Authors Note: Here is the next chapter, finally. Sorry... This chapter hasn't been beta read so if something stands out, please let me know.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: A CROW COOPERATES

There exists in my life only one lasting truth. Sasuke must be protected. This led me to hold our parents attention, despite his cravings for it. If I was enough Sasuke had no need to assist in the family business. He would be free from the stain of death. The truth of my life led me to accept Madara's proposal and murder the clan. To accept deal after deal from the man. To protect Sasuke I filled his cage will all that he loved and locked the door. Forever.

As I sit here beside the bed, watching the rise and fall of his chest, I find myself desolate. Indeed, I protected him from all those who wished him harm yet in the end, I failed. I did not protect him from himself. Or perhaps it was me who has been hurting him. If the sculpture breaks from its own weight is it not the artists fault?

I let my mirthless chuckle slip into the silent room. It is a foreign sound to my ears. I have not laughed sense the years before Father placed a sword in my hand. Before I understood what I was, who I had no choice in becoming.

My fingers ghost across the crown of Sasuke's hair. My skin alights with the small touch. He does no stir in his sleep, leaving me the continued pleasure of watching him sleep. My doll, my sculpture. My heart.

"I have no choice, do I little brother? I will have to make another deal with a demon. Perhaps this time, the price will be less."

One of these days, he will finish breaking. The cracks are there. Some visible, some too small, too delicate, to be seen. One day he will break and when he does, I will be here to pick up the pieces. For only I know how they fit together.

"After all, we are two pieces of one soul. Without each other we are incomplete."

I lean down to kiss his forehead, lingering long enough to ensure the warmth of his skin remains on my lips. All be will be well. Tonight, I will push the final ball into action. The end is coming.

-x-

I do not knock at Naruto's door. Instead, I kick with my foot until it swings open. My gun loaded and raised, points across the room. There is no trace of Naruto left. It is as if he had not lived here at all. I will have to track him down. Where will he have gone? From what little information I have gathered thus far Naruto resides with his godfather uptown. It will take hours to reach him and if I did, what would come of it? His godfather is too heavily involved in the police to force myself into the home.

No matter. If not this particular demon than the other will suffice. Though I know personally that this devil will demand a much heftier price.

First, the office. I would need my key to his residence and a vehicle. Kakashi usually leaves one or two of them for me there. Arriving at the firm I find my office door open. My feet carry me into the room, halting in a sudden stop as I take in the scene before me. Irritation hits me first then a grudging respect for his cockroach like tenacity. Three things become abundantly clear. One, the gun in his hand is not for show. Two, the stack of papers in his left hand have been obtained from my office. Three, Naruto Uzumaki has more reckless abandon than sense.

"Are you going to shoot me Uzumaki?"

He glares at me. "Sorry, can't. Sasuke would miss you too much. Don't see why but yeah." Keeping his eyes on me, he shrugs his shoulder. "That's a no go. I already told you that though. Your injury keep you from remembering now Uchiha?"

I shake my head as I holster my own gun. There is no danger here. "Perhaps I desired your rendition of it not for my benefit but for your own." I walk over to my desk, sitting myself in the familiar leather chair. The surface of the desk has been largely untouched. The pictures along the wall however, have been moved. I notice one missing.

Naruto follows my thinking. He has already holstered his gun and moved to stand next to them. The glare he gives me nearly sends another chuckle escaping. "You get the real thing. I think you can spare a picture or two."

"No need to be so bitter Uzumaki. I warned you, did I not? You cannot have him."

"Yeah I get that." He is a yard away from my desk when he tosses the stack of papers atop it. "Doesn't mean I can't protect him though. And that," he points at the pile. "Is what wants to kill him right?"

I look down the stack, recognizing it my compilation of information related to Pein.

"If the police had this information they could have caught this guy. Why didn't you hand it over?"

I sigh, hands busy re-stacking the papers. "Pein is not an individual the police can, or would, handle. With so many of them on his payroll they will not attempt his arrest."

Naruto shifts his weigh, impatience tensing his muscles. "He is the one who hurt you, isn't he?"

"His dogs actually, but essentially yes, he injured me." I hold his attention with my own. "What is it you wish to do Uzumaki?"

"Take him down." I began a slow smile but his annoyed swearing cuts it short. "Don't get me wrong. I don't want him dead—I'm not you. I just want him behind bars where he belongs."

"What makes you think he is alive?"

He returns to his previous seat, crossing one leg over the other as he stares back at me. "You're here aren't you? I sure as hell wouldn't leave Sasuke for anything less." A fox indeed.

"I am supposing then, that you wish for my assistance?"

The smile he gives me reminds me far too much of a child getting his favorite toy back. "I figured this way, I won't screw up your perfect plan and you won't fuck with mine."

"Very astute Uzumaki but what makes you think I am willing to work with you?"

His smile turns to a grin as his confidence grows, an action that insights mass irritation in me. "'Cause you are running out of time. How long will those painkillers work? And as much of a robot as you are, I doubt you can take him down alone with that leg."

I loathe to admit it but he is right. It would be much easier if he did the leg work. I will need another week before my injury is healed enough to hold up to my regular activity. "Very well then Uzumaki. Let us hear your plan."

"It's simple. You show me the blue prints, I sneak in and injury him enough to hold him still until the police get there."

"Do you not imagine, that I would be a more effective, plausible, choice for his assassination attempt?"

"You can't move very good with that leg, remember?"

My irriation has reached it's peak. I stand up from my chair and move around it. Leaning against the back of my desk I show him that I can move perfectly fine. "Uzumaki, you asked me once to not underestimate you. I ask you do the same for me. I have been in this line of work for the majority of my life."

He stares at me for longer than necessary but in the end he frowns and nods his head. "Fine. But I get to see Sasuke after we are done."

I choose to ignore his demand. Seeing Sasuke was a debatable issue that could be addressed at a later time. "You mentioned the police. Have you made arrangements already?"

He smiles lopsided at me, exposing his canines. "Yep! Old man Jiraiya has instructions to meet us at the mansion. I already talked him about all of this last night. We need to leave in a few minutes or the timing is going to be off." He stands up and looks around. After a second sweep of the room he focuses back at me. "What I can't figure out is where you hid your guns and stuff. You have to have some in here."

"Oh? Do I?"

He frowns. "Of course. It is the only room in building with a lock like that. So where they at?"

"Really Uzumaki, do believe in the first illusion that easily?" I push off of the desk and leave the room. He mutters some choice insults before he falling in behind me. His ignorance calms my irritation. He may be a fox but he will not ever out maneuver the crow.

He follows me to Kakashi's office. I pull at the mask and the bookcase slides back into the wall. Naruto watches with a low key whistle. "That is so cool!" He stops for moment, shuts his mouth and glares at me again. "I still hate you though."

"Have no fear Uzumaki, the feeling is mutual."

Along side the walls are my collection of emergency weaponry. It is a modest stock. Primarily hand pistols and silencers. A few smoke bombs and a SKS as a last resort. I pull down the SKS, pulling it over my shoulder. Beside me Naruto reaches out and handles each gun for a moment before placing it back. He finally settles on one, screwing a silencer to the end of it. I follow suit with the two pistols I have chosen for myself.

He gives me that lopsided grin of his. "Ready to go take down a crime lord?"

I cannot help but shake my head. "You seem prone to forget Uzumaki, what I do for a living." I leave him there, frustrated and embarrassed as I leave the room.

He catches up with me quickly, seemingly over his floundering embarrassment. "How many have you taken down? Two? Three? Six?"

"Are you implying Konoha police have no ability, Uzumaki? You make our city into a den of rats."

He has the courtesy to blush. "Hey, you never know." His feet slow down. I don't bother stopping until I am at the front doors, my hand pressing the glass until the night air blows in at me. Uzumaki looks at me from down the hall. "Uchiha, why are you letting me come along? It's like you said. You could do this alone. Yeah it'd be harder but you could do it."

At least he is smart enough to ask. I let the door shut again, turning my body to face his. "You are the lesser of two evils Uzumaki, nothing more. If I am to shake hands with evil I would rather it be in the form of a demon than a devil. Now if you please, I would like to get this over with. Sasuke is waiting for me."

As I knew it would, my last comment sends all thoughts of me gone, leading Uzumaki into a cursing rage. In the end, we take a taxi to the edge of Waterfall Villa's; neither of us trusted each other to drive.

-x-

I direct Uzumaki to the edge of the manor grounds. Far enough Pein will not notice a vehicle but close enough we can make the walk in reasonable time. My wound has not healed as much as I would have liked. As I had told Uzumaki however, it will not stop me from carrying out our plan. I have worked through such pain before.

Pein's mansion is a large western styled home with picture windows on every level and every side. At first glance it appears normal for the area and certainly a home built for pleasure not business. I know better. The building is layered, cement and brick, as my own home is. The windows are as well, bullet proof. A security system built and tailored by Pein himself would be in effect. Entering from two points would set the alarms off but leave Pein in question as which one was me. Uzumaki was expendable if need be. Sasuke need not know of his death, if today's actions came to it.

Uzumaki, having already agreed on our plan, voices no concern as we enter sepertly. Him, at the east end, me the north. The sitting room I enter is one of the few untouched from the previous fight between Pein and myself. I inch along the wall, running through the next door and the next until I have confirmed the absence of life. Even Pein's dogs have disappeared. What is going on?

Naruto, having circled the building as well, catches sight of me. He runs over, voicing my concerns for me. "What is going on? I didn't hear a security bell. None of the camera's seemed to be working either. I thought this guy was a crime lord or something?"

"He is. I do not understand this behavior. Under usual circumstances he has the mansion on lock down. After my attempt on his life I would have thought he would have increased the security."

He frowns. "No kidding."

"It matters little at this point." I push on ahead, climbing the stairs one at a time. The hallway we enter onto is split in two. I gesture for him to take the left, me the right. This is most unusual. Highly unlike Pein. What is going on? Perhaps he is waiting for me to come and finish the job. The very idea of it leaves me chilled. I walk on toward the back room and it's large, oak doors that open to reveal a library. I almost drop my gun in surprise. Origami sculptures hang from the ceiling, leaving the room shadowed in a paper canopy. They have all been made by hand. Meticulous crafted to perfection. Konan's work no doubt. A single painting hangs over the sole fireplace. A portrait of three young adults. I recognize the first two as Pein and Konan. The third, I assume is their dead companion. The one who dreamed up the Akatsuki Pein created.

I wonder again, how important Konan had been to Pein. Is her death the reason for this lack of security? Lack of any and all aspects I have learned to anticipate from the man? Perhaps. I need to know, to understand. His fixation on Konan shadows my own singular obsession. The similarities ring far too close to heart for my state of mind. If someone had killed Sasuke like Kisame had done to Konan? I am chilled at the thought.

Leaving the library behind I head back down the hall, running despite the ache in my leg. Pein must be there, the one room I have overlooked. Indeed, I am right and I find Pein in his office. No guns, no knives—nothing. He sits in his leather chair, lifeless. My instinct urges me to look for some weapon or trap that may be hidden. My eyes however, tell me that there is nothing to fear. He is there, sitting, looking out the window. His laboratory cloak and slacks are wrinkled and dirty. He smells as if he hasn't moved sense I was last here. He doesn't look at me, though I know he recognizes my footsteps. The barrel of my gun tips down. He is no threat.

"Have you come to finish what you started Itachi?" He asks.

I ignore the hollowness in his voice. It disturbs me. This is not the Pein that I have served a decade under. There is no confidence, no arrogance—no will to live, let alone conquer. I step forward, lifting my gun again to aim for his head. He turns around slowly in his chair until he is staring directly at the barrel.

"Go ahead. I have little desire to live. Finish the destruction you started."

My finger begins to tighten on the trigger. "Why?" I cannot help but ask. It eats at me, his utter lack of desire to function.

His lips slide in a humorless smile. "Why should I live? Konan is gone. My angel has already departed. There is no use for a God no one believes in." When I don't answer immediately he continues on. "You understand don't you, Itachi? If your light disappeared, your world would be black, wouldn't it?" He shakes his head. "You and I are a lot alike, Itachi. Perhaps you know what I have only recently figured out. He matters to you, doesn't he?"

"You do not need to hear my answer to know Pein."

He smiles faintly. "No, I suppose not. You always were so quick to rush back to him." He smiles slows until it is a grim line. "Madara won't let this go you know. He might not notice for a few years but when he does," Pein sighs. "He will come for you."

"I know. I am ready."

"But are you? Can anyone be?" Pein pulls a drawer open to his left, reaching in to bring out a gun. I tighten my grip on the trigger. I will shoot before he does. Something in my however, whispears that the gun is not meant for me. "I have sent you all the information I have on him. I hope it is enough to stop him. Don't let him destroy any more lives." He locks eyes with me, a faint smile on his face. "Don't be like me Itachi. Live." He says nothing more, raises the pistol to his head then pulls the trigger. There is a resounding thump echoing around the room as falls to the desk, bleeding out atop a pile of pictures of his youth.

Hearing the gunshot, Naruto enters the room, his attention quickly shifting from Pein's still bleeding corpse then to me. He lowers gun as he walks over, still visually searching me for injuries. "I thought you weren't going to kill him?"

"I didn't. He killed himself."

Naruto blinks a few times, confused. "Is that it then?" he asks, his voice almost disappointed.

I pick myself up off the wall, shouldering my gun as I begin towards the door. "That is it."

He frowns. "That was really…quick. Not even that hard. I thought crime lords were supposed to be a challenge or something."

"You have watched too many drama's Uzumaki. Murder is often quick. Especially if they kill themselves. All you have to do is watch."

-x-

The police arrive twenty minuets later. Ample enough time for me to slip a glove on and search Pein's home. There is little of use to me. Some research data, a few names and places I was not aware belonged to Pein but most of it was information I already knew. I leave Naruto to handle the police. From the Mercedes, brought closer to the mansion by an eager Uzumaki, I watch him. He seems at home as he interacts with the old marshal. I suppose however, that is where he belongs; with the good side of the law. Not us. No, Sasuke and I belonged to the gray and black sections of life. We understood nothing else. Light, when it shone as bright as Uzumaki, burned people seeped in darkness.

After some time Jiraiya walks over to me, a clipboard in hand. He hands it over wordlessly, his intense attention on me leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. What had Uzumaki told him? How much did he know? Not knowing ate at me. I sign the page proclaiming me as a witness in court, forcing myself to stare back at him.

"Is there something else you need, Commissioner Sarutobi?"

"No, not right now." He switches focus, smiling down at his godson. "You hitching a ride back with me kid?"

Naruto shakes his head. "Nah, I am goin' get a ride back with Uchiha."

Sarutobi frowns, disliking the idea. "You sure?"

"Yeah, he's cool." He grins back at Sarutobi.

Cool. He called me cool. What game is he playing? He doesn't like me anymore than I do him. He is up to something. I turn the Mercedes on and wait for him to finish talking. It does not take long. Naruto waves goodbye then hop's in and buckles. No words are exchanged until we have left the manor roads and get onto the freeway.

"So he is safe now, right?"

"I am assuming you are speaking of Sasuke?"

"Duh, who else? I don't take crime lords down as a recreational hobby."

Naturally. Breaking and entering were more to his taste. "He is safe from Pein."

"What's that supposed to mean? How many enemies do you have?"

"I do believe you have met me. In face, as I recall, you stalked me for some time. How many do you believe I have?"

"Good point. Okay so who's next?"

"Excuse me?"

He makes an annoying, irritated sound. "Who else do we need to get? You've got to have a list."

My stomach tenses, the familiar sensation of frustration eating at my nerves. "Are you implying Uzumaki, that you intend to assist me until everyone on my 'list' as you so eloquently put it, have been handled?"

"You left me no choice! If we don't get them Sasuke will never get to leave."

It came back to Sasuke. Of course it did. "Why do you wish him to leave so badly? I have given you permission to meet with him, have I not?"

"Its not the same Uchiha. I want him to experience life. He can't do that stuck in that house. I'm not you."

"I am assuming you have an explanation to follow up with."

Naruto does not hesitate, his words lashing out like bullets. "You are selfish. You don't ask Sasuke what he thinks is best. You chose for him. You always have. You don't have his best interests in mind. You have yours. It doesn't matter how much hell you put him through so long as its you who gets to walk in that door. You don't love him. You love how he makes you feel. He is alive and caged to feed your ego."

My hands tighten against the steering wheel, my heart pounding angrily against my chest. Instinctively I want to banish his assumptions of me. Yet something in me, the same something that ushered my worries into an audible whisper that night with Sasuke, forces my barriers down. It holds my instinct at bay, the defensive shield that until now, have kept me from breaking each time Sasuke hurt himself. Each time he cried.

"Selfish I may be Naruto, yet you are not so different than myself. Tell me, what did you see when you looked at Sasuke?"

Perhaps it was admittance of guilt or the quiet, tiredness that crept into my voice, but Naruto's anger dissipated. His lips relaxed, falling into a frown as his eyes closed.

"Innocence."

So he did understand. "What do you image would happen to him if he was meant with scorn? Contempt? Betrayal?"

I hear his breath suck in and I know he will be able to truly understand. How ironic that he, of all the individuals I have met, would be the one to understand my reasoning. "Sasuke has something so very few in this world have; a pure soul. The world would corrupt him and that, I cannot bear to witness. Can you? Can you watch as his depth for love is questioned? As he is condemned for seeing the world in more than black or white? " His breath becomes a shallow, angry thing. "Watch as that life steals each dream, each simple act of love and twists it until all he is forced to only see his faults? His shortcomings? Tell me Uzumaki, can you watch that? Can you watch him become ordinary?"

He gives me no answer, his head turned towards the window, hand on his chin. Nothing more is said the remainder of the ride home.

We park at the firm and much to my annoyance, Uzumaki begins walking toward my home. After his help with Pein I suppose he could see Sasuke for a little but not before I had a chance to speak with him alone. Sasuke was unstable last night. I need to ensure he has not remembered anything else. Uzumaki might not believe it but Sasuke would kill him if he had another fit. And his death would not be as easily glossed over as Sasori's had been.

As we turn the corner toward the house he begins talking again. "Hey you are going to let me in aren'—" Naruto stops talking immediately, his face ashen as he begins to swear.

The door is open. The knob has been melted into a mushed pile of mush on the ground. A generous portion of the door is gone as well.

Sasuke.

So...don't kill me for the cliff hanger okay? I have said it before but this time I can assure you, I will have the next update in a weeks time. Just watch and see :D This time I will do it!

I always worry, as I place each consecutive chapter up, that I am not meeting expectations. :[ In the beginning, I had grand plans for Imperfection that I have only partially been able to accomplish. When I started this work I was not experienced enough to understand how to write well enough to meet the scope of the story. By the end of this, (we are only three chapter away from the end btw) I believe I have been able to reach the level I should have been when I started this. That said, I plan on doing a Q.A. at the very end to wrap up the plot points I was not able to make clear enough. So if you feel too confused, try to stick around and hopefully I can answer them at that point. I'd answer some now but it might spoil the remainder of the story ha ha...

Anyways, thank you as always for reading the story. An extra thank you for those who stuck around to read this author note. You are guys are extra awesome! See you in a week!