"Good evening Uncle." Itachi greeted Madara as he entered the room and flicked on the lights.
"Itachi." Madara stood with his back to the door which he had closed behind him.
"There seems to be a lot of activity in the house tonight nephew." Madara fixed his nephew with a pointed stare.
Itachi inclined his head as he sat on his bed watching his Uncle with relaxed eyes.
"There is indeed uncle, Sasori's first commander called Sakura moments ago requesting an alliance." Itachi told his Uncle.
Madara's brows rose to their maximum height, he hadn't been expecting this.
"Why did you not tell me right away, why did you not let me speak to his commander?" Madara demanded.
"Would it have made a difference? You will not agree to an alliance, you didn't then, you won't now." Itachi continued to watch his Uncle closely.
Madara literally scoffed, "Of course not, but I would have liked to speak to him, it is my right." Madara said dangerously.
Itachi cocked his head to the side considering his Uncle's visit to his room.
"I didn't think you would want to be bothered." Itachi rose from his seat on his bed moving away from Sakura, where she was hidden against the wall to the desk.
"I'm not interested in an alliance with Suna, and I never will be, particularly when he is interested in my woman." Madara said boldly.
"Sakura is not yours, she is too young for you besides." Itachi spoke quietly.
"She isn't yours, nor Sasuke's or Shisui's, she is free for me to claim." Madara spoke haughtily.
"She is Sasori's and if not his, she would not choose you." Itachi stood still.
"Jealousy doesn't suit you Itachi, but I wonder, where does this stem from." The older man closed the distance between the two.
Itachi looked impassively at his Uncle, not intimidated by the gesture in the least.
"Have you by chance taken liberties of the young woman?" I know you watch her, like Shisui, like Sasuke." Madara growled.
"Do not speak of her in such a way, even if it is true, your insinuation is clear Uncle." Itachi would not deny the obvious, it would be foolish.
"She is with Sasori, not you, she has made her choice." Itachi said.
"Women don't often know what they want, they need men to tell them. Clearly she is no different, she chose our enemy, the son of a man we are at war with, she is practically a traitor." His uncle leaned against the wall, his tone condescending and smug.
"Sakura is special." Itachi replied, heat growing in his face.
"Whatever you may think she is, it doesn't matter, as it doesn't matter in terms of an alliance. I am the head of this clan and I will make no such alliance." Madara turned to leave the room.
"You condemn us all to death then. Sasori of the Red Sand has weaponized a virus that could kill the entire population of the world, our clan most certainly included, and tonight it was stolen, by Orochimaru." Itachi let the ball drop into Madara's court, heavy and full of death.
Madara stopped, his hand on the knob and turned back to his Nephew.
"So, that's it, not the woman but the weapon." Madara laughed.
"What will you do now?" Itachi asked him.
"What is there to do, we will get to the weapon before Sasori, I assume he has already left." Madara was thinking hard.
"You will not accept an alliance even in the face of a global killer?" Itachi was almost...almost astounded.
"Your arrogance knows no bounds Uncle, you would condemn the world to death for your pride." Itachi said heatedly for the first time.
"Know your place.' Madara hissed cooly in his nephew's face.
Sakura clenched her fists from the floor of Itachi's room. A global killer, oh Sasori, she thought, why, why did you make such a thing? Who was Orochimaru, and what would he do with it? Why wouldn't Madara agree to an alliance with this new knowledge? She bit her lip and cried tears of anger and frustration silently. Itachi had told her to be still, she was trying.
"You are not fit to run this clan, you lead us all to our deaths." Itachi spoke angrily.
Madara raised his hand to backhand Itachi but his strike was blocked. Itachi spun with his grasp on the older man's wrist pulling it up and behind his back and forcing him against the wall.
"You dare touch me!" Madara growled, his other hand pulling his gun and pointing it into Itachi's side.
Itachi dropped to the floor to avoid the shot as it rang out into the dark house. Rolling off to the side and jumping to his feet, knife in hand Itachi ducked low avoiding the knife of his Uncle and came in from the other side hand low, blade up, slashing Madara up across the chest.
Sakura crawled on her tummy under the bed and watched their feet in horror as blood fell to the floor inches from her face. She couldn't tell from her position whose blood it was and looked around frantically for anything she could find. She felt along the bottom of Itachi's mattress well aware he had kept weapons there in the past and found what she was looking for.
Madara hissed at the burn of the blade across his chest. "You die tonight Itachi." he grit out in between hisses as he lunged at the younger man, pinning him to the ground.
Sakura pressed the safety on the gun , pointed and shot. Madara;s body twitched on top of Itachi's once, twice, his eyes wide he turned his head to look at her. Green eyes met coal.
"Sakura?" Madara's voice came shocked and soft across the floor before he slumped into death.
Itachi pushed the man from his chest, bent, and pulled the pink haired girl out from under his bed holding her tight in his arms as she fell apart.
Shisui and Fugaku rushed into the room followed closely by Obito, guns drawn. They looked to the body of Madara on the floor of the room and looked to Sakura and Itachi.
"So, it's done." Obito sighed and slumped against the wall sliding down it slowly to a sitting position on the floor.
"Well done son." Fugaku patted his son on the shoulder.
"It wasn't me." Itachi said quietly.
Shisui's head spun to look from Madara's body to Sakura in amazement.
"I." She stammered. "I did it." She closed her eyes and buried her face in Itachi's chest.
"I'm sorry." She cried.
Fugaku was already on the phone by the time Sakura and Itachi came into the living room. Mikoto poured Sakura a cup of tea and smoothed her hair down for her while she drank it trying to comfort the girl.
"We will leave at once." Itachi spoke into the phone.
"Sakura, you will stay here with mother and Sasuke, Shisui, father and I will head our teams to meet up at the border of Oto with Sasori." Itachi hugged her one armed and left the room.
Sasuke who was now out of his room and filled in on the death of their uncle frowned. "I should go with you, to help."
"You will stay here and protect your mother and Sakura." Fugaku turned to his second born with a glare.
"Sakura will most likely be the one protecting Sasuke Uncle." Shisui grinned at the older man and received a glare in return.
"I will stay with the women Fugaku Sama." Obito rose to stand by Mikoto and Sakura who were still on the couch. Fugaku nodded.
"We leave in ten minutes, meet me by the gate." Fugaku spared his wife a quick glance and left the room.
"It's like you are preparing for war." Sakura mumbled into her tea.
"This is war Sakura, our war. Orochimaru is evil, he is...a demon in human form." Obito clenched his teeth.
"Don't worry." he told her lamely and walked out of the room to meet the others by the gate.
Sasori hung up the phone after speaking with Baki. He closed his eyes briefly, they were almost to the border of Oto, they would wait for the Uchiha there. He opened his eyes and allowed himself a brief smile before dialing her number.
Sakura's phone rang with a number she didn't recognize. Mikoto watched her frown at her phone.
"Who is it dear?" She asked the girl.
"I don't know, I don't recognize the number." Sakura said.
"Allow me dear." Mikoto held her hand out for the phone.
"Hello? Mikoto asked the caller.
"Madam Uchiha, I recognize your voice from our taps. This is Akasuna no Sasori madam, may I please speak with my intended?" Sasori said politely.
"Your intended?" Mikoto's eyes opened wide and she turned to Sakura who broke into a gleeful smile.
"Of of course!" Mikoto handed the phone to Sakura a hidden smile on her face.
"Sasori! Oh Sasori I was so worried, where are you? Are you okay? When will you come home, I miss you so much." Sakura's words spilled from her mouth before she could stop herself.
"I miss you too Sakura. We are waiting for the Uchiha now, it won't be long. They don't have to traverse the desert so their time will be cut in half. We move to Oto as soon as they get here. I wanted to call you, to hear your voice. Are you well?" He asked her.
"I, oh Sasori," She burst into tears." I killed Madara Sasori." She cried into the phone.
There was silence, then loud chuckling filled her ear.
"That's my doll. Good girl." He said to her surprise and admiration in his voice.
"It was horrible." She she told him.
"You're a warrior dear, I told you before, you are strong. I'm very proud of you." Sasori's voice came to her over the phone.
"I have to go, I will be home soon." He said.
"Sasori is it true, did you make something that could destroy the world?" She asked unsure if she really wanted to know.
"No." He replied. "Not the world Sakura, only the people in it." He sighed.
"But." She began.
"It was before we met, before, I knew I wanted you. Before you loved me." He said honestly.
"Before I knew I loved you. I told you once, there was very little I had to live for. I was lost." He admitted.
"I will see you soon. I have to go." He said.
"I love you Sasori. Be safe." Sakura cried into the phone.
"I love you." he hung up.
Sakura set the phone down in her lap and sobbed.
Mikoto watched her for a moment before hugging her.
"The men go out and do all these exciting dangerous things but they never once realize, we always have the hardest job, us women, we wait and hope they come home to us. We pick up the pieces they scatter carelessly around, broken bloody and bruised. What would they ever do without us?" She smiled at the younger woman who had stopped crying and was rubbing her eyes.
"Die horribly painful deaths full of regret and loneliness." Sakura tried to laugh.
"Be strong, he will return to you." Mikoto filled their tea cups and left to make more.
Sasuke watched Sakura as she sipped her tea.
"I'm sorry Sakura." Sasuke said interrupting her thoughts.
"For what?" She asked him.
"For doubting him." He looked at her, he could tell she was scared, worried, all for him, for Sasori.
"You were just looking out for me." She smiled in appreciation.
"You deserve better than me, better than him but if he makes you happy. I guess, I can be okay with it." Sasuke huffed a little and crossed his arms.
"Thank you Sasuke." She smiled at him.
"Hn." He blushed at her smile and picked up his own cup of tea and sipped.
Obito walked back into the room then and sat down on the couch next to Sakura.
"So, when's the wedding?" He smiled a little Obito smile at her.
"He has to come back first, with my brothers and my cousin." She said.
Sasuke looked up from his tea.
"You've never said it before. We have always called you family but not until just now, did you notice Sakura? You called us brothers and Shisui your cousin." He smiled at her.
"Murder brings people closer." She tried to make a joke but it came out flat.
"It does." Obito watched her.
"You don't need to regret it Sakura. Swallow it and move on. If you hadn't killed Madara, it would have been Itachi, or myself, there were too many other's lives at stake." Obito patted her on the leg trying to reassure her.
"Hn." she said making them laugh.
"Akasuna." Itachi inclined his head to Sasori in greeting.
"Uchiha." Sasori inclined his head to Itachi.
Shisui eyed the man before him with interest. Sasori felt his eyes on him and turned to face him inclining his head.
"Uchiha Shisui." Shisui introduced himself.
"It's a pleasure." Sasori bowed slightly.
"So, you're the man that stole the heart of my little flower are you?" Shisui grinned at the redhead.
"Shisui." Itachi warned.
"Your flower?" Sasori's eyes narrowed.
"Please excuse Shisui, I am Uchiha Fugaku." Fugaku introduced himself.
Sasori gave Shisui one last hard look before turning to the man in front of him.
"A pleasure Fugaku san." Sasori bowed his head in the other man's direction.
"If you will follow me." Sasori motioned to the tent they had set up on the border of Fire and Sound.
"My first commander Baki." Sasori gestured to the man waiting just inside the tent.
"A pleasure to put a face to the voice." Itachi inclined his head to Baki.
"Sir." Baki bowed low.
Sasori waved his hand to the chairs at the table where blueprints were laid out along with some other small notes, pictures and hand written missives.
"This is what I have so far. Itachi, I would value your perspective." Amber eyes met coal in full understanding.
The men nodded and bent to their work.
Orochimaru stood before the metal box a gleam in his eye. Kabuto watched as his master undid the latch and pulled the whole device from the oil.
"Are you sure that's wise Orochimaru sama, the oil keeps the device from the air does it not? There are chemicals that upon connecting to air, infuse and ignite, it is safe to assume this would be one such device." Kabuto did not agree with his master tampering with one of Sasori's designs.
"What's wrong Kabuto? Don't you trust me?" Orochimaru turned to his assistant with a wicked smile on his face.
The truth was, Kabuto admired the man, he was a genius, he broke the boundaries of life and death, but trust him...no Kabuto didn't trust him. Particularly with a device that could destroy all mankind.