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((I got a complaint of sorts from a reader who lives in my hometown. Apparently, updating faster would prove fairly nice. Who knew, right? Any way…there was a question I feel I should answer. Setsuna is currently four years old but smart for his age. ))

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…

CHAPTER 10: 'Lost One'

Setsuna opened his eyes, waiting for the vision to become clearer. Itachi-sama had taken him and his daddy to this new place three days ago. He didn't know where he was but he knew he couldn't go to Mama without him being healthy. He yawned lazily.

A bird flew by the window. He looked at it while rubbing the sleep from one eye at a time. It was a black bird…

He looked over his shoulder to see if his Daddy was still there like he had been for the nights before. Of course he was and Setsuna smiled. It was nice having a father now. Mama was great, but, Mama was also lonely and he saw that. This father, this 'Sasuke', was his Daddy and he was what would make his mother happy. It wasn't hard to understand.
Especially since Itachi wasn't what his mother wanted. But, there was something different about Sasuke and Itachi. They were the same yet different. Itachi felt closer, warmer, than Sasuke, his daddy. Why was that? Itachi…he was someone who made his mother unhappy. But then why did he make him happy, himself? Was that normal?
Sasuke felt…safe. A security that he hadn't quite known yet, but it didn't settle well with him deep down. No, deep down, Setsuna felt that Itachi should be there more than anyone else. More than uncle Jiraiya, more than Gaara, and more than his father. Itachi was…

The sheets rustled behind him after he had looked away from Sasuke's sleeping form. He looked back. Sasuke's black eyes were on him, drowsy but seemingly in shock, as if seeing him was something to behold.

But what Setsuna wasn't aware of was that the reason Sasuke was in some mild shock was because Setsuna looked completely healthy. Not a hair out of place or minor sniffle to indicate how ill the child had been just three days before. Was a change of scenery all he really needed after all?

No.

Impossible.

The boy had coughed blood. There was something wrong with him. But, what?

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"Setsuna's half demon, of course a simple change of scenery would affect him so much. His body, being human, can only cooperate with the demonic 'soul' to a degree of being stable in stable conditions. He's weakest in the middle of summer since he was born near the end of winter and wasn't used to it by the time it came around. Naruto was smart in moving and staying in Suna, where the weather only changes a few degrees lower than what he's used to." Itachi's tone was so casual, like this was the easiest thing to understand. True, it did seem simple, but Sasuke wasn't one to have recalled any course of demon knowledge. How Itachi knew was something beyond him, but he could guess.

"How do you know so much?"

"He's my son; I make it a point to know everything about what is mine. For instance," he began, moving to a comfortable position by folding his hands on his lap, with a cold smile on his lips. " I know that his favorite color is red, he doesn't like sweets as much as Naruto, and he is willing to learn anything Naruto will not teach him. There's more, of course."

Sasuke scowled, "Of course."

Itachi smiled. "And, like it or not, he is my heir. Not yours." He said this stressing the last of his words with barely a tone change. It only proved to spark the younger raven's anger further. It was one thing to know something- or someone- you wanted didn't belong to you, but something else entirely to have it dangled in front of you.

Setsuna was currently outside the room the two were seated in, being watched over by Kisame. The door was open as an extra precaution.

Sasuke deeply hated this man sitting in front of him. He had taken everything from him. Everything! Was it fair that he stole his one hope for the future away, too?
He nearly growled, and would've if Setsuna hadn't wandered into the room, walking over to him with uneven and unsure steps. He set his hands on the armrest, putting him just that much closer to the man he saw as his father.

"Daddy," he started, looking up at Sasuke to see if it was okay to keep talking. "When is Mommy coming home?"

Home? Sasuke raised an inquisitive eyebrow at the question.

"He was born here. And stayed here till he was a year old; Naruto was too scared to move with him anywhere until he was older than two months."

"How would he even remember this place?" Sasuke bit out, angry, and personally tired of hearing Itachi's constant 'I know this, this, and that' crap.

Itachi leaned over and held out two fingers, placing them to Setsuna's forehead with a gentle tap saying, "A demon's memory."

Sasuke growled as Itachi leaned away and sat back down in his chair folding his hands over his lap once more with a slightly smug look on his face, not liking the fact that Itachi so blatantly called his own child a demon. Twice, right? It was degrading and yet neither Setsuna nor Itachi seemed to take offense to this.

"He'll remember further back than written history." Itachi stated easily and it was yet another thing for Sasuke to hate.

"…" Sasuke bit back the worst of whatever verbal assault he wished to unleash on his brother for the time being and decided that knowing a little more on the boy beside him would probably be better than anything else. It was only right after all. "So why did Setsuna's body react the way it did?"

Getting back on topic.

The smug look disappeared from Itachi's face and his expression turned to one of a man wise beyond his years. The topic was his son; he had to know everything. He inhaled softly and went through what he knew about how Setsuna's body functioned. It was Jiraiya that had found out and had informed him about all of this and he did well to remember everything down to the last detail. With a gentle exhale, Itachi looked to Setsuna, admiring the beautiful blue eyes he possessed, and began.

"His body, being so young and so small can barely withstand all the powers he possesses currently without the help of a seal." His eyes moved to the child's left arm, "Come here, Setsuna. Let me show him."

Setsuna obeyed, walking over to Itachi with utter trust in him.

Itachi gently turned the boy around and lifted up the sleeve of his left arm until the seal became visible, Sasuke could already sense the power behind it. His eyes took in the almost common look of the seal and would've blown it off as nothing more other than an ordinary seal had he not noticed one small detail…

His eyes widened. Itachi pulled the boy's sleeve back down and patted him on his pat, pushing him forward as an indication to move forward and back to his 'father', which he did.

"What sort of sealing technique is that? Is it safe?" Sasuke asked immediately, pulling Setsuna to him, keeping his hand over the area the seal had been placed.

"It's one Gaara, Naruto, and Jiraiya preformed," he answered. " And, no, it is not safe. Not for him anyway."

Sasuke growled. How could Naruto do that knowing it was dangerous? It was completely reckless.

"What are the consequences?" he asked, propping Setsuna atop his lap. Setsuna laughed and leaned back into him as a response. "Does Naruto know it's unsafe?"

"Of course Naruto knows." Itachi sneered. "He wouldn't do something to his child without knowing all the details, but it was the only thing that could keep him safe as well as everyone else."

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow.

Itachi took the silence as a sign to continue. " Half demons are rare; most don't live long enough to be known. If they are born more demon than human then the chances of them living is higher, but of course, they look like monsters. Disgusting and blood thirsty." He explained. " And the half breeds that come out more human than demon… as I've said before, they are unstable. Setsuna quite literally would have exploded with all the demonic energy he holds. The body is too soft and too young to be able to control and stabilize the pressure of a possible build up of that chakra. The seal keeps that chakra under a binding created by the Kyuubi."

"Kyuubi?" Sasuke half glared. "That thing inside Naruto's body, you mean?"

"Yes. He created this sealing jutsu. It stabilizes the demonic energy within Setsuna's body and keeps his human appearance and thoughts unscathed, as it should be. But, the cost of it is that…" he paused, looking deep in thought for a second. "If Setsuna were to ever lose his temper or lose too much of his own blood, or even be exposed to so much blood, the seal, being demon itself, would react and break of its own accord. His body would be devoured by all of his demon instincts and wants; he wouldn't be able to handle it. The stress on his body would be too much for him to handle and he'd die."

That was it?

Why did that seem easy?

"So all we have to do is keep him away from all of that." Sasuke stated.

"Use your head, foolish little brother." Itachi almost growled. " He is the only one of his kind; the blood of not only the Kyuubi runs through his veins, but the blood of an Uchiha and the lost blood line of the Namikaze. Believe me when I tell you that everyone wants this child. He is the strongest weapon in the making. Every nation, every village, every lord, wants this boy to use him. To have him. He will be exposed to all that can kill him all his life. It's never a simple thing, you fool. He will be in danger every step of the way, every day of his life, and somewhere, deep down, you know that."

Sasuke fell silent, unable to argue. Unable to say one word to contradict anything his brother said. It was all true. But he couldn't ease the shock of knowing that so much trouble was all due to… He looked at Setsuna and felt some pity.

Naruto had taken this all on by himself.

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CHAPTER 10 END…..

((Okay okay…review please. Sorry if I confused anyone.))