Whoa, another chapter? How can this be? I'm trying to finish this story before I start university in couple of month or so. I can probably do it in a month... which is kind of sad when you think about it... sort of ridiculous. Thanks for sticking with me, you guys.

"So..."

Sasuke stared groggily up at his older brother, uncomprehending. "What..."

"Rumour has it you have a date tomorrow," Itachi snickered, taking another gulp of soda as he looked intently at Sasuke.

"What rumour?" Sasuke asked, fully aware that he sounded drunk and that his parents, on the other end of the table, were giving him weird looks.

"Well, I have a certain network of friends who have younger siblings in your year group," Itachi explained, "and Ino Yamanaka happens to be a shameless gossip, as is her older brother, Deidara."

Sasuke remembered the blonde girl who had been sitting with Naruto at lunch, and groaned. If Itachi knew, chances were that the entire school knew as well.

"And was he correct in telling me the other half of this rumoured date...?"

"Naruto?"

"FU-... I mean, heck yeah!" Itachi corrected himself mid-sentence in order not to ruffle their parents. "Nagato owes me twenty bucks."

"Who?"

"Naruto's brother. He bet me that Naruto wouldn't have the guts."

"He had the guts twice. I'm the one who said no the first time," Sasuke muttered, embarrassed once more.

"Why would you say no?" Itachi demanded, disbelief showing clearly on his face. "Do you reckon I can use that to leech more money out of Nagato?"

"No, Itachi."

"So, what are you guys doing? For your daaaa-aaate."

Sasuke scowled at him. Then he slowly acquired a mild pink flush to his cheeks, and Itachi regarded this change in complexion with stunned delight. He could probably count on one hand the amount of times he'd seen Sasuke blush before now.

"We're just going to the movies, just whatever."

"Sasuke, might I remind you that it's been three years since you went out with anyone you had even slight feelings for, and that you're not expected to put out on the first date?" Itachi teased quietly, keeping his voice low to avoid scolding from their parents.

Sasuke lashed out with a hand, fully intending to hit Itachi on the back of the head, but Itachi caught his wrist with ease, smiling gently.

"You've been thinking about it all day, haven't you?" Itachi asked, lowering Sasuke's hand and releasing his wrist, letting his little brother withdraw from the contact.

"Yeah, and a few other things," Sasuke muttered, humiliated by his brother's intuition.

"You boys better not be fighting down there," Mikoto announced from her position at the head of the table, where she had the best view to keep an eye on her two sons.

They had always sat at the table the same way for as long as Sasuke could remember, with her at the top of the table, their father on her right side, then the two spaces in the middle left free, and Sasuke at the other end of the table at the top, with Itachi on his right. When
Sasuke was little, Itachi had been the one to make sure he wasn't throwing his food across the room or crying with more fervour than was entirely necessary. Mealtimes were pretty much the only times when Mikoto got a break from baby Sasuke - Itachi took over as his babysitter when Sasuke was around food.

"No, Mother," they both sang innocently, before falling back into conference with each other.

"I can't help thinking about it, Itachi," Sasuke defended hotly, his voice pitched low. "It's perfectly natural, and I don't really have any good experience with ... it."

Now, Itachi was very sorely tempted to tease and taunt Sasuke within an inch of his life about his lack of experience, but he stopped himself since it would be distasteful and cruel, especially given Sasuke's past, shitty experiences.

Instead, Itachi passed from teasing big brother to concerned, loving big brother, and eager to dispatch advice. "Sasuke, you know you can always talk to me if you want to," he suggested gently. He was glad when Sasuke nodded and gave him a small smile in response.

The rest of dinner passed without consequence, but when Itachi made for his room, Sasuke reached out a hand and stopped him with a touch to his arm. "Itachi."

"What is it?"

"What do you know about Kiba Inuzuka?" Sasuke asked, almost hesitant. After all, Itachi had said that Sasuke could talk to him, but he wasn't sure about the possibility of a favourable response from the older Uchiha on this particular subject.

Itachi's face closed almost immediately, his eyes narrowing and his expression going from practically playful to deadly serious in an instant. Sasuke actually took a step back and released his brother's elbow, at which point Itachi seemed to realise that he was appearing quite threatening and attempted to soften his expression. It only half-worked.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, he sort of threatened me today and-"

"He threatened you? That little whelp! When I get a hold of him, I swear to fucking-"

"Itachi! I took care of it, okay? But he was warning me away from Naruto for some reason - this was just before he asked me out again - and when Naruto and I were talking, he mentioned Kakuzu and then he said that Kiba was Kakuzu's brother, and that he'd kind of gone off the rails after Kakuzu was killed. Do you know anything about that?"

"Sasuke..." Itachi began, but stopped when he figured out that he didn't really have anything to say.

"I just want to know if there's a reason why I should stay away from Naruto, or if I should stay away from Kiba instead."

"You should definitely stay away from Kiba," Itachi spat vehemently. His insistence was mildly startling. "That kid is fucked up and I speak as not only your big brother, but also a police officer, when I say that you should stay as far away from him as possible. He'll hurt you just like he hurt Pein." He pinned Sasuke with a firm stare before breaking and slipping into his room, his face set in a stormy expression.

Pein...? Probably not important, Sasuke thought to himself. Then, he heard Itachi's window slide open. He's sneaking out? He hasn't done that in years - not like he needs to, he has a car and he could have just walked out the door... unless he doesn't want me to know he's leaving.

Sasuke turned the handle on his brother's door and pushed it open, Itachi's name fading on his lips as he noticed the open window and the empty room.

What could be so important that he would climb out the damn window to get out of the house, seemingly without me knowing about it?

Shrugging, and even more confused than he had been before, Sasuke retired to his own room, puzzling over his brother's strange behaviour.

Itachi was about a kilometre away from his house when Kisame, who had answered his call about five minutes ago, pulled up on the road next to him.

"Get in," Kisame shouted over the radio.

Itachi didn't say anything in reply - he got in the car next to his best friend, and they drove off.

Kisame turned the radio off and asked, "What the hell happened? You haven't sneaked out like this since you were eighteen."

"Inuzuka's getting up on his game," Itachi snarled at last, and his voice had so much fury in it that Kisame pulled his car over to the kerb and sat there, waiting for more.

Itachi sighed when he saw that he suddenly had Kisame's full attention, and continued, "He threatened Sasuke today."

At Kisame's barely-concealed snarl, Itachi held up a hand to placate him. "Nothing like that, it was just about his new romantic interest."

"Oh? And why would Inuzuka have a say about Sasuke's personal life?" Kisame growled.

"Because it's Naruto Uzumaki that just asked my baby brother out."

"Really."

Kisame knew about Sasuke's preferences - Itachi hadn't told him, and neither had Suigetsu, but the mere fact that they were both hiding something alerted the huge man into investigation mode, wherein he tracked the connection to both of them, which was Sasuke, and figured it out for himself.

"Whooooooo saw that coming," Kisame commented.

"Yeah, they were thick as thieves in primary school, weren't they," Itachi mused. "How things change. They went from being best friends, to alienating each other, to going out."

"You can't blame Naruto for not wanting to be around Sasuke all that time, though."

"Yeah, but losing Naruto as a friend was a huge blow, especially after everything else that happened. Sasuke didn't even know why he was being ignored - he never saw Naruto that night."

"So how do you feel about Sasuke going out with Naruto? I mean, it can't be that ideal, considering how much he might let slip."

"I don't have any grudges against Naruto. Just like I don't have anything against Minato or any of his sons. They did what they had to do at the time that action was needed, and although the cost for such actions was high, they did us a great service. Even Naruto."

"If Sasuke finds out about Naruto's involvement with his, er, situation... he'd want to hear it from you," Kisame warned. "If Naruto told him then he'd lose every shred of trust Sasuke has been building up."

Itachi scrubbed his face with his hands. "I know, I know. I just never thought that I'd have to be the one to tell him. Pein... he was supposed to explain it to Sasuke, so everything was clear, everything was on the table, but he never got around to it and then he was arrested and no one ended up talking to Sasuke. Fuck this whole mess. Why the hell did I leave it for so long!" Itachi was now digging crescent marks into his palms with his fingernails; Kisame reached over and pried his hands apart.

"Itachi, jeez, calm the fuck down," Kisame soothed, worried. "It's gonna be okay, all right? Sasuke's tough, Kiba's not going to be a problem - if anything happens, Naruto can handle it. But we gotta go and see him."

"What?"

"You know what, 'Tachi. We have to go and see Nagato."

Naruto was just heading into his room when he heard the doorbell ring. He was almost to the stairs before he heard his older brother moving through the house to the door. He lingered, unsure if he should stay in case it was for him, or if it was for his brother and he was permitted to eavesdrop. Considering who stepped over the threshold, probably not.

"Itachi, Kisame," Nagato Uzumaki said in way of greeting and invitation all in one, "to what do I owe this unusual pleasure?"

Itachi scanned the house and caught Naruto's eye. Like a deer caught in the headlights, the blonde froze. Itachi looked him in the eye for a few moments, and then turned his attention back to Nagato.

In response to the redhead's politely puzzled look, Itachi said, in a voice that, although quiet, managed to carry through the whole foyer, "You owe me twenty bucks. And... We need to talk."

Nagato's face closed, and he ushered Kisame and Itachi into the adjoined sitting room, shooting a look at Naruto that clearly conveyed 'disappear'.

Naruto disappeared.

I do like this chapter. It finally feels like I'm going somewhere with the whole storyline, not just the romance that I'm squeezing into it. Don't worry - it's coming. I feel that if I didn't address the actual story soon, I'd never get around to it and I'd land myself in another writer's block rut again.

Much love to you all.

x Sharzam x