Masquerade
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 11
A few days later, Itachi frowns. He sighs and calls a family meeting. Well a family meeting, Vampire Style anyway.
"I hope you don't mind, but I asked Naruto if he would let me analyze that box that was thrown through the window." The smoky eyed vampire says.
Sasuke twitches. Itachi really should have asked him for permission first, but he nods his head. It would be good to know who was targeting him and Naruto. Was it just a random bigot or was it a major power player?
"What'd you find?" The younger Uchiha brother asks.
"There were traces of a plantlike material on it. There wasn't any mammal DNA on it at all." The other man informs him.
Izuna blinks. What was Itachi saying? Was he trying to say that some vicious Venus Fly Trap had hurled the box through the window? There was no mammal DNA on it?!
"What's that supposed to mean, that a fucking flower or something decided to scare the shit out of Naruto and I?" Sasuke demands.
"You should know by now that the supernatural community is rather diverse. I think I know who threw it now." Madara growls.
Immediately, all the Uchihas turned their attention towards the Uchiha Patriarch. Madara knew who did it? This was a major breakthrough!
"Who? How could a plant possibly be responsible?" Izuna asks in confusion.
"That plant has a name. His name is Zetsu. Many centuries ago, Kaguya created a "son" of sorts. She took a plant and gave it a humanoid form and consciousness. It took very advanced magic, but it worked." The wild haired vampire explains.
Sasuke shivers. Somehow he didn't think that it was a coincidence that Kaguya's son was behind this. That meant that the ancient vampiress certainly was manipulating things from behind the scene.
"Kaguya? The vampiress who Sired you?" Itachi asks.
"Yes, that Kaguya. She's a very ancient vampire. The woman is far older than me. She's very dangerous. She's perhaps the only vampire her age, that hasn't succumbed to madness. I am not exaggerating, when I call her prehistoric. She was born long before any human had learned to read or write. That makes her extremely powerful." Madara says with a sigh.
Izuna's eyes widen in horror. A prehistoric vampire?! That didn't sound good at all, especially not one that was a speciesist.
"That doesn't make sense though." Sasuke protests.
"Why doesn't it make sense? It seems rather logical that an ancient vampire wouldn't like the idea of werewolves and vampires mixing." The young vampire reasons.
Sasuke shakes his head. On its surface, it certainly made sense. He didn't know Kaguya personally, but he knew her well enough.
Madara hadn't exactly sugarcoated what he told Itachi and Sasuke about his Sire. To put it mildly, there was very little that Sasuke didn't know about Kaguya. (It might have been secondhand knowledge, but he didn't doubt the accuracy.)
"Kaguya's many things, but she's never had an issue with werewolves and vampires being together. While she certainly considers vampires superior to all other species, she has taken lovers from almost every species. Kaguya has had werewolf lovers in the past. Why would she target Naruto and I?" The other vampire asks.
Hmm. Well that was a new angle. A speciest who wasn't above sleeping with the species that she considered to be inferior. Izuna vaguely wondered if this Kaguya had genuine feelings for her lovers or if they were just toys to be used and discarded. He dismisses that thought almost as soon as it came because it wasn't important to their current situation.
"I see. Well that does make her involvement in this rather confusing. Is it possible that Zetsu is acting without his mother's knowledge?" The businessman wonders out loud.
"I suppose it's possible, but it would be the first time that he has ever operated without her approval. He's as much her slave as he is her son." Madara answers.
"This woman sounds psychotic!" Izuna exclaims.
The other Uchihas sigh and nod. None of them could argue with the accuracy of that label. Kaguya was at least half insane, if not completely insane.
"I don't think she has completely succumbed to madness yet, but this latest move has me concerned. She allowed me to leave her "care" without a fight. I was rather fortunate in that respect. Had she wanted to, I wouldn't have been able to escape. I don't know what she thinks she possibly has to gain by trying to scare Sasuke and Naruto though." He states with a frown.
Itachi nods in agreement. It didn't seem like her M.O. Normally, Kaguya was much more direct. If she was displeased, you figured it out rather quickly. Not that it mattered much at that point. Most generally did not survive her displeasure long.
"I don't know, but we will get to the bottom of this. Sasuke, I think it would be best, if Naruto stayed with us for now. She may be targeting both of you. If she wants him, his pack might become causalities of whatever sick game she is playing." He counsels his younger brother.
"You're right. I'm going to go get him." Sasuke says as he heads off into the night.
About an hour later, he arrived at Naruto's farm. Sasuke shivers. He was fully confident of his combat abilities, but he was still walking into the den of a lot of werewolves. The Konoha Pack was one of the largest in the country and none of them were pushovers when it came to fighting.
"Sasuke, what are you doing here?" Menma asks as he strides over to the vampire.
"It's a very long story. Is Naruto here?" The young vampire asks desperately.
"Yeah. Come on. What's got you so spooked? Not much can scare a bloodsucker of your caliber." The black haired werewolf says as he leads Sasuke inside one of the houses on the property.
Sasuke sighs. He didn't even know where to begin answering that question. It didn't help that Menma was the one who asked it.
Menma wasn't his biggest fan for obvious reasons. He probably though that Sasuke was leading his brother on. From his perspective, a Mate was a mate. Sasuke should have just shut up and accepted Naruto's Mark by now and probably moved in with the Konoha Pack.
"Sasuke! What are you doing here?!" Naruto asks as he comes running down the stairs.
"I don't want to frighten anyone. Do you think you could let Menma take the reigns for a bit and come with me? I wouldn't ask, if it wasn't important." Sasuke whispers.
"Wait. Oh fuck no! You don't get to just show up here and kidnap my brother. It doesn't matter that he's dumb enough to chase after you like a bitch in heat. You can't just take our Alpha like that without giving us any notice!" The black haired Uzumaki protests.
The young vampire sighs. He knew that Menma was going to be difficult. That was alright. He had a trump card. Not even Menma was going to argue with him after he said the magic words.
"Kaguya is involved. If you don't want your pack to get tangled up with whatever she's plotting, you are going to shut up and let him come with me. Besides, he's a big boy. He can make his own fucking decisions." Sasuke hisses at him.
The dark haired werewolf's eyes widen to the size of saucers. He might be a werewolf, but Kaguya was a legend across all supernatural communities. It was widely thought that she might be the oldest living vampire in the world. Even if she wasn't, she was by far the most sadistic.
"Alright. Do what you need to do. I can watch the pack for awhile." He says.
"Kaguya is involved? Whoa. Sasuke, it sounds like you have a lot to tell me." Naruto says as he takes his lover's hand.
"Yeah. I do. Thanks, Menma." The raven haired vampire says as he drags his lover back to his car.
They could still get back to the hotel with plenty of time before the Sun rose. Kaguya might be an elder, but she certainly didn't want to be caught out in the Sun, if she didn't have to. That meant she only had a limited window in which she could fuck with them.
There was no way that Zetus would have been able to defeat him, Itachi, Naruto, and Madara all at once. She had to know that. Kaguya was many things, but stupid wasn't one of them.
"So what's going on?" Naruto asks once they were in the car.
"Zetsu is the one who threw the box at us. That means Kaguya is behind it." Sasuke explains as he puts the pedal to the meddle and they take off.
Naruto blinks. Why would Kaguya do that? She might be a speciesist, but he exotic taste in lovers was well known. She'd slept with more than one werewolf. It didn't make any sense.
"Why would she do that though? I've never done anything to her and I doubt you have either. Do you think it's an old grudge against Madara?" He whispers.
"I don't know, but I couldn't leave you there. It was going to make you and your pack a target. This is one time, where it's definitely better for us to stay together." The vampire answers him.
They barely made it a mile or two before an explosion went off on the freeway. Sasuke's eyes widen and he tries to drive the car through the chaos. He saw something out of the corner of his eye as they finally made it through gruesome scene.
That was all the warning he got, before someone or something shattered the window in their car and knocked them both out cold. The car crashes into the side of a building.
"Do you think that killed them?" Zetsu asks.
"I doubt it. Sasuke is of my line. He's a survivor. Naruto is a werewolf. It takes a lot to kill them." Kaguya replies as she scoops up her descendent and Zetsu grabs Naruto, before they flit off.
Meanwhile Izuna walks over to Madara. If a borderline psychotic ancient vampire was after their family, there was only one logical thing to do. He had to learn how to fight like a vampire.
Oh he could fight as a human, but that was different. Izuna wasn't foolish enough to think that he could make up the gap in experience and knowledge of fighting tactics, but he needed to something. Maybe he could outsmart her if worst came to worst. That or at least stall until help arrived.
"I want you to teach me how to fight." He says.
"You already know how to fight. You owned several martial arts studios." Madara replies.
He shakes his head. The young vampire knew that wasn't good enough. They were up against something a lot more threatening than some mugger or guy that might get too grabby at a nightclub. He needed to know more than he did.
"I want you to teach me how to fight like a vampire. As it stands now, I'm a sitting duck. I look so much like Sasuke. It's possible that she might think I'm him." He reasons.
"Sasuke has been a vampire for over 70 years, but he doesn't have much of a better chance against her than you do. Quite honestly, I'm not even certain that I could defeat her. She's much older than me." Madara admits.
That chilled Izuna to the bone. He had never seen his "brother" lack confidence in anything. If he wasn't sure that he could defeat his crazy Sire, what hope did any of them have?
"If it comes to a fight, we don't have to defeat her individually." Itachi says softly.
"That's right. I had better get in contact with the witches. Itachi, you should get in touch with Deidara. He'll let the Akatsuki know that they should be prepared for battle." He states simply.
"Wouldn't it be better for me to work with the witches? They aren't particularly fond of you." His "son" reminds him gently.
Madara snorts in amusement. Itachi really didn't think that he was oblivious, did he? That was frankly a little insulting.
"I believe that Deidara will return your call, sooner than he would mine. The witches don't like me, but they do respect me. Itachi, don't delude yourself. I have known from the beginning that our lovable homicidal artist has carried a torch for you. I wouldn't stay at the top of the vampire hierarchy, if I wasn't even aware of who was lusting after my children." He states and Itachi falls over in shock.
Izuna couldn't help but chuckle. He offers his hand to Itachi sympathetically. Madara was as blunt as ever, it seemed. The man lacked any sense of tact.
"Al-right. I'll call him. You take care of the witches and Izuna's training." Itachi says as he walks off into one of the other rooms to place the call.
"Alright, Izuna. Allow me to get in touch with the witches and then we will start on your training. If you see Kaguya, I do not want you to engage her though." He says.
"I have no idea what she looks like." Izuna points out.
Madara blinks. Oh right. That was right. Izuna had never seen his Sire. He pulls out his wallet and hands the young vampire a picture.
Izuna looks at it curiously. Hmm. It looked like that no pictures thing was a myth. Holy shit! She looked like an alien or something. She was hot in a very disturbing way.
"She was your lover." Izuna says.
"That's not uncommon amongst Sires and their children. Yes, yes, I know that sounds bad. But many vampires change humans or other beings into vampires, to be with their lover for all of eternity. Well in theory anyway. In reality, it's more like a few centuries or millennia." He says with a shrug.
The young vampire couldn't completely suppress the jealousy that prickled at the back of his mind. He knew that he was being ridiculous. He was dead by the time that Madara met Kaguya. It wasn't like he was cheating on his own brother. They hadn't been lovers in their previous life.
Technically, they weren't lovers in this one either. Though he suspected that would change soon enough. Madara Uchiha didn't strike him as a man who would be content with foreplay forever.
"Are you jealous because she was my lover?" Madara asks.
"Maybe a little. It's ridiculous. I know, but I can't help it. It probably has something to do with the change. My emotions are still all over the place." He mutters.
Madara smiles. He kisses Izuna's head. He was thrilled that the younger vampire was jealous. That just showed he cared.
"That may play a role, but I don't think that's the only reason why you are jealous." He says as he pulls out his phone and begins placing the calls.
The first one he placed was to a druid named Gaara. The red head could control and create sand. It was a far more deadly ability than it would appear at first blush.
"Gaara, we need you to begin collecting all the magical users that we have access to. Please do so as soon as possible. It seems that Kaguya may be plotting something. I doubt she will stop at just my family." He says.
Gaara blinks. It was rare to receive a phone call against Madara. It was even rarer to hear the elder vampire worried about anything, but his voice was definitely nervous.
"I shall be sure to do so. Where should we meet you all?" He asks.
"My castle in France." The wild haired man
"Alright. I shall notify everyone. Stay safe. Kaguya is a dangerous adversary." The red head reminds him.
Madara nods. He knew that much. Everyone who knew anything about the power hierarchy of the supernatural community, knew who Kaguya was. They knew what she was capable of. No one wanted to earn her ire.
"I shall be sure to do so." He says as he hangs up on the druid.
He turns his attention to Izuna. Madara sighs. He never wanted to place his almost lover in harm's way like this. He was still learning how to be a vampire. Izuna wasn't anywhere near ready to fight against one of the oldest of their kind to have ever lived.
"Don't sigh. Sighing is bad. That means you are giving up before you've even started or that you are blaming yourself for what is happening. None of this is your fault and we will find a way to deal with her." He whispers.
Madara smiles. Izuna had boundless optimism, except when it came to the Senju. That hadn't changed.
"You're right. Sighing is bad. Come on. Let's start your training." He says with a smile as he leads him to a the workout room.
"So I'm guessing she has super strength and speed." Izuna says.
Madara nods. That was certainly putting it mildly. Unfortunately, she had a lot more than just that up her speed.
"And she has magic. Very ancient and powerful magic. You can't forget to factor that into any encounter with her." He warns Izuna.
"Don't you have magic? You are from the Warring States Era. That's when ninjas still used chakra. Isn't that the same thing?" The young vampire asks.
Madara sighs. Well it was the same energy, but he was no warlock. He hadn't used most of his jutsus in centuries. He still had the ability to use them, but his chakra networks had been dormant for far too long, to rely on them.
"I can still use jutsus, but I haven't in a very long time. That means when it comes to such things, she has the advantage. Kaguya has more experience and more stamina at the moment. It may buy us some time in a fight though." Madara answers him.
"Well that's something at least. Do you think that I could use chakra?" Izuna asks.
"You did in your previous life, but this body isn't that body. You haven't had the training that you did back then. I suppose we could try to see if there is any remnants of your former abilities. They would likely be diluted, but it would certainly surprise her, if she did have a go at you." Madara says.
Izuna nods. He liked the sound of that. At least it would be something. He couldn't just sit around and wait for this crazy bitch to come after him and his family. He had to take whatever steps he could to protect his new family.
"Show me something simple." Izuna instructs him.
"Alright. Our family specialized in fire jutsus. This is something I can still do with ease." He states as he forms a fireball in his hands.
Izuna gasps. Madara could make fucking fire? That was incredible. He wondered if he would be able to do that.
"Show me how to do it." He says and Madara smirks.
Izuna certainly hadn't lost his fighting spirit. Good. He was going to need it, if they were truly going up against Kaguya.
Meanwhile Itachi calls Deidara. He bites his lower lip as he waits for the blonde to pick up. Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long.
"Itachi! It's so good to hear from you." He says cheerfully.
"Deidara, I wish I could say that this is a social call. Unfortunately, that isn't the case. I need you to get in touch with the other members of the Akatsuki as soon as possible. We need to prepare for a potential war." Itachi says.
Deidara blinks. He had been hoping that Itachi was going to make advances towards him. Instead, the young vampire was calling to tell him that there might be a war?! Life just wasn't fair sometimes.
"Alright. I'll do that. Who are we possibly fighting though? That's kinda important information. Yeah?" The eccentric blonde replies.
"Kaguya. It's a very long story. Tell them that we are all going to meet in France. Madara's castle in France. That's where he likes to go during dangerous times. They should all be familiar with it." Itachi continues.
Kaguya?! Oh that was not good. There were very few people that Deidara would actually be nervous about fighting. Kaguya was one of them. That bitch was crazy.
"Maybe you should come and stay with me for a bit. If she's targeting Madara, you'd be safer with me. Stay with me at least till we head to France." The Akatsuki member suggests.
Itachi sighs. It was tempting for several reasons, but he couldn't do it. His family needed them. He could hardly hide away with a sexy blonde for a few days.
"I wish I could, but they need me. Please let them know what is going on. I'll see you soon." The younger vampire whispers.
"Stay safe. I don't want anything bad to happen to that sexy ass of yours." Deidara tells him.
Itachi smiles. Deidara always had a way of amusing him. It didn't matter how dire the situation was. Deidara could make him laugh or at least smile. Today, was no exception.
"I'll be careful. I wasn't aware that you were so fond of my ass though." He states.
"Oh yeah! Who wouldn't be? That is a great ass. Anyway, be careful. Kaguya is not someone to be taken lightly. I don't know if even Madara could take her on his own. Together though, we might have a chance." Deidara says.
"That's true. Good night, Deidara. Please hurry though. We don't have any time to waste." The smoky eyed vampire reminds him.
"Good night. I'll start dialing right now." He says as he hangs up and Itachi sighs.
He couldn't believe this was actually happening. Kaguya operated a place in vampire society that was somewhere between history and legend. Everyone had heard about her, but few had actually seen her.
It was generally a good thing, if you didn't see her though. Kaguya tended to use people and discard them. Madara and Zetsu were the two most notable exceptions. Most people were not nearly that fortunate.
"I hope that Madara has a plan." Itachi whispers to himself.
If his father couldn't come up with something, they were doomed. Itachi was almost certain that Kaguya was involved. A plant meant that Zetsu was likely involved. If he was involved, that meant she was involved. Naturally, that meant they were likely all screwed and not in a good way.
"We need a miracle. Hopefully, the witches and Akatsuki can deliver." He says as he sets down his phone and goes to check on Madara and Izuna.
When he got to the workout room, he blinks at what he saw. The elder vampire was holding fire in his hand. Madara was showing Izuna how to use chakra?
"Things must be more dire than I thought. I haven't seen you use that trick in years." Itachi muses.
"Izuna wants to learn how to protect himself in any way he can. That means investigating whether or not, he can still use chakra. I didn't see harm in it." Madara says.
"In that case, you should try to teach Sasuke and I as well. We are going to need every tool we can possibly use, no matter how small. The element of surprise can be a powerful advantage. She might expect you to use jutsus, but she wouldn't expect us to. I have notified Deidara, by the way." Itachi says.
Madera considers this. Itachi had a point. He nods his head in agreement. The elderly vampire found that he couldn't argue with Itachi's logic.
"Very well. When Sasuke gets back, you will all begin your training." He says, not realizing that Sasuke and Naruto already been kidnapped by his Sire.