Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and never will.

Warnings: This chapter contains references to rape, use of alcohol, blood/violence, coarse language, incest, yaoi, OOC, and the canon is still dead and will remain that way. This chapter is shorter than the other one becasue there isn't a lemon. There are also a lot of errors in here that I know I didn't pick up. Also everybody, let's see if your guess for the man in the robe was right.

Pairings: ItaSasu, Itachi/? (you find out in thie chapter), a scene of ?/Sasuke, slight references to ShisIta

His eyes shot open as he woke up, how long had he been asleep for? The last thing he remembered was falling asleep in Itachi's arms hearing him quietly say he loved him as he fell asleep. He looked around; he was still there, still in Itachi's room, but in the bed his brother was nowhere to be seen.

In his search he heard the flipping of pages followed by the sound of sloshing liquid: Itachi. He sat up in bed and looked at the corner of the room and there sat his brother reading through a book with a half empty glass bottle next to him.

"Itachi?" Sasuke asked weakly trying to make out the figure that was still blurred by his fatigue, everything unrecognizable.

The figure looked up at him. "Sasuke?" it was Itachi. "You're awake," he took another small sip of the alcohol and then resumed reading. "The weather's supposed to be bad, so I thought that it could be a research day."

"Research?" Sasuke's voice rose to a volume where it shouldn't be in the morning. "What the hell do you mean research? You only taught me two jutsus yesterday, I want to know more."

Itachi sighed flipping the page. "And when the weather clears up I'll teach you water techniques. In a thunderstorm going out there would be dangerous; it might even cost us our lives. I think that you should calm down and take a day to rest."

"I'm not going to stay in bed while you get drunk!" Sasuke shouted getting out of bed grabbing his clothes off of the ground to get dressed. "Itachi, you bastard, I want you to teach me your techniques. Are you going to poke my forehead and tell me that you don't have time for me?"

A laugh passed Itachi's lips as he put the bottle down and stood up. "You know, Sasuke, there are some techniques that I have that you will never be able to do. You're too weak to do half of them and you have no patience."

Sasuke pulled his pants up as he looked into Itachi's eyes. "Anything you can do, I can do," he grabbed his shirt starting to put in onto his body. "Tell me one technique that you can do that you think I will never master no matter how hard I try."

Itachi sat on the bed looking at the ceiling ignoring the young boy as he smiled. "Great Clone Explosion," he smiled an evil smirk. "The chakra that you use during that is massive, higher than you have at the efficiency rate you're at. That is a technique that is used only in dire emergencies; you don't need to learn that technique."

Sasuke shook his head as he looked into his brother's eyes. "What are you trying to say? I can do that damn technique, Itachi, don't you dare think that I can't."

Itachi rolled his eyes. "Oh Sasuke, why do you have to act so dumb all of the time? That is not a technique for children. That technique is not to be used by anyone below jounin level. Hell, jounin can barely even do it."

Sasuke looked back at his brother on the bed. "You wanna bet?"

"Bet?" Itachi asked sitting up. "Really, you think that you'll get as lucky as you did last time? Last time it was lucky that you were able to do that to me. I underestimated you, when I should never underestimate the enemy. This however isn't a fight, it's all you."

Sasuke straightened his clothes out. "You don't think I can do it?"

"I know you can't do it," Itachi sighed. "I know you have potential, but one step at a time. You can't pass levels that you never even walked upon. You don't even know how to formulate this, let alone even fathom thinking about formulating it. Just give up and research."

"What are you researching?" Sasuke asked walking over to the book sitting down in front of it. He closed the book looking at the cover gasping in shock. All of this time when he was going through this book, he wasn't looking up techniques to make his life Hell, it was different. "Medical ninjutsu?"

Itachi nodded as he looked at him. "You caught me," he grasped the spot on his chest taking a deep breath.

Sasuke closed his eyes. "This is what you've been looking for. You've been looking for a way to heal yourself. You've been searching for some form of escape from the amount of pain that you're in," he slammed his hand onto the book taking a deep breath. "Damn it, Itachi, you told me you were alright!"

The older brother looked toward the wall. "I had to…"

"Don't give me that shit! Don't tell me that you're going to be alright when you're in pain," he walked toward the bed his breath becoming heavier, his eyes not being able to break from the mark that was on Itachi's chest. "I don't want you to die."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Did you just say…?" he looked straight at Sasuke. "Did you just say that you don't want me to die? Your mind's made up then, you're not going to kill me and you're going to give up on your dream."

Sasuke looked out the window watching the dark clouds form and then he looked at his brother a smile starting to form at his lips. Through the darkness he was finally starting to see what he could do now. He looked at Itachi; the one that had killed his clan was dead. Sasuke was the one who had run him through the heart.

"I have new dream," Sasuke smiled. "I'm going to surpass you. I'm going to make you understand that I'm a ninja."

Itachi looked away hiding a smile, proud to hear the confidence in Sasuke's voice. "Fine," he stood up as he walked toward the door. "I'm going to show you, but you have to promise not to copy it. I'm going to show you the jutsu once and you will see how complex it is, even for someone of my power."

They walked to the door together, Sasuke grabbing the dagger that Itachi had given him. This was the first sign of respect that he had ever seen him give. This dagger showed that Itachi was starting to come to grips with Sasuke's progress, it was a reward that he was not worthy of.

It was cold outside, the wind blowing ferociously at their bodies, Sasuke wrapping his arms around himself. There was going to be a storm, he could tell by the way that the wind blew. The dark clouds were growing furious, it frightened him.

"Scared of the storm before it comes?" Itachi asked looking back at him. "Scared what the future brings? You never know, Sasuke, these clouds could clear up and the sun could shine again on us. All of this darkness could only be for now."

Sasuke looked up at him. "What are you talking about? I thought you were above that optimistic bullshit. I thought that you always thought of things logically, never ooking on the bright side of life. Everything was black and white, all based on what was already determined. You saw the world as nothing but a cold cruel place."

Itachi laughed as running a hand through his hair. "You'd think that, wouldn't you? I have a heart in this human shell, whether you want to believe it or not. You always wanted to know the true me get inside of my soul. Well your chance is closer than you think."

Itachi took Sasuke on a trip that seemed like it would last forever, ever corner seeming like a maze. Every time he looked up at his brother he could only see the pain in his eyes. There was something going on with him, he knew it was true the second that he saw the medical ninjutsu books in his bedroom. This was only going to get worse as the days went by. He could see it in the way that he walked.

They stopped in the middle of a barren land in the woods far away from their home, only trees surrounding them. He could see the look in Itachi's eyes as he swallowed hard, taking a deep breath. It had to have been a while since he tried this technique, he was out of practice.

"This is it," Itachi breathed as he moved his hand. "Back away Sasuke, this is going to take a lot of power and you could get killed. This technique is used to be a last resort defense. Everything within a close range to me could get destroyed," he closed his eyes. "Watch and learn."

Sasuke looked at him from a distance watching his breathing, the same technique that he had taught him yesterday. He then watched Itachi's eyes open, his body moving painfully as he let out a wince.

"Ninja Art: Great Clone Explosion," and with that said a flash of lightly filled Sasuke's eyes, the gust of wind that came off of the attack causing him to move back. A pain filled his body as he fell into a tree, his eyes not being able to see a thing. What a technique! What a defense! As he regained his vision, he could only think of one thing: Itachi. He didn't see him make a clone. Did he just blow himself up as an example?

"Itachi?" Sasuke asked as he slowly walked toward the ruins where the explosion had happened, trees broken in half in the wake of the blast. "Itachi?" he started to run to the center as he looked for his brother. "Itachi?!" he fell to his knees digging through the branches, his eyes starting to water desperately. "Itachi!"

The digging increased, his body starting to shake as he thought about what just happened. Did he brother just die right before his eyes while doing a technique he was so eager to learn? No, he couldn't be, Itachi wasn't the type to die in vain. Was he?

"Itachi!" he screamed again almost crying, feeling so small. He buried his face in his hands and started to whimper. What was he supposed to do?

"I told you," a voice called out. "That's a dangerous technique."

Sasuke turned around to see his brother leaning up against a tree, blood trickling down his lips. "You scared the hell out of me," the young boy cursed his eyes filled with hate. "Do you know what I think happened to you? You didn't even make a damn clone."

Itachi nodded. "I did, the technique has to be done fast so that no one can have a chance to counterattack, there are a few risks of failure due to the amount of chakra you exert," he took a deep breath. "You make a shadow clone, and then once the power of the shadow clone is harnessed, you push chakra into the clone until it explodes, the chakra making a concussive force that will take out any enemies in the surrounding area."

"You don't look too good," Sasuke breathed.

Itachi smiled as he took a deep breath. "We made a bet, Sasuke. If you can do this technique without my help or the aid of that sharingan of yours, I will wear the Uchiha crest on my back to show my respect to the clan. If you cannot, then we will continue and learn water techniques when the weather permits."

"You'll wear the Uchiha crest?" Sasuke asked watching his brother start to walk away. "You will seriously brand your back with the crest of our family?"

Itachi nodded. "I will. If you can master my technique it means that you have the heart of a ninja. That's what today's lesson is," he took a breath continuing to walk. "As for me, I'll be at home reading that book…"

Sasuke scoffed. "You mean getting hammered…"

Itachi looked over at Sasuke, summoning him, beckoning him. Sasuke complied walking toward him not remembering all of the years ago. He never saw the two fingers that pressed up against his forehead coming.

"I'm not going to get hammered," Itachi stated calmly. "I don't drink that much. If you have problem with it, I'll stop…"

Sasuke felt the two fingers leave his forehead. "I don't have a problem with it if it helps. I want you to find a way to save your life no matter how much alcohol you need. It hurts me to see you like this brother, they killed you in that organization, and I killed that bastard that threatened my life back in the day. I have you now, and I'm proud," he kissed him on the arm backing away. "I will do this jutsu because you took time out of your day to show it to me."

Itachi smiled as he walked away from the young boy. "I'll see you later; we can discuss our course of action then."

He walked away leaving the young boy behind to look at the cleared forest. This was the spot where he was going to do it; he was going to show Itachi that he could. There was no way that he was going to lose this bet, not after barely passing last time. He would prevail.

A raindrop hit the ground as he looked up into the dark sky. I have to do it before that storm comes or else this is going to get difficult. He closed his eyes as he put his hands together. "Shadow Clone Jutsu," he looked over and saw the clone right next to him, remembering the lesson yesterday, the Body Flicker. He gently moved out of the way watching the clone stand there looking around.

Sasuke took a deep breath. "Ninja Art: Great Clone Explosion," he closed his eyes channeling his chakra into the clone watching it explode. It was pathetic, the blast of air, the light, none of it was there. There was nothing but a small disruption in the air. If Itachi was here, he would laugh himself to death.

"Great," Sasuke breathed looking straight at the site where the explosion took place. "Looks like I'm going to have to work a little harder than usual."

-----

He swallowed another mouthful of liquid, the white hot burn traveling down his throat to his stomach. What was he doing wrong that had made him screw up every single time? He concentrated his chakra and he used it to slowly rebuild cells, or so he thought. Was he exerting too much chakra?

More alcohol poured into his mouth again as he swallowed hard, greedily gulping the fluid. He didn't care what Sasuke said, this was how he did his thinking. He was at a state of hopelessness; he had found a jutsu that even he could master. He had been trying for a whole week.

He flipped through the book reading words that didn't even seem legible; this was going to take a lot of alcohol if he ever wanted to get this done. He didn't understand what he was doing wrong; this was supposed to be working.

"Close your eyes and just let your mind go. Let all of the troubles that you've been holding in your soul just disappear for a few moments while you just focus on your hands. Keep your mind on your hands. You let all of your being go straight to your hands."

He remembered the man by the river, who he didn't recognize. He was trying to help him, the reason still unknown. He was seen too many places for Itachi to allow it to go unnoticed. He first appeared outside of the Hokage's office telling him that he was going to come for him. Was he part of the organization? No, he was helping him, not trying to kill him on the spot.

"Itachi, you can do this; you can master that jutsu no matter how much you don't believe in yourself. I have faith in you."

He felt his heart accelerate as he remembered his lips on his. It was a semi-familiar feeling, the lips clumsily working against him, a tongue that was too hungry for him. He had felt that kiss before in his life, but from where he didn't know.

"Why are you here?" Itachi asked out loud resting his forehead on the table closing his eyes tightly. He had never felt like this before, he had never felt his body so curious to see what was behind that dark robe. The fingers gently dancing across his jaw line still ran through his mind.

"Because I wanted to see how much you can take…"

"Damn it!" Itachi stated, slamming his fist to the table. He could never work in this room that they used to call a kitchen. He always blamed it on everyone being there, but now it was all about the man that still ran through his head. The advice that he had given him weren't as memorable as the kisses that he had placed on his lips.

"Focus," he scolded himself for even thinking about that. "You have to look at the task at hand, don't look at what happened by the river," he grasped the bottle taking a sip of the liquid and then kept on reading. He had found the hitch in his methods. He placed his hand up against his chest as he tried to channel the chakra through.

Pain filled his lungs again as he coughed onto the floor, blood pouring from his lips. He was tearing himself up on the inside instead of helping himself. Was there another form of this jutsu that he was doing instead of this one? He suddenly remembered why he hated medical ninjutsu.

"Shit," he gasped as he fell to the floor watching the blood pour from his lips. His body was starting to give out on him. All he had been doing for the past week, what was it? Was it a waste of his time?

"You think you can beat me, Itachi? You are so dumb aren't you? You know after all of this time it would have to come down to this. We are the only two ninja in this clan who could survive the transition. But can your body take a little blood loss, kid?"

"You have no idea," Itachi winced wiping the blood from his lips trying to stay on topic, still remembering those hands up against his own, the voice whispering commands in his ear. No matter how he tried to focus it so that it wouldn't hurt, it only continued.

The rain was falling onto the window as he continued to cough looking at the puddle of blood underneath him. They were laughing at him right now. Some ninja he turned out to be. There was no way that he was going to be able to even stand a chance. It was more than a sense of security. It was more than just to prove to everyone that he could do it. It was to show that all of the misery that he went through was worth something, that he got power from it.

The rain continued to fall as he lay on the ground face down in his own blood. Sasuke was out there in that weather right now. He could get sick again, or worse, he could die. He worried for Sasuke from time to time, even when they were young he was always getting himself in some sort of trouble.

"Sasuke…" he breathed looking up at the table reminded of the pain in his lungs. "Don't think if you lose that bet I'm going to uphold my promise. The second that you can show me that you understand is the technique is the second I respect this clan," he took a deep breath closing his eyes. "Just don't die."

-----

"Ninja Art: Great Clone Explosion," another failed attempt happened as he watched from the branches above the spot where he had exploded a clone. He was able to make the clones explode, but Itachi would laugh at him again, poke him on the forehead, and then teach him water based techniques. This was pathetic.

Sasuke took a deep breath, generating another clone in the center, his chakra slowly running out. "I'm not going to lose that bet," he closed his eyes. "I'll make you sob, Itachi," he felt sweat form on his temples as he looked at the area in the middle of the debris, the clone starting to gag just a little. "Ninja Art: Great Clone Explosion."

The clone exploded as it filled with chakra, more twigs soaring through the air puncturing Sasuke's flesh, blood running down his legs. He had to get better at this technique; he had to show his brother that he was worth something, show him that he could still learn.

" That is not a technique for children. That technique is not to be used by anyone below jounin level. Hell, jounin can barely even do it."

"I'll show you," he closed his eyes starting to formulate another clone, his vision getting blurred as he thought about how much chakra he was expelling, this was getting to the point where he knew that it was only going to be a few more explosions before he was forced to call it quits.

"Ninja Art: Great Clone Explosion," he called out weakly expelling an inhuman amount of chakra into the clone the blast finally having the power that he wanted it to, the sky lighting up as he took one last breath, gagging gently. He was worn out, he couldn't believe that he had tried it so many times and never once did he get it right.

His balance in the tree was starting to get wobbly, his vision barely able to be seen through his eyes. Tears streaked his cheeks as he could feel himself falling. There was no way that he could carry like this. He didn't have the strength.

He was falling fast, waiting for the impact to take him by surprise, most likely injuring him beyond belief. As Itachi always said being a ninja was all about self sacrifice. As the impact was close at hand, he felt his body being caught by a set of arms. Who could it be all the way out here?

"I-Itachi?" Sasuke asked gently opening his eyes, but what he saw wasn't Itachi, it wasn't even anyone he recognized. He didn't even have a face that he could see. He was clad in a brown robe looking down at him. Eeirie chills returned to the air.

"You shouldn't be falling out of trees," the man stated as he picked Sasuke up hearing the young boy groan in pain. "You could get yourself hurt, Sasuke."

The young boy swallowed hard, his eyes expanding as he said his name. "How do you know me?" there was silence. "Answer me you bastard! How do you know me?" he fought out of his grip. "Let me go! Let me go you crazy rapist!"

The man placed Sasuke on the stump of a poor tree that had been cleared from his technique stroking his face lightly as he laughed. "You aren't like your brother are you? Every time I see Itachi he's always so calm. You're a little firecracker," he took hold of his chin looking into his eyes knowing that he couldn't see his. "When he attacked you he must have had to smother you to stop the screams."

He swatted him away his eyes burning as he looked at the man. "You bastard! Mind your own Goddamn business, alright. Who do you think you are talking about that night like you know what happened?"

The man laughed. "I know what happened, Sasuke," the man stated moving closer to him grasping at the young boy's wrists pulling him closer hearing the boy squeal in pain. "I know that he held you the ground and he drove his body into you until you bled, until you cried. Yet you go home every night and you still let him touch you," his fingers moved to drag Sasuke's hand to a hickey on his neck. "Recently as you have just shown me with these marks. Do you enjoy having sex with Itachi? Does he stimulate you?"

"Fuck you!" Sasuke stated as he pulled his hands away from the man. "What makes you think you can come into the room and come here to talk to me. Quit jerking me around and leave me be."

The man shook his head. "Sasuke, I'm not leaving…"

"Why? Are you going to rape me?" Sasuke asked as he looked back at him. "No big deal, it's already happened to me before."

"With someone that you thought you could trust. You knew he wouldn't kill you," the man smiled as he moved closer to Sasuke grasping gently at his neck. "How loud do you have to scream to get him out here to get you?"

Sasuke closed his eyes. This isn't happening. Itachi, what did you do when you left that organization? The man tightened his grip around his neck, cutting off of the air supply. Was this how Naruto felt? Was this the pain that he had given his best friend that night when Itachi said there was no other way? It hurt. It hurt too much for him to bear. His hands shaking as he moved them to his holster feeling the dagger that was he was given only yesterday.

He used all of the energy that he had in his body thrusting the dagger forward to hit the man in the shoulder watching him fall to the ground, his hand still wrapped around his neck. The howls that seeped from his attacker made a smile tug at Sasuke's lips. This was a greater rush than Great Clone Explosion.

"You little brat!" the man yelled, pushing Sasuke to be face down in the dirt. "It's a shame that I have to involve you in this, but the man that you report to has been a pain in my master's ass for far too long," the dagger was pulled out of his shoulder, falling to the ground. "I'm going to take you out to prove to him that this is real. I'm really after him. I'm going to kill him."

"And coming after me is what you think is going to make him come?" Sasuke asked as he struggled to breathe through the tightness of the man's hand. "Itachi doesn't care what happens to me. He only cares if he gets out of this alive."

"Then tell me where he is," the man demanded letting go of Sasuke's neck hearing the young boy cough, watching blood pass through his lips, more rain starting to fall down onto them. "Tell me and your life could be worth something…"

Sasuke grabbed the handle of the dagger and looked back at the man with weak eyes. I used up all of my chakra. This is getting to be too much for me to handle on my own. Itachi didn't get this far into it, and the way that the mission with Kakashi turned out was me being in a temporary death state. If I don't do something, I really am going to die…

He swallowed hard as he struggled to get off of the ground. "I-Itachi…"

The man smiled, although Sasuke couldn't see it, he could feel the happiness. "Say it again, this time louder," he grabbed his body by his hair pulling him closer hearing him cry out. "Scream his name! Scream it how you screamed it that night…"

Sasuke closed his eyes and remembered that night, he tried to block out what had happened knowing deep in Itachi's heart he was legitimately sorry for that. But the pain was never going to go away, he could still feel it whenever he kissed Itachi's lips, he could feel it as Itachi held him every night. Only three words could numb the pain: I love you.

"Scream it louder!" the man yelled as he pushed Sasuke into a tree.

Darkness filled Sasuke's mind as he felt warm liquid running down his forehead, trickling down his cheek. His mind was going through a swirling sea of pain; his skull feeling like it was filled with cold liquid. All he could hear was laughing as he looked away from the place where he was sitting.

"Itachi…"

-----

"Sasuke…" Itachi breathed still coughing up blood not being able to move from the floor. There was something wrong with the winds, it had become cold since Sasuke left. Itachi wasn't one for the weather being a sign of trouble, that metaphorical balderdash was never his creed.

He closed his eyes, the warmth of his blood up against his cheek as he fell deeper into unconsciousness. Sasuke was going to be alright, at this rate, he was going to win the bet and all would be good for him. Everything was always good for Sasuke. Sasuke always got what he wanted in the form of rewards and pats on the heads. Whenever he did something wrong, father would always just say try better next time. Itachi was different. He recieved no praise when he did something right, they just thought it was natural for him to excel. However, when he failed it would result in a scolding and a night full of cheap liquor at his cousin's.

Shisui, he was a far off memory now, nothing but a ghost that Itachi was never going to shake. He was the one that he wanted to be like. Shisui the Mirage, the best ninja of the Uchiha clan, only second to Itachi. Shisui was he reason why he was still alive today.

He coughed as he moved into the puddle of blood face down. "Shisui…" he climbed off of the floor grasping at the chair as he tried to get off of the ground. All he could think about was Sasuke out there as the lightning flashed and the thunder crashed. Sasuke was out there for too long, his body probably completely worn out. The Mystical Palms wasn't working, it was time to see how he was doing.

"Sasuke," he took a deep breath taking his katana sheath in hand wrapping it around his body, crawling toward the door. There was a chance that something happened. He knew that he wasn't just being paranoid. The sword that was attached to his back made him understand what was going on better.

The visions of the man in the dark robe made his heart race faster in his chest. How was he going to deal with him? The words that he had said all of those times made his body shake violently. There was no way that what he said was going to be true. Itachi had to keep telling himself that.

"The darkness will clear up sooner or later. Your body belongs to me, and you can kiss all of your hopes and dreams goodbye. I now own you, Itachi, and there's no running away from your destiny…"

"No," Itachi breathed opening his eyes exposing the sharingan. "No one owns me. I own myself. When I see you again, we'll see who owns who," he looked back at the door with a grin. "It's been a while since I spilled blood other than my own."

He walked out the door grabbing his Akatsuki robe, moving into a running pace looking at the road ahead of him. Sasuke was over the edge of the horizon somewhere, his brother was in distress. He had a feeling in his stomach.

"I'm coming, Sasuke," he breathed speeding up. "I'm coming!"

He moved through the forest seeing scattered branches all of the way there, he was close. Continuing to run the path he closed his eyes tightly, his adrenaline was running too hurriedly, his bloodlust increasing all the way. His heart was racing on the verge of stopping right then and there.

"I swore when we were younger that I was never going to let anything happen to you. It's a promise that has stabbed me deeper than that kunai ever could. Although you think I'm breaking the promise by doing all of this to you, it's got a deeper reasoning. If you hate me then so be it."

The trees had become more of a labyrinth his eyes getting lost in the maze of confusion. He shouldn't have had all of those sips of alcohol. He could hear the heavy breathing of his brother, the small screams that were passing his lips.

"Itachi!" he heard him scream.

A voice accompanied him. "Yes, scream it louder!" Sasuke screamed again, his breathing becoming ragged. "Make me feel the pain that you felt that night, Sasuke. Let me hear how your voice was, when he was raping you…"

Itachi bit his lip as he recognized that voice; it was the voice that he had heard when he was running out of the Hokage's office, the voice that he heard when he was sitting by the river looking off of the edge of the river. It was him.

"Louder!" the man commanded as Sasuke's cries of pain got louder the sound of flesh hitting flesh, a body hitting up against a tree trunk. "Come on, I know that you gave him more of a response. I want to see how much you can take."

Itachi walked through the ruins and saw a sight that he would never forget. Blood, blood was splashed everywhere as he tried to see where his brother was. Then he saw him, he saw Sasuke on the ground in the pool of his own blood coughing violently, the man in the robe looming above him as he looked straight at his shaking body, laughing vilely.

"Scream again," the man hissed picking Sasuke up by the hair the young boy screaming in pain. "It was true wasn't it? The survivor of the Uchiha clan really is the weakest one of them all. You can't even take me on."

Itachi bit at his lip until it broke, moving one foot forward. His voice rising to a dangerous yell as his eyes burnt with more fire than they ever had before. "Don't touch him!" he moved closer still. "I'll kill you!"

The man in the robe turned to look over at Itachi letting out a gasp of shock. "Itachi Uchiha, me and your brother were just talking about you. I was just asking him about what happened that night between you and him."

Itachi moved closer his breath ragged. "Don't mess with me…" he let out a low breath resembling a growl. "Who are you? Which member are you? Judging by your sick obsession to follow me around I'd say Kisame, but you're a little short for the part," he stepped forward looking at Sasuke's trembling body. "Let the boy go or I'll cut him loose," he pulled out a kunai. "Release him."

The man pulled Sasuke closer as he ran a hand along the bruised flesh of Sasuke's neck. "I don't think I want to," he laughed lightly watching Sasuke wince in disgust. "Is this the beautiful neck that you suck so beautifully every night before you go to sleep? The neck that you bite so passionately?" he ran a finger along the boy's Adam's apple. "I have to say, Itachi, he is cute," Sasuke's neck muscles moved as he gulped trying to break free. "To think you got the first taste of this body, the first beautiful taste."

Itachi shivered. "You sick pervert!"

The man laughed wrapping an arm around Sasuke's waist pulling him closer. "How did it feel?" he asked hearing Sasuke wince loudly. "How did it feel to fuck this young boy senseless? To feel that heat inside of his body build up so passionately."

"Let him go!" Itachi screamed as he watched the hand that was around his waist move back up to his neck, watching the fingers tighten around the column Sasuke starting to gag, his body thrashing slightly. "Sasuke!"

"Why?" the man asked moving his hand from his hair to grab the front of Sasuke's pants gripping at it tightly, Sasuke's legs buckling. "I thought that he would like pain. He does go into bed with you every night."

"Let him go!" Itachi breathed throwing the kunai missing the man by a few centimeters. There was no way in hell that he was ever going to get Sasuke free, the look in his eyes getting weaker every moment. "If you kill him…"

Sasuke let out a gag wincing one word. "Itachi…"

Itachi took a step closer holding his hand out in front of him, reaching out to the man in front of him. "Please, just let him go. If the Akatsuki sent you to come for the traitor, that's me. He has nothing to do with this."

"What a weakling," the man scoffed. "Caring more about your brother than the code of ninja…"

"He has nothing to do with this fight. There's a difference between a ninja and what you're doing," Itachi stated raising his right hand. "You've come for this haven't you? They want my ring back knowing that I'm dead? I don't care who you are, you'll never touch me with anything that you've got."

Fingers released Sasuke's neck moving to his collar. "You want this boy released?" he lifted him off of the ground hearing Sasuke whimper in a half conscious state. "Then you'll have to catch him," he applied more force to his movements, his arm throwing Sasuke in his direction, the young boy knocking him to the ground the bloody boy on top of Itachi. "That's how you like him, half dead and bleeding."

Sasuke coughed lightly moving closer to Itachi's body. "Brother…"

"I'm here, Sasuke," Itachi closed his eyes not being able to look at what happened to his brother. "I'm here to save you…"

The young boy shivered as he coughed again, his body becoming paler as the moment. "Itachi…" he breathed moving closer to Itachi's chest, the rain falling down onto his body as he shivered violently. "I'm cold…"

Itachi took the robe off of his shoulders wrapping the cloth around the young boy hearing him cough again. His eyes glanced up at the man as he embraced the shivering boy tighter. "Next time I see you, you die," he placed Sasuke on the ground placing a kiss on his forehead. "Show me your face," he stood up slowly. "Show me your Goddamn face, you bastard!"

The man walked closer to him looking straight into his eyes his hands moving to the hood of his robe. "You want to see who I am? You want to see who lies behind all of the nightmares that you've been having? The one who took your lips so passionately by the river," he slowly started to pull it down. "You're in for a surprise, Itachi; you're going to finally see who they sent after you…"

The hood fell down to the back of his robe as he slipped out of the, Itachi's eyes widening in shock. The robe hit the ground as he looked straight into Itachi's eyes revealing the face of the one who was going to take him out. Everything was so familiar, that grey hair tied back in a messy ponytail, those glasses that were far too big to frame his face. That outfit that was so unflattering making his frame look far too bulky to be a nineteen-year-old. He was the one that they sent after him.

Itachi took a deep breath. "K-Kabuto Yakushi?"

Kabut adjusted his glasses as he looked at Itachi's shaking form. "Hello, Itachi Uchiha, it's about time we saw each other face to face."

Itachi swallowed hard looking at him. "It's you," he wiped a few wet strands of hair out of his face. "They sent you?"

A laugh passed the older boy's lips. "I'm here to show my allegiance to the Akatsuki, following the will of Lord Orochimaru," he smiled. "I'm sent to kill you Itachi, and I refuse to fail."

"That's too bad," Itachi took a deep breath looking at Sasuke over his shoulder. Why was he so late? Why couldn't he have come earlier? He swallowed hard around the lump in his throat that was threatening to take hold of his emotions. Was this guilt? He took another step forward. "I'm sorry, Sasuke."

Author's Note: So what did you all think, you probably all knew that it was him, and if you didn't well now you know and you can rant to me (I like rants!) There's going to be more torture for Itachi and finally another person to take some of the diabolical spotlight off of him. So what did you all think? Good? Bad? Want the person who you thought it was to be the man in the robe. Honesty is always my policy.