Meanwhile, in Konoha...

Sorry XD… I'm sure the whole 'now I just have to survive hurricane Itachi' thing is just killing you… Or not. In any case, I really wanted to focus more on KakaSasu… As well as a bit of NejiSasu and NaruSasu, just because I love the pairings ;D (even though this fic is random enough already, I don't plan on leaving them out)

Anyway, please accept my deepest apologies for not updating for forever… And please don't kill me for not posting Itachi's reaction! I promise I'll upload it shortly; try to make do with this in the meantime :)

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The Konoha ninja stood stoically in a long line, all staring at the floor of the Hokage's office. Tsunade was getting impatient; from the moment they returned, no one had said a word. "… Well? What happened?" A few of them glanced up, seeming slightly surprised to see her there. "Isn't anyone going to speak?" They didn't want to; no one wanted to reveal what had happened, for recounting it to another made it inescapably real. The blonde woman sighed heavily, "Fine. Sakura, Lee, Shino, and Hinata: you are excused."

In an instant the pink haired girl was staring at her incredulously. "But, Tsunade-sama! I-"

"You are needed in the hospital. We've been shorthanded during your little excursion, and there's a lot of work for everyone to catch up on." The sannin had to give her hardest glare to get the girl to retreat, but in the end the four exited. "Now… Kakashi, if you could recount the events please."

The copy nin glanced up, his visible eye begging her not to make them relive it. Her gaze was unrelenting, and so he began. "… We left the village and went to a few of the marked locations that the Anbu had reported seeing Akatsuki or Sound ninja. We followed a few stale scents until we found one that was a bit more recent; it was Sasuke. Though it was a good day old, we waited there, hoping to get lucky."

"And from your demeanors, I see that you did." The masked man nodded solemnly in response. "Please continue, then… Did both teams remain immobile?"

"Yes. We wanted to avoid detection and possible confrontation at all costs; after all, we were in enemy territory." She nodded her approval quickly and gestured for him to keep going. "During this time we relied mostly on Neji and Hinata's eyes to keep watch for anything potentially dangerous. For hours we found nothing, but then all at once there were two powerful chakras sprinting along; we instantly recognized one as Sasuke's. My team gave immediate chase, while Sakura's stayed behind to back us up if need be."

He paused to take a deep breath; the difficult part was coming soon, and Tsunade was eager to hear it. "Please continue, Kakashi. Despite your feelings, I need to know what happened out there to compromise the success of this mission." Sure, she was being curt, and maybe a bit cruel, but she didn't have time for feelings.

Kakashi blinked slowly, sending her the message that if he had to do it, it would be at his own pace. "… Splitting up was our first mistake; we did so in order to get closer without being caught, but after a while it became all-too evident that they had been aware of our presence perhaps even before we knew of theirs. Neji's byakugan revealed that it was just Sasuke and an Akatsuki, Hoshigaki Kisame. As we drew nearer, the pair stopped in a clearing, as if beckoning us to the fight."

Sasuke was with an Akatsuki? Hmmm… I wonder why… But, no, I'll ask later; no need to upset Naruto again… Or at least more than this already has… True to her thoughts, Tsunade calmly avoided the by far most interesting detail with ease. "A trap? Did they really have such foresight?"

"No, and they didn't need it. There was no external threat for us to be aware of; their strength was the only thing that we were ever up against." The copy nin grew a little quiet and stared out the window, "But that's all they required. We instantly counted our four compared to their two to be in our favor, but they had known this and were not fazed by it. After thoroughly scoping out the situation, we entered for the attack."

The blonde woman's eyes had narrowed in thought; how could one of her best teams be taken advantage of to such an extent? "So you didn't summon Sakura's team immediately? If you had the backup, you may as well have used it…"

He nodded, "That was our second mistake; we alerted the others a little bit after we entered the battle. Even if we had done so sooner, though, there was no way they could have made it in time…"

"Not that it would have made a difference." Naruto commented bitterly. All eyes turned to stare at him; he hadn't spoken since they had decided to return to Konoha.

The busty Hokage almost laughed, rather inappropriately, "They couldn't possibly have been that wonderful… They were outnumbered two to one, and, from what I understand, they didn't have much experience working together. Elaborate further, Kakashi."

"We assumed just as you did, Hokage-sama, but they were amazing. The defense was flawless, and even their conflicting elements were perfectly in sync to make the damages worse for us..."

"Then why are you still alive? Hmm? Clearly they weren't as great as you think; none of you bear a scratch." Physically, anyway… She glanced quickly at Naruto to see that he was crying silently, unable to prevent the lamenting of his failure. I'll never understand why he goes so far for that boy…

"We're alive because he wanted us to be. Or, rather, he didn't want to take the time with killing us." Neji chimed in, completely expressionless. They seemed to be focused only on getting back to their lair… "Apparently Konoha means nothing to them; even after Naruto took a hit, he was okay. It almost seemed as if they were trying their damnedest to not kill." I wish he had just gotten it over with… Death would be fine if he was the last thing I saw.

Even Neji's a bit melancholy… Did I miss something here? "… I doubt it. They must have been running out of strength. Kakashi-"

"Yes, Hokage-sama." The copy nin nearly cut her off; he was eager to be through with it. I just want to get back to finding him… I didn't think Itachi would pursue him after- He blinked slowly to clear his thoughts, then spoke, "It seems that Hoshigaki Kisame was guiding Sasuke back to the Akatsuki lair to Itachi-"

"Who's a sick freak!" Naruto finally burst out of his depression to scream about how unfair and wrong it all was. "I mean, they all had this weird notion that Itachi and Sasuke were, like, together! Yeah, right! As if Sasuke would be that sick or sink that low! Goddamnit, I just wish he'd stop the act already, though; I don't know what the hell he thinks he can gain from infiltrating the Akatsuki!"

Tsunade's eyes widened at the new information, but she kept her thoughts to herself. Just as she was about to speak, the blonde interrupted again.

"But it's all okay; we'll get him back this time for sure, Granny! We'll save him from…" The realization seemed to hit all over again. I can't do this… I'm sick of pretending everything's going to be all right… I have to get him out of there! He continued after a brief pause, "Aw, fuck it… We need to leave NOW! We have to get him away from there before his fucked up asshole of a brother does something to him!!! I'll get him back then! I can't take life without him anymore…" There comes a time when the memory isn't enough anymore… "I'll do it this time! I've got to… He doesn't… I can't…" The sobs wrenched from his body in torrents, leaving everyone to stare in a shocked, pitying silence.

I knew his resolve would break eventually, but like this? "Kiba; please escort Naruto to the hospital immediately. I think we'll have him stay there for a while; I want to make sure he is truly unhurt after the hit he suffered." Yeah, in other words I want him on suicide watch… I've never seen him this down before. She shifted uncomfortably as the dog-nin nodded and exited quickly, pulling the hysterical boy along with him. "Now, I won't hold back with my questions. First, why was Sasuke in an Akatsuki cloak?"

The Hyuuga responded quickly, easily seeing that Kakashi needed help finishing the story. "I gathered that he had practically joined the organization, but it wasn't his; it was a little big on him."

Itachi's…? Was Naruto right? "I see… And what Naruto said; is it true?"

Kakashi sighed and answered slowly, I didn't want to have to tell anyone this… "Unfortunately, it wouldn't surprise me. On the night of the massacre, when I found Sasuke, he… Well, that is, Itachi had…" He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth together, "According to the evidence at the scene and the damage Sasuke suffered, Itachi had stolen more from the boy than his family…"

The blonde woman's eyes widened in surprise as she finally caught his drift. "Uchiha Itachi not only killed his family, but took advantage of his little brother as well?" Her voice was quiet at first, but returned to its usual strength as Kakashi resumed his staring contest with the floor and nodded. … I never would have suspected… "Then… He killed the clan because…?" She didn't need his affirmation to understand the events of that bloody evening. Wow… And judging by Neji's expression, he never would have guessed either… Clearing her throat in a futile attempt to lighten the mood, the Hokage continued, "Well, the situation is much more serious, then… Was there any news of Orochimaru?"

Eager to change the subject, the Hyuuga took his turn to respond. "On the way back, Kiba said that he and Akamaru had detected a faint amount of an unknown scent; he believed it was that of the snake bastard." I can only hope to meet that thing someday so I can pay him back for the pain he's caused the village… First the third Hokage and then Sasuke? He'll compensate for all the damage he's done… Neji stood a bit straighter at the thought of getting revenge on such a loathsome thing, and gained confidence in Sasuke's new whereabouts. At least he won't be raped every five seconds… Wait; or maybe he will… Refusing to think about it, he continued at last, "The scanty amount indicated that though he'd been in contact with him in the past twenty four hours, he was far away."

"Hmmm… Perhaps he escaped from the lair then." Tsunade ignored the raised eyebrows before her and continued, "In any case, it's the best we can hope for. I assume you'll want to give chase?"

"Indefinitely." Their simultaneous response startled her slightly, but the Hokage nodded knowingly.

"Well, then, you'd best begin a new strategy and assemble a team… I'm not sure if it would be appropriate for Naruto to accompany you, so don't mention anything to him. Report back here as soon as you are ready, understood?"

"Hai." And then they were gone.

A/N

Good? Bad? Let me know in a review XD

Also, tell me; what pairings are you craving? Where do you want there to be lemons? Yeah, I'm still shaping the plot, and since I have no remote idea how long this is going to be, I just might randomly write a few more in.

Again, I am sorry for taking so long… Hopefully, now that my two week span of hell is at an end, chapters will resume with weekly updates.

Thanks for the reviews!!! I'm inexplicably glad to hear that many people would like me to continue the story… I shall never abandon it completely (well unless you dear reviewers abandon me first XD). Your comments are truly inspiring and make me work on fics much more earnestly, so please keep the input flowing!

Much Love,

Vi