling what his grief will drive the human to do."

"It's like you said," Sasuke reassured, resting his hand on Itachi's knee. "We'll be fine. We've always taken care of ourselves. One human knowing about us will be no problem. The two of us can easily take him on."

The tiniest, ghost of a smile fluttered across Itachi's lips and - although it disappeared soon after - it did leave a more heart-lifting atmosphere in the confined space. It was clear in the man's features that the whole ordeal still worried Itachi but, Sasuke decided not to press him for more answers. He himself, had his own concerns and predicaments that he wasn't ready to discuss yet. Patience had always been prime in the brothers' relationship. They would vent to each other when they had partially come to terms with the problem themselves. For now, what was required was a distraction.

"So, has Zabuza always been the Count?" Sasuke asked on a more casual note, turning his gaze back to the road.

"For as long as I can remember," came the quick reply. "Why?"

"You'd think I'd remember such an obnoxious attitude," Sasuke laughed, good-naturedly. "We've met with all three of them together once before, right?"

"Yes. A long time ago," Itachi replied, obviously thinking back on the day by the sound of his distant voice.

Sasuke closed his eyes and leaned his head back, a relaxed smile on his lips.

"It was because you turned me right? They were upset about it because you didn't run it past them first."

"I believe that's what it was about."

One of the few laws of the immortal world was that all changes had to be approved by the Council before hand. Itachi had been unaware of the rule, being recently turned himself.

"I've seen the Sage and the Countess enough," Sasuke went on, seeking to keep up the conversation to distract both of them from their thoughts. "But, I really haven't seen the Count much. His position isn't very public is it?"

"No. Not really."

"Why do you think he showed up now then?"

"He is the head of combat. There's no telling where these murders and discoveries will take all of us."

"He's probably excited," Sasuke chuckled. "He looks entirely a man of war and not slightly a man of science."

"I believe his apprentice handles most of the scientific stuff. I doubt Zabuza's ever picked up a beaker in his existence."

"Are you familiar with Haku and Shino? I can't recall ever coming into contact with them."

"Zabuza and Jiraiya don't show off their apprentices like Tsunade does. I wouldn't be surprised if many of us doubted the two even had apprentices," Itachi chortled, rather cynically.

"They both seemed so…void of feeling."

"I can imagine Jiraiya as a strict master. Shino's job isn't easy and Haku is holding a very unique position from the little I've heard. Like Shizune is to Tsunade, Shino is Jiraiya's personal assassin and guard dog. He is an exceptional spy and is more than likely how the Council seem to know everything all the time. He has frightening talents, especially one for appearing invisible."

"And Haku?" Sasuke asked. "What's this unique position you've heard he holds?"

"I've heard people call the Count's apprentice the Oracle. There is an old and ignored law that the Council must always have a seer: someone that can see into the past, present, and future. There has always been controversy over whether or not the Count has always kept an Oracle as his apprentice."

"Do you think Haku's eyes can really see so far?"

"I do. Everything about him emanated all-knowing wisdom and knowledge."

"You've seen an Oracle before?" Sasuke inquired, raising a brow without opening his eyes.

"No but, I can tell when someone has seen too much."

"You're so insightful," Sasuke praised, a teasing smirk on his face.

He could feel the smile on Itachi's face as they pulled into the long driveway to their old house. The older Uchiha swiftly killed the car's melodic engine and, before Sasuke could even open his eyes, Itachi was over him, pressing his lips against his. Sasuke smiled beneath the mutually cold skin, tilting his head to the side to deepen the kiss.

"What was that for?" Sasuke asked when Itachi drew only an inch away, their foreheads pressed together.

"Just because," Itachi replied with a nonchalant shrug.

"Just because why?" Sasuke challenged, opening his eyes to look into Itachi's.

"Because I owe you after being interrupted this morning."

"Aaaah. That's right. I'm glad you remember."

"How could I forget?"

"I'll race you."

"To where?"

"Inside of course!"

"We can't do it now?"

"In the car?"

"Why not?"

Itachi moved to kiss Sasuke again but, the younger brother slipped from his grasp, appearing outside of the car without a sound. Groaning in displeasure, Itachi glared out of the window at him. Sasuke playfully waved back, beckoning for him to catch him. Smirking mischievously, Itachi rocketed out of the car. In the same instant, Sasuke zipped to the mansion's doors like a laughing gust of wind and the two brothers disappeared into the ancient house.


Trying to forget (wasting my time) / We're falling right through / Lying to forget (telling more lies) / Erasing our truth / Go on and tease me