I seriously need to re-label my word documents. I went crazy for a while because I thought I was missing a chapter. Turns out I had a part of chapter 22 integrated into chapter 21, then went ahead and saved the next part as chapter 23. All this time I thought I was working on the 26th chapter! Oye, I feel so embarrassed!

.. .. .. .. .. . .. . .. ..

There had been no further attacks since the Kazekage began to travel with the group, but Itachi still felt nervous. He wasn't sure what kind of reception to expect from Konoha, and there was still the question of if they would even make it to the village alive. Temari had shouted at Sasuke for nearly two hours after they caught up with the team, and Sasuke's frail patience had already snapped by the time Konkuro managed to step in and drag his sister out of the conflict. Kakashi had joined them a short time later, and was discussing the current predicament with Gaara.

It appeared that despite "A's" reluctant acceptance of Sasuke's return to Konoha, the Raikage was still vehemently against sparing the Uchiha's life. The other Kages were wary as well, demanding that Sasuke be placed in confinement as soon as he reached the village. Gaara was the only one who was more willing to trust Sasuke, but even he was cautious. Too much had happened to casually accept a former S ranked criminal back into society. Itachi had expected as much, and vowed to be there to protect Sasuke from the worst that Konoha could throw at him. Despite all that had happened, he didn't want his little brother to face everything he had been through after his own return.

"This will be as far as we go," Temari informed as they halted several miles from the edge of the desert. "The Kazekage will be needed among his own people as we prepare for the war. You should be able to reach the Leaf Village unhindered."

"Thank you for your escort," Kakashi nodded. "We'll be fine from here."

"Sasuke, try not to do anything stupid," Temari adressed the younger Uchiha. "I'd hate to have wasted my time guarding a soon-to-be fugitive."

Sasuke shot the blond shinobi a dark glare for her remark. Kakashi laughed nervously and quickly separated the two hot tempered shinobi. "We'll be on our way, then," he replied cheerily.

"Gaara, I mean, lord Kazekage, are the other villages going to be a threat to Sasuke?" Sakura asked. "I mean, in the coming war and all."

"I am not certain," Gaara replied. "I do not believe that they will openly instigate an attack. The villages will need the support of Konoha if they are to win against Madara." He turned to Sasuke. "Be cautious, though. Your own village will not look kindly on you."

"I'm prepared," Sasuke replied stiffly. His flinty obsidian eyes displayed none of his emotions, something which annoyed Itachi to no end.

"Don't worry, we'll look after him," Itachi added as he ruffled his brother's hair.

Sasuke slapped his hand away in response, his glare threatening. Itachi stuck out his tongue, relishing the disbelief that clouded Sasuke's features at the gesture. Sakura giggled at the silent battle.

"Itachi changed a lot since he came to Konoha," she explained to Sasuke. "He's almost as annoying as Kakashi now."

"Now that's insulting," Itachi grimaced. "Just because I'm sarcastic doesn't mean I can be compared to that imbicele who's obsessed with romance novels."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed as he dog-eared the page in his recently purchased book. He protectively tucked it into his back pocket as though to prevent future mishaps.

Itachi wiggled his eyebrows menancingly as he pulled out a black marker and twirled it between his fingers. "Anytime you want to stick me with some crazy eight-year-old, I'm ready," he goaded.

"I don't believe this," Sasuke muttered as he slunk away from the group.

Itachi frowned as he pocketed the writing tool and started after his brother. He hadn't meant to scare Sasuke away... Without warning the sky seemed to crash down on him as an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion slammed into his brain. Itachi barely had time to realize he was falling before the world went dark.

"Itachi!" Sakura cried out as the Uchiha crumpled to the ground.

Sasuke was instantly at his brother's side, his eyes wide and anxious. "Sakura, what happened?" he demanded as the pink haired chunin pulled out her medical pack.

Sakura's brow furrowed as she commenced the examination. "These cuts he received aren't deep... they shouldn't be causing too much of a problem. I'm not detecting any poison..." Suddenly she drew back and gave a short nervous laugh.

"What? What is it?" Sasuke pressed, his voice practically frantic with worry.

Sakura pushed her bangs out of her face and smiled. "I don't know quite how to explain this, but Itachi is only suffering from chakra exhaustion. I never expected to diagnose it for him, but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised."

"Why didn't you tell me in the first place," Sasuke growled as he rubbed his forehead in frustration and relief.

"How is that possible?" Naruto questioned. "I've never seen Itachi run out of chakra, even when he was part of the Akatsuki."

"It can happen to anyone," Sakura explained. "Even Itachi has his limits."

"I suppose I'll have to carry him the rest of the way," Kakashi muttered ruefully as he hoisted the Uchiha over his shoulders. Kakashi grimaced. "This would have been a lot easier if he were still a kid."

"Well, you know Itachi," Sakura laughed. "He's always trying to find some way to make life harder for you."

"I don't think I deserve this," Kakashi complained. "All this fuss over one pink bunny rabbit."

Sakura giggled at Sasuke's confused look. "You probably shouldn't ask," she warned. "Itach doesn't like to talk about it."

"Hey, Kakashi," Naruto's tone was serious as he broke into the conversation. "What are we going to do when we reach Konoha. We can't just let them throw Sasuke into prison, and now that Itachi isn't a kid anymore... what do we tell them?"

Kakashi sighed. "Let's deal with that when the time comes, okay? Give me some time to think about it."

"If only Tsunade were awake," Sakura said wistfully. "She'd know what to do."

Sasuke's eyes were nearly void of emotion as always, but Kakashi could read the doubt lingering in their depths. Naruto stepped up and put a reassuring hand on his former teammate's shoulder.

"We'll be right behind you, no matter what happens," he promised. "I won't let anything happen to you or Itachi again."

"Right," Sakura added. "We're a team again, and that's what teammates do. If the new Hokage wants to arrest you, then he'll have to get through us first!"

Sasuke said nothing, but a smile twitched at the corners of his mouth. It was true. No matter what Konoha decided, Team Kakashi was a whole once more. Nothing would ever break that.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck. "You know the pep talks are nice and all, but if we don't get going we won't even reach Konoha at all. And that wouldn't do any good, would it?

The three former members of Team 7 exchanged a solemn glance and a slight nod. Together they started out towards Konohagakure and the reception that awaited them.

.. .. .. . .. .. . .. ... ..

Ino's mind was miles away as she and her teammates sat in a popular teriyaki restaraunt. Choji's loud slurping accompanied by Shikamaru's griping had no affect on her as Ino contemplated her father's return.

Inoichi had been strangely mysterious after his return from the Kages summit. He refused to speak on the matter despite Ino's continual pestering for news about Itachi. Ino had been terrified the day when she returned home to find the eight-year-old Uchiha missing, but the only thing her father had revealed was that Itachi was safe and returning with Team Kakashi. Past that he point blank refused to talk.

Ino absently tapped her chopstick against the teriyaki platter and wondered what Inoichi's silence could mean. He was acting as though she were a child again, questioning about a grand birthday surprise. That sly grin and mysterious air were impossible to mistake. Something had happened that Inoichi knew his daughter would want to know about, but he was withholding it from her for reasons of his own. What could possibly be so important that her father would not speak to her yet subtly taunt her at the same time?

Come to think of it, Inoichi had been spending more and more time with the Secret Intelligence than usual. He often returned late from yet another meeting. Sometimes he seemed pleased with the results, other times concerned. Ino was ready to go crazy from curiosity, but her father had always been a master at hiding things when he intended to. Something had to break sooner or later in this game of suspense, and Ino suspected her sanity would be first. She would likely be admitted to the hospital for sheer madness before Inoichi let out the slightest slip of the tongue.

Otouto whined shrilly, bringing Ino's awareness back to the present. Itachi's pointy-eared black puppy was splayed out on the bench next to Choji, his eyes seemingly lost as he continued looking from Choji to the door.

"Poor guy," Shikamaru commented. "Can't seem to get past Itachi's disappearance."

"Here ya go," Choji offered as he dangled a piece of meat in front the dog's nose. Otouto snapped the morsel up, then hung his head again and whined.

Ino's eyes softened and she rose to her feet and scooped the tiny black pup into her arms. "Don't worry, Dad said Itachi's on his way," she comforted the mass of fur. Otouto snuggled his head into her shoulder and let out the equivelent of a sigh. Ino couldn't help but agree. Where are you, Itachi? Did you go after Sasuke? Why couldn't you just do as Dad ordered and stay hidden?

Suddenly Otouto's head popped up as he sniffed the air. Yelping and whining, he wriggled against Ino's grip.

"What is it, Otouto?" Ino asked, not expecting any form of reply. "Do you smell something?"

Otouto continued struggling and barking until Ino set the puppy on the ground. Instantly Otouto made a break for the door, his claws scrabbling against the tiles as he tripped over his own four legs and dashed into the street.

"Wait, where are you going?" Ino called as she ran after the dog.

Shikamaru and Choji exchanged a preturbed glance. "Hold on, we're coming with you!" Choji called.

Otouto continued yipping and whining as he darted between the legs of passerbyers. Ino hastily apologized as she dodged around the villagers in order to keep up with the flash of yapping black fur.

"Why does it... have to go... so fast?" Choji gasped as Otouto continued leading them to the outer skirts of the village. He slid to a halt and leaned his hands on his knees to catch his breath. "It's a puppy, it shouldn't be able to run this far!"

"Come on," Shikamaru shot back as he ran past. There was only one reason why Otouto would get this excited...

Ino stopped in her tracks and clapped her hands to her mouth as a group of shinobi came into view. Otouto continued scampering towards them, and Ino recognized Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi as the team drew nearer. One of the other figures dropped to one knee to let Otouto sniff his hand, and Ino's heart stopped as she recognized him. It couldn't be...

"Hey, Ino!" Naruto called out as he waved to her. "Guess what? Itachi's back, and guess who he brought with him!"

Ino took several hesitant steps forward and let out a small cry of disbelief as Sasuke Uchiha glanced up. For a moment all she could do was stare. Then reality crashed back into her and she ran forward. Sasuke let out a slight protest as Ino threw her arms around his neck and burst into tears. After a moment he tentatively patted her shoulder, wondering how to escape this particular predicament.

"You c-came back," Ino sobbed. "You came back!"

Otouto ran in circles around the group, deafening the hills with his constant yapping. Seeing Itachi slung over Kakashi's shoulders, the puppy bared his teeth and growled.

"Your master is fine," Kakashi quickly tried to reassure the rabid looking dog. "He isn't - YEAOW!"

Unconvinced, Otouto launched his small body upwards and gripped Kakashi's arm between his sharp, pearly white teeth.

"Oye, I don't believe this," Shikamaru drawled as he approached. "That dog's been bugging us for over a week."

Just then he caught sight of Sasuke. Shock, fury, and astonishment flitted across Shikamaru's features before he gently moved Ino aside. Barely giving Sasuke time to consider any potential threat, he slammed a fist into the Uchiha's jaw. Sasuke's eyes widened as he fell back on the grass and fingered the already forming bruise.

"You really had to be such an idiot, didn't you," Shikamaru hissed as he rubbed his split knuckles.

"Hey, what did you do that for, he just got back!" Ino shouted as she jumped to her feet.

Sakura's gaze darkened as she cracked her knuckles. Realizing he had just created a personal war with two females against him, Shikamaru shot Sasuke a final glare before hoisting the Uchiha back onto his feet.

"Welcome back," he muttered in distaste. Sasuke gave a curt nod and shook his hand as though to remove the presence of Shikamaru's touch.

"Kakashi, what happened to Itachi?" Ino gasped as she caught sight of the elder Uchiha for the first time. Her brow furrowed. "That is Itachi... isn't it? What happened to him?"

"Waah! Where'd the kid go?" Choji echoed as he finally caught up.

Kakashi grimaced and finally succeeded in shaking Otouto off his arm. "Itachi's Susanoo apparently had an explosive effect with Naruto's rasengan," he explained. "The combined chakra forces seemed to be enough to reverse the time rift and return Itachi to normal."

"Let me take a look at him," Ino ordered as she swept past the gaping Choji.

"That - that's Sasuke!" he stammered, causing Sakura to slap her forehead at the repetetiveness of the situation.

Kakashi held up a hand to halt Ino's examination of the unconscious Uchiha. "It's just chakra exhaustion. Sakura already did what she could. If you're really worried, then at least wait until we reach the hospital where they can fully take care of things."

"He's been straining that right eye of his again, hasn't he?" Ino folded her arms.

"You can lecture him about that later." Kakashi was forced to speak louder in order to be heard over the combined shouts of Sakura, Naruto, Choji, and Shikamaru. "ALL RIGHT!" he shouted.

Instantly the arguments ceased as all eyes turned to the jonin.

"You can all fight over this at another time," Kakashi rolled his eyes. "I'm taking Itachi to the hospital, and I'm assuming that some of you will be accompaning me. Choji and Shikamaru; don't inform anyone of Sasuke's return just yet. It's going to be just like when Itachi first came, only worse. I'm not prepared to deal with that right now, especially if Tsunade hasn't woken yet."

Kakashi turned to Ino. "Have they chosen a new Hokage yet?"

"Not yet," Shikamaru answered instead. "They're still discussing what to do about Danzo."

"My Dad probably told them about Sasuke and Itachi," Ino added. "He's been working with the Intelligence base more than usual."

"I assumed he would," Kakashi nodded. "In that case, Sasuke, it's probably better if you turn yourself in now. It will save a lot of strife with the villagers if you're already in custody when they find out."

Sasuke shook his head vehemently. "I'm staying with Itachi."

"I-it's okay, Sasuke," Sakura offered. "I'll be there with him, and I promise I'll let you know the minute he wakes up."

"I'm sorry, Sasuke," Kakashi said when the Uchiha still hesitated. "But this time it's an order. If you refuse to turn yourself in now, then I'll have to bring you there by force."

Sasuke shot the jonin a death glare that would have fried him on the spot had the Uchiha been using his sharingan. "Fine," he answered reluctantly.

Naruto stepped up next to his friend. "I'll go with him," he offered.

Sakura beamed, overwhelmed at the thought of returning to Konoha with both her old teammates. "I'll catch up with both of you as soon as we make sure Itachi's okay," she called as she walked away.

Ino scooped up Otouto for a moment before the yelping pup leapt from her arms again and dashed after Kakashi.

"Down, boy!" came the shout mere seconds later.

Ino's smile disappeared as she folded her arms and turned to face Sasuke. The wonder of meeting him again had faded, allowing his past actions against the village to come foremost to Ino's mind. "Guess you're going to have a lot of explaining to do, huh?"

Naruto's face was as serious as the Uchiha's. "Let's get this over with," he said in a gravely tone as he led the way towards the village.

. .. . .. .. . .. .. .. ..

The first thing Itachi noticed was the sharp smell of antiseptics accompanied by a pounding headache. Growling under his breath as he realized that Kisame must have turned the lights on again, Itachi rolled over and pulled the pillow over his head. Couldn't a man sleep in peace for once without somebody blaring the wake up call?

"Itachi?" a tentative voice called softly.

Sasuke? What was his brother doing here? Oh, that's right. Sasuke joined the Akatsuki after killing him. Wait a minute, shouldn't he be dead then? Maybe Sasuke had died too and this was this afterlife. Funny, it smelled an awful lot like a hospital room. Tobi...! Curse the orange masked Uchiha and his illusions. It wasn't fair to use them on him when he was sick! Maybe if he just ignored them everything would go away...

A sneeze forced its way through Itachi right then, causing him to awake more fully. Itachi blinked his eyes slowly, waiting for the room to stop swirling around. He growled under his breath. Tobi...

"Itachi... you're awake, aren't you?"

Itachi's head shot up at the sound of his brother's voice. The memories came crashing back. Susanoo, Konoha, Danzo, finding Sasuke, Naruto's Rasengan, escaping the Land of Iron... Sasuke! Itachi turned around, noticing his brother for the first time.

"Are you - " Sasuke's words were abruptly cut off as Itachi grabbed him in a tight hug.

"It wasn't a dream," he whispered repeatedly to himself. "It wasn't a dream!"

Sasuke choked slightly in his brothers tight grip and gently moved Itachi's arms back a fraction before returning the hug. "Hey, everything's okay," he responded, finding it odd to be the one reassuring his older brother.

Itachi finally came to his senses and drew back, rubbing at the strip of cloth someone had put over his eye. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the bandages wrapped over Sasuke's eyes.

"Sasuke... they didn't - "

"I'm fine," Sasuke was quick to answer, his voice directed a little past Itachi's shoulder. "They're trying to see if they can restore my sight again. I think Ino was in here a few times."

Itachi rubbed the back of his neck, grimacing as his fingers caught in the multiple snags in his hair. Somewhere along the line he had been dressed in one of those bland hospital outfits, but it appeared that no one had considered the rat nest his hair was turning into.

"How long have I been unconscious?" Itachi asked as he began picking at the tangles with his fingers.

Sasuke's head tilted to the side as he thought. "I think it's been about four days now. I lost track after the surgery."

"I'm surprised the interrogation unit let you come here," Itachi mentioned.

Sasuke shrugged, but his stiff posture betrayed the tension he felt. "I gave them what they wanted," he replied in a tone that revealed none of his emotions. "Inoichi did the first interrogation, then Ibiki took over to make sure I wasn't hiding anything. Afterwards they sent me here."

"Are they going to let you go?" Itachi questioned as he pulled at a particularely stubborn snag.

"They haven't made a decision yet," Sasuke shook his head. "I... I wouldn't be expecting too much anyways." He remained silent a moment before continuing. "Tsunade came out of her coma yesterday. She wants to speak with you as soon as you're up to it."

"You're rather informed for being a prisoner of war," Itachi pointed out dryly.

"Sakura and Naruto have been keeping me up to date," Sasuke replied. He hesitated, then asked softly, "Did they... were they like this for you, too? It's as if everything never happened. I just don't understand. After all I did..." He shook his head. "It doesn't make sense. I should be locked up right now. I think I would be if Kakashi and Inoichi hadn't rallied to Tsunade for my release. Why did they do it?"

Itachi gave a twisted smile as he remembered his own experiences after being brought to Konoha. "The leaders of the Leaf Village are known for their foolish acts of mercy," he considered. "Sometimes it's a weakness, but many times it is their greatest strength. They learn to trust far too easily."

Sasuke fiddled with a bandage covering his wrist as he absorbed Itachi's words. "Not everyone is that way," he argued. "I heard about what happened when you were brought here."

Itachi recognized the low, angry tone that came when Sasuke was just shy of losing his temper. "Sometimes there's too much hurt to let everything go peacefully," he explained. "People can be ruled by their emotions, and once that happens it's difficult to bring things under control again. I'm not holding anything against them, and I expect you to leave it alone as well."

Itachi gave his brother a long, hard look, despite the fact that Sasuke couldn't see him. "Whatever they told you, I want you to forget it. What the village did was against me alone, and I will not let you take that burden upon yourself again."

Sasuke's face darkened. "Don't ask me to do that," he replied thickly. "If it had been against me I would have understood it. You were only a child - you couldn't defend yourself! Yet they still - "

"Sasuke, forget it!" Itachi's voice rose as he tried to check his brother's temper before things got out of hand. "I just got finished ending a war between you and the Leaf Village, and now you want to rile things up again?"

Sasuke took a deep breath as though to say more, then let it out slowly. He looked down, ashamed at his actions. "I'm sorry, Itachi," he finally whispered. "It's just so hard... after all that happened, I just got you back. I don't know how to deal with everything right now."

Itachi smiled sadly. "I know, Sasuke." He had felt the same way after being brought to Konoha as an eight-year-old, and it had taken the combined efforts of a number of the villagers to bring his focus back on life again. Now Sasuke would be facing the exact problems Itachi had been put through before. There would be no childlike innocence to defend him this time, but Itachi vowed that nevertheless his brother would not be put through the same harsh treatment that had been dealt to him due to Danzo's brutality.

"Oh, don't worry! I'll take care of it!"

Itachi turned as the cheery voice called out. It was followed soon by the sliding of the door as Ino peeked her head inside. She grinned brightly and entered when she noted that Itachi was awake.

"I'm right behind you, Sasuke," the blond pointed out to inform the blindfolded Uchiha of her position and identity. "How are your eyes? Hurting at all?"

"Hn." Sasuke withdrew into himself again, preffering to mull over Itachi's words rather than face the present circumstances.

Ino ignored the Uchiha's bland comment and pulled up a chair next to Itachi's bed. From her casual air, it appeared that at least one person was used to having the Uchiha brothers in the neighborhood. "I know I'm not really a worker here, but I offered to come in and take a look at your eye," she explained to Itachi. "Tsunade's still low on chakra, so she can only take care of the simpler healing tasks right now."

"Exactly how long was I unconscious?" Itachi questioned, still curious despite Sasuke's muddled answer.

"Four days after Kakashi found you, and apparently some time before that," Ino said brightly as she scribbled a few things on a clipboard. "So probably five days at the most. You can thank the soldier pill for that. Didn't you realize it would take a toll on your chakra? Can I take a look at your eye now?"

Itachi grunted his assent and clumsily unwound the bandages. His fingers were scarcely agile after whatever had plagued him, a fact that irritated him to no end.

"You used your sharingan again," Ino scolded. "You should have listened to me!"

"It was a last resort," Itachi retorted. "I needed both eyes for it."

"Hmph! Can you see this?" Ino asked as she held the clipboard over Itachi's left eye waved her hand in front of his face.

Itachi squinted, his glazed right eye barely keeping up with Ino's movements. "Hai," he answered finally.

Ino ceased waving and scribbled something onto her clipboard before setting it aside. "I think I might be able to repair the damage, but it's going to be harder now that I have to start over again." The rebuke in her tone was obvious. "Now hold still."

Feeling unable to argue the point, Itachi gave up on his matted hair and flipped it over his shoulder. Ino put her hands to his temples to begin the healing process as before, but was interrupted as the door slid open and Naruto barged in.

"Is Kakashi here?"

"Naruto!" Ino growled in exhasperation. "Could you knock quietly for once?"

Naruto turned and caught sight of Itachi for the first time. "Hey, Itachi, you're awake! Sasuke's here, in case you didn't realize it. Oh, and did you know Tsunade wants to talk to - "

"Naruto!" Ino yelled in an attempt to end the blond shinobi's constant babbling.

"Huh?" Naruto blinked in confusion, unaware of the origins of Ino's annoyance.

Ino groaned and covered her face with her hands. "Naruto, don't you have some special mission to go on or something?"

Naruto's mouth was agape in surprise. "Hey, how did you know?" he questioned. "Iruka said - "

"Lucky guess," Ino rolled her eyes.

"Huh." Naruto scratched his head. "Anyways, your Dad said he needed Sasuke back at the Intelligence Base." He turned to face Sasuke. "It's for your own safety, you know. Not everybody's used to you being back yet."

"Anyone been giving him trouble?" Itachi asked darkly.

"Nah, not too much at least," Naruto shook his head. "It's a lot easier now that Danzo's gone, and they've been keeping him at the base for the most part anyways."

"It's all right, Itachi," Sasuke added. "They haven't done anything worse than remind me of what I did. I think most of the villagers are too worried about the war to bother with a prisoner in custody."

Itachi let out a slight sigh of relief. "Be careful," he warned ernestly. "Not everything's over yet."

"Hah, don't worry, I'll take care of him," Naruto promised as he waved goodbye and guided Sasuke out the door.

Sasuke snorted in disgust at Naruto's words, drawing a protest from the blond shinobi. Itachi shook his head as the door slid shut, allowing the argument to fade away as the teenagers moved further down the hall.

"All right, now hold still," Ino insisted as she pushed her bangs to the side and proceeded with the healing jutsu.

Itachi grimaced slightly at the familiar tickling sensation behind his eyes as Ino's chakra began its work. For over an hour he tried to ingore the urge to sneeze from the irritating feathery touch buzzing through his head. At last Ino pulled her hands back, bringing the "torture" to an end.

"That's all I can do for now - Don't rub it!" Ino scolded as Itachi instinctively moved his hand up to his eye. "Here." Pulling out a fresh bandage, Ino wrapped it tightly in a diagonal position across the Uchiha's forehead.

"Thank you," Itachi nodded and began toying with the knots in his hair again.

Ino sat back a moment and scrutinized him closely. "It's so strange," she finally said.

"Hn?"

"You, I mean," Ino shrugged. "Just a short time ago I was doing this for an kid. Now... It's just weird, that's all."

She shook her head and began gathering the clipboard and few medical supplies she had brought. "You really knocked yourself out by using so much chakra after taking a soldier pill," Ino explained. "I think you should be fine now, so long as you take it easy for a while. I'll ask the personnel about bringing some regular clothing for you - and a brush of course." Ino smiled as Itachi made a face and continued picking at the tangles.

Itachi sat back and leaned his head against the wall as soon as the door slid shut. He couldn't believe that so short a time had passed since they had found Sasuke. Everything was coming together far too quickly for Itachi to comprehend. In only a matter of weeks they had faced an attack on Konoha, a proclamation of war, several emergency meetings between the Kages, the betrayal of Danzo, Sasuke's return, and now... Itachi wasn't sure what to expect next.

War.

The word left a bitter taste in his mouth. Everything Itachi had worked so hard for had dissentegrated before his eyes, leading to the one thing he detested the most. Open battle across the land, a repeat of his nightmares.

Itachi sighed and closed his eyes. There was no going back now. War was upon them all, and this time nothing could be done to stop it. All he could do now was try and turn the tide against Madara. Nothing else seemed to matter so long as Sasuke was safe. Itachi had murdered his clan, but he would ensure that his brother survived. Even if it cost him his own life, Sasuke would live. He would not lose his brother to Madara again.

. .. . .. . . .. . .. .. ..

Oye, I am so ready to be done with the filler stuff! Finally, the next chapter will get to some real planning! I want to get to the war, kill off my characters, finish the story... you know, the good stuff! Oh, well. Details, details, details. Phooey on it all.

I'm on a tight schedule now with finishing school, so I can't say when the next chapter will be out. Hopefully it will be soon, but I make no promises.

Review!