A. N. Many Hugs and Thank Yous to my new Beta/Editor! : Warrior of Sangre
"Speech"
"Thoughts"
"Demonic speech"
"Inner demonic speech, obviously"
Flashback, emphasis on the word...
One year skip
Signs Part II
...And I will call myself a winner,
And put a crown above my head.
I will give orders to my people,
Be their Leader, be their Head.
And then I'll find all the answers,
I will engulf the world I see,
To sate my hunger, vent the anger,
Become a sinner, become saint.
I will taste loneliness, so bitter,
Triumph, over everything.
My thoughts will tangle, in the sweetest,
Madman's mind full of ideas.
And I'll get bored of satisfaction,
And I'll get tired when they agree,
Then, I will find my entertainment,
In blood and War - my Masterpiece.
Prologue
After having his life dictated, controlled and influenced since the very beginning, for years, Itachi was surprised that he was able to think on his own, act on impulse or had any ability to judge.
His confidence and outward calm was just a forced behaviour, and his inner struggle had a layer of illusion he put himself under. Truthfully, if he didn't believe that he was doing a right thing, Itachi would have been lost, broken and confused to the point of madness long ago.
A set of rules he formed and accepted himself became a code that replaced loyalty, subordination and trust. And now he realised that this code has changed him as a person.
He no longer waited for orders, no longer thought that superiors had a better judgement, learned to see the bigger picture from different angles. But did it give him strength, capabilities he didn't have before, or has destroyed his principles and other traits he wasn't aware of?
It's been three years. How much can a person change?
...The expressionless face was scary. Despite unmovable muscles, the eyes burned with intensity. He couldn't recognize them. The features, overall, were familiar, but seemed to belong to an unknown individual. Then, maybe to try to make him see that he knew this person, that face made a funny grimace that was supposed to lessen the tension, and instead, made Itachi scared even more... He was ready to recoil. The smile that was directed his way looked unnatural, out of place, like it was forgotten.
But most of all he was terrified of those dark eyes, that looked at him like they knew things he didn't, and judged him with no mercy, with no sympathy or care, and had all the rights in the world for that. And there were no words nor actions that could work in his favour. He could only bear that foreign gaze with as much dignity as he could.
How strange that Itachi got worked up like this only when he looked in the mirror.
Chapter 14 An Impulse
Flashback
The trio of genin sat in a row on the roof of the academy building, facing their soon to be jounin sensei. They weren't sure if they heard of him before, or if he was a good example of shinobi, but the first impressions were far from their imaginary scenes.
"Ah, I am so GLAD to have a girl on a team! I am sure we can use your AGILITY and make you an admirable fighter, PINKIE!Do you dye your hair?"Guy pointed at the girl curiously and she, shocked at his innocent speculation, shouted in response.
"NO! I am natural!" And then, teary eyed, she melted into the puddle of water with a pink wig on top of it. That was a testament to her insulted looks.
Guy pointed at the boy who sat at her right. "And YOU, boy with FREAKY-FREAKY EYES," here the jounin made a rolling motion with his index and little fingers, pointing at the last Uchiha, "we will make you a FORMIDABLE opponent, what with your doujutsu and stubborn character!"
Sasuke blinked, mortified at the idea of being trained by such an extravagant, extraordinary, utterly DAFT person, and, melted into a puddle of water with a pair of red sharingan orbs blinking on top of it. The pink wig in the puddle nearby turned in his direction and hissed something about copying someone's moves.
"We also have a THIRD member, hmm, aren't you too OLD to be a genin, GLASSES?" Guy rubbed his chin looking at the boy who sat on the girl's left side. He heard that his teammates died on their last mission, and he himself was severally injured, and survived because he was lucky, and had medical knowledge.
Kabuto had his eyes impossibly widened, and then, suddenly, his body turned into the pile of dust, with a pair of glasses landing on top of it.
The jounin hummed, nodded several times convincingly at the sight of the three of them and said. "Yes, THAT was some SERIOUS genjutsu!"
The two puddles and the pile of dust moved quickly to the door leading to the stairs and from his position still on the rooftop, the jounin could hear the voices that were getting farther and farther. "It's that guy that usually screams some stupid stuff in five in the morning! Wakes the shit out of me every time! I swear I will never agree to be under that man's leadership, I better go back to the academy!"
The voice belonged to the girl, Sakura was her name. The taijutsu specialist decided that it wasn't that bad if they were running away. Many genin ran away from their teachers on the first day, right?
The green clad jounin followed his soon to be students right to the tower, where they were kicking at the Hokage office door, demanding to be admitted, heard, and transferred. That resulted in the Yondaime patiently insisting that the trio gave the jounin a chance. ("Guy is an Elite jounin, and you are his first genin team, he is your first jounin teacher, you should not compare him to others! Guy isincomparable! And if I even attempted to transfer you, it would be seen as favouritism and we don't want it, do we?-then muttering under his breath quite audibly-I am a Hokage, I fix matters far more important than discomfort or caprices of little brats.")
A short hour later, when Guy interrogated the genin about their dreams.
"My hobbies are..." Sakura glanced at Sasuke. "My dream is to..." She flapped her eyelashes. "I like..." The girl leaned closer the her dark-haired classmate. Seeing her actions and repulsed by them, the boy grimaced and leaned away from her.
Guy though, had a gleam in his eyes and it must have somehow reflected off the row of his white, even teeth... "A-A-A-ADMIRABLE GOAL, Sakura!" He raised the thumbs up.
For a moment flabbergasted, the girl gaped, but then blushed and grinned up at the man. "... I think I start to like him!" And after that statement Guy could sigh with relief, after all, if one genin could admit that he wasn't that bad, the other two were sure to follow soon as well. That was what the Yondaime claimed to believe, at least...
End of flashback
Konoha
In position on his knees, on the mat, with hands resting on his lap, Neji observed his mother pace around her room, chew on her lower lip, and reread the scroll.
She was beautiful in the mornings, when she let him see her without her hair done, make-up placed on her skin or kimono flawlessly tied over her form. He must have seen her like that too.
Just watching that display of emotions so unlike the standard Hyuuga policy, the boy felt his impatience wither and disappear, to be replaced by curiosity and contemplation.
At last, she sighed and strode back to him, and dropped on her knees on the mat she occupied earlier before she was swept by emotions. An opened scroll was left un-ceremonially, partly on her lap, partly on the floor. The parchment was official, even, with a seal that previously secured it from being opened.
"I..." She started only to stop and tightly shut her eyes. There was a smile on her face but its effect was lessened by the furrow of her brows.
"He really loves you." The boy spoke into the silence, which prompted her to look at him with those pale, slightly blue eyes. His own, tinted grey, never were as revealing or as startling as hers. He couldn't understand the source of emotion he read in them. It was like she didn't believe the words she heard and read for the umpteenth time. Her smile was sad, like she had some great understanding of things beyond anyone's wisdom, and couldn't form the words to explain something simple to him.
"I know he does. But... that's not enough. Love is never enough in and on itself." She said and rolled the parchment.
Neji raised one elegant brow. "That is not going to persuade him and you know that, mother."
She caught a single falling tear with her finger and made that move look so casual that he almost did not realize what she was doing. "Well, he will just have to live with it. I am not changing my mind and no amount of romantic letters, official requests and promises is going to fix that."
The boy uncharacteristically grimaced. "Dunno, Minato-sama is able to persuade masses, geniuses and idiots, so it wouldn't surprise me if you relented in the end. He is persistent, and if whatever he's insistent about is within reach, he sure isn't about to be stopped."
In the following silence the scroll was rolled up and placed in stack on the shelf, where many others contained and related the same, Namikaze Minato asked the Hyuuga widow to marry him.
...
Wave country
After long months of peace and silence, Haku didn't know how to react to the presence of the visitor in his room.
He had a nice night of sleep, without upsetting dreams; woke with a smile in the morning, met with a light of sunny, shiny day that came through the window, and rose to start the trivial rituals only to be greeted with a sight of the orange fox sitting on its back legs in the middle of the room. Quite disturbing, since the animal did not make a sound to wake him up, nor to say 'hello'. All he got in response to his shocked stare was a levelled stare in return.
It seemed they watched each other for hours, but there was no battle of wills, that usually accompanied such a procedure. It wasn't about giving in and making a sound, nor about making impression lasting comment. Rather, Haku simply didn't know what to do, what to say, and the animal was 'just there'.
First thoughts that filled the teen's mind were about Death on his doorstep, about some sort of divine judgement and test he had to pass, or about that this animal could observe him for days and weeks and only now decided to grace him with a visible presence. A bitter laugh threatened to emerge from the depths of his soul, or his stomach, but he controlled the reaction, and continued to calmly regard the guest.
"Your patience is astounding." The fox spoke at last, and tilted the head to the side. "Though that could also be the way you express surprise."
The teen stared at the animal dubiously, affronted that there was no greeting, and relieved that there was no threat yet. "Well, what do you want... um..."
"My name is irrelevant. But your behaviour is a different matter."
Haku frowned. "How so?"
"You're wasting your life, your time, skills and dreams, if you have any." With that part of wisdom said, the fox disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the teen alone in a room. And after sitting on his bed uncomprehendingly for what seemed like hours, Haku opted to believe that whatever happened was just a dream.
...
Kumogakure
Purple irises stood out on the otherwise pale features of skin too light of the colour and white hair. And instead of looking enticing, those orbs disturbed with intensity of madness, bloodlust and craving, for something that should be out of reach for a person they belonged to.
Hidan seemed an obsessed person from the beginning, from the moment he opened his mouth, but seeing him as he was now, Shirushi knew why the man's presence was disconcerting. It was as if he could feel the amount of dirty thoughts and cruelty cover him in layers when the immortal was near. It might not affect others, or they might've mistaken their reactions for something else, but without a doubt, there was something unnatural about him and out of place. Immortality should not be available nor accessible. Longevity, yes, but not immortality. That was reserved for other beings.
With an impressive scythe ready in his hand, the man focused on the blonde female, her tense body, determined expression, sweat that covered her skin and invisible cloud of chakra she released.
Shirushi recalled all he knew about her. A jounin of Kumogakure, jinchuuriki of the two tailed demon, experienced and quite strong. And her name was Nii, something that fell into memory, because you could interpret 'second' in many ways. Second to come, second in power, second because there was someone better, or second because she could repeat some feat.
She proved to be quite smart, leading a pair of Akatsuki fighters into sewers, where she played the game of hide and seek, and instead of hiding, distracting them with something, she came back to fight the duo off. This far into the fight, in the dim light of a large room somewhere under the ground where sane people did not wander to, she must have realized that her tactics were null. Her thoughtful, narrowed gaze was no longer hiding plans, but fear and suspicions. After all, she gave them quite a beating, attacking with lighting and fire from her two tailed form. And still, the pair was alive, bored, irritated and unconcerned where as Nii lost tons of chakra, surprising techniques and aces up her sleeves.
With a determined glint in her eyes, the woman attacked the pair again, aiming to kill.
Calmly sitting somewhere close to ceiling, on some rubbles, the blond boy studied the scene with a gaze that was mirrored in an eye of his masked partner, who stood beside him inconspicuously. Tobi and Shirushi were not Akatsuki heavy fighters, they were messengers, spies, information gatherers and observers. This time, they were here to take the body once Hidan and Kakuzu finished the job. The pair of immortals had power, but when it came to stealth and speed, well, suffice to say, they could not travel through the half of Kumo with a half dead jounin so well-known throughout Cloud without being noticed, stopped, ambushed, and all other stuff that could go wrong before the body reached its destination. Therefore, hidden behind a veil of illusion, they patiently waited for a conclusion.
Explosions and flares of chakra abruptly stopped and in the following groans Shirushi recognized the woman's voice.
After the dust settled he found her on the ground, pinned there with a scythe that pierced her shoulder blade. Ouch, that must have hurt.
She tried to get free but Kakuzu tied her wrists together with his threads, which prompted her to hiss in pain. "Knock her out." The man spoke gruffly, planning to leave as soon as they finished.
Grabbing the woman without visible effort, holding her wrists, Hidan moved her up to the nearby boulder, with a wide smile stretching his face . The blond boy grimaced when a spear stuck in the rock, but not before going through kunoichi.
"Are you sure? Look at that body." Pale hands moved over Yugito's curves, barely touching her skin. "She's damn feisty, and one rarely finds a feline like that." With that said, Hidan fisted her hair that already was in disarray, and pulling her head sideways, licked her left cheek.
"You're retarded. I knew that. But now I learned that you're also a dick. Seriously, what part of your anatomy truly thinks?" Kakuzu appeared disgusted. It wasn't clear what he reacted to, though, the fact that his partner wanted to rape a woman, or that he wanted to touch a jinchuuriki in that way. "The bursts of chakra and amount of it should've alarmed Kumo forces a long time ago, and I doubt engaging in these activities" here the man vaguely waved at Hidan who continued to grope their target, "is proper or fitting in our circumstances. Zip up, knock her fucking out and let us leave."
The white-haired Jashin follower opened his mouth to retort but a noise from somewhere behind the destroyed walls stopped him.
As Kakuzu mumbled a quiet 'shit' Madara nudged the blond a bit. "Seal her chakra so that she won't cause trouble."
The boy nodded, relieved that the woman didn't have to suffer rape on top of the beast extraction and used shunshin to appear beside Hidan. He glanced at the trembling woman with a well hidden sympathy. Sparse rays of light that reached them from holes in the ceiling gave her an appearance of an unlucky, sad and battered damsel in... Well, whatever. Disturbing immortal stepped away with a curse and looked around, in search of the source of the noise.
Seeing that Akatsuki members were occupied with getting ready to greet their new company, Shirushi pulled the spear out of Nii and the rock behind her, which resulted in her fall. The boy ignored her groans and turned her on her back. Touching her temple briefly, he put her in sleep as Hidan chose not to follow the orders. Nagato and his father will hear of this. Then, he pulled the torn cloth off her upper body and inspected the visible seals. He didn't want her soul to be consumed by the statue along with the demon Lord, or Lady...
The link between the souls was weak, but it was there, and with a quick improvisation of applied seal and chakra it was severed. He started to work on blocking her access to chakra when someone burst into the chamber. The sounds of fighting renewed, and he heard the distinct shouts of amusement from Hidan and complains from Tobi. That was good. He used a trick of one-handed seal to numb the woman's receptors a bit, so that she didn't die in too much pain, because there wasn't much else he could do. And then he felt the chakra of another vessel, and surprised, focused on the battle.
Strong body, reflexes trained to perfection, thick and powerful chakra, abnormalities inside the body that spoke of years under influence of demonic energy. That man was a dangerous opponent, the blond thought, and that opponent was motivated by the sight of his fallen comrade. So... this was 'Ichi'. Where was his father when they had to slip away with the soon to be corpse?
Finally, Tobi stepped out of the cloud of dust and made his way to the blond, but as Shirushi looked up, he saw that another jinchuuriki was aware of their positions too. His face, partly covered with glasses turned fearful and he shouted in denial.
And then everything was happening so fast. One moment that dark-skinned man was facing the pair of immortals, and the next, he was behind Madara releasing unbelievable amounts of yin energy which could lead to explosion, stopping of their hearts or something else. Acting on impulse, even before his father turned around to goof off, he let go of the woman and released his yang to counter whatever was meant to come. In a split second he made his stupid decision, he realized that he not only could not control such amounts of power, but did not have it.
The clash of chakras pushed the masked man away nonetheless, and Shirushi had half a mind to grab his father to disappear in the negative currents while leaving the woman to unknown fate. Just where did this shinobi learned to do such a thing? A release like that could destroy all of them together if it was not controlled or had no channel or outlet. This is the end for me. The boy thought as spiritual wall threatened to sweep him off his feet.
"Not yet."Spoke the growling voice inside of him, and suddenly his pathways were filled to the brim, and he felt he had no other choice but let it out and hope that the man would stop his onslaught soon.
As a haze of red tinted his bluish energy, it turned violet, and he sought his father in the noise and chaos to let him know, with a gaze, that they had to leave.
Madara was rising slowly, staring with a single eye at them. Why was he so slow? The blond felt pain in every inch of his body, never being subjected to the chakra of the fox on that scale... That's right, the Demon Lord gave him chakra.
This is the end, in more ways than one.
With an unintended flourish, his father grabbed the spear that previously pinned Nii to the rock, and threw it at the 'Ichi' with great force. It got half destroyed on a way through the fire of power, but still managed to reach the man's face and imbed itself in his left eye, breaking the glasses in the process. The sight of that, though morbid, satisfied the boy's hazed mind. There was a backlash of power, the last burst of chakra, and all he saw from then was a black void.
...
One hour later, Akatsuki base
He woke up groggy, in his own room it seemed, and wondered how much time passed. An internal clock hinted that it was about an hour. Memories flooded back and after a short jolt of shock, Shirushi sighed. Through the strange connection he had with all the other jinchuuriki, he felt where the Cloud woman was held and ignoring the stinging on his uncovered skin, made his way to her. He absently touched the jaw, where a wound was burning. It was healing, but might leave a scar too.
Finally finding her cell, the boy wondered what he was truly doing in there in the first place.
Maybe it was a little, pointless goodbye. Little, because it was one-sided; and pointless, because they didn't know each other, didn't exchange pleasantries and never introduced themselves.
Shirushi stood in the dark, dirty cell that held the unconscious jinchuuriki, musing over everything that seemed to tangle in an endless knot that was impossible to fix.
"Why the fuck did you fill me with your chakra? It's like you could care less if your soul or whatever was left of it was extracted and pulled in that... statue." He directed his thoughts to his tenant, seeing the fox bound in spiritual chains with his mind's eye. That trick appeared to be a gift from the Shinigami, but he learned to utilize it a little bit too late.
"I don't want to die. And yes, I could care less." The demon replied, growling. Surprisingly, he did not fight the binds, just accepted that he could no longer act and speak when he was not allowed to. Suspicious behaviour, but that was not the time to delve into details.
The blond inspected the seals on the woman's chest to make sure his additions did not affect the main array in unfavourable way. His hasty improvisations could result in something unpleasant, so when he found a chance, the boy decided to check his work before Akatsuki members gathered and started the extraction. Fortunately he was the first to touch the seal so his father and Nagato could not compare their findings to an original.
"Why?" He demanded from the Lord, going back to their conversation. "I thought that Lords did not like to be in control of someone else."He referred to the being that was most probably caged in the monstrous figure, waiting to be fed.
Shirushi felt Kyuubi's red eyes narrow, slowly and dangerously, but, it did not affect him in any way, because he knew that he had quite a fine control over the demon's power, now that he knew how to use it.
"If it happens again, I will take over." He answered, confidently, as if there was plan he formed many years ago that only waited to be executed. For all Shirushi knew, it might be true. He glanced down at Nii one last time, thinking that she had a chance to live before she was meant to die, and knew that she would not wake up again, not before, and not after extraction.
...
Somewhere quite beyond the World Map
The snowflakes caused the sky to look white, and whoever was on the road, could not see farther than several steps. The trail led through the mountains, far from civilization, it seemed. In this cold, unknown land, a pair of humanoid forms walked slowly and close to each other, trembling and whimpering from discomfort.
"Don't you d-d-dare say that w-w-we should-d-d-d keep look-k-king!" one hissed from under the wide, heavy hood.
"K-k-k-keep q-q-q-quiet, An-k-k-ko! There's a v-v-v-village ab-b-b-bout a mile from h-h-h-here." The second person replied, trying to somehow get deeper into the heavy cloak this person wore.
"I s-s-s-swear I'll never! I'll never g-g-g-go on any m-m-mission with you ag-g-g-gain!" The first continued to whine, but leaned closer to the second to try and get more warmth and stumble in a stable way together.
"G-g-g-glad to hear that! I'll be sure t-t-t-to d-d-d-deliver the news to H-h-h-hok-k-k-kage –sama as soon as we're back!"
The second figure, identified as Anko, stomped on the nearest foot of Tenzo, because it couldn't be anyone else but Tenzo, and they almost fell into a snowdrift.
"That was s-s-s-supposed t-t-to be easy. Reach the d-d-destin-n-nation and look-k-k around-d-d! Now look you wood-d-d-den id-d-diot bast-t-tard! We're gonna d-d-d-d-die!"
"Thank you c-c-c-captain ob-b-b-bvious! But this area was the on-n-n-nly c-c-clue we had-d-d-d! Akatsuki were s-s-s-sighted here just a week-k-k-k ag-g-go, how was I sup-p-p-posed t-t-to know?"
"You're a c-c-captain, you're experienced-d-d, of course you should-d-d know!"
They continued to bicker all the way to the first hut that let them in, exchanging insults, threats and thoughts, because it kept them sane, awake, and even if it hurt the throats, it was still better than vast emptiness, cold and silence.
...
A bit closer to the general World Map
With a snowstorm long behind them, the pair in black cloaks travelled back to their home, quietly in a puppeteer's case, and quite loudly in Deidara's.
"Sasori-danna! Please!" the blond sniffed, curling around his partner's feet. Ignoring his behaviour, the puppeteer that kept wearing his Hiruko disguise continued to glide, successfully pulling along the blond that held onto him as tightly as possible.
"Promise! Promise that we'll not go back there!" He sobbed even harder, with streams of tears going down his face. "I will not be able to bear that... I'll die." Inwardly, Sasori fought his irritation that did not manifest due to his artificial eyes and brows that could not twitch... From below him came a pathetic whimper.
"If I knew where we travelled, I'd have warned you that I dislike, detest, utterly despise cold weather!"
"Control your antics. Let go of my cloth. Shut up." Without tearing his gaze away from their path, the by far more intelligent man muttered in response.
"Sasori-danna!"
"Don't you danna me, you idiot." The puppeteer stopped.
"Promise me, please!" the blond lifted his head off the ground and looked up with large, puppy like eyes.
What got into him? Sasori thought. We just went and met my spy. I don't believe any shinobi fears bad weather. Maybe he's jealous? That would be most unwelcomed, even if flattering.
"Alright I promise. Now let go of me. Shut up. Gather yourself. Stand up. Stop making a fool of yourself. Don't bother me. Don't embarrass me." Instructions came in monotone and were slowly but steadily followed. Deidara, fresh and straightened, took his place by the man's side as if nothing happened, and with a gleaming, satisfied smile on his lips, matched his speed.
...
Half an hour later from the last scene at Akatsuki base
Akatsuki have not gathered yet.
The two tailed beast's jinchuuriki was ready in the cell, and last missing members were on their way. Itachi received that information through the ring. It was strange, Itachi thought that in this situation Pain would insist on using the rings to start the extraction immediately. It seemed instead, like they waited for some storm to pass. But what kind of storm, Itachi had yet to see.
He walked the corridors of the base, returning from the training grounds, sulking, though he would never admit to it. His lips were pressed into a thin line and eyes cold like never before. One more beast, one more eye, and they were closer to the madman's goal. The goal of creating the Juubi. What would they do once it was done? What if that demon set itself free? Madara wasn't that powerful to gain control over it, Itachi hoped so, at least, so the man must've realized that pursuing the idea was extremely dangerous. Pain was there to make sure the plan worked, but if there were two of them, and they had different goals, then which one of them had an upper hand? Suddenly Itachi remembered, that this question was once voiced by a little boy, with blonde hair and violet eyes. It was sometime after they met and had conversations. Itachi didn't understand it then, believing that it was Madara who was in power, but as time went, and he had a chance to observe, he found that both of them had grand ideas, were motivated by their past and worked to change the future.
But they were different. It wasn't like they were close friends and shook hands to achieve a shared dream. There was respect, admiration of sorts and at last, a competition.
His train of thoughts was stopped when he heard what he could describe as whispers. Well, isn't that strange too? Usually when hearing voices, one recognized shouts, complains, bickering and conversations of the members, but conspiratorial whispers? That was new.
He tightened his control over chakra, making it barely noticeable, stopped close enough to hear, too far to be seen, and focused.
"...admire that most of all. I think he trained him for years." That voice belonged to Kakuzu. You could hear that he spoke with emotion, almost worshiping that someone. Casually, he directed his strings to stitch Hidan up, who as usually, did not care about the damage taken by his body. The pair looked like they had just left the battle scene.
"And two members waste their time fucking combing elemental nations for a kid? Isn't that stupid, eh, Kakuzu?" the harsh, somehow high-pitched whisper belonged to Hidan, but what he spoke of seemed...
"That's the beauty of it. Don't you see? It was supposed to be a secret, even to us. A secret till a time came for it to be revealed. Pain solved Akatsuki's main problem years before it came. Making it an obvious move for other onlookers, he fooled them, giving false directions."
Heart racing too fast to be controlled, fingers twitching on their own accord, Itachi hoped that whatever he heard he interpreted incorrectly. Because if he was right...
"And I liked the kid. Wicked, with wits. Could've taught him something." It was a first sentence without a curse that Itachi heard come out of Hidan's mouth.
"Yeah." The older man spoke distractedly. His agreement was deep, with sentiment and remorse all placed in one word.
Itachi closed his eyes as the pair slowly walked away, to spread the rumours, probably. It was the end. In more ways than one. What to do?
He wanted to pace, to think, to rub his face and hope that solution will form itself in his brilliant, as people tended to say, mind. But his feet took him down the corridors and his heart continued to beat in a rhythm that was foreign. Instead of doing something productive, his hands simply twitched without knowing what to do. Why did Kakuzu and Hidan know? How did they found out? Okay, they are partners, they work together. Start to think. Where have they been? In Kumo getting the two tailed beast, now the woman was in the cell, waiting. Have they already given their report to the Leader? How come they got back so fast? It should have taken them days to return. There was only one person who could make it happen. Madara. But what did it have to do with Shirushi? He wasn't there. Or was he? When did Itachi see him last time? Several days ago. And Madara, or Tobi, whichever mask he chose, even before that. Unless they met by chance or had a joint mission.
Something happened and he was blissfully unaware. If the immortal pair knew, Sasori knew, Orochimaru knew but hopefully forgot, Itachi himself kept quiet, then it wasn't long before everyone found out, if they haven't yet. It meant that the secret was out and as it seemed, the members would believe that it was Pain, who found the boy years before and trained him to use him, and to kill him, in the end.
But if Madara did not know, then Pain did not know, either. This same question without the answer. Where did they find the boy and why did they not know he was Namikaze Naruto?
Subconsciously, he reached the destination, and it was a kitchen, where the boy that occupied his thoughts sat by the table, gazing at the clock. He leaned on the surface of said table, with his head on crossed arms. And he looked absolutely adorable. Little brother...
What to do? Itachi couldn't hide him, because Madara would find him, by simply focusing on his chakra signature. Shirushi could not run, because his trail could be followed by Zetsu, by spies that Akatsuki had everywhere, by the same chakra. He needed protection. Something big, something obvious.
The black haired teen stepped into the room and finally noticed that there were scarred marks and scratches on the boy's face and hands. Schooling his features, Itachi walked to the worktable that was on Shirushi's left, and lifted the plate off the bowl. There was steam rising so he closed it back.
"I hate to wait three minutes for the ramen to cook." The blond muttered, glaring at the clock that finally beeped in alarm. He stood up and Itachi grabbed the boy's chin to look at his face closer.
"What happened?"
Shirushi turned his head and stepped away, to pick up his meal. He placed the bowl where he sat a moment ago and after mixing the ingredients together, started eating in silence. Confused and alarmed about this behaviour, Itachi grabbed a second chair to sit beside him.
The wounds were fresh but did not look like they were inflicted with a weapon. There was no response to his question so he gathered that he would not get it. "Alright. What do you plan to do? You don't look like you plan to run." There was no point in dancing around the subject. If Akatsuki knew who Shirushi was, their topic from the moment on would be about whether or not to extract the Kyuubi. And in most cases, the answer would be, yes.
"I don't plan to run." Simple and easy. Where was the survival instinct? Purple eyes looked up and Itachi was surprised to see tranquillity there. Being open about who he was did not scare the boy. Did he not think that they would kill him, like they killed all the others? Or did he not care?
"I was afraid you would say that." Itachi muttered with a sigh.
...
Somewhere on the territory of Water Country
He chose that country, and it's island on purpose, in principle. Just because he hated Fire Country and would rather choose the opposite. The winds around here, silence and dark clouds that often covered the sky played along with his mood, making Madara believe that this place suited his needs.
His old house, where Shirushi grew up, was still there. It was empty, it changed location, but it was still the same. He rarely visited, but felt sentimental about it. His son would feel even more sentiment about it. There were memories of their first words, trust and affection.
Here, in front of the facade and its steps, Madara faced the beginning. He remembered being confused and excited. He held the child in his hands with curiosity and visions of the future. There, in that future, Shirushi was meant to stand by his side, with power and knowledge. The boy's devotion was never absolute though, and Madara loved it. In following his orders and teachings, the boy picked up his own traits and if Madara was never faithful, devoted and pledged to anyone but himself, Shirushi followed that example too. Never having raised a child before, the old Uchiha was fascinated as years went by. Liking and caring for the boy was not enough and he came to love him, in some special though still a bit twisted, way.
There was no doubt that Shirushi belonged to him only, solely, exclusively.
So why has he never seen any hint, any sign about the boy being someone, something, else?
The man entered the living room and started to pace left and right, determined to tear a hole in the carpet, it seemed. A part of his focus was directed at the chakra signature of the boy, that was at the base. The signature was calm, serene, even. As if nothing changed.
But everything has changed. When countering Hachibi's chakra with his own, when did he learn to do that? the boy did not take into account the amount of chakra his opponent used and consequently, had to rely on the different source. And as tails of red spread around his form, Madara wanted to scream in denial. It wasn't true, his sight was wrong, or it could be genjutsu... But no, his senses did not fool him. And he felt this chakra before. Nine-Tails was always there, from the moment he picked up the baby that was left in fire.
Not really comprehending what was going on but intending to sort it out, he decided that Hachibi was an excrescent factor, and seeing the first object that could be successfully used, Madara grabbed the spear to break the man's concentration. Piercing his eye was an added bonus.
The clash of energy distorted and resulted in explosion that pushed the black man away, injuring him further. But instead of being subjected to the same fate, Madara stared at the rectangular mirror that held his shocked reflection within. Then less than a second later, it cracked and exploded too. On reflex, he protected his face in case his negative energy was too late. The shards passed him with disgusting noise and a whistle. "...What was that? Ice? Shirushi did not show this technique before. Did he learn it in secret...?"Possibly. The boy could do many things he did not reveal, and use moves he formed on the fly.
It made him feel proud for a moment, then. But seeing that Hachibi jinchuuriki was ready to rise and continue fighting, Madara opted to act fast. He appeared by Shirushi's side and saw that another ice mirror protected him as well, but the shards of various size imbedded themselves in uncovered skin, his face and hands. The boy was unconscious when it happened, having exhausted himself.
Madara carefully transferred the boy's body into his eye, and quickly repeated the process with the body of the woman and the pair of dumbfounded immortals. Without further ado, he disappeared, taking everyone to the current base, leaving the dangerous Eight Tails jinchuuriki behind.
"...Why? Did Shiru know, or did he not...?" Most probably, he remembered what happened before he lost consciousness. ..Shirushi had good memory. So he analyzed what happened as well, and found out the truth along with Madara, or, he was aware of who he was even before that, and this incident was not an eye opener, but an accident that revealed the truth to others. And judging by the lack of reactions from the blond, Madara leaned towards the last alternative.
At that moment, Nagato was most likely puzzled about his absence and curious about the new development. His first thought would be that Madara knew all this time. Because, how could he not know? Well, he didn't. And now that he did, he didn't know what to do. Jinchuuriki were discarded after the demons were extracted, but Shirushi was not a jinchuuriki, he was not a 'human sacrifice'. The boy was his son, in everything but blood. His son that was not running away from the truth, that was ready to face Madara and accepted everything in silence. Trained to fight for Madara's cause, and from the very beginning, influenced by his father's morals.
The man even wanted the boy to jump and run, because he couldn't imagine how they would face each other.
There was a slight disturbance he felt, coming from the boy and Madara stopped pacing to fully focus on the signature. There was a moment of worry mixed with surprise.
Not wasting time wondering what surprise was about, Madara was already acting and travelling to the place where Shirushi was a moment ago.
The swirling of images revealed a kitchen with a smell of noodles. Shirushi's most favourite dish. The bowl with unfinished food was on the table, with a slight steam still spinning over it.
Shiru never leaves his bowl unfinished. For him that was wasting time cooking and disrespect of food.
His signature was moving away, with...ah.
...They would not get too far away.
Itachi's trace was in the kitchen also, along with a web of... genjutsu? Why? Itachi knows perfectly well that there's no illusion that could affect my son. That was supposed to be a trap maybe? For whom? For me? That's sweet.
The sound of amusement came from his throat, and Madara took off his mask to fully disperse the layers of unknown genjutsu Itachi placed over the room. He discarded all of them but one, that covered something in front of him. Frowning, Madara unveiled the last illusion with a blink of an eye and stared at the backrest of the chair, where quite calmly, waited the black crow. A summon that no doubt belonged to a teen.
"Peculiar." The man muttered, stepping closer to the bird, but suddenly stopped, when he paid attention to its left eye. There was a sharingan orb, and if he was correct in assumptions, it was Mangekyo. "Huh..." He furrowed his brows and in a flash of movement threw a knife at the summon, before whatever else Itachi prepared could be used against him.
The weapon imbedded itself in the wall behind a chair, as the bird dissolved into nothingness. There was no puff of smoke that should have indicated that it went back to the summoning realm, which put the man on guard even more.
What now? Itachi took Shirushi and would try to hide him. He's already made his choice and knew where his loyalties were. But Madara didn't know what to do once he caught up with them. Finding and following them was not an issue. Facing his son was at the moment the most complicated matter.
Unsure of anything, he placed the mask back upon his face and slowly strode out.
...
Flashback
That day just had no end. Horror of the night was getting more and more disgusting.You leave me no choice. He said. It was true. What else was he supposed to do when he was one and against the armed forces? He could fight the arrogant, temperamental and careless Uchiha, his blood relatives; defeating them was achievable and believable, but he could not in his right mind, face Danzo's army.
So he had to agree to the man's demands, to protect his brother. And now in the darkness of the night those emotionless, cold-blooded soldiers of his were gathering the bodies and along the way, took out the developed sharingan eyes, sealing them in the scrolls. It was inhuman. There was nothing left of honour, morals or the sense of right and wrong.
Maybe it was fate that on his stiff, last stroll through the district, he passed the body of his fallen friend. Shisui was as he left him, dirty, bloodied, and... dead. He was possibly the most powerful Uchiha the clan could offer in the last decade, and Itachi touched that level recently, just barely. It just so happened that this time, when they fought, Itachi calculated his moves one step further than his friend.
Soundlessly, he stopped by the corpse and knelt. The unusual skill of shunshin, deadly and definite, was probably one of the things Danzo pursued in his greed filled mission. Leaving it in the man's hands was like giving him another weapon.
Steeling his resolve, the teen hid his actions behind a wall of genjutsu and plucked one eye out, ignoring the shaking of fingers, disgust, nausea and self loathing he felt. Following the example of the masked squads he sealed it in the spare scroll, and decided to damage the other eye, so it could not be used.I'm a monster.
He sensed that someone was getting closer. Having no time to execute his plan Itachi quickly rose, finally letting go of Shisui's body.I'm no better.
Terrified face of Sasuke, surprised expression of Shisui, images of dead relatives flashed before his eyes as he turned and ran.I just wanted peace.
End of flashback
I just want this madness to end.
Itachi discarded his Akatsuki cloak somewhere in the bushes and started taking the same one off the blond. Shirushi was still unconscious, thankfully, but just to be sure, he pressed the vial with clear, odourless and tasteless liquid to the boy's parted lips, tipped it and massaged the throat so he would swallow.
Perplexed about the heaviness of the cloth, he checked the underside and found sheath like pockets for the modified, long and double kunai. There were seals as well, drawn on the fabric. The same was with the sleeves, where numerous seals and pockets looked like fetish for as long as you inspected the cloak inside out.
He couldn't throw it away. There were weapons, secrets maybe, and who knew what and where the boy carried with him. Sighing, the teen put the cloth back on the blond and arranged his limp body on his own back, so he could grab the boy's thighs. And then he ran, forming plans and counter plans, preparing for the worst. For his trap to have been futile.
He would wonder about the cost of that impulse later. For now, he just had to buy time.
End of chapter 14
A. N. first rhymed lines are awesomely and pleasantly mine, so no copying!