Disclaimer: I don't own anything that has to do with this anime/manga
Warnings: This chapter contains blood/violence (a lot of blood from the aftermath of the last chapter), incest, yaoi, crude language, thoughts of homicide, references to rape, some references to sexual situations, OOC, and the canon is pretty well gone (even if you can see it just a little). This chapter is also a lot longer than the last one and there are errors throughout as well, I was to damn lazy to pick them out. I also want everyone to know, to those of you who skipped the last chapter, Itachi is still alive and he has bene healed.
Pairings: ItaSasu, slight KakaIta
Sasuke opened his eyes to see himself back in his bed, Itachi's arms wrapped around him loosely yet possessively. Last night was an experience, one that he wouldn't soon forget. The way that he was breathing was clue enough that it did occur. He looked up and saw the crimson liquid staining the pillow; he had been giving off more blood, his body still trying to reject it. Glancing into the waste basket, Sasuke could see that he had vomited, swallowing too mouth blood as he cough it out of his lungs.
A cough ran through Itachi's body, a splash of blood leaving his lips, even though the bleeding had stopped, his body was littered with the liquid where it didn't belong; it was a miracle that he didn't suffocate instantaneously. The blood loss had become less and less severe, although during the night Itachi had awoken to vomit three times and two times with a bloody nose. His body was a mess; Sasuke could see that by the way that his brother responded to him every time that he awoke in the middle of the night. But Itachi was oblivious to how much it hurt Sasuke to see him in that much pain. Did he hear the tears that he cried last night? Judging by the way his arms were wrapped around him, Itachi heard every sob, comforting the young boy until he fell asleep.
He really does care, Sasuke looked at the blood that was on the pillow, reaching to touch it, the liquid was still warm, fresh from Itachi's lips. He was a fool to think that he was going to be able to kill him; Itachi was always there for him when everyone else turned their back. Even now as he tried to live his life in Konoha, no one looked at him the same way, they all went on their own directions, and Sakura had become loyal to the Sound Village. Itachi was right next to him when he was needed, he was right here, gently holding onto him, encouraging him in the moments where his comrades looked at him condescendingly.
The most important part was Sasuke was reaching Itachi, he was starting to find emotions that Itachi had tried to kill, he was trying to find out who his brother really was, find the purpose for his existence. He had gotten Itachi to apologize for acts that he had caused Sasuke, the rape being the largest one that he felt guilt for. Sasuke knew that he was being an idiot, but he believed him, he could feel the guilt that Itachi had in his heart for that night, the way his eyes would break every time that the word was brought up. Itachi might have been one hell of an actor, but that was something that not even he could fake.
As Sasuke moved he heard Itachi gently sigh, loosening his grip on him. He wasn't the same monster that Sasuke had been afraid of all of these years, it was finalized; there was no more reason to second guess himself. This was the way that Sasuke wanted to live. He was becoming stronger and he had found someone who cared about him, all in his one true hate. Even though there were acts that he could never forgive him for, he knew that he would have to look past all of the realizing that his brother was trying his hardest to make a life for Sasuke. He was going at it the wrong way, but he was the only one who cared. The only one that Sasuke knew would never leave him on purpose.
He sat up in bed, looking around the room; he could still smell the bloody vomit that had come from Itachi's lips. It wasn't the smell that he wanted to wake up to, but knowing that it was slowly helping Itachi recover was enough for him to forget the disgust, all of this was necessary.
He moved his finger's to stroke Itachi's cheek, feeling the moisture of sweat stinging his fingertips. A sigh passed Itachi's lips, snuggling closer into the pillow. Sasuke took a deep breath before situating his hands over the spot that he had healed multiple times since Itachi started coughing again. He thanked God that Itachi thought it was important to study medical ninjutsu. Without that ability, they would have died long ago. Then again, that's what Sasuke loved about his brother; he always knew ways to get out of tight situations. That's why his past experiences with ANBU as well as Akatsuki were going to be in their favor.
As he felt as though he had done enough, Sasuke took his hands away looking out the window; the sun was starting to shine. Everything was going to be alright today, he could feel it with every breath that Itachi took. They were moving closer to their goal, becoming stronger than they ever had before. He knew that everything that they had worked for was going to save Sakura from Orochimaru.
Why was she even with him? Sakura wasn't dumb, she was far from it. She was a very intelligent girl, but whatever Kabuto had done to get on her side must have been hypnotic. To trick a girl who had memorized all of the ninja principles, acing all of the tests in the Academy into going to a village that was run by a madman took skill. Then again, after all that Itachi had told him about Kabuto Yakushi, he did have the skill that it took to do such a feat, even more so than Itachi himself.
Sakura, he closed his eyes as he shook his head lightly, remembering the day in the woods, the look in her eyes as she charged toward his brother. He couldn't forget the way that she pushed the dagger into his chest, with so much force, without a second thought. That was a stab that she had meant for Itachi, that was the stab that she was going to use to kill him. She had grown as a ninja if she was able to muster up enough courage to fight up against Itachi Uchiha.
Closing his eyes, he let out a single sob, burying his face in his hands before he felt a hand rest up against his back. "Itachi?"
Itachi moved, the sheets rustling. "Are you alright?" he asked in a weak voice, his throat still sore from repeated amounts of coughing and vomiting. "Are you still crying?"
Sasuke wiped his eyes. "No…"
"Come on, Sasuke," Itachi snickered. "You were always horrible at lying, what's wrong? What's on your mind?" he sat up wiping the blood from his lips and nose, coughing lightly to remove more of the liquid.
"I was thinking…" Sasuke breathed, trying to hold back his sobs. "I was thinking about what we're doing through all of this, about our purpose. With so many people trying to bring us down, are you sure that we'll get out alive?"
Itachi nodded. "I told you, no one is going to hurt you if they ever want to have full control of their body again," he wrapped an arm around Sasuke's pulling him closer to his body feeling the genin shudder as he continued to cry. "Sasuke, what are you really thinking about? Is it Sakura?"
Sasuke whimpered. "Y-yes…"
Itachi sighed as he looked out a window. "You're worried for her aren't you? You're hoping that she and I never meet each other face to face. I know that it scares you that I might kill her, but Sasuke…"
"Itachi…" Sasuke shuddered, biting gently at his lip. "You don't understand, do you? I don't want to watch my teammates die, even by your hand."
Itachi sighed again as he kissed Sasuke's temple. "This is difficult for me too, Sasuke. I know that you don't want to sacrifice those who are precious to you, but you're going to have to offer everything that you own to save the village from Kabuto and the Akatsuki."
Sasuke swallowed hard as he looked at the dagger on nightstand next to him. "Itachi, I've offered too much, I don't think that I can give anymore for this cause. The worst thing that I lost was you… I thought you were going to die last night. I don't like seeing you in pain," he shook his head, grasping onto his brother's arm. "I never wanted any of this pain for either of us; I thought I wanted you to be in pain, but seeing how you reacted that day when you thought I was going to die… I can't bear to watch that again. Itachi, please don't make me have to sacrifice you…"
The older Uchiha closed his eyes, inhaling sharply through his nose, his dark eyes opening again, his fingers curling tightly in the sheets, his knuckles turning white from the strength of his squeezing. Sasuke could feel the pain that was rolling through his brother, backing away from his body to watch his eyes close again.
"Brother?" Sasuke asked innocently.
"You really care about me don't you?" Itachi asked his voice starting to tremble with signs of guilt. "After all that I've done, after what I've become?" he laughed painfully. "After I've become a washed up weakling?"
"Caring about people isn't a sign of weakness," Sasuke answered, watching his brother turn away. "I still think that you're strong, Itachi, if that's any consolation. After all that you've done, the violence that I can never forgive you for, I still can't let you go. Not only are you my blood, but I love you… I would die for you. I would kill for you. I would do anything for you, Itachi," he moved to kiss him lightly on the lips. "This plan is going to come true, and if you won't do it for yourself and your own sake… then do it for me and my sake."
"Everything I do is for you," Itachi whispered on Sasuke's lips, feeling the young boy's breath slow down. "I would destroy this whole village just to grant you one more day of life."
Sasuke looked over at the blood. "Are you still bleeding?"
"A little," Itachi sighed. "But I'm not in pain anymore, that's a good sign."
"Yeah," Sasuke got up out of bed, straightening himself out. "I'm going to continue my work on medical jutsu. With the condition you're in… it's become more important that I understand it."
Itachi moved back up against the mattress, closing his eyes lightly. "Sasuke, please don't overexert yourself. As soon as I get better I'm going to continue your training. Your progress is more important than the pain that I'm going through right now," he coughed lightly, a single drop of blood falling to his pale skin, Sasuke moving closer to him.
"Itachi!" Sasuke called out looking at the blood on the fingers, grasping his wrist. "Are you alright? You're still bleeding, even after all of that trouble that I went through, all it came out to be is nothing more than…"
Their lips pressed against each others' again, Sasuke's words swallowed by a single moan. Everything for just a single moment just stopped as he realized that his brother was going to be alright, they were going to be alright. They were going to fight for each other for once and not just for themselves.
Sasuke thought back to a moment years ago when a stormed raged outside, as he sought the comfort of his brother's embrace. He remembered the words that he had said to him. He swore that he would never let anything happen to him, he kept his promise. Even with all of the pain that he had been through, he could still see that he had kept it his word all along, as he knew he would.
-----
They all looked at the ground as they stood in a circle, all three of them in complete silence from their travels in the past days. They never thought that they would have to do that much, never thought that they would have to be in the center of all of this pain. Silence rolled with the wind, that was until one of them spoke up.
"We know what's going on now…" Ino stated as she brushed the hair out of her face. "After all of this time, how could we have been so blind?"
"This whole time… Sasuke…" Chouji sighed. "Sasuke… was with his brother, he was…" he shook his head, "…training under him for weeks now."
Shikamaru sighed. "That explains the why he's been avoiding his team. It also explains the changes that he's gone through. It also explains our thoughts about his sexual relationship with Naruto. The love bites… they were all because of Itachi," he shook his head. "And that's why Sakura…"
There was another silence as they continued to look at the ground. All of this time, they thought that it was Itachi causing the problems, but the way that Sasuke had drawn closer to him, it was partly his fault too that this all happened. Yet the one who took Sakura was not Itachi, but a rival of him from the Sound Village. Although they thought that she was safe, there was a problem that they faced. Itachi had been trying to kill this rival ever since they met in Konoha.
"If you don't get her back soon, Ino, she's going to be lost forever. Do you want that for your best friend? Do you want to lose them in this insane darkness that you can't pull them out of. If she gets too deep, we're going to have to kill her. That's if I get to her first."
Itachi was going to kill Sakura if they waited too long. If they felt as though they couldn't follow through with their plan, Itachi was going to be the one to seek vengeance for the pain that he had caused his younger brother. Ino saw the way that he was dressed; she saw the crest on his back. He was loyal to Sasuke, and he would die for him. He would even kill a young girl to make amends.
"What do we do now?" Ino asked, looking at her teammates shakily. "We don't have much time before Sakura is going to be doing something reckless. If we stand around and wait too long, Itachi Uchiha is going to destroy her."
Chouji shuddered. "That's terrifying, so much pressure on us, it's kind of overbearing."
"But Sakura is a fellow ninja of Konoha and we will find a way to save her," Shikamaru explained. "Besides, if Sasuke has any sense to him, he'll try to hold off his brother for as long as possible. He's still on our side, and he will continue to be on our side until we do something to hurt him. We made a good choice not trying to hurt him or Itachi, otherwise we'd be dead by now…" he sighed. "But judging by the way that Ino confronted him and got out alive, we know that he won't hurt us."
"But Sakura is our concern," Ino stated bluntly. "With the new information on Kabuto Yakushi that we've gotten we could bring a better argument to the Hokage."
"Do you think he'll listen?" Chouji asked. "He didn't seem like he cared the last time that we asked him to go out and save her. What makes you thing that the information that we got is going to change his mind?"
Ino shook her head. "We don't have time to worry about that anymore. We're going to have to work harder to get stronger. We might have to use force against Itachi if it comes down to it. Hopefully he'll listen to reason and not do anything to drastic that could hurt our cause."
"Let's just hope that all of the information that he gave us is good enough to convince him to go ahead for the plan," Shikamaru closed his eyes as he turned away from them. "We have to go soon if we want to make an impression…"
Together they all walked side by side, looking toward the street that was ahead of them. Time was running out, they could feel Itachi's dark presence move closer to Sakura, killing her. The time was drawing nearer and it would only take a few words from the Hokage to stop all of the madness. Only that could save the lives that would be lost in the feud between Kabuto Yakushi and Itachi Uchiha. Only then could Konoha have a sense of security back without worrying about two high level ninja fighting on their territory.
That day was going to come now.
-----
Itachi opened his eyes looking around the room, looking at the blood that had stained the pillow. I guess my body's still trying to compensate for all of that blood that I lost. Rising to a sitting position, he looked around the room. Sasuke was nowhere in sight. Usually he would be worried, but he knew what Sasuke was doing: medical techniques. The look in his eyes as he said that the technique had become more imperative wasn't a lie; it was how he truly felt.
The events of the past weeks helped reinforce that, Itachi knew that he couldn't argue with him. One of them would have to become better at Mystical Palms, and it was destined to be Sasuke. Itachi was only good for absolute emergencies like the time in the woods; any internal damage was something that he couldn't be trusted with.
He sighed as he looked on the nightstand seeing a note. "Sasuke?" he reached to grasp the piece of paper, reading it quickly.
"Itachi, I've gone to go consult Team 10 about the information on Orochimaru, don't worry, I left you in capable hands – Sasuke."
Itachi sighed as he fell against the bed placing the note back on the nightstand. When Sasuke said capable hands, what exactly did he mean? All of the wrongs that he had committed to him, were the hands that he was talking about supposed to make up for all of those wrongs? The second that he looked at the door, he knew that was the case.
"No way in Hell," Itachi cursed as he sat up in bed, looking at the man in front of him. "When the hell are you going to know what the words stay in bed mean?"
The man walked closer to him. "Itachi," he looked around the room, especially at the blood soaked pillow. "You aren't doing as well as you think you are. I heard about what happened last night."
"Well isn't that nice for you, Kakashi," Itachi scoffed, finally saying the man's name, moving closer to the pillows. "I was just in a little pain; it's not that bad, nothing for you to be concerned about."
"My student was crying on the phone while he talked about what happened," Kakashi continued, as he walked to the side of the bed. "He's never cried as much as he has when he's around you…" he shook his head. "You're never going to understand that he lives for you now, Itachi. You could have pulled this shit earlier when he wanted to kill you, but now that he loves you… he's dedicated to you… you can't just leave him."
Itachi coughed lightly, a trace amount of blood falling to the pillow, his fingers moving to wipe the liquid from his lips. He avoided Kakashi's glance as he closed his eyes. This was the last thing that he needed right now. All he wanted was to be alone in his thoughts, trying to find a way to go through with this plan and not have every person die from the effects. Sasuke only cried when he was around him, Itachi knew that. He knew that this was all going to explode in his face, he knew that Sasuke was going to turn on him. He clutched at his chest as he thought of what was coming, the hate that Sasuke had for him was going to come back, and everything that they had accomplished would be in vain. It would have been a greater waste of resources and time then they had ever wasted before.
"Itachi," Kakashi started as he looked down at him. "I want to know how you and Sasuke have been doing. Have you been making any progress with him?"
"Loads," Itachi answered weakly.
Kakashi wasn't unintelligent; Itachi knew that much for sure. He knew that the man knew what was going on: inner turmoil, with physical pain to match. The blood that was on his pillow caught his eyes, not allowing it to pull away from the bright red liquid. Slowly he put his hand up against Itachi's cheek feeling him shudder, the younger ninja trying to push away from him.
"I know what you're going to say, so don't bother," Itachi scoffed.
"Then you know that you broke your promise. I told you to take care of him, and you couldn't even do that," Kakashi shook his head. "Itachi, you know that I have faith in you, and I support what you're doing with Sasuke, but all of this…" he touched the blood on the pillow. "Don't you think that you're making him worry about you too much?"
Itachi clutched onto his stomach tighter, closing his eyes. "I didn't choose to be in this much pain…"
"Yes you did," Kakashi said quietly. "You chose to be in this much pain the second that you came back. You're dealing with it better than I thought you would," he sighed. "Maybe it's time for you to hand the boy over. You're only hurting yourself."
Itachi's hand fisted tightly at his own shirt, his eyes starting to burn with traces of red. "Hand him over? Kakashi, I told you that you could talk to your student; I told you that you could check up on your student, but I told you not to interfere with his training. What are you trying to do?"
Kakashi stood up, starting to walk toward the door. "I think it's about time I found Sasuke and Naruto a new tutor. You need to recover, Itachi. Look at you, you're covered with blood, and you can barely breathe. You need rest, you need to have some pressure taken off of you," he snickered lightly. "Maybe someday you can start training him again, but as for now, Sasuke is mine…"
"Then try to take him," Itachi growled, lifting the sheets, starting to get out of bed. "I want you to come over here and tell me that you want him back, and I'll tell you what I think," he took a few clumsy steps forward, stumbling just a little as he looked at the jounin. "I told you I'd give him back if he wanted to go with you."
"After I tell him how much pain you're in, he'll want to come back to me," Kakashi continued. "Itachi, I think you know what you're doing with the child, but think about your physical health, you're getting over serious wounds that could kill you if you aren't careful."
The jounin started to walk out of the room, leaving the house. Itachi wasn't going to take this, not from that man. After all that he had gone through for Sasuke, the pain that they had faced together, he wasn't going to lose him, even if he would have to kill for the right to have him. Slowly, he started following the jounin, his eyes transforming into the sharingan quickly.
"Kakashi!" he yelled as they both reached the outside. "Kakashi! Don't turn away from me. Come back here."
He was ignored as Kakashi kept walking.
"I said stop!" Itachi yelled, grasping Kakashi's arm. "I will fight for that boy, I would die right here for that boy. If you want him, you have to fight for him, even in your condition. Both of us are in no position to fight, both of us weakened severely, but I would like to know which one of us would win this fight."
"Itachi," Kakashi breathed as he turned to him. "What makes you think that you can have Sasuke?"
"Because I will crush you," Itachi smirked.
Kakashi scoffed. "You'll crush me? With what?"
Accepting the challenge, Itachi curled his hand into a fist and looked straight at Kakashi, letting him go. The jounin watched in awe as Itachi's right fist pushed up against the ground. He could hear the ground starting to shatter beneath them. Looking down, he saw it, a hole in the ground right where the Uchiha's fist had landed. He had been working on more than just medical and elemental ninjutsu. To be able to produce that much power just from a fist, he must have been not only training Sasuke, but also training himself.
Itachi lifted his hand out of the pit and brought his eyes up to meet Kakashi's. "With that. Do you still want Sasuke, Kakashi Hatake?" he raised his fist to the jounin's level, a smirk on his face. "Do you think that you'll survive this if I hit you? Do you think that you can go on living if I hit you with one of those hits?"
His vision moved down to the ground. I've got to stop jerking Itachi around, if he has that kind of strength I'm going to get myself killed.
Itachi snickered as he lowered his hand. "That's what I thought. Face it, Kakashi, I'm a better teacher for Sasuke. I'm opening gateways that you never thought should be opened. I'm unleashing power that you were trying to cage all of this time," he took a step forward, placing his hand onto Kakashi's shoulder. "The boy is going to be a stronger ninja than Orochimaru; I swear on my life that I will make it so that man will never get the body that he desires."
The jounin sighed. "What does that have to do with me?"
"If I give him up to you, his growth will end here and I will lose him to that man," Itachi shook his head. "I will kill everyone in this Goddamn village as well as Sound to get him back. He belongs to me…"
"You're back to all of that possessive bullshit," Kakashi answered flatly.
Itachi curled his left hand into a fist. "Do you really want to mess with me right now? I can kill you if that's what you truly want, Kakashi," he curled his fist tighter. "I refuse to lose to you. You'll get Sasuke back when I'm done with him."
There was a long silence as they looked into each other's eyes, the flow of chakra radiating off of Itachi's fist was rolling down Kakashi's spine, chilling him to no end. One strike would be enough to take him down if he could make a dent into the earth. Kakashi was in no condition to fight against a dangerous technique like that. Then again, judging by the way that Itachi's eyes were watering, Kakashi wasn't even sure if he should be doing techniques at that level. He was still weak from the incident that he had last night.
"Sasuke will be crestfallen if you die," Kakashi said gently.
"Crestfallen? I doubt it, in a way I know that he'll be relieved, relieved that I'm finally out of his life," Itachi hissed. "The sooner I'm gone the sooner he can continue living the life that he always wanted. That's the day when he gets my power, the day when his hatred is going to become so strong that not even Orochimaru himself will be interested in him."
"Itachi," Kakashi sighed. "Why are you being such a pain about all of this? Why are you starting to doubt the relationship that you have with Sasuke? Why are you starting to doubt the way that you've been aiding him."
"He has to kill people, Kakashi," Itachi sighed, curling his fist tighter. "Tell me, has he ever killed a person in his life before I came into the picture? On all of the travels you went through together, has he ever legitimately killed a person before?"
The jounin watched as Itachi's eyes closed tightly, his body shaking slightly. "Itachi, it's difficult killing a person…"
"I know…" the younger ninja stated. "The first kill is the hardest especially the first person that you kill who was close to you. He might not be able to take the pain, he's not like me, I don't know if I came at the right time, but I had no other choice. He's winning…"
Kakashi gasped. "You mean Orochimaru?"
"He was going to come here to apply the Cursed Seal of Heaven onto Sasuke. The reason why I put so much urgency into hurting him was to make him heavily guarded so that Orochimaru would never be able to get to him. I came to check up on him that day to make sure that he was still safe from that monster, hurting you was something that I did for myself," he took a deep breath. "Now that Kabuto's here, everything has gotten more urgent. I'm not even sure if I can beat him off, now that he has Sakura, one of Sasuke's teammates. I don't know what to do anymore; I've tried to think of what to do thousands of times over and over again. Sakura must die… but Naruto… Naruto can live, even if it is nothing more than a life full of fear that one day, someone is going to come for him. He'll be able to live…"
Kakashi watched as Itachi feel to his knees, right in front of the dent in the ground. There was something different about him, something that Kakashi thought died four years ago when he started to turn from Konoha. It was still alive.
"He'll be alive," Itachi repeated as he looked up at Kakashi. "He'll be alive and Sasuke won't have to suffer the way that I did. He won't have to be like me, he won't have to wear these chains that I've been carrying for so long. He won't have to make the mistakes that I did…"
The wind blew as the jounin looked down at Itachi, his eye closing gently. "You really think your life was horrible, that everything that you did was a mistake. I thought you didn't make mistakes."
"Shut up," Itachi whispered. "I make mistakes, and there are some that I regret as I look back on them now. I broke a promise, how can I live knowing that I broke a promise?" he shook his head. "Now to make amends to what I did, I'm trying my hardest to show Sasuke that I'm still a human. I still have feelings…"
Itachi watched as Kakashi reached into his pocket. "Hold out your hand, Itachi," he looked down at the young ninja. "Please hold out your hand."
The Uchiha complied, noticing something familiar slipping onto his finger. "My ring? How did you…?"
"Sasuke took it off last night. He thought that you were going to die," Kakashi chuckled lightly. "So today before he left he gave it to me to give back to you. Here you go… your Akatsuki ring. You can wear this until you find that you finally beat every last one of them. You're going to destroy them and Orochimaru so that they will never be in action again."
Itachi smirked as the ring was fully slipped onto his finger. "You know, Kakashi, I still don't want you interfering in the training. The last thing that I want to do is to hurt Sasuke by killing you. Yet if you interfere, for even a second, then I will be forced to go to the absolute last resort… if that man gets at Sasuke, and Sasuke seeks his power…" he swallowed lightly. "I'll have to kill him myself; I'll have to kill the younger brother that I've been trying to save all along."
Kakashi reached a hand out to help Itachi back up. "Come on, you shouldn't be out here. I'll take you inside."
Itachi took a deep breath. "Kakashi…" he smiled weakly. "Thank you… for giving me my ring back."
Looking down at Itachi's face, Kakashi knew how the boy really felt. He wasn't thanking him solely for the ring. He was thanking him for coming to him that day, so he could confess his guilt to someone he could trust. Itachi could trust Kakashi with this information; the jounin would take this to the grave with him.
He gently pulled Itachi off of the ground, feeling him shiver, and started walking him back to the house. Through all of this pain, Kakashi hoped that Sasuke and Itachi would find some peace in their actions.
-----
Together, they all walked into the doorway of the office. This was their time to make all of the pain come to an end. Itachi's shadow would soon be lifted from their hearts and they'd be able to finally make their lives seem like they could accomplish the dream. They were going to save Sakura. For too long they had been watching as their comrades were pulled deeper into the darkness. Sakura was the one they were the most worried about.
It was he appointment that they had set up after Shikamaru and Ino had showed up at Iruka Umino's apartment bringing Chouji back to their side. Ino had gotten enough information from Itachi about Kabuto to bring an argument that Sakura was in grave danger. The Hokage couldn't turn them down with this news.
The old man looked over at them as they stood in the doorway. "Team 10, you've arrived," he sat up in his chair. "I hear that you've come with more information regarding the whereabouts of Sakura Haruno. What have you come up with?"
Shikamaru looked to his left at Chouji and then to his right at Ino before giving his full attention to the Hokage. "We've found out who she's has gone with, Lord Hokage, we've found information that tells us that she's gone with a man named Kabuto Yakushi to the Sound Village."
The old man was quiet for a moment, as if he was thinking about what the team had just said. Maybe it was more urgent than they thought it was. Yet there was no way in hell that Sakura was going to do something that reckless. If it was as dangerous as everyone said it was, she wasn't just going to do it. She was a sensible girl. But the way the Hokage was looking at them as they gave that information was a stern one, there was a sense of urgency now.
"Where did you get this information?" the old man asked, starting to stand up looking straight at Shikamaru.
"Sakura told me the last time that she was here," Ino answered, drawing the attention away from Shikamaru. "She came into the village a couple of days ago. She was wearing a Sound forehead protector, and said something about her being safe in the confides of the Sound Village. Is it that terrible?"
"The Sound Village is where one of the Legendary Sannin resides," Sarutobi continued in a stern voice. "You three think that you can take one of them on? Do you really think that if I send you in that direction you're going to come back in one piece?"
"Sir," Chouji started. "With all due respect…"
"You three are genin, even with a jounin in charge of you, do you think that I can really trust you all to come back?" he shook his head. "After what happened to Kakashi Hatake, I don't know what to do anymore."
Shikamaru shook his head. "Itachi Uchiha is not involved in this, Sir; the man who took her is Kabuto Yakushi. Ino saw him with her own two eyes and talked to Sakura about her newfound sensei. Why would Itachi Uchiha be involved in something like that? Why would he be after Sakura?"
The Hokage sighed. "Itachi Uchiha is an unstable mind; he can go after anything that he wants, whenever he wants. If he is involved in this, I'm going to have to call of the decree that I issued."
"He wasn't involved in this," Ino stated. I know he wasn't I was talking to him about this only yesterday. Why would he be trying to attack a man that he was aiding all along? That doesn't make sense.
"Sir…" Chouji started again.
"Itachi Uchiha is involved in this until you give me one valid reason why he wouldn't be," the Hokage sat down, looking down at the paperwork in front of him. "Why wouldn't he want to harm this village?"
"Because he's only interested in one thing," a voice called from the doorway, all of the people in the room's attention now on him, their eyes widening in shock at the sight. "Me…"
Ino took a deep breath before uttering the person's name. "Sasuke? What are you doing here?" she watched as he walked closer to the desk. "Shouldn't you be with…?"
Sasuke looked back at her. "I came to help you guys out," he looked over at the Hokage. "Lord Hokage, I am sure that Itachi has nothing to do with this. My brother told me that he only had interest in me. Everything else doesn't matter to him. Sakura Haruno has done nothing to help his plan, but she is in grave danger by associating with the Sound Village," Sasuke closed his eyes tightly. "Itachi Uchiha has a rivalry with the man that she went with and he will stop at nothing until the two of them are dead."
There was a silence as they all heard Sasuke say those words. Ino shook her head at the sound. Was Sasuke trying to stab his brother in the back? Was he trying to hurt everything that he and Itachi had been striving for? Did he know the consequences of foiling a criminal's plan, especially a criminal at Itachi's level of power?
"In that case, I'm going to have to find a team of jounin to carry this out," Sarutobi took a deep breath. "You children will…"
"You don't understand the urgency do you? There's more than just Itachi Uchiha to worry about. She's on her way to the Sound Village, she's fair game for whatever Orochimaru wants," Sasuke slammed his hands up against the table. "She's going to the village to seek shelter from a Sannin, from one of your students!"
The room was silent as Sasuke's eyes looked straight into the leader of their village's. He cared about Sakura more than anyone in this room. Why? He felt that he was partly responsible for all of this. If he had told her about him and Itachi's relationship, if he hadn't been trying to get stronger for Orochimaru, if he had killed his brother that night, none of this would be happening. Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto would all be a team again. They would be happy. It would have been just like the old days before this nightmare happened. Yet here he stood, still asleep in this ethereal slumber, he was too far into this to ever get out.
"Orochimaru is trying to find another body for his technique; he's trying to find a probable container. The more Kabuto teaches her, the more he's molding her more into his liking. The urgency is greater than you think it is," Sasuke pushed deeper into the desk, pain searing through his palms. "Please, Lord Hokage, I beg you before something horrible happens, I beg you to stop this madness, stop the village's pain."
Team 10 looked at Sasuke as he bowed his head, his eyes closing gently. Ino and Chouji reached out their hands to touch his back feeling, his breathing start to become labored. They looked up at the Hokage waiting for his answer to the request. They wished that they received a different answer.
"Until the problem arises to a greater degree," he looked down at his paperwork, trying to ignore Sasuke's shaking hands. "Thank you for worrying about your teammate, but the last thing that I'm going to do is involve you in this. You've already been through enough pain."
Shikamaru bowed as he looked at Sasuke, who was breathing heavily. "Thank you for your time, Sir," he stood up and started walking toward the door, watching as Ino and Chouji walked out with Sasuke in tow. "That was a disaster," he said upon exiting of the room, pulling out a cigarette. "That old man needs to understand the urgency."
Sasuke walked by all of them as Shikamaru lit his cigarette. He hated himself for everything that happened in there. Even though he tried to stop something that he knew was going to happen, he was turned down. He saw the look in Itachi's eyes as he spoke of Kabuto Yakushi and Sakura Haruno; they were going to die at his hand. Itachi rarely went back on his word.
"Sasuke?" Ino asked, watching him start to walk away. "Why did you come here?"
The Uchiha sighed as he stopped in his tracks. "I thought that if I were to help you guys that maybe we could save Sakura, but once again, I was too weak to do anything. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't even save one of my teammates."
The girl shook her head. "You were going to sell your brother out to save Sakura? Are you out of your mind? He'd kill you…"
"I wasn't selling him out," Sasuke took a deep breath. "I'm trying to stop him from making a huge mistake. Killing Sakura is a mistake that not even he could bear. I'm not going to let him kill someone that I feel is important to me."
Shikamaru took a drag of the cigarette, his eyes watering slightly. "Damn it, even with these Goddamn things I can't get a decent idea," he looked over at Sasuke. "I guess it's up to you to stop Itachi from killing Sakura, only you can help us through this."
Sasuke closed his eyes tightly. "I know that you all think that I can control Itachi, but after what Sakura's done… if she keeps doing it… I might be drawn to the idea of killing her as well. There might be no hope for her…"
Chouji shook his head. "There has to be a way, even if we have to sacrifice our lives to help you, we will…"
"I can't let you aid me and Itachi, you all could get in trouble, tried for treason," Sasuke grasped the handle of his dagger nervously. "I must do this on my own," he walked forward, not looking back at the three ninja behind him. He was going to have to bargain with Itachi on his own, it was the only way to save Sakura and Naruto. It was up to him. He had to prove that he wasn't weak.
Author's Note: This chapter didn't really move the story along that much, but it's starting to wind down (eleven more chapters). I'm glad that to know that a lot of you are relieved to know that Itachi is going to be alright for a little while. The next few chapters are going to bring Naruto back (because you're probably wondering where he went off to), I hope that you continue to enjoy.