Chapter 13 – How Captives Fight

In all of Sasuke's few years of life, he had never spent so much time around Itachi.

"Are we there yet?" He grunted as they leapt through the trees of the forest. His legs ached three different types of hell and his feet were set on fire with every step. He forgot all too often that his body was seven, but he had already assured aniki that he would be able to keep up speed.

Itachi looked back at him with a slight smile, "do you want me to carry you?"

He glowered back, making his answer clear.

His brother stopped on the branch beside him, steadying him with an arm. "You know, you cannot run fifty kilometers with no prior physical training."

"Just watch me."

"Well, maybe you will. But tomorrow you'll wake up with very much weakened legs, and we won't be going anywhere."

Sasuke looked away stiffly. It was a matter of pride, now. "Let me go, nii-san."

There were a few moments of silence, before Itachi sighed exaggeratedly and released his arm. "You know, you may be able to go so far without rest, but I'm not so enduring. My feet already have blisters. See, they're swollen," he pointed down to his feet, which looked perfectly normal by any standards. "So won't you please allow me to rest, Sasuke?"

It was a demeaning kind of trick, but Sasuke grudgingly accepted it. They ran down the tree and rested by its base, looking up into the noon sun. It was just barely revealed by the scattered clouds of Fire Country. His feet pulsed with heavy relief.

"I'm starving," Sasuke admitted. "And we just ran out of ration bars, didn't we? What's there to eat around here?" He eyed a nearby plant questioningly.

"I wouldn't consume anything," Itachi told him. "It will be risky; we're too far from any town. If you like, we'll stop at Tanzaku on the way. It's very close to Sugi, and it's currently the time of the Tanzaku-jo festival. We will not be noticed among the festivities. "

"Festival?" Sasuke raised his head. "Good. They won't notice if I steal anything."

Itachi watched him silently, "you're not supposed to steal things, Sasuke."

"Half my missions involved stealing things," he shot back. "If I can steal an expensive statue for a daimyo, then I can steal takoyaki for myself." The food he hated most would be a welcome sight right then.

"I don't know you very well, do I?" His brother asked in a low tone. "Tell me what happened, Sasuke. I want to know everything"

Somehow, the words filtered in to clutch around Sasuke's heart like long-nailed hands. He didn't know why it hurt, and he didn't care to do anything that wouldn't remove that building sense of separation. "It was just as you would have expected, nii-san. I trained hard to fight you one day, and it just happened that Orochimaru happened to offer me strength that Konoha couldn't dream of. I lived in Sound for the rest of my time before I found the seal."

"I know where that Orochimaru is," Itachi said quietly. "He is part of an organization called the Akatsuki. I was asked to keep an eye on him." He sighed, "I cannot do that now."

"If you want, I can kill him when I'm older. I know how."

"Stop saying that word," Itachi's eyebrows were knitted.

"What word?"

"'Kill'. Stop saying it. It's too strange to hear that from you, Sasuke."

That was the moment Sasuke realized what was wrong, and what had been building up. It was the impossibility of his own existence that confused Itachi, the very notion that an older-younger brother had come to him, and expected him to act the same. Every time he displayed another proof of his maturity, it was like a knife to his brother's heart. A knife that reminded him that somewhere inside this new seven-year-old who called him aniki was a little boy, and that little boy might have been the true Sasuke, one who was oppressed and thrust out of his rightful body.

He was aniki's one weaknesses, and he had struck where it had hurt most. The only disparity between them was that Itachi hadn't yet realized that he'd been struck.

Sasuke stood up. "Nii-san, I'm going to go wash my face by the river. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Itachi nodded silently, still resting against the tree.

He walked away, disappearing beyond the foliage. The Naka river flowed east-west across Fire Country, and it was generally used by shinobi for mapping purposes. Sasuke had once used it to wash grime off himself after missions. Now, he sat by its still waters and looked down. Around him, the forest sung with facets of life while he tried to pry out his own.

This was the first time he had opened it consciously, with purposeful intent. But either way, he kept a tight leash on its door, because if it escaped, maybe nii-san would like it better and he couldn't stand to think of that.

Oi.

The leftover fragments of what he'd allowed into the open materialized on his face, clear in the waters of the Naka River. His childish face was scrunched up with childish terror.

What happened? What happened to oka-san. What-

With a tremendous burst of effort, Sasuke managed to school his features, displaying more clearly the superiority that he exerted.

You are no longer me. You will remain there until I decide what to do with you.

What … what's happening?...

You will not try to surface again. You will stay in place.

The younger knew exactly what he was saying. Before, the lingering pieces of his younger's consciousness and intent would be either completely in control, or completely oppressed. Now, it floated in the same state of ambiguity that he had once felt, both able to see and unable to do.

It stayed silent, shaking like a spring leaf in the insubstantial confines of his mind. It could not say anything because he was too strong and it no longer had the advantage of familiarity.

Sasuke closed his eyes and straightened, still looking down over the water. He knew it wasn't fair. He knew it was cruel, to subject his own younger self to this type of prison, to force it into submission without giving it any hint of a chance. But he had grown used to this type of work, he'd done it all too often and now he knew he was desensitized to its effects.

Itachi-nii wanted his younger brother back. Fine, he would become Sasuke again. He would keep his own personality, but he would hint at more smiles and imitate the actions he was expected to. Maybe one day, after it was all over, he'd think of something to solve this problem. But by that time, he suspected the possibility of the Other having already gone mad. Things like that were hard to pry away from mental experiences.

It was cruel. He was cruel. But in a way, it was who he was, and who aniki had made him to be. The dobe and Sakura would pound his head for doing something like this … but it was too easy. It was easy to shove this inconvenience out of the way, and no one would ever know. No one but Itachi knew of its existence, and he could easily claim to having merged with it and no one would see the difference.

It was cruel, but he didn't care. He had finally gotten aniki back, and now …

He wanted Itachi to be his brother.

"You … you weren't joking when you talked about a festival," Sasuke remarked, looking around incredulously.

The streets of Tanzaku were crowded beyond belief, and he had to grasp Itachi's sleeve with both hands to avoid being swept away in the crowd. Overhead, the music rang out with bells and drums and all sorts of infuriatingly festive noises, including a faint chant of 'Tanzaku-jo!' in the distance. On either side of them were stalls selling tempura seafood and sweet dango and takoyaki on paper towels, and each was visited by dozens of happy customers. They'd been swept right in upon entering, into a village that clearly did not know the meaning of security.

"It's like Tanabata in Konoha, isn't it?" Itachi smiled fondly, and Sasuke had to strain to hear what he was saying. "Come on, I know a senbei shop nearby." He pulled at his hand.

At times like these, it was incredibly hard to feel any sort of guilt on what he'd done to his younger consciousness. Sasuke managed to plaster a smile onto his face and allowed himself to be dragged through the sea of people that Itachi navigated so expertly.

When they had finally reached a relatively non-festive area away from the Tanzaku-jo castle, Itachi stopped and turned, eyeing the clustered groups of people they'd left behind. "Well, I'm glad to be away from that. Crowds are very good locations for assassinations."

Sasuke frowned slightly at his brother's morbid way of thinking, but when he looked up, the faint smile was still on his face. "Are we going to get something to eat, now?"

Itachi nodded, "I know a woman related to Uruchi-san, who runs the senbei shop in the clan compounds. She has her own shop here, and she will recognize me." With that, he turned and led Sasuke back down the street, which was still crowded, but less so than the streets beside the centre of the small village.

They stopped in front of a small shop with painstakingly cleaned windows. Itachi walked in and went over to the woman who sat behind the counter grilling circles of senbei. "Misumi-san," he greeted.

She looked up, and grinned widely when she saw them, wiping her hands on her dress. "Ah, Mikoto's son! I remember you, Itachi." She paused, and then winced. "Oh, were you sent away because of the …"

Sasuke frowned, "how do you know about that, oba-san?"

"Well, the news has reached even here that your clan is planning some type of take-over. I can't say I know much, but the bounty-hunters always spread information as widely as thinly as they can, and even I hear a few things."

"Really? You have contact with bounty hunters, Misumi-san?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Everyone has contact with bounty hunters. They're the loudest type of people, aren't they? And they're always visiting places like this."

Sasuke vaguely remembered hearing that the Itachi of his timeline had been spotted with his Akatsuki partner in a teahouse. It did fit the image. A place like this was reputable enough to not be recognized.

His brother nodded. "I see. I can't say too much, Misumi-san. My brother and I left very quickly, and we did not pack enough supplies."

She seemed to understand immediately, and waved her hands in ease. "Oh, don't worry. Find a table, it'll be on the shop today. It's the Tanzaku festival, after all, there isn't supposed to be a single sad face in the village!"

Well, there were two. They were soon seated near the window, and two plates of senbei with seaweed were placed in front of them.

Sasuke demolished his within seconds. "Nii-san, how much more travel time will we need to arrive at Sugi?" He asked, pushing his plate away.

"We should be there within a few hours, if we travel quickly. And if you let me carry you." Itachi told him seriously.

For a moment, Sasuke considered opposing it. He was a shinobi of sixteen years and he could travel by himself. Then he remembered something, and the words died down before they had a chance to escape his mouth.

Nii-san wants his brother.

"Ok," he said glumly. "You can carry me. As long as we can get there faster."

When Naruto opened his eyes, it was to the sound of soft humming. For a moment, it was peaceful, and the hum was of a far-off, foreign melody that threatened to lull him back to sleep. Then he slowly cracked his eyes open and noticed that he was lying sideways. And that he wasn't on a bed, but on top of a hard kotatsu table.

He sat upright, and promptly fell back when he realized that his hands were tied behind his back.

Inklings of fear began to materialize as he took in the surroundings. It was a room, traditionally decorated. The kotatsu they'd put him on – the only furniture in the place – was covered in a thin blanket that did nothing to lessen the pain in his bones from having stayed motionless for so long on a hard surface. The walls were a deep brown, and the window was bolted. The only exit was a set of sliding doors that had been locked shut.

Outside the single glass panel, the blue afternoon sky was in full play. They'd been out for hours.

By the bolted window was a woman with long hair like a stroke of ink down her back. She was humming something faintly.

"Oi!" A harsh whisper from behind him made him turn. Naruto's eyes widened when he saw a blond girl, with cropped hair strewn over her face. She was lying sideways like him, with her hands bound. "Naruto!"

"Ino!" He exclaimed loudly. The girl rolled her eyes in frightened exasperation when the woman by the window turned towards them.

She was an Uchiha, Naruto was sure those red eyes were the Sharingan that everyone talked about. The fan on her back was also a hint. She slowly rose from her kneeling position and came to sit by the kotatsu.

"Naruto-kun, Ino-chan," she greeted. "Do not move, it has run out. I will perform it once again," she reached forward with one, long-fingered hand.

Naruto wriggled against his bound hands, trying to tear the steel that held them together. He rolled into Ino and sent them both crashing off the table in his effort.

"Urgh!" Ino yelled, "gerrof, you're heavy!"

"Hehe, sorry, Ino-chan!" He hastened to move off her form, managing to bang his head on the wood.

"Wait," Ino said harshly. "Don't look up. Stay down like that, she can't do that to us if we don't look into her eyes." Her blue eyes held both fright and tinges of intellect, just like she'd been taught.

He paused, and turned around to face her. Behind them both, the Uchiha woman's presence was a looming, dark threat to their childish minds. "That won't help you," she told them. "I will have to use physical means, if you try too hard."

Naruto was on the verge of turning and yelling at her, but the look in Ino's eyes kept him at bay. He remained still on the floor, with his forehead close to hers.

Suddenly, there were strong arms pulling him away. He fought like a banshee, yelling and hissing as she pinned him back down to the table. Behind him, Ino yelled in a shrill, childish voice.

"You can't do that! You can't keep us here, my father will find out and Konoha will fight against you!" She screamed.

Naori looked back at her calmly, still holding down the flailing Naruto. "Konoha is already fighting us," she explained. "This will make little difference against us. It will, however, make quite a large difference for us."

Naruto quieted as she looked back down at him with her red eyes, slowing coaxing him to sleep. His body fell limply onto the table, and Ino stared wide-eyed.

"What-what will you do to us?" She asked, shivering from her position on the cold floor.

The Uchiha woman stood, brushed off her pants, and made her way to the blond girl. "You are here temporarily, this is my family house. Soon we will find a place for you in the Uchiha prison cells, simply to keep as insurance." Somehow, she seemed completely unconcerned about releasing the information to her captives.

Ino shuffled backwards as much as she could on the floor before her back hit a wall. She pushed herself back against it, feeling the metal hand-braces dig into her skin. "W-Why Naruto?" She asked hesitantly, if only to keep her kidnapper talking. "Why him? I'm the daughter of the head of intelligence, but … Naruto is an orphan, isn't he? Why would you want him?" Maybe if the woman let Naruto go, he would go tell Sakura, and Sakura would tell her father. Maybe Naruto had been taken by mistake. She didn't think to remember that the woman had specifically come for him.

"Of course," Naori said softly, in her singsong voice. She kneeled by the wall, grasping Ino's arms and bringing her up to eye level. "Of course he is an orphan. That is why we want him. You see, that boy is the container of the Kyuubi. You are from a shinobi family, surely you know what that means."

Ino's eyes widened.

Her mouth opened, but all she could do was gape as she remembered years of hearing Naruto's name.

It's that boy again. Did you see him? He was actually trying to buy fruit at the market! Like any sane person would waste good fruit on someone like that.

Aw, what do you mean I can't fight him? You said it's ok if I beat up that Naruto kid, right? But he can't throw a punch for the life of him, I want a challenge!

Ino-chan, don't go near that one. He's not a good person to be friends with, all right?

Otou-san would want to know this. Ino swallowed her indignation, and held on vehemently to those thoughts as the Sharingan's illusions overtook her.

Within the practice grounds of the Hyuuga compound, Hinata's knees were on the verge of giving up their duties. She raised her shaking hands and watched her father, who stood a little way off with his hands tucked into his long sleeves.

Sweat dripped off her forehead in a steady rhythm and ran down her arms, staining her hands with slippery moisture. Nearby, Hakumi stood with little Hanabi in her arms, and Neji stayed silently by her leg, looking into the training ground with curious eyes. Around them, the late evening was falling, rippling slowly across the sky with its deep oranges and golds.

She didn't know why this was happening. She didn't know what to think.

"Again," Hiashi said calmly. "Perform the kata again. You will practice the basics until you can do them correctly, and then we will move on."

He had not trained her like this since she was four, and first began to display an utter lack of compatibility with the Jyuuken. She thought otou-san had given up on her. But now …

Now, he'd seen her newly veined eyes.

A sort of calm overtook her, and she receded into her mind like she'd done before, whenever the sense of surrealism filled the atmosphere so thickly that her level of awareness no longer made a difference. She'd done this when the Kumo-nin had captured her. When Neji had first won against her. When oka-san had died.

Hinata nodded, and began moving her arms once more, trying to emulate the sharp grace of the Jyuuken style. Her hands still flailed sometimes, and her feet didn't always land where they were supposed to fall. But she would try. She would try for otou-san, now that she had this second chance to make him proud.

She didn't yet know of the letter he'd written an hour earlier.

"The first anbu division has intercepted the Uchiha remaining in the clan compound," Koharu said. "It is only a matter of minutes before skirmishes break out. We cannot surround them either, they are located directly at the edge of the village and can shut themselves off easily. Great as he was, Shodai-sama had such bad foresight …"

A single anbu flickered silently into the council room, where three council members were still sitting, talking, trying to make sense of something. They looked up at her arrival.

"Firefly," Homura greeted. "You have news for us?"

The anbu nodded quickly, and the bright yellow marks across her clay mask glinted in the evening light. "Yes. We have discovered that a certain correspondence has been made."

Koharu leaned forward, her hairpins clinking with the motion. "Between who?"

There was a brief silence, before the Firefly stepped up to the table. "Hyuuga Hiashi and Uchiha Teyaki. The Hyuuga clan has agreed to the alliance. It seems that Hiashi-sama has made short inquiries into the location of the Hokage, and has determined the Uchiha to be responsible for his missing status. With this knowledge, he may have sided with the defecting clan after regarding it likely that they will succeed in their coup, after being able to take down Hokage-sama."

The silence in the meeting room was both deadly and worrying. Firefly took her leave swiftly before either of them could ask. The two former teammates of the Sandaime Hokage slowly turned to look at the third occupant of the room.

"Where is he?" Homura asked sharply. "Where is Hiruzen? This is getting out of hand. We must either find out if he is alive, or if he is dead we must find his body and release information that he has died of natural causes and not through the power of the Uchiha. You were presumably the last one to speak with him, Danzo. Where is he?"

"I do not know," Danzo said calmly. "I have not seen him for many hours, now." His grip over his right arm tightened with his words.

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