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Warnings: Madara and his enormous monologues…Yeah ok, no warnings for this chapter, really.

Chapter 10- Revelations

I found myself being woken by Pein yet again. "Nngh?" I questioned incoherently as he continued to speak.

"- waiting, so hurry up and get ready. You want your reward, don't you?"

"Do I?" I questioned aloud, knowing full well that it was Madara who was waiting. I opened the doors of the wardrobe and moved into my concealed living space to get changed. "Can I wear real clothes?" I asked, eying my boxer shorts. My current form of underwear was far from comfortable.

"If you want to. This isn't 'work', so it doesn't matter." He replied, now leaning on the door frame to my living space.

I took the business attire I had arrived in from the linen cupboard, which served as my real wardrobe these days. "That means you don't have to watch me get changed." I snapped, moving off into the bathroom for more privacy. After staying up to three o'clock in the morning at his 'meeting', one would think that I would be allowed to sleep in past nine…

I exited the bathroom properly clothed and with an odd sense of relief, which probably stemmed from the comfort and familiarity of my clothes. Pein led me to the elevator and we went up to the fifth floor.

"Why does this building only have one elevator?" I queried, remembering that I had been wondering the same thing during my first encounter with Konan.

"Security. It's much easier to watch one elevator rather than three, isn't it?" Pein replied.

"True. What's on the fourth and second floors?"

"Women's quarters on the fourth. The trading room on the second." In response to my confusion he added, "Did I explain you can be hired out to a client's home for a month at a time? That's where you meet with clients who want to do this. It's also the real reception area." I nodded, making note of this information for future use.

We exited the elevator, which opened into a plain, short corridor with only two doors. We went through the nearest, entering a spacious office. A middle-aged man with dark, shoulder length hair was seated behind the desk. The wall behind him was mostly taken up by a large window, which showed only the sides of other taller buildings. But it did give a clear view of the street below which, I reflected, was probably a part of its purpose.

Currently, the man was speaking on the phone, his chair turned away from us, so that I could only see his profile. As Pein indicated that I should take the vacant chair, I noticed the other man's eyes were red.

I sat as Pein mentally pointed out that this man was Madara. 'It will be explained in a moment.' He added as I began wondering how that could even begin to make sense. My grandfather was the same age as my father? This man couldn't be any older than forty-five, after all…

Madara sighed loudly as he put the phone down, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Go away and don't listen." He casually ordered of Pein, who simply nodded and left the room. Suddenly I felt that I recognised something about him. Of course, his features were definitely that of an Uchiha, so there was a strong family resemblance. But there was something more…

A few moments after the door had closed, he turned to me and spoke, "So, you're the grandchild I've heard so much about." He straightened his chair so that he was facing me properly before speaking again. "Sad that you only know of me because of your parents' rowing. I believe you have a brother as well?" This time he waited for an answer.

"What of it?" I asked uncomfortably.

"Please, relax. I was just curious. He was born after my people stopped watching your family, so his existence has always been more of a rumour. According to Pein, you have some questions to ask of me, so ask away."

I hesitated, wondering where to start. "Why did you kill Fugaku, and what did you mean by 'chose a side'?" I asked, quoting what I remembered of his message.

"When I sent that message, I hadn't realised how little you knew about the Uchiha's background. Like most people, we came into money by organised crime. You would be surprised by how many old families got their money in this way." He mused, putting his sock-clad feet on the desk and swinging back on his chair. "So, I had to get Pein to fill in a few gaps so that you could figure it out.

"Unfortunately, my son did not agree with my way of life and removed his family from my reach. Thus I was stuck with the conundrum of not having a successor in case something… untimely happened. Not to mention, Fugaku knew too much to not be caught up in our world. I had been effectively cut off from my talented grandchild, who I have been hoping to get into my organisation for quite sometime.

"Only a few years ago I expressed my interest in you again and he pushed you further away. Conveniently you had just told him about your boyfriend, Kisame, so he used that as an excuse to cut ties and get you out of the house quickly. This course of action would have worked rather more effectively if I hadn't known Kisame already. You see, he used to work for me. As an assassin, of course, not many would appreciate his company, let alone pay for it.

"I knew where you were the whole time. All I had to do was remove your father from the picture and I would have access to you." Madara paused to stare at me for a moment, before continuing his monologue. "I recruited Pein, who could set up a suicide like no one else. But more problems had arisen. As sappy as it sounds, Kisame had actually fallen in love with you. I had been planning for financial ruin to fall into you lap for years so that you would be compelled to take a job here. But because of his feelings, I knew that Kisame would help you pay any debt you came into.

"In short, you were pushed away from me once again. And it was only luck that allowed me to find you again. I gave you that letter myself." My feelings of familiarity had finally been realised. I recognised Madara's voice.

"So, avoiding Kisame's help didn't do any good at all…" I muttered, about ready to kick myself. "But, why did you want me in particular?" I asked out of curiosity. Surely he could find attractive people willing to sell themselves elsewhere.

"As I mentioned before, I need a successor." He stated. "But my successor has to be strong and resilient, which is why I'm making you start from the bottom rung of the ladder. Anything else?"

"If you're my father's father, how can you be so young?"

"The second stage of the mangekyou sharingan." Noticing my blank face, Madara continued, "Fugaku didn't even tell you about the sharingan? Then allow me…"

Sometime later, Madara's explanation had given me the impression that the sharingan was an evolutionary advantage that had developed in my family and was passed from generation to generation genetically. He told me that I and even my brother would have the potential to awaken the first type of sharingan.

"…So you see, after killing my best friend and taking my brother's eyes, I became as near to immortal as humans can. Alas, I am forever middle aged, but undoubtedly our average life spans could be more than one hundred years in just a couple of generations, no? Unfortunately I may not live that long to find out." He finished, searching my face for a reaction to his story.

"So, the 'reward' you spoke of was knowledge?" I asked, wondering if anything more sinister was yet to come.

"They say knowledge is power… Maybe you'll be interested in this as well?" He added, returning to a normal sitting position and handing me a folded piece of newspaper. The clipping was only a small one. My brother's and Kisame's names jumped out at me. It explained that a collusion of the Uchiha and Hoshigaki companies had been allowed. This meant that Madara had predicted correctly. Kisame had discovered the true extent of our debt and was taking it on for me. Essentially, I had come here for no reason whatsoever.

"What of Kisame and Sasuke? They are… safe, aren't they?" I asked, wondering if it was wise to bring them up like this in conversation. Maybe I was just giving him ideas…

"Oh yes, you're already tied to me by law. But you really shouldn't have them worry so much… Perhaps I should invite them to come and see you?" He watched me carefully, as though trying to gauge my reaction exactly.

"I would prefer they didn't see me here… I suppose there's no chance of voiding my contract?" I asked quietly, fisting the small shred of newspaper.

"Oh, I'm not quite ready to let you go yet. But, perhaps if you keep up the good work we can think about letting you go after only six months. Don't think of it as an easy way out." He looked up at the clock on the wall briefly, before returning his attention to me. "That's all we have time for today, Itachi. We'll have another one of these meetings sometime. Maybe I'll tell you about the people Kisame killed then." He said in a strangely pleasant tone as Pein reentered the room.

I followed him back to my quarters, reflecting that I wasn't the only one who had been concealing things. But perhaps this meant that Kisame would forgive my stupid decisions more easily…

I'm afraid that's about it until early April, probably later. Alas, I must return to my schooling so soon... :( Please tell me what you thought of this chapter.