Itachi had no real idea of where to go to find Sasuke but he set off all the same.

Oftentimes, he had learned, directions did not make much of a difference on these types of missions: the nature of magic was to obfuscate and recreate; to look to it for consistency was a fool's errand.

Nonetheless, he left town and continued through the woods, making a path that would take him close to his village without bringing him directly into town. He was unsure how long it might take so he took care to pack for a long journey: without restocking or hunting he had food stores which would last a few days at the very least, a week if he ate sparingly.

After a few hours on the road he suspected he was close; it had been perhaps half an hour or so since he had some across the last sign of wildlife, a startled rabbit that had, curiously, run behind him instead of away from him into the woods.

Animals were more sensitive to magic than humans so, while it was unusual, he was also relieved to see it.

Though he reminded himself there were larger matters at hand it concerned him that he saw no signs of other travelers or of Naruto's search party. Or Shisui.

It would be a simple mision, he told himself. Get into the grounds. Find and eliminate the spellcaster. Find Sasuke and take the nearest road home.

And then he could return to the University and all would be well.

For perhaps the fourth or fifth time since he'd left he checked the belt around his waist, patting the hilt of his sword as if he needed to be reassured it hadn't disappeared in the short time since he'd last checked it.

Finally, he could see a white spire rising in the distance and it was only a few moments before he stood at the entrance to the castle's grounds. As flattering as it would be, he knew it was neither luck or his tracking skills that had brought him there.

He ran his fingers along the cold ironwork of the gate and wondered if he would have to break his way in or somehow climb over it.

"How's it going?" a voice called from the castle grounds. He looked up to see a redheaded woman with glasses walking towards him. She was awfully pale, a good deal shorter and thinner than he was, but her gait was confident, purposeful.

She was, he assumed, whoever was in charge here.

He stood back from the gate as she got closer, until eventually they were standing directly across from each other.

Being so close to her, Itachi realized she had the appearance of someone his age, though with magical beings one could never be certain.

He nodded to the woman. "My name is Itachi Uchiha and I've come to retrieve my brother. I know he is here."

She quirked an eyebrow at him and gave him a devious smile. "You're quick to the point. I like that. Tell me, Itachi Uchiha, how do you plan on saving your brother?"

"I would prefer not to use force but be aware it is still an option," he said, once again patting his belt.

The woman snorted at him. "Well, that sure is interesting, considering you're on the wrong side of this gate to be making threats. Lucky for you I am interested, Itachi Uchiha."

She leaned against the gate, apparently looking him over. "If I open this gate for you, will you come peacefully? I think you and I might be able to work out a deal, here."

He absolutely had no plans of resolving this peacefully if this woman was the one responsible for taking Sasuke but there seemed no other way to go about this. "Fine."

She reached past his field of vision and after a few grunts and several metallic cranks the gate rose. Itachi narrowed his eyes. What kind of spellcaster needed to open their own gate?

He passed the threshold cautiously, but did not jump when she released her grip, allowing the gate to come tumbling back down with a loud bang behind him.

She smiled. "What now, Itachi Uchiha?"

Itachi did a cursory sweep of the area, noting thus far no one else had appeared even with all of their commotion and he could not otherwise detect any sign of another party.

Even Sasuke.

It was too quiet, as if they were the only two beings in existence. Everything in the grounds screamed unnatural, unusual. Even the light seemed artificial, coloring his hands a sickly white as he grabbed the hilt of the sword at his belt and unsheathed it.

He pointed it directly at her chest. "I am here for Sasuke and unless you take me to him you are in my way."

"Of course. . ." She eyed his blade and quirked an eyebrow at him. "You're welcome to try it but I can't promise it'll work out too well for you."

He stood firm. To invite an attack in such a way implied she either seriously underestimated him (and she seemed too crafty to be so wrong), or had a backup plan of sorts. Or, rather, that she was bluffing.

He was fairly certain it was the last of those.

She had made, by his count, several fatal errors.

Shisui had mentioned the mechanism that had trapped Sasuke required a physical trigger. This woman had needed to open the gate by herself and no person with magic at their disposal would need such a human device or waste their energy using it. Her glasses were also a tell: fixing someone's vision would be minor magic; no struggle for any spellcaster worth their salt to fix.

This was, then, no spellcaster… just a woman living in a magical castle who was trying very, very hard to be perceived as one.

It was not unheard of, he knew, for spellcasters to take human lovers or companions. When they did, of course, the human might be left to fend for themselves for long periods of time, bound to the schedules of near infinite beings.

Her mortality did not make her any less of a problem, however, and so he pulled his arm back and thrust his blade towards her chest.

Instead of sliding through her ribs and killing her on the spot, however, his momentum was completely stopped the moment his sword passed into her personal space, as if he had hit a solid wall of concrete, sending up a shower of sparks.

The recoil was so intense his entire arm went numb and his sword shattered in his hand, sending shards flying back at him and leaving hot, wet trails across his cheeks and his unprotected arms.

He dropped his now useless sword and fell to one knee, cradling his damaged arm with the other and wincing as the numbness started to fade into teeth-gritting pain. He looked up and saw the woman was unharmed.

Some kind of rebound spell; it had to be to have such dramatic effect. A sword couldn't just shatter like that.

She seemed more amused by this than anything, letting out a disbelieving chuckle. "Oh gods, you actually tried it! That's got to be a first."

She was a spellcaster. He had been wrong. How could he have been wrong?

This was very bad.

She took a step closer and he tried to stand but every movement brought flashes of bone-deep pain up his arm and he feel back down with a grunt.

"Shhh," the woman said, putting her hand on his head, holding him down. "You sit there and we can talk without anyone getting hurt."

He looked up in disbelief, her pupil-less red eyes trained on his.

She knelt down and reached over, wiping a drop of blood from his cheek. "Don't feel too bad about it; you're not wrong in thinking I have no magic of my own. You're just dumb for thinking I wouldn't have something better up my sleeve," and she flicked the drop of blood away, cool as could be.

He moved to grab the dagger in his belt with his other hand, but hers was over his in an instant, slamming it into the ground. She didn't look strong at all, was at least twenty or thirty pounds lighter than he was, but he couldn't pull away from her and his hands were shaking and hadn't he learned better about panicking?

This was the worst idea he had ever had. He should have never listened to Shisui, should have stayed in his room and let someone else come here, someone who was prepared and could handle this and wouldn't crack like a porcelain after only one hit.

She gave him a tight smile, patting his hand gently. "You seem like a nice kid. That's your brother in there, you said?"

He caught his breath and glowered at her. "If you've laid a single finger on Sasuke…"

The woman smirked and pulled her hand away. "You'll do what? I'm trying to keep this as civilized as possible; you're the one who keeps making trouble." She tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear and straightened up. "How about we make a deal? You came out all this way, I'd hate for you to have wasted a whole trip."

He narrowed his eyes, trying to decide what kind of lie or trick this was.

She continued, unaffected. "I'll let your brother go and won't try to get him back. He'll be free to head wherever he'd like once he passes out of here." She looked towards the gate. "There are others out there looking for him, too. Make this bargain with me and I'll leave all of them alone."

"What are you asking in return?"

"In return, you'll stay here as my guest, forever, and I will even go so far as to promise not to harm you, either. You just can't ever leave."

Forever? Itachi shook it off, looking up at her in question but she appeared entirely serious. "How can I be so sure you will keep your word?

She held out her arms in an open gesture. "Magic consecrates a bargain, holds it as sacred. If we make this agreement on these grounds we'll be bound to it. Neither of us can go back on it."

The rest of his life? But… but for Sasuke, what wouldn't he give or do?

"I want to know Sasuke is safe first."

"He is."

"I want to see him."

"And what if you don't?"

He flinched. "What?"

"I said, what if you don't? I'm just curious. How badly do you want to save your brother, Itachi Uchiha?"

He stared at her, unsure of how to react to that.

"I'd have to be a fool to go into such a bargain without first knowing for certain he was safe."

"Maybe," she shrugged. "Are you feeling particularly foolish today, Itachi Uchiha?"

Unsure of where Sasuke truly was he looked towards the castle, still unable to hear or sense anyone else in the grounds. It was possible, he reasoned, that Sasuke was awake and just far enough away Itachi could not hear or see him. Or that he was asleep or under enchantment or—

Or dead.

"What do you get out of this?" he asked her.

"Does it matter?" she asked, flippant. "Are you having trouble trying to talk yourself into it, Itachi Uchiha? Do you need my help?"

Itachi did not like or trust this woman and he certainly did not want her help.

And yet… he had no other choices. He knew Sasuke was here and the terms of their bargain, if what the woman said was true, implied Sasuke would be able walk away on his own.

He was unsure if a magical bargain could be made for nothing but here he had no leverage. Whatever spell had led him here would likely lead anyone else astray, meaning he was the only one capable of saving Sasuke now. If he were unable to fight this woman directly, this was his only real option.

It was, in the end, as easy choice to make.

When weighed against Sasuke's life, his own held no worth. He rose and the woman eyed him carefully.

Sasuke was just starting out as a ranger and, though they rarely talked about it, he knew Sasuke enjoyed it. Sasuke had a place in the village, both within their family and with Naruto. There were scores of people, Itachi included, who would be devastated if Sasuke simply vanished and never returned.

He met her eyes with grim determination.

Itachi was nineteen years into a journey that would inevitably go nowhere. There was still hope for Sasuke.

With that in mind, he reached forward with his good hand and the woman met him halfway with her own.

He met her eyes, searching them for some clue to her motivations. In the end, it didn't matter.

"I accept your bargain."

"Wonderful," she said, and he felt a jolt through his hand and that was all the fanfare that heralded him signing away the rest of his life.

A/N: Wow! We're finally getting somewhere, guys! It only took… mmm… about ten thousand words for them to meet? And what an introduction; Karin was really set for this one.

I just love that woman.

Thanks to everyone who has been following and leaving reviews; you're honestly the lights of my life!

As always, all comments, questions, invocations to a higher power, and kudos are appreciated!