Centuries

Silver's Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. Aoda fans in particular should love this chapter. Happy reading.

Chapter 15

"Master Sasuke. Master Itachi." To say that Sasuke was surprised to see his dragon curled up on the floor of his gigantic bedroom was an understatement. "I come with news."

Sasuke blinks, slowly stepping around Aoda, and heading for the closet. After all, he needed something more to wear than just a towel. Well, okay, he didn't, but he also didn't want Itachi to get jealous because he started parading around naked where anyone could see him. "Alright, what is it?"

The dragon growls slightly. "There was a bad smell in the forest."

Itachi chuckles at that. "Well I imagine that there are bad smells in the forest from time to time." Probably a skunk or something of that nature."

Sasuke narrows his eyes as he pulls on his clothes behind a thin screen. "What kind of smell, Aoda?" Maybe it was nothing, but if Aoda felt like bringing it up, Sasuke would look into it.

"Like vampire, death, and rotting scales, Master Sasuke." Aoda's wings flutter against his scaly body. "I have smelled nothing like it before…"

Sasuke freezes, his blood turning to ice. "You're sure?"

"Yes, Master Sasuke. It was quite strange." And Aoda didn't like it. He really didn't like it.

That sounded a lot more serious than just a skunk. Itachi frowns at that thought. They clearly had to do something and quickly. What the Hell had been lurking around in the forest?

Sasuke emerges from behind the screen, dressed entirely in black, with a single belt wrapped around his hips. Buckles adorn the dark leather waiting for a weapon's sheath. "Itachi, no matter what you may hear, I want you to stay in this room."

"Sasuke." He couldn't be serious. "Are you sure?" That sounded ominous. He couldn't imagine doing nothing, if Sasuke needed help.

"Yes, I'm sure." Sasuke reaches to the sword rack on the wall, taking down his chokuto, and pulling it six inches from its sheath, checking the blade. As usual, it was perfect. "It might be nothing, but in the worst case scenario…well, you wouldn't stand a chance."

Itachi wanted to point out that he was a sitting duck anyway, if whatever this was managed to get past Sasuke. "Alright." But he didn't.

"Good." Sasuke resheathes the blade and attaches it to his belt. "Jugo, Suigetsu, and Karin are here in case something goes wrong. It shouldn't, but it never hurts to be prepared." That man wouldn't actually be stupid enough to come here and fight Sasuke on his own soil, would he? "…You should sit here and meditate."

"Sasuke, I love you, but you're out of your mind if you think I'm going to mediate at the moment." Itachi sighs as he kisses him. "Good luck. Stay safe."

While he accepts the kiss, Sasuke sighs impatiently, running his fingers through Itachi's hair. "Just…please, do as I say. I'll be back soon." As soon as he found the snake that had trespassed on his domain. To that end, Sasuke takes a step back, becoming little more than a blur as he disappears from sight.

He slams his fist into the wall. "All that training is useless." Itachi was actually expected to sit here while Sasuke ran off to deal with something that was bad enough to worry a dragon?

Aoda rumbles softly, trying to comfort the young vampire. "Master Sasuke only wishes for you to be aware of your surroundings. It is a skill that will allow you to know when you are in danger, and where those around you are. He is attempting to train your instincts to know all that lies around you."

"I understand that Aoda." Great. Now he was throwing a temper tantrum in front of a dragon. "It does me almost no good in this situation though." He was still pathetically weak compared to Sasuke. Time was just not on his side.

"I see…" Aoda's eyes travel across the room, falling on the weapons rack in the corner. "You've trained a little with blades. Show me what you can do. I have watched Master Sasuke practice many times. Perhaps I can help you to improve?"

The dragon was trying to babysit him. "I'm not really sure if now is the best time, I'm honored by the offer but…" Yeah. He had to keep his senses alert. Something major was going on. Target practice wasn't a good idea.

Aoda hums happily. "If anything should approach this room that does not smell like Master Sasuke, I will eat them for you."

"Um…yes, I appreciate that Aoda." He pats the guard dragon on the head.

"Good, now, take up one of Master Sasuke's katana and practice. My nose will keep you safe." And Aoda had always been very proud of the nose he had relied upon for so long. It hadn't failed him yet.

The dragon was so nice, Itachi didn't have it in him to snap at the poor thing. "Alright." He didn't want to practice with his katana at the moment, but he decides to humor Aoda by picking it up.

"Now, defend yourself." Aoda's scaly tail flicks through the air, poking at Itachi's chest. "Or I will knock you over."

A dragon was acting like a mother hen, a guard dog, and a babysitter all rolled into one. "Alright." He uses the sword to 'defend' himself.

Aoda's rumbling 'laugh' echoes deep in the dragon's chest as he duels, katana on scaly tail, with the fledgling. And slowly, ever so slowly, the speed and variety of attacks begin to increase. This was, after all, one of Sasuke's favorite partner training methods. And for good reason. Aoda was a natural tail-fighter.

"I am waiting for the right moment to strike, Lord Orochimaru." Anko hated making these reports, especially since Orochimaru was getting impatient. For a vampire so old, the man did not have a great deal of patience. Or tolerance for failure. "The Uchiha seems to be suspicious, and the target hasn't emerged from the estate even once." And going in would be pointless, as she would no doubt be caught while their guards were this high. "But I'm close to having him." She just needed to avoid the older vampire in the process.

"I should have foreseen this." Of course, Sasuke would be protective of the bloodmate he had waited centuries to find. "My patience is not indefinite Anko. Do not fail me."

"Then I will do my best not to die." After all, a lifeless corpse could hardly make any sort of delivery. And honestly, Anko had already died once, and she was not looking forward to repeating that. "I will report again in a week, or if I capture him." Whichever came first."

He nods at that. "Excellent. I look forward to it." With that being said, she hears a click. Orochimaru had hung up on her.

It wasn't the first time that she'd felt utterly unappreciated. She was far from the only vampire under Orochimaru's control, but with her every thought being of rebellion, it was no wonder that she often received more dangerous assignments than the others. Here, one wrong move could spell her doom. For even if the oni wasn't at full strength, his skills alone might prove enough to be her downfall.

No, she had to plan and be careful. This was not a fledgling to abduct carelessly.

Nothing. There was nothing out there, save for some faint tracks that seemed to disappear into thin air, and no extra presence to be found. Whoever it was…they were cautious and sneaky. Those were the opponents that Sasuke hated most. It meant that at best, the battle was a circular one, unless one person's skills severely outmatched the other's, or it would become a game of cat and mouse that could go on for…conceivably, forever, if his opponent was truly a vampire.

And, of course, there was only so long that Sasuke was willing to leave Itachi alone. During the day, it was fine. Most vampires, hell, most supernaturals preferred to work at night, himself included. But at night…that's when it was best to be close to Itachi.

If it was Orochimaru, then it was almost certain that he would try to strike at night. He was very much the traditional vampire. And as the sun begins to set, Sasuke flits back inside the estate, slightly fatigued from fruitless efforts at tracking the untrackable.

He sighs as he returns to his room, finding Itachi in there, a sword from the weapons rack laying next to him as his mate sits back against Aoda. "…Did you really get talked into training by a dragon?"

"Well he was rather insistent about it." Itachi looks up at Sasuke. "Dragon Puppy Eyes are apparently a thing." Something that he had only recently discovered.

Despite his frustration, Sasuke smiles. "Yeah, they're a thing. I probably should have warned you about that, but I can't say I'm displeased with the results." Because judging by the slightly disheveled mess that was Itachi's hair, they'd been at it for hours "Aoda is really just a golden retriever in a dragon's body."

"That's good." He glances at Aoda. "Can you retrieve some handcuffs because I'm not letting Sasuke pull a stunt like that again." He had been worried sick about his bloodmate and Sasuke looked…well, normal. Tired, but normal.

Aoda rumbles amusedly. "I doubt there are a pair of handcuffs in the world that could hold Master Sasuke."

Sasuke smirks smugly. "Damn right."

"However, there should be chains underneath the bed, should you wish to mount him and couple." And for that, Sasuke shoots the dragon a dirty look.

"That might be useful knowledge in the future, but I doubt Sasuke feels up to coupling." Itachi shakes his head in amusement. "You look exhausted."

Sighing, Sasuke strides over to his bed, pulling back the curtain hanging between the half moon shaped arches. "Snakes like to hide in the grass when they sense someone nearby, looking to stamp them out. I found tracks, and searched five kilometers out from the estate in every direction. Nothing. Wherever our intruder is, they've been trained like me." Not nearly as good, otherwise they would have left no scent behind, and no tracks at all, but still, there was still a trace scent from Orochimaru that lingered in the forest. And Sasuke didn't like it. "He's going to pay for invading my sanctuary…"

Orochimaru. Itachi had heard of him from Kakashi. "Should we…get more security or something in that case?" Orochimaru was an elder vampire. Older even than Sasuke, from what Itachi understood.

"…I suppose we could let Naruto and Kakashi know, but short of Indra, I doubt that there's much that would keep that snake away from me. Assuming, of course, that he has the guts to do his own dirty work this time." There was nothing and no one that Sasuke hated more in this world than Orochimaru. "And I don't know where my Sire is, or what he's doing. He disappeared decades ago." Sasuke sighs, glancing at Itachi as he sits down on his bed. "Come on, it's been a long day."

Itachi sighs as he lays down on the bed. "Kakashi is powerful and you trained him yourself, but Orochimaru is older. Much older." At most, Itachi suspected, Kakashi might be able to stall for time. "I don't know about Naruto as much though."

"Yes, Orochimaru is older than me, by about three hundred years." Significant, but not insurmountable. "But Naruto's clan has a couple of vampires, his grandparents, well, more like Grand-Sires, who are about the same age. If worse came to worst, there's a chance that the two of them together might be able to put down Orochimaru. But that would mean first fighting past his army of minions." And Sasuke knew that Orochimaru would be collecting them.

He was almost double Sasuke's age?! "I see and what am I to be doing during all this?" Itachi wasn't going to sit still again. That much was for sure.

Sasuke sighs, fingers playing with Itachi's hair. "Well, here's what you're NOT going to be doing. Throwing yourself in the middle of this, trying to protect me from him. He's been after me for centuries, and only managed to kill me once. He's not going to get that pleasure a second time."

"That's not comforting." He had already killed Sasuke once. "What am I going to do with your sexy, borderline suicidal ass?"

"My ASS is not borderline suicidal." Sasuke grumbles quietly, glancing at Aoda as the dragon snorts, ambling out of the room to stand guard outside. The huge door closes with a single flick of the scaly tail. "At least…not anymore…"

Itachi sighs as he cuddles to him. "Glad to hear it." He kisses his cheek. "I don't want to lose you."

"And I, you…" Sasuke shakes his head, pressing a kiss to Itachi's lips as he leans over his mate and strokes his hair, trying to soothe the young vampire. "Besides, Orochimaru isn't all powerful. In fact, Orochimaru doesn't have nearly as much power as he would like. That's why he hates Indra so much, and why he's hated me for over four centuries."

It was actually a rather complicated story, but Sasuke would try to simplify it. "Some vampire bloodlines are just stronger than others. Asura's for one, and Indra's for another. He's jealous because his Sire was some second-rate vampire who barely had the power to turn him properly, let alone pass down their strength. That's why he's lashing out." Though the snake was taking his damn sweet time doing it. Sasuke would have preferred that this nonsense have been over and done with centuries ago.

"That's a bit disturbing of a concept." Itachi leans into his touch. "It feels like a monarchy to me, but I suppose if it's innate, it can't really be helped." What could be helped was him losing his Mate. He wouldn't allow that to happen.

Sasuke chuckles softly at his mate's assessment of the situation. "A monarchy implies some sort of organization. And that…would be giving most of our kind far too much credit. We're too spread out to consider something like that. There's just…some lines that are more fortunate than others. The bloodlines are like wine, they've had time to stew. Indra was already over a thousand when he turned me, his blood was extremely…potent by that point, and his own Sire…I don't know their name, but their blood was even more potent. I retained some of that potency, and passed it on to Kakashi after it grew in power inside me for a couple of centuries, and then, he passed that on to you a century and a half later. And then, there's something to be said for the quality of the human being turned, and all sorts of other things."

Itachi blinks at all that. "I was a mechanical engineer, but you somehow managed to give me a math headache." He laughs softly at that. "Well my liege, shall we get some sleep?"

"Yes, we shall." Sasuke chuckles, shaking his head as he rolls off his mate, sliding under the warm covers. "And while you dream of pounding my ass into the bed, I assure you that I will be dreaming about how I pounded yours against the side of the bath."

"An ancient nymphomanic for a mate." Itachi chuckles as he closes his eyes. "I suppose I got rather lucky when it came to finding my bloodmate."

Sasuke smirks, laying a arm over Itachi's stomach, lying on his side as he watches the face of his wonderful mate. "You know you love it. Especially when it ends in a week long sex marathon." Itachi hadn't complained then, and Sasuke certainly wasn't going to complain about actually feeling satisfied by a partner.

"I love it and I love you." He burrows closer to Sasuke. "Even if you drive me absolutely crazy sometimes." Like making him stay behind tonight.

"It's not love if you don't drive each other crazy, sometimes." Sasuke smiles as he holds Itachi against his chest. Despite knowing that there were dark clouds overhead, Sasuke couldn't bring himself to feel afraid, or even apprehensive. Not now. Not with Itachi so sweetly snuggled into his arms.

Itachi sighs and nods. "I just…feel so useless to you outside of the bedroom." He was a fucking liability in a fight. Itachi might be strong for his age, but against a seven hundred year old vampire…he stood little chance of victory.

"Then you get stronger. You make the most of every minute, every second you have. Better yet, get smarter." Sasuke squeezes Itachi tightly. "Know your strengths, know your weaknesses, and make them work for you. That's what some people don't get. Your weaknesses are a part of you, and either you grow out of them, or you live with them. Don't ignore them, use them. If you're small, use that to hide, learn stealth. If you're too shy to speak, then listen to others, remember their every word. If you're weak, make your enemies underestimate you, and teach yourself how to look for the moment to make a decisive strike. Using everything you have at your disposal…is how to be a true ninja."

Another sigh and Itachi rolls Sasuke underneath him. "I'm younger than you. You and Orochimaru have the advantage of being older and in your case, I imagine that having a more direct source from Indra gives you a genetic advantage of sorts, but I'm not ignorant." He kisses him. "I already know all that. It might negate some of Orochimaru's advantage around the margins, but it's not enough."

Sasuke returns the kiss, eyes flickering back open to gaze at Itachi determinedly. "Itachi, I promise, Orochimaru isn't going to kill me, not this time. If all goes well, you won't even be involved. I may not know what his game is yet, but I have a backup plan in case things go sideways. A ninja always has a backup plan. And it should be enough to even out the odds. Besides…" Sasuke smirks slightly. "You've been giving me your blood, in exchange for mine. My blood will make you stronger, you just have to let it."

"His plan is obvious." Itachi wasn't sure how, but he knew. "He's probably got himself a spy. Found out about me." It hadn't been intentional, but Itachi had put Sasuke in danger. "He knows, Sasuke. He knows about us and he's going to come after me." Maybe, Sasuke blood would make him stronger. "I'll use whatever power boost your blood grants me, but we both know that he's coming."

Sasuke's eyes burn a violent and dark ruby red. "And if he does, I will cut him to ribbons, rip out his heart, and tear off his head to put on a pike, after showing him why I was the most feared monster in all of Japan during the reign of the shogunate." If that's what it took to keep Itachi safe, Sasuke would become that demon once again.

Itachi's heart probably would have stopped beating for a moment, if he wasn't already technically dead. "There's no need to be that dramatic." He kisses Sasuke's forehead, trying to calm him. "Just as long as you're safe, that's all that I care about. You and Kakashi." He smiles. "Though I am growing fond of Aoda and your other friends."

The red fading slowly from his eyes, Sasuke sinks back into the bed, staring up at Itachi, trying not to imagine what it would feel like if Orochimaru took his mate away. …It was hard, and the anxiety was slowly beginning to take root. "It's not drama, it's a promise. If he touches you, I will take great…pleasure in killing him." His own safety didn't matter to him, only Itachi's. Everyone else was more than capable of taking care of themselves. Itachi…he was Sasuke's heart. And he needed to protect his heart, at any and all costs.

"Well then, let's make sure he doesn't touch me." Itachi smiles at him. "I wish that things were easier. That I didn't…that I wasn't an easy mark for your enemies."

Now, it's Sasuke's turn to roll them over, pinning Itachi to the bed. "If you weren't here, my enemies would just be playing the waiting game, waiting for me to just…stop." He'd been pretty close, too, closer than he wanted to admit. "Easy mark or not, you're the reason that my will hasn't been opened." And likely wouldn't be, unless the worst were to happen. Vampires usually didn't bother with things like wills, but Sasuke was one of the extremely rare few, who…well, he was just being prepared.

Itachi's eyes sadden at that. Sasuke had apparently been far closer to the edge than even Kakashi suspected. "That's...marginally comforting." He sighs and kisses him. "Well no more wills."

"Not with you here." Sasuke agrees easily, leaning down to deepen the kiss, his fingers running through Itachi's hair and caressing his cheek. "Not while you hold my heart in your hands." One so full of love and affection for his mate, that Sasuke could almost swear it had started beating again.

"Good." Itachi smiles as he returns the kiss. "I much prefer it that way." At least, Sasuke had pulled back from the edge. That was all that really mattered.

Sasuke sighs, closing his eyes and lowering himself the last couple of inches to press firmly against Itachi as their tongues twist and tangle together. He could resume the hunt for Orochimaru or his spy in the morning. Right now, he wanted to enjoy himself a little. And to that end, he reaches down, smirking slightly as he slides his hands beneath his mate, grabbing Itachi's ass and squeezing hard.

He groans into the kiss lustfully as he wraps his legs around Sasuke, allowing him to squeeze as much as he liked. "I love you." He probably shouldn't, but Itachi did and the other vampire needed to know that.

The older vampire smiles softly at the words, breaking the kiss for only a moment. "I love you too." Then, he rolls them over again, tangling the sheets around them as Itachi's weight settles comfortably on top of him.

"Good because you're kinda stuck with me." Itachi chuckles as he peppers his mate with kisses.

Sasuke laughs softly. "I think I can live with that." It's what he needed most, after all.