A/N: Okay, so I've made some relatively major changes to the course of this story. As a result of these changes, I've also made some edits. I'm going to be RE-POSTING chapters 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 19, and 20. Be on the lookout for those updates. I'll put a note at the top of the chapters to let you know when they've been re-posted. They should all be done within an hour or two.

21.

Sasuke's hand dropped to his side as he watched Itachi walk into the huge, looming building that was ANBU's station. He felt sick.

The younger Uchiha stared at the building for a long, silent moment, his heart sinking. He didn't know how long he was going to have to wait for Itachi. He wasn't allowed to wait in the building. He wasn't even allowed in the building. ANBU's station was off-limits to non-members and no one was allowed inside unless they were called there for something.

Sasuke turned away from the gray building and started walking in the direction of his and Itachi's apartment. He didn't know what to think. He'd tried to get Itachi to explain to him in better detail what was going on, but Itachi was caught somewhere between hysteria and complete catatonia. He'd struggled for hours trying to get Itachi to talk to him but it seemed like every time his brother recalled the events that had transpired since yesterday morning, he had a breakdown. He would either seemingly vacate his body or have an full-blown panic attack.

They hadn't gotten much sleep. Itachi hadn't bothered trying and Sasuke had been roused by a night terror around four in the morning, after going to bed in the vicinity of one-thirty. His older brother had spent the entire morning apologizing for not hearing him in time to wake him from his dreams before they reached crisis.

Sasuke gingerly ran his fingers over the arm warmers he was wearing, feeling the stiffness of the gauze beneath. He'd scratched up his wrist pretty bad. He hadn't done that since Itachi had gotten out of prison, save for exactly one occasion, and Itachi had woken him before it got out of hand. The nightmare he'd woken from just a few hours ago had turned into one of the most awful he'd had in years.

He sighed heavily. It seemed like, every time he turned around, something worse was happening.

The sky was looking like it wanted to rain and there was an unmistakable feeling of loss and loneliness already sinking in. His anxiety was making his stomach do all kinds of acrobatics. He knew he wasn't going to be able to sleep until Itachi got home but he wanted to go home and nap.

He had no idea when Itachi was going to be back.

Wolf was as volatile as he was vindictive and bitter. Itachi had already explained that he was reasonably certain that Wolf was the same Wolf that Itachi had known when he'd been enlisted in ANBU's Black Ops almost ten years ago. The man would keep Sasuke's older brother for as long as he could get away with because he hated Itachi and the younger brother didn't know how many hours or days that was. He didn't know who he could ask, either. He didn't think there was anyone he could ask.

No one who would give him a straight (or even truthful) answer, anyway.

The only person he could think of who might was Kakashi, and Sasuke hadn't spoken to him since he'd quit the team. He hadn't spoken to or seen any of them. He'd been pointedly avoiding Naruto at any and all costs and Sakura and he just didn't ever cross paths for some reason, despite the fact that she was supposed to be treating Itachi's bad arm. She hadn't been over in a couple of months and apparently Itachi wasn't interested in following up.

None of them had tried to seek out Sasuke directly since he'd quit the team. He was torn between relieved that their resentment was finally out of sight and mostly out of mind but, at the same time, it stung to think that both Kaisuki and he were so easy to cast away. They'd had a weird kind of cohesion amongst the members of their team at one point, even with all the drama and dysfunction. They had all been friends.

"You ruined a lot while you were there and even more when you left. What makes you think they want you to come back and ruin what they've repaired in your absence?"

Sasuke pulled his key out of his pocket as he was walking up to his front door and jammed it into the lock, turning it and opening the door. He flicked the lights on as the door swung shut behind him and swallowed. He was going to be in his apartment, alone, for the first time since the last time Itachi had been arrested. He didn't know how long that was going to be. He didn't have anywhere else he could go to stay the night or anyone he could invite over on such short notice. He highly doubted that Kaisuki was going to conveniently show up right when he needed her and even Kuroi would take a couple of days to find her.

"Itachi, you're... you're all I have left."

He fell heavily onto the couch in the living room, leaning over and laying down on his side. Itachi had spoken about Madara sparingly since the previous afternoon, but everything he had said had made it sound like his older brother couldn't live without Madara. Sasuke hadn't even realized that such a person had existed in Itachi's life. They'd been living with a third, albeit dead person whom Itachi was hopelessly attached to the whole time? Why had Itachi refused to tell him? He'd said that Madara could touch him - break his fingers if he wanted to, in fact - so it wasn't like there would've been no way to prove that Madara did exist.

So why hadn't he said anything? The whole time, Sasuke had been wondering who the mystery target was, why and how Itachi was tied to them, why they were so important, and why Sasuke had to be dragged into it. He finally understood at that point. He didn't know what Madara's purpose was, but he had to be the person Teara had been talking about using Itachi to bait.

If Madara was half as needy for Itachi as Itachi was for Madara, it would be easy to get Madara to do whatever they wanted. Itachi's right arm had been trashed and it had been proving to be a significantly more major handicap than his older brother had at first expected and realized. Teara could easily take him out.

So why do you need me?

His eyes were burning. He knew why. If Teara had Sasuke, he had Itachi, and if he had Itachi, he had Madara. It was a simple equation made up of codependency and somewhat unhealthy relationships.

It hadn't escaped Sasuke's notice for an instant that Itachi had become a complete pushover at some point. His older brother used to be extremely strict about their mom's rules and their father's expectations. He'd made a perfect babysitter when he was home because he didn't let Sasuke get away with anything and he never caved in. Sasuke used to complain that Itachi was stricter than their actual parents, which his brother had firmly disagreed with even though it was true whether he wanted it to be or not.

Since his brother had gotten out of prison, he'd become the biggest pushover. The Itachi he'd remembered from his childhood would never give in to anything Sasuke wanted, no matter how much he nagged or how loud of a tantrum he threw or how violent he became. Itachi had always been an unwavering, unmoving object. Even when he'd been in prison, he'd been just as stubborn.

Sasuke curled into himself tightly, his sour stomach worsening. He didn't know what was going on with Itachi. He supposed it was possible that the depression he'd been suffering through had made him so apathetic that he just didn't care enough to be his usual strict and stubborn self, but...

He'd never seen his brother so openly miserable in his life. Itachi had basically started having mood swings. He seemed so unstable. Was it really just because of Madara's absence? Khrai had, at one point, explained to Sasuke that the start of his emotional instability - including the violent outbursts, the lacking self-control, and the bloodlust - had been when he was possessed.

"The presence of a demon trashes the natural internal equilibrium that we all have with ourselves. That equilibrium is from the harmony of our energy, our physical and spiritual bodies, and our minds."

Sasuke frowned. He doubted that Itachi was possessed. Aside from being a hysterical, miserable mess, his brother hadn't been exhibiting any symptoms of possession. He'd just been depressed and then anxious nearly out of his mind because of the situation with Madara. Clearly something was going on there that Sasuke, obviously, didn't know about. He'd never known Itachi to be that emotionally dependent on anyone. Itachi was better known for completing missions alone, training alone, taking long walks alone, being alone.

Although, apparently he hadn't actually been alone that whole time.

"I haven't been alone since I was four."

At that point, Sasuke realized that he completely understood what was going on.

...

Needless to say, Kaisuki was surprised when the door to Sasuke and Itachi's apartment opened to reveal the younger brother, who's face was whiter than a sheet of paper.

"Holy shit," Kaisuki greeted him in dismay. Not only was Sasuke's face ashen, his dark shadows were like bruises and he'd clearly been crying very recently. There was a notable tremor in his shoulders and his misery was clear in his eyes.

"Are you okay? What happened?" She asked as Sasuke lead her into the living room. She sat down as he was walking around shutting blinds (it looked like he'd already been in the process of doing so), sniffling the whole time. While he was blocking off the last window, she reached behind her and turned on a lamp that had been sitting on the end table beside the edge of the couch.

Sasuke sat down in front of her and was silent for a moment before his lower lip trembled and a fresh onslaught of tears filled his eyes. "Itachi... Itachi's at the station," he choked out with a shuddering breath. Kaisuki felt her stomach drop immediately. "He's been there for two days now and I don't know when he's gonna be back."

"Was he arrested?" She asked, her heart in her throat. Khrai and Izumi and Saeka were in the back of her head, not paying any attention to what was going on in the present. They'd been gone for some hours, likely resting. The four of them had been busy the past several days and the three spirits had been especially worn out.

Sasuke shook his head in response to her question, swallowing hard. "No," he replied despairingly. "I guess Wolf told him to be there at noon the day... Madara was arrested, before you and I got there."

Kaisuki clenched her jaw, already furious. "He's been gone for two full days?" She asked.

Sasuke nodded solemnly. "You can't go in there, Kaisuki," he mumbled, seemingly reading her mind. "No one's allowed in there unless they get called in. I know you know that."

"Then how long can they legally keep him?" She demanded to know. "I know there's a limit to how long you can detain a civilian."

There was a pause. Sasuke's gaze was fixed on the couch between them, his eyes leaking tears even though he was obviously too tired to actually sob. "No one... thinks of him as a civilian," he softly replied. "He's just a murderer and a criminal to them. They can probably keep him as long as they want."

Her chest was in a vice grip. Was there really nothing they could do? No one they could talk to? Nowhere they could go for answers? She didn't even know what to say to the younger brother to make him feel better. There probably wasn't anything she could say to make him feel better. At that point, it seemed like Wolf was literally just looking for any and every excuse to have Itachi kept in his interrogation chambers.

She didn't know what she ought to do. Breaking him out was a terrible idea. Tsunade wouldn't listen to her. She was only barely on speaking terms with Kakashi, and she was most definitely not on speaking terms with Sakura and Naruto. Kisame couldn't really do anything from where he was and she didn't have any other friends she could rely on in a situation like the one she found herself in.

She glanced towards the windows. It was getting late, too. Even if there had been anyone willing and able to help, most wouldn't be awake and the others probably wouldn't want to deal with it so late in the day. The only thing they could do was sit around and twiddle their thumbs until Itachi came home, and there was no possible way to know when that would be.

"If you want," Kaisuki spoke softly, crestfallen, "I can stay here until he's home and keep you company."

When she looked back up at Sasuke to gauge his reaction and saw that his eyes widened and welled with tears, she immediately knew that he must have had some gnarly nightmares in his brother's absence.

"Would... you?" He mumbled hopefully. She smiled and nodded at him, and he let out an audible sigh of relief. "Th-... thanks, Kaisuki."

The Yurei felt her smile waver a little, "Of course, Sasuke."

"Kaisuki?" She heard Izumi's voice float up and glanced back to see the irou-nin walking towards her. "Is everything alright?"

She frowned and shook her head internally at the spirit. "Itachi's... Wolf's got Itachi again." She replied, watching Izumi's green eyes immediately fill with worry. "I guess he told Itachi to go down to the station before Sasuke and I got there. He's been gone for two days."

"Are we waiting for him to come back?" Izumi immediately wanted to know. Kaisuki nodded and Izumi directed her gaze towards the real world for a second. "Then, may I make Sasuke something to get him to sleep tonight? He looks terrible."

She nodded, turning back to the reigns. "Sasuke," she said, attracting his attention. He had been staring at the couch, his expression so tired that she wanted nothing more than to hold him and rock him to sleep. "Izumi's going to make you something so you'll sleep tonight, okay? I'm gonna go take a nap, I'm exhausted."

Sasuke gave her an unreadable look and she smiled warmly at him in reply. After a moment, the Uchiha slowly nodded. Immediately, Kaisuki let go of her reigns and turned back to Izumi. "You should take the opportunity to-..." She began, but the irou-nin cut her off.

"Talk to him? Of course, Kaisuki," Izumi agreed with a smile. "Go take your nap. He'll be in bed by the time you come back."

Kaisuki nodded and walked past her, stepping into complete darkness for a moment before she appeared on the path she had grown to know so well. She had no idea where Saeka and Khrai were, but she figured she'd just go to the back rooms and actually take a nap. They'd probably go find her when they woke up, if Izumi wasn't letting them see what was going on in reality yet.

She could faintly hear Sasuke and Izumi talking but she blocked out the sound of their voices. Soon enough, she wouldn't be able to hear them but, in the meantime, she didn't want to be eavesdropping on their conversation.

...

The following morning, Sasuke had been struck by a sudden, aggressive fever. By the time afternoon rolled around it was over a hundred and three, and so he'd been laid up on the couch literally all day. Kaisuki had been tending to him with Izumi's help. So far he hadn't died yet but he was still quite sick, according to the resident dead irou-nin.

It was after eleven in the evening at that point, and Sasuke's fever still persisted. He'd been resting all day and hadn't shown any signs of feeling any better whatsoever. Kaisuki wouldn't deny that she was somewhat worried, even though he'd told her that it wasn't the first time he'd spiked a high fever like the one he currently had.

"It happened a lot while I was in Otogakure, because I... I didn't... sleep much."

Between nightmares and, well, Teara, her brother had basically missed out on three years' worth of sleep. His body could go and go and go when he was possessed and Teara knew it, so he hadn't given Sasuke a whole lot of breaks. The only time her brother had slept had been when he passed out from pain or exhaustion and even that hadn't happened often.

Kaisuki was realizing more and more just how much she hated Teara, and she knew that Khrai and Saeka and even Izumi felt much the same.

She walked out of the kitchen with a cup of tea and crossed the hallway into the dimly lit living room, where Sasuke was curled up on the couch. It looked like he may have fallen asleep again. His fever had gone up a few degrees when she'd checked it earlier, but it remained mostly stable under a hundred and four. That was low enough that neither she nor Izumi felt the need to sound the alarms yet, so Kaisuki had simply been tending to his symptoms.

"Sasuke? Are you awake?" She called as she sat on the edge of the coffee table by his head. "Hey, don't be dying on me, you diseased child."

Sasuke coughed but she recognized the sound of his laughter. He slowly rolled onto his back so he could see her, draping an arm over his eyes and peeking out from the shadow cast beneath his sleeve. "I'm older than you."

Kaisuki snorted. "Age is only a number."

Her brother chuckled. He looked terrible. "You're a turd," he teased tiredly.

"Shut up and drink your tea, butt-head." Kaisuki smiled when her quip managed to elicit a genuine laugh from Sasuke. She hadn't heard him laugh in years. Or at least, she hadn't heard him laugh as hard as he did.

You're miserable, aren't you?

She pushed the thought down before she started to dwell on it and held out the tea for him to take. Sasuke took a moment to adjust himself - so that he was sitting upright and could actually drink his tea without spilling it all over himself - before he took the cup from her.

"Hey, what's good?" Khrai greeted as she walked up behind Izumi and Kaisuki from the darkness behind them. "Anything interesting happening?"

"Not at the moment," Izumi replied before Kaisuki's could. "How is Saeka?"

"She'll be fine," Khrai replied, looking at Sasuke over their shoulders. "He looks terrible."

Kaisuki snorted. "He's probably not feeling great, either."

The three of them watched as Sasuke sipped at the warm beverage, staring down at the cup with an unreadable look on his face. She didn't know what to make of it. All she could really say was that he looked vaguely unhappy all of a sudden. Could he not simply feel good for more than an instant?

I'll kill you, Teara.

"What's up?" Kaisuki asked. Sasuke's face fell.

"I feel like..." he started and then stopped. She could see him changing his mind about what he was saying. "Like Itachi should be home by now."

"He's become a terrible liar," Khrai commented offhandedly. Izumi hummed in acknowledgment but didn't say anything.

The Yurei frowned slightly, glancing at the clock. It was quarter to midnight, which meant that Itachi had been gone for three and a half days. According to Sasuke, the first and last time Wolf had arrested Itachi, he'd been gone for a little over twenty-four hours. The jump from one day to almost four days was concerning. Had they killed him? Had he made a run for it with Madara? What could possibly excuse Wolf keeping him for so long?

She opened her mouth to call Sasuke out on his lie but was interrupted by the startlingly loud sound of the door opening. She looked over her shoulder towards the entrance to the apartment but she couldn't see through the shadows well enough to see who it was. Saeka was still absent and had been since Sasuke and Kaisuki's conversation about Teara starving him for sleep, so she couldn't ask the youngest spirit for her assistance.

"That's probably Itachi," Khrai stated bluntly. Kaisuki knew she was right, but she felt anxious anyway for an unknown reason. Probably because she was tending to a sick person.

There was a rather resounding silence after the door was heard closing, and Kaisuki looked over at Sasuke momentarily before she stood up and headed out to the entryway. She ghosted her fingers over the bookcase on her right until she found the main light switch for the living room. The room behind her brightened up immediately and instantly she could see who had decided to grace them with his presence.

"Oh, oh sweetheart," Izumi breathed, her voice raw.

Itachi was leaned up against the door, cradling his right arm. His eyes were squeezed shut but seconds after the lights were turned on, he opened them and looked towards Kaisuki. His expression was haunted and exhausted and his face paler than she'd ever seen it.

Kaisuki walked over to him quickly, "Gods," she managed to say before she figured out something more productive to start with. "Can you walk from here to the couch or should I get Khrai to carry you?"

"I am more than willing," Khrai stated, her voice tense. Kaisuki could feel the elf's anger seeping forward, could feel the static-like sensation of that corrosive chakra under her skin.

Itachi shook his head and she wasn't entirely sure which half of her sentence he was replying to until he straightened up off the door and started limping towards the couch. The way he was moving, one would almost think his assigned irou-nin (whoever they were) hadn't healed him at all. Kaisuki followed him to the couch and he fell into the seat near Sasuke's feet. He sank into the cushions, his face screwed up in pain again.

"Kaisuki," Izumi's voice snapped her out of a reverie of staring at Itachi in dismay and she swallowed hard and immediately pulled back on her reigns. Izumi hastily took over and Kaisuki remained directly beside her so she could observe the irou-nin's actions and the scene itself more closely.

"Itachi-kun," Izumi spoke softly, "can you tell me what hurts the most?"

Itachi swallowed hard, cracking open his eyes. "My shoulder," he croaked.

Izumi nodded. "Your right shoulder, correct?"

The Uchiha nodded silently, closing his eyes again and drawing his eyebrows together. He looked like he was in agony. Izumi leaned over him, reaching out and holding her hand over his bruised and swollen shoulder. The inflammation felt hot and angry against Izumi's chakra and she could feel that energy as though it were part of her hand.

Kaisuki glanced back at Khrai, who was staring at Itachi. Her jaw was tight and her eyes were reflecting nothing but rage. She looked to be on the cusp of a rampage.

"You okay?" Kaisuki asked quietly, not wanting to distract Izumi. The elf shook her head, taking a step back. Her whole body was shaking at that point, from head to toe.

"No," she replied stiffly. "I'm not. I'll be back later." She managed to say before she turned and stalked out of sight, disappearing into the darkness. They were down two at that point. Hopefully Izumi wouldn't get upset to the point that she had to leave as well. Kaisuki wasn't usually able to deal with crises if she didn't have someone to help her think.

Izumi pulled back on her chakra somewhat after she'd finished assessing the damage and Kaisuki felt her energy take on a cooler, more nurturing tone as she started healing the damage being caused by the swelling itself.

"Sasuke," she turned towards Itachi's little brother. "Could I persuade you to get me one of those pots of dirt?"

Sasuke had been mutely staring at Itachi with a distraught look on his face, but he nodded nonetheless and picked himself up off the couch. Kaisuki could hear his footsteps trailing away for a moment before they returned and a pot of dirt was held out in Izumi's peripheral vision.

The irou-nin indicated the couch beside Itachi, "can you hold my dirt upright there?"

Sasuke hummed in acknowledgment and placed the pot where he'd been directed to, cupping the sides with his hands to hold it steady and then sitting down on the coffee table. Izumi reached over and dipped her fingers into the dirt, sprouting a couple of whiteheart flowers and some mint from nothing.

"One more thing, Sasuke," she requested sheepishly. "Can you make me a salve? Just add a little water and grind up the leaves from the mint and the petals from the flowers. There's a mortar and pestle in Kaisuki's bag."

"Yea, no problem," Sasuke sounded distracted but he got up and went about preforming his task without question.

The sound of Sasuke tinkering around the apartment and coughing occasionally faded into the background. "He looks like he's in agony," Kaisuki mumbled, her heart aching. She hated seeing her brothers in such a state.

"Itachi-kun, are you okay?" Izumi called gently. Her chakra was still doing battle with the swelling and it looked like it was causing Itachi a great deal of pain.

"Yes," the Uchiha hoarsely replied in a wavering voice. "I'm... I'm f-fine."

"You're doing great, sweetie," Izumi crooned. "Is there anything else that hurts right now?"

Itachi shook his head. "No," he breathed. "Just... my shoulder."

"Alright," came the gentle reply. Kaisuki suddenly felt that it sounded strange when her voice was used to call Itachi 'sweetie'. "I'm going to give you a very intense whiteheart therapy session for your shoulder, alright? I'm going to try and take out as much of that scar tissue as I can, before it gets any worse."

Itachi cracked an eye open. "Is it... bad?"

Kaisuki felt her lips purse on her corporeal body and glanced over at Izumi from within, but irou-nin wasn't looking at her at all. "It is," Izumi answered stiffly. She sounded extremely unhappy. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say your irou-nin doesn't like you. They haven't been fully repairing your shoulder, I gather, so it hasn't been healing right any of the thousands of times Wolf's done something or another to it."

Kaisuki's stomach dropped. The woman's expression was calm and collected but the Yurei could see a burning rage reflected in her green eyes. "I've never seen such inadequacy before," she hotly stated.

Itachi closed his eye again and coughed weakly. "It's fine," he muttered softly. "It doesn't matter."

"For fuck's sake, you two," Kaisuki muttered to herself.

There was a brief pause before Izumi responded in a frosty voice, "It matters to me, Uchiha Itachi, and I should think you would know that without me having to say it."

Kaisuki watched Itachi's face relax and the corner of his lips twitch towards a bitter smile. She knew Izumi did as well because the irou-nin focused her hostess' eyes on it. Izumi huffed irritably and Itachi's minuscule smile broadened just slightly.

"I'm sorry, Izumi," he quietly apologized, his eyebrows knitting together again. He looked like he was about to cry.

The sound of footsteps approaching alerted them to the fact that Sasuke was returning. Kaisuki felt her lips turn up into a gentle smile, even though she could see nothing but sadness in Izumi's eyes when she looked over at the woman.

"You don't have to apologize," Izumi whispered to him, quietly enough that Sasuke wouldn't hear her. "You and Sasuke don't seem to know any better."

That time, Itachi opened both his eyes and looked at Izumi with an unreadable glint reflected in his gaze.

Sasuke appeared beside Izumi and wordlessly handed her the stone bowl, full of expertly ground petals and leaves. The irou-nin received it with a quiet word of thanks, pulling her other, glowing hand away from Itachi's shoulder and dipping her fingers into the bowl. She scooped up a healthy amount of the salve and, as carefully as she possibly could, spread it over Itachi's shoulder.

Her hand began to glow a deep, rich green and Kaisuki watched the whiteheart elements in the salve slowly start to sink into Itachi's skin, leaving the mint behind. Izumi then handed the bowl back to Sasuke, who had sat down to Itachi's right, and used her newly freed hand to push more chakra into Itachi's shoulder, forcing the whiteheart to sink in with it.

The older Uchiha hissed, his face screwed up in agony. He leaned his head back and groaned. It didn't escape Kaisuki's attention just how sensitive he was, nor did his uneven, somewhat wet breathing. He hadn't at any point brought up the Inflammatory Lung Syndrome to Izumi, but there was no way he'd just gotten over it.

"Are you alright, sweetie?" Izumi asked as she scooped another handful of salve out and continued her treatment, her gaze lifting to scrutinize Itachi's face. He'd lost a considerable amount of color and his lips were slightly parted. "You don't sound too well."

"I have... pneumonia... again," Itachi mumbled softly. Izumi kept watching his face, even as she started absorbing the whiteheart into tissue again. Itachi looked like he wanted to be shrieking in agony. Kaisuki could only imagine just how much pain he had to be in.

Her heart was hammering away and her head was buzzing with anger. What she wouldn't give to have the opportunity and reason to kill Wolf.

"Pneumonia?" Izumi repeated, sounding concerned immediately. "You've had it before, recently?"

Itachi opened his eyes and looked at her. Kaisuki wondered if he was glad to have the excuse to not think about the pain. Izumi was already reaching for more of the salve, though Kaisuki could see how much the swelling had gone down. It was probably half the size it had been, while the redness from the irritation and the remaining bruises were just beginning to fade. Itachi's expression was beginning to relax a little, so clearly the whiteheart and mint were finally starting to help with the pain.

"Yes," Itachi replied, looking slightly confused for a moment. Then, he muttered more to himself than to Izumi or Sasuke, "I didn't tell you... the whole story."

Izumi nodded and when Kaisuki looked towards her, she looked somewhat pleased. "What story?" She asked, curiosity in her voice.

"I told... Sasuke," Itachi began weakly. "That I made a trip to Tsuki no Kuni and was cured of that... disease."

Izumi paused, her chakra even freezing for a split instant. "You went to Tsuki no Kuni?"

"What I told Sasuke is only half true," he continued, swallowing. "What really happened was... Madara possessed me the instant my heart stopped," he let out a long-suffering sigh, "and forced my body to keep going. He then walked me across the ocean to 'persuade' the locals to help me.

Izumi's eyes were wide at that point. "He what?"

"No," Itachi clarified, clearing his throat. "He used my Sharingan, he didn't hurt anyone. Or at least, he didn't tell me if he did."

That didn't seem to make Izumi feel better about anything at all, and Itachi was clearly able to tell. He cleared his throat again, that time likely unnecessarily, and continued. "By the time I woke up again, I was in a hotel in Nami no Kuni. He explained what happened and I yelled at him and then didn't speak to him for a week."

There was a silence that stretched for a good two minutes before Izumi suddenly asked. "How is your vision?"

Itachi pursed his lips, "For some reason it's back to one hundred percent. It doesn't even seem to be getting worse when I use Tsukuyomi, and I've used it about a dozen times since... since I woke up, I guess." He sighed out the last bit somewhat lamely.

Sasuke was staring at Itachi with wide eyes, looking somewhat horrified. He was probably trying to wrap his brain around Madara - a normal human soul - possessing Itachi. That was basically what Kaisuki was doing.

"Kaisuki, where did Khrai go?" Izumi asked, glanced towards her hostess from within. Kaisuki looked over at her briefly and frowned, gesturing towards the darkness.

"She went to go be angry," Kaisuki explained apologetically. "Sorry, I should've tried to keep her here."

"No," Izumi disagreed immediately. "It's better that she left. She has a hard enough time keeping her temper in check in regards to Wolf without having to see any more of this."

Kaisuki nodded and didn't say anything further, as she wasn't sure what else to say. "How is Madara, Itachi-kun?" Izumi asked as she applied the fifth or sixth helping of her salve.

Itachi looked like he was in much less pain at that point but at the mention of Madara, his face fell. "He's..." he began slowly, looking extremely upset. "I don't... know. Wolf didn't tell me anything. I don't know if he's even..."

He trailed off into silence, his lower lip trembling. Sasuke leaned over and rested his head on his brother's left shoulder but he didn't speak. "It'll be alright, Itachi-kun," Izumi said softly.

Kaisuki glanced over at her again, wondering if the irou-nin was as concerned about Itachi's future mental health as her hostess immediately was. She wished Saeka would return from wherever she'd gone. If she could find Madara's chakra signature, they would know if he was dead or alive. Not knowing had to be killing Itachi.

Sasuke straightened up from leaning on Itachi for the express purpose of sneezing into his elbow. Itachi turned his head to look at his little brother, his brow furrowing. "Are you sick, Sasuke?"

Sasuke sniffled and lowered his arm. He looked completely awful. "Only a little," he lied.

"No, he's quite sick," Izumi overruled, scooping up the last of the salve and applying it where it needed to be. "He has a high fever, among some other things. It's probably just a cold, maybe a flu. I'm going to send you both to bed soon. You're probably going to get sick though, Itachi-kun."

Itachi frowned but didn't say anything. He didn't seem to like the sound of that. Izumi withdrew her chakra and started rubbing the minty remains of the salve into Itachi's shoulder, the glowing from her hand dimming until it disappeared entirely. She continued to rub it in gently for a little while longer before she retracted her hands and nodded at her work. The swelling had been significantly reduced and Itachi was visibly feeling much better.

"Alright," Izumi straightened up and grabbed a tissue from the box on the coffee table to wipe off her hands. "I'm going to make you two up something to help you sleep, and then you're both going to bed. You'll talk to Kaisuki in the morning."

The two of them blinked, looking somewhat confused, but neither said anything. Izumi reached over to the pot of dirt and ripped up the plants that had grown in it before dipping her fingers back into the soil. Within a few seconds, a new set of plants had grown in the pot and Izumi was plucking leaves from them.

"I'll be right back," Izumi told the boys before she took the leaves she had picked and headed off into the kitchen. Kaisuki watched her own hands as they rinsed off the mortar and pestle. Izumi turned on the kettle and then went about grinding up her leaves while she leaned against the counter.

Her hands were shaky. She could feel it and it was strange. Kaisuki looked over at the spirit beside her, brow furrowing. Izumi looked exhausted internally, but she seemed to be hiding it from the Uchiha brothers well.

"Izumi, are you alright?" The Yurei asked uncertainly.

Izumi smiled but didn't look her way. "I'm fine, Kaisuki, just worn out. That treatment took a bit out of me. I'll be fine after I get some rest."

Kaisuki nodded slowly, looking back out into the real world. "I don't like that we have to leave them here," she softly mumbled. She felt Izumi look towards her but didn't meet the irou-nin's gaze. "Neither of them deserve to live in constant fear of arrest or execution or interrogation."

The woman beside her sighed softly but Kaisuki still didn't look at her. "I agree with you," she replied sadly. "If we decide to break them out, know that I won't be against it."

Kaisuki chuckled, forlorn. "Itachi seems like he's trying really hard to pay his penance. He... he'll probably never forgive himself."

"No," Izumi sighed again, this time more heavily, "he probably won't. Itachi-kun believes he's a villain even more than the village does."

The thought made her heart ache because she knew it was true. Kaisuki and Sasuke had been talking about Itachi on and off since she'd gotten there, and he'd told her of Itachi's recent turning into a pushover. He'd told her that he'd smashed his brother's head off a table and given him a black eye on two separate occasions before anyone realized he was possessed, and Itachi hadn't seemed to notice until Sasuke covered the bathroom mirror nearly a week after the second incident.

Something was definitely off with Itachi, but Kaisuki wasn't sure if it was directly related to Madara's absence or not. Itachi hadn't said how long the newly undead Uchiha had been gone, though Sasuke had mentioned that Itachi had been out of sorts for "weeks", but that wasn't all that specific. She'd have to ask them about it in the morning.

Izumi was finishing up pouring tea into cups when Kaisuki started paying attention again. The irou-nin took both of the cups and carried them into the living room. "Here you go," she said, handing them each a cup. Itachi's hand was shaking and Kaisuki noticed it right away. "Drink this while I'm making your beds, and then you can both hit the hay. Itachi, is it alright with you if Sasuke shares your room, seeing as he's ill?"

Itachi shook his head right away as he was sipping the hot beverage. "I don't mind," he quietly replied.

Izumi smiled in slight exasperation. "Alright then, I'll be back shortly."

"Itachi's hands are shaky, did you see that?" Kaisuki mentioned, looking over at her as she was walking her hostess into Itachi's bedroom. "Is that low blood sugar or...?"

"That's low blood sugar," Izumi replied without hesitation. She pulled open a closet and started pulling down the rolled up futons. "He probably hasn't eaten since before he went to the station."

Kaisuki hummed in acknowledgment. "Okay. I'll have to make them breakfast in the morning."

Izumi nodded. "That sounds like a good idea, Kaisuki." She laid out Sasuke's futon beside Itachi's, straightening out the blankets and fluffing pillows before she straightened up and nodded at her work. Then, she walked back out to the living room, where Itachi and Sasuke were just finishing their tea. They already looked like they were falling asleep where they were sitting.

"Okay, boys," Izumi called as she walked into the living room. She beckoned them, "I've made your beds. You can just leave your cups." She added when Itachi reached for the cup he'd set down on the coffee table. He looked over at her briefly before he and Sasuke slowly peeled themselves off the couch and started shuffling towards the hall.

Izumi stepped out of their way and they walked down the hall together. "Goodnight, you two."

Sasuke waved over his shoulder while Itachi actually replied, "Goodnight, Izumi."

There was a brief pause as they disappeared into Itachi's room before Izumi glanced over at Kaisuki and then stepped down from the reigns. Kaisuki smiled at her and stepped back in control of her body. She clenched her fists a few times before she walked back into the living room and dropped herself on the couch. She'd try to get a little sleep, but she could faintly hear Khrai yelling and snarling and (by the sounds of it) breaking things in the back of her mind. The racket was likely to keep her awake, though she didn't say anything. If Khrai needed to blow off steam, Kaisuki definitely needed to let her.

Tomorrow, she would talk to Itachi and Sasuke about Madara and they'd get that sorted out as best they could.

Assuming Itachi can.