BREAKING NEWS: MISSING KYOTO POLICE DEPT. DIRECTOR FOUND

Early this morning, Uchiha Itachi released a live video from his private office at the Kyoto Police Department announcing that he has finally returned after over two years. Although he has yet to give the details, it appears that the missing case report was accurate and the culprits who orchestrated the disappearance may still be out there. Based on Uchiha-san's public statement, he had no choice in the disappearance, and hopes that, together with his police force, they can bring those involved to justice.

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Itachi closed the article on his computer, turning around as the door opened to reveal Kakashi carrying a large brown bag smelling of breakfast pastries. Behind him, Naruto juggled a steaming pot of coffee and mugs. Sakura immediately stood from her spot on the couch to help lessen the load by taking the mugs from him with a smile.

The entire scene was surreal for Itachi. He never imagined that this level of normalcy would return in any reality. His life had been a brutal prisoner's tale for the past two years—though it felt more like a lifetime. Flashes of Sasuke's wretched screams pierced his eardrums, dragging him back to the depths of guilt. As his elder brother, he was charged with loving and protecting that young boy. Sasuke had always been Itachi's to take care of. From the time he was only a baby until the present moment…Itachi had never failed as horrifically as he did now.

"Still like your coffee sweet, director?" Kakashi murmured, leaning over his shoulder with a steaming mug in one hand and a stack of sugar packs in the other.

Itachi blinked away his phantoms. "Aa. I do." More than ever now. He took the drink gratefully, absently dumping sugar pack after sugar pack into the bitter liquid life. Across the room, Sakura and Naruto lightly bantered over the pastries. However, neither of their expressions were even remotely carefree. It seemed more like they were trying to comfort themselves by falling into a familiar routine. How many months…years, had it been since they last laughed from their hearts?

"So what's the plan?" Naruto asked around a mouthful of sweet bread.

Sighing softly, Itachi stood from his chair, nursing the mug of coffee as he walked over to join them on the couches. Kakashi took the armchair this time. "I've considered what each of us can publicize most effectively. I believe the best course of action would be for Naruto and Kakashi to become my public bodyguards. Such news would normally be dismissed, however, in light of my reappearance, now is the best and feasibly only time that such a small announcement would get public feedback."

"Are we provoking them?" Naruto cocked his head, brows drawing together. "Isn't it kind of dumb to come out and tell them who's gonna be with who all the time? If they know the three of us are together, they'll make plans around that knowledge."

"It's a risk we must take so that if anything happens to us, the media will be able to give you two names," Itachi explained calmly. "The more our names are known, the better off we are. We will slowly release more and more 'findings' about Orochimaru's syndicate."

His eyes shifted to Sakura then. He was silent for a long time, contemplating how best to word his next statement. It was the hardest one and he knew that Sakura was already in a dangerous position. Among them, she faced the worst odds. Not only was she considerably weaker physically, she held the most knowledge on the capabilities of the Sharingan. Although he couldn't be sure what exactly she knew or had continued to study, Itachi was almost positive that her knowledge threatened Orochimaru on some level. That alone was enough to make the situation increasingly dangerous. Furthermore, he could very well see their desire to capture her as a means of obtaining another researcher to expedite their plans. Itachi still couldn't be positive what exactly they sought. He knew it was preposterous, however, the details were obscured.

"Whatever it is, I'm ready." Sakura interrupted his wildly derailed thoughts. Her gaze was steady, lips pursed in a firm line. "If it brings Sasuke home, and stops Orochimaru, then I'm willing to do anything."

Itachi grimaced. Her resolve was supposed to be a relief, but it only made him feel more responsible. All of these children were—in some ways—his burden. Since the moment they became family to his little brother, they became important to him as well. Eyeing Sakura warily, he could only see the young woman Sasuke had fallen in love with. Such a woman was to be protected, not paraded around as bait for a psychotic scientist. Perhaps those were antiquated notions, but he could only imagine that had Sasuke been in his place, ensuring the safety of his beloved would be the top priority. As his older brother, was it not his job to fulfill the duties of his absent sibling?

"I struggle to request such a thing of you," he finally admitted, releasing a deep sigh. Blood red eyes took her in once more, expression tight with stress. "Tradition would dictate that I protect my little brother's betrothed in his stead, not place her in further danger."

Sakura clenched her fists. "Unless he comes back, all we'll ever have is a promise. I'll respect tradition when we bring Sasuke back."

XXX

"Where is he?" Orochimaru nearly hissed, stalking through the underground facility. His eyes narrowed as a common guard stuttered out an answer, pointing down the hallway. Swiftly, the scientist strode forth, slit pupils increasingly menacing as they zeroed in on Kabuto.

The silver haired young man was busy taking notes on a chemical reaction in one of the many labs. His hair was stiffly tied back and his glasses were carefully perched atop his nose. Three cages lined the eastern wall adjacent to the entrance. Orochimaru barely gave the cages and their occupants a glance. Instead, he coiled long fingers around Kabuto's shoulder, urging him to turn around.

Fear made sweat trickle down the slope of the researcher's neck. Schooling his features, Kabuto turned around, bowing deeply to his boss. "Orochimaru-sama," he greeted, "I must have been too engrossed in my work. I apologize for the late greeting—"

The next moment, Kabuto was flying across the floor, nothing but his lab coat to cushion the blow. He grunted, feeling ribs bruising. The notes he had taken skidded to the other side of the room. With a groan, he pushed himself up to his knees, only to feel a boot slam into his cheek, shoving his face back to the cold concrete.

"Were you not the one in charge of the hunting party last night?" Orochimaru whispered coldly.

"I…I was," Kabuto grunted, fingers curling and uncurling against the floor as Orochimaru ground his heel into his face.

"Then why was my precious vessel among you?" his voice was too close, cold air slithering into his ear. "I explicitly ordered that he is not yet ready to be interacting with the world, especially with that woman."

Kabuto swallowed hard, trying to breathe normally. "I…apologize. He was to remain in the armored vehicle, but must have slipped past his guards." He squeezed his eyes shut, gritting his teeth against a particularly brutal kick to the face. "…he did not make contact though. We removed ourselves before a situation arose." He gritted his teeth against a hacking cough.

"Luck is unreliable," Orochimaru murmured, slowly removing his foot. "Stand."

Struggling, Kabuto rose to his feet, holding a hand to his bleeding nose.

"What tests are you running right now?" he inquired, clasping his hands tightly behind his back as he approached the cages. Although his mood was clearly still sour, Kabuto would take any mercies and this was clearly one.

Swallowing unsteadily, Kabuto reached for a handkerchief and tilted his head back, trying to slow the flow of blood. "F…For Suigetsu and Jugo," he managed hoarsely. Clearly his throat around a cough, he elaborated, "Uchiha Itachi caused some physical damage…so I was testing a new healing serum." Kabuto strode over to a simmering beaker of blue liquid, picking it up and swirling the contents around with a flick of his wrist.

"To heal faster?" Orochimaru tilted his head, expression flat.

"Not quite," he shook his head, setting the beaker down and retrieving a syringe. Placing the handkerchief down for a moment, he carefully handled the lab equipment. Dipping the needle into the liquid, he pulled back on the plunger, filling the vial. Tapping the glass twice to disperse air bubbles, he grabbed the handkerchief and once again pressed it to his nose. "It's a pain suppressant that also makes the user's adrenaline spike. It should be useful in difficult situations or ones where medical aid is unavailable." Kabuto winced as his nose began to throb.

Orochimaru approached the cages, waving for Kabuto to come over as well. Peering down at Suigetsu who sat on the floor, legs stretched out in front of him, Orochimaru said, "His conditioning worked much better than I imagined."

Kabuto nodded, handed Orochimaru the syringe. "He was only half formed when he first arrived to our labs. Perhaps his underdevelopment accounts for why he was so easy to break." His eyes trailed to the middle cage, a lump forming in his throat from anxiety. That man had been fierce before, but after his upgrades, it was hard to imagine anyone being able to lay a hand on him. Scarlet irises glowed in the semi-darkness, but they appeared unfocused as he sat on the cold, concrete cell bench. His head hung, shoulders hunched.

Wordlessly, Orochimaru opened Suigetsu's cage, noting with pleasure that the prisoner only flinched in response to his presence. That was the proper reaction for tools. Insolence was not tolerated. Grabbing Suigetsu's arm, he yanked it up while ignoring the small yelp of pain Suigetsu released at everything being jostled. Orochimaru sank the needle into the flesh at the juncture of forearm and upper arm, and depressed the plunger.

Involuntary spasms wracked Suigetsu's body. He choked on his own spit, eyes crossing and uncrossing. He swallowed another shout, hardly aware of Orochimaru backing away and locking him once again in the cage. The researcher studied the subject's reactions intently. "How long does the immediate adjustment take?" he asked, turning to Kabuto.

"It should only be ten to fifteen seconds," he responded.

Silence filled the next several seconds as they waited for a reaction. Suigetsu calmed, but his body shook with pent up energy. His eyes shifted back and forth wildly, as if searching for some outlet.

"Bring him down to the pit." Orochimaru turned on his heel. "I want a full report." With that, he exited the lab, door swinging silently shut behind him.

Kabuto swallowed painfully before pressing his hand down on a hand held communicator. Lifting it to his lips, he spoke, "Send guards to pick up Test Subject Suigetsu for immediate pit exercises." He watched Suigetsu warily from beyond the cage, wondering how long it would be before he lost control. The serum was potent and from the looks of it, his dislocated arm was no longer bothering him. The side effects and after shock of the serum also hadn't been tested though, so perhaps this would be a good opportunity to take detailed notes. Kabuto mentally flipped through the list of potential sacrifices to send into the pit exercises, coming up with a few names. Connecting over the comm-unit again, he ordered for those individuals to be sent down to the pit as well.

Soft muttering from the middle cage caught Kabuto's attention. With some hesitancy, he walked over to the bars, peering inside to where Uchiha Sasuke remained hunched over. Messy, overgrown black hair warped like sentient shadows around his terrifying eyes. Kabuto was still nervous about allowing the test subject to remain without a blindfold, however, Orochimaru assured him that Sasuke was far too conditioned already to turn on them.

"Something wrong, Sasuke-kun?" Kabuto attempted to force sarcastic cheer into his voice, but it felt hollow. These days, his work felt more and more burdensome. In many ways, Orochimaru had made leaps and bounds with his research into the Uchiha eyes, but the anxiety remained because the final product was still unconfirmed. For all they knew, they were working toward an impossible goal.

The darkly clad figure slowly shook his head, a simple back and forth motion. Otherwise, the only movement was in his loosely clasped hands. He gripped a small, smooth rock no larger than a key charm in his left hand. Methodically, he stroked his thumb delicately across the surface.