Disclaimer: see previous chapter.

(Munching and smiling contentedly) Thanks so much YuNa for the well-deserved cookies. I look forward to the others I expect to receive for my work in the future. (Slightly bratty tone) And I want 'em to keep coming you hear me? But really thanks for the cookies I love you! Way to butter me up.

Udene you now have a very special place in my heart as an avid reader and dedicated reviewer. I'm glad that you are following this story closely and are as thrilled to be reading it as I am to be writing it.

And as for you Ambria27 I absolutely ADORE you for your review. Wow, thank you so very much for making my day. Now that's someone who can really write a review. And FYI, I love long reviews so keep 'em coming. (Wink. Wink).

I feel that I should comment on something I borrowed from another fanfic. I've forgotten which fanfic it was but I remembered reading about how Karin referred to Sasuke as Sasu-cakes somewhere. So just letting you guys know I didn't come up with that. Anyways, on with the story.

Chapter Nine

Taming the Raven

Minato's blue eyes adopted an amused glint when they caught sight of the unlocked door. He chuckled to himself, shaking his head at the Uchiha's brassiness.

"Cocky little brat." His voice was empty of any venom or ill-will towards the younger man. He couldn't fault the boy for his over-confidence; he was an Uchiha after all, and on top of that he had managed to create an airtight seal that even he hadn't found a way out of yet.

Hopefully that would change very shortly. Minato got off the bed and turned to pace the room. In less than ten minutes Itachi would be beyond his tracking jutsu's range and he was still here trying to figure out an escape plan. From where he stood, he could see the crowded busy streets below. Something clenched in his stomach at the thought of how any mistake on his part could cost them their very lives. He knew what would happen if he tried to escape the room without first breaking the seal. Although he knew that he could very easily escape the jutsu's blast radius, he knew that innocent civilians would be killed in the explosion and several others wounded either from the impact of the explosion or the flying debris in the air.

The Uchiha knew he was a hero at heart and was taking advantage of it. Even though he could use his speed to evacuate most of the civilians in the area, there were still those left behind to pay for his mistake. And to Minato even one death for his sake was completely and utterly unacceptable. As a shinobi he had learned that collateral damage was as inevitable as it was emotionally draining. Everyday many people, himself included, managed to find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. So who was he to make them suffer unjustly for their small crime? He had to find a way that would not endanger anyone else. And he had only eight and a half minutes to do so.

Minato turned to glare at the accursed seal placed high on the wall to his right. It was hidden by a clever concealment jutsu and although Minato couldn't see it he knew that it was there and it was the one he was looking for. It looked like any other protective seal and Minato would have easily been misled by it had it not been for the fact that he was feeling a faint chakra pulse emanating from it to his direction. He smiled knowing what the chakra pulse meant; it was checking his vitals to see if he was real and not a shadow clone.

It's airtight alright. Jiraiya-sensei used to say that every advantage comes with a disadvantage. But I can't seem to find any with this jutsu. Think Namikaze think. Knowing Itachi it's gotta be hiding in plain sight, mocking me at this very moment. Look underneath the underneath.

Only 6 minutes left. I really don't have time for this. And as it is Itachi's already picking up the pace. If he's on the hunt he's already spotted his prey. This will be over very soon and I have to get there NOW!

Hmm, I wonder.

He brought his hands together and formed the seal for the Shadow Clone jutsu. He cocked his head to the side slightly, waiting for a reaction from the seal. The seal remained as it was, emitting its steady rhythm of chakra pulses unperturbed by the Shadow clone beside him. Minato switched his primary point-of-view to the Shadow Clone's and tried to detect any chakra pulses moving his way. He smiled at the realization that there were none.

Itachi had focused so much on keeping him in the room but had forgotten one of the most basic shinobi principles. To his credit he had considered him using Shadow Clones as a replacement, like most shinobi tended to do, however, he hadn't foreseen him using a Shadow clone as a front runner. Shadow clones were merely conjured objects resembling their master's appearance physically. However, other than that they were like any other jutsu; manipulated by chakra to do their master's bidding without taking on any natural characteristics. He remembered observing this during a training session with his lover.

The red-head had produced shadow clones to distract him, and he had only decided to play along in order to brush up on his taijutsu moves. He remembered getting close to one and noticing that although the clone was panting he couldn't feel any breath escaping it. He moved on to another clone to confirm this and repeated this for the remaining clones when he got close enough to them. Although they mimicked human behavior and reaction they were anything but human. Meaning that they didn't need oxygen, food or any of the other necessities to survive. The only thing they needed to survive was chakra. Which he was more than willing to supply.

Because the seal also detects chakra he knew that it would give him away if he somehow managed to outwit the seal. However, it wasn't anything an exceptionally good chakra cloaking jutsu couldn't handle. His immense chakra reserve coupled with his chakra conservation skills meant that he could do a lot with very little. And that would be more than enough for him to sabotage whatever mission the Uchiha had been given.

He focused a little chakra to the shadow clone before concealing it with a chakra-suppressing jutsu of his own design. Then very casually he walked the clone over to the door, turned the knob and watched the clone disappear into the corridor. As he traveled down the corridor in the clone's body, Minato couldn't help smirking at the Uchiha's cockiness at not locking the door. At least then he could have had some flimsy excuse of a last defense to keep his prisoner from freedom. Oh well, it did take a genius to outsmart a genius. But for how long?

As soon as he was sure that no civilian passersby were watching him, Minato ducked into any alley. He focused his chakra and activated the tracking seal he had placed on the Uchiha. He felt the familiar tug and succumbed to it and was instantly teleported to his destination at the speed of lightening.

Itachi had lost valuable time and he knew it. He had discovered the tracking jutsu placed on him by the blonde and had just managed to shake it off completely. He smiled at the man's gall to have placed such a jutsu on him in the first place and smirked at the fact that the man would have been unable to teleport to his location due to the clever seal on the hotel room.

That had been a little over four minutes ago and as Itachi found himself nearing his location, he felt the smile fall from his lips. It was replaced by a tense look as he felt the beginnings of his tension and anxiety building up anew.

He remembered the grave aura the Amekage exuded when he had relayed his mission objective to him yesterday.

"I know that we agreed to begin the hunt for the tailed beasts next year," here he narrowed his eyes ever so slightly at the Uchiha. "However, it has recently come to my attention that Yagura, the jinchurikii for the sanbi bijuu, is no more. Fortunately, the beast still lives and is currently wandering the wild without a host. My sources have spotted it lurking somewhere in the former Hidden Whirlpool village. I believe that you can understand my desperation to take advantage of this rare opportunity by securing it for the organization. Your mission is to go to the location of the former Hidden Whirlpool village and secure the beast."

Shortly after Itachi had been dismissed and had returned back to his apartment to prepare for the mission. And so here he was now.

An eerie fog hung in the air like an ethereal veil shielding curious eyes from the dark deeds of the wandering dead. Itachi could feel the unnatural chilly air blow right through the material of his Akatsuki cloak, leaving a violent coughing fit in its wake. When the coughing finally subsided, Itachi focused his blazing Sharingan at the surrounding wasteland before him.

Hidden Whirlpool had once been a powerful nation on the northern border of Fire Country. Its close proximity and strong cultural and trading ties with Fire Country had created an uncanny alliance between the two nations. Until, its mysterious destruction, it had been a force to be reckoned with. A force so powerful that it was considered by some as the Sixth Great Shinobi Nation. Its close proximity to water meant that it was subject to chilly weather on an almost year-round basis. Knowing this Itachi had taken steps to keep the chill out; however, he was now certain that his efforts to prevent another bout of the flu had been in vain.

The once great nation now stood in ruins; open and vulnerable to thieves, plunderers and other raiders of such sites. Itachi felt yet another shudder run down his spine as he felt the first surge of chakra he had felt in miles. The decimated village lay a good six miles away from the commercial town where he had left the blonde. Although he had left very early in the morning his sickness had progressed to the point that it hindered him from traveling as fast as he would have liked. So he was only now arriving at the village sometime around ten in the morning.

The chakra surge he had felt had been faint yet very distinct. There was no mistaking the ferocity or malice of that chakra signature. And he knew that his prey was near. He picked up the pace while trying his best to pinpoint the exact location of the malignant chakra.

When he felt the chakra signature in the air to his right, Itachi turned and walked in that direction. His five senses were alert as they tried to detect any dangers before they could cause him bodily harm. He was fading and so he knew that this mission would take a lot out of him. Too much in his opinion. But if doing this meant that he didn't have to kill a live jinchurikii so be it. Capturing this beast would mean that he had met his quota of one bijuu meaning that he wouldn't have to capture anymore beasts. The mission's successful completion would mean minimal work for the organization; apart from helping Kisame track and capture his bijuu, which knowing the Kiri missing-nin wouldn't be hard, and the sealing of the chakra demons, Itachi was free of all strenuous Akatsuki duties. Which was comforting indeed seeing as it meant more time to prepare for his final battle with his estranged little brother. This single comfort was the only thing that Itachi found himself looking forward to.

The fog thickened when he reached the Akira River running through the very center of Whirlpool country. He followed the river until it came to an end at a waterfall-fed stream. The chakra signature was a lot stronger here and so he knew that he had finally found his prey. The Sanbi was undoubtedly hiding from human presence, and in Itachi's honest opinion he couldn't think of a better place to do that than the former Whirlpool Nation. A full year after its destruction, the village had been home to criminal gangs and as such was at the mercy of all types of scum and lowlife imaginable. However, pretty soon mysterious disappearances led to rumors of the place being haunted by its dead citizens. This in turn led to the place becoming the ghost town that it was. No one knew exactly how an entire nation had been wiped out in one single night; no one was accepting responsibility for the act and no one was pointing fingers. So it just fell in the middle. However, all the other shinobi nations still lived in fear somewhat at the thought that whatever had destroyed the village could very well do the same to them.

Itachi had only come here once before and had vowed to never return, but here he was again walking through the destroyed village searching. Although he would never admit it the place still crept him out somewhat and he found himself wanting to get the mission over with already. Without pausing Itachi began walking on the eerily calm surface of the stream. He smiled at the Sanbi's attempts at warding off any suspicion by calming the stream; tailed beasts without host were truly unintelligent beings. That was exactly why such a powerful thing should never be left alone to its own devices.

When he reached the middle of the stream, he got out the large capacity storage scroll Pein had given him. He performed the necessary hands seals required to activate the seal on the scroll. The water around him slowly but surely began to churn violently until it resembled a storm at sea. He felt the malevolent chakra spike dangerous in his direction and felt the attack before he even saw it coming. He jumped out of the way in time to avoid a violent water jet aimed at him from somewhere beneath the surface of the stream.

First I'll pinpoint its exact location and then I'll draw it out with the seal. When it comes out I'll subdue it before sealing it within the scroll.

Itachi narrowed his eyes as he felt a stabbing pain in his side from the strain the little scuttle was putting on his body. He knew that unless he put an end to this quickly it would mean the end for him. And so he activated the seal again and felt the very surface of the water at his feet quake from the force of yet another violent chakra pulse aimed at him. The Sanbi didn't wish to be disturbed and was trying to get rid of him without having to come to the surface. However, that just wouldn't do.

Itachi performed another series of hand seals and focused his chakra for his jutsu.

"Water style; Great Water Vortex Jutsu!" He cried sending a surge of his own chakra into the water at his feet. Picking up the scroll, he jumped to escape the turbulence of the spinning water as it took the form of a vortex.

The vortex twisted and turned violently forming a gap in the water as it drilled deeper and deeper towards its prey. From his safe place atop a rock by the shore, Itachi caught a glimpse of the great chakra demon at the very bottom of the stream scuttling out of the vortex's way. He smirked internally at this before going through another series of hand seals.

"Water style; Greater Water Vortex jutsu." On cue the rapidly spinning vortex grew in size and ferocity. Water was flying everywhere, spinning furiously towards the very bottom of the stream. A large gap was once again created in the water, this time giving Itachi a perfect view of the squirming beast below.

"Fire Style; Great Fire Dragon jutsu!"A giant dragon-shaped fire jutsu exploded before plummeting into the hole and towards the Sanbi. The flames impacted the chakra demon's flesh making it howl in pain as it began trashing around in its makeshift prison.

"Water Style; Great Water Prison jutsu." The vortex gave out and the churning waves of water collapsed back in place. As soon as the water settled again it began churning again, only this time it adopted the shape of a large ball surrounding the Sanbi, thus effectively caging it. The creature roared and screeched in anger and fury but the raven relented and activated his Mangekyou.

With the Sanbi restrained somewhat, Itachi decided to seize the opportunity to deal it one last crippling blow. By placing the chakra demon under a genjutsu Itachi was sure that while the creature was subdued he would be able to seal it in the storage scroll.

"Tsukuyomi!" He cried when his vermillion orbs met the angry demon's eyes. Immediately the beast calmed down and submitted to the jutsu prompting Itachi to release the water prison restraining it.

Much to his displeasure the Sanbi's massive body collapsed into the stream showering him with enough water to drown him. He recovered quickly from the spray and scrambled to maintain his hold on the genjutsu. A flash of yellow caught his eye and he turned to see what it was. But whatever it was had disappeared a split-second before his eyes could focus on it. He dismissed it as a trick of the light and turned back to face the Sanbi.

What he saw made his heart clench dangerously in his ribcage. The force of his near heart attack prompted a violent coughing fit which couldn't have happened at a worse time. For some reason the Sanbi had managed to break his Tsukuyomi and was on the rampage; all three tails trashing madly behind it. A surge of violent chakra hit him repelling him back several feet from where he started, and the raven could feel the demon's bloodlust in the very air around him. Its lone eye was focused on his composed form and for a few moments, that seemed to drag on forever, they held eye contact like this; both daring the other to flinch. The tailed beast gave out first; however, it wasn't out of being intimidated but it was in order to prepare its next attack. An immense Menacing Ball began taking shape at the Sanbi's opened mouth. The mere force around the Menacing Ball was enough to make the water around them start churning violently again. And Itachi knew that if he were ever hit by that thing he would not survive.

The raven turned tail and retreated as far away as he could from the enraged demon. He closed his right eye as he prepared to make his next move. Behind him he could hear the thunderous roars of the rampaging chakra-demon, could feel the Menacing Ball's force field growing with each passing second. It was enough to reduce any man to tears, but Itachi was an Uchiha; and as such he was far beyond tears and cowardice. He turned and landed gracefully on a cliff several feet away from the Sanbi. By now he could see that the Menacing ball had increased significantly in size and he felt a lump building in his throat.

However, all his efforts had finally paid off as he concluded his preparations. He opened his bleeding right eye and focused it on the charging beast's jutsu.

"Amaterasu!" At his command ethereal black flames shot out of his eye charging at the Menacing Ball moving rapidly towards him. Itachi watched unfazed at the Menacing Ball consumed the black flames. Sure enough the Sanbi's attack started reducing rapidly as it was eaten up from the inside by the deadly, spiritual flames.

He smirked openly at the Sanbi's shock at its jutsu's failure before scrambling to create another ferocious ball of raw chakra. Itachi focused his eyes again, but this time he concentrated on the beast itself. It would take a long time for it to build up another menacing ball, and while it was doing that Itachi had every intention of giving it a taste of Amaterasu's flames. And so he threw his head back, arms clapped firmly together, as he screamed his command unleashing the flames.

"Amaterasu!" He watched as those evil black flames flew towards its prey at a velocity unmatched by any ordinary fireball. This was the end of the skirmish and although he knew that the chakra demon was unintelligent he knew that it could sense it as well. The beast hastened its preparations of its jutsu, hoping to use it to counter the approaching black flames. However, Itachi knew that the Menacing Ball would not reach completion fast enough to spare the Sanbi the excruciating agony of being consumed whole by the deadly, scorching flames. So he crossed his arms and waited patiently for the jutsu to run its course.

However, something happened at that very moment that neither Itachi nor the Sanbi had expected. A mere foot away from its target, the black flames came to a complete standstill in mid-air. The black tongues of the fire stopped moving altogether and it remained frozen in place. Then something else happened that rocked Itachi to his very core. For the first time in the history of his using the jutsu, the flames of Amaterasu completely vanished without his commanding them. The raven's scarlet eyes widened in a rare show of shock and disbelief as his mouth hung slightly open. Even the tailed beast that had been mere moments away from unimaginable agony looked as shocked and as baffled as he was.

Then he sensed it, another presence several feet west from him. What really struck him about this presence was the fact that it was very familiar. Familiar because he had spent almost every waking moment in its company, and had only just left it behind this morning. Yes, without seeing the tall spiky-haired man Itachi knew that he was around and that he was responsible for his current predicament.

The raven cursed him in his heart for his meddling. As he turned to once again face an enraged beast.

How did he manage to escape from the hotel? And what the hell is he doing here? So it was he who sent a surge of chakra to the Sanbi helping it break my Tsukuyomi. That jutsu, Madara told me about it. It's his Space-Time Barrier Jutsu. But why would he do that; is he trying to get me killed? Probably so. I have to fall back before…

Itachi ducked out of the way in time to avoid a violent wave of chakra manipulated water aimed at him by the Sanbi. He scrambled to get out of the way of several more before being thrown off by a particularly powerful wave, sending him crashing to the moist forest floor. The impact of his fall knocked the breath right out of him and he recoiled as intense spasms of pain overwhelmed him.

The feeling of the hair at the back of his head standing up alerted him of the chakra-demon's approaching attack. He opened his eyes, which had been screwed shut tightly in pain, and came face to face with the rapidly approaching Menacing Ball. Survival instincts kicking in, Itachi was already midway through the teleportation seal when he realized what he was doing.

A flash of yellow was the only warning of the Yondaime's approach before Itachi found himself looking up at the man standing between him and the Sanbi's wrath. Without any warning, the Yondaime released a surge of chakra, freezing the Menacing Ball in place just like he had the raven's Amaterasu. He performed a quick series of hand signs causing the ball to vanish before reappearing right in front of the stunned chakra demon several yards away.

Despite the large distance between them and the Sanbi both shinobi knew that in order to completely escape the jutsu's blast radius they would need to put a lot more distance between themselves and the Menacing Ball. In one fluid motion Minato bent down and picked the frail Uchiha from where he lay behind him. Clinging protectively to the raven, Minato spun on one foot before taking off towards the forest at an inhumane speed.

The last thing the Uchiha saw before his eyes fluttered shut was the forest behind them being ripped to shreds by the force of the Menacing Ball.

When Minato's clone returned to the hotel it was the first time he had ever seen the raven with his eyes closed for an extended period of time. So understandably he stared at the young Uchiha's unconscious form for several moments; mesmerized by the sight before him. When he noticed the youth's uneven breathing, he dispelled his Shadow clone as he turned to lay him down on his own bed. For some reason Minato wanted the Uchiha to sleep on his bed and not his own. He then proceeded to perform the minor first aid medical ninjutsu he knew to stabilize the raven's ragged breathing. When he was satisfied with the way the boy was breathing, he conjured another clone which left to find some medicine to ease the boy's pain.

He settled himself comfortably beside the raven as he waited for the clone to return. He knew that it would take several minutes for the clone to come back so he decided to make use of the time he had. Coral-blue orbs stared at the raven's pale face entranced by the ethereal beauty of the sleeping Uchiha. His long, soft, raven locks fell around his beautifully pale face; the contrast created an effect that made the raven seem to glow. His soft, inviting lips parted slightly as he exhaled and inhaled, his hot breath tickling the blonde's skin lightly leaving goose bumps in its wake. His long, dark lashes caressed his cheeks making him seem more feminine than he already was. Minato pulled away and quickly stripped the Sharingan-wielder of his Akatsuki cloak, not wanting his view of the man before him to be interrupted by anything.

His long, slender neck was as pale as the rest of him and Minato found that he was very tempted to lean down and kiss the soft flesh there. He resisted and his eyes moved down in order to distract himself from further fantasies. The Uchiha's lithe torso disappeared beneath a black, long-sleeved shinobi regulation shirt hiding him from his prying eyes. Minato had actually reached out to rip the offending material away when he realized what he was doing and pulled away. He felt his member awaken with arousal and although he knew the reason for his sudden stimulation, he was unwilling to leave his side now that he finally had him pressed so snuggly to him.

I wonder what he's dreaming about.

Minato turned to stare at the raven's face again and couldn't keep himself from reaching out to place several stray locks in place. The feel of the Uchiha's silky hair felt so intoxicating to him and so he reached out and began stroking the raven's head gently. He pressed his nose to the top of the younger man's head and inhaled the sweet scent of him deeply.

Experience had taught him that people like Itachi were as deadly as they were beautiful, thus they should only be taken in very small doses. However, Minato found himself yearning to consume the Uchiha whole through ever pore in his body. Sinful thoughts began to flood his mind clouding his vision as he stroked his throbbing organ through the fabric of his pants.

He felt it twitch painfully as his mind envisioned the raven stroking his limp member to life. A small gasp escaped his lips when he pictured the Uchiha running his hand down his length before taking him whole into his mouth. Minato closed his eyes as he breathed in the intoxicating mixture of the Uchiha's scent mingled with his sweat that was stirring vivid images of him and the raven in different stages of undress. It wasn't until the image of the youth ridding his hardened cock with reckless abandon surfaced that Minato's brilliant blue eyes burst open and he realized the severity of what he had just been doing.

Here the boy was lying unconscious beside him from injuries he himself had indirectly inflicted on the raven, and instead of thinking of how to treat his wounds he was here jerking off to the raven's scent. It was sickening and Minato had never felt so disgusted with himself. He immediately got off the bed before putting as much distance as he could between himself and the child.

A gasp of pain escaped Itachi attracting Minato's attention back towards him. The Sharingan-wielder was grimacing in pain, blood escaping his lips before sliding to pool at his side. Minato watched the scarlet liquid in stunned silence for several moments as his heart went into overdrive in order to keep up with the panic-induced adrenaline rush he was now experiencing.

His shadow clone felt his urgency and burst in with the newly purchased items in his hands. Minato set them down and set to work without further ado. His mind was frantic with worry while his hands worked seemingly by themselves. For several long hours he sat at the Uchiha's side cleaning and dressing his many cuts and bruises, aware that his efforts only provided temporary relief from the pain gnawing away at the raven's insides. He held the raven close refusing to let go until the boy stopped writhing in agony. They remained like that for two days; one clutching the other desperately for comfort, the other clinging to the other as he gave comfort without asking anything in return.

Sorry if the fight scene was too short, but then again the three tails was the easiest tailed beast to defeat because it lacked a human host. Let me know what you think about it ok. Again thank you my ever considerate readers for following the story and leaving me such encouraging reviews.