Okay, here's the deal with this chapter. I think that Itachi was part of Anko's team under Orochimaru. All genin go out in teams, two male and one female, and Anko had to have a team. The timing even works out: Anko, thirteen. Shisui, twelve. Itachi, seven. I'm not one hundred percent sure about Shisui being in there, but it fits well enough and I doubt Kishimoto will ever explain it properly anyway.

Sunrise, Sunset: Part Fourteen

Rules of Shinobi Conduct

Sasuke jumped away from a C1 explosion and thought about how at least his brother had appropriately fearsome companions in skills, if not conduct. He had met up with Deidara and Tobi just a few minutes before and after they taunted him in the traditional manner of most incompetent ninja, they had proceeded to blast the hell out of the landscape. Sasuke had rather liked that tree, too. It was surprisingly easy to dodge these attacks, though. It would have left Sasuke with a feeling of hope if hope had not long since deserted him in the cold corridors of Orochimaru's bases.

"Will you stop dodging, brat? Tobi, he won't stop dodging!"

"Maybe you're just losing your touch, Deidara-san? It's never taken you this long before."

"Why don't you try? I always have to do the work!"

He didn't like it, but he needed them. He needed them to confirm to him if the information he had gained from Orochimaru was true. It was possible that Akatsuki's base had moved since Orochimaru had checked and Sasuke needed to make sure before he went traipsing off into enemy territory. It wasn't more than a couple of days away if he was right. He just wished he had earplugs.

"Aw... don't whine, senpai. It's unbecoming."

He really, really wished he had earplugs.

Itachi knew that Kisame was watching him brood, but as long as the Water nin did not try to attack him he couldn't care less. If Kisame really enjoyed looking at him that much, who was Itachi to stop him?

The Leader's information about Sasuke had given him mixed feelings. He was unsure as to what exactly he was supposed to be feeling to begin with. He hadn't liked the fact that Sasuke was with Orochimaru, but now that he was going after Itachi it was obvious that he and Naruto would meet sooner than expected. Naruto would have to be told, but the Leader hadn't given him permission to do that. Red Sharingan eyes glared into the sun. He found it so distasteful to lie. He now had a constant, nagging feeling that something was going on beyond his realm of knowledge.

Naruto was on the training ground still. Itachi could see the other shinobi from out the window that he was sitting in. He appeared to have been going at it for a while, despite how dark it was getting.

'If he keeps pushing himself as he has been, he'll just become burnt out...' The thought, as soft as a whisper, was an annoying one. It was not Itachi's concern what Naruto was doing and the longer he was distracted from news of Sasuke the better, but...

Shinobi did not get close to one another. Shinobi did not have feelings. Shinobi—normal shinobi— wouldn't have gotten as close to another as Itachi had to Naruto over the past few weeks. Close physically, barring the interlude when it had rained yesterday, even though it was mostly during training. Mentally, Itachi's thoughts seemed to center around Naruto lately. Emotionally? Itachi felt very little about anything.

Sparing a last look out the window and ignoring Kisame with the greatest amount of disdain he could muster, Itachi left the hallway to go to his room.

It was thirteen years ago when Orochimaru had assembled the oddball group of shinobi who were graduating the academy. Anko, at thirteen, had left the academy a year later than the rest of her class. To keep someone back or to refuse to graduate them was almost never done. It had only happened once before Anko. The second member of the team was Itachi. Having graduated at the tender age of seven, there had only been one person to graduate earlier than him in the history of the Village Hidden in the Leaves and that person had been one Hatake Kakashi. As the pride of the Uchiha clan, one whom it was assumed by the collective heads of the clan would lead them into greatness, he was considered "a prodigy" and "a genius." The third member had, of course, been Uchiha Shisui. Who else could it have been?

It had all gone wrong, as did everything that Orochimaru touched. Orochimaru had taken Anko and left the village; not long after, Itachi had followed. For Shisui, there was nothing left to be said. His suicide note said it all: "I am tired of missions. At this rate, the Uchiha will have no future. And neither will I... I am unable to continue to walk 'the path.'" An ANBU, as Itachi was. An Uchiha, as Itachi was. Itachi had admired him so much, had thought of him as an older brother. To have been accused of killing him had really been the last little push that Itachi had needed to do what he had done.

A group of outcasts were those that Orochimaru had assembled, those that would be loyal to him for the simple reason that there was no one else that they had to be loyal to. Anko was considered to be an idiot, Itachi was held in contempt by his peers for being incredibly intelligent, and Shisui was cast adrift, just another person in an immense clan. Orochimaru had made them better. Anko became jonin a few years after she had returned from him. Shisui and Itachi became ANBU at a very young age. It should have all been well and good, but it wasn't. By the time killing became Itachi's life, most people of his age group were nowhere near graduating from the academy. A shinobi at seven, a killer by ten.

Most would consider that an even greater tragedy than the massacre of the Uchiha clan.

The next morning was bright and Itachi was supposed to be training Naruto. He had instead disappeared off the face of the earth. Naruto wasn't pleased.

"Damn it, sharky, why the hell am I here if no one is going to train me?"

A shark-toothed grin spread over Kisame's face. "Oh, well maybe it was because you didn't have a choice?"

"Well, there was that…." Naruto scuffed the ground with his foot, wondering if he could kick some dirt into Kisame's eyes or whether that would just backfire. Everything on his body ached from his constant training and he wasn't in the mood to deal with the brain-dead murmurings of a shark-man. "That doesn't even count! If I had tried, I could've taken you." Kisame began to laugh. Naruto grew even less pleased with life in general and settled down to pout once more. "Hmph. Where are Deidara and Tobi, anyway?"

"They headed out a couple of days ago, just before that storm. Were you too stupid to notice that Deidara wasn't eating all the food like he usually is?"

"Don't call me stupid. It's hypocritical coming from a fish-guts-for-brains like you."

"You're just grasping at straws for new insults now, aren't you?"

"No one appreciates me," Naruto grumbled. He sighed, raking a hand through his blonde hair. It was starting to grow out, some of it now hanging over his black hitai-ate nearly to his chin. "I'm going to go make Itachi get up," he said. "If I can't sleep late, he doesn't get to either." He grinned a fox grin and, decisively, started off in the appropriate direction.

Kisame looked alarmed. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Itachi—" Naruto was too busy rubbing his hands together gleefully to notice him. "Eh, he'll figure it out when Itachi takes his head off." Maybe Kisame could help. Placated with thoughts of dismemberment, Kisame wandered off in the direction of the Leader's study.

It was unlikely for a ninja, especially as good a ninja as Itachi, to remain sleeping while someone crept into their room. Bold (and, perhaps, stupid) as he was, of course Naruto had to try. It was before the door had crept open even a bare centimeter that Itachi was already twisting to look over his shoulder with an irritable "Yes?" on his lips.

Naruto seemed taken aback for a moment by the sight of Itachi sitting on the windowsill. Perhaps he was reminded of Sasuke, who had often done the same thing when they were younger. Maybe Sasuke had unconsciously imitated his older brother despite whatever he felt about him, or perhaps it was something deeper, something that ran through the blood they shared. Itachi didn't really know.

Quickly regaining his composure, Naruto yelled, "You're late! What's the point in me being kidnapped if I can't train?"

Inscrutable, Itachi considered the intrusion before him with hooded, dark gray eyes. It appeared that a confrontation with the focal point of his thoughts was not giving him any of the answers that he sought. As always, Naruto was just loud.

"My younger brother killed Orochimaru."

Naruto blinked, and then he blinked again. "Why would he... did he go back to Konoha?"

His voice was filled with so much hope that Itachi almost regretted needing to give him the negative answer. "No. He's headed here."

The blonde ninja looked completely blindsided. He didn't seem to be able to understand why Sasuke would leave Orochimaru if not to rejoin his team, didn't seem to understand what the political repercussions of such an act would be even if Sasuke did go back to Konoha. Suddenly, blue eyes sharpened again. "Why is the Leader keeping me here, then? I certainly don't have anything to bargain anymore."

The twist of Itachi's lips was more of a grimace than a smile. "You never really did. As far as I'm able to tell, he is just keeping you because he believes I like you."

Naruto snorted, not paying any attention to what Itachi had said in the slightest. "In my experience, Uchiha people don't exactly tell people when they like them, though they sure as hell make it clear when they hate them."

Vastly amused, Itachi rose to his feet. Combing long fingers through his hair, he set about the task of completely and purposely forgetting there was another person in the room as he snapped off his hair tie and began to brush his hair.

Naruto, however, was still watching him. If Itachi wasn't very much mistaken, he was actually standing there with his mouth hanging open wide enough to catch flies at the sight of Itachi's long hair. Although he had seen it during this time with Akatsuki more than he had when they were fighting, it was different to see it down to Itachi's elbows and clinging everywhere.

"You have the day off," Itachi said, his voice filled with the slightest tinge of annoyance. "Go away."

Naruto shifted from one foot to the other like a begging child. "Days off don't come with the deal, especially if Sasuke is coming here! I need to train and stuff!"

Itachi did not want to be around Naruto right now. "There's no point in me training you anymore unless I use the Sharingan. The Leader seems to want you alive, so that obviously isn't an option. Train by yourself if you want to train."

"All right…."

"Wait."

Itachi was never able to figure out why he said that. Somehow, he ended up right next to Naruto. He was just inches away, staring into eyes as blue as the summer sky.

"Seriously, Uchiha, what's up?" Naruto said nervously. He stepped back and yelped when his foot caught on a nail. Gravity took its course when he tripped and the only place left to go was Itachi. Itachi never knew who started what happened next, either—an accidental touch turned into something else, a desperate kiss pressed against soft lips, tongues gliding together and tangling. Their breathing became quiet and fast, everything blurring with hot pleasure as the world spun; dizzying, nauseating.

Itachi pulled away the second his thoughts caught up with him. "Go!"

This time, Naruto left without a token argument.

Heh, I bet you all hate me right now for leaving it there. On the bright side, as far as I can tell we've got about 20 chapters left. And yes, I know this chapter is out later than I said it would be. The rewrites came back from previous chapters to bite me on the butt again- in other words, I had to do some editing with this chapter. You try to do something like this and make it in character! So tell me... you like it? Review please!