Disclaimer: If we owned Naruto, it would be a VERY different story...

14 Years Ago
Uchiha Compound

Nine-year-old Itachi cracked an eye open.

"Aniki?"

Sasuke's clumsy attempts to open his door had pulled him out of a perfectly good sleep. His voice wavering suggested that Sasuke was still scared of the dark, a trait that Itachi had never understood. Darkness was a shinobi's friend, not something to be scare off. Still, ka-chan had explained that Sasuke was just reacting to being alone, and Itachi supposed he could understand that better.

Still, the last few days he had been working with his ka-chan on the application of advanced genjutsu and he was tired. He grimaced. When he finally got some time to himself, he had been forced to deal with Inuzuka and Shisui. Both who seemed destined to cause him problems when he just wanted to be left alone. He really wished his ka-chan hadn't forbidden him from practicing genjutsu on anyone outside of training.

A small smile curved his lips. Hadn't Shisui been asking him to train with him lately?

"Aniki, are you 'wake?" Sasuke's voice had a definite wobble to it now.

Giving in, he sat up and considered the three-year-old standing in his room, holding his favorite blanket and looking sleepy.

"What it is, Sasuke?"

Relief showed on his small face and he pulled his blanket closer. "I hungry."

Itachi blinked. "Did you eat at dinner?"

His ka-chan had been doing dishes when he had returned home from spending the evening meal at the Aburame's and he doubted Sasuke would have been left to go hungry. The invitation to dinner had proven an excellent chance to catalogue if there was any difference in their clan's food intake as they supported the hives they wore under their skin. The meal would have considered a disappointment if he hadn't noticed Itsuki's baby cousin – Shino? – playing with his bugs. The acute expression of concentration suggested that working with their bugs took some practice. He was going to have to keep an eye on the tiny Aburame.

Sasuke nodded at him almost frantically, his eyes wide. "Yes."

"Then why are you hungry?"

His little face scrunched up and he hesitated. "I shouda ate more?"

Itachi shook his head and finally stood up, sighing heavily. Little brothers could be so annoying. He was fairly certain by the time he was Sasuke's age he had been sneaking into the kitchen to find left over rice if he was hungry, not waking up his parents. Itachi's brows lowered. Of course, oto-san wouldn't have liked it very much if Sasuke had tried to wake them up. His brother was at least smart enough to know that.

Not that it mattered. Ka-chan and oto-san were out that evening with the Hokage, and he had been left to baby-sit. Walking to his door, he was about to step into the hallway when a small hand caught his pants.

"Aniki?"

Looking down, Itachi lifted a brow.

"Isa dark." He whispered. "Can you turn on the light?"

Small, short arms were too little to reach the lights and he obviously couldn't expect Sasuke to walk up walls. Itachi considered his brother's request and finally shook his head.

"No."

Sasuke swallowed visibly and clutched his blanket tighter, eyes turning to liquid. Sighing, Itachi settled onto his haunches and studied the small face before him.

"You're scared of the dark."

Sasuke looked at him with those too-wide eyes. His ka-chan's eyes. "I not scared." He hesitated. "Just wanna light."

"Why?"

Sasuke pulled his blanket further under his chin. "Oto-san said bad-nin are inna dark. That they take away bad children who don't train."

Itachi resisted the urge to rub his nose. "Sasuke."

"Ka-chan said no training." Sasuke whispered. His eyes scrunched up and he wailed his next words. "I don't wanna get taken."

Itachi felt a spark of irritation at their father. "Sasuke."

Looking miserable, Sasuke lowered his eyes. "He said so."

Itachi blew out his breath and tried to think of what his Ka-chan would have done to deal with this. This time he really did rub his nose. He should have suspected his oto-san would have said something like that. He vaguely remembered a similar speech when he was a child, but by then he had been sneaking out of his room to see how many rice balls he could eat without his ka-chan knowing and his oto-san catching him. The suggestion that bad-nin would try to take him while he was sneaking around would have been taken as a challenge.

"Sasuke." Those dark eyes lifted to his face. "Bad-nin can't get you while I'm here."

Sasuke looked at him for a long time before nodding. "Okay."

"If I'm not here, ka-chan won't let them get you either. But," he made his voice stern and Sasuke hunched a little. He might as well teach his little brother the first lesson in sneaking since it was obvious Sasuke wasn't going to pick it up himself. Really, little brothers could be so bothersome. "That doesn't mean you can't learn how to hide so they can't find you."

Sasuke little brows bunched together. "Hide?"

"The first thing any good shinobi does is learn how to hide." Itachi said calmly. "That way they aren't seen unless they want to be seen."

"How they do that?"

"By learning how to move silently in the dark."

"But …"

"Sasuke." Itachi said firmly. "Didn't I just say I wouldn't let them get you?"

He nodded, his bangs flopping against his forehead. "Yes, Aniki."

Itachi stared at him, taking in the still nervous expression in his brother's eyes and sighed. He wanted to go back to sleep at some point tonight, and it was obvious that Sasuke was too worked up to properly learn how to sneak currently. He would have to teach him later. He opened his arms. Sasuke looked hopeful and stepped forward.

"This once, Sasuke." He said firmly. "Tomorrow I'll teach you how to move so that even oto-san won't hear you, alright?"

Sasuke smiled as Itachi picked him up and settled him on his back. Sasuke's chin was digging into his shoulder, but Itachi ignored it in favor and wrapping an arm around Sasuke's back to hold him in place.

"Hurry, Aniki," he whispered loudly in his ear. "I hungry."

The kitchen was as dark as his bedroom but Sasuke had relaxed on his back as they walked, whispering some nonsense their oto-san had told him earlier than day. Setting Sasuke onto the counter top, he patted him on the head.

"Now, Sasuke, if I were ka-chan where would I put the rice balls?"

"Inna 'fridge." Sasuke said, eyes wide.

"Good." Itachi said, patting him again before collecting the snack for his brother. Turning with one in each hand, he lifted a brow. "You think you can eat both of these?"

Sasuke nodded, holding out his hands. "Please! Ka-chan said I need to eat lots 'cause I am getting big!"

He leaned against the counter and watched Sasuke carefully to make sure he was taking decent sized bites. Shaking his head as his brother did his best impression of a large cheeked squirrel, he turned his attention to the living room as he felt something against the edge of his perception. It had been faint, barely detectible and if he hadn't been half on alert since ka-chan had charged him to watch Sasuke, Itachi might have brushed it off as nothing. This deep into the compound it was unlikely that someone would sneak in without being caught. Still…

Carefully extending his awareness he felt along the contours of the house. His father's traps were bright against his senses and his mother's genjutsu felt like spider silk. The fact that he couldn't find any trace of the faint disturbance earlier and that it hadn't set either of the protections off made him wary.

Moving silently, Itachi dropped down to the kitchen floorboard. Sliding his fingers into the small crease that most shinobi overlooked he lifted it soundlessly. His mother had insisted on having weapons cache's in several rooms in the house in case of an attack. This one held several kunai and fuuma shuriken. He wouldn't be able to wield the shuriken easily with Sasuke around, so he picked up a brace of kunai and settled the tile back into place. Once he was certain the tile would remain undetected, he moved so that he was standing in front of a cheerful Sasuke who had just finished off his last rice ball.

Activating his sharingan, he let the world sharpen. He couldn't see or feel anything unusual, so he quickly went through the familiar hand signals to upgrade to his highest level. Little fingers tugged at his shirt. At least his brother knew what those hand signals meant.

"Aniki?"

"Hush, Sasuke," he whispered. There. The faintest waiver and then nothing; eyes narrowing he went through another set of hand signals. Slowly, the low level genjutsu settled onto the kitchen floor, ready to be activated by a single motion.

It was unlikely that the attacker would notice the spider silk of this particular genjutsu, but if he tried something heavier then he risked losing his advantage. His goal was to discover the identity of who was sneaking into his home and to get Sasuke out, not to engage him in open combat. Not yet, at least. When he spoke again, he kept his voice low and calm, determined not to rattle his already terrified brother.

"Climb onto my back, Sasuke."

Sasuke did as he was asked. This time he wrapped his legs above his hips and his hands fisted in his shirt instead of clinging to his arms, his little forehead pressing against the back of his neck. Their Ka-chan had spent weeks teaching Itachi how to dodge with his brother clinging to his back in case of an unexpected attack and he was almost as fast with Sasuke as he was without him now.

Itachi moved silently over to the corner that would best guard his back – and Sasuke – and waited.

"Whata we doin?"

"Hiding."

Sasuke tensed and when he spoke again it was in a faint whisper.

"Are the bad nin here?"

"Yes." Itachi whispered back. "But remember, I won't let them touch you."

His little head moved against his neck and Itachi was thankful when he chose to be silent, letting him hone every sense he had on pinpointing the location of the intruder.

X

Present Day
Sakura's Apartment

Sakura sank into her couch with a sigh. She was so tired. After Itachi's report, the day had seemed to drag on. Then Naruto had dragged her out to dinner. Tsunade had all but ordered her to inform Naruto of the new development with Orochimaru. When she had tried to argue about passing along that information, her sensei had told her that he would have to be told eventually and it might as well be done when Sakura had to deal with it instead of her. So she had then spent the next forty minutes convincing him that going out to kill Orochimaru tonight was a bad idea.

There were days that Tsunade could be so lazy.

Now she was finally home. Clean, fed, and comfortable in old training clothes she had stolen from Naruto and Sasuke; she actually had a drawer of them. Small things like a discarded shirt and a pair of old shorts that neither could wear anymore. They made up most of her sleep wear now.

Picking up one of the scrolls from Sand she had brought home, Sakura kicked her feet up on the armrest of her couch and snuggled down to do some light reading before bed. Her brain wasn't as tired as the rest of her yet, and if she didn't do something to wear herself out she was going to be up all night. Nothing like a little review of chakra control with a new perspective to give the light challenge she needed to rest.

Curling her fingers around a mug of tea, Sakura spread open the first scroll in her lap and started going over facts that she already knew. She was halfway through her third scroll when the knock sounded on her door. She ignored it. She could think of two people off the top of her head that might be bothering her after a long day and she didn't want to talk to either of them. Delving back into the exact amount of chakra needed in order to control a puppet, she growled a little when another knock sounded. This time louder and little more persistent.

Had to be Ino then. Naruto would have already crawled through her windows. She did not want to talk to Ino. Taking a long drink of her tea, she debating getting up and turning the lights off. She shook her head. That would just confirm that she was here, after all. Decision made, she dove back into her scrolls.

"Your traps need considerable work, Sakura."

The scroll had launched from her hand with the precision of a kunai before she had a chance to think. She spun around on the couch and almost upended herself, but managed to be facing him when he caught the scroll, an eyebrow lifted.

"Kunai work better."

"What are you doing here?"

Itachi arched an eyebrow at her. "I believe you have something I asked you to keep."

Sakura was momentarily tempted to tell him that she had lost it and to get the hell out of her apartment. But he'd never believe her and if Sasuke was anything to go on, telling him to leave would be like inviting him straight to bed.

Which… she really should not have thought about while he was standing in front of her.

She narrowed her eyes, "I don't remember there being any 'asking,' about it. You want to tell me how much trouble I'm going to be in for keeping from the Hokage that you gave me Sasori's ring?"

"None, if she doesn't find out," Itachi ran his eyes over her form. "I… appreciate your keeping it for me."

She put her hands on her hips, "Good. I've got a great idea about how you can show your appreciation, too. How about you tell me exactly why you wanted me to keep an Akatsuki ring and give me a very good reason why I shouldn't go tell Tsunade about it right now."

Itachi smiled at her, showing his teeth. "Sakura. I am a Konoha shinobi. I have sworn to report all enemy activates to the Hokage."

Sakura just watched him with narrowed eyes.

Itachi's smile widened.

She'd be lying if she said she was satisfied with that answer. But pushing any further would call his loyalty into question, and Sakura wasn't prepared to go that far. She pursed her lips at him. "Fine. I'll go get it." She pointed a finger at him. "You will stay here, in the living room, and you won't touch anything."

Itachi just watched her, that strangely sharp smile on his face mingled with a look she couldn't decipher in his eyes. Growling a little, she turned to march into her room to get him that blasted ring.

Itachi was yanked out of his growing amusement at Sakura's antics when he got a good look at the shirt she was wearing. He had appreciated it when he had entered because it was black and tight enough to hint at her curves, but when she turned he was able to see the red and white fan emblazoned on the back. Even though he knew it had to be one of Sasuke's old shirts, it lit a warmth in his stomach that he couldn't name.

His feet had moved forward before he had actually considered his moving. Her lightly muscled shoulders stiffened under his hands and he bent forward, taking in the scent of her freshly washed hair. Leaning close enough that his lips brushed her ear, he exhaled before speaking.

"Where did you get that shirt, Sakura?" He took his right hand off her shoulder to reach around her body and trace down her left arm with the very tips of his fingers before he settled his hand possessively at her waist.

She stiffened in his embrace. "Your brother is my teammate. I didn't think you'd come over to give me fashion advice, Uchiha-san."

The hand on her left shoulder traveled up to her hair and he weaved his fingers through her still slightly-damp locks before using his grip to turn her head to the side. Her eyes locked with his, her irritation evident.

"It seems to be a bit small for you," he said, barely tracing the tip of his nose down her cheek until his lips hovered over hers. "I'll have to get you one that suits you better."

"Uchiha-san," Sakura was proud that her voice did not waver, even prouder that she somehow managed to remember that violence was a turn-on for this man, when all she wanted to do was move forward and break every bone in his body. "Let me go. Now."

"I thought I told you," he rumbled against her lips, "to call me Itachi." And then pulled her back into his embrace so that her back was nestled against his chest and shifted his head so that his lips were at her throat, warm and wet, and was that his tongue licking her pulse?

Sakura gasped.

His lips massaged the area one more time before he traced his nose up his throat to her ear. Her head had fallen back against his shoulder, and his hair was in her face and when she breathed she smelled the clean scent of him.

"Is it really so hard," he whispered, "to do this one thing I ask?"

She didn't need to respond, because one moment he was wrapped completely around her and the next she was standing by herself, throwing a hand against the wall to brace her suddenly cold body.

He had moved several feet away and was watching her with an amused expression.

Sakura straightened up and glared at him. "Yes."

The smile he gave her was absolute gleeful. "Good. The harder the challenge, the richer the prize."

Oh crap, thought Sakura. Sasuke even warned me about that one. Narrowing her eyes in frustration, she pointed a finger at him. "Don't. Touch. Anything."

Spinning on her heel, she moved into her bedroom, swearing under her breath as she pulled the ring out of her dresser. She hadn't put it back in her closet since she had been studying it. Sliding her eyes to the bookshelf that held her research mingled with her medic scrolls she had copied personally, she took a deep breath.

Imagining all the ways that she could break Itachi's bones cheered her up enough to move back into the living room. She stopped in her doorway and growled when she caught him leafing through the scrolls from sand.

"Are you hard of hearing?'

Long lashes lifted to show off the gleam in his eyes. "Since you have so politely refused my request, Sakura, I felt that you could indulge me."

She was going to kill him. Clenching her teeth, she tossed the ring at his head. His hand snapped up and caught it, a disapproving noise rolling from deep in his throat, but his eyes were dancing.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." She ground out before crossing her arms. "Is that everything?"

"Actually, I'm curious," Itachi said, standing. Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. From what Sasuke had said, Itachi being curious was not at all helpful for the sanity of those around him. He held up the ring between two fingers, head tilting in a very familiar way.

"Why are you so eager to give this back?"

Sakura snorted and leaned her thigh against her couch. "I was actually hoping that it would hit you in the head."

He chuckled, the sound warm and low in his throat. His fingers rolled the ring thoughtfully. "Perhaps. But I do not think that is all of the answer, Sakura."

"Too bad."

That smile was tugging at the corner of his lips again. "Ah… so you have started to research."

She lifted a brow. "That's an assumption."

He tsked again. "If you're going to be doing research on the enemy, Sakura, you will need better traps."

She wanted to fling the couch at him. Instead, she smiled through her gritted teeth. "You know where the door is."

His eyes danced. "Yes. But Sakura, if I leave, then you won't be able to ask me all the questions I know you have dancing around in that brain of yours."

"All that's dancing in my brain is the equation for the necessary chakra control to fling a couch." She returned, refusing to flinch at the hot look that burned behind his eyes at her words.

"Little liar." He returned. He nudged the box of scrolls with his foot. "Sand's skills with chakra control that can be embedded into puppets. It's how Sasori was able to form such complex chakra strings to control his little pets. It's similar to the process necessary for embedding jutsu into jewelry. But," this time his smile was positively predatory. "You already knew that, correct?"

Sakura decided to try wide-eyed innocence. "Oh, is that what the scroll says? I hadn't gotten that far before someone interrupted me."

Itachi actually laughed. She hadn't heard this laugh before, instead of warm and husky it was loud and jubilant. It echoed off her walls and damned if she wasn't attracted to it.

"Sakura, Sakura," he tsked, shaking his head, "I can understand you fighting me, but when it comes to something we both want? Why waste the time?"

The look he gave her was heated and Sakura felt herself flush. She felt the urge to stick her tongue out, but decided that fell under taunting and rolled her eyes instead.

"You keep making these assumptions, Uchiha-san, and it could get you into trouble."

"I like trouble," he assured her, settling himself into the love seat. "You can either tell me now or later, but odds are I will know where to start looking for the questions you have if I can't answer them." His smile was engaging and she pursed her lips at him.

"You are a very annoying man."

"So I have been told." He returned.

She finally sighed. Turning on her heel, she paused. "Don't touch anything this time, or I won't be sharing anything."

The smile he gave her was bright and she snorted before marching back into her room.

She was so very cute when riled. Crossing his arms, Itachi admired the way her hips moved as she disappeared around the corner and allowed his smile to sharpen. So very cute and so very easy to rile.

Such a foolish, foolish little brother he had. Tilting his head back, he considered the angle of her roof. He lifted a brow as he considered what sort of layering he could work into the contours of her ceiling, and exactly what triggers he should use to activate the traps she so desperately needed in her home.

He needed to have a chat with his brother about letting his female teammate get by with just a few kunai and flimsy trip wires to guard her privacy. It was obvious that while she was extremely protective of the people around her, that she didn't take herself as seriously.

This would take some smooth work to keep her from suspecting him. His smile widened at the thought.

Sakura frowned at the almost wicked turn of his mouth and made a point to roll her eyes when he looked back up at her again. She needed tea. Glancing down at the mug on the table, she wrinkled her nose. It was probably cold now.

"Here."

Itachi accepted the scrolls and shot her an amused glance when she avoided letting her fingers brush hers. "And these are?"

She shot him a look as she headed for her kitchen. "You wanted to see what I had done so far. That's it. I'm making more tea."

Itachi watched her for a moment before giving into his curiosity and delving into the scrolls. There were three of them. The first was a complete diagram of the ring and a breakdown of the layers she had discovered. Her neat, feminine hand outlined the details and possible uses for each segment, as well as describing what metals she believed to have been used beside gold. There were several neat questions to the side about metals and stones. The second was a layout of the symbols that had been used in the ring. She had carefully copied each one individually, enlarging the symbols to be easily studied as well as placing them in several different combinations. Jutsu combinations. The third was an outline of what information she had and what she needed to collect. He noted with appreciation that she had marked the individuals he would have chosen to work with first to discover answers.

Her research was neat, organized and detailed. Once he had finished scanning the material, he let himself consider exactly how the information reflected his kunoichi's mind. She was clearly clever and the way she had put the scrolls together suggested a natural inclination to strategy.

She was intelligent, which was something different than cleverness. She had tackled the ring with the fervor of someone who loved a good puzzle and had gone about it in a logical way that was easy to follow if she wanted to bring someone else in.

He traced a particularly tricky kanji with his finger and savored the knowledge that she was capable of keeping up with him, at least in this area. Seeing how well she had responded to his silent challenge made it difficult not to move into the kitchen and to express his heartfelt… appreciation.

"Tea?"

He turned, nodding his thanks as she handed him a plain mug. She settled into the couch, looking a little rough around the edges a she did so. It was clear that she was tired. He considered putting this conversation off, but there was a particular gleam in her eyes that told him she would be stubborn if he tried it. Best to time it so he left as she started to flag then.

"Thank you, Sakura."

She shrugged, her eyes turning back to the scroll. "So?"

"You did very well," he praised gently. "Your analysis of the kanji as well as the possible combinations was very well done."

There was a wary suspicion in her eyes that amused him. "But?"

His lips twitched. "There is no 'but,' Sakura. You did an excellent job. If you cannot accept a compliment, I will be happy to show my appreciation in other ways." He deliberately let his eyes linger on her lips and smirked when she flushed.

Sakura wanted to beat him with her table. His honest approval wasn't supposed to make her insides warm like that. Gritting her teeth, she took a calming breath. Murdering the heir to a clan was frowned at, after all.

"I'm missing something."

"Yes." Itachi agreed, leaning back and picking the ring back up. "I had an idea about that."

"Oh?"

"Hmmm." He agreed. His chakra flared a little and Sakura leaned forward. She was a little startled to see the sharingan in his eyes, and she blinked when he made the hand seals to move to the third level of his sharingan. She tilted her head and studied his chakra pattern. Unless he was cloaking his use, he had better control than his brother and used a significant amount of less chakra than Sasuke.

An eye shifted to her. "Yes?"

"You're better at that than Sasuke." The words slipped out before she could monitor them, and a smile touched the edges of his mouth.

"My little brother has a touch more of oto-san in him than I do." He turned back to the ring. "This stone has a symbol on it."

"What?"

"It's buried under some very complicated jutsu," Itachi said calmly. "I believe that is what you are missing?"

"Perhaps." Sakura muttered, frowning darkly. "What is it?"

"Gyokunyo."

Sakura sat back with a frown. "Virgin."

"Hmm…" Itachi agreed.

"I wonder what that symbolizes… besides the obvious."

"That is a question for tomorrow, I think."

Before she could respond, he was standing in front of her, scrolls in hand. "I would like to borrow these?"

"As long as you bring them back before you go on your next mission." Sakura said sternly.

He bent so that the ends of his hair brushed her cheek. Sakura stiffened when his hand settled at the base of her throat.

"One day, Sakura," his voice held a rumble to it that set off butterflies in her stomach. "You will not stiffen at my touch. You will welcome it." His eyes sharpened and burned. "That I promise you."

She bit the side of her tongue to keep from challenging him for the second time that night. His eyes gleamed at her.

"Sleep well." He murmured, fingers stroking along the indent of her throat.

She was suddenly alone.

X

When Uchiha Itachi was in-between missions, there were very few people with whom he chose to spend his time. Nara Shikamaru had been one of them since he was twelve. Shikamaru could never decide if he was glad about this fact.

Unlike Uchiha Itachi, it was never hard to find Shikamaru when he wasn't working. If he wasn't with his team, or working on his family's grounds, or buried under paperwork, or running from the scary females in his life… Shikamaru was watching the clouds or playing shogi in the park.

And that was where Itachi had found him, at twelve. Shikamaru still wasn't certain as to what exactly had sparked Itachi's interest, but he had learned that Itachi did not always have rational motives for his movements. Itachi'd challenged him to a game, Shikamaru, who'd been bored anyway, decided that refusing the ANBU would be more trouble than it was worth.

Shikamaru had heard tales of the Uchiha prodigy. He'd found that they were not exaggerated. They'd fought over the shogi board for hours, and it was just as much of a challenge for Shikamaru to retain his disinterested appearance as it was for him to anticipate the movements of the man across from him. The game had ended at sunset with Itachi carefully covering the board and asking Shikamaru to meet him there again when he returned from his mission next week.

Shikamaru had agreed. He'd figured it was better to meet and finish the game than it was to have the outcome of the game haunt him.

That particular game ended in a draw, but it still haunted him. If Shikamaru could have guessed that years later, he'd still be playing shogi with Uchiha Itachi, he wasn't sure if he wouldn't have lost that game in the first twenty moves.

But the truth of the matter was, he admitted to himself with a wry quirk of his lips, he enjoyed the challenges Uchiha Itachi had brought into his life. Even if some of them were considerably more troublesome than shogi. He nudged a fu forward.

Itachi's expression was relaxed as he considered the pieces and the possibilities behind Shikamaru's maneuver. They were past the preliminary moves and were moving into the meat of the game and it was safe to assume that the Nara was deep into plans.

"Your movements are slower than usual," Shikamaru murmured, eyes lifted as he studied the cloud formations above them.

"Perhaps," Itachi replied. He tapped a finger against the table. "I recently dealt with a nin who fancied himself a shogi master. I am curious to see if any of his moves are applicable."

"Too boring," Shikamaru returned.

Itachi slide his gin forward before leaning back. Shikamaru looked down and blinked. Itachi kept his face straight as he watched his companion struggle to work through the logic of that particularly move, the edges of his mouth turning down silently.

"He had the most interesting theories on castles." Itachi continued, as if he hadn't just deliberately screwed with Shikamaru's mind.

"Every castle has a weakness or two," Shikamaru returned without looking up.

"He was most interested in kei pieces."

Shikamaru, who was reaching for such a piece paused, eyes finally lifting. "Is that so?"

Itachi shrugged, choosing not to verbalize his response. Instead he let his eyes fall back to the board in front of him, analyzing what was before him and exactly how he could utilize his pieces.

Finally Shikamaru shrugged, moving another of his fu pieces. "The kei are not as interesting as the ryū in such cases."

Itachi leaned back. "Perhaps."

Shikamaru looked up. "Relying on kei in such instances is illogical. Better to strike at an opponent's weakness with a stronger piece."

"Having a less likely piece into place allows an opponent to command two battlefields," Itachi returned. "Strike at an unsuspecting weakness while influencing a well known one."

"Basic tactics," Shikamaru returned before sighing. "How troublesome."

Itachi nudged his own fu into place, capturing one of Shikamaru's pieces in the process. Setting it down on his side of the table, he let his fingers linger on the piece. "It's a shame they do not have a place to recover."

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed. "That would change the whole nature of the game."

Itachi leaned back. "Indeed."

Itachi watched the thoughts collect and organize behind Shikamaru's eyes. He had always been curious as to the exact process behind the brilliant Nara's strategies. Since it was mostly looked down upon to peel apart the mind of an ally, he allowed himself these games instead. Now that they had added a layer to what dialogue they permitted themselves, he found he had another reason to relish these little battles of will.

"It certainly would."

AN: Once again, we'd like to thank everyone SO much for your gracious feedback. We're so glad that you are all enjoying this story-it makes writing it even more fun! Things are starting to get very interesting for our heroes, and we hope that you enjoy what we have planned for them. And, yes, before you kill us, we would like to assure you that the flashback will be continued in a later chapter.

Your feedback is greatly appreciated!