Author's Note: The past few days, I've been feeling like I've forgotten something important.

It was this chapter, guys. I forgot I wrote it. I forgot for a month.

Next stop: Lumosity.

oOo

"Cheer up, the worst is yet to come." -Unknown

oOo

"I want Naruto on the phone, now," Tsunade told Sakura. She grunted, legs and arms locked around Sasuke as he thrashed, trying to escape, blood coursing down his face from his spinning eyes. Sakura couldn't look away, couldn't cope with the sheer horror she felt at seeing her boyfriend literally losing his mind. "Sakura! The phone!"

Sasuke was laughing, laughing, laughing. He was covered in blood. It wasn't his blood. It wasn't his blood. Why wouldn't he just stop laughing? Why did he keep fighting, hurting? Her arm was bruised from the blind punch he had thrown earlier.

She had knocked him out for a few minutes with her frightened, returned blow. She felt bad—they weren't an abusive couple, they just didn't do that, had never done that, not anything close—but she was pretty close to hitting him again to get him to stop laughing.

He just needed to stop laughing.

"Sakura I swear if you don't get that phone and get Naruto I will let him go!" Tsunade snapped, struggling to keep Sasuke under control.

This finally jerked Sakura awake, and she turned away with her hands shaking, scrolling through her contacts. She tried first Naruto's phone, and then Hinata's, but neither of them picked up. She kept calling, but after the fifth failed attempt she turned to Tsuande and shrugged.

Tsunade's mouth tightened, and she nodded. Sasuke's head slammed backward, and she barely jerked her chin back in time before he bloodied her.

Sakura looked back down at her phone, and in a flash of inspiration dialed the one number she had bothered to memorize.

It took two rings for him to pick up. She held her breath the entire time.

"This is Uchiha."

"Itachi?" Sakura's voice cracked with relief. "Oh thank goodness. Itachi, Sasuke is totally over the edge and we don't—we don't know how to fix him and I can't reach Naruto—"

"Let me speak to him. Just put the phone next to his ear."

"Okay…"

Sasuke finally stopped laughing when Itachi spoke, and though Sakura couldn't hear the words, she thought he must have been helping. Sasuke was looking more focused all ready.

It was only after she heard a faint beeping that she realized the line was dead. She started to pull the phone back, but Sauske reached up in a flash and caught her hand, Tsuande yelped in surprise, backing away as Sasuke stood. He grabbed the phone and crushed it in his hand. His eyes landed on Sakura, and she couldn't move, couldn't think, could only stare at the black star imprinted over a bloody field.

"I'll kill him," Sasuke whispered. "He won't hurt you."

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked, backing away. He wasn't looking at her anymore, didn't seem to be looking at anything. "Sasuke?"

"Leave him be," Tsunade whispered. "I'm sorry you have to see this, Sakura."

"What's happening?" Sakura asked, her voice trembling. "What's wrong with him?"

"Sasuke is… damaged," Tsunade said delicately. "He was, well, nuts for a couple of years, but he said he locked it away somehow, along with an incredible power he had gained. Unlocking that power means unlocking the madness as well."

"But, Itachi… what did he say? I thought he was supposed to help!"

"He did. He gave Sasuke a clear direction in which to focus himself. This way, Sasuke will get out of the city and get to Itachi quickly."

"Itachi can help?"

"He'd better," Tsunade said. They watched Sasuke stand in the kitchen, swaying, his eyes lost. Sakura took a step toward him, but Tsunade put a restraining hand on her arm. Sasuke's gaze zeroed in on that point of contact, and hissed.

"It's okay," Sakura whispered, pulling out of Tsunade's grasp and moving toward Sasuke. He watched her like a cornered bear, waiting until she was close enough to swipe his claws. "It's me, Sasuke. It's Sakura."

He pulled her close, staring into her eyes. She barely choked back a scream.

"I won't let him get you," he said lowly. "I won't let him."

"I—I know," Sakura said. "I know. But—but we have to get to him, right? So you can protect me?"

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed, and it took several long, heart-stopping seconds for him to nod.

"We need a car," he said.

"We can take mine," Sakura offered swiftly, but he was already shaking his head. He stumbled, his hand slamming against the wall. He started to whisper to himself, shaking his head.

"Too weak, too weak, too weak," he whispered over and over.

She really didn't want to lock herself in a car with him.

"I can… make you stronger, Sasuke," Tsuande said slowly. "I can heal you while we drive. How does that sound?"

"She's weak, she's weak and a liar and she'll kill you…"

Sakura traded looks with Tsunade. "You're sick, Sasuke," Sakura tried. "You were in a fight. You lost a lot of blood. Do you remember that?"

Sasuke nodded, frowning.

"If you're going to beat Itachi, you're going to need to have all you strength right? I'll watch Tsunade. I'll watch her, Sasuke. You can trust me, right?"

"I…" Sasuke shook his head. "I can't trust anybody."

"But I won't hurt you."

"Promises," Sasuke snarled, slammed a fist into the wall. "You and your promises."

Tsuande shook her head, rubbing her wrist where there was a ring of bruises. "We have to get him to Itachi. We've got to get him out of the city before whatever Naruto has been cooking up boils over."

Sakura swallowed hard, and then took a deep breath and forced her hands to stop shaking. This was Sasuke—no matter how deranged, how frightening, this was Sasuke. She loved him. She could do this.

"Sasuke," she said firmly. "Do you want to beat Itachi?"

"Kill him, I've got to kill him, he'll kill youhe'llkillmehe'sgottodie, die, die…"

"Look at me, Sasuke," Sakura said, stepping close. "Sasuke, look at me."

He looked, she tried very hard not to flinch.

"If you want to kill Itachi then we have to move now. Tsuande has to come to make sure you're strong. O—okay?"

She hated that her voice cracked. She was supposed to be the strong one here!

Sasuke shifted back and forth, chewing at his lip. His hands where they were clenched into fists started to bleed.

"I'll be there with you, Sasuke," she reminded him. "I'll be right there."

"We'll take my car," Sasuke said, and for just a moment he looked almost sane.

The moment passed quickly.

oOo

Neji looked like Batman.

He was crouched on the roof of the building, looking down at the cars racing below, the lights reflecting in his eyes. The hands by his side were clenched into fists, and his hair had half escaped from the low tail where it was normally imprisoned.

Tenten let her presence be known by the crunch of gravel under her feet, and her fingers against his scalp as she quickly tied back his hair, so it didn't whip in the face after every errant breeze. She swung onto the ledge next to him, and looked down at the bust New York street with a faint touch of wistfulness. She had never been to New York before now.

"Are they here?" Neji asked, not so much as glancing away from the traffic. It was interesting to see him acting under the influence of an Order. He was so focused, working without pause to see it fulfilled, thinking about it every moment, especially when he had no other activity to occupy himself. She didn't know how much of it was the Order doing its work, and Neji's own anal-retentive personality.

Whatever it was, it had become great fun for her to try to distract him.

"Mm," she said, spinning easily on the ledge and laying down with her hands behind her head. No stars that she could see. Cities. "It was getting kind of full."

"At a seventy or ninety percent capacity? Who did you leave in charge?"

"Oh, well… I've never been good with numbers, but it was getting sort of full, if you see things in that sort of way. And there were good people in charge… Is that another helicopter? Have you ever tried counting all the helicopters?"

Neji sighed, and leaned over her, his eyes narrowed. When she didn't quite meet his eyes, he tipped her chin up with a hand.

"Are you doing that on purpose?" he asked.

"What?" she asked innocently. "The charm? One hundred percent natural, baby!"

He snorted, and she was surprised at how infectious his smile was. "I thought you didn't do numbers."

"Uh… wow, I wish I could speak whale."

Obviously not a connoisseur of animated classics, Neji chose to ignore the last comment in favor of spinning away and standing up. He brushed invisible dirt off his slacks while she stared unabashedly at his butt, which made him turn a rather fetching shade of pink.

"Come on," he said, offering her his hand. "It's almost show time."

"Should I wear the dress with the feathers or the sequins?"

His face was completely serious when he replied: "Both."

"Both dresses? Even skintight, that's going to get bulky."

"You are… annoying," Neji said.

"Thank you, thank you," Tenten mocked, bowing. "If you could just clap a little louder…"

Apparently, the big red button that was Neji's temper had been pushed one too many times, and the next thing Tenten knew she had been swung over his shoulder and he was striding to the door, looking quite pleased with himself.

Tenten hit him hard enough he stumbled, which went a long way to putting a dent in that smirk of his. In retaliation, he did not let her down until they were at the bottom of the stairwell, despite how she screamed.

When she was finally back on her own two feet she was dizzy and unable to help grinning. She leaned against him while she waited for the world to set itself to rights, and he courteously didn't move.

"Neji?" she asked once the world had settled down. "Do you think this is going to work?"

"Yes," Neji said, without a moment of hesitation. "Have some trust, Tenten."

"You're asking the wrong girl," she muttered, staring at the door. On the other side, she knew that the entire Kin contents of New York City and its outliers waited, their bags packed and their shoulders slumped. So many people to move, to hide, to keep together... What happened if one got lost? This was a stupid plan, and she was a stupid, stupid woman for going along with it.

"I disagree," Neji replied, his tone mild. He wrapped a hesitant arm around her waist, and she jumped in surprise. "It would have been very difficult to do this without you."

Not I couldn't have done it without you, but satisfactory. Better, maybe. Somehow.

"You're a real charmer, Mr. Hyuga," she murmured, and he chuckled.

"That's a first."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Because you make a habit of it, I suppose."

"Hmm." She took a step away, toward the door. "Well then, let's face that music."

"What? No kiss good luck?"

His smirk said he was teasing, so she leaned in and kissed his cheek, just to see his eyes go wide.

He didn't disappoint. As usual.

Grabbing his hand, Tenten pulled him forward before he could recover. "Come on," she said. "I'll be Robin."

oOo

Shikamaru woke up feeling like his head had been split in two. He was wedged into a corner, two warm bodies pressed against his chest. He smiled at the sight of Holly asleep on his chest, and Ino sprawled against his side, snoring. For such an attractive woman, she was a hideous sleeper—snored, sprawled, kicked, talked, Ino did it all. He was lucky his head was the only thing hurting after a night with…

Cutting that though off before it could go any further, Shikamaru took the time to untangle his hand from Ino's hair, and looked around. He was in a cell built of gray cement blocks, no windows, only a tiny metal door with no handle. It stank of sweat and stagnant water.

He couldn't help smiling.

Kabuto had finally come after him. Admittedly, Ino and Holly had most definitely not been part of the plan, but everything else had fallen into place. He reached up to his earring and activated the tracker. Sasuke would be getting the signal on his laptop any moment now, arriving within hours. The hard part of finding the lair was over—now he just had to destroy it, and everyone inside.

The cell was also a slight kink in the plan, but he was betting he could work around that, given time.

Ino stirred, sitting up and stretching. Blood rushed back into his arm, leaving pins and needles in its wake, and he gently moved Holly off of him.

"Where are we?" Ino whispered. She sat on her haunches, the ceiling so close she couldn't stand. He wasn't sure even Holly would be able to stand in here.

"Kabuto kidnapped us," he whispered back. "But I've got it taken care of. Back-up should be here in a few hours. All we need to do is wait."

"Oh, joy," Ino deadpanned. "Any other plans, Artemis?"

"Did you just compare me to a children's book character?"

"Did you just admit to knowing about a children's book character?"

"You did first!"

"I have an excuse, I have a young daughter."

"So do I."

Ino blinked, and shrugged. "Fair enough."

Shikamaru tried to shrug away his annoyance at her tone—the bland, colorless tone that she used whenever he mentioned Holly being his child. It was the same tone she had used to tell him she was pregnant, and that she didn't want him anywhere near her ever again.

He had never questioned her—he had tried, sure, but every time things got too near the subject she shut down and left. He examined the cell again, surprised to find himself thinking that this time there was nowhere left for her to run…

It was now or never.

"Why do you do that?" Shikamaru asked her. "Shut down whenever I bring up Holly's parentage?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ino said, avoiding his eyes.

"There! You're doing it again."

"I don't wanna talk about this right now," Ino's voice was firm, but she was playing with the ends of her hair, a sure sign of nervousness.

Shikamaru scooted closer, until their knees touched, and tilted his head down at a ridiculous angle to look into her eyes. Touching her chin probably would have gotten his hand snapped off. "Ino. Why—why can't I be Holly's father? Why is that such a problem?"

"Uh, duh, you are her dad," Ino said, flipping her hair back and raising her chin. She was defensive now, which meant the claws were coming out. Good. "You've been that way a while, in case you haven't noticed."

"But you don't want me to be."

"Who says?"

"You did. Remember that? The whole: "I don't want you anywhere near my daughter" rant? Because that was not only last week, and the week before that, but also in the argument of two sixteen year olds shivering on your front porch."

Ino grabbed at her hair. "Are you going to hold that against me forever?"

"Only until you tell me the truth," Shikarmaru bargained. He grabbed a piece of her hair and tugged just hard enough that she smiled. He had always pulled her hair when they were little, though it had become more affectionate as they grew.

(At times, way more affectionate.)

Ino darted a glance at Holly to make sure she was still asleep, then dropped her voice so low even Shikamaru could barely make out the words.

"I want you to know I am only telling you this because there is a good chance I'm going to die soon," Ino said. She took a deep breath. "When I found out I was pregnant, I thought my life was over. I just… I guess I didn't want yours to be over too."

"Ino," Shikamaru breathed, shocked. Of all the possibilities he had considered, that one had been among the first he had discarded. He had never imagined she could be this… "That's so stupid."

"No, it wasn't," Ino muttered, though she was blushing. "You had Yale and a great career set up for you and a life to live and… Temari. Yeah, you had Temari and that was good. So it was good. I thought it was good."

"You ever going to stop watching out for me?" Shikamaru asked wryly. Yes, he had gotten Temari out of the deal—not something he could ever regret—but the idea that Ino hadn't trusted him enough to make it all work out hurt more than even that loss.

Which was about the moment he realized he was in serious trouble.

His mind immediately calculated in the new information and spit out several possible courses of action. It calculated odds, emotional stability, factored in the situation and Ino's reactions. The best thing to do was to back away, friend zone it, and understanding where she was coming from would help rebuild the bridge that had burned so long ago. That course of action assured the best outcome for the plans that had a ninety-five percent chance of success.

Looking into Ino's eyes, he chose the plan that had a five percent chance.

(Which, with Ino, always seemed to be the case.)

He leaned closer, and Ino certainly wasn't backing away, when they were interrupted by the squeal of the door opening. They jerked back, turning to face forward as a flashlight slashed quickly across their faces. There was a grunt, and the light clicked off, leaving only the one dim light bulb dying in the ceiling.

"Grab her," came a grunt, and hands reached into the cell. But not for Ino, for Holly.

His Holly.

Shikamaru lunged, grabbing the wrist and twisting sharply. The guy on the other end yowled as it cracked, but Shikamaru was covering Holly now, shoving the groggy girl back into the corner and reaching for a knife that wasn't there. Ino shakily crawled toward the door, shoe in one hand, like it was any kind of weapon.

"You from Kabuto?" she demanded, all bravado. "Because I've got some words for him, boys."

"Ino," Shikamaru hissed. "Get back here!"

Ino glanced over her shoulder, eyes flat as blue steel as she nodded to him. She mouthed: "Keep her safe."

Distract Kabuto from Holly by offering herself up. That idiot, that was his job—

Shikamaru reached, hand wrapping around Ino's wrist for half a second before she was jerked out of the cell and the door slammed shut behind her.

"Dad?" Holly asked. "Dad? What's going on?"

Shikamaru swallowed, unable to respond, unable to do anything but hold Holly tight to him and cover her ears.

In the distance, he could hear Ino's first screams.

oOo

Naruto was woken up two hours after he had gone to bed by an insistent knocking on his door. He crashed into his dresser, the door, and several walls before he made it to the front, hopping on one foot because of a stubbed toe while simultaneously cradling his head. He was bleary at best when he finally figured out how to turn the lock and twist the handle.

"Bwuh?" he asked, which was as close to Bear as he could get when he was running on no sleep and no caffeine.

"Sir," Bear said, saluting. "May I come in?"

"Eh-uh-huh."

"I'm sorry to bother you so late," Bear said, shutting the door behind him and herding Naruto into the living room. Naruto sank down onto the couch and tried to rub the sleep from his eyes with varying levels of success. "But there are some things you should know."

"Shoo'," Naruto agreed, blinking.

Bear sighed, and after only a moment's hesitation took off his mask and rubbed his face. "I was with Sasuke tonight, Sir, when we were attacked."

Naruto stared blankly. Attacked? Attacked?

"He used Tsukuyomi," Bear whispered. "I couldn't stop him, Sir. I tried, I tried to—but I couldn't stop him."

"Yeah," Naruto said, brain finally kicking into gear. "I mean, no, of course you couldn't. Where is he?"

"He's on his way to Itachi right now, Sir, with Lasy Tsunade and the Sakura woman."

Naruto nodded, scrubbing his hands across his face briskly to wake up. Okay. If Sasuke had activated Tsukuyomi that meant he was madder than the hatter, but if he was with Tsunade and Sakura he should be alright. Especially if they were going to see Itachi. He would be fine. Sasuke would be fine.

"Naruto?" Hinata asked, shuffling out of the back bedroom with a blanket wrapped round her. She curled up next to him on the couch and leaned her head against his shoulder. He felt calmer with her around already, and he pressed a brief kiss to her forehead. "I felt something. What's wrong?"

Naruto explained quickly, and Hinata squeezed his hand reassuringly, before turning to Bear. She asked more questions of him, but Naruto couldn't keep track of them. His mind was focused on Sasuke, on the terror he must be feeling. Why hadn't they called him? Why hadn't he been there?

"It's okay," Hinata said firmly. "Naruto, honey, look at me. There you go. It's okay. It's going to be okay."

"But, Sasuke—"

"Is in the best hands right now," Hinata said. "After we get rid of Kabuto, we'll go straight there, okay?"

"Okay," Naruto agreed, relaxing a little. Hinata pressed his phone into his hand with firm instructions to go and call Sasuke while she finished talking with Bear. Naruto went to the bathroom and splashed his face with water, shaking vigorously before scrolling through his phone for Sasuke's number.

Sakura answered on the third ring.

"Hey, can I talk to Sasuke?"

"He's, uh, well…"

"Who is it?"

"…Naruto?"

"Give me the phone."

"…okay…"

"Naruto?"

"Sasuke!" Naruto exploded in relief. He sounded normal at least. "Sasuke, how are you? Where are you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Sasuke said, and Naruto's heart sank at the cold, flat tone of his voice. "I'm going to Colorado. Itachi betrayed me, Naruto, I have to kill him."

Naruto wasn't quite sure what to say, and his heart was in his throat at any rate. It had taken years to get Sasuke back last time. Years, and years, and years…

"I will contact you when I'm through," Sasuke said shortly.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed. He cleared his throat before going on. "Yeah, uh, just—just be careful, okay? Call me if you need anything. I am one-hundred and ten percent on your side, buddy!"

"Maybe," Sasuke agreed grudgingly, which for Paranoid Sasuke was pretty much the gold star of gold stars. Naruto's heart lifted in hope. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad this time. Maybe… "But I'll be watching."

…Maybe he should go after Sasuke now, before this got worse.

He felt a flash of panic, and sprinted back into the living room. Hinata was there, and she had her hands clasped in her lap, staring down at her fingers, taking slow breaths. It felt like his stomach was twisting into knots.

"Hinata? What happened? What's wrong?"

"Shikamaru, Holly, and Ino have been kidnapped," she said. "Is that Sasuke? Can I talk to him?"

"Well, yeah, but he's kinda…"

"I'm what?"

Hinata plucked the phone from his hand. "Sasuke? It's Hinata. Hush. Shikamaru has been kidnapped, you have anything on that? Mm-hmm. Okay, okay. Thank you, Sauske. You're fantastic! Alright, I'll talk to you later. Be safe, alright? I'll talk to you as soon as I can. Bear? Sasuke has a tracking device on Shika, so I need his laptop from his study. How soon can you have it?"

"An hour, ma'am," Bear said.

"Good. Call up the council and have them meet here in an hour, please. Then you should probably go get some rest, you look tired."

Naruto smiled as he watched Hinata dole out orders like she had been born to stand there on that very day, making a ratty old blanket look like a velvet cape, sleep still in her eyes and hair tangled. Bear was nodding along with whatever she said, never questioning, and only insisting that as long as she was up, he could be to.

The moment Bear disappeared, Naruto walked Hinata back to her bedroom and made her sit down on the bed. When she protested, he wrapped her up in his arms and lay down next to her until she stopped wriggling.

"One hour power nap," he suggested, eyes already closing. "We're going to need it."

Hinata agreed by turning into the curve of his body and snuggling under the blankets. Naruto smiled at the feel of her and her warmth, wondering exactly how he had done without it for so long.

He slept and, despite his worries, with Hinata by his side it seemed the best sleep he had ever experienced.

oOo

Kabuto inspected the syringe in his hand with no little delight, watching the woman tied to the chair tremble before him. The syringe was filled with a light yellow liquid, slightly viscous, and oddly heavy. It was the perfect harmony of magic, science, and torture. With the contents of that vial, he would have the world bowing to him in a matter of weeks. As soon as he found a way to make it potent in aerosol form…

Until then, it wouldn't hurt to have one more test subject on which to test his invention. Well, it wouldn't hurt him.

Especially considering the test subject was the very person who had handed him his key to power. Hinata may have smuggled out her closest relatives, but blood was blood.

"Now, listen Hitomi… Don't struggle but please," he smiled down at her, trapping her arm tightly against the chair. "Feel free to scream."

oOo

Author's Note: That last scene gets so much better if you substitute Kabuto's name for Justin Bieber's. Try it. It's freaky.

Oh, and review please, because reviews are like bombs of sparkle and WAFF.