So, yes, the FREAK chips from Hellsing and Ultimate OVA both got an update: combo of zombie and vamp. :D Look like one as well as act like the other. How brutal is that?

I was so exhausted when I finally got this finished. Mostly weather and a couple heat flashes even though I was in cool indoors.

Composition by Adrian von Ziegler.

Chapter Fourteen

Powerless

"TEMARI!"

She was there in a dark purple mini dress with a black leather belt and wing-like sleeves, finished with tights and her leather boots. It was definitely no illusion; her best friend was right there before her eyes. Teal eyes scrutinized her and the strange woman in their flat, then down at the shattered glass and water, repeating her question.

"Sh-Shizune," Hanaru said, overcoming her stutter, "is a friend I made while you were away."

The other blonde raised an eyebrow, closing the door behind her and locking it, then shoved her keys into the bag and dropped it beside the door. "I see that, but why were you so startled that you dropped the water - and why did you look so shook up?" Temari asked suspiciously.

Oh, shit, how was she going to answer this? "Well..." Shizune seemed to know her dilemma, so she vouched for her to try and save the trouble.

"It's nice to meet you, Temari. Your friend told me a lot of nice stuff about you." Smooth move, that was a good one. This her best friend seemed to find amusing and smirked as she didn't believe most of a word of that, but Temari said nothing. "You didn't see me, but I was at the gallery on New Year's Eve." Actually, Hanaru did not remember seeing her there, but maybe she was. "I ran into Hanaru not many days ago. I also have an answer to your friend frequently dreaming about this...man she draws."

Now that sparked a high raise of both eyebrows, which dropped in dismay at the answer to her question "Which is?"

"ESP, to keep a long story short," Hanaru answered, finding the courage to talk. "Meaning that he is a real person."

Temari sputtered when she was done talking, blinking a few times as if to make sure she wasn't dreaming. "O-okay, this has to all be a dream. Because while I've heard of this, I didn't think it was possible. And my best friend of all people! I come home early only to find out you're some kind of psychic, is that it? And you mean to tell me -?!" she demanded only to fall short on words.

"Hai, it's all true!" the Uzumaki insisted. "And the Man in Red...it's that guy from that night."

Shizune worriedly looked back and forth between them before clearing her throat. "I'm going to - Hanaru, I'll come back another time, okay?" She smiled weakly and then nodded at Temari as she passed by. "Nice meeting you!" The pigtailed blonde snorted as she watched her go before turning her hot glance back at Hanaru.

"You're joking, aren't you? I've been wondering how you've seen this guy all the time, and now extrasensory perception!" she exclaimed, stalking past her to drop into the loveseat, relieved to finally be home, and Hanaru was glad to see her, really. "You've never made up stories like this; I know you better than that, but still..."

Hanaru noted how she stepped over the mess on the floor, which made her remember she had to clean it up, so she got the trash bag, rubber gloves and everything to get it up without cutting herself. "I didn't believe it either, but something DID happen, but I don't think you'll believe me when I tell you," she said.

When she was done cleaning up, she sat across her friend, and finally told her everything, but left out the supernatural forces that were out there. If Temari were to believe her on that, she had to see everything for herself.

~o~

He scowled as he looked upon the loathsome tinker under the microscope that showed its ins and outs up close and personally. It was confirmed that it was manufactured in Iwa, a place of even more advanced technology than Konoha itself.

These monsters...they're nothing but true freaks of nature. They look like zombies, but they have conscience and reason like humans, yet they thirst like vampires.

And they were made by these things, therefore being controlled by someone. But they'd also been cleverly manufactured so that the Senju Organization had no suspects as to who was creating and controlling these freaks. A single chip into a single subject's brain, but all linked to the main ringleader like all of the cables and channels to the central reactive core. There was going to be further research conducted, but this vital piece they had for sure: the living DNA tissue extracted from the living host would be used along with the matter from the creator, and Itachi was certain who was doing this, but there was no proof as of yet.

And the functioning DNA with each individual information had no match in Senju databases or any other in the underworld.

There was another difficult matter: the chip designer - not the master himself - was possibly killed so that there would be no one to lead Senju to them.

He and Tsunade were looking it over at the time before her meeting today in the conference, and the orders were clear and simple: search and destroy. As always. On the other hand, it won't be as simple as that when it comes to HIM.

He broke this information to Sasuke and Sakura when they were allowed to visit him. Sometimes his sister-in-law would come in to examine what was left of the dead - mostly victims of monsters - and his brother said that his department was investigating in Iwa to see if there would be small leads that could be handed to Senju so that it would be traced back to a useful point, except he, too, was certain who could be pulling the strings.

Sakura cursed when she took a look. "Connected to their brains, to their retinas - if you find who's behind this, let us come and help," she hissed, looking up at Itachi.

Sasuke scoffed in agreement. "Perhaps I should quit the police force and just come whether I want to or not, just for you, aniki."

"No," the elder reprimanded, reminding him of the reason why he traded his freedom for Sasuke's own. As well, otouto despised them anyway, and would not ally with them unless something forced his hand.

The younger growled through his teeth. "Then when the time comes?" he asked bitterly. That was acceptable, so yes.

In the meantime, that was when he was approached by Shizune as soon as she returned from visiting Hanaru. "How did it go?" he asked from his position sitting at the table, Sasuke standing now but his wife still seated. She smiled at the raven-haired woman who said hello to them, even at Sasuke whom she was always uneasy around. But she wasn't the only one.

Shizune laid down the box tucked underneath her arms, flinching the entire time and then showed relief when she set it on the table and opened it for him to see what was inside - and it was none other than the "bigger and better" he requested. It had come sooner than planned.

"Very interesting...what is it exactly?" Itachi held it up and admired the craftsmanship which was constructed of dark gunmetal unlike his prized magnum; no, this was a gigantic pistol and carried far more firepower than before. The barrel itself measured three feet, weighed thirty-three pounds, and carried more than just six rounds. Unlike the previous, the slide was invisible to the eye...until the user was ready to reload, and it was in the upper entirety.

"Has more firepower than a human can handle," Sasuke mused after the explanation was over, his eyes flashing red with envy and amazement in one, wishing he could have one himself. Instead, he was stuck with the typical childish handgun awkward humans were stuck to.

Sakura looked like a human child in a candy store when she saw the rounds were made of silver and tipped with mercury. "Oh, Itachi, we're jealous of you!" she said when she noticed how her husband was scowling. Laughing, she nudged him to lighten up.

Nothing but perfection. It's more than I would have asked for.

"This, my friends," he said with relish, "shall have a name: the Crow."

But it was also then that the moment of savory was short-lived. His sensitive ears heard the vibrations in the walls, and he growled at the same time Sasuke and Sakura sensed it too. Shizune heard the commotion on her walkie, at Kakashi's shouts that intruders broke in on the property - and that they were all coming in hard and fast.

"More of those brainless beasts?!" Sakura raged, her voice piercing the walls and making them shake around them. "Oh, I'm going out there now and I'll knock them down with my fists alone! Come on, Sasuke-kun!" And just like that, she was out that broken door in a flash when she could have smashed through the stone walls. Sighing and shaking his head, Sasuke trailed after her.

"Well...she's something else," Shizune said, shaking her head and laughing before she got serious again and ran after them to give her aid - or rather, show off her aggression with the famous hidden wires that were known to take the walking dead apart from yards and without bare hands. Chuckling at both the image and her words, Itachi agreed, choosing for now to just sit back - at least, until one of the offending vampires would come and find him.

Another attractive feature about the mighty Sakura Uchiha: her monstrous strength alone without hand-held machinery.

~o~

The lights were flashing on and off, but nothing went off completely just yet. Shocked voices sounded throughout the room, and Homura demanded what the hell was going on.

Control Room One - Kakashi - shouted that the enemy was unknown, but these monsters were zombies for sure. If they were here, a vampire or two was also present. Seething, Tsunade listened on as communication was cut off so that they could not get assistance. "Buy as much time as you can!" she shouted.

However, the horror of knowing the sacred headquarters had been violated by the enemy was too great a terror for all of them to comprehend. Meanwhile, many of her men were throwing their lives to keep these demons from coming any closer. As time would be bought, that meant they had to consider their own evacuation - and she meant herself as well as these men and women around her, but before that could happen, a mocking voice sounded on the radio the report had been received.

"Uh...is this thing on? Cool! This message goes out to the Senju conference table and especially to that bitch slut herself, Tsunade! All of your asses are getting kicked by the Kokoro brothers! My name is Shiro Kokoro, and I can't wait to meet each and every one of you...as soon as me and the boys finish eating lunch."

The horrible sounds of eating - they're feasting on MY men! - echoed throughout the speakers as the foul-mouthed creature continued. "You'd be the first to be thanked to provide us with all these tasty snacks! By tomorrow, Senju is nothing but a pile of SHIT!"

What was next: nowhere to run and nowhere to HIDE?! Furiously, she broke the glass in hand so it shattered across the floor without a care. She even bit her own lip and drew blood; she wanted to enjoy the shock on the elders' faces as they saw her temper flashing.

"Tsunade, he said that the undead have taken over the estate!" Koharu hissed. "They could be coming for us at any moment!"

"EXACTLY!"

She jumped to her feet then and there, almost knocking the entire table over in the opposite direction. All it took for her to calm down and decide on a rational solution was dialing Shizune and asking her for her position. The response came on time.

"Sasuke and Sakura are with me, ma'am. I saw outside communication was cut off, and I wish I could say every obscenity I know - but not in front of the men and women with you." This would have earned a few laughs here and there, but no one could manage. "You should fortify the door to the conference room until we get there. The hallways are full of zombies, so there is a way for us to get to you." She almost could hear the smirk in her aide's voice, who was usually sweet and timid, but in life-threatening moments like this, Shizune was a bloodthirsty beast.

"How did you find Itachi's cell fifty years ago?"

The air ducts...

"Shizune," Tsunade spat heatedly, "these demonic animals are feeding off OUR people! If you come across any, do not let them leave these grounds alive!"

The response was affirmative, and so they waited impatiently but necessarily. Her anger ebbed uncontrollably. This place which had forever been the sanctuary of her family as well as its base, untouchable as long as there had been Senju - and thanks to Itachi being here - was trespassed and ravaged by hordes of impure creatures...making her own just like them.

Tsunade found herself being the butt of blame, because she "let" this happen, but how DARE they - especially Homura?! He was then scolded by Koharu, even though the elder crone made clear her disdain, but she also knew this wasn't the time and place for fault. She also knows we have to defend ourselves if help doesn't come on time...but what do you know?

Some time passed before aid finally arrived in the form of Shizune getting out first from the air vent above their heads - and the poor girl ended up falling atop old man Homura, who fell out of his chair, yelping in shock.

The most comedic thing Tsunade got out of this situation was her aide's backside in the air like a whale's hump through the ocean surface.

And of course, there were the two vampires - the brother and sister-in-law of her servant - and one smiled broadly while the other simply scowled coldly. "Sasuke, Sakura," the Senju head said with relief. "How is the situation now?"

"Well, if only it were good news," Sasuke said. "The first two floors are secured, and if only we knew the identities of who trained these demons. Whoever it was is a tactical genius, not to give him credit." Now finally he could smile, or rather smirk. "But that doesn't mean you're done for."

"Assuming you have a plan," Tsunade said, liking where this was going despite the hostility for Itachi's brother who didn't fancy her in return.

His rose-haired mate answered for him. "Yes, my lady. The two of us and Shizune are going to handle one of the attackers while Itachi...bumps off the other."

These villains won't see the light of day again.

~o~

He remembered Hanaru saying that all work and little fun could leave a person insane; she was absolutely right in every step. If this was a new bloodsucker threat who could match him, then he looked forward to a brand new challenge. The timing couldn't have been better.

And this one really got past the guards and traps that stayed intact, did he? Very good, indeed.

He was hiding in the shadows, and the one in white could still feel his presence, which impressed him utterly. Clad like a ghost, white as one, and with long golden hair tied below the neck - ah, the opposite of me, yet a bit similar. And the glowing jacket was lined with gold. He stood out while the Uchiha who sat in the dark made himself known with his voice alone. "Why would I hide?" Itachi deadpanned, offended that he was silently called a coward just because he waited all this time in his sanctuary.

"What were you then...bored?" the white man mocked. His accent was soft, but hard and smooth as leather. "It's quite the pleasure to finally meet you...Itachi Uchiha. My name is Taro Kokoro - a major fan of your work. Your skills are so legendary that many desire to surpass you...but they fail, don't they?"

Itachi finally smirked at this one's cool, shameless confidence. At how he feared and admired him through stories, but that was how things got started. And there was one thing they all got wrong with a certain word: immortality.

"You are nothing but a fool, Taro Kokoro. There is no such thing as true immortality," he said icily, standing up from his chair and advancing, his boots echoing across the floor.

And so it began: the battle for the other's head on the stick, and the pulling of their weapons to fire the bullets. The Uchiha was thrilled to give the Crow its field test, confident it would do nicely.

But the fight was nothing but a disappointment, like a human having an adrenaline rush during high. Reality kicking in after the desire to have true escapism. And after all that fool's boasting that he would bring about the end of Itachi Uchiha, the one every undead maggot knew as the "Senju's lapdog" and the "Sharingan user" - but one credit he would have were his reflexes.

If Kokoro was a true creature of the night, he could have healed himself, since the Uchiha severed his legs; he was nothing more than a pitiful coward. What became of him? Just a simple bullet to the heart that landed him the same fate as the others before him.

A waste of my time. Scoffing, he left the underground, coat tail swishing behind him and making the dust sweep into the air when the wind wasn't blowing.

He eventually found his brother and the women in the hallway where they had the other punk in captive, on the second level.

Shizune really did a job done with the powerful, endless wires she produced, snarling that Shiro Kokoro should learn some manners in how to respect women and authority; Sakura screamed her rage as she punched through all the zombies she could get, bashing their skulls all the way off their heads without any of them laying a single bite on her. And her husband settled on shooting them point blank with his magnum.

"LET ME GO, YOU FLESH-HAIRED BITCH!" the dirt-mouthed scumbag yowled as he was held by Sakura's hand alone, and his language earned a flash of Sasuke's red eyes. As did the meaning behind the word "flesh", which could translate to mean he hinted at a certain part of a woman's anatomy to attempt to demean her, and the younger Uchiha didn't take it well.

"Utter one more bad word about my wife or any of us, and you get a bullet to your balls," he growled. "I'm a police officer outside these walls, but I'll still be asking the questions. And the first is this: your objective behind this attack? Who did you take orders from?" Precisely a good one.

Shiro cackled. "Me? Just a tourist - my brother and myself - passing by and thought we'd have a look." His insolence earned the shot indeed, the blast echoing off the walls of the floor, and he shrieked. Itachi chuckled in amusement at the show as he was interrogated by Sasuke and Shizune, Sakura continuing to hold him with her impressive strength.

"Answer him or you get a second one - or I could slice them all off which is just as worse," Shizune warned, flourishing her wires. Eyes widening, Shiro broke.

"OKAY, WE FOLLOWED ORDERS!" He grinned, showing pierced teeth. "To kill everyone inside and then confirm the deaths...as well as of the pet vampires." His eyes flashed when they rested on Itachi especially, and Sakura hissed as she tightened her grip. "I was hoping aniki Taro beat you into a carpet stain, Itachi!"

"To which he ended up becoming one himself," Itachi replied. "He was nothing more than dog waste. Wagged that tongue and only ended up being mediocre at best - which is exactly what you yourself are."

Shiro's grin grew wider, and then the eyes shifted past all of them to his left, guiding them to see what was there - and what was there caused Itachi to bare his fangs, his brother and sister-in-law doing the same as well as Sakura gasping in horror at the same time; it was concluded with Shizune spitting out a profanity in their language. "My God, you bastard, what you've done - you should damn yourself to the lowest pit of hell!"

Zombies...they all belonged to Senju.

Itachi's fingers itched to pull out the Crow from the confides of his coat, but he sensed none other than his mistress' approach despite these undead shells which were once her men advancing on all of them.

So, yup, the Valentine brothers made it here - or rather, the Japanese version of the brothers. Their name Kokoro is a variation of "heart", hence the word itself means "mind; core".

What Shiro hinted when he called Sakura a "flesh-haired bitch" - it was meant as female genitals, if no one got that. Totally offensive.