Hi people. So I've gone through and edited the story up to this point. I'm sure I'll come back and edit again in future, but the key issues everyone so kindly pointed out have been fixed. His name still sounds like Sushi to me though. :P

I have been sitting on this for about a week, but I couldn't post it while I had a deadline (3 assignments due same day). My study buddies would have strangled me.

Enjoy!

-/-

Working with Ibiki had a number of benefits that he hadn't first considered, Sasuke mused. He wasn't sure there were many places in Konoha where it was safe to talk without causing flags to be raised, but somehow Ibiki had made the T&I rooms work. He couldn't manage it often apparently - it involved making sure all the non-secure rooms were already conveniently occupied - but this one was theirs for an hour. Kakashi had mentioned he didn't think they'd need it that long, but then again, he hadn't told Sasuke what it would be about either.

He'd just said that he'd be back with Shikako soon.

Straightening up from where he had been slouched against a wall, Sasuke stalked the length of the room. He didn't like these rooms. They brought back memories of being sat huddled in a too-big chair while sympathetic interrogators talked him through everything he knew about his brother and his clan. He'd hated those sessions. He always ended up talking about things that he didn't want to think about - the times he'd woken to his brother and father arguing, or the whispers among the others about how Itachi was at fault for Shisui's death. And he was always struggling to hide his tears when they let him go...

The door opened with a soft chime - and Sasuke relaxed his grip on one of the chairs. Shikako looked... terrible. Well, she didn't really. She looked about as good as she always did - hair washed and in a neat braid and clothes clean and generally well put together. The signs that something was wrong were in her eyes, they were a touch more glazed than usual, and in the way her mouth was slightly turned down to the side instead of flat or twitching upwards.

Kakashi shooed her into a chair and then raised an eyebrow at him. Sasuke considered staying against the wall and Kakashi raised both eyebrows ever so slightly.

Sasuke sat.

"What's this about Sensei?" Shikako's eyes flickered between them, and she managed a brief smile. "I'd have thought... But Naruto's not here."

Kakashi's eyes turned to him and then Shikako, examining their expressions for... Something. Sasuke blinked at him and caught the brief crinkle around his eye. He must have found what he was looking for.

"Could you work with Itachi?"

Sasuke had been looking at Shikako when Kakashi had spoken, and he got a lovely view of how she went milk white. That was fair. There was a difference between saving someone and... And...

"What?!" He was standing up. When had he stood up and why was his chair on the floor? "Why the H-"

Kakashi raised a hand, and Sasuke swallowed. His hands clenched uselessly at his side. Shikako was trembling next to him, and he rested a hand on her shoulder. It grounded him as much as it helped steady her.

"Why?" He ground out. "Why would we ever have to see him again?"

Kakashi sighed, "Ibiki and I have been through the ranks. At one point or other, Danzo has interacted to some extent with every jonin. Every. Single. One. Since getting Shisui's eye, he has met all but four. Fewer special jonin are potentially compromised, but still at least 60% of their number. Of the four jonin that we can guarantee aren't compromised, the only one in the village is Shikako." His eyes softened. "We cannot afford to turn away skilled fighters. Especially ones that we know are against Danzo." He hesitated. "Look, there is a chance that even you and I have been compromised. What and how much we don't know, and we are unlikely to ever know. It would have taken only one order for either of us to have reported this to him and we wouldn't have known."

Sasuke swallowed. "I..."

He turned to Shikako who looked slightly more held together than she had when Kakashi had... Had... She was shaking her head.

"I can't sensei. I'm sorry but I can't."

Her voice was a whisper, and there were minor tremors wracking her frame. Kakashi nodded slowly. "That's alright, Shikako. That's why we're here. So we can talk this through."

Her eyes widened in panic. "No, sensei... I can't! I know he's- I-"

Kakashi held up a hand. "Shikako. It's fine, I'll make sure you don't have to work with him." He turned to Sasuke, "Sasuke?"

Sasuke stared at his clenched hands. He could understand. He could. They needed all the help they could get and Itachi was a strong fighter. It was logical and and and- Sasuke took a deep breath. Danzo wouldn't be easy to take down. He would have an army of helpers. The only fight they would need Itachi for would be against Danzo.

Sasuke wasn't going to sit out that fight.

"I... I don't want to." He met Kakashi's eyes. "I'll try."

-/-

Later, once Shikako was feeling better and had left to meet up with Ino and her kunoichi group, Sasuke crossed his arms and glared. Kakashi ignored him, gathering his things together and coming back around to Ssauke's (and the door's) side of the room.

"This isn't a good idea. He-"

"I know."

"Shikako may think that-"

"I know Sasuke." His sensei's voice was incredibly gentle. "Itachi won't be released, and he won't be allowed to wander around the village."

"Good." He swallowed. "I... I know why he did it Sensei, but... I can't forgive him. He- He didn't have to do that to Shikako or you. He didn't have to hunt Naruto, or threaten Team Gai or... Or..." Frustration got the better of him and he felt his nails digging into his palms.

Kakashi placed an awkward hand in his shoulder. "It's a bad situation, Sasuke. No one is expecting you to just forgive him. And the Leaf won't forgive him either. Shikako may think he was justified but... We're ANBU. You and I both know there were other options. At the very least he should have contacted the Third earlier."

Sasuke took a shuddering breath. He knew. He knew what Kakashi was talking about. He knew that Itachi didn't have to slaughter the infants, or torture his team, or do any of the other things he'd done to push Sasuke that little bit further over the years. He'd still done it though. He'd done it for Sasuke, for him. But that didn't – couldn't – make it right. No matter how much Sasuke secretly longed for his big brother back.

"What will happen to him?"

Kakashi was silent for a moment. "He'll be kept alive until this matter is settled and we are satisfied that we have all relevant information."

"Then he'll be executed."

Kakashi shook his head. "Execution requires a trial, and he's ill. Very ill."

Sasuke nodded once sharply. There wasn't really anything else to say.