Chapter Eleven

Shikamaru had inherited the old mansion ages ago, being the last to carry the family name. It was a sprawling affair, no doubt charming once but in a state of neglect now, vines crawling up the walls, bits of roof missing, gardens overwhelmed by weeds and wild grass that swayed in the wind.

It was a two hours ride from the city; Sasuke had made it in one and a half.

"Stop driving like a crazy person!" Naruto had said while on the highway.

"If I get arrested," Sasuke had replied, "I'll just compel them not to give me a ticket."

"Oh, yeah," Naruto said, "I keep forgetting about that."

He was quiet now, getting out of the rented car after Sasuke had parked it, falling in step with him as they followed the overgrown path to the entrance.

"Wait!" Shikamaru called as he caught up, Suigetsu and Ino trailing behind. "Don't you think we should wait for the others?"

Kiba, Sakura and Hinata were in the other car. Sasuke's gaze swerved from the seemingly abandoned mansion to the road; not a car in sight. Apparently Kiba was a reasonable driver.

"He's right, I guess," Ino said, shrugging. "If we're gonna kick some Akatsuki ass, the more the merrier. Besides, I wouldn't mind so much if they killed Sakura. Kept me awake all day with her bloody crying."

Sasuke exchanged a quick, uneasy glance with Naruto but neither one said a thing.

"I'm joking, obviously," Ino muttered, rolling her eyes. "Grow a sense of humor…"

"Since when do you say bloody?" Suigetsu asked her.

She raised her arms. "We're in England!"

"I don't think that's how it works," Suigetsu replied.

"Guys," Shikamaru said, "you know, I don't even think they're here..."

He went towards the house—his house—and Sasuke followed him, Naruto staying close as well. There were no lights, no sounds, no scents, nothing. Shikamaru was right, Sasuke decided, even before they reached the door. Not a soul here.

They hadn't discussed their plan, hadn't spoken with Suigetsu again. As far as Sasuke was concerned, it didn't need discussing anyway. He wasn't letting anyone—brother or not—take Naruto to that fucked up bastard Madara. End of argument.

"Guess we got here first," Sasuke said, raising a leg to kick the door open.

It slammed open, half-tearing from its hinges, drawing an offended gasp from Shikamaru.

"I don't think it was locked! You didn't have to do that."

Sasuke shrugged, stepping inside, his boots stirring dust. Still nothing, not a single scent of vampire blood tickling his nose. Just smelled like mold.

"Whatever. I think this place needs to be torn to the ground anyway."

"Why," he heard Naruto say to Shikamaru, "do you put up with that asshole?"

"I don't know," Shikamaru sighed.

Halfway inside the room, surrounded by dusty furniture, Sasuke looked over his shoulder, and saw Naruto's lips curling into a smile. Sasuke turned back round, hiding his own smirk as he stepped further in. The living room, he knew, featured a few decorative swords next to the hearth, their steel glinting in the moonlight slanting through the window.

Naruto was right behind, and he moved past him when he saw the swords, grabbing one and holding it in a two-handed grip.

"It's so beautiful," he said, his eyes tracking over the length of the blade.

Sasuke took hold of another, quickly getting accustomed to the weight of it, studying Naruto's stance for a brief moment, aware Shikamaru, Suigetsu and Ino were now in the room as well. Then he leapt and brought his sword around, hitting Naruto's sword near the hilt, sending it clattering away across the dusty floor tiles. Suigetsu and Ino stepped back with a start.

"Hey," Naruto protested, "don't do that. You'll hurt someone!"

"So?" Sasuke said. "They're vampires. They'll heal. Pick it up."

"Your regard for our well-being," Ino said, "is touching, really."

Naruto threw her an apologetic glance before picking up his sword and coming back to face Sasuke.

"So you actually know how to use this?"

"Sure," Sasuke said. "You're holding it wrong. Hands further apart. Yeah, like that. Bend your knees a bit. One foot forward. Okay. Come at me."

Naruto smiled, a glint in his eyes. "You're serious?"

"Never been more serious."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna go find out if the stairs survived the century…"

"Coming with you," Ino announced, and Suigetsu left the room as well.

"Just… yell if the Akatsuki get here, I guess," Suigetsu called before leaving them alone.

Naruto's first few attempts were clumsy. Then Sasuke taught him about balance, how to hold his weapon, how to angle the blade. Naruto was the perfect student, Sasuke realized as their blades clashed, over and over, across the wide living room. He refused to give up, he listened, took Sasuke's criticism in without whining, and just tried again, and again, until his slashes and strikes got better.

"You're a natural at this," Sasuke commented as they took a little break.

"What? I feel like I'm really shit at it," Naruto replied, panting a bit as they went to the window. A car rolled in and parked next to Sasuke's, and Kiba and the girls walked out.

"You're really good for your first time, trust me," Sasuke replied, lowering his voice, leaning slightly closer. "Kinda like how you were really good at sex…"

Naruto leaned closer as well, gaze going from Sasuke's eyes to his lips.

"Yeah?" he whispered with the hint of a smile.

Sasuke's hand went to Naruto's waist so he could pull him closer, and their lips brushed but when the others walked in, Naruto broke away from it.

Sakura was staring at them, but she looked away quickly, like she hadn't noticed anything. Kiba moved over to them, brown eyes catching the moonlight as he entered the living room.

"Man, you drive like a fucking psychopath."

"You drive like my grandmother," Sasuke replied, "and she's dead."

Kiba said, "Fair enough. So Madara's henchmen aren't here yet? Or did you kill them all? In which case, not cool, bro. Save some for me next time."

"They aren't here," Naruto informed him.

"Sweet!" Kiba said, then his expression changed. "Or not? Did they change their plans? Is that bad?"

When Sasuke didn't answer, Naruto said: "We don't know. Um… wanna train with us?"

"Fuck yeah." Kiba drew a sword from the wall and threw a glance at Hinata. "There's one more sword if you want to join us."

"Maybe later. I'll go upstairs with Sakura," she answered.

"Suit yourself!" Kiba shrugged, and turned to slash at Sasuke with his sword.

Sasuke blocked it with a clatter of metal and a burst of dust. Then he brought his sword around and up, sending Kiba's blade flying into the air, then catching its hilt in his free hand.

Kiba sent him a bewildered look.

"He likes to do that," Naruto explained.

Sasuke threw the sword and Kiba caught it.

"All right, I'm just getting warmed up," Kiba said. "Round two!"

"No," Sasuke said.

"What do you mean, no?" Kiba raised an eyebrow.

It was faint, but it was there; the scent of blood. And not human.

"You two train. I'll be back."

And he walked away before they could say anything, heading round the stairs, finding the door to the basement.

The door creaked open and he started down, the scent more perceptible now. He raised his sword, his eyes slowly adjusting to the dark, pupils completely dilated.

"I had a hunch you'd be the first to notice it," said a masculine voice, all too familiar.

There was a silhouette in the dark, slender but broad-shouldered, hair long and black, face pale. He held a knife, still dripping blood. He'd just cut himself, Sasuke thought. Though it was undoubtedly healed already. Behind him were corpses, their heads severed. Many of them.

"What did you do?" Sasuke breathed.

His mind conjured up the image of their parents, slaughtered… He fought back a shudder, forced steadiness into himself.

"Saved you the trouble," Itachi answered, motioning at the dead vampires.

"I can't… I can't smell their blood," Sasuke said, frowning. "I couldn't smell yours, until just now."

Itachi took a vial out of his coat's pocket. "Orochimaru came up with it. A mix of chemicals that camouflages the scent of blood, with just one drop. I thought it best if we spoke privately."

Sasuke was struck with an odd thought. For all the years he'd spent hating his brother, now he wished he could see him better. The dark of the basement made it hard to discern his face, his eyes, even with vampire sight. It had been so long…

"Suigetsu told me that, um…" He faltered, hating himself for it, letting out a sigh. "Is it true Madara made you do it? Suigetsu told me he has the power to compel other vampires. Is it true you were compelled?"

Itachi didn't hesitate very long. "Yes," he said calmly. "It's true."

Sasuke realized his sword arm was still raised, his stance ready still, shoulders tense. And his chest felt so heavy.

"Why did you never tell me? All those years, you let me think—"

"Would you have believed me?"

Sasuke winced, as though his brother had hit him. Still, he said: "You could have tried, Itachi. For fuck's sake, you could've at least tried."

Itachi sighed. "He compelled me not to tell you, at first. Then eventually he stopped. But so much time had passed, I just…"

"Why stay with him so long? You could've left."

"Sasuke, this is bigger than you, or me," Itachi said on pleading tones. "I want to take him down, believe me, I do. But in order to do that, I realized I needed to win his trust first. And I built a small army, over the years. Deidara, Konan, Suigetsu…"

"Congratulations," Sasuke said. "Three vampires against an entire organization."

Itachi ignored the sarcasm. "We're in positions of leadership," he replied. "I was leading this group tonight." He gestured behind himself. "Told them to hide in the basement. We were to attack you guys once you'd all gone to sleep. They never questioned me. Never saw it coming when I started to kill them all. Are you sure you still think it's hopeless?"

"I don't know, Itachi, all right?" Sasuke said, lowering his sword with a sigh. "You know Madara better than I do. You tell me."

"What I can tell you right now is that I can't come back empty-handed tonight."

Sasuke shook his head. "I know what you're about to say, and I don't care. It's not happening."

"I can guarantee his safety," Itachi replied, "until we take them down."

"You're not making me change my mind," Sasuke said.

Itachi gave a slow, considering nod. "All right. Then what do you propose?"

"Why not just stay with us? We figure this out together."

Itachi took his time to respond. "You care about this Naruto guy?"

Sasuke let out a wry laugh. "I think I've made that pretty obvious."

"I care about Deidara and Konan. If I stay here, Madara knows something's up, probably figures it out, everything unravels, my friends get burned tomorrow morning. I can't let that happen. We take him down together, yes, but nobody needs to die."

A sigh escaped him as he looked up to meet Itachi's eyes. "I thought you might say that. All right listen, I've got another idea for you."

Naruto got carried away in the fighting with Kiba, not realizing how much time was passing by. Neither one of them was very skilled, but they didn't let that stop them. They practiced varying series of strikes and slashes, going from one dusty corner of the mansion to another. Naruto was slowly getting used to the feel of the sword in his hand, and he actually found this pretty fun. The smile on Kiba's face was a reflection of his own.

"You're not too bad at this!" Kiba said as he brought his sword into a horizontal sweep.

Naruto jumped back, the blade missing by an inch. He raised his blade to block Kiba's next blow.

"I think the whole vampire thing helps," he admitted. His own reflexes impressed him, along with the speed of his movements.

"Yeah, but still—" Kiba started to say, interrupting himself when Shikamaru came down the stairs. Naruto used this moment of distraction to try the move Sasuke had done earlier, yanking Kiba's sword from his grasp.

He didn't catch it, though, so it flew and hit an old wooden desk before clattering to the floor, stirring dust. Naruto grimaced; there was a massive dent in the front of the desk now.

"Naruto did it," Kiba told Shikamaru, who didn't seem to care much.

"Whatever. We decided to stay upstairs and take turns at the windows, this way we can spot anyone coming near the house. If you guys want to come join us…"

"Sure," Kiba said.

"Wait, where's Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru scratched his hair. "Actually I thought he was with you guys."

"Well, he was earlier…" Kiba said, frowning, throwing a glance around.

A sinking feeling washing over him, Naruto started to search the house, knowing Shikamaru and Kiba were doing the same. Naruto was the first to get to the basement, and a wild panic gripped him when he saw the corpses. But then he willed it to stop. I'd know it if he was dead.

"Guys, down here!" he shouted, and soon after Shikamaru and Kiba came running down to the basement, followed by the others.

Suigetsu took out his lighter, casting a light over the corpses while most of the others stayed back. Sakura had a hand to her lips, and shock in her eyes. Shikamaru went to hug her awkwardly.

"It's okay," he told her. "He's not here. He's not one of them."

Naruto went to stand with Suigetsu.

"Itachi must've killed them so we wouldn't have to," he was saying, more to himself.

Naruto swallowed hard, tearing his gaze from the dead vampires, and all the blood, which gleamed as the lighter's flame played over it.

"What's that, over there?" Naruto called, and with Suigetsu they went to gather up what turned out to be a ten pound bill, with a few words scribbled on it in what looked like blood.

Don't come after me.

S

"A flair for the dramatic, that one," Kiba said, Naruto jumping out of his skin; he hadn't realized Kiba had come to read over his shoulder.

Naruto sighed, running a shaky hand through his hair.

Suigetsu turned to face everyone, still holding the bill as he explained. "So… Sasuke went with Itachi so Naruto wouldn't have to.

Hinata and Ino exchanged a worried glance. Sakura was completely freaked out, saying, "No, no, why would he do that?"

"It's okay," Shikamaru said again. "He knows what he's doing…"

"Does he?" Naruto exclaimed, maybe a little too loud, startling everyone. "Because I'm honestly not sure that he does. Fuck…"

He needed some air, so he rushed back upstairs and found a door that led to the backyard, wondering if this was the exit Sasuke had used with his brother while everyone was busy or looking the other way. He couldn't help but let out a brief laugh as he cast a glance around, shrubs and trees shrouded in darkness staring back at him on all sides.

Suigetsu stepped out, joining him, rubbing his arms against the cold. "They'll be long gone by now," he told him.

Naruto sighed. "I know, I'm not an idiot. I just couldn't stay inside that house, all right?"

Suigetsu waited a beat, then asked: "So what do you wanna do?"

"Go after him," Naruto said, "obviously." Suigetsu nodded.

"I had a feeling you might say that."

"So," Naruto said, turning to look at him, "are you gonna tell me where Itachi's taking him?"

Suigetsu bit his lip with a fang. "Tell you what. Why don't I finish what Sasuke started and give you and Kiba a bit of training—and I think Ino might join us—and then we can figure out our next move, okay? I think that's what Sasuke would want."

"I don't care what he wants," Naruto snapped.

"Naruto, listen…" Suigetsu said on soothing tones. "Itachi won't let anything happen to his brother. He wouldn't have let anything happen to you either."

"Stop with that. I don't even know Itachi! It's not that easy for me to believe that," he replied.

"Just… come inside when you're ready to do something productive with all that anger, okay?" Suigetsu offered, and walked back to the house.

Naruto stayed outside a while longer. He stared at the sky and realized he couldn't even bring himself to find the stars beautiful, right now. Sasuke… you just had to be the hero…

It wasn't long before he admitted to himself that Suigetsu was right. Being alone with his thoughts wasn't any kind of productive.

He found Suigetsu, Kiba and Ino in the living room. Kiba handed Naruto his sword. "Here."

"Thanks. And Suigetsu," he added, "by the way. If something happens to him, I think I'll kill Itachi. I'm serious. I don't care if he's your friend."

For a second Suigetsu just stared, then he burst out laughing. "Oh, Naruto, do me a favor, don't ever try to fight Itachi. You'll just embarrass yourself."

"Whatever. You gonna train us or what?"

Suigetsu's laughter faded. "All right you know what they say; practice makes perfect. Ino versus Naruto, now. Go."

They faced one another, Ino granting him a small nod before raising her sword, striking downward. Naruto's blade met hers with a clash that resonated across the entire mansion. They drew back and started over, again and again, the clatter of metal against metal ringing in his ears. This is gonna be a hell of a long night.