Previously in Veils of Deceit. . .

There was rarely anything that could truly disturb Uchiha Itachi. He has seen some of the cruelest things ever done in the world, yet none of that could compare to the sight of the young girl before him. "Asuka. . ."

*/*/*

"What's your business here Akuma?" Neji questioned, his stare straight on Gaara.

"You know very well why we're here, Hyuuga." The sneer in Sasuke's voice dripping with cold venom.

"You're not permitted to enter Konoha."

"Wrong answer."

His Kage Bunshin lowered his hand, signaling to the rest of the Akuma members to go ahead. And once the first jutsu was released, chaos ensued.

*/*/*

"Fight her." Itachi ordered the other two, knowing that Ruri – and maybe even Miki – would be reluctant to strike her. And if he was being honest, he was too. "Kill her if you must."

He felt Ruri's stare, but she had no time to voice her shock, because Asuka's voice spoke in a mock whine while stepping out of the smoke. "Ahhh. . . Are you gonna hurt me, Uncle 'Tachi? Your own niece?"

"You're not my niece." he responded coldly, unconvinced of even his own words. But he ignored that unpleasant ache in his chest and focused on the threat she currently was. "You're nothing but what they created now." He brought his arm back, brandishing his sword and fully prepared to behead her. He hesitated, and in that moment's hesitation she conjured a whirlwind around her. It increased in speed and when it dispersed, she was gone.

*/*/*

"Kakashi."

"I think there's a misunderstanding going on here. . ." Kakashi said, "We only have one of your sons, Aki."

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. (But the OCs are mine!)

Veils of Deceit

Chapter Nine

Only One

Night had fallen by the time Itachi, Miki, and Ruri made it back to the compound. Itachi's mind was still clouded with images of his niece even as he entered Level Five. The first thing he noticed upon entrance was the two gurneys lining the walls with an injured man on each one. It was an obvious sign something occurred while they were away.

Ruri immediately approached one. "What happened?" Her hand glowing green, even though she needed a little healing herself.

"An encounter with Konoha." Kyoko answered from a doorway to their right. She still wore a Chinese style dress of yellow and black with an embroidery of flowers, black pants underneath, and shinobi shoes while her red hair was pulled up in a ponytail.

"Kyoko?" Miki asked as she stalked up to him and brutally smacked him over his head. "Ow! What the hell woman?!"

She smacked him again in response and he lifted his arms to protect himself. "That's for making me worried." She then proceeded to smack him again. "That's for not telling me about Sasu-chan's boys and Cho-chan being kidnapped." Then again. "And that's for being an all-around dumbass."

Itachi didn't wait for the next hit she appeared fully prepared to deliver and continued on the route to his office where he suspected his little brother to be. So what Asuka spoke of was the truth; Konoha had kidnapped Aki. But that still didn't explain anything about the happenings with Kyosuke and Cho. . . Who kidnapped them? A chill ran down his spine. . . one name did come to mind.

"You better not've been part of that attack on Konoha." Miki voice came from behind, which meant that both Miki and Kyoko were following him to his destination.

A loud smack sounded that was then followed by an equally loud complaint from Miki. "And if I was you'd just had to deal with it." There was a moment's pause that had Miki grumbling under his breath. "I wasn't though. I found out afterward."

"Where're the kids?"

"They're here securely in the playroom with Aki." Kyoko answered.

He came upon the hall that had his office and saw Kaito and Ran standing in the open doorway. They both sported minor injuries of small abrasions and bruises. With Kaito facing his direction, he was the first to spot them and signal to Ran by a tap on his shoulder of their arrival. Ran turned and grinned in an arrogant manner. "Hey man, you missed all the action." he announced boisterously.

His words were easily ignored as Itachi brushed past them and entered his office. It appeared like a hurricane had barreled through the space without mercy. All stood in disarray with Sasuke, Gaara, Jun and Yuuto as being the culprits who ripped it all apart.

A whistle came from Miki right before he was suddenly slammed back against the wall with an arm pressed tight on his throat. Eyes blazing with the Sharingan glared at him with barely concealed hate, and he vaguely wondered when such hate returned to eyes that for a short period of time looked at him with either annoyance or indifference. But then again. . . maybe the hate had never left. Maybe reading Naruto's file and discovery many of his deceptions had fueled it once again.

"Where the fuck were you?" Sasuke sneered venomously.

Without breaking eye contact, he responded calmly, "We got a little caught up on a mission."

Hope ignited like a flame in the dark depths of the hate. "You came in contact with Ouroboros?"

He knew? How did he know? Automatically he glanced over at the only man left who knew where they were going. He glared at Gaara for that revealed information while the red head merely raised his brow in challenge. He focused back on his little brother, "No." His answer had the arm on his throat pressing harder.

"Really?" Eyes narrowing with suspicion and distrust – another thing he wondered when he lost. "Because I sent a summons to retrieve you all and he came back to inform me that none of your chakra signatures could be found."

Just like that time with Naruto. . . Erecting that sort of security made it apparent Ouroboros didn't want Asuka's presence to be known quite yet. That was all right with him though, because he didn't want Sasuke to get distracted from finding Kyosuke and Cho. Their safety was top priority right now.

"It was merely some lackey with a little bit of trickery up his sleeve. He was only meant to distract." The lie falling from his lips easily.

A disgusted look past over his little brother's features before he was released. The disappearances of Kyosuke and Cho must have been weighing heavily on Sasuke's mind, because normally he would have pushed harder for information. Instead Sasuke moved to his desk and leaned on the wood with both hands, head drooping and body tense.

Itachi glanced over at Miki then and he could clearly see the question in the man's eyes. He shook his head, silently ordering the other to keep silent about the appearance of Asuka. Miki's frown deepened while revulsion spread in every contour of his face. There was no agreement to his actions, but agreement wasn't what he was after. Only silence. . .

Sasuke took a deep breath to gain some semblance of control of his emotions, but it was futile when Itachi spoke, "Tell me what's occurred."

The blatant order caused his fingers to twitch in his desire to wrap them around Itachi's throat. He thought he would be relieved to see his brother alive and relatively undamaged, but the sight of the man only reminded him of what Itachi was willing to take from him. It had his instincts intensifying and peaking dangerously close to dealing with the threat to the existence of his Abikaasa. He gripped the table edge to keep himself from lashing out at a person who could be useful in getting his son back. So instead of answering, he glared back and demanded, "Where's your information on Ouroboros?"

"So Ouroboros has Kyosuke and Cho." Itachi stated while moving around the desk in front of him. He suspected Kyoko was the one who informed Itachi of the two's kidnapping as they came to the office. His silence prompted Itachi to continue speaking, "You were close. . . but I didn't use anything that a Sharingan or Byakugan user could detect." On one of the bookshelves behind the desk, Itachi bent down and simply removed the border around the bottom, revealing several thick folders stashed inside the dense space. He brought them with him as he stood and threw them on the desk. "Everything on Ouroboros I have. Although I doubt they're be of any help."

Sasuke doubted it too. If they were able to find Ouroboros, then they would have already found them. He stared at the pile of folders as Jun and Yuuto took one each to search through. A familiar sense of hopelessness was dowsing his rampant instincts and sinking deep into his bones. He didn't know what to do. . . "How are we going to find them –" He shoved the rest of the files to the floor. "– if we have nothing to work with?"

"Aniki's right here." came Aki's voice from behind him.

He snapped his head around to see Aki kneeling on the floor and pointing at a map that was dropped there haphazardly. How did he get out of the playroom? came the automatic question to mind. It was a secured room where once inside the children couldn't get back out to roam around. He glanced over at Kaito and Ran by the door. "He just walked in." Kaito said, "And since I knew he was yours I didn't stop him."

Then exactly what Aki said registered and his heart pounded with renewed fear. "What did you say, son?"

Big blue eyes looked up at him with so much innocence. "Aniki. . . he's right here." His finger tapping on the map over Tsuchi no Kuni. "You are looking for Aniki? You're going to bring him home?"

He never expected to have to deal with this so soon. He thought he had years, or if he was lucky, it wouldn't had come up at all throughout his son's life. But it was apparent that fate overjoyed in kicking him when he was already so far down there was no hope of ever getting back up. . . because Aki had found his Abikaasa before he was even born. The one person who was now at risk of losing forever and sending his youngest into the same insufferable agony he endured everyday. Such pain he was sure would kill his little boy. . . then he wouldn't just lose one son but two.

"How do you know your brother's there?" Itachi asked as he came and crouched in front of the map before Aki. His brother then glanced back at him and they both shared a look. This might be the only way they would find Kyosuke. He hated it – hated exploiting that connection he wished his son never found.

Aki's brows furrowed in confusion and he shrugged his small shoulders. "I don't know. . . I just do."

"Then you're sure Kyosuke's here." Sasuke asked while pointing to the same spot that Aki's finger was still on. His son nodded and he looked at Miki across the room. "Get the map for Tsuchi no Kuni." Miki didn't waste any time going to the cabinet to his left and digging out a set of maps. He separated them and threw a single one to him. Catching it with ease, Sasuke unrolled the large parchment in front of Aki. He held the curling edges down as he told his son, "Where's your brother now?"

There was no hesitation when Aki pointed to the map, like he was a moth to a flame. "Iwama region." Itachi told Miki, who began to shift through the maps again.

Ruri came walking in with a bandage on her forehead and bruises showing on her jaw. Rei was behind her, stopping in the doorway between Kaito and Ran while Ruri continued forward. "What's going –" Kyoko shushed Ruri and pulled her over to where she stood, whispering in her ear. The woman's eyes widened as she looked at Aki with horrifyingly saddened eyes. Even she understood the terrible fate that could befall upon him. Just like the father. . . his son could have to repeat the history of his parents.

Miki threw the requested map and he caught it, then unrolled it while Itachi threw the other to the side. This time he didn't have to say anything for Aki to seek the location of Kyosuke, he pointed to a spot close by to the border of Ame no Kuni. Itachi immediately snatched the map and looked at the area that Aki indicated. "Tanigawa village." Itachi announced. "We can make it there by this time tomorrow if we push ourselves."

"Then what the fuck are we waiting for?" Jun said, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet to get going.

"Now wait a minute. . ." Ruri said, stepping away from the wall. "We can't just barge in without a plan."

"Plan?" Jun questioned, incredulous. "They don't even know we'll be coming thanks to Kyosuke being Aki's other half. That's got to be something they couldn't anticipate."

"Still. . . we have no idea what to expect from Ouroboros." Ruri insisted, "They could throw anything at us." There was a strange expression the woman wore, one of which he noticed was directed at Itachi. He didn't get a chance to linger on the oddness of it though, since Aki crawled into his lap and grabbed onto his arm while looking out at everyone else.

"I agree with Ruri-san." Kyoko spoke up. "Ouroboros is dangerous. We can't ensure they won't know you're coming."

"You're making them seem like they give us that much fucking credit! They probably think we're not competent enough to even fucking find them!" Jun hollered.

"You stupid brat, you know what they can do! You think they won't use Cho-chan to their own advantage! Are you that arrogant that you'll risk her?!"

"You fucking bitch."

Miki groaned as Kyoko's eyes narrowed, "What did you call me?" her voice dangerously low.

They didn't have time for this stupidity. "Enough." Sasuke ordered in annoyance while standing with Aki in his arms. He was pleased when silence followed. "Miki, Ruri, Jun and Yuuto will be coming with us." Ruri opened her mouth and he immediately intercepted. "There isn't a choice."

"Maybe that's what they're counting on."

Maybe it is. . . but what else were they suppose to do? They had very few, if not just one option. "Gaara, you'll stay and watch over the compound." The man gave a curt nod as reply. "Kyoko, you are to watch the children." She appeared reluctant to agree, but nodded anyway. "And you three are to keep you're mouths shut and follow what Gaara or Kyoko tell you."

"Who the fuck is she anyway?" Ran said mockingly from his position in the doorway. "Does she even have any say around here?"

"A hell a lot more than you do, you little shit." Miki spat, then smirked. "She's a Veteran."

There was a momentary shock that not only registered on Ran's face, but also Rei and Kaito. Ran was the one who recovered the quickest. "No way. . . I doubt she could even take on a fly."

Miki was furious with his jaw clenched and eyes hard, but Kyoko held a restrained semblance of calm and placed her hand on his shoulder. "I'm more like retired. I was known as Hikko in Akuma." A sweetly fake smile adorning her features.

"She's still your superior." Itachi made clear as he went over to a double door cabinet and dug through it. When he turned back around he had a black cloak and Kyoko's redesigned black and white Dog mask, designating her as an Veteran of Akuma. He approached her and handed the items over to her. "I believe you're going to need these." She smiled uniquely back while Miki looked none too pleased.

"You're the one from the picture." Rei said like she just had an epiphany. All heads turned to her. "The one from Kane-san's desk of the original Akuma with Tatsuo-sama." An uncomfortable silence settled even at the sound of Naruto's Akuma name. "Were you also close to Tatsuo. . . sama. . ." she trailed off and pressed her lips together nervously.

Sasuke had been glaring at the woman for daring to even attempt to start a conversation about his dobe. "We leave in twenty minutes." he said in a clipped tone as he shifted Aki on his hip and made to leave the room. Kaito and Rei obediently moved out of his way while Ran remained, leering at him with a cocky grin. Satisfactorily, he pushed chakra into his foot and caused Ran to topple over to fall face first on the floor with one swift kick. Without stopping, he continued on down the hall, heading toward the playroom.

"You're gonna bring Aniki back, right Tou-san?" Aki asked, his head laying on his shoulder. Before he could reassure his son, Aki continued on, "Cause those men can't keep Aniki. . . Aniki's mine."

His steps faltered from the possessiveness of those words. Similar to ones spoken since his son could talk. It was those several times before that Aki has asked if Kyosuke was his, but at the time he thought it was just another Uchiha trait. The two were close, they were being raised as brothers, there was no reason to question it. Now though, he knew the true depth behind every action. . . and it made him sick at how many signs there actually were.

Exhaling a long breath, he forced himself into accepting the unpleasant news. It wasn't like it could be changed anyway. The connection was permanent. There was no severing it. He had to either accept it or lose his boys. And the latter wasn't really an option. He rubbed his son's back soothingly, "I know he's yours Aki. . . I'll being him back to you."

What else could he do, except what's been keeping him alive all along. . .

Protecting his sons.


"What are you doing?" Ruri questioned once she and Itachi were alone in his office.

He didn't even stop from picking up documents from the floor when he answered monotonously, "Using the little time there is to clean what's left of my office."

Annoyance crept through her stomach at the purposeful evasion. Itachi knew damn well what she was talking about and he still chose to act ignorant. "Why didn't you tell Sasuke-san about Asuka-chan?"

"And how do you know I didn't?" Again, he didn't bother to face her and instead began to gather paperclips that had fallen.

"Because if you had he wouldn't be so withdrawn."

"Exactly." he said as he swiftly stood and finally faced her with a hard stare. "He would be far too emotional to focus on finding Kyosuke and Cho. And finding those two is top priority compared to the discovery of her."

"So you intend to tell him afterward?" she said, already knowing the answer when Itachi remained silent. She smiled wryly, "Of course not. You would rather deal with the matter without him finding out."

"Why cause him unnecessary heartache." he stated simply as he proceeded in cleanup.

She frowned at his back, feeling like everything was falling apart. It was all in the simple things that originally made up Akuma that kept the first seven close. Because if there was no trust between the Veterans, then Akuma would have collapsed long ago. Now though. . . that very foundation that Akuma has relied on was crumbling right from under their feet. "You think Taichou would have approved of this course of action?"

Itachi's whole body visibly tensed, and for a second, she wondered if she might have crossed the line by bringing Naruto into the conversation. And as Itachi stood straight and turned to direct a deadly glare of his Sharingan, she knew she had. "Naruto's dead." he stated cruelly that had her flinching. Those memories of his passing still being vivid in her mind along with the blood that stained her hands from the autopsy that followed. "His approval isn't required."

That was true but. . . Naruto was the one who kept their team together. And now that he was gone it was becoming quite evident how he affected each and every one of them in his own way. They weren't what they use to be. . . none of them were. . . but especially Sasuke and especially the man standing before her.

The intensity of his glare didn't lessen even as he closed the distance between them. When he stood only a couple feet from her, he didn't speak right off. She stood her ground and stared back unflinching into the slowly spinning Sharingan that's never been directed at her before with such malice. It spoke of immediate danger if one didn't comply to his commands. "You will not speak another word of Asuka after we're done here. I will not have Sasuke fretting over a child he's already morn for because you believe it to be the right thing to do."

Even if it was wrong. . . Even if silence was going to create a larger chasm in Akuma. . . she would keep quiet. She was far too loyal to the eldest Uchiha to betray his orders. Even though at times like these that loyalty wasn't deserved. She guessed it didn't matter anymore. . . with Naruto gone she would always choose to follow Itachi's lead. She gave a curt nod as her confirmation of secrecy. Truthfully, there really wasn't any turn back at any point to all the other lies that's been told. Why would she think that one more was going to make much of a difference?

He stared intently for another moment before he turned toward the office door and began walking towards it. He stopped at the door and threw over his shoulder in the coldest voice she hasn't heard in a long while. "And don't ever try to use Naruto against me again." He left then, leaving her alone in the still messy office.

Sighing, she slump against the wall, suddenly tired. Staring at the floor, an image of Naruto flashed through her mind and she knew the blond would be far from pleased with them. But there's no going back. . . she thought as she pushed the image out of her mind. Yet the feeling of guilt lingered, clawing and biting in her chest. She soon managed to ignore it and pushed herself away from the wall to leave.

She would be surprised if Akuma survived the treachery they were willing to make against the one person Itachi was trying so hard to save. Out of pure rage, Uchiha Sasuke would bring it all down. . . she was sure of it.


The coolness of the water didn't help the chaotic thoughts running through his head. Miki placed his hands on either side of the sink and leaned against it, allowing the water to freely slide down his face and drip off his chin. He lifted his gaze and frowned at himself in the bathroom mirror.

"Go ahead and try to kill me." The small girl spoke with thick disdain that skillfully hid the fear and betrayal just beneath the surface. "I'll go down screaming."

He closed his eyes in an attempt to block out the memories of hours ago, but it was futile since the images only grew in color and depth. God, she had been just a little girl. One with so many similarities to her parents that it made him sick just knowing what their intentions were. They were going to kill her. . . And for what, being used so heinously by a group that killed her mother.

He tried to rationalize it by telling himself that she shouldn't exist – that it went against the natural order of life and death. But who the hell was he trying to fool. . . Especially with every look he couldn't help but see his own daughter in her place.

His own paternal instincts was the reason why he couldn't agree with Itachi on leaving Sasuke out of knowing about Asuka. He may not agree with half of Itachi's decisions regarding his brother, but this one went too far. One does not mess with a man's child. No matter if you're family or not there was a certain line that all others must stand behind. Itachi failed to stay behind that line, as did he and Ruri. And that failure could cause serious consequences. . .

Because what would he have done if it was his own daughter?

Kill anyone who tried to harm her.

A knock on the door startled him out of his thoughts, banging his knee against the edge of the toilet. "Miki. . . it's almost time leave." came Kyoko's voice through the door. He cursed colorfully as he wobbled over and unlocked it. The door damn near smacked him in the face when it was opened and Kyoko stepped in. "What happened to you?" she asked incredulously while looking around the bathroom like there was some intruder hidden in the miniscule space.

"I hit my knee on the toilet." he grumbled, turning away from her while nursing his bruising knee.

There was moment of silence with her stare burning on his back before she spoke, "You've been acting odd since you came back. . ." He forced his body to remain calm and not betray the erratic beat of his heart. "Did something else happen on the mission?"

He considered telling her the truth, but he was no fool – contrary to the many acts of stupidity may portray. There was no way in hell he was going to involve his family in the mess he's waist deep in. Fuck, he was far from being happy that his wife and kids were there within the same walls as Sasuke, who soon would be forced into a position to turn on them. He wanted his family no where near when that time came around, because there was no telling what Sasuke would do.

"Nah. . . it's just as Itachi said." he lied as he turned to face her. "I'm just tired."

Her frown deepened and he could see she hadn't believed an ounce of what he just said. He didn't let it show though as he moved to walk around her. She placed her hand on his chest, stopping him. "I usually don't ask for the truth when you lie. . . but there seems to be something different about this one. What happened on that mission, Miki?"

Gently, he grabbed her wrist and removed her hand from him. "Nothing happened." he said, placing a chaste kiss on her lips before passing her and exiting the bathroom.

There were no more choices left. All that was left was to follow through with the ones that's already been made. . . alone. Because he was the only one who was going to make a pact with the devil.

If only he was sure that he was going to come out of it alive. . .


Sasuke stood outside the playroom looking through the wide windows at his son failing to get rest. He's been standing there for the past fifteen minutes merely staring at Aki, watching him as he withdrew within himself. With inheriting a lot of Naruto's personality, Aki was normally a bright and happy child. . . but he could see how he was wilting with every passing moment.

If he didn't save Kyosuke, then he was going to lose both his sons – that's what kept repeating over and over in his mind. And he wouldn't have been able to handle it if he lost one son, let alone two. It sent him past the point of worrying, there was too much at stake to allow his emotions to affect him now.

He felt Itachi approach and his body automatically tensed at his brother's presence. He had to remind himself as Itachi stopped and stood beside him that the man was useful in getting his son back. "You should be thankful they're not blood related." Itachi said casually, speaking of the bond his two sons held. "That happened once with fraternal twins."

"Tsunade's dead." he responded with a complete change of subject. He couldn't talk about his sons. Especially not with someone his instincts urged him to kill.

There was a moment of silence before Itachi spoke again. "That's. . . unfortunate. I'm assuming it happened at the time of the abductions."

"Hmn."

"And the body?"

"In the morgue."

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Itachi nod in acknowledgment. "So if Ruri-san ventured into that section of the department, I should be expecting a scream." his voice calm and indifferent.

He glared sideways at his brother, knowing exactly what the other was trying to do. He was trying to lighten the strained atmosphere between them, but it was only accomplishing the complete opposite. His Sharingan activate as he turned to fully face Itachi, "What are you trying to pull, Itachi? Are you enjoying this act of yours? Well this brotherly shit stops now. . . I know exactly what you're planning to do."

Itachi turned to him with a questionable eyebrow raised, which had him restraining himself from striking that feign ignorance off his brother's face. "And what am I planning, otoutou?" His calm demeanor only fueling Sasuke's anger further.

He gripped the collar of Itachi's cloak and stepped into his personal space, sneering, "You want to take away my only chance to get him back."

There was no change in Itachi's expression as he leaned in closer. "There is no chance." he said evenly, "You can't bring back the dead." Those simple words shocked him to his very core. . . causing his eyes to widen and his hold to loosen. Itachi removed his hand from his cloak and went to move around him. "The sooner you learn that the better off you'll be."

I couldn't end up any worse. . . he thought even as Itachi continued down the hallway. He remained rooted to the spot, but no matter how hard it was to hear Itachi speak of his Dobe's death so flippantly, his resolve didn't waver – his instincts wouldn't allow it. "I'll do everything in my power to stop you."

"I wouldn't expect anything less." came Itachi's reply.

He turned around then to glare at his brother's back, but instead saw further ahead of Itachi that Jun, Yuuto, Ruri, Miki, and Kyoko were already waiting for them. The sight of them sent his anxiety soaring, resulting in his other chaotic emotions to be temporarily overshadowed.

Because it was time. . . and the next several hours would determine if he lost the last two people he loved.