Dedicated to : 00-night-eyes-00 Hey, I'm glad that you are still around and reading my fanfiction Thank you for your review.

To my GUEST readers thank you as well for reading and taking the time to review.

Whatever It Takes

Chapter Forty Four

Lee was nervous.

He couldn't rest knowing what was going to happen in just a few minutes. He checked himself in the mirror, his eyes reflecting nothing but sadness back to him. He looked so pathetic, and on top of that, he didn't feel much like himself at this moment. He never wished to harm anyone. In fact his life had been so perfect and full with luck after he had left the Konoha castle that he thanked the world every day that he was alive.

Being able to meet Sasuke had been the best experience he had ever had. It had filled him with confidence, and it had even led him to something he never thought he would have, a life of joy and love so full with Sakura.

His beautiful wife would smile at him every morning, shared her warmth, food, and wish him a good day when he left to work. He couldn't wait to come back to her at the end of the day. He was so happy, and he wanted it all back. This is what he had to do in order for that to happen. It was breaking his heart to go against everything he believed.

Sucking in his breath, he walked out of the room he had been given, and started to head towards the dining room. He was surprised when a servant came to him, and told him that he needed to head outside. She smiled, bowing at him and graciously led the way for him.

Confused, he followed, and was shocked to see picnic tables scattered all around the beautiful garden, with the royal family mixed in with a few servants, sitting and enjoying their meal. He was lead to the table that held the king and queen. He bowed his head before asking, "Why are we eating outside?" He was scared that he had been found out.

Minato simply laughed, "Come take a seat King's consort, Lee. Eating outside every now and then is good for the soul! Wouldn't you agree?" Minato's eyes sparkled, full of life and something that would have made him praise in poetry if the heavy weight in his chest didn't decide to twist itself.

Smiling, he quickly did as the king asked. Lee sat down to enjoy the food. "Yes my king…it's so unexpected." He nervously chuckled.

"Would you like a drink?" A servant came beside him, offering the beverage. Lee was fascinated by the chatter, the light, and the warm friendly atmosphere.

He found himself easily getting swept up in the good mood that was going all around. He was soon lost in a conversation about the economy that he had completely lost track of time as well as to where Sasuke could be. Minato whooped, and even called for alcohol to come out. It wasn't until he started to feel drowsy from the alcohol that he realized how late it was getting, and yet everyone was lively and doing well.

He looked around himself, dread settling in his chest…where was Tenten?

Sasuke frowned, glaring at the food in front of him.

"I'm not hungry, can we please go back to our bedroom?" he asked after the tenth time of attempting to eat something. Itachi had even offered to cook him something, but for one reason or the other, Sasuke just wasn't feeling it right now. The thought of food made him nauseous. All he really wanted was to go back to bed and snuggle with Itachi.

"You can't just not eat Sasuke, are you feeling sick?" Itachi's hands worriedly felt his forehead, his jawline, and neck. Sasuke's temperature felt just fine, and he looked alright if not a bit tired.

"No. I'm fine," Sasuke looked around, "Just nothing looks appealing right now," he muttered, his frown deepening. He was sure he was hungry when they were making their way here. For one reason or the other though, when he looked at the food, he was suddenly not hungry at all.

"How about some fruit?" Itachi asked, offering to peal him an orange or an apple. Sasuke decided on the orange, allowing Itachi to feed it to him before the two of them excused themselves away from the table. Itachi smiled when Sasuke yawned. Sasuke was just glad that his uncle, aunt, and Tsunade were engaged in their own conversations to pay attention to his early departure.

Despite how loud and boisterous it was outside, inside the palace, it was relatively silent. The lights were low and relaxing, and the only voices were coming from Sasuke's bedroom.

"That damned Hyuuga, how does he know about the Kubikiribocho, I have been wanting to buy it for so long. It was said that it was not for sale though ugh!" Suigetsu ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "That beautiful blade to fall into the hands of someone that wouldn't appreciate it, do you hear me Juugo!" The man kept ranting while Juugo silently meditated.

He knew forever about Suigetsu's appreciation of certain swords, but it had been a while since the man had brought them up. Back in Sound his concern had been to return to Sasuke's side, and that had been their goal. Guess with their goal met, now Suigetsu could express his other passions. It was a bit reductant though, how he kept repeating himelf.

"I think that Lee is lying," Juugo finally spoke, his eyes slowly opening to focus on Suigetsu who turned to look at him confused.

"About the sword?" Suigetsu asked. Juugo shook his head.

"That is a very likely thing, but no, I think that Lee is lying about the reason that he is here. That he came looking for Hyuuga, if anything he could be working for him. Not willingly, I think there is something that he is hiding," Juugo commented, he didn't know Lee but he didn't trust him either. Juugo was a good judge of character and he knew when someone was up to no good.

"I don't know," He muttered, digging his pinky into his ear, "Sasuke sorta befriended him the first time around, but you're not the only one to think that, Itachi also thinks that he is being deceptive." Suigetsu commented, frustrated. From what he remembers about Lee, the man was a moron in love, a bag of poetry, and an acquired taste. There didn't seem to be a mean bone in him, but of course, he could be completely wrong about him. Even so, he thought Juugo was being annoying, wasn't he paying attention to Itachi earlier?

"It's the way that he speaks, there's something not right," Juugo closed his eyes again, he was only saying this because it was bothering him. "That was not the concern of a man in love," Just as he said that, Sasuke and Itachi entered the bedroom.

Sasuke yawned, and made his way over to the bed, dropping down into it, and snuggling into the covers that held both his and his lovers scent. It was comfort, it was familiarity, and it was just what he needed right now.

"Are you sure you're okay Sasuke?" Itachi asked, moving to brush Sasuke's bangs to the side, getting a good look at his face. Sasuke nodded, a smile gracing his lips at Itachi's touch. Itachi then removed Sasuke's shoes, making him moan in appreciation.

"Sleep with me, niisan" Sasuke murmured, trying to pull him down into bed with him. Itachi smiled softly at him.

"In a bit," He softly whispered, there was nothing more than he wanted than to snuggle with Sasuke. Sadly, right now he couldn't. "You sleep first," Sasuke nodded, allowing sleep to take him over. Once Sasuke was out, Itachi moved his hand over to Sasuke's belly. The life growing in there was definitely draining Sasuke's energy.

Today they had been running around and sparring, it had definitely left Sasuke tired. Sighing, after making sure that both his fiancée and child were safe, Itachi got to his feet, eyes flashing red as he walked over to where Sasuke kept their swords.

Suigetsu and Juugo got to their feet, alerted by the sudden change in the Uchiha.

"What's going on?" Suigetsu asked, feeling like something isn't right.

"We're going to greet our unwanted guests, gentlemen," Itachi seriously told them. "Juugo, you stay here with Sasuke." Juugo nodded his head, ready to do anything that Itachi asked of him. Suigetsu followed after Itachi as the long haired raven made his way out of the room.

The doors were locked behind them.

Tenten smirked as she watched everyone eat.

She was anticipating when they would get a taste of the tea. She figured that the little bits of serum spread on the food might not have much effect, but she was sure that with enough of it in their systems they would all soon be asleep.

Phase one of the plan was on its way, now she had to go to the gate, and let Neji and his guards in. Taking in that the sun had set, she knew that it was time to greet the Hyuuga prince. With that in mind, she rushed down the hall way in the servant's quarters. Just as she skipped in through the burnt kitchen, she felt herself be pushed into the ashy floor.

The door behind her resounded as it was slammed closed and locked. She turned her head at the sound. Her heart was skipping a million miles a minute and her eyes widened when she saw Deidara standing there, arms crossed.

"Tenten, un," the blond smirked condescendingly, "Just what is a little lady like yourself think that she is doing?" The man asked, slowly making his way over to her as his voice dropped in his anger, "tampering with my Dana's food!" He moved to kick her, but she was fast to her feet and moving out of the way. She narrowed her eyes, how had this blond idiot notice what she had been doing?

"I wonder what you did to the food," Sasori said, leaning against the charred counter. Tenten turned her head, shocked to see him there as well.

"What are you two talking about!" she demanded, there was no way that she had been found out already. She had been so careful with everything, there was no way that she had made a mistake! Neji was going to be so mad at her.

"After we noticed how you were so invested in touching every bit of food, we couldn't help but wonder what you were doing." Sasori explained, "So we had a few guards test out the food and tea you insisted on being a part of," Sasori narrowed his eyes, "Needless to say, it all had to be trashed!" This was something he was incredibly angry about, after all, he had to make new food. Nothing angered him more than have to do things twice.

Tenten bristled. "What are you..."

"That is what we should be asking you," Sasori snapped, cutting her off. "What are you doing Tenten?!"

"I'm not sure what you are talking about, I have done nothing," She yelled, taking a step towards Sasori. A small pop next to her, made her jump and remember that there was someone standing behind her. She was blocked, her eyes narrowing on Deidara who had a hand full of bang snaps in his hand.

"You are not going anywhere, until you answer us," Deidara hissed.

Tenten weigh her options, she wasn't going to speak but she needed to find a way out of this situation. She will fight, she decided, before she ever admitted to anything. Pulling a knife from her pocket, she moved to attack Deidara first, seeing as the blond was the closest to her. Before she could reach him though, a bullet went through her left knee, making her fall on her face and lose grip on her knife which slid to be under Deidara's foot.

"Oops, wrong move girly," Deidara laughed.

Tenten glowered at him.

"Go ahead and kill me, because I'll never speak!" She snapped, further solidifying that she had something to do with the attacks in the kingdom. Both men decided it was better to cuff her and let the king decide what would become of her.

Deidara moved to hold her down, but she had another blade in hand, nicking him in the arm. He hissed recoiling back, and Sasori moved behind her to hit her pressure point, knocking her out. "Are you alright?" he asked with concern. Deidara cursed, but nodded his head that he was alright.

"We have to warn Itachi that she was working for someone," Deidara said, giving his red headed lover a worried look.

"Do we even know where she came from?" Sasori wondered, as he moved down to grasp her arms, and placed her wrists into cuffs. He then moved to wrap a scrap of cloth over her bleeding wound, they didn't need her bleeding out before they hand answers.

"No not really," Deidara sighed, moving to see if he could find anything on her that would give them a clue. There was nothing on her that would tell them where she came from, she would have to speak.

"Okay, we'll deal with that later, let's move her to the dungeons and then go find Itachi," Sasori said. Both men moved to carry the unconscious girl as quickly as possible.

Itachi had sensed them as he and Sasuke were returning to their bedroom, who they were he had no idea but he knew where they were and that was where he was heading—the gate. Suigetsu noted that there was a large commotion going on there, and gasped as they got closer. The guards that are usually there were all strewn on the floor, looking like they were sleeping…either that or they were dead.

In the lead, trying to get the gate open and struggling was Hyuuga Neji along with some of his own personal guards. Before they could stop them, the doors were thrown open. It was too late to stop them now from not coming in. They had come too late.

Neji laughed, "How cute! you came to greet us didn't you," He happily called out, "Why don't you bow to me and get out of my way. I just came to get what is rightfully mine,"

"There is nothing here that belongs to you," Itachi snapped, getting into a fighting stance and showing that he was not about to let them pass.

Neji growled in anger, "A lowly servant like you has nothing on me," he snapped in return, drawing out his own weapon. "You'll die," he hissed. Itachi didn't waste any time as he moved as he was talking, kicking him in the gut. When the Hyuuga bent forward, he grabbed his hair with his left hand, moving his right hand which carried his blade down, aiming for the back of his neck. Before his blade could make contact though, another sword was there to block him.

Itachi's blood red eyes snapped up, taking in a shaking guard who looked like he wanted to run away, but was there nonetheless to save the person that he served. The man started to stuttere something at him.

"Kill him!" Neji roared, shaking as he tried to back away but his hair was still in Itachi's grip. The guard swung Itachi's blade away, pushing him back and cutting through Neji's hair so he'd be released. Itachi smirked, twisting his wrist so that his blade came down to bite through the man's fingers, making him scream and drop his own sword. "KILL HIM!" Neji roared, making every one of his guards move to attack the Uchiha.

The sheer number of guards was unfair, and it had Suigetsu snapping out of his shock and running to help out. Jumping on one of the poor guards he disarmed him so he could get a sword of his own, and swung to cut through the next one's chest.

Neji bristled, kicking his feet under him as he scooted away from the line of danger. With wide eyes he watched as several of his guards surrounded the Uchiha, aiming to kill him. The Uchiha didn't seem faced as he easily started to counter against them. He couldn't help but feel pure anger that the Uchiha knew how to fight.

Still, he was here to accomplish his goal and he was going to get it done.

Making sure that they were all distracted and not looking at him, he moved to rush to the palace. He wanted to do this quietly, but it seemed that Tenten had missed her timing in letting him in. He had plotted for everyone in the palace to be asleep, having Lee sneak in the sleeping serum had been phase one. He hoped that at least that part of his plan was going along just fine.

If so, all he had to do was get to Sasuke's room, get the sleeping prince, and take him away from here. Sasuke would then wake up in his arms, look into his eyes and realize how they were just meant to be. Panting hard, he smirked when he saw that the doors were all open. Perhaps Tenten had not been so useless, and that meet up with the Uchiha had just been a set-back. Confidently he stepped into the palace, feeling like he had won when only silence greeted him.

He brushed his uneven hair back, running a hand to his face where he was shocked to find that his mouth was bloodied. The kick the Uchiha had delivered to him was fresh in his mind, mainly because it still hurt to walk straight. Fucker, once he had Sasuke and the two were far away from here, he'd make sure to burn Uchiha's dead body. He was sure that his guards would win and take him down, there were fifty of them and just one stupid servant.

Sasuke groggily awoke, sleepily blinking his eyes as he reached for his Itachi. When his fingers came up empty, he sat up, and looked around confused to see that the lights were all on. Glancing around the bed, he wondered where Itachi was, and then his eyes landed on Juugo who was meditating in the middle of the room. "Where's Itachi?" he asked.

Juugo turned to look at Sasuke, "Itachi said he had someone to deal with, and asked that I stay here and guard you,"

"Someone to greet," Sasuke muttered, confused by the statement. Juugo nodded his head.

"Itachi mentioned they were unwanted guest, he grabbed his blade and both he and Suigetsu left," Juugo explained.

Sasuke for a moment let the words sink in, but slowly his mind started to piece together that Itachi was suspicious of Lee. He was aware that Itachi was doing his own investigation to the sudden attacks within the palace. Could he have found out who it was?

Fuck. Realization hit that Itachi could be out there fighting, he could be in danger.

Letting his eyes bleed red in his anger that Itachi had gone and left him alone like this to go and deal with danger on his own, he rushed out of the room. Juugo, concerned, confused, and startled got to his feet, making to rush after Sasuke when he remembered that Sasuke had left his sword. If there was a fight out there, he was going to need it.

"Sasuke, wait!" he calls out, cursing because he knows the young prince isn't listening, as he looked around the room. Where was it?

Sasuke on the other hand jumps over the railing, and makes his way towards the living room. Just as he crosses the threshold, he spots Hyuuga Neji entering, bleeding and looking psychotic as he tries to wipe the blood from his mouth. He found himself halting, taking a moment to think what he should do. He just knew it, all this time the one behind everything was Neji.

Neji noticed him, and smiled widely, "Haha, my prince, there you are. It got to be fate for you to come rushing to my side." Okay, Sasuke was not asleep like his planned, but this worked as well. He would take the little prince willingly.

"Where's Itachi!" Sasuke demanded. That was obviously the wrong thing to say, as the Hyuuga suddenly twisted his face and fell into a fit of laughter. His eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his skull the harder he laughed.

"Itachi…Itachi….itachi….ITACHI IS FUCKING DEAD!" Neji shrieked. Sasuke growled, taking a step back. He didn't once believe the man in front of him. Neji took a deep breath to calm himself down, moving slowly towards Sasuke. "Come with me Sasuke, I'll show you things that he never could. I can give you everything, and anything you just ask it. I love you," Neji harshly whispered as he took slow deliberate steps, trying his best to convey his sincerity.

Sasuke smirked sadistically, "That's a joke," his words made Neji stop, watching him, "Itachi has already given me everything and much more. Oh, and his cock buried deep in me, it's the most amazing thing," he taunted.

Anger flashed in the Hyuuga's moon like eyes, "You whore, you allowed him to defile you!" it was burning in his chest, how much the idea of that man touching Sasuke disgusted him. How dare he, how dare Sasuke allow it!

"We did it over, and over again," Sasuke continued to taunt, "Nothing but his kisses and his delicious cock, that's all I need. You can't give me that."

"WHORE," Neji snapped, suddenly leaping towards Sasuke. "I'LL SHOW YOU WHO YOU REALLY BELONG TO!" Sasuke dodged out of the way, and that was when Juugo came into the living room. He easily knocked Neji back, his fist hitting him square in the face. Neji landed back on his ass, groaning as his hand came to steady his aching head.

Neji groaned, moving to get back to his feet.

"Prince," Juugo called, throwing Sasuke's sword towards him. The small raven smiled gratefully, unsheathing his blade. Juugo turned back to Neji just as the man managed to steady himself, and punched him in the gut and making him wince as the air was knocked right out of him. The hit alone left him splattering even more blood from his mouth.

Fuck, he was losing his edge. Not only was he still feeling Uchiha's hit, but now he was getting his ass kicked by some nameless servant. Neji rolled on his side, gasping and whimpering at the pain exploding in his body. This is not how he pictured things going!

Juugo on the other hand wasted no time in kicking him, and then grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, delivering another hit between his eyes. The Hyuuga flew back, slamming to a stop at the glass doors.

Sasuke sighed, deciding that he would go out and look for Itachi, swiftly moving to leave the rest to Juugo here. "Juugo, I'll be going" he called, making the giant nod at him.

"I can't," Neji gurgled, "I can't let that bastard have you!" He cried, pulling out a gun, shooting Juugo in the chest before the man had a chance to move out of the way. The shot knocked him out instantly. "Haha, hahaha," he laughed. Sasuke flinched, watching wide eyed as Juugo fell to the floor like it had been nothing.

Did the bastard just kill him?

Sasuke breathed hard, it wasn't a bullet, he was sure, it was too silent to be one and it looked like a needle was sticking out of Juugo. A tranquilizer gun? "What did you do!" He demanded.

"It's a deadly poison, he won't be getting up again," He aimed the gun to Sasuke, where the raven haired prince was standing next to the exit. Poison, did he seriously poison Juugo, no…. "Don't move," Neji smirked when Sasuke scowled at him, "I'll do the same to you, only I have the antidote and only I will be able to save you… trust me when you wake up in my arms, you'll forget all about that servant," Neji spat, before pulling the trigger. Sasuke dodged out of the way, not holding still as Neji kept shooting the gun he held in his hand. The man bared his teeth, trying to steady his shaking arm, "Hold still, damn you!"

Why was Sasuke being so difficult? It had to be the brainwashing that Uchiha did on him, it had to be it because otherwise Sasuke would be his!

Sasuke ran outside, making sure not to stay in one spot for too long. The feel of the cold cement, stones, and grass reminded Sasuke that he had forgotten his shoes. Damn it, the thought that he was running away left him feeling frustrated, he needed to do something! He had to kill this bastard, enough really was enough!

Calculating as best as possible, Sasuke moved to attack the Hyuuga. His aim was already terrible as it was, making it easy for Sasuke to move in close enough to cut into his left arm. Neji cursed, on reflex he twisted his body around to kick Sasuke square in the face to get him away from him. This sent the young prince flying back, rolling as he landed on a grassy area.

Sasuke cursed fumbling to push himself up. Damn it, why was he feeling so tired…

Neji aimed his gun again, staggering his way over to the fallen raven. He wanted to get a clear shot.

"Look what you've made me do, Sasuke, it didn't have to be this difficult if you just listened and could see what I see. I didn't want to have to hurt you!" He spat, "Trust me you will see things my way when this is over." Neji stopped before Sasuke, pressing the gun close to his neck. He smirked when the raven stilled under the weapon, "This is for your own good."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, his mind already working fast to calculate his options for survival. When his ears picked up the sound of Neji shifting his fingers on the trigger, his sword shot out, quickly stabbing the Hyuuga in his gut. At the same moment, another sword was stabbed through Neji's throat. It caused him to stumble, shooting the needle barely grazing past Sasuke's arm as he dodged in time. Neji choked on his own blood. In his final determination, he turned, ripping through his own throat and shot the gun at the person behind him.

Sasuke watched in horror, as the needle hit Itachi square in the chest, causing the light in his eyes fade while he fell back as the Hyuuga's head rolled off his neck.

"ITACHI!"

It was a tough decision, but i ended up making it. Hopefully you guys enjoyed this chapter, please read and review.