Swollen Obsidian Eyes

by LavenderBathBeads

[ItaSasu] Life would never be the same. A night of ghastly pain leads to the man he once hated coming to seek his help. When something that started as hate becomes a deep passion that he never thought he could have, who can help but cry? Blaze's Fic.

12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, if I did then it would be a complete mess.

Warnings: This is the LONGEST chapter I have so far (it's huge!) This chapter also contains violence and blood (a lot of it), vulgur language, yaoi incest lemon, homicidal thoughts, slight vampirism, OOC, and the canon is continuing to be maimed. There are also a lot of errors in here that I know I didn't pick up, but I never said this was perfect. Someone else gets hurt in this chapter and it's pretty bloody, so any fans of that charecter, I'm sorry.

I PUT UP THE LEMON IN THIS CHAPTER AS WELL AS IN CHAPTER 10, I HOPE YOU ENJOY THEM!

Pairings: Hardcore ItaSasu, NaruSaku, some AsuKure

---

He opened his eyes seeing the light shining through the clouds, small traces of rain still falling from last night's storm. He must have dozed off while holding Sasuke last night. The young boy was still situated in his arms breathing gently soft moans passing his lips. It would be a shame to wake him up; he knew that Sasuke was suffering with the start of a cold.

Sasuke shivered once as he moved gently, still not waking, a single word passing his lips. "Itachi," he whimpered lightly, pushing closer still to his brother who was deep in a state of sweet slumber.

Moving from the position on the ground, he held onto Sasuke's body. He knew what had to be done today. The only way that he was going to get that fox would be if he made a bargain that no one could refuse. Everyone already knew he was here, if he asked the Hokage to stop meddling in his plans it would prevent more casualties of his people. This was getting to the point where everything that he was trying was only going to get worse. He might lose his life this time.

Finally at the side of Sasuke's bed he closed his eyes thinking about what Sasuke had asked last night. He asked about guilt. That day when he took his best friend's life he swore that he would never feel any guilt for his actions. This wasn't going to be any different, "a ninja never shows any emotion through what he did", a principle that he had drilled into his head until he felt like he was insane. He would be damned if he broke it now.

He laid Sasuke on the bed hearing the soft purrs seeping from his lips as he adjusted to the new comforting surface of the mattress. Was this really going to be the last time he was going to see him? No, he was going to make it through this no matter what got in his way. It was far from over, it was just beginning.

It was all set up; he had spent all day yesterday sharpening weapons and building up chakra to prepare for the upcoming onslaught that he was expecting from the members of ANBU. They had to become stronger since the last time that he destroyed a handful of them, but no matter how hard they trained, they would never be able to take him out of the picture. He was always going to be more powerful than Konoha.

Not only had he been sharpening weapons, he had even gotten his disguise ready for the attack. He was going to see if the same trick was going to fool them twice in a row taking a major risk. He had to do it all to get back here to Sasuke before he got too worried. They made a deal, if anyone was going to kill him it would be Sasuke.

Before moving to his armor he placed a light kiss on Sasuke's forehead, the boy didn't even stir at the contact. This was going to be easier than Itachi thought it would be. There wouldn't have to be any force exerted to make Sasuke stay behind, he shouldn't get involved in all of this. He was already too deep of all in the inner turmoil that was soon to take him over.

"I'll be back soon enough," Itachi whispered, walking over to the ANBU armor that was discarded to the side beyond Sasuke's range of sight. Sasuke would have made him stay at the first sign of danger; he wasn't going to let Itachi die that easily. But this was something Itachi had to do, there was no turning back now, the more time he wasted thinking about what Sasuke would think, the more time he had to conjure up the long lost doubt that was deep in his heart. He couldn't let himself go astray.

The armor went onto his body easily even if at first he had to almost completely redo it due to his age morphing his body to a larger size than he used to be. Everything was there from the katana sheath to the tiger mask that had been protecting his face back in the day. The feeling of power coursed through his veins as he looked at the mask that was in his hand, the days of Hell had come back to haunt him.

He was ready to go; his body was at the highest health state that it had been in all of this time, even with the broken ribs that were trying to hinder his breathing. Sakura had bought him more time to live with the pain, even if her power wasn't the strongest that he had ever seen. He was thankful for her services.

The metallic sling of the blade ran through the sheath as he placed the mask on his face, this was the last chance that he had to get the fox before anyone else could. He had to do this before any member of his rival organization came to claim the fox as their own. He had to do this before any of them could get to Sasuke pulling him deeper than he had to be.

Why was he worrying? Every time he worried before a mission he would usually mess up coming back with unnecessary injuries that he would try to hide. This was different than all of those times, there was no Shisui to try to comfort him if it fell apart, he was on his own this time. It felt great to have that kind of power knowing that Shisui gave it to him in his last moments of his life. None of this could be a reality if he hadn't given his soul to the process of augmenting the power of the sharingan.

Step by step he walked out of the room slowly; all of the pressure that he should have been feeling was not shining through. He knew that there would be people who would run back through the door sobbing to the sleeping form that they were about to make a mistake, but he laughed at that thought. Would Sasuke even expect that from Itachi? At a young age, Sasuke learned that his brother wasn't weak; he never let his emotions rule him. Even though he always reached out and cared for Sasuke, he was always going to keep his emotions on the inside.

He walked out of the door not even looking back at Sasuke looking off into the distance; this was the perfect time to strike, when everyone was still in the high of fear. No one would be naïve enough to cross his path, not after what he told Asuma Sarutobi he wasn't going to hurt anyone if no one struck at him first. There was plenty of time; there was no need to rush.

It was like the days of his forgotten past, he was off to do a mission leaving a sleeping Sasuke behind. This time he wouldn't be gone for so long, this wasn't a mission that he could take his time with once it got started, he would have to act on impulse and let everything else take a back seat. No more holding back.

"It's all for you, Sasuke," Itachi breathed as he walked forward. "If you can't get the fox, then I will by any means possible."

He walked off into the distance of the abandoned part of the village; he hoped that he wouldn't fail like Sasuke did. He didn't have much time. They were coming to get him. Everything that he had with him could be lost in this endeavor, even his life. There were times where he knew Sasuke wouldn't be able to sit back and watch as everything that he held dear was taken from him. Torture was starting to become more psychologically damaging everyday; it was a merciless world out there. He had to destroy it, every last piece.

I'm not going to fail, not this time; he took a deep breath stopping to look back at the house. I'm not going to break the promise, Sasuke; nothing is going to happen to you, not as long as I'm alive.

-----

"Why did you find it important to talk to me, Asuma?" the Hokage asked as he sat at his desk. "It sounded important in all of the letters you sent."

Asuma walked to the front of the desk looking down at the leader of Konoha. "You've no doubt heard that Itachi Uchiha has returned to Konoha, and although no one knows his purpose, he has one."

The old man looked up at the jounin looking straight into his eyes. "What of Itachi Uchiha? He's an S-class criminal who's responsible for the death of nearly a dozen ANBU ninja. I have issued an order to search for him, find him, and then bring him to justice. I know that's what you came to discuss with me…"

"Actually," Asuma looked out the window as he paced four steps to the left. "I was wondering if there was any way that you could stay out of his way, to make his plan come true. He said that if you got involved in this someone was going to get hurt, and I don't want to see you hurt, sir."

The Hokage looked up into Asuma's eyes. "Did you come here to ask me that as a Hokage or as a father, Asuma? Because the answer is the same either way, as the Hokage I have to put the well being of the village first and as a father you know where I'm coming from. If the Uchiha Clan was still alive and they had heard about what happened at the edge of the Nakano River, you know how they would have reacted."

Asuma sighed. "That's true, but if we don't get involved, maybe we'll ensure that fewer lives are lost. We already lost Kakashi Hatake to this madness; do you want to lose more?"

"Itachi Uchiha raped his twelve-year-old brother and left him to bleed to death, do you think I should condone that? You think that I should tell Sasuke Uchiha that the person who raped him is going to get off easy? Asuma, I see where you're coming from, but the boy almost died," the Hokage continued as he looked up at his son. "I know that you're trying to protect the village, but in this case we have to go after him."

Asuma looked out the window that was behind the Hokage seeing the dark clouds that still remained after last night's storm. He knew that no matter how hard he tried, this village was doomed to go through the slaughter that Itachi was capable of. He had told them that no one was going to get hurt in this whole part of his plan, he was only after Sasuke and no one else had to get involved.

"Sir, I know that there's no way to make the burden that Sasuke has to bear any lighter, but this is imperative and he was trained to do in the Academy. He's going to have to make a sacrifice to make him pay for what he did, there's no way that I'm going to let this village fall," Asuma looked back at his father. "Itachi is going to stop at nothing until that boy is dead or wishes he was dead. Why do you think he's doing this? He called him the missing link to his plan."

"Plan? He has a plan?" he showed interest now. "Itachi has a plan and know of it? Did he tell anything?"

"Just that Sasuke is the last link to," Asuma answered. "But tampering with it is going to cause uproar, people will rebel against you, Sir."

The Hokage sighed as he looked at his papers. "Gai came in here a few minutes before you did saying all of the opposite points that you've brought up. He said that if what happened to Sasuke happened to one of his students he would kill the bastard. Kakashi was a gentle soul letting Itachi leave with his life, Sasuke was on the verge of death, it was a miracle that he was able to get out of there sane let alone alive."

"Gai is trying to make my life hell," Asuma muttered.

"I can't show a bias," Sarutobi sighed. "If I go with what you're saying, everyone's going to think it's all because you're my son. Besides, Gai might have a point; he brought up a few good arguments about the subject."

"You know I'm right," Asuma argued pressing hands to the table. "You know that I'm not making this up. I truly believe that Itachi is trying to do something, he doesn't want any interference. Just because he doesn't come walking in here asking for permission doesn't mean that I'm wrong."

"Asuma, I think it would be wise if you sat back and let Gai handle this. He has a good idea about this; he knows what he's doing. You on the other hand need to take some time off. You were injured in the last encounter with Itachi, I don't think we can afford to injure you anymore."

"Sir," Asuma continued as he looked down at the desk, "I'm don't think you should be running into a trap that he's clearly set. He may be crafty, but that's not the worst part, he's bright too. The kid's practically a ninja genius; I've never seen anyone excel at such a young age, nobody except Kakashi Hatake. Itachi Uchiha is a tough opponent, I don't think Gai knows what he's dealing with."

"That's enough, Asuma," the Hokage sighed. "You have my permission to leave now. Go and rest and don't come back until your ribs are healed. We don't need your weaknesses in this battle."

Asuma turned away as he looked at the door. All dignity that he once had was all gone. There was no way that he could redeem himself now; he was doomed to just watch as Gai ran the village into their imminent death. Itachi wasn't going to take any pity on them, he had been holding back long enough. His voice didn't matter as long as everyone knew that Sasuke was going to be alright.

"I'm sorry for wasting your time, Sir," Asuma sighed, walking out the door. Gai, what are you trying to do to all of us? Are you so sick of the village that you're going to lead it to death? Itachi isn't the type who's going to take a threat well. I was in the stands during his chuunin exam; he was absolutely brutal to his opponent. Can we handle that power?

As he continued to walk by he heard a voice call out. "Still think what you have to say is a good idea?"

Asuma stopped in his tracks as he looked to his side to see the man that was speaking to him with a victorious grin on his face. "Gai, what are you doing here other than trying to make my life Hell?"

"Please," Gai scoffed, not moving from his leaning position up against the wall, "I'm not trying to make your life Hell; I'm trying to save a young boy of the worst pain of his life. He was raped; you're not going to block that out."

"I know," Asuma sighed, "but why are you trying to go after him?"

Gai shook his head. "You know you want to as well. I'm just the one out of both of us who's man enough to stand up for what I really believe in. You know for a fact that boy is suffering knowing that Itachi is trying to kill him. You're just too stubborn to realize that there's a situation going on."

"The situation is that Itachi doesn't want Sasuke dead, he had an opportunity that night. He could have slit his throat if he wanted to kill him, but he didn't," Asuma explained. "He never said that he wanted Sasuke dead, but he did say that if we don't strike first he won't have to fight back. Do you know how many lives would be saved? There's no reason to jump into this just because you feel as though the boy is in pain."

Gai sighed. "Asuma, have you talked to Sasuke?"

"Have you?" the other jounin hissed.

The room was silent as Gai shook his head. "No, I don't want to intrude on his personal life. This is a hard time for him and the last thing that he needs is to have jounin coming to question him about something that happened a month ago," he looked at the Hokage's door. "All I know is that he was in pain when he was in the hospital, I heard the words from Sakura Haruno, Sasuke wasn't the same."

Asuma started to walk away not looking back at Gai, his footstep pulsating through the ground. "I still think what you're doing is wrong, Gai. What do I have to do to make you understand that it's more than just getting your revenge? This is about a whole village that Itachi hates."

He continued to move out of the door, leaving Gai behind. He couldn't allow anyone to sacrifice that village. He was right; there was no way that Itachi was going to hurt anyone if he got what he wanted. If they refused his demands and attacked him first is when the promise was allowed to be broken. The words were still there in Asuma's mind, Itachi said he was a man of his word, but could he trust him? At this point he had no reason not to listen to the boy's requests; he had no proof that he wasn't going to attack anyone. No one had died since.

Yet there was a first time for everything, this was the time to be on their guard, this was the time where it was the easiest to strike. The village was in uproar still in shock with what happened to Sasuke, wondering why Itachi spared his life again. During this time, Itachi could be planning his next move upon Kohoha and thanks to Gai getting there first. It gave the criminal every right to fight back.

If it comes down to it and Itachi does get in there, I have to arrive before Gai does to talk some reason into the boy. I know that there's still hope for this village, Itachi gave us a chance to keep as many people alive as we need, as long as Gai isn't the one doing the talking. Lately he hasn't been able to use his head; he looked out into the cloudy atmosphere of the Konoha sky. This is only the beginning.

-----

The door opened to Kakashi's room as Naruto walked out, it was the same situation every single day, he was no closer to waking from the deep psychological damage. The hospital had become a dreary place; Naruto had never felt such unforgiving cold air up against his skin. It had all started when Sasuke was only a few floors down dying slowly, and even though he was out, the memories still plagued him. If he had handed himself to Itachi would Sasuke had gone through that much pain?

Hands were still wrapped around his neck as he thought about what happened after hospital life. Sasuke was trying to kill him. They were once called each other's best friends, but now they were keeping so many feelings locked away from one another, they weren't even acting human. As Sasuke was starting to open his eyes acting happier, Naruto went deeper into sorrow. All of the pain was his fault. He held the reason in his abdomen: the nine-tailed fox.

Was that why Itachi was really here, to claim the fox as his own? Whatever the reason, Naruto couldn't keep living like this; it was getting to be too much for any human to bear. There was no one that he could trust, he was all alone again. Why was he like this? Why was he starting to fall away from everything?

"Naruto?" a voice called out approaching him, it was Sakura. "There you are, I've been looking all over for you, I was worried about you."

He scoffed as he walked away. "Whatever."

"Naruto," she sighed. "Why are you acting like this? For the past month you've been acting strange. What's going on? I don't like you like this, you seem so distant, it's scaring me."

There was a small laugh that passed the boy's lips. "I'm sorry, Sakura, though I don't mean to scare you, I think it would be in your best interest to keep away from me. There's something going on, something that is going to change the outlook that I once had," he sighed.

"I know the pain that you're going through," she continued as she moved one foot in front of the other, starting to follow him down the hall. "I know the guilt's still getting to you. You still blame yourself for everything that's going on, and that's understandable, but Sasuke doesn't blame you."

"Shut up," he hissed, stopping dead in his tracks, an eerie chill filling the air around him and Sakura. "You don't know anything about my pain, Sakura, so stop acting like you do. You don't know what I've been through. You don't know what it's like to be almost strangled to death by your best friend."

Sakura gasped, she couldn't believe the words that she was hearing. That night when he and Sasuke went home, Sasuke tried to kill him? No matter how much she tried to block out all rationality for trying to kill Naruto, she was starting to see. He was doing it to obtain the power that he needed to defeat Itachi.

Tears ran down her silken cheeks as she heard the words seep off of his lips. "Naruto, you mean he tried to kill you?" her voice gained an amount of power that he never if thought it had, not in volume, but ferocity. "Why didn't you tell anyone? Did you think that we would punish Sasuke? Naruto, I'm scared for you."

"Scared?" he scoffed as he kept walking. "What do you mean by that?"

"I think…" he voice grew quiet barely above the gusts of wind that we pushing up against the windows. "I think you're going to hurt yourself, Naruto, you don't seem like you're in the right state of mind. I'm scared that if we say goodbye right now, I'm never going to see you again."

As he looked back at her watching her start to cry harder, he felt the heat of tears form in his own eyes. There was a burning in his chest as he watched her walk closer to him her arms outstretched to hug him. She was worried about him, and now that he finally thought about it, he was worried about himself to. Suicide, it was the only way to make sure that no one else could have him. But is that what it really had to come to?

"Naruto," she whimpered taking his body into a hug. "Please, stop doing this. Sasuke made a mistake that night, I'm sure of it. He would never intentionally kill you. You guys are closer than brothers."

"You're not an abomination, you're a human damn it!" Sasuke's words moved through Naruto's mind, was he really supposed to kill him? And when he said he was supposed to kill him, what did that mean? Before he said it was to obtain the mangekyou sharingan, and then it was to keep Itachi away. Then it turned into him being supposed to kill him. What really went on that hospital room?

It was obvious now, why hadn't he figured it out before? Was Sasuke was in love with Itachi? The reason he was supposed to kill the fox was all to impress Itachi forcing him to bring Sasuke along on his journeys. It was all about succumbing to the darkness, and Itachi Uchiha had made that happen.

They were all blinded, he should have known by the way e was acting, he said that he was once happy back when he knew that he had his brother's love. His brother's love was back now, bringing only more smiles and laughs. Every time they saw him, he said that he still wanted to kill him putting up a huge façade to try to cover it up. Every time they didn't see him, he was with Itachi and they were probably at Sasuke's house in his bed sleeping together hour upon hour. How could he just be figuring this out as he was being hugged by Sakura? Sasuke didn't like Sakura like that, he could never like her like that these days, not when he had Itachi.

"Sakura," Naruto sighed as he wrapped his arms around her, returning her embrace. "I'm not going to hurt myself, why would you ever think that? I thought you would be relieved that I was leaving you alone. All of this time I thought I was only a nuisance to you."

"That doesn't mean that I don't need you. Something is going with Sasuke, whenever he goes around Kakashi-sensei he looks off into the distance with an emotion that resembles hate. Then when Itachi is mentioned, he keeps calm; his dream seems to be less important."

Naruto held her tighter running his fingers through pink hair. "Shh, it's going to be alright, Sakura. Sasuke just needs time to get his priorities set straight. Everything that he thought was the truth is all distorted. His brother's back and he's wrecking havoc on the village. He's trying to find a way to get close to him," he closed his eyes. If fucking him isn't getting close enough. I have no clue what's going on in his mind, but I have to knock some sense into him. He can't love Itachi; he killed everyone who Sasuke held dear to his heart. How could he love him?

Sakura wrapped her arms around Naruto tighter. "I don't want to let you go, Naruto. I don't know what's going to happen if I let you go away. You might never come back, or the next time I see you, you'll be dead."

"I won't die," Naruto answered with a smile. "Sakura, who do you think you're talking to? When I get upset and all hope is lost I'm not going to end it, not until I feel as though going on is no longer an option. But it still is an option. I have you, Sakura; I'm going to live for you even if we can't be close."

She looked up into his eyes. "Naruto?"

"You've lost all happiness during this whole endeavor; I can make you happy again, Sakura. I can make you smile and make every moment worth your while. This is not the place for you," Naruto sighed. "If you don't want me to be near you, then just say the words and I'm gone. I'm not going to burden you."

Sakura looked up into his eyes. "I need you to stand by my side when the moments get rough. Sasuke is drifting further away from us. I get the feeling that something's going to happen; the weather has been making me nervous. It's been so cold and there hasn't been sun in days. It's been a while since Itachi made a move."

Naruto looked down the hallway. Sasuke wouldn't let Itachi hurt anyone else… would he?

-----

The visions that were in front of him couldn't be real. He saw a scene at the edge of the Nakano River, why would his mind wander here as he lay in his bed? The scenery seemed familiar but the two people's actions weren't. He saw two teenage boys at the river's edge one face up on the ground eyes cold and empty. The other one was sitting next to the body, his whole being shaking with fear. What was this memory? What was this image, none of it made sense. Then he heard the single word seep off of the conscious boy's lips.

"Shisui," his voice was shaking with pain and fear combined. "Why did you… why did you force me to do this to you?"

Was the boy sitting by the river Itachi? No one had ever seen him like that before; he always seemed so in control. This wasn't him, it couldn't be. He continued to whimper, his breathing becoming heavy as he looked down at him.

"You made me do this," he continued. "I could have done this for you; I could have been the one who died instead," his voice became tighter as he closed his eyes, the formation of red in his eye lashes. "Shit…" he cried out in pain trying his hands rushing to either side of his head, his whole body shaking violently.

He started gagging as he bent over onto Shisui's body, scarlet liquid running from his lips, his coughing was violent as he tried to suppress the cries in between each breath pulling his hair in his black ponytail. He looked up, streams of crimson running from his lips and eyes as he said one word:

"Sasuke…"

He woke up panting, another nightmare. This time it was different, it was showing the manifestation of the mangekyou sharingan in the form of his brother. Did it have deeper meaning than he thought it did? Was something going to happen to Itachi?

"Itachi?" Sasuke asked moving his legs feeling a familiar wet feeling. "Not again," the memories of him being an eight-year-old came flooding back. "Shit," he winced the sticky feeling discomforting up against his legs. Where was Itachi? Did he leave him again?

He scanned the room noticing Itachi's regular clothes strewn on the floor, and all of the weapons that he had laid off to the side were gone as well. Where the hell did he go?

"Kakashi!" Sasuke gasped as he pulled the blankets off of his body the cool air chilling his body. Is he really trying to kill him? Is that his goal? He's going to kill Kakashi, isn't he? "Damn it, Itachi!" he rolled off of the mattress looking through the window to see the clouds. "What the fuck are you doing?"

He gave into his fatigue and fell back on the mattress. When has my body ever been this heavy? I feel as though I can't even move. Is this more than just cold? There was nothing wrong only a couple days ago. Now, it feels like I have no control over my body. I feel so cold.

Closing his eyes he shivered lightly with a cough. He had to stop walking around in the rain; it was starting to affect his health beyond repair. How long was the suffering going to continue for?

"Itachi," he breathed as he closed his eyes breathing heavily, his chest heavy as he struggled for inhalation and exhalation. It had only gotten worse over the days. I hope I didn't get him sick, with injuries like that on top of broken ribs I don't think he'd handle it as well. He took a breath as he let out another cough. But am I really alright? I'm lying in bed covered with my own piss, and he's not here to clean me up.

Everything was gone; there was not even a trace of Itachi. He could never come back from a full attack from the Konohans. He would be a fool to go off and try to kill Kakashi again. Or worse, he was going to kill Naruto. No, the second one could never be an option. Why would he deprive Sasuke of the power that he's wanted to give him all along? Wasn't the power of the mangekyou sharingan one of the ways that he wanted to let him unleash all of the potential that the sharingan would allow?

"Itachi," Sasuke breathed as he fisted his pillow closing his eyes trying to fight the tears. He should have known that he wouldn't play it safe, Itachi was never that type. He was always leaving whenever Sasuke needed him the most. Itachi had his work. He lived for his work. He was obsessed with his work. Being a ninja was the only way to escape the hardships of his life. He knew that if he ever quit he would be nothing. He strived for himself, not for his father. Why else would he still a ninja?

"Stop being a ninja!"

He tried to fight the tears, but one fell from his eye as he gripped onto the sheets tighter. It felt like being eight all over again waiting for the moment where Itachi would come through the door to embrace him tightly placing one of Sasuke's trembling hands over his heart feeling the pulsations.

"I'm alive, Sasuke…"

There was no heartbeat to lull him to sleep; the strong pulsations were no longer there to empower his presence. How he longed for the sound, the sound that told him that he was coming back and he wasn't going to leave. Feeling the warmth of Itachi's body as he sobbed begging him never to leave again, hearing him laugh saying that he was never going to hurt him. More empty words.

"Itachi," he breathed burying his face in the pillow. "Come back," every time he rose his voice to speak he sounded like a younger him. "Come back to me," he whimpered looking at the door hearing the wind blow gently through the cracks. "Come back…"

He felt so young, so defenseless, but he knew he would come back to him, as long as he felt defenseless he knew that Itachi would leave him. He made a promise to him, and he would be damned if he broke it now.

-----

There was a knock on the door filling the Hokage's office. "Who is it?"

"ANBU, Sir," the voice said from outside, it sounded safe enough, he did have ANBU Black Ops around the perimeter looking out for Itachi. Gai's plan was in action, the second that the boy was spotted was the second that he was going to pay for his sins. The ANBU would kill him.

"Come in," the Hokage stated not looking up from the papers on his desk. Through the corner of his eye he could see the tiger mask that was on the guard's face, he really was part of the group. "What seems to be the trouble?"

The young officer cleared his throat. "The ANBU Black Ops outside, they were murdered. It's a total bloodbath out there, Sir."

"Any sight of Itachi Uchiha?" the Hokage asked.

The young guard laughed lightly at the question, reanalyzing the words. The laugh grew louder with a crescendo of elation. His hand moved to touch lightly at his mask as he took a breath from his snickering.

"What is it?" Sarutobi asked looking at the young officer.

"This Itachi Uchiha, he's been making big news lately hasn't he?" the young man moved his hand to his mask pulling it off slowly as he let out a sigh of air. His eyes were shut tightly as the mask dropped to the ground, the corners of his lips curled into a small smirk. His eyes opened slowly, the color of crimson filling his irises.

The Hokage stood up as he looked at the unmasked officer. "Itachi Uchiha, how did you get in here?"

"I told you, the guards were murdered," Itachi stated calmly the small smirk disintegrating into stoicism. "There's a matter that I thought that you and I could speak civilly about. I have a purpose here…"

"Purpose?" the Hokage asked spitefully.

Itachi stepped closer to the desk, moving slowly. "Did you think that I would come into this worthless village because I feel like it? Of course I have a purpose."

The Hokage looked straight into Itachi's eyes as he narrowed his own. "Are you working for Orochimaru?"

The laughter that was heard earlier filled the room again as leaned up against the table, closing his eyes tightly. His lilac painted fingernails dug deeply into the wood as he was finally showing some emotion. The Bingo Book chapter on Itachi Uchiha just became more severe.

"You think that I'm working for him? Lord Hokage, what do you take me for? A fool like Orochimaru would come up with a plan for his own glory. He has delusions of grandeur living in a world of senility. I on the other hand am only here to thwart all of the plans of the ones who thought they owned me," his fingernails dug deeper into the desk as he looked into Sarutobi's eyes deeper. "I'm here to be granted permission to carry out my mission as peacefully as possible."

"Does that peace involve raping more twelve-year-old boys?" the wind pressed harshly against the window as he looked up into Itachi's eyes seeing a raging fire of surprise light within them.

"I assure you, Sasuke's safety is my number one concern," Itachi continued. "The fact that he had to be hurt throughout this plan was a tragedy and if there was a moment that I ever felt sorry…" he closed his eyes tightly as he fought the words. You're a ninja, Itachi! Start acting like one!

He could still hear his father's voice as he felt emotions start to seep through his body. The twenty-fifth principle dictated that there wasn't supposed to be any feeling in the art, but this was getting to the point where he wouldn't be able to take it anymore. Sasuke was only going to get hurt greater in this plan, more than he already had. He couldn't care about it, principle twenty-five wouldn't allow it.

"So you want to talk to me about this?" Sarutobi asked. "What is your purpose here? You can start by telling me that."

"I'm looking for something that they want, you have it in your village," Itachi answered leaning up against the desk. "If you permit me to take what I want from your village without any confrontation, the lives that are lost will decrease dramatically."

The Hokage closed his eyes, Asuma was right. He was a fool to put Gai's plan into action. The slaughter of innocent ANBU only continued. What was that supposed to show Sasuke? The boy had gone through enough pain already.

"Are you going to touch Sasuke?" the old man asked.

"What do you mean?" Itachi asked raising an eyebrow.

"Are you going to use him in this plan?"

Itachi gasped, outraged. "Use?! What do you mean by that? You make it sound like he's an animal! Is that the word you used around him? Are you trying to deplete his self respect?"

"Are you?" the Hokage questioned.

"Don't belittle me!" Itachi snapped.

"I'm sorry, it's just you rape him and now you're playing his advocate," Sarutobi stood up walking toward the window. "What are you really doing with Sasuke? Are you trying to torture him until he has no choice but to follow your path?"

"Watch it, old man," Itachi sneered.

"I've had it with your games," the Hokage answered looking back at Itachi. "Are you trying to cause a war?"

"People think you're a saint, they're misguided," Itachi closed his eyes trying to fight the anger that was roiling through his body. "I come speaking of peace, but all you can do is augment my hate for this village. My character has changed from that damn book of yours. I'm no longer the stoic and calm criminal that you thought I was!"

"I'm glad to see that you've kept your temper in check, great form for a ninja. Although I have hurt you, you refuse to give in and physically harm me. That's worthy of honoring, I don't think even the sannin would be able to do that," he walked closer to the teenager. "Itachi, you were one of our finest. You still seem like a great example of a ninja. I thought of you as a great role model for ninja to come. It was a shame what happened to you."

"Quit talking to me like we're equals, the sooner you sign the warrant that allows me to continue the search, the sooner I'm out of your sight," Itachi said calmly. "Sign the warrant."

"I issued a decree, that if anyone saw you, you would be killed on contact," the Hokage answered. "But apparently I was wrong about you. Your patience, your poise, it's impeccable," he moved back to his desk.

"We have a deal then?" Itachi smirked brushing his fair out of his face.

The pen moved to touch the paper, the deal was being made.

-----

"I still think it's foolish," Asuma snapped as he walked in front of Gai. "Why would you even consider putting us against Itachi? Kakashi was one of our strongest ninja and you saw what happened. He's still in a coma; his heart is slowing down everyday he's dying. You're so selfish."

"Well not everyone is thinking about their own name, Hokage's-boy," Gai continued as he moved to catch up to Asuma. The tone of his voice mimicked the tone he had back when Kakashi was first admitted to the hospital, he was still angry at Asuma for letting the Uchiha go.

The two of them continued to walk though the village ignoring one another's facial expressions. They were torn between two opinions that the whole village was riding on. Did they go after Itachi or did they let it go so no one got hurt? The more they looked at each other, the greater the urge to wring each other's necks.

"You think this is all about you," Gai started as he grabbed Asuma's wrist. "You think that you can compensate for your failure by proving to everyone that your plan is right. Why are you risking the village for your Goddamn dignity? Leave Konoha out of this and just admit that you were wrong."

"Admit that you're wrong," Asuma countered, trying his hardest to break out of Gai's grip. "You don't know what you're starting as you go through life; you aren't going to help the village any more than I do. You're only going to make everything worse. Gai, I'm warning you, Kakashi wouldn't be proud of what we're doing. If you go after Itachi everything that Kakashi worked so hard for would be in vain. Do you want it all to be a waste?"

As Gai was opening his mouth to say something footsteps approached them. "Are you two getting along better today?"

Gai looked behind him to see a fellow jounin. "Kurenai? What are you doing out here?"

"You two have been at each other's throats, everyone in the village is concerned for you. They think that you're trying to kill one another. I heard that Gai got to the office first. So we're really going after Itachi," Kurenai smiled falsely as Asuma looked at her with confusion. "Is that really wise?"

"Who cares?" Gai asked, shrugging his shoulders. "As long as we win, there's really nothing to worry about now is there?" he looked at his colleague with a smile. "Who's it going to affect if we go after him?"

"The village!" Asuma continued. "Please Gai, don't take out your anger for me on this village. Don't hurt Sasuke because of it. It's obvious that the boy is confused how to feel about Itachi. Itachi is Sasuke's brother, you don't expect him to part that easily do you? He'll hate you."

"I don't care," Gai answered as he continued walking not looking back at Asuma or Kurenai. "Asuma, I have one last thing to say to you…" he turned around extending his middle finger right in Asuma's direction. "Fuck you!"

Asuma looked away from him. "You're an ass."

Not being affected by his words he walked away from the two of them. He didn't even acknowledge that Kurenai was there, it was almost like he didn't even care that they were human. He walked away leaving only cold behind.

"Don't listen to him," Kurenai comforted holding Asuma's hand tightly. "Gai's an ass. He's trying to get to you."

"He has a great plan," Asuma sighed as he looked up at the dark clouds, his eyes growing more and more blank, his mind wandering off into the distance. "You should go along with it; it's solid."

"I don't care," Kurenai argued.

"You should," he answered holding her hand back. "Gai's right, I must be trying to find a way out because I couldn't save Kakashi. I let Itachi go; it's only fair that Gai takes over, right. I don't want anyone to get hurt, so I'm not going to stand by him. Even if I am a traitor, I don't want to lose this village."

Kurenai looked into his eyes. "Asuma…"

"Don't console me," he answered, shaking his head. "I don't need to be consoled; I need to show everyone that I'm right and that they're wrong about Itachi. He's not going to take being attacked as well as they all think he is. He's ruthless and he's crafty. There's nothing that can stop him once he gets started."

Kurenai shook her head. "What are you going to do? There's still time to talk the Hokage into it. Your plan could work. He did say that he wasn't going to hurt anyone if we don't hurt him first. I'm going to check on the boy next time I see him to make sure that he's alright with all of this. You two have been too busy worrying about Itachi you forgot about Sasuke."

"I had Shikamaru talk to him; apparently Sasuke was doing a lot better than he was before. He was smiling, Kurenai, he was actually smiling. That worries me; he might be covering up his pain. I want you to ask him how he's really feeling, it's alright for him to cry," before Asuma could say anymore he looked back at the Hokage's office noticing scattered bodies in the distance.

"What is it?" she asked looking in the direction his eyes were glued to. "Asuma, what do you see?"

"Stay here!" he ordered as he tried to run away being pulled back by her strength. "Kuernai, let go of me!"

"What is it? What do you see?" Kurenai's red eyes never looked so terrified.

He shook his head. "Dead ANBU, Gai's already fucking this village beyond belief," dark eyes looked back at the female jounin. "Go get Gai and tell him that his plan didn't work. And tell him that he's an ass."

He got out of her grip as he moved forward. "Asuma!"

"I'll be back, Kurenai!" he shouted back as he kept running forward. "I promise."

He ran farther away from Kurenai, not hearing the cries of distress coming from her lips. This was going on for too long, it was starting to get to the point where he was going to have to take matters into his own hands. He was no longer going to stand on the sideline as everything slipped away.

"Have you ever wondered what it's like to lose a student? What if this was Shikamaru, what would you do to save the boy's life? Would you do what you're doing now or would you issue an order?"

If it was Shikamaru he would do what he was doing right now. He wouldn't let anything get in his way, thinking only about what his student would want. This wasn't Shikamaru, this was Sasuke: Kakashi's student. Kakashi gave his life fighting and Asuma was going to follow in those footsteps, he was going to fight for the last chance that he had. The rest of the village wouldn't have to suffer.

I have to get there faster. Damn you, Gai, why did you have to issue it today out of all times? He could feel his lungs push into his broken ribs the searing stab of pain rolling through his chest. The pain that Kakashi gave to him was to make sure that he wouldn't hurt himself anymore, but nothing was going to stop him now.

This is for you, Kakashi…

He ran closer to the building until he got to a man in a brown cloak that was standing right in his way. "Excuse me…" the man stated. "Where are you headed to? You look like you're in a rush."

"I am," Asuma answered as he looked straight at the man his face hidden by the robe. "I'm headed to the Hokage's office."

"Why the rush?" the man's voice was curiously thick.

Asuma raised an eyebrow, who was this man? He had no time for questions no matter how much he craved the answers. Whoever he was he would have to wait until later to go under the full third degree.

"I'm looking for someone," Asuma answered as he walked past the man. "Itachi Uchiha, he's in the village and if you knew what was good for you, you'd be running as well. Go home and lock your doors."

"Thanks for the advice," the man beamed as Asuma ran away and in his carelessness he never heard the words. "Itachi, you old fool… you will fall…"

-----

Asuma got to the door as he tried desperately to catch his breath; his lungs were still being pushed on by his broken ribs. He knew that Itachi was in there, he could hear his voice sounding from the doorway. The words didn't seem like they were malicious, there was a sign of a calm polite demeanor in his tone. That's how Itachi always was, he deceived them and then he would destroy everything. He was crafty; no wonder he became an ANBU squad leader at the young age of thirteen.

He moved his hand to grasp the handle to open the door, fearing what as on the other side. What was Itachi doing in there? Was he trying to push his way into the main threshold of all of Konoha? Or was he thinking about what Asuma thought he was? Was Itachi concerned for Sasuke?

He opened the door looking straight at the sight; Itachi was sitting on the desk as the Hokage was in his chair looking over some documents. The looks of shock on their faces made them know that nothing was going on.

"Asuma," Itachi smiled as he looked at the jounin. "What do I owe this visit to?"

The jounin stepped forward, his breathing patterns still not calmed down from before. "Keep away from him…" he growled closing the door behind him.

Itachi's eyes widened in shock as he heard the words rolling off of Asuma's lips. "What do you think I'm going to do?"

"I saw the bodies, you have sick obsession with killing ANBU don't you, you snide little bastard?" Asuma asked as he looked straight into the red eyes that had been haunting him since the day that Kakashi went down. "I thought you came in peace."

"I do," Itachi jumped off of the desk his hand situated on the handle of his katana, "unless you choose to do the same thing as Kakashi. I'm warning you right now, Asuma, if you step closer I'm not going to be responsible for what happens to you."

Asuma looked down at the ground. He couldn't make the promise to Shikamaru then, and still he couldn't even think about keeping a promise like that. He was going to fall right here, right now, there was no avoiding it.

"Well which path do you chose?" Itachi asked holding onto the handle tighter not even blinking as he looked deeper into Asuma's eyes. His hands were steady up against the grip the sound of metal scraping against the sheath being heard throughout the room.

Asuma took an aggressive step forward, taking a deep breath all the power he could muster forming at his fist. Curling his fingers tightly he pushed his clenched hand right under Itachi's chin in a deadly uppercut watching the teenager lift off of the ground with the amount of force.

"The path I choose is for you to get the hell out of the village, Itachi. Leave this office before I have to throw you out of the Goddamn window," he heard Itachi hit the ground with a large thud watching blood run down the corners of his mouth.

Eyes that matched the dark ruby wisps that ran down his porcelain skin looked up with a glance full of bloodlust. "There's no going back now… you've chosen you path," he pulled his sword out of its sheath. "Now walk it!"

Bam! Asuma's foot stomped onto Itachi's hand, not breaking the bones but making him gasp in shock. "I will walk the path that I chose. I'm sick of being pushed around by an arrogant brat. You have done enough to that young boy, can't you see you're breaking him."

Itachi winced as he lost his grip on his sword. "S-Sasuke will do as he wishes, you're not going to be able to push him around for too long. He wants my blood, Asuma Sarutobi. Are you going to deny him that pleasure? How do you think he'll take that?"

"What are you're intentions?" Asuma asked as he looked down into Itachi's eyes not paying attention to the sound of footsteps behind him. Then he felt it, a large searing pain throughout his shoulder. "What?"

Looking down at the wound he saw a hand that had wrapped around his body, a kunai in its hand. He observed the hand that was around the kunai and the hand that was on the ground.

"Shadow clone?" Asuma winced as he looked down at Itachi on the ground. "What are you trying to do? Are you trying to play games? Or are you out of ideas? I thought for sure, the great Uchiha prodigy would do better."

As he kept looking into Itachi's eyes he felt a sharp pain run through his legs, the teenager's free arm stabbing another kunai into the flesh, blood flowing freely down his leg. Double pronged attack, one from behind, one from the front; he was indeed an opponent that was more than formidable.

"Don't underestimate me," Itachi smirked as he pushed the kunai deeper into the leg that was on his hand. "Now get off of me before I really start fighting. There's still a chance you can go back, to where you were in the beginning. Just get off of me."

He pushed him off of his body, his clone moving to his side extending a hand to help him up. Slowly he got to his feet standing by the clone both of them pulling out another kunai as they looked straight at Asuma.

Two opponents, two Itachis, two kunai, two prodigies, how can I defeat him? There's only more where that came from. He's got a handful of techniques including the one that took Kakashi out; he reached into his holster pulling out his trench knives looking back at Itachi. "I'm trying to get some sense into you, Itachi. Those men out there in the village, they want you to destroy you until there's nothing left. I'm going to let you out of here."

Itachi brushed his ponytail to the side as he scoffed. "They won't lay a hand on me. I didn't come here to fight. I'm not going to waste my skills on someone like you. Don't you know that there's a principle that says don't get into a fight where you know you will lose," he extended the kunai in front of him looking back at the Hokage. "I thought you understood, Lord Hokage, I don't want any innocents involved."

The Hokage looked at Asuma. "Asuma, stop it! Get out of here!"

"No," Asuma started as he looked at Itachi. "I'm not going to let him win; he's not going to take more than he already has. I made a promise…"

"Come back… come back safe for me, Asuma. Promise me."

"More than one promise to people that I would come back to them," he shook his head as he held on tighter to his trench knives. "I made a promise and I don't go back on my word."

"I'll be back, Kurenai! I promise."

Itachi closed his eyes as he smirked. "Nor do I…" he thought back to Sasuke his face running through his mind. "I would be damned before I break a promise. I have seen too many people hurt in my life."

"Stop being a ninja!"

"You think that you're the only one who's made promises in your life? If so you're out of your mind, Asuma Sarutobi. I made a promise as well," Itachi gripped against the kunai tighter. "Don't think you're special, because you're not."

Asuma ran up to Itachi. "Don't belittle me you brat! I'll kill you!"

Slam! The trench knife's power ran across the skin of Itachi's right upper arm the blood falling gently to the ground, hearing the young boy scream out in pain. The way that Itachi was moving, his breathing, he was doing as well as he thought he was.

"I know your pain," Asuma answered as he looked at the shaking young boy. "You lost your ribs and it's ruining the flow of your chakra. You think that Sasuke is going to take you out easier now than he did before. I know your dignity is gone and you're searching for it through the death of others."

Itachi closed his eyes. Sasuke, he imagined all of the times that he and the boy had shared over the past couple of days. The eroticism was what came to his mind first, the way that Sasuke's lips tasted up against his, the way that his body moved up against his as they hugged each other. He wasn't going to die here, those obsidian eyes would never be swollen with tears over his death. Not now.

"Shut up," Itachi answered as he looked up into Asuma's eyes, his scarlet irises burning brightly. "You don't know me," he struggled to his feet, his breathing labored and harsh as his lips were covered with blood. "We're different, Asuma, don't compare me to you. Our injuries were different, yours represents being to weak for a situation, mine represents being too strong," he reached for his katana as he laughed lightly. "That being the case, let's see how well you move."

Asuma moved out of the way of a blow that was to his heart, watching the bloodlust fill Itachi's eyes. The clash of metal was heard as he tried to fight off the sword with his trench knives, thinking of Shikamaru all the way. He wasn't ready to lose a sensei. Itachi's clone walked up behind Asuma grabbing him tightly, the real on driving a fist to the jounin's face.

Another fist hit his other cheek on the rebound, more blood running from his lips. The breaths coming out of Itachi's body were distressed, like there was absolutely no way he could lose this. It was obvious that the plan ran deeper than Asuma or anyone for that matter thought it did. He wasn't alone in this.

"Asuma!" he heard the Hokage scream out.

The punching stopped as Itachi finally fulfilled his hunger, his fists covered with blood, his breathing heavy almost overbearing, the water than ran from his eyes showed the physical and emotional strain he was going through, he really did have an accomplice in this.

Sasuke? Asuma asked himself as he tried to break free from the clone. "I'm trying to help you."

"Don't help me if you can't help yourself," Itachi panted, gripping the katana tighter. "I'm no longer a child; I know what I'm doing. I don't need help."

"Then tell me…" Asuma breathed wincing at the strength of the clone. "Why do you need to keep Sasuke alive? Why did you rape him that night but not kill him? He's the last piece to your plan isn't he? What purpose does he serve this grand design?"

Itachi moved the katana pushing it forward only to be kicked out of the way, Asuma flipping over the clone. Another squeal filled the room as Itachi hit the desk face down blood spilling profusely from his lips and nose. Was he just going to play around with Itachi until he was too wounded to go on? This was mistake.

"Is that all you've got?" Asuma asked as he landed on the ground.

Another snicker filled the room, Itachi moving from his position on the desk to expose the bloody tendrils that were running from his nose and lips. His facial expression was blank as he moved his jaw back and forth checking if it was broken.

"You'll regret that," Itachi coughed, blood spilling from his mouth staining the papers that were on the desk. Shakily he moved to grab his katana gripping the handle tightly, his hand shaking. "I'm not going to hold back anymore."

He rolled off of the desk trying his hardest not to stumble to where Asuma was, the shaking of his hand on the sword accompanied by the sound of metal rattling. It all rested on the last shot, although his chakra was still high, his body wasn't cooperating with him. He was going with only sheer stubbornness and willpower.

"You said it yourself," Asuma muttered as he looked over at his father and then back at Itachi.

"What did I say?" Itachi panted, stopping right in front of Asuma. "Tell me…"

Asuma's eyes lit up with a fire that seemed to burn for ages. "You said…" he took a deep breath. "You said that no one was going to get hurt, even though I tried to stop you from doing something reckless, you still feel as though you should hurt people. I thought you didn't go back on your word. I thought…"

Itachi's grip tightened on the handle of his sword as he looked into Asuma's eyes. "I don't break my word. I clearly remember saying that I wouldn't hurt anyone if they didn't get involved," he laughed as he licked the blood off of his lips moving the sword to point at Asuma. "Guess what, Asuma… you're involved…"

"No!" the Hokage yelled as he watched Itachi's fingers tighten as he started to move.

With a single movement of Itachi's arm, the sword pushed forward right into Asuma's abdomen moving through his body exiting through his back. All he could see was the look in the Uchiha's eyes as the blood splashed onto his skin; it was a look of disgust for the fallen jounin.

"You could have avoided this," Itachi whispered pushing the blade in deeper hearing Asuma cry out in pain his hands moving to grasp Itachi's wrist. "I told you that you could have chosen a different path, your loss."

The sword was withdrawn followed by a thud to the ground as Asuma continued to cough up large quantities of blood, staining the floor. Footstep filled Asuma's ears as Itachi walked around him. This is it, after all that I've done… I'm worthless… at least… no one else has to get hurt.

"S-Shikamaru…" Asuma gasped coughing painfully as he clutched his surging abdomen, trying to halt the bleeding as best as he can, feeling his heart slow down. "I-I'm s-sorry…"

"Come back… come back safe for me, Asuma. Promise me."

Itachi looked down at him grasping his own chest as he grabbed his mask off of the ground. "Don't ever say you know my pain, you don't know what it's like to walk my path," he whispered as he moved toward the door limping slowly. He opened the threshold of the door walking out closing it behind him.

"Stop being a ninja!"

He walked down the hall trying desperately to catch his breath hearing a voice behind him. "I never thought I'd see you running from a fight. The Great Itachi Uchiha, prodigy of the Uchiha clan is running away from a battle when it was far from done," the person who was speaking made himself visible, it was a man in a dark robe that covered his face standing right behind him. "You went easy on him, you're growing soft."

Itachi swallowed hard as he looked over at the man who was speaking. "Who…? How do you know me? How do you know me?!"

The man laughed. "The darkness will clear up sooner or later. You belong to me, all of your hopes and dreams are useless. I own you now, Itachi, and there's no running away from your destiny…"

Itachi grabbed a kunai, his eyes looking at the man in front of him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the man laughed looking at Itachi's shaking stance. "You're pitiful right now; you're too busy working on promises that you have lost your shine. Your clan weeps for you, you're weak…"

"Watch who you're speaking to…" Itachi snapped pointing the kunai at the man.

"What happened to your problem with unnecessary blood?" the man asked looking at him with a laugh.

As Itachi looked at him, he felt a pain return to his chest. "Shit…" he breathed holding onto his chest tightly, coughing small droplets of blood on the ground.

"You aren't doing so well," the man laughed. "Your brother hurt you more than you thought?"

"How do you know me?" Itachi asked as he looked straight at the man with the robe backing away. I've never felt like this before. I know that voice, I know those words. He's playing with my mind; he knows that I'm in a weak state, physically and emotionally. I have to get out of here. I can't take another person on.

Backing away more, Itachi turned around to walk out of the building leaving the man in the robe behind laughing as a smile graced his lips. "Oh Itachi, don't run away, I haven't had my fun yet…"

-----

Asuma's gagging filled the room as he laid on his stomach watching everything get darker, his father not too far away. The jounin was lying in a pool of his own blood slowly giving into his pain. Every second that went by he was farther and farther from retrieval.

"Asuma!" Sarutobi cried out as he fell to his knees rolling his son onto his back. "Hang in there, hang in there for a little longer," he held onto Asuma's hand, the life slipping away from his cooling skin. He held onto his son tighter as he looked outside, no rain starting to fall in a tragic cliché.

"Sir…" Asuma sputtered as he coughed up more blood. "Are you alright?"

The Hokage nodded. "I'm fine, Asuma…" he watched the blood trickle down Asuma's cheek. "I should have listened to you. Even though you knew you were right you came in here and went with Gai's plan. Why?"

"You know me…" he coughed, "I'll try anything once…"

The Hokage shook his head. "I'm going to have Itachi's head for this…"

"No," the weakening jounin answered, his body quivering gently from all of the pain. "T-that's what he wants. Sir… if you want to be a father to me and give your son one last promise… promise me that you won't go after Itachi…" he coughed as his eyes started to glaze. "Promise me…"

Holding back the tears that the Hokage felt like crying, he stated. "I promise, Asuma…" he moved to give his son a kiss on the forehead hearing the last few labored breaths seep from his lips. "I love you, son…"

"I love you too…" Asuma stated weakly as his voice was drifting away. "… Father…"

His eyes closed as he let out one last sigh, his blood continuing to spill on the carpet. Even though he was renowned ninja known for his caliber, the Hokage felt tears form in his eyes for his fallen son.

"A ninja never shows his emotions, no matter what the circumstance. Feelings are a weakness and cloud his judgment weakening his sense of duty." That was the twenty-fifth principle. Even great ninjas had the right to break.

"I promise…"

-----

The door slid open, he was home at last. The blood still dripped on the floor as he walked though the hall that peered into the courtyard, his vision getting more blurred. He was losing too much blood. Was he going to make it?

As he walked by the room where he expected Sasuke to be sound asleep, he heard tears, heavy breathing, and coughing. The sun was already setting, he had left at sunrise, Sasuke must have known that he was gone by now. The boy wasn't naïve; he could probably smell the blood.

Moving his hand, he slowly opened the door seeing a shaking figure on the bed face down buried in the pillow. It was Sasuke. The weakness that he was giving off was cutting Itachi deeper than any blade ever had, even deeper than the cuts that graced his body. Every sob struck him deeper. You don't feel guilt… not after all that you've done…

He closed the door behind him watching Sasuke's body move uncomfortably up against the mattress. What if he hadn't made it out of the Hokage's office, would the tears never end? No matter how much he tried to extinguish the pain, he was breaking his promise; he was becoming the reason why Sasuke could no longer go on.

"Sasuke," he breathed as he shut the door hearing the young boy gasp as he turned to him.

"Itachi?" he asked holding back the tears as he shook gently. "I…"

Looking around and smelling the salty tang that was in the air, it was all too familiar. "Oh Sasuke," Itachi started as he walked closer looking at the moist sheets. "It happened again, didn't it?"

The young boy nodded.

"Is it because I left you?" Itachi asked.

"I don't need you," Sasuke answered spitefully. "If you're going to continue to leave me, then why bother coming back?"

Itachi smiled as he gently touched Sasuke's face. "Because I care about you, Sasuke, I know how you feel whenever I leave, it hurts you and it's really not fair that I do this to you. I've been doing this for years; I know that no matter how much I try to make all of the pain dissolve, you still get affected."

He wiped a tear away from Sasuke's eyes gently taking his hand. His eyes never broke from the younger boy's moving the hand to touch his chest, the feeling of Itachi's heartbeat running through Sasuke's body. The young ninja let out a moan closing his eyes tightly, more tears falling down his cheeks.

"Itachi…" he moved his free hand to touch Itachi's forehead.

"Shhh," the older boy soothed moving closer to Sasuke's lips feeling the hand on his tighten around the soft material of his undershirt, the armor being discarded upon arrival. "I'm alive, Sasuke," the breath on his lips made him back away, knowing that the taste of blood still clung to him.

Asuma had managed to get one good hit in when he swung Itachi over the desk, causing his nose to bleed and his lip to break. If he hadn't caught himself with his hand, he would have been done for. The blood was dripping onto the sheets as he looked down into Sasuke eyes.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked noticing Itachi back away. "Are you alright?"

"Sasuke," he breathed feeling the hand that was stroking his cheek move to his mouth blood staining the young boy's hand. "I'm fine, don't worry about me…"

Breathing became more rapid as Sasuke looked at his hand and then back up at his brother's face. "Who did this to you?" he touched Itachi's shoulder. "Who the hell hurt you?!"

"It's nothing," Itachi answered as he looked down at Sasuke.

"Don't give me that bullshit…" he answered as he touched Itachi's upper arm his hand covered with more blood. "You're bleeding… you're hurt…" he shook his head trying to fight the angry tears. "Who the hell hurt you, Itachi?"

"Asuma Saurtobi," Itachi answered as he watched Sasuke kiss at his shoulder. "He got in my way…"

"You took on a jounin?" Sasuke asked burying his face in Itachi's chest. "Is this another one of your tests? I'm not your puppet! Stop trying to test me. If this is so you can see if I'm strong enough?" he curled his hand into a fist. "Don't do this to me. I'm not going to be able to just sit back while you go and get yourself killed because I was strong enough to stop you."

"Sasuke…" Itachi soothed

"Don't," Sasuke breathed as he threw his fist up against Itachi's sternum. "Don't give me your bullshit, I've had it! I'm not going to stand for you going out there and leaving me to worry. If you keep doing this, you're going to…" he swallowed hard as the tears started flowing, "…break."

"Sasuke…" Itachi tried to explain wrapping his arms around him.

"It's not fair," Sasuke fell into Itachi's embrace. "Why do you get to go out and act like an ass?" he kissed at Itachi's chest wrapping his arms around his waist.

Itachi kissed the top of Sasuke head. "We should get you out of those pants."

"Itachi?" Sasuke asked as he scoffed. "This is hardly the time, you're wounded…"

"You're covered," Itachi answered as he pushed Sasuke to the bed undoing his pants hearing Sasuke start to breathe heavily. "I'm going to clean you up. We're going to help you get over this fear no matter how long it takes."

Sasuke felt his pants leave his body. "I-Itachi…"

Warmth covered him as the robe was draped over his body. He was wrapped in the garment so Itachi could move him off of the bed onto the ground. Itachi was stripping the bed, taking the sheets along with his pants. All traces of Sasuke's accident were gone as his brother let the room, taking the stained articles along with him.

"Itachi," Sasuke stated standing up, the robe still around him. "Will you be alright? Do you need some help with those?"

Itachi smirked. "You're so darling?"

"Darling?" Sasuke asked as he followed him. "You almost get killed and you still act so calm? Does anything faze you at all? If I were to die right here would you even flinch?"

"Sasuke?" Itachi asked looking back at him.

"Would you?" Sasuke asked. "Would you even think about it, or am I just another pawn? Tell me, Itachi; tell me the truth about how you feel? That night, if there was no regret and you really did try to hurt me, then you broke your promise to me. You said you wouldn't let anything happen to me. But it was that just bullshit, wasn't it?"

Turning into a room where he dropped the pants and sheets he looked back at Sasuke. "What are you trying to prove, Sasuke? Are you trying to get me to cry for you? I don't feel emotion because there is nothing to feel it for. When I look back on my life I see many mistakes, but guilt… that's not going to change what I did," he moved into the room. "So why bother?"

He left the room immediately as he walked away from Sasuke. "So that's it?" Sasuke asked. "You don't feel guilt because you can't change what you did? Itachi, that's a lie, I know that deep in your heart you feel unbelievable guilt for what happened. Why else am I alive? You've spared me more than once in my life even after causing me unbelievable pain, that shows that either you are trying to hurt me or that your conscience won't let me die. You can't let it go."

Itachi looked at him as he walked toward the room where Sasuke slept. "You think you figured it out…" he continued moving, trying his hardest not to look back at him. "I don't feel guilty."

"Then why so defensive?" Sasuke asked his brother stopping dead in his track. "You do feel bad don't you? How soft you've become…"

"You're pitiful right now; you're too busy working on promises that you have lost your shine. Your clan weeps for you, you're weak."

Itachi felt a shiver go down his spine as he closed his eyes. Who was that man? How did he know me that well? Am I really getting that weak? No! Don't think like that, you're the best, he felt his head swirl in pain. I'm not getting weak. But Sasuke… he's doing something to me. For once in my life… I think I'm feeling guilty.

Opening the door he felt Sasuke grab his hand. "I'm glad…" he tugged harder. "I'm glad that you're alive, Itachi. I don't know what I'd do if you were gone."

Itachi smirked at the contact. He's different than before. He's changed for the better. Maybe Kakashi did do something right…

They moved into the bedroom. "Where am I going to sleep tonight?" Sasuke asked as he struggled to keep the oversized robe up from falling down his small frame. "You took my sheets."

"You can sleep on the floor," Itachi answered tossing the pillows to the ground opening the closet pulling out some spare sheets. "You're alright with that?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Pantless? You're such a Goddamn pervert."

"I'm not even going to be here when you go to sleep," Itachi continued, not looking at the young boy as he set up the sheets. "I'm going to be bandaging myself. I had a long day, Sasuke."

"You think my day was easy?" Sasuke asked. "I know I sound like a broken record, but you aren't listening to me. I was worried about you, more than I've ever been worried about anything. You leave and then you come back covered with blood. My day has gone from bad to worse."

Itachi sighed. "I didn't mean to worry you that much."

"I find you after all this time and then you leave me again," the young boy answered as he moved down onto the layers of sheets that Itachi had laid out for him. "I don't want to lose you, Itachi. This village, you were right, we are hopeless."

"Shhh," Itachi whispered tucking Sasuke in stroking his face lightly. "Don't say such things. Go to sleep, the more you sleep the sooner you'll get better," he pressed his lips up against Sasuke's. "Then we can continue the plan."

Itachi got up to walk away hearing Sasuke whimper as he did so. He was like a child again. His hands shook as he looked up into his eyes, but the look in the dark irises wasn't the same. The warm look of love was gone replaced with the empty look of loss. Sasuke was worried about Itachi.

"Sasuke?" Itachi asked looking back. "What is it?"

"Will you sleep next to me?" Sasuke asked moving over his eyes looking deeply into Itachi's. "Please?"

The older brother walked closer to him. "Alright, but just this one night, Sasuke. God you're twelve and you can't even sleep alone," he slowly moved next to the young boy feeling him cling onto him for warmth. He's terrified.

Sasuke moved closer to his brother kissing him lightly on the lips. "I love you."

Itachi ran a hand through the strands of hair that framed Sasuke's face. "I love you. I'm not going anywhere. I promise that nothing is going to happen to you, not as long as I'm alive."

He took Sasuke's lips into a passionate kiss feeling hands move around his body digging into the flesh of his back through the tight fabric of his shirt. Moans filled the room, bodies moving closer to one another fervidly clashing. The eroticism of their raw sexuality that Itachi was thinking of during the fight came back with every movement of Sasuke's lips, saliva dripping down their chins.

"I promise," Itachi stated placing Sasuke's hand over his heart again hearing Sasuke breathe gleefully just like they were young, tears of joy forming in his eyes. Itachi was alive; every pulse said that much as their lips clashed again the sun setting under the horizon. Falling deeper into Sasuke's kiss, Itachi finally felt complete for the first time in his life. He was alive.

"God," Sasuke breathed, backing away from the intense kiss, his breathing heavy. "I've never felt you kiss me like this. It's aggressive."

Hands wandered up Sasuke's shirt, Itachi's eyes locking into the young boy's hearing him gasp in shock. The visible tremors that ran throughout Sasuke's body made Itachi's body temperature rise. Obsidian irises were glistening in the dying embers of the sunlight contrasting with the bright blush that rolled across Sasuke's cheeks. Panting filled Itachi's ears feeling Sasuke's pulse race to unbelievable speeds, he was relishing in the moment of having his brother again.

"Itachi," Sasuke breathed, his eyes closing tightly as he bit his lips lightly. "That tickles…"

Fingertips moved to stroke the sensitive skin of Sasuke's nipple hearing the boy howl in pleasure, his hands gripping tightly at the sheets. Incoherent curses passed through the twelve-year-old's lips feeling fingernails dig into his skin.

"Sasuke," Itachi breathed lifting the shirt up exposing Sasuke's bare chest.

Passion ran through Sasuke's body as Itachi's teeth gently bit at the flesh his hands moving to run through his brother's hair. His body shook violently, his hands not sitting still for a second. His eyes shut tighter than before, feeling his blood run hurriedly through his body.

"Itachi!" Sasuke breathed feeling Itachi leave his body. "God…" he reached up to kiss him, his hands going through long black hair loosening the tie, stray hairs coming loose from the ponytail. His tongue ran up against the back of Itachi's mouth feeling the start of his throat. He pushed his tongue as far back as he was able, hearing small gagging noises seeping through his brother's throat.

They feel deeper into the mess of sheets and pillows that were on the ground, their bodies moving closer to one another seeking the passion that they held. With every lip movement, Sasuke felt himself grow hard pressing up against his brother's stomach. He prayed that Itachi didn't notice that he had grown hard from all of this.

"Sasuke?" Itachi asked moving his hand trailing down Sasuke's abdomen to find the hard flesh that was hidden beneath the sheets. "You're so hard…" he let out a sensual giggle squeezing the flesh firmly hearing Sasuke squeal out in a combination of agony and rapture. "Feel good?"

Moving his hand back up to his mouth, he spit gently in the palm digging back under the sheets to wrap around the erection. Slowly he moved his hand up and down the shaft hearing Sasuke try to hold back the moans that were threatening to leave his lips. His grip on the flesh was almost menacing, holding it too tightly making Sasuke's heart rate soar.

"That feels good," Sasuke answered, turning to look away from his brother's face biting at his lips as he swallowed hard. "Squeeze… m-me…"

Itachi complied applying more force as he ran up and down his brother's shaft watch his face turn a dark cherry red along Sasuke's cheeks. The pulsing of Sasuke's erection was harder than it ever had been before, the pain of being held to tightly making his hormones rage.

"I-Itachi!" Sasuke moaned, his body convulsing harder than it had been before, his body giving into the surrender. "More," he bucked his hips into his brother's hand, moaning loudly feeling Itachi kiss at his chest. "Yes…"

He was getting too much pleasure too fast. Itachi was sending him deeper and deeper into the chasm of ecstasy. Tongue brushing across his nipple, hand grasping his pulsing erection as it moved up and down. Heat roiled into his abdomen as he was drawn closer to his climax being forcefully pushed by Itachi.

"I-Itachi," Sasuke breathed barely audible. "F-fuck me…"

"In good time," Itachi smirked pushing the sheets down to fully inspect his brother's erection. "Feels good, doesn't it?" he licked the tip of his arousal taking the pre-cum into his mouth moaning at the taste.

Sasuke panted loudly as his chest tightened with every breath. "Yes… oh God Itachi… yes…!"

"You make it seem like I neglect you," Itachi breathed running his thumb along the tip hearing the howling growing louder. "Don't I satisfy you?"

"Itachi…" Sasuke gasped his toes curling up against the sheets wrinkling it. "Fuck me… please…" His length was encompassed by the heat of his brother's mouth, his tongue passionately brushing up against the pulsing flesh of his shaft. "Itachi…"

The heat swirled through his mind as his heart raced faster, beating harder than it ever had before. The skillful movements of Itachi's tongue up against his flesh brought him closer to the best orgasm that he thought that he could ever experience. Moans seeped from his lips as the rogue ninja's hand squeezed tighter up against the base of his erection sending responses to his pain receptors.

"Itachi…" he breathed.

"So you like it when I squeeze you?" Itachi asked as he backed away from Sasuke's pulsing skin. He stroked the flesh of Sasuke's inner thigh lovingly as he looked up at him.

Sasuke nodded. "I do…"

"What else you enjoy?" Itachi asked continuing to run his hand along Sasuke's inner thigh. "Did you enjoy bleeding?"

The young boy breathed harshly spreading his legs further. "I like bleeding… it feels so good…" rolling his hips forward he let out a loud moan. "I told you that I like it when you're rough with me. Itachi…"

"Bloodthirsty as always," Itachi breathed extending Sasuke's left leg fully grasping at his calf tightly. "It's all about you isn't it? You only care what you get out of this? What if told you I hate blood?"

"F-fuck you…" Sasuke hissed.

Itachi pressed his lips up against Sasuke's kneecap. "Your language is horrible…" he ran his tongue along the skin of his inner thigh.

"Itachi!" Sasuke breathed. "Stop…" he watched the blood from his brother's mouth as it covered his thigh, his erection covered as well. The warmth of the blood of his one true hate on his flesh made him moan loudly. The more Itachi bled the faster Sasuke's heart raced. "You're bleeding on me…" he let out a louder moan.

Itachi looked into his eyes. "Sasuke."

Sasuke moved his hand to Itachi's chest feeling his heart pulse through his arm. "You're alive, brother. You're alive and I know that you're not going to leave me tonight." he took a sharp intake of breath as the silky warmth of Itachi's tongue ran along his ankle. "I-Itachi, enough playing."

"Sasuke," Itachi snickered. "Patience."

Moving a trail of kisses down Sasuke's left leg, Itachi looked at the blood soaked flesh that was crying for him, begging him to touch. The breaths that passed Sasuke's blood lacquered lips made Itachi want to take him right then and there, seeing how loud he could get him to scream. A voice in the back of his head told him that he had to go slow; this could be the last few moments where he was able to be with him. His life was a dangerous one, and he wanted to make sure that Sasuke didn't get involved.

"Itachi," Sasuke breathed reaching to grasp Itachi's face pulling him into a deep kiss. The taste of blood filled both of their mouths as tongues clashed with one another. Sasuke breathed heavier moving his hands down to grasp his waist pulling him deeper into the kiss hearing his breathing speed up.

"Sasuke…" he breathed moving to stroke the hairs out of Sasuke's face fighting against the adhering sweat that was rolling down his flesh. "You're body is crying for me, isn't it? The look in your eyes… it reminds me of that night. You're traumatized by me. If you want it all you have to do is say it…" he wrapped his arms around the young boy's body as he took his lips again, his legs tightening around his waist.

Sasuke gulped as he felt his brother's hand move down to his erection stroking it lightly. "I-I want it. I want you inside of me…" he moved his hand to touch Itachi's moving it faster along his shaft. "S-squeeze me…"

Itachi tightened his hand around Sasuke's erection. "Then I'll give you what you want."

Sasuke breathed as he closed his eyes as he felt his brother's finger's move away going to his mouth. "Isn't your mouth bleeding?"

Itachi nodded. "Yeah."

His body shook as he closed his eyes. "So your blood's going to be… inside me?" he spread his legs wider. "This must be a dream…"

"Fantasizing about the day you'd be bathing in my blood?" Itachi asked removing blood covered fingers from his mouth drawing toward Sasuke.

Sasuke took in a sharp breath, the fingers moving closer to his entrance. The feeling of the warm liquid deep inside of his body as the extremities entered, it made his body tighten in pleasure. He had finally gotten his blood. "Itachi…" Sasuke breathed fighting the tears in his eyes. "I love you…"

As he chuckled Itachi's fingers came apart stretching Sasuke out, he heard Sasuke purr as he went in deeper jabbing at his prostate. "Feels good doesn't it?"

"Y-y-yes!" Sasuke breathed as he looked in between his legs watching the fingers go deeper inside of him. Feeling the two fingers twist around, his muscles clenching tightly, his body moved up to kiss Itachi on the lips drawing the older ninja's tongue out of his mouth fighting with him in an epic battle. The taste of blood filled his mouth more warm liquid spilling from his broken skin, it tasted so good up against his tongue sending more hormones through his body.

Gently pushing the young boy away Itachi removed his fingers hearing the moans of disapproval. Blood ran from his mouth as he looked down at him gently coughing, more crimson liquid falling onto Sasuke's face.

"Ribs again?" Sasuke asked.

Itachi shook his head. "I'm fine… I'm fine…"

Sasuke moved his hand to Itachi's bruised feeling it through the cloth of his shirt. He did that, he had to remember that, but in this moment, he had to put it all aside otherwise Itachi would get pissed. The more he thought about it the more he knew why Itachi didn't feel guilt for that night.

I have to stop thinking… he looked into Itachi's eyes. "I'll take your word for it, Itachi," he looked deeper into the dark irises; he looked worn out from his fight with Asuma, his skin still pale from the stress and the loss of blood. "But Itachi, you know that I don't want you hurt. If the wounds Asuma gave you kill you…"

Itachi smiled as he stroked the young boy's face. "You're talking too much," he moved down to kiss him again, only lightly with his lips closed. He unzipped his pants starting to stroke himself lightly looking straight into Sasuke's eyes watching them light up in rapture.

Sasuke let out a low moan as he watched his brother's eyes close in rapture. "I…" Itachi's breathing sped up as Sasuke tried to utter the words. "Itachi," he sat up looking at his brother's hardening length reaching a hand out to touch it. "I…" he moved his hand to touch Itachi's his older brother looking at him. "I want it… p-please."

They made deep eye contact for a few moments both of their hands stopping where they were. The room was completely silent except for the sound of their breathing accompanied by the beating of their hearts pulsing through their ears. Onyx looked deeper into onyx as they moved closer, their hands moving to grasp one another's, their noses resting against each other.

"You did say please," Itachi stated holding onto Sasuke's hands tighter feeling his left one start to bleed running down his arm. Ignoring that, he moved to kiss Sasuke on the lips hearing the young boy breathe heavily from the tongue passing through his lips.

More force was applied as the two of them fell down onto the pillows still kissing one another, the flesh from their arousals touching, both of them moaning loudly. Sasuke back away spreading his legs wider, his eyes watering violently, the height of his pleasure was close, it had to be now.

Itachi moved his fingers into his mouth again getting them wet moving them down to Sasuke's entrance pushing in slowly. Sasuke's eyes closed tightly letting out a series of high pitched moans, his muscles clenching tightly.

"I-Itachi…" Sasuke breathed closing his eyes even tighter.

"Shhh," Itachi breathed spreading his fingers loosening the muscles Sasuke's moans getting louder. He pushed his fingers in deeper as his ears were filled with more moans. As his brother's body shook, Itachi placed a hand on his chest pushing him in deeper to the pillows.

"Itachi, p-please," Sasuke breathed as he spread his legs as wide as they would go trying his hardest not to cum right on the spot. "Itachi… n-now…"

The fingertips hit at Sasuke's prostate sending more chills up and down his spine. This was different than the other times; it was deeper harder than the first few times, even the rape. There was something that told him that something had happened that day, there was something on Itachi's mind that was making him antsy, holding him tighter than he had before. The fingers were shaking deep inside of him brushing so passionately against his prostate.

"I-Itachi…" Sasuke breathed as he looked to the side biting his lip. "I can't take it anymore…" he wrapped his hand around his brother's wrist pulling the fingers out of his body. "No more teasing…"

The older brother smirked looking at the mess that he made of Sasuke; he was covered with blood from his lips to his ankles. Sweat covered his face his hair sticking messily. Saliva trailed from his lips to his collarbone. A warm blush was across his cheeks burning intensely.

Using his left hand he stroked his erection coating it with his own blood as lube. He held back the moans hearing Sasuke's loud panting overcome the noises in the room. His body couldn't take as much as Itachi's could; sex was still new to him.

Stroking himself harder he felt his breathing synchronize to the fast pace of Sasuke's. Could he take any more of this teasing? His life was almost lost in the battle, if he hadn't gotten lucky in the end, Asuma would have destroyed him. The warm liquid ran down his pulsing skin covering it fully.

"I'm sorry about the lube," Itachi breathed looking down to see Sasuke's eyes locked on the crimson liquid. "It was all that I had…"

Sasuke swallowed hard. "B-blood?" he swallowed again reaching his hands to grasp onto Itachi's shoulders pulling him closer to his body. He pulled him closer feeling the blood drip from the tip onto his flesh. "I want your blood inside me…"

With a small amount of force, Sasuke pushed Itachi's erection into his body, moaning as he was filled up, the muscles tightening around the hard flesh. They rested against each other's bodies, their breath combining passionately.

"Are you alright?" Itachi asked, looking into Sasuke's eyes moving one of his arms to push away the stray hairs that covered the young boy's face. "Does it hurt?"

"You're not that small," Sasuke panted as he dug his fingernails into Itachi's back. "It takes a while to adjust to you, and when that lube dries…"

Itachi kissed at his lips. "If it hurts, I'll stop."

"I like it when you're rough with me," Sasuke breathed tightening his legs around Itachi's body his breath heavy, his words connecting into one another slurring together. He relished in the feeling of body heat, the feeling of the blood dripping onto him. Every pulse that ran through his body from Itachi's erection drove him closer to his peak.

"Sasuke," Itachi breathed kissing at him lightly as he moved to kiss at his jaw line and then at his neck the young boy's fingernails running down his back as he cried out louder. "Are you ready?"

Sasuke felt his brother's tongue up against his Adam's apple, shivers running down his spine he swallowed against the pressure. "I-I'm ready, Itachi… stop treating me like a virgin…"

The first thrust was pushed into him sending him into a swirl of rapture. The blood that was falling out of his body onto the sheets, staining his inner thighs causing his breath to speed at dangerous heights making it difficult for him to process. He felt his heart beat faster his fingers digging in deeper.

"Itachi," he panted biting at his lips rolling his hips into every single thrust, hitting deep within his body his toes curling tightly. "Harder…!"

He tried his hardest to keep up, meeting every thrust that Itachi administered. In the older ninja's eyes he could see the passion that was seeping through. Even though Sasuke would never say to him, despite all of the pain and the blood, Itachi was making love to him. The slow movements accented every pulse of his erection; his lips slowly touching Sasuke's in gentle kisses weren't proving the hypothesis wrong. Something happened in the Hokage's office.

"Itachi," Sasuke breathed heavily starting to sob in pleasure. He kissed Itachi's lips fully slipping his tongue through to lick at his brother's.

"Sasuke," Itachi moaned pulling Sasuke up to sit in his lap, a hand pressed gently against the small of the twelve-year-old's back. Their eyes locked again as more thrusts were put into Sasuke's body, the young boy's arms wrapping around Itachi's shoulders to keep his balance.

"God…" Sasuke purred his muscles clenching as he moved his hand in between them to stroke his erection. He bucked into his own hand trying to keep up with Itachi's fast pace not wanting to lose it too soon. "Yes…"

In the height of his pleasure he felt his hand being replaced with that of his brother. The pressure that he put in as he ran up and down the pulsing shaft was almost painful as if it was punishing him. His hand wrung around him, squeezing him tightly as he took his lips into a passionate kiss.

"Itachi," Sasuke gasped biting at Itachi's neck holding onto him tighter. He could feel his prostate bruising from the assault; Itachi was harder on him now than he ever had been before.

"You're quite the masochist," Itachi snickered squeezing Sasuke's erection as hard as he could, hearing the young boy scream out in pain.

"Well, you're quite the sadist," Sasuke breathed biting at the cloth of Itachi's turtleneck pulling it with his teeth.

He moved Sasuke's head back licking along the young boy's pulse point. He bit lightly hearing Sasuke's voice quiver at the pressure of the hard bones. "You like that?"

"D-damn it," Sasuke cursed before feeling the teeth dig into his neck crying out as he felt the blood roll into his brother's mouth. He purred running a hand through the long black hairs of Itachi's ponytail. He heard the sound of his brother swallowing his blood, sucking harder at the wound. "Yes…" he felt the suction stop as Itachi backed away from the flesh.

Itachi moved to take his lips pushing him down to the pillows, moving forcefully more blood spilling out of their torn flesh. The young boy's mind was moving through a blurry chasm of pleasure and blood loss his breathing becoming rapid. It hurt as he moved, the blood rolling down his lips and neck, it made the strangled flesh of his arousal pulse harder.

"I-I-Itachi!" Sasuke screamed loudly as he came his eyes closing. The warmth of his orgasm hit the black turtleneck that Itachi was wearing as well as his own bare stomach. He tried to catch his breath as he looked into Itachi's eyes. "More…" he kissed at Itachi's lips still moving to the pace of Itachi's thrusts. "Harder…"

Their tongues danced outside of their mouths as Itachi moved in as deep as he could into Sasuke's body feeling his whole body convulse violently. His hands wrapped around Itachi's forearms squeezing them tightly the blood spilling rapidly out of the right arm down the porcelain flesh.

"Sasuke," Itachi breathed taking Sasuke's lips as he hit his peak the warmth running into the young boy's body both of them moaning simultaneously. The kiss continued even after the highlight of Itachi's orgasm stopped, but it died down to a small series of kisses their breath heavily as water rolled down their cheeks.

"That was wonderful," Sasuke breathed as he stroked Itachi's face.

Itachi smirked, pulling out of Sasuke's body looking down at the sweat and blood covered boy. "Sasuke…"

Sasuke swallowed hard as he tried to catch his breath as he felt Itachi rest next to him wrapping an overprotective arm around his shoulders pulling him closer to his chest. He kissed at Itachi's bloody arm. "I'm glad you're alive," he cuddled closer. "I love you."

Itachi tightened his hold. "I love you too," he kissed him on the forehead hearing Sasuke breath joyfully. "I'm not going to leave you." Taking hold of Sasuke's hand, he placed it over his chest so that he could feel the beating of his heart. "I promise…" he heard the young ninja's breath slow down as he fell asleep. "I promise…"

---

Author's Note: I'm sorry to all of the people that think I'm taking Itachi's side throughout this, but this is the beginning when everything is supposed to be easier for him. The man in the robe (you have to guess who it is) is going to be the one who really is a pain in Itachi's ass. As for the lemon, I told you it was dirty! So what did you think? Good? Bad? Think I should stop hurting jounin? I love honesty!

Next chapter a miracle happens and Sasuke will finally have a chance to ask the questions that have been bothering him for a while.