Blackhaven18: Yay! I had time for a new chapter, so enjoy everyone and thanks for the reviews!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, but the lint in my pocket.

Song choice: In Vain:

By: Under the Flood

Chapter 15: In Vain

Nate listened to the Cullen family arguing back and forth quietly from the corner of the room he chose to inhabit. The blond was currently leaning against it in a way to rest his now stitched side, having declined the chair Jasper had pulled out from the dining room for him.

Forty seven stitches.

That was how many it took to close the jagged rip traveling from just under his right pectoral, following the line of his ribs to curl around his side and make a forty five degree angle to disappear about an inch into the waistline of his pants. The total length of the thing was eleven inches and deep too.

Thankfully it hadn't gone any further than that.

Carlisle had said he was lucky it didn't cut any further than it had, because then he would be facing the problem of internal bleeding and after complying with Carlisle's demands to see him if the bleeding got any worse he was left alone.

For the moment at least.

He sighed when the argument grew more heated, feeling the oncoming pre-headache waves he was getting. Then again he did smack his head pretty hard on that tree earlier… maybe it was delayed?

"And what would you have us do, Carlisle?" Rosalie's voice broke through his thoughts and he looked up to see the blond glaring, but he could see the utter hopelessness she was trying so hard to hide behind it.

That look didn't suit her… it didn't suit any of them.

"I understand what you're saying, Rosalie," Carlisle conceded, "but we can't risk bringing any other coven's into this…"

Nate shook his head, as much as he hated to say it at the moment, Carlisle was right. Another coven wasn't going to risk themselves going against the coven that technically ruled them all. That was virtually suicide and out here it was every man for himself…

Nate looked back up to see the majority of the Cullen's looking up at him and realized that he missed a question that was obviously aimed towards him. He tried to get a read of their expressions, but came up with nothing. So, he said the only thing that came to mind at the moment.

"Huh?"

Rosalie rolled her eyes, "Well; at least we know you're paying attention to our plight." She muttered, "Though I suppose we could be stuck with worse." The statements were drizzling with sarcasm and were meant to be jabs at the blonde's intelligence, but the most she prompted was a small grin, accompanied with a slight wince when he shifted.

That grin quickly shifted to a confused look, "Well, hey if you're not happy with me I could always call Jacob up?" He offered innocently, ignoring the glare sent his way. "Of course, then you'd complain about his scent… You know what? I think you'd be losing both ways." He said in a cheery manner and clapped his hands together once, "So, you pick. You can either deal with Jake's scent…or my stupidity."

And with that he faced away from her, focusing instead on Carlisle. He knew she was stressed from the recent events, but taking it out on him was a battle that she was going to lose. He, himself, being in pain was in no mood to deal with her shit.

"Would you mind repeating that?" He questioned softly and waited for a response.

"Of course, we were just discussing what you and Jacob have said about having the wolves' aide. We think it would be best if everyone would keep to themselves and not draw any attention." Nate nodded, seeing where this was going.

"You're planning on running…" He stated smoothly, knowing this was probably their only option.

"Yes, Edward is planning on taking Bella back to Phoenix and then following us to South America."

'Sending her back to Phoenx… it'll be like trying to find a needle in a haystack, if that is Chief Swan doesn't blab. It's not like they know exactly who she is…' He thought to himself.

"An interesting route," Nate conceded, seeing the possibilities. "But you do realize you'll probably be on the run for the rest of your existence?"

Carlisle sighed, but nodded, "It's better than the alternative."

Nate just shifted.

'Do these people fear death that much?" He couldn't help but think.

He, being raised from day one knowing just how high the possibility of losing his life while on a mission or even walking down the street, in his case, actually was, found his new friends attitude towards it to be strange.

Those who died defending those they cherished were held so far above others that chose to nothing at all, because they had the drive, the tenacity to want to protect people who were unable to. They were mourned of course, for a brief time, but to mourn them any longer, to keep living in the past, was disgraceful. Those ninja gave their lives so that others could keep living for the future and to do anything but would dishonor them.

Those lost would have their name's added to the memorial stone, so that their sacrifices were never forgotten, but then life would move on.

He had seen people that had dallied too long in the past, a prime example being his old sensei, Kakashi; seeing the man standing in front of the stone, absently tracing Obito's name on the stone as rain drops tracked the long tendrils of his silver hair, forlornly, was something he never wanted to see again.

He had always known that death's only victims… were the people left behind.

There was one thing he understood though. The need to protect those close to you, to protect family and that was exactly was Carlisle was doing.

It was admirable and it was the way of the shinobi.

And it was with that thought in mind that he came to a decision, the Cullen's did nothing to deserve this fate and damn him to the lowest pit of hell if he allowed it to take place.

"Understood, I'll inform the pack." He stated simply, ignoring Rosalie's inquisitive look and rose from his seat. "You have my number, Carlisle. Just give me a ring before you leave and give it to Bella as well." He turned to face the girl in question. "You ever need anything; don't hesitate to give me a call."

"Thank you Nate." She said in a small voice and snuggled further into the crook of Edward's arm.

As he stepped out the door, he completely missed the glance Edward gave him as well.

"Thank you for bringing me home, Edward." Bella mumbled as she was encased in his arms.

She tried not to think about the next few days, the days where he would have no choice but to leave her. It hurt, knowing that she had been the one to cause this. To bring the wrath of the Volturi down on the Cullen's heads, but from the way the family reacted, they knew of the consequences too… They still allowed it though.

If she had known, she would have kept to herself and away from the Cullen's. Far, far away. It was too late now, though and the entire Cullen family was paying because she forced her way into their secret.

As if knowing what she was thinking, Edward's grip tightened around her, "None of this is your fault, Bella." He whispered comfortingly. "My family and I knew what would happen should we be caught. It was just bad luck on our part, I guess."

Bella nodded and thought back to the look she had seen Edward give Nate as he left, a look filled with so much emotion she wasn't able to discern between them. It was a look of longing, almost like… She fought to slow her heartbeat back down as it sped up rapidly, cursing the organ for giving her thoughts away so easily. It was also a plus Edward was unable to read her mind as wheels turned and gears clicked into place.

Edward was in love with Nate. Still loved him, she realized as pieces began to fit together.

It was so obvious to her now that she was actually berating herself for not seeing it before, for being so blind. She would often find Edward looking over at the blond when he wasn't looking and the action happened so often she was certain even he didn't know he was doing it anymore. Then there was Nate's blatant avoidance of the entire situation.

Nate would not look Edward in the eye's unless he had to and that was the same when they were paired up for and English assignment, or if they met somewhere on the streets. Even she had noticed the blonde's knack of knowing everything that was going on around him, even as his back was turned.

How could he not know how often Edward's gaze drifted towards him? The truth was simple… he was ignoring it, because the feelings between both of them was still there and they were fighting it. Nate she could understand. He wasn't doing anything because of her, she automatically fell into the 'friend' category the blond had and in turn he would avoid hurting her. Possibly even to the point of cutting one of his own fingers, off he had to.

Nate, she noticed, was just that kind of person, loyal even if it maimed him, or killed him. He never gave up anything without a fight, which unfortunately brought up one last facet. Earlier, he just complied with Carlisle's answer and set out to do what he was asked of… Normally, he would have laid another plan onto the table, but this time… nothing.

He let go far too easily… no, she was positive he was up to something… The question though, was what?

As Edward released her at the door and bid her farewell, she began formulating plans. If those two were too thick-headed to see just how much they still cared for each other, she was going to make them.

Boys could be such idiots at times; she concluded and walked inside…

Alice smiled as she caught the tail of her last vision; it seemed she now had a partner in her quest.

"Esme, I'm going to step out for awhile." She called out as she stepped out the door and made her way to the forest.

She ran alongside the windy trails, making sure to keep out of view of them in case of a late night hiker and stopped a few meters away from what she knew to be her brother's favorite tree. The tree he often inhabited when he was brooding, schooling her thoughts she made her was up to the base.

"I am not brooding, Alice. Just thinking." A voice issued from above and she giggled. Oh, he was brooding alright.

"Edward, get down here, we need to talk." She called out herself and waited for the soft sounding impact. He came down a few moments later, and she sighed.

He, himself, caught what she was about to say as it entered her mind and swiftly shook his head. "Honestly, Alice," He sighed, "How many times do we have to go over this? I am not in love with Nate. That is all in the past now-"

"And Bella is 'your world now', please cut the dramatics Edward, I know already." She cut in, ignoring her brother's glare. "And I understand, just…" She took a wary breath, the same a soldier would have done when the battle was over with and looked at him with silent resignation. "Please, just don't confuse love with adoration." She pleaded and turned back to head home, leaving him to his thoughts.

He stilled for a moment at her statement. 'Confuse love with adoration.' Her declaration almost sounded like a warning… He had loved Nate at one point in time; he would never deny that, but he had given up expecting the blond to forget him… and live a long, fulfilling life with someone who was able to age with him.

As a new born and the years before meeting Bella, he would often find his mind going back to the time he and Nate spent together, but that still didn't stop him from thinking about what the blond was doing now. Thinking about the life he was leading and how he was no longer in it, how the blonde's exuberant attitude probably rubbed off on any kid's he had with his spouse or adopted.

It was easy to imagine the blonde surrounded by six or seven children, all with blue eyes or blond hair, knowing he would have no problem keeping up with them all. Nate would have made a perfect father.

By the time Bella came around, he no longer allowed himself to think back because being nearly a hundred years later he knew it was time to move on and she managed to sweep him with a force all her own. She was the only other person he felt anything for. So, naturally he followed that pull and allowed the clasps of his last relationship to fall away and plunged head first into the one he shared with Bella.

But then Nate returned.

The very person that he had taken over ninety years to let go of, thinking the blond was nothing more than a mere memory and threw his life into a whirlpool once more. He found himself questioning how he really felt and the more he thought about it the more he found he was leaning away from Bella… He hated to think he was being unfaithful, but to have thoughts of another while being in a relationship was cheating in a way… wasn't it?

One thing was for sure… he was going to need to think further on this…

Ten minutes before:

Nate took to the trees as soon as he left the Cullen's property, trying to put as much distance between himself and them. Once he was out of hearing range he stopped… and waited.

A few moments later he heard the tell tale crunch of pine needles from behind him and turned to face his newest stalker.

"Did you need something, Rosalie?"

Rosalie never being one to dance around the bush asked bluntly, "Just what are you planning?"

Nate threw back his head in a laugh at his counter part's question and instead of answering turned the question back on her, "Just what makes you think I'm planning anything at all?"

Rosalie's eyes narrowed, "Because as much as I despise saying it, you have the same gleam in your eyes my husband has when he's up to something. Now, tell me."

Nate sighed, honestly sometimes Rosalie was too observant for her own good. Well, at least she was the one to catch him and not anyone else. The other's allowed their emotions to rule them too much. At least Rosalie could stand back and consider all the options from a detached point of view when needed.

"… Why do you need to know? Your family is moving, Bella is going to be safe, the pack won't do anything until the Volturi have left, so, what does it matter what I do?"

Rosalie stopped for a moment, at much as she hated to admit it, the blond did have a point. What did it matter if she did know? Her family was going to be unaffected anyway, seeing as how Nate wasn't the type to squeal on others'. The question was, why did she care? Before she could come up with an adequate answer he started to walk away, but stopped when Rosalie regained her voice.

"I… don't understand… How can you be so…?" She never finished the question and Nate turned to face her, cerulean eyes studying her with an almost calculating gaze she never took notice of before.

"That's just who I am." He answered simply and disappeared from view in a flurry of leaves.

Meanwhile:

Candles flickered from their holders, the only light in the windowless room. Three figures sat in ornately carved chairs, along with a young girl and a young boy and listened to the soft music playing in the back ground. The first two seemed contented to merely lay back, their red eyes closed and listen to the music.

It was the figure in the middle was currently stroking a fine beard as he contemplated the best move to make on the chess board in front of him. His opponent, the young girl, waited patiently for the man to continue, while her brother watched.

Suddenly the old man chuckled, "My, my, someone has been practicing." He commented off handedly and she smiled in return at the compliment.

"Thank you sir."

"Ah, but it seems you need to practice just a little more, Jane my dear." He grabbed the queen and positioned her a few squares away from the opposite queen. "Checkmate." She pouted slightly and her brother brought a comforting hand to her shoulder. "Do not feel bad, my dear. I have been playing far longer than you have, but this was a good game."

A few moment's later and the doors opened to reveal a handful of guards, escorting another vampire, which by the looks of him had seen better days.

"My master's, I apologize for disturbing you, but this trespasser has asked for your time. He has said it was urgent." The head of the guard said and stepped back, waiting for further orders.

It was a long moment before Aro, turned to face them and nodded. "Allow him passage; it had been a while since we were entertained last."

The dark haired vampire stepped forward and bowed low to show respect once he reached the beginning on the stairs'. Seeing Aro nod again he spoke.

"Sir's, I come here tonight to tell you of a clan that has broken your sacred rule…" Aro's eyes raised and disappeared into his hairline, milky white eyes almost contemplative.

"Please, step forward, my child." He said and the vampire did as he was told, kneeling once he reached the man's side. "Your name?"

"Laurent, my master."

"Laurent, allow me to witness their indiscretion myself?" He asked and held out a palm.

Laurent looked at Aro's hand and cautiously allowed his finger tips to rest in the open palm, everything he saw unknowingly transferred over to the century's old being.

"Ah, Carlisle, I never would have thought he would allow for such a thing to occur."

"What have you seen brother?" Questioned the man in the next seat over, red eyes opening to gaze at his brother.

"Merely one of the covens's breaking one of the high laws, Brother Caius." Aro answered, looking back at his brother. "The Cullen coven, I am afraid."

"Cullen? As in Carlisle Cullen and his family?" Caius asked, clearly remembering when they extended their own offers to two of their brood.

"Yes, they have allowed a human girl to live even though she knows of what they are."

"An utter disgrace, allowing themselves to… mingle with such commoner filth. At what time shall we leave brother? I daresay they deserve a sentence for their crimes."

"As do I brother, the girl shall have to be dispatched of quickly, but young Alice and Edward will be given another chance to join us… If they do not, then we shall dispatch of them as well, along with the rest of their little 'family.'" Aro stated and Caius nodded in agreement.

"Very well, shall we leave in a few days?"

"Yes, I'm sure by now they already know we're coming. We should allow them the time to prepare. You may leave now Laurent, our doors shall always be open to you for informing us." Aro stated and Laurent gave another low bow.

"Thank you my masters'." He said and left.

Marcus watched the scene with little interest and looked back to the twins; their eyes were now glinting with excitement as they played the next round of chess with each other.

"Soon my dear brother, very soon," He heard from Aro and closed his eyes again, drowning himself in the music.

"Oh, no…" Alice muttered as she wrapped some of the more fragile items they owned in paper before putting it into a box.

"Is something wrong, Alice," Jasper asked, placing the box he was carrying by the door.

"Yes, our futures just… fizzled out. I don't think we get on the plane."

"But if we do not get on the plane then what do we do? Just wait around here and await our demise?" Rosalie's voice drifted from the stairs and she made her way into the living room.

"No, that's just it… the last thing I saw was us waiting in the living room. Everyone seemed worried, but… I couldn't tell when the Volturi were coming." Alice remarked as she remembered the vision.

"Rosalie, if she saw us here and not on that flight… then something must have happened. Keep packing and unless something changes we'll drive out of town on the back roads." Carlisle stated from above them.

Alice nodded and started to wrap a nearby vase…

Nate retrieved his slim cell phone from his back pocket and dialed a number that was so ingrained into his memory that he no longer needed to look at the sheet he had written it on.

After a few rings, someone on the receiving line finally picked it up.

(Yeah?) The voice questioned.

"Hey Jake, it's me." Nate answered back in a bored tone, "We ran into some problems… the Volturi are coming. All of them."

Absolute silence filled the reception, before Jacob replied back with a shaky voice, (Please tell me you're shitting me?) He pleaded and Nate sighed.

"No, Edward has said we have a few days at the most and Alice confirmed it. She saw them in the forest…"

(So, knowing you you've already figured out what it is the Cullen's want to do… and what we should do.)

Nate smirked and switched the phone to his other ear, "It was the first thing I did naturally."

(Uh-huh, so what did they decide to do?)

"They figured they have no choice but to run, I mean come on, the entire Volturi are going to be on their asses like white on rice unless they get out now." He heard Jacob's affirming snort on the other end and continued, "They're going to take Bella back to Phoenix and take off the South America."

(That's great and all, but what about us?)

"The Volturi can't wait forever, and they won't take the chance of wiping out an entire town, it would raise too many questions. The Cullen's want us to lay low and wait until they leave. Think of it as a vacation."

(Yeah, one where we won't be leaving our homes.) Was retorted on the other line and Nate sighed.

"It's better than them wiping the entire pack out, then where would we be?'

(Yeah, I guess you're right. So, when does this 'vacation' begin?)

"As soon as you get back from whatever lovely thing you're up to now," Nate answered.

(Alright, man. I'll tell the rest of the pack, stay safe.)

Nate smiled slightly, but felt a weight press down on his chest. This… was more than likely the last time he would speak to the wolf. He wanted to say something more, to tell him how he and the rest of the pack had been such good friends to him, but to say anything along those lines would give him away. So, he settled on a mere, "You too man, you too." And snapped the phone shut, slipping it into his back pocket.

He couldn't help but feel as if he betrayed one of his best friends… but it would all be for the best soon enough and Nate could only hope Jake, the rest of the pack, the Cullen's and Bella would forgive him eventually. If they didn't… he would understand.

He saw his house in the distance and sped up his pace, but instead of heading inside he took a detour and made his way to the shed out back. There was nothing really special about it, just a ten by ten storage shed, painted white around ten years ago if the peeling paint a brown patches were anything to go by.

He deftly maneuvered around the door, making sure not to upset the squeaky hinges and pulled on the small cord connected to a single light bulb above him, lighting the room slightly.

Shelves lined the walls, filled with boxes that had various knickknacks among them, but none of these boxes held his interest. No, he was focused on the base boards beneath him and a particular one in fact.

He started from the door and counted two steps in, before counting three more to the left, hearing a slight squeak he stopped and reached down to grab hold of the board he stepped on, easily pulling it free. From there he undid the small last underneath the board parallel to this one and hearing the clicking of a latch coming undone pulled that one up as well.

It was in fact connected to another seven baseboards, all connected by a long strip of wood perpendicular to the rest. By doing this he revealed a hidden compartment beneath the shed and he descended the stairs to reach the bottom, bringing a flashlight from one of the upper shelves with him.

It was here he left nearly all of his past, save a few pictures he now kept in his study, but never anything that could cause an uproar. Like the picture he had of himself at fifteen standing on Gamabunta's head. He looked like nothing more than a mere orange speck standing upon a burgundy colored mountain.

Now that would have been a fun thing to explain.

Unfortunately, he wasn't here to reminisce, so he bypassed the photo albums and various letter from friends he refused to part with and headed over to a water proof container, the only thing he found that would adequately protect paper products from the heavy moisture in the air and reached inside once he pulled the lid free.

His hands grasped at the familiar thin paper, the specially made rice paper he purchased no more than a few months ago on a trip to Port Angeles. It, being thicker than what was used in traditional Japanese paper doors, made it more durable and perfect for what he had planned for it. It was the same size of a traditional nine by eleven sheet of paper used in schools these days and for once he was glad to have had the fore thought to buy as much as he did.

There was easily over four inches in width of the paper and while he was sure he wouldn't need that much, he was glad he would have enough.

He reached into the box once more to retrieve the green lined notebook, the first he purchased after landing in the United States and the one he was spotted drawing in so many times by others. He would often write in it during his free time and was now filled because of his dedication.

Inside were calculations surrounding sketches of various jutsu's, some of which he knew and other's he had been meaning to learn. The one that littered the most pages being the infamous Rasengan. On the first page was the original in its most basic form, developed by the Fourth Hokage himself and the one that was incomplete.

He carefully flipped over the many clear sheets he swiped from a teacher's office at Fork's high that were commonly used for over head projections. Each one had a different set of calculations on it for different variations of the same move.

First was the Oodoma Rasengan that was flipped over the first model, it was significantly larger, far more powerful and it was a completely original move only he was able to perform because it required the Kyuubi's chakra to form it. Hence no one could copy it.

After that came the Rasen Shuriken, a move developed and created entirely by him that utilized the element of wind. Four curved protrusions broke free from the center, making it take the appearance of a shuriken, which was the reason for its name.

The other's were merely rough sketches of the same moved paired with different elements, one's he had been meaning to try, but hadn't had the time. Even now the signs to perform each one were swimming around in his head and he was constantly looking for flaws, anything that could potentially harm him or comrades should he use them in battle.

He flipped past each one refreshing his memory on each one and then flipped to the last page, the last move he had been working on. It was a different rendition of Tsunade's famed massive strength. The very same one she tutored her apprentice, Sakura Haruno, in. The reason he is unable to perform her technique is because, unfortunately, he had no where near their control over chakra.

She concentrate's it in her extremities and releases it when she lands a hit.

He spent so long pondering over a way he too could learn how to do this without having the chakra control and after three years of experimentation and calculations, he thinks he may have just found a way.

It would need to be done in a quick few steps, if he missed just one it could turn disastrous quickly. After many tries he finally figured out how to force a massive amount of chakra into his right arm, the same arm he used to create the rasengan, which was why he chose it in the first place.

When he did it the first time at fifteen, the move nearly shattered the bones in his entire forearm. The chakra poured into his arm had no where else to go and ended up causing a slight explosion in his arm.

It was then he figured it out, the only reason that had happened was because he didn't allow it to escape and instead contained it until it back lashed. His chakra was explosive by nature and if he released it, it would create a small explosion just outside of his hand…

Closing the notebook, he sighed and after closing everything back up the way he had it, made his way inside as it started to drizzle. He brought the items he had inside with him and pulling out a calligraphy set, a set of scissors, and his seals book set it down on the coffee table in the living room.

He had a lot of work ahead of him if he was going to be ready in the next few days…

(1) All info on Jutsu's taken from:

http :// www . crunchyroll. com/ group / Rasengan _ Guide

Without the spaces.