Something More
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter.
Chapter Notation: I'm not sure exactly how Obito was related to Sasuke and Itachi in the show. I'm just going to go with distant cousin in this one. That may or may not be canon. Oh and this chapter is the calm before the storm.
Chapter 17
"You know, your girl is going to kill you for this. I wouldn't want to be in your sandals, if we survived this. Suki has one Hell of a temper. A real hothead. I suppose that's to be expected though. She does come from a Fire Clan." Kisame says cheerfully as the two of them make their way towards the Tensai Caves.
Suigetsu shoots him a dirty look. While all of that was true, he really didn't want to hear it. He needed to focus on whoever this Madara was. They could be walking straight into an ambush.
"Will you be quiet? We don't need him to know that we're here. It's better to scope out the area first." The white haired ninja scolds him.
Thankfully, that seemed to do the trick. Suigetsu knew that he was taking a gamble by bringing Kisame with him, but he wasn't going to go alone. He had Suki and a baby to think of. If something bad happened, well he had no issue leaving Kisame's ass behind while he made a getaway.
He liked Kisame. Suigetsu actually liked him a lot, but he was no Suki and he definitely wasn't Suigetsu's son or daughter. If it came down to it, self-preservation instincts would kick in. It was nothing personal.
"That's not a bad plan. Though I have to wonder why you're here and my descendant isn't." Suigetsu hears someone say.
That's when the sword lover whirls around to come face to face with a man in an orange mask and one crimson red eye. A Sharingan.
"Tobi?" Kisame asks in confusion and that's when Suigetsu frowns.
Tobi was the name of one of the Akatsuki Members. Now that he thought about it, he was well known for wearing an orange mask. Surely though, if Tobi had a Sharingan that would have been something that was well known. What was going on here?
"Ah and you ruined part of the fun. I'd say that it's good to see you again, but your arrival is most inconvenient. I was hoping to be reunited with my distant cousin Suki and yet, I don't see her with you." Tobi taunts them.
"Kid, stay back. Something isn't right. That's Tobi, but it's not. The Tobi I know was a bit of a clown and kinda simple. This one's voice is all wrong and last I checked, he didn't have a Sharingan." Kisame warns him.
That was bad. If Kisame was noticing a difference, there was probably a reason. This was a trap. It had to be. With that in mind, he unsheathes his sword.
"Now, now. There's no need for any of that. That hurts my feelings, by the way. Kisame, that's a rather rude thing to say about your own teammate. Don't you think?" The other man asks while his Sharingan whirls rather ominously.
"I don't give a damn, if it hurts your feelings or not. You've got a Shairngan and didn't mention that fact to any of us. Don't you think that Itachi has a right to know that and where is your other one?! How come you only have one hole in your mask anyway?!" Kisame demands.
He only needs one hole because he only has one eye, Suigetsu thinks to himself. This guy for whatever reason only had one eye. He'd probably stolen the Sharingan from someone.
"He probably tried to steal himself a fancy pair of eyes and bit off a bit more than he could chew. My guess is that he attacked an Uchiha and they tore into him good. He only managed to get one eye." The white haired ninja says.
"That's not a bad guess, but no. That's not what happened. I assure you that this Sharingan isn't like Kakashi's. Mine is natural. Though that knowledge will be of little use to you. Where is Suki?" He demands.
Like Hell was he letting this creep talk to Suki. Suigetsu was going to find out what was going on first. This guy wasn't giving him good vibes. If he had "lied" to Kisame and they were both members of the Akatsuki, that didn't make the Prodigy in the Art of Murder very eager to trust him to say the least.
"You really shouldn't be worried about the kid, right now. If Itachi finds out that you're an Uchiha and you didn't tell him, he's going to tear you to pieces. Actually, he might do that anyway. He doesn't have the best history when it comes to getting along with his family." Kisame taunts him with a smirk.
"Oh come now, Kisame. I know that you're Itachi's partner. I'm quite certain that you know what really happened on that night. There is no need to act as though Itachi is really the demon that he pretends to be." Tobi replies.
The demon that he pretends to be?! What the Hell did that even mean?! He had killed his whole family! Of course, he was the bad guy!
Suigetsu had some pretty loose standards for what qualified as the bad guy, but seriously. There were some lines that you just didn't cross and killing your family was one of them! He couldn't imagine hurting Suki or their child!
"You talk a lot. If you don't say something useful soon though, I'm going to cut out your tongue!" Suigetsu says as he lunges towards the other man.
"Suigetsu, be careful! You don't know what you're dealing with!" Kisame says as it became rather apparent that neither did the other Akatsuki Member.
Meanwhile Suki was heading towards the caves with Karin, Jugo, and Naruto. When she got her hands on Suigetsu, she was going to kill him. She was going to kill him, revive him, and then smack him around a few times for good measure. How could he be this foolish?!
"Suki, don't worry. It's going to be okay. I don't like the guy, but Suigetsu is pretty strong. That and he brought Kisame with him. I'm sure that they're fine. This is only one guy, even if this Madara wants to pick a fight. It's still two against one." Naruto says, trying to reassure her.
Suki felt less than reassured though. She could defeat a thousand opponents herself, if none of them were more than moderately skilled. She knew that Naruto could spam an army worth of Shadow Clones. There were ways to win a battle, even if you were horribly outnumbered.
"Let's just keep going. The sooner we find them, the better our chances are." Suki says and with that, she flits off.
She needed to find him. Suki needed to find him and make sure that Suigetsu was okay. That and she wanted to learn more about this man who was claiming to be an Uchiha.
The young woman found it highly unlikely that Itachi had missed one of their relatives, but it was always a possibility. Of course, she wasn't going to just take his word for it. She would want to see a Sharingan. A natural Sharingan.
"Suki! Wait up!" Jugo and the others call out as they try to follow the frantic woman.
It was no use though. Suki was a woman on a mission. Well two missions really. Save Suigetsu and figure out who the Hell Madara Uchiha was!
Elsewhere Itachi growls in frustration. Everyone had left the place where Taka was staying. That meant that something was up. This wasn't good.
The elder Uchiha Sibling follows them stealthily. He knew that he couldn't allow himself to be seen. Not yet. Itachi had to find out what was going on.
"She never makes things easy for me." He mutters.
It would be too much to ask for to expect Suki to stay put. He had to let her kill him. After that, she could take his eyes and start her new life. Her new family.
Unfortunately, Suki was running off somewhere. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach that he knew where. Obito was about to make his move or should he say Madara?
"I have to hurry." He whispers to himself.
One way or another, Itachi was sure that this would be the end. Obito or Suki would kill him, if Itachi was right and Obito was making his move. He could only hope that Suki would be the one to get his eyes. Not Obito.
That's when he got closer to the caves and could see that Suki and her friends had made it there as well. They were standing outside of the entrance. It was likely that they wanted to survey the area before rushing in.
"Good. So I have taught her something, after all." Itachi whispers to himself.
That wouldn't be enough to save her from the truth though. Not if Obito had his way. He had to act quickly. If he killed Obito, Itachi could save Suki from having her entire world turned upside down.
He would have to do it quickly though. Itachi would only get one chance at this. As long as he could do it before Obito could explain, everything would be fine.
"Guys! Back up! Back up! Flying Shark!" Karin calls out as Taka and Naruto do exactly that.
The girl wasn't kidding. There was a shark flying at them. Though it was clear this shark was already dead and it was flying backwards. It had been hit. Fatally hit.
A shark could only mean one thing. Kisame was in that cave and he was engaged in battle. His partner had a Summoning Contract with sharks.
"Damn it, Kisame. What have you gotten yourself into?" Itachi asks himself.
"I can't believe that a shark just came flying at us!" Naruto says.
"Idiot. Kisame specializes in Water Jutsus. It's not far fetched to think that he might have summoned one. That means there is a battle going on though and Kisame is fighting at least or was as of at least two minutes ago. Come on." Suki says as she darts inside the cave.
"Suki! Wait! It might not be safe!" Jugo calls out as he chases off after her.
That was a damn good point. Obito Uchiha was not a man to be taken lightly. Unfortunately, Suki really was his foolish little sister. She was charging straight into a rather dangerous situation and she was pregnant.
If his illness didn't kill him, this woman probably would. The young woman was just as likely to kill him by giving him a heart attack as with her sword. Good grief!
"Damn it! Suki!" Naruto growls and with that, everyone follows the her into the cave.
"Ah there you are, Suki. I was wondering when you were going to join us." A man wearing an orange mask says.
He had a Sharingan. Either he really was an Uchiha or he had stolen one, Suki thinks to herself. She wasn't sure whether to be overjoyed at potentially discovering a member of her family or terrified that he might be a Collector.
Collectors were people who collected ninja gear and body parts. There was a lot that could be learned from both and in the case of body parts, sometimes you could even gain the new abilities. If the bloodline could be implanted in someone who wasn't from the Clan where it originated as was the case with the Sharingan.
"I would be more worried about him than me, when I get through with him. You said your name was Madara. What do you know about Itachi and the Massacre?!" She hisses.
Suki was in no mood for cryptic messages. She was pregnant and she had been worried half to death about Suigetsu. If this man wanted to beat around the bush, he would regret it.
"That's not Madara. That's Tobi. He's a member of the Akatsuki. He's posing as Madara." Kisame says.
The entire cave was flooded. Suki could only assume that was because of either Kisame or Suigetsu. Perhaps both. They both favored water techniques.
"I don't give a damn what his name is. What I want to know is what he knows about the Massacre!" Suki seethes.
"Suki, let's get out of here. This guy is a creep." Suigetsu says and Suki notes that his arm had been enlarged.
He had enlarged it to be about three times its usual size. Thanks to his family's techniques, he could enlarge his body by swelling it with water. Thus increasing his strength.
If he felt it was necessary to do that, that meant that there had been a battle. A battle that was likely still going on by the way. Suki unsheathes her sword. One way or another, she was going to get answers.
"He might be a creep, but that doesn't matter. What happened that night?!" She demands.
"Silly boy. Never argue with a pregnant woman. Well you have been told a lie, Suki. You've been lied to your entire life by your village and your own brother." The masked man says.
"Guys! Someone's coming! I can sense a lot of chakra heading our way!" Karin calls out.
Suigetsu's eyes narrow. He didn't like the sounds of this. First, there was this creepy Tobi guy and now there was another person who was crashing the party. His every instinct was screaming at him to get Suki the Hell out of there.
"Silence! You have no right to speak of such things to her!" A familiar voice thunders at Tobi.
That's when the white haired ninja turns his head towards the source of that voice. The voice that belonged to the man who had taken everything away from Suki. The Clan Slayer.
"Oh Itachi. How marvelous of you to join us. You see, your brother doesn't want you to know the truth. I do though." The other man continues.
"What truth?!" Suki snarls in outrage.
"QUIET!" Itachi says as he lunges at Obito.
Suigetsu blinks. From what little he knew of Itachi, that wasn't like him. Still it did provide a wonderful opening.
"Kisame!" He shouts and the blue skinned man nods as he summons another shark.
The shark flies at Itachi and Suki watches in confusion. Why would Kisame attack Itachi? It didn't make any sense. He was Itachi's partner.
"Oh don't worry. I know your brother. He can dodge that easy." Kisame says with a fearsome looking grin.
Suki still didn't understand, but the Akatsuki Member was right about that much. Itachi was able to dodge, but not fast enough. He wasn't able to dodge fast enough to prevent "Tobi" or "Madara" from saying what he wanted to say.
"Indeed he can. As I was saying, the Uchihas were plotting a coup. The Leaf ordered Itachi to commit genocide against them to prevent it. He agreed to do so on the condition that you were spared. You were a young child at the time. You played no part in the coup." He explains.
Suki felt her entire body go numb. It was if she was paralyzed in shock. She literally couldn't move.
"THAT CAN'T BE TRUE! THE LEAF WOULDN'T DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT!" Naruto thunders.
His words echoed across the caves, but they rang hollow to Suki. While she was sure that Naruto believed them with all her heart, she wasn't so sure that she could say the same. Itachi had tried to attack Tobi. He wouldn't have acted so recklessly without a good reason.
She had thought him evil incarnate for years, but never once did Suki question his intelligence. If the man was just making things up, there wouldn't have been a need to react so violently. It was true.
"Suki, you don't actually believe this creep! Tell me that you don't actually believe him!" Naruto yells at her.
"Shut up!" Suigetsu says as he rushes over to Suki's side.
Suki was dimly aware of the fact that her lover was standing next to her, but not enough to acknowledge him directly. Tobi's words still rang in her ear. "He agreed to do so on the condition that you would be spared."
At the time, it hadn't made any sense. Why would Itachi kill their entire family and let her live? She was far too weak to stand against him. It would have been a simple matter to kill her. She was the only witness.
"You're not only a murderer. You're a liar as well." She hisses at Itachi in a voice barley above a whisper.
It would have made more sense to kill her. Not doing so had made him a Criminal Ninja. Itachi could have lied. He could have framed someone else for it, but he hadn't. He had made it publicly known that the Uchiha Clan had died by his hand.
"That's right. He is a liar, but he's the liar who sacrificed everything to protect you. It's not really his fault. Itachi has always been such a martyr. He continues to delude himself into thinking that that the Leaf Village is worth saving. That this world is worth preserving. Tell me, what kind of village forces a thirteen year old boy to kill his own family and then covers it up?" Tobi asks her.
"JUST SHUT UP!" Suki roars at him as water lashes out from her hands, creating what could only be described as a mini tsunami that came rushing towards "Madara."
She wasn't thinking clearly. At the moment, she didn't care if it was a fatal attack or not. All that mattered was hearing Itachi confirm it or hearing him deny it.
"Suki." Suigetsu calls out to her.
The Uchiha woman hears him say her name, but she doesn't reply. She would talk to her lover later. Right now, she just had to know the truth. Had most of her life been based on a lie?!
"Is it true, Itachi?! Did you kill them on the Leaf's orders?!" The raven haired woman rages at him.
"Suki, there is a lot that you don't understand. It's not nearly as simple as it seems on the surface. If I didn't do it, a Civil War would have erupted within the Leaf. That would have made us weak. Other villages would have attacked. It could have set off another Great Ninja War." Itachi says.
It was true then. Itachi was justifying it. That meant that he had been ordered by their own village to slay their Clan. The only reason she was still breathing was because she had been too young to know what was going on.
Her hand immediately goes to her still flat stomach. It wouldn't stay that way for much longer though. She couldn't serve a village that had ordered the butchering of her own family! She refused to take her child to that place!
"Suki, are you still with me?" Suigetsu asks again.
"Yes, I am." She answers as she considers the possibilities.
"Kid, if you go off halfcocked and attack the Leaf, it won't end well. Let's say that you win, do you think the other Ninja Villages are just going to overlook the fact that you overthrew one?" Kisame asks.
That's when she hears a thud. The waters of her Jutsu had receded and thrown Tobi against the wall. He wasn't dead though. The man was slowly getting up.
"I see that you need some time to think about all of this. That's perfectly understandable. It must be difficult to know that your own village killed your family and that your entire adult life has been based on a lie. I will find you soon enough. We'll discuss the matter later." Obito says as he Flickers off.
"It's bad when Kisame is the voice of reason." Karin whispers to Naruto and the blonde nods in agreement.
Suki could understand why Itachi had done it. At least intellectually, she could understand. He hadn't wanted to trigger another Great Ninja War. The Leaf deserved to be burned to the ground, but there were innocent people who would have been killed in the fallout.
Not doing anything though, that left a bad taste in her mouth. The Leaf simply had to be punished somehow, but not with violence. As much as she wanted to tear that treacherous apart with her bare hands, doing so would only put her child in jeopardy. No, she had to be smart about this.
"You're not actually thinking of attacking that place, are you?! Suki, you're pregnant!" Suigetsu reminds her.
"No. At least not directly. I can't let them get away with it though. Genocide is still an international crime. Though they would probably justify it by saying they were planning a coup." She seethes.
"They were planning a coup, Suki. I'm sorry that I lied to you. I had no choice though. It was the only way to protect you." Itachi says.
Suki didn't feel very fucking protected! She wanted to scream. She wanted to hit something, but doing any of those things would accomplish nothing. She sighs as she looks at Naruto.
"I'm not going back to the Leaf. I won't burn it to the ground as I want to do, but I won't go back there. Not unless it's to utterly humiliate them. I'm going to make sure that everyone knows what really happened. Itachi saved all of them and they branded him a Criminal Ninja. They made me their puppet. That's not going to go unpunished." Suki hisses.
"Suki, I don't know what to say…" Naruto whispers.
That just made it worse. Logically, she knew that it wasn't Naruto's fault. He was even younger than her. The blonde had nothing to do with the Massacre, but the other ninja had come to symbolize the Leaf Village in her mind. So it was hard to remember that fact.
"You know the truth now. You hold the future of our family in your womb. Whatever you decide won't just affect you anymore. It also affects your child. Consider that carefully before you start a war." Itachi says.
"And what do you suggest?" Suki replies, clenching her fists so hard that she could feel her nails dig into her skin…drawing blood.
"I suggest we forget about the Leaf Village. I'm not letting those backstabbing liars anywhere near you or our super baby. Itachi apparently isn't the source of all evil, but he still killed your family. Do you still want to kill him? Because I will so kill him for you, if you want." Suigetsu promises her.
Suki sighs and caresses her lover's cheek. She knew that Suigetsu would try. He really would try to kill Itachi for her, if she asked. She wasn't going to though.
Her feelings for Itachi were a sea of complicated emotions at the moment. He had murdered their family. She should hate him, but he had done so to prevent even more bloodshed. Itachi had spared her.
"No. I don't want you to kill him. Well at least not yet. I don't know what I want." She whispers.
"Alright. Well let's just go somewhere far away. Somewhere that the Leaf won't be able to touch you." The violet eyed ninja suggests.
"I may have a compromise. Am I correct in assuming that the Leaf believes that Suki is going to come back after I'm dead?" Itachi asks.
Suki bristles. She still didn't know what to think about him, but Itachi was Itachi. He was always so damn bossy.
"Yes, you're right. So?" The raven haired woman demands.
"Have Naruto tell them that Suki has decided to marry someone from another village. That she wants to restore her Clan somewhere that the horrors of her past won't haunt her." Itachi says.
Suki twitches. What was Itachi talking about?! What village was going to take her in?!
"Hey! If she's marrying anyone, that would be me! You can't just decide stuff like that for her!" Suigetsu snarls.
"You're from the Mist Village. I happen to be rather well acquainted with Mei in one of my disguises. She would pardon you, Suigetsu. Once I explained everything to her, she would let you all move there. She's probably going to despise me for deceiving her, but she wouldn't turn away a pregnant woman for something that isn't her fault." Itachi answers him.
Suki blinks as the pieces fall into place. Itachi had seduced a Kage! That was why he was so certain that Mei would grant them citizenship and despise him for deceiving her.
"Do you really think that your lover will want us to stay there, once she knows how big of a liar you are?! You didn't even tell her your real name!" Suki rages at him.
"As I said, she'll come to revile me. Still she's not the sort of woman that would make a pregnant woman suffer for my sins. You would be safe there. You could start over." The elder Uchiha Sibling offers.
Suki pauses as she considers her options. She could attack the Leaf or she could seek shelter in the Mist Village. Revenge for her dead Clan or a better life for her child.
She bites her lower lip as she glances at Suigetsu and Naruto. Naruto would probably still fight for the Leaf. If she wanted to destroy the Leaf, she would have to kill him. Suigetsu would do whatever she wanted, but she'd be risking their child's life to get revenge.
"Talk to Mei." She says in a tone barely above a whisper.