SORRY FOR THE WAIT! T_T I do have reasons, but I know you've all been waiting for this chapter, so I won't spew them all here!

Things are, well, picking up.

Warnings: Slight swearing, off-the-top-of-my-head-rituals, and ghostly shit. (See? Swearing already! :D)

Disclaimer: Y Me No Own? *troll face*

Seeking Help

"GAH!"

Sasuke slammed backwards, his hands shooting up to grip at his head as his legs kicked uncontrollably on the floor. He gasped for breath, his back arching over and over as he writhed on the floor. Another wave hit and he cried out, curling in on himself.

"AAAAH!"

All around him, the strange symbols were glowing brightly in the dark room, and he screamed in pain as trails of fiery letters slithered over his body. He kicked out, writhing around some more before finally; finally, the pain was just too much.

"STOP! PLEASE STOP! NO MORE!" he screamed, eyes watering in pain. His right eye was bright red, the Sharingan spinning wildly as he continued to throw himself around on the floor, screaming and crying and begging. The left eye flickered dangerously from Sharingan red to a bright, gleaming yellow. The marking on his shoulder, easily visible as his torso was exposed, was burning and changing shape constantly. It seemed to spread out into a barrage of black flames before glowing red and shrinking back into the usual shape of three comma markings.

"PLEASE STOP!"

Sasuke couldn't take it. The pain was too intense, he felt like he was going to pass out or even die. His entire body, his soul itself, felt like it was on fire. Death would be a mercy at this stage.

"P-PLEASE MAKE IT S-STOP!" he was sobbing, his body jerking and twitching even as black symbols began to weave around his limbs, tightening before they sunk into his skin and out of sight.

Sasuke screamed out again, throwing himself into the centre of the large, glowing symbolic circle that he was trapped inside and he began to claw at the ground, his nails chipping and his fingers beginning to bleed.

The four men standing around the circle tried their level best not to pay any mind to his pleas. They couldn't afford to stop the ritual, especially since it was close to its end. They had to endure, and they had to pray that Sasuke endured just a bit longer.

But even though they were professionals, the teenager's screams caused them internal agony.

And one of them was crying.

Itachi tried to blink out the moisture in his eyes that dripped down his cheeks as he watched his precious baby brother writhe in agony before him. He wanted nothing more than to stop his brother's pain, to pick him up and hold him close and protect him from anyone and anything that would try to hurt him again. But he knew that he couldn't do that. Not this time.

The ritual was almost finished, and in the end, it would only benefit Sasuke.

"How much longer?" a determinedly hard voice snapped from beside him, and Itachi barely glanced at Kakashi, who was looking sicker and sicker with every passing minute.

On the other side of the circle, Hidan grunted as his hands continued to form signs for the ritual.

"Not too long now. The brat just has to endure a minute more," he strained out as Sasuke began to kick out again.

Itachi bit his lip fiercely, and looked at the other member of their party. Kisame was looking blank faced, but his eyes were swirling with sadness as he gazed at Sasuke's form.

This ritual was killing all of them inside.

Suddenly, Sasuke stopped moving, and Itachi's heart did much the same out of fear.

'Oh God please...'

Before Itachi could jump to any real conclusions, Sasuke shot up, eyes wide open and mouth gaping in a loud, blood curdling scream that sent chills down the spines of every man present. Both of his eyes switched to a bright yellow and his skin paled. The teen's head snapped around to glare straight at Itachi, who could only watch in sick horror as his brother was visibly possessed right before him.

"You fools. If you think a mere seal like this pathetic ritual will give him is enough to completely keep me out, you're even more naive then I thought. It won't take long for me to break through this barrier and take control. It's only a matter of time before this boy's body is completely my own."

The voice coming out of Sasuke's mouth was dead and scratchy, a hiss like a snake more than a voice of a boy. Itachi's tears turned angry.

"Get the fuck out of my baby brother!" he roared.

Sasuke's yellow eyes brightened and his lips pulled back into a cruel sneer, his face looking so much like the spirit of Orochimaru, and yet somehow still being Sasuke.

And he began to laugh, the sound maniacal and pure evil. Kakashi shuddered, and Kisame avoided his eyes, unable to stand seeing the familiar face turned so gruesomely evil. Only Hidan kept eye contact, his gaze steely and his face set. Itachi was struggling against the urge to run into the circle and try and physically rip the snake spirit out of his brother.

"Say goodbye to your precious baby brother, boy. He won't be around much when I'm finished."

That was it.

Itachi was making a move to go into the circle. Before he could, however, Sasuke's head snapped back harshly and he began to scream again, his eyes suddenly glowing and a light seeming to echo from his throat as the last of the inky black symbols wrapped around his neck, face and shoulders.

Hidan yelled out, crashing his hands together and a pulse ran through the air, knocking the other men off their feet as Sasuke sprawled flat on his back, limbs spread out. The floor around him cracked, and a small, shallow crater formed where he was lying, placing him an inch or two lower than the floor level. With one last pulse, the glowing circle disintegrated and Sasuke stopped screaming.

Instead he was gasping for breath, his chest heaving up and down fiercely while his arms and legs remained limp. Sweat was dripping down his face and body, and his hair was matted down to his forehead and cheeks. Eyes glazed and unfocused, he struggled to think clearly.

Itachi was stumbling over to him in an instant, dropping to his knees and reaching down to lift the boy out of the mini-crater.

Sasuke didn't respond to his touch or his calls, instead staring vacantly out to the side.

Kisame and Kakashi were there too, giving him space while trying to check him for further injury.

Hidan slowly stood, dusting off his ritual robes. He watched as the three men began to panic at Sasuke's lack of reaction before sighing.

"He's going to sleep. The ritual took more out of him than you can imagine, he'll be unconscious for a while. But the end result is fine. He's not in any pain anymore," he informed slowly, letting the information sink in and watching as the three men relaxed.

Itachi brushed away some of Sasuke's hair, and briefly the younger Uchiha's eyes focused on him. A soft whisper, barely audible and sounding very tired escaped.

"D-Don't...tell...Naru..." and then Sasuke slumped completely, eyes drifting shut and chest slowing down to an even pace.

Itachi swallowed, sharing a look with the other two before he nodded.

"I won't tell him. He won't know of what's inside of you."

Naruto paced, mumbling incoherently to himself over and over. He didn't know what to do or what to think. He was so confused and he didn't know how to find answers.

He was back at home, in his bedroom. Jiraiya had checked in one him a few times, but each time he'd just grunted an 'I'm fine!' and the poor man had ducked away before Naruto could unleash any real fury on him.

Naruto ran a hand through his hair in frustration, before hissing and sitting heavily onto his bed. He couldn't get the memory out of his head.

Right after the medics had loaded Kao up, and Kamurou had finished talking to his mother, Naruto had gone around the corner where he saw Sasuke drag Itachi for some odd reason. However, before he could truly turn, he'd heard Sasuke and Itachi speaking.

"H-He was attacked in the House of Mirrors..." Sasuke was saying and Naruto slowed down, wondering why Sasuke sounded so strange.

"Alright...What's wrong? Who did-"

"It was me."

Naruto felt like his entire world had just been thrown across the room and turn over. All breath left him in a rush and he stumbled away from the corner, hardly daring to believe that it was real. However, before too long, Itachi was coming around the corner, dragging Sasuke along. Itachi looked...scared.

Sasuke had his head lowered, hair covering his eyes. They went straight past Naruto, ignoring him completely as the blond watched them go with wide, disbelieving eyes. Just before they completely vanished, he saw Itachi stop to talk to Kakashi and Kisame. Both the other men suddenly looked panicked, looking between Sasuke and Itachi before they rushed away.

Naruto had caught a lift home with Kamurou and his mother. The ride had been awkward and tense for him. Kamurou had been silent, looking lost and pale. In the front seat, his mother was stony faced, her eyes cold and glaring ahead. Halfway to his house, he'd heard her mutter.

"When I get my hands on the mangy, worthless, son of a dick-sucking hoe-nag that did this, I'm going to rip his lungs out through his Goddamn ass."

Naruto had kept silent, still trying to ignore the fact that he had physically heard Sasuke say that he was the one who attacked Kao.

It just seemed so wrong. Sasuke wouldn't do something like that!

...Would he?

The fact that he had even the slightest hint of doubt caused guilt to claw at his insides like a hungry zombie. He leant back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling in despair. What had Sasuke truly meant? What was Itachi so scared of? Why had the others, Kakashi and Kisame, reacted the way they had? What was Sasuke hiding?

What was Sasuke hiding from him?

A flicker of anger welled up inside him at being left in the dark. He thought Sasuke trusted him. He trusted the raven with everything. So why was it that he didn't have a clue what was going through his boyfriend's head. He swallowed, turning onto his side and clutching the sheets.

It hurt.

It hurt to be left out of the loop. It hurt that Sasuke was struggling with something and he couldn't do a thing to help. He didn't even know how he could help. It hurt that he was helpless when it seemed that Sasuke needed someone to understand. But then again, Itachi and the others seemed to understand perfectly well.

It was only him...He was the only one who didn't know what was going on.

The flicker of anger returned, but he brutally squashed it down. He knew there had to be an explanation for this. He wouldn't get mad at Sasuke until he had every single right to.

His eyes drifted to half mast. He was so tired now. Everything from the night before had been draining, and he was feeling so...odd. He didn't know how to describe the feeling, except that it wasn't exactly pleasant.

Slowly, his eyes slipped closed until he was fast asleep, barely making a sound.

He blinked, looking around. He appeared to be in some kind of underground dungeon. He wasn't quite sure, but there were long, dark hallways and lots of...well...brick walls and floors. Taking a step, he was startled to hear a splash. Looking down, he saw that there was quite a large quantity of water covering the floor. In fact, his ankles disappeared under it.

Pondering where he was, he jumped at the sudden rush of air that hit his back. It was warm, and soft. Almost inviting.

He turned in the direction it had come from and began to walk that way, not sure why he was so calm. Then again, he could almost tell that this was a dream. Why fear a dream?

As he moved through the halls, the warm wind came again, brief as before but slightly warmer. He walked a bit faster, a smile starting to etch onto his face. It felt so nice and warm, that wind.

He began to jog down the hallways, each blast of wind getting warmer and warmer until it was actually hot. His smile faded as he turned a corner, and saw a flickering light up ahead. The heat was starting to get annoying and uncomfortable. But he couldn't stop running towards it. It was like his legs were being controlled.

His eyes grew wide as the end of the hallway came into view. The room ahead was filled with raging fire that licked up the walls, boiled the water and seemed to swallow everything around it. In the centre of the room, a large flaming shape was swirling, almost like a flaming flower in the middle of the room. Naruto slowed to a stop as he reached the entrance, staring at the swirling flames in awe. The pattern looked familiar. He was sure he'd seen it somewhere before.

Suddenly, the swirl exploded, flames shooting every direction as something erupted from the centre of it. Naruto yelled out, trying to run back but a wall of fire appeared behind him, blocking his way. He turned wide, terrified eyes to the emerging creature of flames, and his heart seemed to burst out of his chest and run away screaming as a pair of fiery red eyes turned to him.

A flaming jaw opened up, showing rows of pearly white fangs glistening in the light. A roar, sounding similar to the roar of a wild fire mixed with that of an animal sounded in the room, and Naruto could only gape in horror at the flaming beast before him. Suddenly, it lunged directly at him, flames shooting out and moving to curl around him.

He screamed.

With a jolt he woke up, taking a deep gasp of air as if he'd been suffocating for years. His eyes clenched shut and his back arched, a pained cry escaping him as his stomach began to burn, the skin around his abdomen feeling as if it were on fire. He thrashed onto his side, the sheets tangling around him while he began to sweat until he was on his stomach, knees drawing up as he clawed at the headboard, gasping as the pain grew worse.

One hand scrabbled down to his stomach, and he tore at the shirt, ripping it up and looking down with pained breaths. His eyes blurred with tears that leaked from his eyes but even through them he could make out the strange black marking that was burning around his skin, circling his naval. He gasped again as it burned harshly and it felt like someone had punched him in the gut. He grunted, falling until his face was buried harshly into the pillow. He let out a scream that was almost completely silenced by the material before him as the pain grew to a new level before suddenly...

It was gone.

He lay there panting and shivering and oh so confused. Slowly, he turned around until he lay on his back, slightly propped up against the headboard. Gingerly, he pulled his shirt up and glanced down at his stomach. Faintly, he could make out the lines of the marking which formed a strange spiral around his navel. Cautiously, he reached down to run a finger over it, and gasped when the skin welted and the colour turned dark and vivid. As soon as he pulled his finger away, the skin smoothed over again and the marking faded until it was near invisible.

Shuddering in panic, he stumbled up and to his doorway, his face pale. Sticking his head out the door, he noticed it was quite dark. How long had he been asleep? It hadn't felt that long!

He made his way through the darkened halls, eyes wide and darting side to side like a frightened animal. Finally he reached Jiraiya's study and gave a hard knock to the wood.

"Come in!" was the gruff answer and it took him several tries to get a grip on the door handle. It rattled harshly in his shaking hands, and he cursed to himself as he finally got the door to click open.

Jiraiya looked up from his laptop and his face turned grave the moment he saw Naruto. It was obvious something was very wrong with the blond. He was shaking like a leaf, his skin pale and his movements were jittery as he ran a hand over his stomach, and even his red eyes were-

"Oh God!" Jiraiya shot up, his own eyes widening when Naruto's eyes faded back to blue. A frightened, lost and very confused blue, but blue nonetheless. Had he been imagining...?

"D-Dad, something's w-wrong!" Naruto stammered, still shaking. Jiraiya moved forwards and Naruto lifted his shirt. "Look!" he said, running a finger over the invisible marking and watching as it appeared again. Jiraiya gasped, his eyes bugging and he took a step back, bumping into his desk.

"That..." Jiraiya started, running a hand through his hair frantically. He'd seen that mark before, back when he was much younger. He'd seen it on the stomach of a dead woman, whose arms had been curled around a screaming, golden haired infant.

"Dad what is going on? What is this thing?" Naruto yelled, voice cracking in his panic. It was all too much for him. First the rollercoaster incident, then Kao, then Sasuke's secrets and weird, unclear confession, and now horrible nightmares and this strange marking? He couldn't deal with this! He couldn't understand it, or stop it...He couldn't do anything!

"W-What's happening t-to m-me!.?" He sobbed, falling to his knees. Everything was bearing down on him, he felt so heavy and weighted with all of it. He was confused and in the dark about it all, and the horrible feeling of helplessness was eating him alive.

Jiraiya was by his side in an instant, wrapping his large arms around Naruto's smaller frame and trying his best to offer comfort to the panicking boy. He didn't know what was happening either. His knowledge was so limited to what he'd seen with his eyes and mere rumours. He had no facts, he had no solid story...he had nothing of use.

"I don't know kid...I don't know..." he murmured, his heart wrenching painfully when Naruto gave another sob and pressed his face into Jiraiya's chest, his shaking hands clutching his shirt like a lifeline.

Naruto gritted his teeth harshly, burying himself as far as he could into Jiraiya's embrace. He wanted to melt away from the world and all the scary and confusing things going on around him. He just wanted some peace. He wanted...he wanted...

'Sasuke...'

Sasuke groaned, his eyes cracking open. Sweat was lining his brow, dripping down the side of his face as he breathing came out in shallow pants. A cloth, once damp with water was now warm and damp with sweat. His cheeks were flushed red and his eyes remained blurred and barely focused.

After the Sealing Ritual, he'd gotten a high fever and was confined to bed in order to sweat it out. Itachi was sitting in a chair next to him, snoring softly. Sasuke shivered, feeling cold despite the warm blankets tucked around him and the fact he was sweating. He cleared his throat, but ended up coughing terribly. Itachi jerked awake at the noise and leant over Sasuke's bed immediately, coal black eyes burning in concern.

"Sasuke, how are you feeling?" he asked softly, and almost smiled at the look Sasuke sent him. It was so obviously stating 'How the fuck do you think I'm feeling, you retard?'

"Right, right...you look like shit too, if that's any consolation," Itachi chuckled, and Sasuke closed his eyes in exasperation.

Silence descended on the brothers as Itachi sat back, gently wiping away the sweat on Sasuke's face and neck while the younger let his body relax. Every now and then, a small cough would slip from Sasuke's lips, and Itachi would gently rub at his chest every time it happened, somehow helping to ease the itch.

Sasuke was about to fall asleep again when the door opened abruptly. Sakura walked in, her face tight with worry as her eyes scanned the room. When they landed on the two brothers, the worry lines increased.

"Itachi-san...Do you know where Hidan-san is?" she asked, biting her lip nervously. She hadn't expected them to be here. She thought that Sasuke would be recovering from his sudden fever at home. The other members of the crew didn't know why Sasuke had gotten so sick after the night at the carnival. They all had their own rumours and theories about what had happened at the carnival, but no one knew exactly what was going on between the Uchihas and the others involved in the incident.

But Sakura was smarter than most, and had connected a few pieces. She knew that one of the red headed twins had been hurt, and she also had a strong hunch that Sasuke played a role in it somehow. She also knew this fever wasn't natural...Sasuke had gone through something that caused it, but she wasn't sure what. Of course Kakashi and Itachi knew, along with most of the older members of the crew. But she couldn't pin point exactly what was happening.

However, currently she had something else to worry about.

Itachi shook his head. "No, I believe he's resting somewhere. He may be at home, or in the rest room. Why?" A dark eyebrow arched when Sakura wrung her hands.

The pink haired girl fidgeted, her eyes darting to Sasuke and back. She wasn't sure if she should tell him...But it did involve him, sort of.

"Well..." she started, but bit her tongue. Even though Sasuke was kind of involved, she had been asked not to tell anyone but Hidan. She still couldn't get the voice that asked for her help out of her head.

'Why did I have to be the one to answer the damn phone!' she thought in agitation. Sighing, she shook her head and started to leave.

"It's nothing to worry about, Itachi-san. Thank you. I hope Sasuke-kun feels better soon," she said and left before they could question.

Itachi stared at the door in confusion for a moment before glancing at Sasuke. The look in his brother's eyes said all he needed, and with a short dab at Sasuke's forehead with the newly wet cloth, he stood up.

"I'll go see what's up, and report back to you. Get some rest," he instructed. Sasuke nodded sleepily, his eyes already drooping.

Itachi walked out of the room after giving a last glance, and soon he caught sight of Sakura jogging down the hallway. Quietly, he followed her until she reached the rest area in the headquarters apartment, and gently knocked on the door. As luck would have it, Hidan opened the door, looking as grumpy as always.

"Huh? Sakura? What is it?" Hidan groaned, his face still pale from the strain of the Sealing Ritual.

Itachi pressed himself against the wall, listening intently.

Sakura fidgeted slightly, before sighing. "Hidan-san, I have to ask you about...ancient seals. Specifically ones that appear in the form of tattoos and that appear on touch and vanish automatically."

Itachi blinked, his ears perking up. Why on Earth would Sakura, of all people, be asking something like that? The girl surely wasn't taking an interest in the business of sealing spirits. And there was no way she could know about Sasuke's seal. After all the effects she just described were nothing like Sasuke's seal at all. So what as Sakura doing?

Hidan looked down at the girl, his face tense. "Why do you want to know about that? That's seriously ancient shit. Like, Mayan and Aztec time kind of ancient shit. What's with the sudden interest?" he asked slowly.

Sakura gulped, her eyes shining with both curiosity and hesitance.

'Why am I even doing this in the first place? Why the hell did he trust me with this?...Agh, why the hell am I keeping his trust?' she thought again, growling to herself before heaving a sigh.

"It's...It's for Naruto-kun. He called, asking about it. He asked me to keep it between me, him and you, since you're the one who knows about all the seals and such," Sakura mumbled.

Itachi strained to hear it, but once he did he wished he had blocked his ears. It felt as if someone had stolen the bottom of his stomach, leaving everything to fall down an endless metaphorical pit.

"Oh God..." he breathed, pressing his palms to his eyes. "What are the odds?" Another press, and Itachi grit his teeth. "Fuck you, Murphy!" he spat into his palms.

Sakura blinked, looking down the hall. She could've sworn she heard someone say something, but there was no one there. Before she could think more on it, Hidan gently grabbed her shoulder and tugged her inside.

"Come in. This is going to take a lot of explaining...fuck, and I was having such a nice dream too."

Itachi had gone back to Sasuke's room the moment Sakura had entered Hidan's quarters. He didn't want to hear what the conversation was about, he could already make his own connections, guesses and various other links.

He'd always felt there was something about Naruto that was different...something that was unusual. Sure, the boy had massive amounts of spiritual energy, but so did Kisame, Kakashi and even Jiraiya. It wasn't uncommon for some people to have more than others, it all depended on that single person's capability to hold certain amounts. Normal people could accumulate massive amounts in without even realizing it. Construction workers, athletes...they all used spiritual energy, and trained their bodies in ways that allowed them to hold more than others, even if they didn't realize it. Naruto did seem like the active type, so for him to have such a high amount hadn't set off any warning bells in Itachi's mind.

But now he was taking a whole different look on things. Sitting in his chair, he placed a hand over his mouth, his eyes partly narrowed in thought.

If his hunches about Uzumaki Naruto were true, then this entire sealing ordeal with Sasuke had just become ten times more complicated. Itachi knew that Orochimaru's spirit wasn't going to lay down forever. If anything, the fact that they sealed him twice would only encourage the damn ghost to work harder to escape and take full possession of Sasuke's body. And if Naruto did indeed have something sealed inside him...

The incident at the carnival was suddenly making sense to Itachi. Sasuke had told him about what he apparently saw. A snake, a great white snake.

That had been Orochimaru's spiritual energy taking a physical form. And then it had vanished?

'If Naruto does have something sealed within him, which I hope to God he doesn't, then whatever it is, it's something that opposes Orochimaru. That can either be good or bad...because it seems to react to Sasuke's seal. If Sasuke were to lose control and become fully possessed...whatever is in Naruto would do the same, and the two spirits would clash...' Itachi's eyes slid closed as he recalled something Kakashi had once told him about opposing spirits clashing while possessing human forms.

'-Two take form, non-living into life, meet; oppose, and ending in a bloody sky. Neither soul lives, neither soul dies. All that's left is empty eyes. Form becomes soul, and soul becomes sky...Dipped in blood, the red moon cries.'

The door opening snapped Itachi out of his musings, and slowly he looked up to see Kakashi.

"We have a visitor, and potential client. Itachi, you need to come chat too, " Kakashi said sternly. Itachi sighed, nodding and rubbing his temples. He decided not to inform Kakashi of anything until he knew for sure that he was right. For everyone's sake, it would be better that way.

When he entered the living room, he saw a petite girl sitting on the couch, her fingers clutching her bag tightly as she waited. Orange hair fell around her face, and nervously she swept it behind her ears.

"Hello again! Sorry for the sudden leave, but I had to fetch my co-leader. This is Uchiha Itachi, he's pleased to meet you, don't worry his bite will only last for a week unless he's in a bad mood!" Kakashi introduced cheerfully.

The girl shivered slightly, looking unsure but she gave a small giggle nonetheless. Once everyone was seated, Kakashi sighed happily and leant forwards.

"Now then, Miss..."

"Emi. Tora Emi," the girl said timidly. "I'm a student at Hikaru High School."

"Ah, a student, my personal favourite!" Kakashi smiled. "Now then, what can we do for you, Tora-san?"

Emi's knuckled whitened as she clutched the bag in her lap. "My...My friends are missing," she whispered, her eyes gaining a faraway look in them.

Kakashi blinked, sharing a look with Itachi.

"Tora-san, that sounds like something the police should be informed about," Itachi started, but the girl shook her head.

"They won't believe me! I've tried! I risked getting us all into trouble and told the cops, but they just wouldn't listen to me!" she cried, looking up. Tears were pooling in the corners of her eyes as she stared at the two men. "And whatever took them wasn't...It wasn't human! It wasn't natural! I don't...I don't even know if they're still..." Emi's lips trembled and she buried her face in her hands, sobbing. "Please! I don't know what else to do! The police won't believe me, my parents won't believe me, and their parents won't even believe me! I'm all alone and I can't help them!"

Kakashi quickly moved over to the girl, gently rubbing her upper back in an effort to soothe her.

"Alright, alright...first tell us why you think we can help? Where and when did your friends go missing? What makes you think it was a spirit or related to paranormal things?"

Emi looked up, tear tracks glistening on her cheeks.

"There was a rumour going around school! The boys were saying that there were a bunch of mutant monsters in the old sewer system near our school. They were all daring each other to go, but none of them were brave enough. My friends, Nao and Satoko thought it would be funny to go and explore the sewer to prove the rumour false and rub it in the boys' faces that a couple of girls could do what they couldn't! I didn't want to do it, but they wouldn't listen to me! We went over to the school two nights ago, and they both went down while I kept a lookout. But then all of a sudden, I heard Satoko start to scream, and when I called for them, they didn't answer. But I swear...I swear that soon after I stopped calling, I heard something roar. It sounded like some kind of animal, but...it sounded human at the same time! I'd never heard anything like it!" The fear colouring both Emi's face and her voice was undeniable.

Kakashi looked over at the oldest Uchiha, and they both nodded. This case seemed worth at least checking out.

"Alright, we'll search for your friends. If they've been gone for two days already, we need to hurry. I'm going to call in all our available crew and we'll start searching tonight. Don't worry, Tora-san, if this is supernatural, we'll take care of it. And if it's not, we'll still find your friends," Kakashi promised.

Emi turned to look at him, her eyes glistening. "R-really?"

"I promise."

The girl began to sob, enveloping Kakashi in a sudden hug. "T-Thank you! Thank you so much! I d-didn't know what I'd d-do if you c-couldn't help me!" she wailed.

Itachi would've smirked at the awkward look on Kakashi's face as he petted the girl's head, but his mind was too filled with thoughts to tease the man.

'The snake-bastard spirit, the seal, Naruto...and now a new job. Fuck it, I need a drink.'

I hope it was worth the wait... :'(

Kao: I hope so too, I got frikken BLUDGEONED in the last chapter... B[ You better give me an awesome recovery at least...

Me: I shall do whatever I wish, you fool! Now shut your face, get on your knees and give me a bloody foot massage, because my feet hurt!

Kao: Why the hell do your feet hurt?

Me: They hurt from all the times I've had to kick your ass over the past couple of days!

Kao: Oh yeah right you damn-

*Technical Difficulties*

Reviews please~ *heart*