It wasn't enough.

Seeing the eldest Noah fall down dead at his feet had done nothing to alleviate his anger over recent events; he was still fuming and encountering another of the clan definitely hadn't helped with that.

Kanda huffed as he made his way back to the compound. There had to be another way for him to be able to get over this; if he had to put up with working alongside Uchiha until they defeated the Eidolons, then he needed some way to even the score.

He stopped in his tracks as a thought occurred to him: Itachi wouldn't want anyone else to know about this-besides the ones who already knew, of course.

Which made him wonder, was the younger Uchiha aware of what was really going on here? Kanda doubted it-from what he'd seen, Itachi wasn't that much more honest with his brother than with anyone else. If it were anyone else, Kanda would just assume that that was because they were being protective.

But, considering what Itachi had pulled in the past, he wasn't entirely certain that that was the case here. As such, the Reaper probably wouldn't want his brother to know the truth about what he was risking his life for.

Uncharacteristically, the corners of Kanda's mouth twitched. And there was his way in.

He changed courses, casting his senses out again in order to locate the younger Uchiha. It was slightly more difficult than with Road-he didn't know a whole lot about him, other than the fact that he was a thief-but apparently, what he did know was enough because, a moment later, he felt the familiar sensation of his abilities coming to life.

Kanda exhaled lowly through his nose and let his eyes fall shut. The images that bloomed inside his head this time were of a rundown building in one of the sketchier parts of town; the windows were grimy and cracked and the door was kicked in. He didn't recognize the place, but somehow, a path came into his mind as almost instantly.

And that wasn't all, either.

Sasuke was circling the figure of a man tied up in the center of a room with peeling walls and torn up floors. And the man was another familiar face: Kevin Cheng, another of the neko-jin clan within the Eidolons, known as the White Tigers-and another of the lamia.

There was another tick at the corner of Kanda's mouth; now, this had never happened before. He'd never been able to see what he was walking into when he'd after someone like this before.; it seemed his powers were expanding. Handy.

He tried to focus this new dimension to his ability, letting it lead him toward his destination-and inform him of the situation he would be arriving at.

Kevin's eyes widened above his gag as the hawk drew his chokuto blade form the harness attached to his back and, in one fluid motion, plunged into the green-haired man's chest. When it was removed, Sasuke kicked the chair back and let it collapse onto the floor as blood spurted out of Kevin's stomach like a crimson fountain that stained the crumbling stone.

"The lamia aren't as invincible as they claim to be," he commented coolly to himself, sheathing the poisoned blade in its sling after slinging it to the side to get the blood off it.

And that was what Kanda heard as he entered the ramshackle house; he couldn't resist a rebuttal.

"You were dealing with a rogue," the panther pointed out as a way of announcing his presence. "You wouldn't be able to dispatch one of the Vampire Lords so easily."

Sasuke looked up at the unmistakable harsh Japanese accent, brows contracting. But he didn't miss a beat.

"Why would I want to take on the Vampire Lords? They're on our side," he retorted smoothly, gaze slanting in the elder's direction even as he got ready to leave.

Kanda inched further into the derelict chamber, noting the hint of suspicion in those onyx orbs. So, evidently the younger bluenette didn't know about the arrangement. Maybe it was time he did.

"Only until this game between your brother and the snake is over," Kanda revealed matter-of-factly.

Sasuke's brows arched up higher, arms folding over his lanky chest.

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean, panther?" the hawk demanded in a frigid tone, gaze narrowing.

The panther's upper lip curled.

"Oh, I figured you already knew," he feigned innocence as he elaborated. "All of this, this entire war, was just some elaborate show put on by them so they could fight over me-and your brother's soul."

Sasuke frowned, consternation filling him at that statement. He wanted to say that he didn't believe it, that that wasn't something Itachi would do; but the truth was, after so long apart, he didn't really know what his older brother wouldn't do. He'd pulled something like this once before, after all-and that deception had lasted nearly eight years.

"And how would you know?" he questioned instead, trying to act like that bit of information didn't surprise-or trouble-him in the slightest.

"Because your brother told me," Kanda declared flatly. When he saw Sasuke's frown deepen, he affected a laugh, and added, "Oh, he didn't want to; I overheard him telling the King about it, and he didn't deny anything when I asked him about it after."

Sasuke swallowed hard, tongue coming out to wet his lips. He didn't know how to react to that; luckily, he was good at hiding his emotions-because they were currently spinning out of control.

He had a feeling he knew what Kanda was trying to do by telling him this; he knew what had been going on between his brother and the panther since the beginning of this battle, and this was probably Kanda's way of getting his own back. But that didn't mean his claims could be any less valid-not that he was going to let Kanda know it.

This time, he didn't respond; he just shot Kanda a last shrewd glance before taking off without another word.

As he left, a faint smile graced Kanda's lips for the first time in ages. No doubt the hawk was going to go to Itachi to find out if what he'd said was true.

Now they would be even.

Sasuke found his brother perched on his high-backed, throne-like chair at the head of the room in the former Uchiha hideout, shadows cascading out of his dark, knee-length cloak and that reaper mask of his firmly encircling his emotionless black coals.

That was a pose the younger Uchiha recognized-and he wasn't too pleased to see it again.

"That mask isn't fooling anyone, you know," he declared by way of a greeting, stopping before the stone platform and planting his hands on his hips.

The blacknette didn't say anything at first, merely remaining still and expressionless as a statue.

Then, after a brief pause, he a lowed three words to slip from his lips. "Is that so?"

"The more you hide behind it, the more people are going to want to break it; most likely why the panther has been so furious with you," Sasuke continued; then he revealed the real topic he wanted to discuss. "He told me what you've been doing with Orochimaru, this so-called game you two have been playing all this time. And I want to know why I had to hear it from him."

A barely audible breath left Itachi's mouth, and his eyes slid open slowly, still conversely blank.

"I didn't want you to know," he stated without remorse or emotion. "And it wasn't Kanda's place to tell you."

"You didn't want me to know," Sasuke repeated in a deceptively calm tone, nostrils flaring slightly. "And why the hell not?"

Itachi uncrossed his legs fluidly, his voice still low and impassive as he explained.

"I am not a fool, Sasuke-I know what everyone thinks of me, and I know what my enemies want from me. But Kanda did not tell you the entire story."

"And that would be?" his brother pressed insistently, taking a step forward; he wasn't going to let this subject drop. Itachi should have told him all of this himself.

"I made this deal with the snake because when I was a member of the Eidolons, he gained a hold over me-a hold over my soul," Itachi stated flatly in a rare moment of honesty.

Sasuke's eyes widened uncharacteristically; whatever he'd thought his brother was going to say, it definitely hadn't been that. He swallowed hard, licking his lips before speaking again.

"What does that mean?"

The elder Uchiha let out another quiet, resigned breath.

"It means that, if all of this doesn't go according to plan, everything I've brought together will fall apart-and everyone will be losing a lot more than their lives."

Sasuke's blue-ebony brows arched in bemusement at the unfamiliar note in Itachi's deep baritone.

"If I didn't know better, Itachi, I'd say you were feeling actual regret," he stated, hardly daring to believe his ears.

By way of a response, Itachi finally removed his obsidian mask, and Sasuke was surprised to see actual emotion on that pale face, so like his own-and yet not.

"You are," he realized with surprise, feeling faintly like he was dreaming.

Itachi exhaled ruefully, head tilting forward so his silky black bangs veiled his eyes.

"Well, it was only a matter of time before that 'mask' of mine began to crack," he confessed colourlessly, lifting his shoulders in a short shrug. "I would walk through hell and back to keep you safe, but I can't do that as long as the snake still has his hold over me."

"So why not compel him to release it? That way, you wouldn't be putt so many people in danger for his amusement," the younger Uchiha spat the last word scathingly, a look of disgust briefly wrinkling his forehead.

"No." The word was hissed out in a tone of pure ice as black coals flashed dangerously. "It doesn't work that way. The release has to be done verbally, and of Orochimaru's own free will-otherwise, the premise will be null and void."

Onyx eyes filled with a mix of disbelief and horror.

"So, if you lose this game, then what?" he queried uneasily, actually dreading the answer now.

"The price of losing…is why I will do any thing to win," he said carefully, but determinedly, a hard look coming into those soulless black voids of his. He paused again before elaborating. "If I lose this game, I lose my control-I return to the monster I was while still under the influence of the snake, and I lose any means of continuing to keep you, and the others, alive."

The hawk looked up sharply, his eyes widening even further in what was clearly abject terror.

"No-no way. That can't-never again," he shook his head emphatically, finding himself, for the first time in a long time as a loss words, closing his eyes against the onslaught of painful memories.

Itachi shook his own head.

"That's why it was better to keep this a secret; I knew you would react this way."

Sasuke exhaled sharply.

"I just-oh, come on! You can't just drop something like that on me, and then not expect me to be uneasy. I mean, seriously, do you know what it was like for me, all those years of thinking you killed mother and father simply for your own gain; that you never actually cared about me and only left me alive because you didn't think I was worth killing?" He let out another heavy, trembling breath, continuing in a whisper. "It was torture, Itachi-and I don't ever want to have to go through that again. I don't want to lose my brother a second time."

Itachi froze, pressing his lips together. He'd known his stint in the Eidolons had severely impacted his brother; but he'd never really known how much. Hearing it all laid out like that and hearing the pain in Sasuke's voice-he couldn't believe what he had done. How could he have hurt his only family so much?

What kind of big brother was he? He knew he had to make up for this-and he could only see one way of doing so.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke," he apologized softly, crossing the room to lay a consoling hand on his brother's arm. "I didn't know; but I promise that I will not do that to you again. I will find a way to win this game without pandering to Orochimaru's twisted whims, and I will wrest myself-and this world from his clutches."

Sasuke was taken aback when, in a sudden display of emotion, Itachi then pulled him forward into a tight embrace. He didn't pull away, though; contrary to what he would have done with anyone else, he lifted his own arms and wrapped them around his brother.

It was the first time Itachi had hugged him since he was five years old-and, in that moment, he treasured it more than he would ever admit. Because with those familiar arms around him he could almost believe Itachi's promise.

Almost.

The crime lord, Seto Kaiba, stood at the center of the trio, his sleeveless white trenchcoat flaring out behind him in a manner that practically defied gravity; his light-skinned face was half-covered by a curved porcelain mask, shaped distinctly like a dragon's head-a not-so-subtle-nod to his criminal moniker.

On his right was his employee, the sharp-featured Cyber heir, clad in his usual coat-similar to Kaiba's, but in a shade of dark blue-ebony, slightly spiked near the bottom, matching his tall black boots and the skintight turtleneck he wore underneath.

And the final member of this lethal group was the Darkling, Chazz Princeton, also clad in a long coat and brown boots, and his face also partially hidden by a mask, this one the same colour as his coat and with an angular beak positioned over his nose.

All three of them leaned against the navy blue wall in similar positions: arms crossed over their chests, backs somehow ramrod straight and, in Seto's case only, one ankle tucked behind the other.

"So, remind me what we're doing here again," Chazz interrupted their silence, strangely not having to be heard over the raw, pulsing music that seemed to drown out every other form of communication. The question wasn't directed at anyone in particular, but it was the white dragon who responded, not looking at him as he did so.

"I told you: since the Reaper is only using me as a placeholder to keep me from continuing to work for the snake, I'm not putting my own business on hold anymore. And you two are going to help me make an example of someone," Seto explained bluntly, his gaze roaming the gyrating masses from behind his mask.

"And who is this 'example' going to be?" Chazz pressed, arching a single midnight brow.

"An American businessman who's had dealings with KaibaCorp-and, as coincidence would have it, the Eidolons as well," Aster answered for him as he came down one of the staircases at the far end of the club and strode toward them with an unreadable expression on his pale face. "He's upstairs but should be coming down soon."

The corners of the crime lord's mouth twitched.

"Sounds like that's out cue, then," he stated, beckoning the others to follow him as Aster lead them to the location of their target.

Steel-blue eyes penetrated the haze of drugs and sweat to analyze every one of the club's inhabitants, searching for that one particular face. It didn't take that long before he found him: he was off average height and build, appearing to be about in his mid-30's with an olive-crew cut, weathered skin, gray eyes and dressed in a nondescript off-white suit with the jacket folded over his broad arm.

The three Legacies seemed to notice when he found him, and they spread out, two of them flanking the man while the third snuck up behind him, clapping a hand over his mouth and subtly beginning to steer him toward the back door.

The others followed him out, surrounding him as he tossed the man to the dirt-encrusted damp street in the alley behind the club, Seto moving to their center to stare down their victim without blinking.

The man caught sight of the blue-white dragon mask and began to scramble frantically away when he realized what it signified.

"I'm afraid you won't be leaving quite yet," Zane's deep, gravelly voice intoned into his ear, a dark undercurrent running beneath his words like a glacier.

"W-what do you want from me?" the man stuttered-involuntarily-as he looked around wildly, clearly recognizing his imprisoners-and the precarious position he was now in.

Seto began to advance on him with deliberate slowness, his mask keeping his face terrifyingly blank.

"Your life," he declared simply, giving his employees a pointed look, signaling them to do what they'd discussed.

The man cried out as a wall of blackness suddenly slammed into him, knocking him onto his back. He tried to get to his feet, but it bore down on him, keeping him pinned in place.

At the same time, ice rose out of the concrete, swarming over his legs and sending needles piercing through his skin. It spread rapidly over his stomach and chest and froze him completely until he couldn't move. He didn't know what was going on; what had he done to deserve this?

They may be fighting for the good side but they are no heroes

Make no mistake

"A message for your real boss," the white dragon's voice filled his ears as the cold began to overtake every other sensation in his body. "I am not simply a place holder in this game between him and the Reaper-and it's high time he realize that."

Just because the Reaper doesn't think he needs me doesn't mean it's true

Itachi and Kanda arrived back at the compound at about the same time, and before they could drift off into their respective quarters, Tekla stopped them with a blocking spell.

"Hold it," she called out, striding in between them and raising her palms in their direction. "You two need to talk." She turned to Kanda, a stern expression on her olive-skinned face. "I know you told Sasuke about the game just because you thought it would piss him off, and you wanted to get back at him for lying-but you two are supposed to be working together and you can't do that if you're fighting all the time."

Kanda crossed his arms-but, unexpectedly, he didn't argue with her statement.

"I'm aware that that was rather…petty of me," he admitted in an uncharacteristically bland voice, meeting her gaze without emotion. "But I wanted to make him feel just a fraction of what I've been feeling ever since this little crusade of his began. I've been betrayed by the one person I cared about most and lost the only friend I had left since I've been in hiding. And I felt like all of that was his-your fault." He spoke directly to Itachi now, the barest trace of feeling creeping into his gaze.

Itachi didn't react, his eyes closed as he remained stationary in the doorway with his hood drawn up.

Tekla and the panther shared a brief glance, the sorceress rolling her eyes expressively; she wasn't at all surprised. Itachi was King of acting like he wasn't paying attention-and making people work for it.

"You killed the Noah of Dreams?" the Reaper suddenly spoke, though his voice was barely audible from his position.

The younger man exhaled sharply, shaking his head; after everything he'd just said, that was what Itachi wanted to know about? He supposed he should have expected that, though; he knew Itachi wouldn't share his emotions with him.

"I did," he confirmed flatly. "Just because I was pissed at you doesn't mean I wouldn't complete that job. I've wanted the Noah clan dead for a very long time-and Mikk is next on the hitlist."

The corners of Itachi's mouth twitched and his eyes gradually slid opened, revealing those swirling endless obsidian voids gleaming with what almost seemed like triumph.

"Good; you're turning into quite the valuable pawn. Yu Kanda," he commented quietly, more to himself than to the younger man.

He started to leave, but a sudden grip on his wrist stopped him.

"What the hell did you just say?" the panther demanded harshly, his gaze darkening as Itachi turned around to face him again.

Itachi exhaled slowly through his nose, the faintest wisps of air emitting from his parted lips at the almost imperceptible breath.

"You heard me-you're proving to be someone I may actually put my faith in," he elaborated in a moment of calculated bluntness.

The consternation in Kanda's eyes increased.

"Forgive me if I think that's utter bullshit. You can't actually expect me to believe that after all the crap you've kept from me since the beginning of this so-called game of yours and the snake's," he retorted, Japanese accent dripping with scepticism.

Itachi shrugged.

"If you don't believe me, that's your problem-but it's the truth," he told the younger neutrally, sounding as if it truly didn't matter to him. "I was beginning to trust you, but if you'd rather I didn't." He trailed of and turned to leave again, but the grip on his still-caged limb tightened again.

"Wait."

Itachi stilled, staying silent, but making it clear that he was listening.

Kanda inhaled deeply before continuing in that same low voice.

"I know that I said I hated you, and that the only reason I agreed to stay in this fight was to keep you from killing me on a whim, but-," He paused, swallowing hard. "I'm going to try and trust you," he admitted, finally letting go of Itachi's arm and stuffing his hands into his pockets. "And I'd like it if you felt you could trust me, too-even if that means being considered one of your pawns."

For the first time since they'd met, Kanda swore he saw the barest trace of a smile cross the Reaper's thin lips.

"You want me to trust you? Prove to me that you're worthy of that trust-just as I somehow managed to prove myself worthy of yours." He pulled the hood of his dark cloak off his head and added one last thing before departing," Sometimes, even though it might be easier not to put our faith in others, it's better to take the chance. Don't make me regret taking a chance on you, Kanda."

And he was gone before the panther could fully register that that had been the first time Itachi had used his name.

"I won't," he vowed, looking at Tekla so she could see she'd succeeded.

The sorceress clapped her hands together in a mix of satisfaction and relief.

"Well, it's about damn time," she said, rolling her eyes at him again. "And now that that; finally taken care of, I have some business of my own to deal with. See you later."

She tossed Kanda a wave before drawing up her own hood and walking out the door.

She'd been thinking about this for a while. She knew everything that had been happening besides all the discourse between Kanda and Itachi: the torture going on below, the discussion Itachi had had with his brother when he'd found out about the game, and how the Eidolons had begun executing those who Itachi had conned into helping him.

Tekla knew all of it-it was part of her powers-and she knew that she wanted to do something about it.

She tracked her target to an Eidolon safehouse not that far away from the compound it was a small property, probably only meant for two people-but the target was alone in there as far as Tekla could tell.

As she approached the safehouse, Tekla reviewed what she knew about her target: another former Exorcist, the sister of the Order's head scientist, with the power of the Dark Boots-another weapon fashioned from Innocence like the Panther's word.

With all that, she probably should have been quite difficult to defeat-but Tekla had faced off against her before and she really wasn't.

"Hey, Lenalee," the sorceress called out in a falsely amiable tone, striding in through the window of the safehouse with a mocking smile. "Been a long time."

The green-haired woman whipped around at the sound of her voice, her bright teyes narrowing in unconcealed suspicion.

"You-what are you doing here?" Lenalee snapped.

Tekla chuckled coldly, raising her hands as she advanced on her prey, strands of green beginning to coil around her gloved fingers.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure you can guess," she said slyly, continuing to lope forward in an obviously threatening manner.

With that, she struck, casting the green light from her fingers and sending it straight toward the other woman before she could react. It wrapped around her legs and torso, binding her limbs together and holding her in place.

When she was effectively rendered immobile, Tekla reappeared in front of her, pressing a now slightly smoking hand over her nose and mouth.

"I'd have dragged this out more but it's already been a long night," the brunette said, her casual tone at complete odds with her current action. Her lips twisted slightly at the sound of Lenalee choking, and she lowered them to the other girl's ear to whisper a final goodbye before the poison finished its job. "It really wasn't nice to see you again."

She felt it when Lenalee expelled her final breath, and she took her hand away, letting her slump to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut.

"Your plan backfired, Hebi; now let's see you how you deal with us as a real team," she stated, stepping over the dead woman's body and exiting the same way she had come in.