"What in the world are you doing here?" Naruto asked, eyes wide. "You..." suddenly he fell to his knees on the floor, clutching his head. He was overcome with flashbacks, memories of the past. He was burning with pain...Itachi pointed a gun at him...then nothing. "You...You...Ahhhh..." Naruto felt like he had an enormous headache.

Kiba fell to his knees at his friend's side. "Naruto, are you okay?"

Itachi watched Naruto curiously. 'Why is he...alive? Hmm...I'll have to ask Sasuke later.'

Naruto shook his head and it cleared. He looked up at Itachi, looking angry this time. "What are you doing here?" he asked fiercely.

Itachi took a step back even though he knew the blonde couldn't possibly get to him. "To see my little brother. Now, please, where is he?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Why?" he demanded.

"I need to talk to him." Itachi's patience was wearing thin. "It's important." Kiba remained silent through the exchange.

Naruto glanced at Kiba for advice.

Kiba shrugged. "I don't really know either of them...eh. That well at least."

Naruto slapped his forehead, then looked at Itachi.

"There." Naruto pointed out the open door, down the hallway and towards the room where Itachi's own body lay at rest.

Itachi nodded before vanishing.

"What was that about" Kiba stared at Naruto curiously.

Naruto sank onto the bed, rubbing his temples. "That was Sasuke's older brother...he killed both Sasuke and myself."

Kiba blink. "And you told him where Sasuke was, why?"

"Well, he can't kill Sasuke again, can he?"

Kiba huffed. "I'm just saying. Sibling rivalry isn't cool man. They could tear down this place if they go at it."

"I know, Kiba, but...What else could I have done?" Naruto's face dropped.

"Wanna go and play spy?"

That seemed to brighten the mood a bit. "Eh...sure, why not?"

Kiba grinned and headed for the door, dragging Naruto by the arm. "So, where are they?" Naruto steered Kiba down several hallways before stopping at the burial chamber and pressed his ear to the door.

Kiba copied Naruto. "I can't hear anything."

"Neither can I," agreed Naruto, then pressed his ear to the keyhole, gesturing to Kiba to listen at the bottom of the door

"What do you mean you can't find him? You two were buried together!." Sasuke paused. "Maybe he crossed over without you."

There was another pause. "I...don't like to think like that," said Itachi, barely audible.

There was a long silence. "Where haven't you looked yet?"

"I've obviously not looked outside the castle...and I couldn't bear to look in the basement."

"And why is that?"

There was yet another pause. "Private reasons, little brother," Itachi whispered.

"Private reasons that occurred before or after my death?"

"Before."

Sasuke huffed. "Well...I could help you look..."

Kiba looked up at Naruto. "What are they talking about?"

Naruto shrugged then made shushing noises--they were talking again.

"You are perfectly welcome to look in the basement, little brother. In fact, I would consider myself indebted if you did," Itachi said. His voice was beginning to crack.

"Alright." There was a shuffling of feet. "But seriously Itachi, what is keeping you from going in the basement?"

There was muffled crying on the other side of the door.

Sasuke put an arm around Itachi. "Fine, the answer this." He sighed. "Why wouldn't they let you two be together anyway?"

"Because...He's from the fucking land of WATER!" He screamed this last word and breaking glass could be heard--apparently he'd thrown something. "THAT'S WHY! BECAUSE HE WASN'T FROM HERE!" Itachi's sobs could be heard clearly now.

Sasuke hugged his brother. "Itachi...please calm down. Do you think he'd be happy to see you like this?"

Tears streamed down the ghost's face. "Why? Why couldn't they..." he sobbed quietly. "Why couldn't they just let us be together?"

"I...I don't know. It wasn't fair it really wasn't." Sasuke rubbed cirles in his brother's back. "What they put you two through wasn't right."

Itachi's voice shook with sobs as he asked, "Why? Why?" again and again.

Sasuke heaved a sigh. "Itachi...why won't you look in the basement. Did something happen between you two down there?"

"It's...it's where we..." Itachi was overcome with sobs and couldn't speak for a moment; then he said something so quietly that Naruto couldn't hear it, no matter how close he pressed his ear to the keyhole.

"Shh...Itachi please. He wouldn't want to see you like this." He paused. "Come on we'll both look in the basement."

Naruto panicked when he heard this and dragged Kiba by his wrist back to the bedroom, in case the two brothers decided to use the door.

Kiba looked back to make sure the brother's hadn't seen them. "What was that about?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Kiba, you dumbass. Obviously something important happened between Itachi and Kisame in the basement."

Kiba looked at him curiously. "Kisame? Naruto you know I'm clueless as to who or what that is right?"

Naruto groaned and said, "Itachi's boyfriend, Kiba. They can't find him."

"Oh." Kiba looked back again. "They needed to discuss this alone because?"

"Well, Itachi was being a bit violent. And anyway, would you want to be seen crying by two people you hardly know? Err..." he corrected himself. "One person you hardly know?"

Kiba opened the door to Naruto's room and ran over to the bed. "So…why do you think they can't find him? I mean how could it take 150 years to search one castle?"

"I dunno. Wanna go spy again?"

Kiba shrugged. "I've got nothing better to do"

-scene-

Itachi's hands were balled into fists as they descended through the floors.

"Quit moping." Sasuke looked at his brother. "It'll be worth it when we find him."

Itachi resisted the urge to say "IF we find him." They were now in the basement--not a cold, bare, empty place with a stone floor, but a carpeted and fully furnished living area, complete with a kitchen and bed. Itachi tried not to look over at the closed door to the bedroom.

"I didn't know that the repair crew modernized the basement too." He said as he entered the living area. "So where should we start?"

"Oh...I...I don't know. Kitchen, I suppose..."

Sasuke looked over at the bedroom door and sighed, then proceeded toward the kitchen area. "You know you need to face it sooner or later."

Itachi didn't answer; he was too busy trying to force the lump in his throat to go away.

Sasuke entered the kitchen. "It's okay to cry you know. We all have emotions." He finished looking through the kitchen and moved into the main dining area.

Itachi shook his head, but otherwise ignored his brother. With a glance at the younger boy, he turned on his heel and walked purposefully toward the bedroom. He couldn't stop the tears from flowing now, but he steeled himself and flung the door open.

Sasuke was about to say something to his brother when he noticed that the man was gone. He looked over his shoulder and saw him heading toward the room that he'd shared with his lover. He smiled to himself.

Itachi walked into the room with his eyes squeezed shut for a moment, then opened them slowly. What he saw made the tears fall faster from his eyes.

It was empty.

Itachi fell his knees, sobbing into his hands. Not only was Kisame not there, but this room reminded him so much of his dead lover.

Someone put a hand in Itachi's shoulder. "Why the long face, Ita-chan?"

Itachi turned around so fast that he cracked his neck. "K-...Ki...Kisame." he whispered, and proceeded to glomp Kisame, arms tight around his neck and sobbing into his shoulder.

Kisame wrapped his arms around the Uchiha. "Hey, calm down. I'm here. It's okay." He rubbed patterns over Itachi's neck, shoulders, and back.

"I'm not sad!" Itachi exclaimed, not releasing his death grip on Kisame. "I've never been happier as long as I can remember!"

Sasuke walked into the room to check on his brother. "Itachi what happened I heard you cry-" His eyes widened. "Impossible I didn't actually think we'd find him…."

Itachi finally let go of Kisame and turned to Sasuke, eyes still brimming with tears. "Not impossible, little brother. Not impossible at all."

Sasuke smiled. "Glad to hear it." He turned and left the room. "Now if you'll excuse me there's someone waiting for me upstairs."

Itachi turned to Kisame again, eyes shining. "I missed you," he said.

At the same time, Naruto yelped and once again dragged Kiba away by his wrist.

Kiba looked at his wrist. "I'm gonna feel that later..."

"You might have felt more than that if Sasuke had caught us," said Naruto darkly. "Then again...he might have just rolled his eyes and called me a dobe."

"You mean like I would have even if you hadn't followed me?" Sasuke continued to walk about ten feet behind the two. "Dobe."

Naruto nudged Kiba. "See?" he said under his breath.

"Never said you'd be wrong," Kiba replied.

Sasuke caught up with them and took Naruto's free hand in his. "So how much did you hear?"

"The whole thing," Naruto said shamelessly.

"You used to spy on me allot when we were alive...well...when I was alive anyways."

Naruto shrugged. "Guess it's just in my nature, then." He squeezed Sasuke's hand. "It didn't bug you too much, did it?"

Sasuke squeezed back. "Not much at all. You're just lucky that Itachi didn't catch you."

Naruto yawned. "Bad temper, eh?"

"Notice how WE who did nothing to mess with his love-life were brutally murdered regardless. Though we don't fight anymore, I still don't trust him completely"

"Point," Naruto conceded and yawned again.

Sasuke pulled Naruto to his chest. "It's late and you need sleep." He looked at Kiba. "There's a guest bedroom across from ours if you'd like to spend the night."

"Nah," Kiba said. "I've got to get home to my girlfriend before she dies of worry. She's really nervous like that."

Sasuke nodded, and picked Naruto up. "Good night then."

"Night," Kiba said, walking away and letting himself out of the castle.

Sasuke nudged Naruto's head. "You're that tired?"

"No! I'm not tired at...at...a..." he was cut off by a huge yawn.

"Of course you aren't." Sasuke kissed the top of Naruto's head and carried him up the stairs and to their room.

Naruto trusted Sasuke completely and nuzzled into his shoulder, arms around Sasuke's neck.

"Hmm..." Sasuke put Naruto down on the bed and pulled the covers over him. "You might not want to do that. You could end up with a face full of muscle tissue."

Naruto laughed lightly, even though he knew Sasuke wasn't joking it was still funny. He gazed at Sasuke. "Why aren't you back to normal, Sasuke?" he asked bluntly.

"I don't know. I really don't." He sat on the side of the bed. "Does it bother you too much?"

Naruto shook his head. "I was just wondering."

"I thought that maybe you'd know something, being an exorcist and all." He lay down and joined Naruto under the blankets.

Naruto disregarded Sasuke's earlier warning and nuzzled his head to Sasuke's chest anyway. "I've never heard about anything like this, actually," he admitted.

"That's alright. It's nothing that you need to concern yourself with. Now sleep. God knows you need it."

Naruto fell silent and closed his eyes, and shortly fell into a deep slumber as a soft red glow formed at the back of Sasuke's eye sockets.

"Until the morn."

-scene-

"Kisame?"

"Hmm?" Kisame looked at his lover who was curled against his chest.

"Where have you been for all this time?"

"Akastuki."

Itachi's eyes widened. "They're back?"

Kisame nodded. "And much stronger then they were before."

"We have to keep them away from Naruto and Sasuke."

"I know koi (1) I know."

(1) Koi- love