Chapter 3

MelissaKS Author Note: Sorry, I'm a few days late on you here. It happens. Was having some writer's block, and then just sat down and forced myself through it, and wrote it almost in one setting. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: All previous disclaimers apply

Chapter 3: Hiding Betrayal

Sasuke's POV

I frowned as I watched the shining red eye that glared through Madara's mask, narrowing my eyes at his words. 'We'll have to kill him to extract the kyuubi', his words echoing in my mind as the smiling blue-eyed face flashed before my eyes.

"Is that going to be a problem for you Sasuke?" Madara's voice broke in on my thoughts and I snapped my attention back to him. "He was a good friend of yours, was he not?"

"That is in the past." I said in an emotionless voice.

Madara stared at me for a moment, his eye searching my face, "I'm glad you feel that way Sasuke, because you are fighting with the Akatsuki now, and you must devote yourself to the cause. Nothing can hold you back."

I leveled a glare at him, "Nothing will hold me back from achieving my goals."

"That's good Sasuke, that's really good." He said, still watching me, before turning and walking away.

I suspiciously watched him go, still not completely trusting him. I followed him with my eyes as he walked to the edge of the clearing and continued away, wondering where he was going. I briefly considered calling after him, questioning him on his destination, but glanced at Karin, knowing she could easily trace his chakra.

"Karin." Her head snapped up as she looked at me, surprise showing in her eyes.

"What is it Sasuke?" She walked quickly up to me, stopping annoyingly close to me. I inconspicuously shifted away, glancing after Madara.

"You can sense Madara's chakra in that direction?" She nodded, glancing that way. "Keep your attention on where he goes."

She blinked, staring at me for a moment, before looking after Madara again with narrowed eyes. She nodded absently as she watched that direction, walking a short distance away and sitting down with her back against a tree, her eyes closing as she focused.

Madara's POV

I mentally growled as I walked from the clearing, keeping my anger tightly reeled in. I could feel his eyes on my back, watching me as I left. He was suspicious; he didn't trust me yet. Damn it, I thought to myself, I need his trust. My plan was working so far; he had decided to take his revenge on Konoha, after a few pushes in that direction. So easy to manipulate someone who's only goal is revenge, I chuckled to myself, my goals finally looking like they were within reach. Konoha would fall, and I would use Sasuke to ensure it happened.

I continued on my way, following the chakra signature that had been tailing us when the group had stopped. The familiar feel of it making me realize whom it was. Weaving through the trees, my silent steps leaving no trace of my passing, I paused, looking to the side as I sensed the chakra's presence near me.

The tree shimmered before me, my single eye peering through my mask as it moved and shifted, two halves of a spiked plant that resembled a Venus Fly Trap formed from it, pushing farther out to reveal a head that appeared to be human at first glance. But the similarity ended with the general shape. His green hair stood out around his face, which was split down the middle, one half of his face being black, and the other white. His flat golden eyes shown out, his sharp, spiked teeth glinting as he opened his mouth to speak.

"I have news for you," he hissed, looking up at me. "Troubling news indeed," the black side of his face spoke up, growling under his breath.

"What is it Zetsu?" I asked, impatient to discover what had happened.

"It's about Itachi," Zetsu replied, his red-clouded black cloak flapping as a breeze blew through the trees, leaves rustling around us. "The brats found him, they did." His other half interrupted.

My gaze sharpened slightly, "Who found him?"

The white side of Zetsu's face slowly blinked at me, "The ones from Konoha," his more sarcastic side took over, "The pink bitch, and the jinchuuriki."

I stared at him for a moment, thinking over what he had said. "There is no problem with this. The Konoha group already knew Sasuke won the fight with Itachi. Itachi is dead, they have his body, yes, but we will allow them to have it. Now is not the time to attack them. We have to make sure Sasuke is fully dedicated to our cause."

"That's not the problem," His calmer side spoke before switching again. "The pink bitch caused the problem, she did."

"Then what is the problem?" I snapped impatiently, glaring towards him.

Both sides of Zetsu paused, looking at me, before the white side spoke, "He wasn't dead yet." I froze, staring at him as the black half continued, "And the pink bitch healed him."

I stood there, staring into Zetsu's eyes, "Itachi is alive?" I asked dangerously.

They paused for a moment, visibly swallowing, "Yes, and Konoha has him."

I stood unmoving, glaring fiercely down at him, reigning in my rage as it threatened to consume me. My fists clenched at my sides and I ground my teeth together, thinking of all the implications of this, of how it could upset my plans. If Sasuke finds out he is still alive now that he knows the truth of the attack on his family…I shook my head, turning my back on Zetsu and stomping away, seeing everything that was so close to my grasp slipping away if Sasuke found out Itachi lived.

"DAMN IT!"

Sasuke's POV

"Sasuke," I glanced towards Karin, her glasses framing her face as she looked up at me from her position against the tree. I walked over; crouching down next to her and glancing in the direction Madara had gone. She leaned towards me slightly, her brow furrowing as she looked towards the trees, her gaze distant. "He's with the other chakra signature. The one you sensed. We stopped because we knew it was here, close to us. They are with each other right now."

I narrowed my eyes, glaring at the trees before me. It was suspicious, to say the least. "Can you sense if they are fighting or merely both there together?"

She turned back to me with a slightly troubled look, suspicion alight in her eyes, "I do not sense the chakra shifts of a fight. They are merely both there."

I rubbed my chin, still staring into the trees, possible explanations forming in my suspicious mind. Madara did not have my trust, and his meeting someone outside of the group without mentioning it made him suspect in my eyes. I slowly stood up, glancing around the make-shift camp, Juugo was sitting by him self, smiling at a bird up in a tree. Suigetsu, his pale blue hair framing his face, leaned against a tree a short distance away, occasionally shooting a glare towards Kisame, whose black cloak blew slightly as a breeze went past, the red clouds seeming to move as it whipped in the wind.

"What do you think Sasuke?" Karin asked, looking up at me.

I glanced back down at her, before shifting my gaze back towards the trees before us. "Keep close track of him, and what is going on. Both of them."

"Right," She nodded, settling back against the tree as her gaze returned to the forest, her face going blank as she concentrated on the two distant chakra signatures. I stood there for another moment, my mind churning with unrest, my mistrust for Madara growing by the minute. Turning away, I walked back to the center of the camp, narrowly glancing at Kisame as I went, my mistrust spreading to him as well. He is after all, part of Akatsuki. He works for Madara, that is where his loyalty and his goals lie.

Sakura's POV

I froze, looking towards Kakashi, who stood there, his eyes locked on Itachi with murderous intent. His chakra was building up, his right hand clenching as he took a step forwards, his eyes never leaving Itachi's. Itachi merely stared back, his eyes slightly dulled by his pain and weakness, waiting for Kakashi to attack him while he was unable to defend himself.

"Wait Kakashi-sensei!" I cried out, standing up and moving towards him, flinching as Kakashi's and Itachi's eyes turned towards me.

Naruto quickly moved beside me, supporting my defense of Itachi. "He can help us find Sasuke, sensei."

Kakashi paused, looking between the two of us with an angry glare. His fists still tightly clenched at his sides. His forehead protector was shoved up, revealing his sharingan eye, the mangekyou sharingan spinning around his eye as the pressure of his chakra increased.

"Get out of my way. Now," He growled at us, the familiar chirping sound beginning to fill the air as he prepared to use Chidori on Itachi. Blue sparks began forming around his hand, quickly forming into entire bolts of lightning that shot out a short distance before dissipating, a blue glow surrounding his hand as he tightly gripped his wrist with the other hand.

"But you can't Kakashi sensei!" I yelled out, not moving from in front of Itachi, my heart racing at the thought of having to fight my own sensei to find my missing teammate.

"Kakashi sensei!" Naruto shouted, his blonde hair sticking in all directions, his blue eyes locking with Kakashi's as he stepped forward. "What was the whole point of this mission, huh?"

"Stop it Naruto," Kakashi growled, his gaze snapping around us towards Itachi, hatred in his eyes.

"No sensei! We're here to track down Sasuke, and finally bring him back to Konoha," Naruto responded, desperation clear in his voice as he tried to get Kakashi to understand. "We can use him to get closer towards that goal."

"That is Itachi Uchiha, Naruto," Kakashi ground out through clenched teeth. His eyes full of fire at the thought of letting him live after everything he had done. "He is the very reason Sasuke left in the first place."

"We know that sensei," I joined in, "But we have to get him back, and if keeping Itachi alive is the way to do it, then so be it!" I looked desperately up at him, seeing the conflict clouding his face as he glanced between Naruto and me.

"He's too dangerous to keep alive." Kakashi said, strengthening his resolve and pouring more chakra into the Chidori, giving it more power. The chirping sound increased, filling our ears. I knew we needed to convince Kakashi quickly, before the others were drawn to his raised chakra levels and the sound of the Chidori. Convincing our sensei, who was as desperate to get back our missing teammate as we were was one thing, but the others would not be so easily swayed to keeping the missing ninja who had wrought such destruction within the village alive.

"Kakashi sensei," The quiet tone of Naruto's voice made all of us pause for a moment, glancing over at him. "We have to get Sasuke back. We can use Itachi to help us do it. It is a risk, and we know that, but it's a risk we have to take." He paused for a moment, staring up at our sensei. "We don't have any other leads right now. This could be our chance."

"Please sensei," I said, looking up at him as his eyes shifted to mine. "We know he's dangerous, but right now he is too weak to fight us. His wounds are too drastic for me to heal all at once; it will take several sessions of me working on it to heal them all. I can block his chakra so he won't be able to attack us, or the village. Like Naruto said, this could be our big chance to get Sasuke back." The words made my heart jump, thinking of finally having him back, after so many years of trying and failing.

Kakashi sighed, looking between the two of us, his indecision written on his face. Gradually, the blue glow of lightning around his hand began to die down, the chirping of the jutsu dissipating as he let his arms fall loosely to his sides. He met both of our eyes, his face serious as he thought about the next course of action.

"What is his condition right now?" He asked, looking towards me. "Is he well enough to move now?"

"Yes," I quickly responded, turning back towards Itachi, who had watched the exchange silently, his face devoid of emotion. A brief emotion passed through his dark eyes as he met my gaze, quickly disappearing into a void of emptiness. Naruto, still standing beside me, also looked down at him, scratching the back of his head, ruffling his already messy hair.

"We need to get him out of here," Naruto said, glancing around. I quickly nodded in agreement, as did Kakashi, coming up to stand on my other side as he too looked down at Itachi.

"Yes, the others will not be swayed as easily as I have been," Kakashi agreed, drawing a scroll from a pocket on his green jounin vest. He grabbed the end, letting it roll down towards the ground as he quickly bit down on the thumb of the opposite hand. I saw the blood dripping down his thumb right before he rapidly rubbed it across down the length of the scroll. Kneeling down, he slammed the scroll flat on the ground, pouring chakra into it. "Summoning Jutsu!"

Several spots of white smoke appeared around us, the varying sizes slowly dissipating to reveal dogs from each. The smallest dog was by Kakashi's foot, staring across at Itachi before him. A low growl echoed in his throat as his glanced flashed up to Kakashi. "What is he doing here Kakashi?"

"Pakkun," Kakashi said, drawing the dog's gaze, "I need you all to take him to a safe place, near the village, and keep an eye on him until we get there. The others in our group must not know about him. Keep him hidden from everyone except for us. If someone else approaches, then move elsewhere. Do not let him be seen."

Pakkun stared up at Kakashi, surprise evident on his face. "Are you serious Kakashi? You want us to hide this traitor from the village? He's clearly weak, now is the time to finish him off!"

"Do it Pakkun, I don't have time to explain right now, just do as I say. You come find me after he's hidden. When we get back to the village we will come." He glanced around, clearly worried about the others arriving, "Just get him out of here now, before the others come!"

The dog glared between Kakashi, Naruto, and I, finally settling his gaze on Itachi. "Fine, but I expect a full explanation." Kakashi glanced at me, passing a message with his eyes, and I quickly kneeled down next to Itachi, ignoring the look he gave me as I placed my hands on his chest, using my medical ninjutsu to trace his chakra channels, quickly blocking them from his use. He would not have regained enough strength, or have been well enough to escape for quite some time, but the precaution allowed us to make sure he wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon.

I sighed as I finished, my weariness once again setting in. Itachi looked towards me, and I met his gaze for a moment, staring into the depths of his dark eyes. I shook my head slightly, quickly removing my hands and standing up, nodding to Kakashi that I was finished. He gestured to Pakkun, and the dogs quickly grouped around him, before they all disappeared in a flash of smoke, nothing left but Itachi's blood on the ground as the smoke dissipated.

I stood there with Naruto and Kakashi, glancing between them. They looked back towards me. We nodded to each other, before silently moving away from the spot, Kakashi rolling the scroll back up and tucking it back inside the pocket of his green vest, and reaching up to tug the forehead protector back down over his sharingan eye.

As we climbed up out of the crater, we saw Kiba making his way towards us. His direction shifted slightly as he spotted us, Akamaru loping along at his side. I glanced down, quickly drawing my gloves over my hands, hiding the blood that marred them. Nervously looking towards Naruto, who had noticed the movement, and meeting his gaze. He blinked worriedly glancing back at Akamaru, whose sense of smell would no doubt catch the scent of blood. Not to mention Kiba, who seemed to have a dog's sense of smell on his own.

We all paused as Kiba reached us, Kakashi immediately questioning him. "Did you find anything?"

"No, we haven't, the others are on their way here," he glanced between the three of us, his nose wrinkling as he sniffed the air, Akamaru loudly huffing beside him. The similarity of their expressions would have been more amusing if not for the circumstances. "Are you injured?" He asked suddenly, looking at me with a concerned gaze.

I quickly shook my head, keeping my face blank, "No, I'm not."

He stared at me for a moment, blinking in confusion as he glanced at Naruto and Kakashi, "But I can smell blood on you. What happened?"

"It's not hers," Naruto jumped in, an easy smile crossing his face as he met Kiba's questioning gaze. "We just found some back there is all. It is most likely from the fight between Itachi and Sasuke." Kiba nodded slightly, accepting Naruto's explanation.

"Did you find his body? That plant thing said that Itachi was dead." He asked, looking between us as he placed a hand on Akamaru's back, rubbing his white fur that contrasted his black ninja clothes.

"No," Kakashi spoke up. "There is no sign of his body that we can find, other than blood anyways, and we can't be a hundred percent sure that it is Itachi's. I'm sure that Sasuke was unable to come out of that battle completely unscathed."

Kiba nodded as Kakashi spoke, "Yeah, just look at this place, it's torn to shreds from that fight. It's a wonder that either of them managed to survive it, with the destruction covering the surrounding area."

Naruto cut in, "Of course Sasuke survived! We always knew he'd kick Itachi's ass! No way was he going to lose. It was his goal in life, what he worked so hard for!" His wide smile split his face in two, and Kiba smiled back brightly. A small smile crossed my face as I glanced over at Naruto's bright expression. It was just like him, to be this way. Just like he was when we were younger, so cheerful and optimistic about everything, I thought to myself.

"Let's get the others and see if they've found anything," Kakashi broke in, the sound of his voice betraying the smile hidden behind his mask as his visible eye curved upwards. We all nodded, following him as he took off towards, the rest of Kiba's group that he had left to come report to Kakashi.

The rest of the Konoha team was gathered together, all of them glancing curiously at us as we approached them. I noticed Hinata's pale eyes dart worriedly towards Naruto, relaxing as she saw him smiling brightly at Kiba over some joke they had shared. Shino merely glanced at us from behind his glasses, while a mostly fake smile lit Sai's face. Yamato quickly walked over to Kakashi.

"Anything?" He asked, glancing over the rest of us before locking his gaze back on Kakashi.

"Nothing note worthy." Kakashi responded with a bored tone, slipping an orange book out of one of his many pockets and opening it in front of his face. Yamato's eyes rolled slightly before he turned away. "Let's move out then," Kakashi said from behind the book, quickly disappearing into the trees, the rest of us close on his heels.

Many hours later, and much closer to Konoha, Pakkun reappeared, jumping through the trees next to our group. Akamaru was the first to notice his presence, barking loudly and jumping towards him. The smaller dog was clearly annoyed by the attention, an irritated look on his face as he glanced towards Kakashi, whose visible eye twinkled with amusement. The dog huffed, growling at Akamaru, who was clearly disappointed as he jumped back to Kiba's side. Kiba placed a hand on his back, a smile crossing his face as he glanced at the disgruntled Pakkun.

Pakkun swiftly jumped to Kakashi's side, glancing up at him pointedly. Kakashi nodded slightly, glancing towards Naruto and me. I exchanged a look with Naruto, my curiosity and worry reflected in his blue eyes. Glancing at the others leaping through the branches around us, I noticed several of them shooting curious gazes at Pakkun and Kakashi.

"Let's stop for a moment," Kakashi said to the group, dropping down from the trees and landing lightly on his feet. The rest of us dropped silently around him, everyone besides Naruto and me looking towards him in question. "I'll be right back."

Yamato opened his mouth to say something before changing his mind and watching Kakashi disappear into the trees with Pakkun at his side. He glanced over at Naruto and me, "Do you know what that is about?"

He frowned as we shrugged simultaneously; the same blank look plastered on both of our faces. His brow furrowed as he stared between us, clearly not trusting our answer. We glanced at each other, and looked back at him smiling.

"It's really nothing sensei," Naruto said.

"Kakashi sensei always does weird random things like that," I added.

The entire group was giving us weird looks now, before Kiba suddenly burst out laughing, bending over and clutching his sides. Everyone stared at him in amazement, watching as he fell over, gasping for breath through his laughter. I glanced at Naruto, puzzled, but his confusion offered no answers.

Kiba laid on the ground, catching his breath and grinning widely at our confusion, Akamaru fiercely wagging his tail behind him. "You guys always use to complain about him, remember?" He asked, looking towards Naruto and me. "He was always late with weird excuses, and always reading that perverted book. Well now we get to see what you meant all this time! You've been putting up with it for so long it doesn't bother you anymore while the rest of us are wondering what the hell is going on!" With that he broke down into fits of laughter again, quickly joined by Naruto's boisterous laugh. I couldn't suppress the smile that crossed my face, chuckling at Kiba's reasoning, relieved for his interruption of Yamato's questioning.

Glancing towards Yamato, I saw he was still frowning, looking towards where Kakashi had disappeared. Stepping forward, he moved to follow him, and I opened my mouth to stop him, trying to quickly think up something to delay him. Kakashi's sudden appearance through the trees made all of us pause as we watched him approach, Pakkun no where in sight. Kakashi's eye curved up in a smile as he reached us, and he lifted one hand in greeting.

"Let's go then," He said, only to be stopped as Yamato spoke quietly to him.

"What was that all about?" He asked suspiciously.

"It was nothing to worry about, just a report from Pakkun," Kakashi replied calmly.

Yamato frowned, not accepting that explanation. "A report about what? About the mission? You should not keep any new information from us."

"It's nothing that concerns you and nothing I can share," Kakashi replied firmly, brooking no argument as he met Yamato's eyes. They stared at each other for a moment, clearly in disagreement. The rest of us watched on in silence, Naruto and me sharing a glance but keeping our silence. Yamato finally nodded slightly, acquiescing and turning away.

"Let's get back to Konoha then," He said, disappearing back up into the trees simultaneously with Kakashi. The others shared a confused look, before shrugging and leaping into the trees after the two older jounin. Glancing ahead at the two, Yamato in the lead with Kakashi close behind, I could sense Yamato's irritation. He knew there was something Kakashi wasn't sharing, and I was sure he suspected that Naruto and I knew what it was.

I shared a glance with Naruto, before shifting my gaze back ahead. Our group moved quickly, blurring through the trees. No one spoke, our focus on reaching our goal. My mind focused on what would happen once we reached Konoha. I wondered how we would be able to keep Itachi secret, how long before he regained his strength and became a threat to us and to the village. Perhaps we should have killed him as Kakashi sensei wanted to, I thought to myself, quickly quelling the thought as I thought of the chance it gave us of getting Sasuke back. We need the information he has.

Our group continued on, not stopping to rest as we raced towards Konoha. All intent on reporting to the Hokage, though my thoughts, as well as Naruto's and Kakashi's, continuously drifted towards what else lay ahead. Silence surrounded us, our steps silently pushing us from limb to limb, only the slight whisper of leaves noting our passing.

To be continued…