Centuries
Celestia193's Author's Note: Well, the requests have been heard loud and clear, so we'll see what we can do about making the relationship dynamics work without making things feel awkward. Obvious, people really want to see Itachi top, like usual (even though Sasuke's date of birth is July 23rd, 1585). Well, whatever, let's get on with the show. You know, the one that Sasuke is going to be as stubborn as a mule about everything.
Silver's Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. To clear up any confusion, Karin is half succubus, but we sometimes refer to her as just a succubus for simplicity's sake. Happy reading!
Chapter 6
After the jet touches down on a private runway built recently, or at least recently compared to the ancient, Heian Period estate, Sasuke leads his descendant through the main courtyard, and into the part of the enormous estate that traditionally belonged to the clan head, with its outdoor, exposed halls, though updated doorways, replacing the sliding screens and paper walls with wood to match the floors, and a light steel and concrete frame. Sasuke had had the upgrades made over the decades in order to properly fortify the estate against being pillaged again.
Itachi gasps once they arrive. "It's beautiful." And absolutely took his breath away.
"I've had it renovated a few times." Which was an understatement, considering that the roofs were now a dark blue, and the wooden walls were painted white and cream, and stained a reddish gold in other places. The walkway up to the front doors was a series of masonry platforms that almost floated on the surface of the clear green water of the ponds. The vibrant orange of the koi contrasted beautifully against the abundant greenery of the riverside estate, the small creeks supplying the water to the ponds and constructed waterfalls.
"Not everything lasted from the Heian Period, and the estate was looted several times after the night that it was attacked." It hadn't been pretty, but Sasuke made the best of it. "So I had to do some upgrading and landscaping." And of course, that meant that electricity ran through the entire house, save for the most ancient parts of it.
"Well whatever you did, it worked." Itachi blinks as he takes in the grandness of the place. "It's stunning. Like something out of a dream."
"It was just as grand when I grew up here, if, without the convenience of electricity." Sasuke could remember the small shrines that had dotted the entire estate. "This is only the main house, though, where the clan head's family is supposed to reside. The rest of the estate is spread out over several dozen acres. The clan was…not small." Not at its height, anyway.
That was putting it mildly. "Our clan must have been a rather passionate one." To need this much space for housing meant someone or someones were busy getting busy a lot.
Well, Sasuke hadn't expected Itachi to interpret it that way, but it wasn't inaccurate. "Yes, very much so. Though it was also a defensive mechanism. The Warring States Period was…well, from what I saw of it, it wasn't pleasant. Lots of children were needed because of the chances of dying in battle. Especially when one's clan was a ninja clan. When I was turned, this house contained my grandparents, my parents, my father's younger brother, my own siblings, and the children of my eldest brother and sister. They required a lot of room."
"Oh of course." He should have realized that sooner. "Well on the plus side, I doubt you're going to run out of room anytime soon."
"Not unless I decide to sire myself an entire coven of baby vampires." Sasuke almost smirks at the thought. "Though I should warn you that apart from the staff, three of my…friends are staying here." The staff were a necessity, otherwise he would never be able to keep this place running. Besides, it employed a few supernaturals and kept them from causing trouble. So he was doing society a favor, really. His friends, though…that was another matter entirely.
Itachi bit back a rather sarcastic inquiry about Sasuke having friends. "That's alright. If worse comes to worst, we can easily avoid each other." he assures him.
Sasuke snorts with laughter. "You're six hundred years too young to think that you can actually avoid THEM." Even he couldn't, it's why he was stuck with them. It was like someone used a supernatural super-glue on him or something. Or maybe a really powerful magnet.
"You've piqued my interest and a moderate amount of terror." Who could be that persistent that Sasuke couldn't shake them?
"Good. You'd be wise to proceed with caution." Sasuke sure did, and he KNEW them. "Jugo is a half-giant who has a habit of attracting birds, squirrels, and fairies. You can usually find him either in the garden, or wandering the house. Suigetsu usually hangs out in the ponds, or the river, but he will pop out of nowhere if he's feeling mischievous. And Karin…" How to explain THAT woman…? "…She's the redheaded succubus who will likely try to seduce you the moment that she sets eyes on you."
A half giant? Itachi didn't know that giants actually existed! "A half giant, a succubus, and what is Suigetsu exactly?" He liked water. That could mean he was just a vampire who enjoyed swimming or something more exotic.
"A merman from a colony of them deep in the Sea of Japan." Sasuke points the way from the modern foyer, down the inner halls of the gigantic house. "The wine cellar is under the kitchen. If you're thirsty, ask the chef, Chouji. He should be able to recommend whatever it is you're in the mood for, and he can cook just about anything you could ask for as long as we have the ingredients."
"A merman?!" What was next a freaking leprechaun?! Was a unicorn actually going to frolic past them or something? "I'll...keep that in mind."
Sasuke resists the urge to laugh at Itachi's expression. "Oh, and there's a dragon nested behind the house."
Itachi gives him a dirty look. "Now, you're just fucking with me!" And not in the fun way.
The younger vampire was so…cute when he was irritated. Sasuke shakes his head. "Alright, fine, there's no dragon behind the house. Well, not usually. He usually stays burrowed into the hills a few miles from the estate. But occasionally, he will come to visit. He likes the strawberry wine in the cellar."
"Right." Itachi rolls his eyes. "A dragon. Of course." If the older vampire wanted to keep this gag going on for awhile longer, he'd humor him.
Yeah, that was Sasuke's reaction the first time Indra had told him about dragons. Then he met Aoda, and well…yeah, it was kind of hard to refute when you had a giant reptile staring you in the face, with deadly fangs that were as tall as you were. "Just remember that I warned you." Though it was a good thing that the dragon was really just a puppy in the wrong body. Affectionate was putting it mildly.
Itachi tries his best not to snort. "I'll be sure to be on the look out for any dragons." He nods his head.
"Good, and make sure to remember that the spot right under his chin is where he likes to be scratched the most." For now, though, Sasuke was tired, and cranky, and really wanted to get some more sleep. "You can have any bedroom not marked with a tassel around the handle." The decorations were there to show which rooms had been claimed, not that there was a particular shortage of bedrooms available. "The kitchen isn't staffed in the mornings between four and noon, but if you're nice to him, Chouji will probably make you something if you wake him up gently."
"Alright, I guess I'll go find a room then." He smirks at him. "It's important for the elderly to get enough rest. You must be tired by now." And with that, Itachi strides off. That would teach Sasuke to mock his age.
There were easily over a dozen rooms down one of the upstairs hallways, only a few of which had tassels hanging from the handles. The wood of the floors and walls was polished to a shine as the young vampire walked the hall, searching for an appropriate bedroom.
Itachi opens the closest door curiously. He wasn't entirely sure what to expect in this place. What he found, however, was a surprisingly modern room, with small lights built into the ceiling, and longer ones built into a small raising of the floor further into the room, where a large futon sat. Sliding windows decorated the far wall and the one to his left, save for the solid piece of wall that stopped at waist-high, against which sat a long, low desk, balanced by drawers along the opposite wall, closer to the bed. It was extremely modern, considering how ancient the house was.
"It's perfect." He smiles at the beautiful blend of traditional and new. "I couldn't have designed it better myself."
"Sassy's got great taste, right? Well, at least in furniture. His hair still looks like a duck's ass though. I dunno why Karin thinks he's so hot." A puddle of water moves across the floor, not leaving a single drop behind on the wood. "So you're Sassy's great great great great…a bunch more greats nephew, right?" Violet eyes peer out of the puddle, looking up at the dark-haired vampire. "She's probably gonna have a damn orgasm when she sees you."
Itachi blinks at that. Holy shit! "Y-Yes, that's right." Sasuke hadn't been kidding about the merman thing. "I'm Itachi. A pleasure to meet you..." He chose to ignore that last part.
The puddle sloshes around, folding in on itself and growing taller and taller, morphing into an human-shaped form, before darkening into a purple shirt, white pants, pale skin, and snowy white hair. "Man, for a second, you looked like you were gonna scream like a little girl!"
"Well it's not everyday that a puddle starts talking." Itachi rubs the back of his head sheepishly.
Suigetsu smirks. "Well, I'd say that I get that a lot, but I can't really do that in front of the humans without causing an actual heart attack, so…" He shrugs. "I'm stuck with scaring the crap out of vampires."
He wasn't really sure what to say to that. "Well if it's any consolation, you do it very well." Thank goodness his heart no longer beat.
Still grinning widely, Suigetsu ambles around the room. "So, finally come back to the mother country, huh? How long you staying for? A decade? Two? Three?"
"I'm not sure yet." That was the truth. "It could be a very short stay or indefinitely. Sasuke and I are still...getting used to each other."
"Ah…the fun part." Suigetsu grimaces. "Sassy is…really intense when you've got his attention, but he's a hard guy to get to know. One minute, he's making fun of you, the next, he's pissy, and the next, he's brooding for the next month. I once made the mistake of asking him if he had more than one personality going on in there." Yeah…that hadn't been fun.
Itachi sighs and nods. "Yes, the fun part. It's a bit disorientating, but i know that he takes the concept of family seriously...so that's something." Very serious enough to make a vow to him when he barely knew Itachi.
"Yeah, I don't think I've met anybody as protective as Sassy." It actually scared the merman sometimes, to see Sasuke's eyes turn a violent shade of ruby red in defense of someone he supposedly didn't care about. "He likes to say he doesn't care. But we all know it's bullshit."
"I'm shocked that you get away with calling him Sassy." That didn't seem like the type of nickname, he would tolerate.
Suigetsu's grin returns. "That's cause I've known the guy for a while. First met back when he was still killing people, but lost track of him for almost a century. We hooked back up a few decades ago, and I've been annoying him ever since. So if you've got questions about the real Sasuke, you ask me."
Hooked up as in... "When you say hooked up do you mean...in the most intimate sense possible or something else?" How did that even work? Didn't Suigetsu have a tail?
"What!? Ew! No!" Suigetsu shakes his hands, flailing at the implication. "Sorry, but I only go for the ladies. Sassy can have the men for himself. I'm just stuck to him like a barnacle, is all."
"For someone who is friends with a succubus, you're a little squeamish." Itachi chuckles at that thought. "But that's good to know."
"Yeah, well, I'll see her after she's done drooling over Sasuke again." Suigetsu rolls his eyes. "She's always trying to get in his pants. Seems like everyone is trying to nail him."
That probably explained his ancestor's arrogance. "Yes, it does seem that way." He tries not to twitch in irritation at that.
"You'd think he was an incubus, not a vamp with how much Karin goes on and on about the energy he puts out. It's why she's pissed that he won't sleep with her." But that wasn't really important right now. "Anyway, if you've got any questions, just come and ask Uncle Suigetsu, alright?"
"Alright." Itachi smiles, trying not to dwell on the incubus comment. "I appreciate it." Well at least Sasuke wasn't sleeping with the succubus. Not many would turn down such easy companionship.
"Right, now I'm off to try and figure out a way for Sassy to get laid, and not by my banshee of a succubus." Suigetsu wasn't really territorial or anything, it just annoyed him that Karin was always comparing him to Sasuke, even though she'd never slept with the vampire.
"Um yeah. Good luck." Wait. His Succubus? The merman was sleeping with the demoness? "Everyone is equal opportunity around here, it seems."
"Yeah, pretty much." Suigetsu couldn't argue with that. "Anyway, you should probably get some sleep while you've got the chance. We're all going out tonight, and Sassy is coming with us, whether he likes it or not."
He tilts his head at that. "Are you planning on dragging a four hundred year old plus vampire clubbing?" That was both amusing and a bit terrifying.
"Well, duh!" It was the most obvious thing in the world, wasn't it? "You just got here. So we've gotta show you what the night life in Tokyo is like. It's not THAT long a flight." They could be there in less than an hour if they took the plane. Plus, it was safer than driving.
That wasn't an issue for him? Getting on a plane? "Well I don't mind going to such an establishment, but I'm quite certain my ancestor will protest." Oh well. It was probably rude to ask how he could do that being a merman and all, especially since Sasuke was likely going to whack Suigetsu around like a ping pong ball. Just how long could he keep those legs?
"Of course he'll protest!" Suigetsu very nearly skips his way out the door. "The dragging is half the fun!"
"Now, I know what a hyper merman looks like." Itachi could only blink at the bizarre scene that was a skipping Suigetsu!
As usual, not even Sasuke's bedroom was safe from the presence of the most annoying half-succubus, technically, though she sure acted like a full succubus, instead of one of Naruto's 'human' relatives. She would have been turned into a vampire at age twenty-four, as was Uzumaki tradition, were it not for her mother being a succubus. Now, Sasuke found himself stuck with her when she followed him back from Scotland.
And she annoyed the hell out of him when she ambushed him in his room like this. "Karin, what do you want?" He just wanted to lie down in the circular alcove that contained his bed, done in a red, gold, and black Chinese style, but decorated with Japanese scenes instead. And Karin had just pulled the curtain back and barged right in, after barging into his room. The woman didn't know what a closed door meant, honestly!
"So cranky!" Honestly, she was half succubus. Sasuke should know what she wanted by now. "Does that mean you missed me too?" She smiles cheerfully as she joins him in bed!
"Never do." Sasuke turns over, pulling the sheets around himself to ward her away. The last thing he needed was her tugging off his sleeping yukata. Again.
She pouts at that. "So mean. How was your trip to see Kakashi?" Oh well. She knew he was more bark than bite when he said things like that. If he truly wanted her to leave, Sasuke was more than powerful enough to force her to do so.
"Enlightening." An understatement. After all, he'd found himself a descendant, when he thought that such a thing was impossible. "I'm sure that Itachi has found himself a room by now, so if you're really looking for someone other than Suigetsu, he might be willing to humor you." Not that Sasuke really expected his descendant to take Karin up on that offer, but it would get her out of his hair.
"What's he like?" She chooses to ignore the Suigetsu comment. It would be almost impossible for one person (no matter their species) to be able to sustain a succubus, even a half succubus.
"He's…very young, he's an academic who likes learning, and an engineer who worked on the Apollo program." Sasuke's knowledge of the young vampire was fairly superficial, really. "He talks more when he's curious, but seems on the quiet side. He's considerate for the most part, but seems prone to random bursts of passion and impulsiveness."
Karin rolls her eyes at that. "Considerate for the most part? Are we sure that he's your descendant?" The red head laughs at that thought. "Well an academic is good. You probably wouldn't take to him well, if he wasn't smart somehow."
"Well, we haven't spoken much about academics." Though Sasuke suspected that would change when Itachi had a chance to browse the library. Hm…perhaps it would be a good idea to make sure that Itachi could actually read kanji first. …And he'd have to teach Itachi some of the older stuff as well, or translate the texts for him.
"Ah well he probably just doesn't figure you'd be interested in space stuff." She smiles.
That was true, Sasuke wasn't really all that interested in outer space. It was very…new age. And while he could pick up the mannerisms of a teenager of the twenty-first century, picking up the interests of the modern age was a challenge. "I have still been trying to get to know him."
"Well hopefully you've been playing nice." Karin shakes her head at that. "You can be a bit gruff at times." That was putting it mildly.
Gruff? Really? That's how she described him? "You make me sound like an old man with a gun collection."
She laughs at that. Well that was one way to put it. "More like an ancient sexy vampire with a sword collection." Accuracy was important.
Sasuke rolls his eyes, turning over to come face to face with a head of bright red hair. "What's your point?" Why was she reminding him to play nice? Was she expecting him to try and rip his descendant in half?
"He's probably not used to being treated how you treat me and Suigetsu." Though Sasuke's greetings were usually less biting to Jugo, she noted.
"That's because the two of you to go great lengths to annoy me." And unlike them, Jugo was calm and quiet and tolerable, if…a little fond of attracting fairies. "Itachi doesn't annoy me the way the two of you insist on doing."
"Awe such a proud grandpa!" Karin pauses as she realizes what she just said. "Well you know what I mean! It's cute!"
She was really not helping her case. "Karin…" Sasuke glares at her with a flash of red in his eyes. "Call me cute again, and I will compel you to go without sex for a week." It wouldn't kill her, but it would teach her a lesson, at least.
She gulps at the threat. "So cruel!" Sheesh! He could be so mean sometimes.
"Considering that you came in here, looking to try and seduce me…" Which wasn't going to happen, because even though Karin wouldn't get too terribly attached to him, if he hooked up with her, other immortals might think they had a shot. Sasuke wasn't about to let that happen. His heart had been hurt enough. "I think that it would be a fitting punishment. Besides, one week without sex might actually teach you some discipline."
"Hmpf!" She rolls her eyes at that. "I'm a succubus. It's my nature to want physical companionship." He was basically telling a cat not to chase a bird. It was just how she was wired and he knew that! Or at least he should by now!
And it was in Sasuke's nature to want blood, but he wasn't chugging a gallon of it every day. "And you know that Suigetsu is more than willing to provide as much of that for you as he can." How Suigetsu could stand to have so much marathon sex was…almost…beyond Sasuke's comprehension.
"He tries and that's why he's my consort." Karin smiles at that. "Though even he has his limits."
"Of course, Your Majesty." Sasuke scowls dryly. "And I suppose that you expect me to be your concubine?"
"You can be my second consort or a concubine, if you prefer." She smiles eagerly at his suggestion.
"Not happening. So could you get out of my room before I decide to compel you out?" He could do way worse than that, but Karin could be extremely persistent sometimes. "Because unless you have something important to say, I'm going to sleep."
She grumbles at that. "Well you're going clubbing with us later." Just so the bastard knew that they weren't going to let him become dull!
There's a groan as Sasuke presses his head into the pillows, hearing no room for civilized argument in her declaration. Great, just great. "I want at least eight hours of sleep first." That would take him right into the evening, and maybe make him some kind of functional for whatever his friends had in mind. Because it looked like he was going to be playing babysitter, again.
"Deal." She beams at him. "Have a good sleep! Cause we're taking Itachi too!"
…Fuck.
Suigetsu grins widely in the kitchen as the scent of an excited Karin breezes into the room. "Looks like she pestered the old man into saying yes!" He'd waited about…ten minutes before dragging Itachi down to the kitchen to introduce him to Chouji, who, according to Suigetsu, made the best seafood chowder in the world. "Now we just gotta make sure that he's got a bottle and a half of whiskey in him, and we're good to go!"
Itachi shakes his head in amusement. "It's the extra half bottle that makes the difference." Oh boy. What had he just gotten himself into?
"Well, yeah, of course it makes a difference." Obviously, the kiddie vampire had only seen Sasuke drink a bit, otherwise, he would know what happened, the more alcohol you got into the ancient vampire. "The more he drinks, the friskier he gets. And it's that half bottle that makes him fun!"
"Thought you only liked women." Itachi smirks.
"Well, Sassy's as pretty as a woman, especially when he dresses like one. But that's not the point." Suigetsu waves his hands through the air. "Point is, Sassy needs to get laid, bad. I would too, if I got stuck as a horny teenager for eternity. But he gets REALLY grumpy without it. So really, getting him laid is doing society a favor. No one wants to deal with a grumpy Sassy."
Itachi nods at that explanation. "He does seem to have rather conflicted views on sexuality." That was putting it mildly. 'Instructing' Kakashi, but refusing freely offered companionship from a succubus.
"Yeah, the guy is a mystery, wrapped in an enigma, shoved into a puzzle box, and then carted around by some crazy cymbal-clapping monkey." Suigetsu was half-certain that Sasuke was just completely nuts, but pretended otherwise. "Sometimes, he makes perfect sense, other times…you'd be lucky to figure out a fraction of what goes on in that duck-butt head of his."
"Duck-butt head?" The young vampire raises an eyebrow in amusement. "Really?" The things that came out of Suigetsu's mouth were honestly astounding.
"Well, yeah, you've SEEN his hair, right?" The merman nods vigorously. "Naruto totally got it right when he said that Sassy's hair looks like a duck's ass. Or like he's just had sex. Or rolled out of bed. But whatever way you slice it, it sticks up like a duck's tail-feathers."
Itachi was really beginning to suspect Suigetsu was either actually bisexual or gay. "I hadn't given the matter a great deal of thought, though it has a pleasant visual appeal to it." He shakes his head.
"Wow, you kinda sound like you just stepped out of England. Must be cause Sassy and the perv spent a lot of time hiding out there after shit went down here." Suigetsu was quite proud of how he'd picked up modern speech. It was so much more fun than the boring, old, formal stuff. "You probably don't even speak old Japanese, do you?"
Karin shakes her head and swats Suigetsu playfully behind the ear as she walks into the kitchen. "Be nice! Don't tease him for knowing how to speak properly." Honestly, men! They would find the most ridiculous reasons to tease each other!
"I speak modern Japanese fluently enough to feel comfortable on this trip." Itachi sighs and shakes his head at the merman's question. "As for the older dialects, I'm afraid that those continue to elude me." For now, he was just going to ignore the white haired supernatural's taunting about his speech.
Suigetsu cringes. "Well, then I hope that you like studying, cause if you're gonna read most of the stuff in Sassy's library, he's gonna have to teach you how. Most of it is over three hundred years old, some of it is even from a thousand years back." And somehow, the ancient vampire could read all of it, and memorize it. It boggled the mind, really.
"I don't mind it." Though Itachi doubted he'd have much use for ancient Japanese in the modern era.
"Good, cause Sassy takes his ancient texts VERY seriously." Well, maybe Suigetsu meant obsessively, but…Itachi could figure that part out on his own. "Anyway, back to getting Sasuke drunk. We should probably start on the plane, since he'll go into babysitter mode as soon as we get to the club."
Karin's eyes sparkle with mischief. "We should definitely start on the plane." To which Itachi could only laugh as he watches the succubus and merman begin to plot like a pair of university students.