Centuries

Silver's Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. Well this is the 'Aftermath Chapter.' It's all about what happens after the big battle. This is not the end of the story though. Anyway, happy reading.

Chapter 21

Anko wasn't sure what was going to happen now. She was back at Sasuke's estate, but she didn't truly know what that meant. Sasuke hadn't killed her yet, but that could be because he was more worried about his Mate than dealing with loose ends like her.

Maybe she should try to run. She was finally free of Orochimaru, after all. Anko could go anywhere. That would be the smartest move, but like an idiot...she still felt like she owed Kakashi some sort of explanation. So she was frozen to the spot in the gardens where she had been left to her own devices.

Quiet footsteps tamp down the grass as they approach the vampires from behind, and the first thing to present itself to her is a beautiful white and red gladiolus, like a handkerchief dipped in wine. "My lady." Kakashi smiles slightly over Anko's shoulder. "You needn't look so tense. My Sire is not going to harm you."

She nearly jumps out of her skin when Kakashi sneaks up behind her and hands Anko a flower. "I wouldn't be so sure about that." The vampiress looks at him in confusion as she takes the beautiful bloom from him. "I kidnapped his Mate and your Childe." Not that she was complaining by any stretch of the imagination, but his reaction confused her. "Shouldn't you despise me? Shouldn't you be trying to tear me limb from limb now or throwing me to Sasuke for him to do so?"

Wait. Anko shouldn't be arguing about such a thing. "I'm glad that you don't appear to be angry with me, but I don't understand." By all logic, Kakashi should be trying to rip her throat out, not handing her flowers.

"Being compelled by a monster does not make you one. Sasuke knows this, and knows Orochimaru's depravity. And he is not usually in the habit of killing underlings in order to approach his target. Last night was…a rather special exception." Kakashi sighs softly. "And while yes, I am angry that you took Itachi away from us, I realize that you had no choice but to do so, and that, were you to fail, you would have forfeited your own life. You are still young, and should not have been forced into such a situation. It is no one's fault but Orochimaru's, despite the fact that Sasuke insists on blaming himself."

"Oh. Good." That meant that Sasuke probably wasn't coming after her. "I'm glad to hear that." Which was good because she liked her heart, head, and all her other body parts to be attached to her person and she wasn't eager to be dead, dead yet.

"Yes. Now…" Kakashi wraps an arm around her waist and tugs her gently towards a small clearing in the middle of the flowerbeds. "I'm sure that last night was as traumatic for us as it was for you. How are you?"

She couldn't believe it, but Anko feel her face heating up. "I'm much better now than I was five minutes ago." Into a blush. She hadn't blushed since she was a human!

"Oh?" Kakashi smirks subtly at the blush on her face. "And why is that?" She looked quite fetching with that pink flush all over her cheeks. Kakashi was starting to wonder what else might be sufficient to bring such an attractive color to her face.

"Well knowing that you and your sire are not plotting my brutal demise, is quite frankly a relief." She was as skilled fighter. Perhaps, she might have a chance at Kakashi. He had the advantage of being older, but she knew she could punch above her weight. "Thank you for being so understanding." Against Sasuke though, she stood no chance and to imagine herself going up against the likes of Indra, well...it was laughable.

Kakashi's eyes sadden a little for the young vampiress who seemed to think that circumstances beyond her control would be held against her in such a fashion. "You forget that I was born in an era where those who had done nothing wrong often died, often by my hand, simply because of who their master was. It was bloody and brutal, and no so…censored for the public eye as wars in the last century. I have seen more than enough innocents die, simply because they were carrying out orders that they had no choice but to follow. And that cannot compare to the horrors my sire has seen. Neither of us wishes for more blood."

That was ironic considering Sasuke had been drenched in blood. "I'm glad to hear that." She smiles wistfully and leans back into him. "I know it must seem insincere now, but I wasn't feigning my interest in you."

Well, that was good to hear. He caresses her cheek softly. "Good to know. But, while the blush suits you, such a meek demeanor does not. Where has my sexy dominatrix gone?" Because Kakashi, despite everything, was quite assuredly still interested in his amazon. "Perhaps it's just a masochistic streak, but I did find the image of you on a battlefield to be rather…exhilarating. Even if the circumstances were less than desirable."

"In that case, you did promise to be my instructor and I do believe that we can probably find a pair of handcuffs somewhere." She smiles at him slyly.

He chuckles, leaning down to nibble on her ear. "Oh, I'm sure that we can find more than that." After all, Kakashi did have his own room here, and Sasuke had made sure that some of the rooms were well stocked with…well, just about everything one could need for a night of wicked, wild sex. "The estates is quite thoroughly stocked in such…supplies."

Anko shivers and smirks. "A man after my own heart. Why don't you lead the way?" It had been awhile since she had found a lover who had been...able to exceed her expectations.

"My pleasure." Kakashi's eyes glitter as he brings her hand up to kiss it. Perhaps today would end on an upswing after all.

It had been a long time since Indra had seen such a…what did humans call it nowadays? A clusterfuck? Yes, that seemed an appropriate term to describe the night they'd all had. Sleep was, of course, a must, and Indra was certain that his childe would likely be asleep for the better part of two days after expending that much energy and power. His relative lack of injuries attested to the fact that his 'son' had pushed his powers to the limits in order to reach his mate.

A mate that Indra had only briefly had the chance to see as they returned to the estate. After all, it would have been cruel to tear them away from each other when they had only just been reunited, even if there was almost nothing said between them. Orochimaru's head sitting on the table was likely a 'mood killer' as the kids called it.

Still, it was his duty, both as ancestor and Sasuke's Sire to inspect this child and see just what it was that had Sasuke so entranced with his bloodmate. He would not separate them, of course, he would never dream of doing such a thing. However, it was best to see to it that Itachi was prepared to deal with what lay ahead in the days to come.

To that end, he silently opens the door to Sasuke's room, flicking the lock open with his mind, and stepping inside. He heard nothing, of course, as vampires neither breathed, nor beat their hearts. But he could sense them both clearly in here. "Itachi."

Itachi pulls back the curtain and looks towards the door. There he was. That must be Indra. It had to be. He didn't recognize the vampire, exactly. It was more that the family resemblance was disturbingly strong considering Indra had well over a thousand years on him. "Indra?" The young vampire didn't even know what to say to his ancestor. His ancestor who was also his great grandsire.

The ancient vampire nods, eyeing the two boys behind the curtain. Sasuke was just barely visible, but clearly asleep. And he looked rather sweet, curled and cuddled up to his mate in that manner. "He will be asleep until tomorrow, at least. I thought that we might walk and get to know each other before he requires more of your attention."

"Alright." Itachi pauses at that. "I'll leave him a note just in case. I don't want him to panic." Which was a very real possibility, if Sasuke woke up and Itachi wasn't by his side.

"Very well." Though Indra saw little point. They were not going far, and certainly not out of the range of Sasuke's senses, and neither would they be gone long enough for Sasuke to wake up. But if it reassured the child, that was fine.

Itachi quickly writes a message down on a sticky note and places it on Sasuke's forehead. "There." He smiles. "He can't miss it now." With that reassuring thought in mind, the young vampire follows his ancestor out of the room and towards well wherever he wanted to go.

Indra resists the urge to laugh as he leads Itachi from the room and towards a newer addition to the mansion, a lunarium build in the middle, where once there was just a small courtyard. "I can see now why you wished to leave him a note. It would be most amusing to see his reaction upon finding that."

"Well there is that." Itachi chuckles at that the thought of Sasuke's expression when he woke up. "Though truly, it was the easiest way to ensure that he sees it."

"I suppose it is." Indra had, of course, never done such a thing. They did not have these convenient sticky papers when he had been raising Sasuke. But, there were more pressing matters than playing jokes on Sasuke. "…First, understand that I do not disapprove of you and my childe." Of course he didn't, finding your bloodmate was a beautiful and sacred thing. "But your relationship with him is both heartening, and worrying."

Oh boy. He was getting The Shotgun Talk from his ancestor. "Yes, I know." Itachi runs his fingers through his hair a bit anxiously. "I suppose I should be grateful that you aren't threatening with a shotgun yet."

"No, I am far too old fashioned for such a thing. If this were truly me threatening you with some sort of weapon, I would personally prefer a sickle and chain or a katana, myself." But no, Indra was not giving that sort of talk. "In any case, you misunderstand. Like I said, I do not disapprove, I simply worry that you may be unprepared for looking after Sasuke. As you have no doubt seen, he is…difficult to handle, at times."

"I"m aware of that." He nods at Indra, slightly reassured by that answer. "We're bloodmates though and we love each other. So we will figure it out somehow."

"Yes, I do hope for that." Though it was not nearly so simple. "Sasuke's habit of internalizing his emotions is a habit that has been ingrained in his mind since even before I first laid eyes on the boy. He locks them inside, and allows them to fester. And there are very few ways to force him to come to terms with those emotions. A spar is what I typically used, as it forced them to the surface and finally allowed for them to spill out, and his heart healed. You, of course have more options than I decided were appropriate." It had vexed Indra at first, however, Sasuke proved that although he was a difficult nut to crack, he could be cracked, when enough force was applied to the correct place.

Itachi feels himself blush. "Yes, I suppose so." He had a pretty good idea of what kind of options Indra was referring to.

"Good. You will likely need to employ them for that purpose at least somewhat regularly until he recovers from this. It could be months, a year, or more." Indra was uncertain, as Sasuke's mind was still something of a mystery at times, even to him. "Fighting and sex are very much most of what he knows, outside the academic sphere. So I would suggest employing those when liberally, but when appropriate, and not tiptoe through your approach."

"Yes, I believe I understand." His great grandsire was essentially telling him to fuck his Mate's brains out until he felt better.

With his advice delivered, Indra looks up to the vaulted roof of the lunarium, designed to let in the light of the moon and serve as both ambiance and a calendar. "Now, I'm sure that you must have many questions. You may ask as many or as few as you like."

There were so many, Itachi didn't really know where to start. "Are you really fifteen hundred years old?" So he might as well go with the basics, he supposed. His head was now spinning. Indra was literally living history.

"Fifteen hundred and twenty eight." Indra smirks at the child. "I was born here, less than a century after the final fall of Rome."

"That's incredible." He could scarcely imagine that. "Do you have a bloodmate?" He must have to have survived that long without succumbing to madness.

Indra's expression softens, and a hint of love colors his features. "I do. For…an eternity, now. And he never lets me forget it. Together, we have watched empires, kingdoms, and governments rise, fall, rise again, or scatter like ash in the wind. We were lucky, to have had each other since very nearly the beginning."

"That's rather romantic." Itachi smiles at him. "I'm happy for you. My only regret is not finding Sasuke sooner." His bloodmate had been hovering on the edge, likely for decades or more before Itachi found him.

"Yes…and had I known of your existence, I would have come for you and brought you to Sasuke, myself." It was an oversight on his part, tracking down Sasuke's whereabouts, but not keeping an eye on Kakashi as well. "If nothing else, some family might have helped him heal. He was…never the same after the war. But I am glad that you've found each other before it was too late."

He nods at that. "Yes, I'm glad too." So very glad. Itachi couldn't imagine a world without Sasuke now. Sasuke was the missing piece of himself that the younger vampire hadn't even known was missing.

"By the way…" Indra tilts his head ever so slightly as he scrutinizes Itachi, looking around his shoulder at his back. "Perhaps it is my imagination, but you appear to be missing a few locks of hair from the shoulder-blade, down."

"That son of a bitch is lucky that he's dead." Itachi half snarls. "First, he kidnaps me and torments me. Makes Sasuke worry sick and apparently, he even ruined my hair!" Was there no end to the insults that Orochimaru would bestow upon him? Even from beyond the grave.

Indra shakes his head at the child. "Come, we shall fix you up and send you back to your mate." And perhaps there would be time to bestow something of a wedding present on Itachi. After all, though this incident turned out well enough, in the end, there could not be a repeat. And Indra had ways of ensuring that it would not.

"That would be greatly appreciated." Itachi doubted his bloodmate would be too turned off by a bad haircut, but Sasuke would also likely tease him about it for decades to come, if he didn't fix this.

It was a good thing that he'd taught his brother how to use a phone, otherwise Asura was certain that it would have taken Indra a month to let him know what was going on. Or longer. His big brother did like more traditional methods of doing things, including extremely slow postal service.

Still, this sort of thing was all kinds of crazy. Orochimaru kidnapping his nephew's bloodmate, a battle that left bodies all over Yoshiwara, and a need for a clean-up brigade to go in and make the necessary disposals. Things were never boring around Indra, that was for certain.

On the other hand, it was time to redirect the family, and Asura was planning on doing just that. …After some quality time with his favorite descendant. "It seems that your friend and his mate made it out of there in one piece. Well, mostly, it seems that young Itachi's hair had an unfortunate encounter with a sword, but they made it out without suffering the loss of life or limb." Which was honestly more than they really could have hoped for.

"Thank goodness." Naruto sighs in relief at that. "Though it's a good thing Orochimaru is dead. Itachi gets really crazy when someone messes with his hair." Not that Naruto could entirely blame him. It was very nice hair.

"Yes, my brother is trying to keep the child from having a temper tantrum, it seems. Itachi is apparently quite vocal on the subject." And it was amusing, but Asura was certain that his brother could handle it. 'Indra can also be something of a diva when it comes to that sort of thing, so I imagine that everything will work out just fine." More importantly… "How much of Orochimaru's network has been uncovered?"

He'd rather talk about the hair thing. "Quite a bit." Orochimaru's network was definitely not a pleasant subject. "We could seriously spend decades eradicating it." And that was a fairly charitable estimate.

"Well, we have decades and my brother." And Asura knew that pissing off Indra was a good way to get sent straight to the underworld. "I'm sure that if we dig deep enough, we'll root out enough dirty laundry that my brother can have a field day…'washing' it."

"Yeah." Naruto shakes his head. "That's still a lot of dirty laundry though." Even by their standards.

"Well, you would expect a snake to have quite a lot to hide." Normally, Asura didn't mind snakes. But this one in particular…not so much. "Perhaps we should set Kushina on them, that would certainly bring in some rather fast results." And be hilarious to watch. The fiery redhead was easily one of the most lively vampires in the clan. The second, Naruto himself.

Naruto laughs at that image. "Yeah. That would probably put the fear of God into them." Or the fear of demons anyway. Messing with redheaded vampires was a bad idea.

"Yes, it certainly would." And Asura was sorely tempted to set the entire clan on the network. Save for those outliers who possessed slightly more exotic shades to their hair, the majority of the clan were born redheads. And he could think of a few who would be…very effective in dealing with Orochimaru's old network. "I could also place a call to your great-uncle and his friends. I'm sure that Nagato would be pleased to hear that Orochimaru is dead and that we're ferreting out the rest of his network."

"Yeah Nagato would definitely like that." Naruto nods in agreement. "So what's the plan?" This was going to take a while either way.

"…Wing it?" Asura didn't really make a whole lot of plans. Masterminding intricate plans was Indra's thing. "Or just get as much information as possible, send it to my brother, and then let him reach out across his larger network of contacts. But I imagine that a simultaneous series of strikes will be involved."

The blonde vampire nods at that. "Alright. I'll see what I can do." This was going to be interesting and very, very bloody. "Give my best to Kakashi, Sasuke, and Itachi."

"Of course." Asura ruffles the boy's hair, smiling kindly. "And once this whole mess is over, we should get the family together for a celebration." Including, of course, his brother's descendants. They could use some parties to get those sticks out of their asses.

"That sounds like a grand idea." Naruto snickers at the thought. "We'll be sure to drink them all under the table."

"Of course." Asura laughs heartily. If there was one thing that these Scottish vampires could do, it was drink an opponent under the table. The only ones worse were the Irish branch of the clan. And whenever there was a family celebration, Asura always made special time to make sure to invite them.

Yes…this was nice…Aoda quite liked lounging in the front courtyard. No vampires or zombies, or other unwanted guests were going to get past him. He would snap them up in a second, even if they tasted absolutely foul. Because protecting Master Sasuke's home was his job, and no one was getting in the front door if he didn't like them.

It was also an excellent place for a winged lizard to lounge in the sun and soak up the warmth that his vampire master wasn't all that fond of. Honestly…Master Sasuke didn't know what he was missing! Plus, the river was only a hundred meters away if things got too hot.

Yes…the perfect place in all of Japan to sleep…uh, guard. He meant guard the house.

Suigetsu was of a similar opinion. He was just lounging around. "Good job on sniffing out the intruder." He cautiously pat pats the dragon's head. "You did good." How did one reward a dragon, anyway? He couldn't exactly give him a doggie biscuit or something.

"Very good." Karin nods as she snuggles up to her Mate and Jugo sits by them. The half giant had gotten some muffins off of Choji. "Well it looks like things are finally settling down." Karin laughs. "If Jugo is snacking on muffins, it means the coast is clear."

The half-giant nods, picking out a blueberry muffin from this batch. "Everything has been quiet since we came back from Tokyo." And that was a relief, because dealing with an army of vampire minions hadn't been fun, to say the least. Neither was staring at Orochimaru's head, when Sasuke brought the vile thing on board the airplane with them.

Aoda opens his scaly eyelids, eyeing the head staked to the ground out at the front gates. It smelled bad, but the dragon still derived a sick satisfaction from seeing the head of Sasuke's enemy displayed in that manner. It served the snake right. "That snake smells of rotting scales. I am glad to have warned Master Sasuke of his servant's presence." It had likely saved Master Itachi's life.

"Good dragon." Suigetsu nods his head. "So um if you don't mind me asking, how did you end up here anyway?" He doubted that Sasuke had just walked into an animal shelter and adopted a dragon.

Aoda rumbles softly, smiling a toothy dragon smile. "Master Sasuke found me as an egg, and raised me since I was a hatchling. When I grew too large to hide, he released me into the forest, and I made the wilderness around his lands my home." There was not much wilderness left, but Aoda made do with what there was, and stayed close to the only parental figure he'd ever had. He had both the habitat he needed, and Sasuke's companionship.

That was strangely sweet. "Ah well that's good." Suigetsu didn't really want to ponder what would have happened to the dragon otherwise. There weren't a lot of places left on land, that a dragon could hide. "So you like it here then?"

"Yes. This is my home." And Aoda was content with this place. He knew, of course, that there was a world far beyond their home, but he also knew that it was not a good place for dragons. So, he was content with staying here, where it was safe. "And now there are all of you, and Master Itachi here to play with me, too."

"That's nice." Karin smiles as she pets the dragon. "You really are an overgrown golden retriever." Strange. she had never imagined dragons to be this mellow.

"Do you ever know, wish there were other dragons around?" It sounded like Aoda had gotten rather lucky, but Suigetsu couldn't help, but feel bad for the guy. He was the only dragon around at the moment.

Aoda tilts his scaly head, letting Karin scratch him right behind his shiny horns. He liked it when people scratched there. Oh, and under his chin, yes…that was a very good spot, Master Sasuke scratched him there often. "It would be nice to meet nice dragons. But I have never met another of my kind, so I cannot be sure that I would like it, just as I cannot be sure that I would not like it."

Karin continues scratching there. "Well that makes sense." Suigetsu still felt bad for the dragon. Maybe, he should talk to Sasuke about it. There was a river that ran through the estate. A smaller amphibious breed could probably live there...

"Yesss…" Aoda rumbles happily, basking in the attention of the she-demon. This was the life. All of the wildlife in the forest, a master to come and visit him, and his master's friends to give him horn scratches and belly rubs. This was the life…

"I forgot Sassy wanted me to do something." Suigetsu smiles at them. "I'll be back in a bit." He really needed to talk to Sasuke about bringing in a playmate for the dragon.

"Mhmmm…" The rumbling begins to sound like a purr as Aoda enjoys the attention. "You have talented fingers, Miss Karin."

Suigetsu chuckles at that. "Yes, she does." She also had a very talented mouth when she wasn't screaming at him.

"Thank you." Karin smiles as she pets the dragon more and watches as her Mate wanders off to find Sasuke.

Suigetsu laughs a few minutes later when he walks into Sasuke's room and sees the vampire sleeping with a sticky note on his head. "Perfect. He'll agree to anything when he's half awake." So the white haired merman nudges him. "Sassy. Oh Sassy."

Sasuke stirs slightly, going from dead quiet and perfect stillness, to turning over and dragging the blankets further over his head. He's always been something of a grump if someone wakes him up when he doesn't want to get up.

"Good morning." Suigetsu grins. "It looks like Itachi is off bonding with Indra and I was wondering something." Yes, now was the perfect time to attack. "I was wondering if I could bring in a playmate for Aoda."

There's a minute of silence, before Sasuke groggily removes the blankets from over his head, and looks blearily up at Suigetsu with half open eyes and mussed hair. "…For Aoda?"

"Yep." The merman grins at him cheerfully. "He's been a good dragon. I think he deserves a reward." After all, he was such a good guard dragon.

Sasuke glares at his friend, who dared to disturb his sleep. "…Fine…no funny business, though…" The last thing he needed was to deal with one of Suigetsu's pranks.

Did this count as funny business? "Alright." Nah. He was trying to help the dragon and if he got a few laughs out of it, all the better.

"Good, now go away." Sasuke raises a hand, still very much half asleep, and flicks it, making Suigetsu rise into the air, and tossing him out of the room and onto his ass, slamming the door behind him.

"Geez." Suigetsu whines. "He's so damn grumpy when he first wakes up."

Twitching slightly, Sasuke finally notices the sticky note attached to his forehead, peeling it off as he looks around to find Itachi missing. So he glances at the note, frowning slightly. "He's with Indra?" Strange, but…maybe not that strange. It's only natural that his Sire would want to get to know Itachi. They were family, after all. "…Alright…" Itachi would be back soon. For now…Sasuke just wanted to go back to sleep.