Hey, Chapter two~ So last time, Itachi had decided he was going to his next Akatsuki meeting with Sasuke as a secret spy to creep around at an integrated school of youth where Akatsuki has little intel on. Sasuke = intel. School = potential friendship. Friendship= Not-douche Sasuke. Itachi loves math:)

Chapter Two!: Do you believe in ghosts?

(Sasuke POV)

I walked to the forest where the 'spirit' told me to go, holding an old spell book, searching for some creepy, undiscovered shrine on an old dead tree. It had been maybe two weeks since Itachi showed up at Orochimaru's layer, knocked me out, then brought me here. He obviously wasn't aware that I knew what really happened, about the 'massacre', but there isn't much I can do about it now. I'll have to talk to him later, I had a job that had to be done.

I was being led by a mean black cat with deep crimson eyes. The ghostly spirit-thing told me to look for onyx waters with the carvings of a fox and an Uchiha messenger around them. At first I thought "What the hell. This guy is old beyond belief." But then I realized how dead on that assumption was and that he probably is old beyond belief. This thought is both fascinating and incredibly intimidating. Demons stopped calling them Uchiha messengers after the Egyptian times. The Ancient Egyptian times. Now they're called cats. Of course the Uchiha felines aren't your average cat, but it's still a cat.

I continue to follow the demonic cat to awaken Uchiha Madara. I'm pretty much obligated to do what he asks of me, even if it weren't in my nature to keep my word to an elder of the Uchiha line. He's protected me from a large majority of the weird experiments and tests Orochimaru wanted me to perform for him, not to mention all of the things he told me about my brother.

I look up into the night sky. 'Itachi…'

I would never have went to Orochimaru to train in order to kill you. If only I had known, I could have escaped before it was too late, but his power got the best of me.

I sigh as I remember the masked ghost telling me why Itachi really eliminated the Uchiha clan. I had been in my room in Orochimaru's lair, thanking whatever gods that had somehow stopped Orochimaru's hand before the needle filled with heaven knows what pierced my flesh. This had been happening a lot, at least every time Orochimaru tried something that would alter my DNA more than he already has or mess with the sharingan. I was damn thankful.

"Yo." Was the first thing I heard from him.

I sat up faster than I ever have in my screwed up life, and I searched the entire room, sharingan spinning wildly. Honestly I must have looked completely insane.

Just as I was about to stop searching and lay back down, his masked face practically materialized in front of me. My eyes narrow slightly and naturally I grab my katana and slice through him, only to do just that; slice through him. He simply looks down, then looks at me while putting a finger where his mouth would be in a 'be quiet' gesture before he sits next to my shocked form and begins a conversation as if he were some kind of old friend. I then come to be informed that he kind of is, and he seemed a bit shocked that I didn't remember him.

"That's a bit strange…" He had a deep, smooth voice that seemed a bit on the playful side. "Do you remember anything at all about being with the Uchihas? I mean, how can you not remember me, Sasu-chan?" I scowl at his little nick-name, but he continues his rant. "I housed you! Your brother was glued to me and you were glued to your brother! You remember your brother, correct?" I nod affirmatively but he pauses.

"What all do you remember of living with the Uchiha clan?"

I stay silent.

All I can honestly remember is Itachi being brotherly, my parents over-looking me to instead praise Itachi, Itachi praising me and taking care of me, and then the massacre…None of this about My brother and I living with some strange ghost-psycho...

I tell Madara so, whispering, convinced that he's in my head, and excluding the part about calling him a ghost-psycho, and his demeanor changes. He seems serious and contemplative, then he disappears for days.

Next time I see him is right after an assassination mission from Orochimaru. He creeps up on me once again, wearing the same enchanted armor with his hair flying wildly around whipping against his mask.

"Yo." I whip around and I'm once again in his face.

"Gods! Is that all you can say?" I whisper harshly. I clear my throat and collect myself before asking in a calm, stoic voice. "What do you want?"

He laughs a bit before replying, "We had a one-sided conversation last time I visited you, Sasu-chan. You have a pleasant voice, by the way. I haven't heard it since you were a child, it reminds me of your older brother's voice." He trails off with a slightly dreamy look on his face.

What a weirdo…

As if hearing my thoughts, his expression is masked and he continues. "Speaking of that, what all do you know of 'The Uchiha Massacre'?" He trails off, rolling his eyes.

"Itachi killed the clan in order to test his power."

"Wrong."

"Wro-? What the hell do you know about my family?" I'll admit, I over-reacted a bit. Only a bit.

" I know what really happened, that is what I know. I was there. I am family." At this I pause, waiting for him to go on.

"Your brother didn't do it to test his power, he was completely aware of how deadly he was. I made sure he knew-" I inwardly made a face, that sounded strangely perverted to me. "-as his sensei. I taught him almost everything he knows." Oh.

"He actually had two reasons. One was that the Demonic Council ordered him to, seeing no one else fit. The task probably been assigned to me if it weren't for the damned fox incident…" My eyebrow lifts at this, I had made enough facial expressions today, and he takes notice.

"Fox incident?" He almost laughs.

"Orochimaru really fucked up your head there, huh? I suppose I should have got here sooner!" My eyes narrow at the vulgar, if not inappropriate language. It seems weird coming from someone so old, but then again this man's movements are even odd.

He continues.

"I suppose it's reasonable though, It happened a while before the massacre and you don't seem to remember anything of importance before that." He pauses, probably trying to remember where he trailed off. "Anyways, the Uchiha were getting far too powerful and with so many bringing back-" He paused, as if trying to find the proper words. "… 'Old ways', they were causing a little trouble. No one would expect Uchiha Fugaku's first born so it was practically fool-proof."

My teeth grind together, "And Itachi had absolutely no qualms about murdering his entire family? Even his sensei?"

I couldn't see his face, but I had a feeling he was looking at me like I was retarded.

"I'm not a fucking ghost. Itachi didn't kill me, the fucking councils sealed me! I was there because I was in this form, taking back our blood. My blood." He seemed to be speaking in code, but I couldn't sense any lies...

My gaze hardened as I take this in. "You killed them too? What is wrong with you bastards? I understand a freak like you going bat-shit, but how could Itachi kill them all? Our father and mother?"

He suddenly returned to his strange bouncy indifference.

"Ah, and then there's reason number two. Itachi wasn't only aware of the Uchiha's corruption, he witnessed it first-hand within your very house-hold. He knew if he simply killed the family heads than their descendents would be after him and most of all… you!"

I'm about to argue that Itachi has never cared for me when Madara speaks again.

"I have only seen Itachi close to losing himself once." At this, I actually do make an expression, my face contorting into slight shock. Itachi? Master of controlling emotion? When an Uchiha demon 'loses themselves' it's similar to how a human reacts to trauma, their mind completely shuts down and they are on auto pilot. Either we completely shut off and are almost unresponsive, or we become manic and have no control of our actions. That's one of the theories that I had when I asked myself how Itachi could have slaughtered everyone... What could've hurt Itachi so?

"What… happened?"

His mask faces down, as if he's looking at the floor. Then, he speaks almost mournfully. "I was walking through the Uchiha complex on my way to where I reside. When I got to my door I saw Itachi beating on it, clawing at the wood, crying. I called to him and he flung himself at me in hysterics. He explained to me that he found your parents in your room as you slept ready to tear their throats out."

"So? Everyone fights." I say, downplaying the situation.

"Over who gets to kill and eat their youngest son? No, I didn't think so. Itachi went in confronted them and threatened to kill himself if they didn't leave the room. I calmed him down and from then on you slept in my home, which is why I was a bit shocked at you not remembering me." He trails off, almost miffed. " But anyways, He killed the Uchiha clan so they wouldn't kill you. In my day, warriors ate the hearts of their defeated enemy, some ate the hearts of people because they thought it strengthened them. Your parents were apart of that era. They already had one son of great importance, so what was the use in an extra child carrying around prized blood practically begging to be devoured?"

I threw up.

Madara made an awkward joke about being happy he wasn't a physical being when my vomit ended up where he was standing. Apparently, his armor became as ghostly as he was when he wished, so things like people vomiting in his general vicinity were no big deal. As if he weren't strange enough...

I get knocked out of the memory as I trip over the cat that had been leading me. He gives an angry hiss before climbing a tree almost frantically- A tree with a cat and an angry demon fox carved at the bottom, right above the dark hole in the ground next to the tree. I look into the hole to find that its more of an underground spring or pond… with murky black water.

"…Found it."

I open the book to the page with the summoning spell. He couldn't just show up here like he could everywhere else for some reason, something about punishment. After what he did for me, I was in no position to ask questions.

When I find the page, I read off what I'm supposed to say, cutting my hand and letting it drip across the summoning markings on my arm. At first I thought it would be quick and painless… that is until my arm felt like it was being slowly dipped into some kind of acid.

"Gah! ...F-ff!" I swallow a curse.

When he finally appears, out of my arm surprisingly, he looks around as if he's astonished that I actually kept my word, then he looks at me asking, "Hey, you alright Sasu-chan?"

"Hn." Is all I can say without disrespecting him. "Why did I have to summon you through a seal?"

He quirks his head to the side, "The only way that I am allowed to function in the Uchiha complex is through a messenger. I normally would not be able to hold this form unless summoned, and who in their right mind would summon Uchiha Madara?" I can't help but glare. I'm totally in my right mind...

I huff and let my curiosity get the best of me, finding something odd. "What do you mean 'through a messenger'?"

He looks at me as if it were obvious. "I take the form of a feline. It's the only way I can feel properly, but as soon as I leave Uchiha grounds, I am forced back into this state. It is also the other way around. As soon as I enter the Uchiha grounds I am forced into a messenger form." Kami, this guy is screwed up.

I nod, educated and satisfied, and pick the book up off of the ground, not putting it on my now-sore arm. I look back at him to see him pulling off the top part of his armor, apparently preparing to float through the tree. I just quirk an eyebrow and repeat this spell, this time not having to sacrifice the comfort of a limb. When I look up from the latin text, I see that I was correct, and he was slowly floating through the carvings. He was about half way through when I hear, "Sasuke?" from a few feet away.

I look to my left to see my older brother slightly running toward me. "Aniki…" Is all I can say as he gets closer. When he gets within arms length he looks as if he's about to embrace me, but he pauses and looks around. He sees the end of Madara's foot float into the tree and looks at the strange clothing on the floor next to the bottom of the tree.

"Sasuke," He pauses to give me what I thought would be a 'you're in trouble' face, but is much more panicked and serious. "What is going on? What just happened?" I stay silent. I haven't had to answer to my older brother in a long time.

He walks over to the end of the tree and picks up the clothing, looking into the tree-spring. Strangely enough, he smells the armor before his face takes on an expression of recognition, then shock before looking at me with accusing eyes.

That has to be the most expression I've ever seen on that man in my life.

"What did you just do? How did you get these clothes?" He was angry, clutching the clothes to his chest. I'm scared. He looks panicked, and furious, but also confused. He gets up and charges towards me but stops, seeing the book. He picks it up looking at me, flipping through the pages because my make-shift bookmark fell out. While he's busy with this, the water behind him bubbles up a bit before being still again. Itachi turns to watch the waters with me just as a head surfaces with a gasp and a mop of hair practically everywhere.

Itachi steps back, watching cautiously as Madara pulls himself out of the water, sopping wet with only a silky black robe. He stands and looks himself over, putting his hands in front of him and flexing them with a slightly insane looking smile.

When he sees us he gives a greeting. "Sasu-chan… Itachi."

I hear Itachi inhale through his nose and when I look back he wears an apprehensive expression. When Madara approaches, Itachi steps back slightly and I almost blanch. How powerful could this Madara be that even Itachi is unsure? Then I think about what Madara told me. This man was Itachi's sensei, they have a history together and Itachi never was good with bonds.

Not many Uchiha were.

Madara notices Itachi's reaction and gets closer as if to tease him. He looks over Itachi's body and smiles.

"Itachi, you've grown so well! You are as tall as I am!" This reminds me of a human's family reunion, that is until Madara get about an inch from Itachi's face with his hand against his forehead. I stand there slightly behind Itachi watching as he ever so slowly forces himself to relax. He seems to struggle with what he wants to do in this situation before backing out of Madara's personal bubble and facing me.

(Itachi POV)

I hope Sasuke didn't see me tense up. I honestly don't know what to think with this situation. As soon as I saw him surface, my body reacted. I wanted to be close to him, to touch him. As if that didn't freak me out, he says my name and I begin to feel strange. When he approaches I feel like I'm using all my power to keep still, then he gets close to 'see how tall I am'. Lies. He probably feels exactly what I am only he saw it coming and he's teasing me about it. When he talks I can feel his breathe against my lips and I have to back away.

This is happening too fast, even for me. Madara is a man, and a relative at that. In this day and age, that was pretty messed up.

I notice Madara looking around in a paranoid way, Sasuke just watching me. No one has said anything since Madara last spoke.

I break the heavy silence. "You can't be here physically, you know that… Sensei." It felt weird saying that in front of Sasuke.

He gives me that crazy grin before grabbing Sasuke and I by the arm and racing back the way I came.

He turned to us saying, "Which is why we have to get the hell out of Japan!" Then he turns around and focuses on following the scent I left behind me. What an animal.

My body tingles where he is touching my arm, dragging me along with him. I inwardly cringe at the fact that he's still completely covered in that black… stuff. It seems like some kind of oil, perhaps the kind that Uchiha's pampered themselves with in the Egyptian times, but it smells strongly of blood, as if it were a mix of the two.

Either way, after so many years in a tree well, neither of the two smell as pleasant as they once did.

As we get dragged, I can only wonder how Sasuke found the Uchiha book in my hand... Madara's possessions were supposed to be destroyed, and this had to be one of his most powerful possessions...

Madara slows to a stop and looks on with his head tilted to the side, then looks back at me. "What- Your scent ends at that thing." He says nodding his head towards my car, before sniffing me to make sure he was following the right trail.

"That's my car. They had those when you had your body back for a short period of time, during the Fox attack." Sasuke had an 'are you serious?' face before I mouth 'He's very old.' to him.

Madara just rolls his eyes at me before saying, "I know, I've just never been in one. What's the point when I can practically materialize anywhere I want?"

"You're not some ghost anymore, you can't just teleport now." Sasuke interjects.

"Actually, yes, he can." Sasuke lifts a brow. "It's just something he can do. He and I have a knack for dimension manipulation, similar to your Amaterasu manipulation." I then look to Madara. "He is right, though. Humans are kept in the dark about us, so seeing as how we now have to practically go undercover thanks to you-" I eye both him and Sasuke. "- You're going to have to be able to blend in with the humans. No flying through doors unless it's just us."

Sasuke seemed to get the humor in my statement and gave a snort.

"That's understandable." Madara did not.

He slowly approached the car, running his fingers across it, pleased that he could feel again. I imagine you forget how to do so after practically being a ghost.

Sasuke had already claimed the inalienable right to shot gun so Madara was going to have to climb in by lifting the driver's seat. He decided this was too much work and phased through the car. He was still wet from the death-pond. Yuck.

We began the semi-long drive back home in silence before Madara looks at me through the rear view and says, "Dear God! I haven't eaten anything since Kyuubi!"

"Actually I'm a bit hungry myself…" Sasuke mumbles, somewhat confused about Madara's references.

"Then it's settled. Itachi, pull over near that group of humans. Do they still offer sacrifices?"

I roll my eyes at his half-joke, but play along to mess with Sasuke."They stopped that in Japan about two hundred years ago, sensei." Sasuke just gives him a 'What the hell' face. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Must mean he feels safe with us. That's nice.

"There are no quick places open this late, at least none that will give you real meat, which is what I assume you will prefer. Let me fill up on gas and we'll stop at a sushi bar and get hibachi."

We drive a bit longer before Sasuke points out a gas station. I was going to just leave Madara in the back, but he almost phased through the car before I grabbed his hair at the last moment whispering, "Sensei!" harshly.

He hissed when I tugged his hair and got in his face. "There are at least five humans in that convenience store. You will blend in." His eyes alternated between my eyes and mouth before I let go of him and he crawled through the seats in my car to get out. He was being a bit submissive, which seemed odd, and it wasn't helping me resist my body's urges to be… 'close' with him.

It wasn't until we walked in and the manager eyed us strangely that I realized there was something out of place. Sasuke was wearing what looked to be his mission clothes while Madara was wearing… a damp robe-like thing.

I almost face-palm. The key word being 'almost'...

I walk over to him just as he pulls down the lever of a slushee machine and gets it all over his hand. I push the lever back up and we have a glaring contest before his eyebrow lifts and he brings his hand up and licks the slushee off his index finger and takes his middle and ring finger into his mouth. My eyes narrow dangerously.

Sensei groans, and I discover my favorite sound. He makes eye-contact with me, then pushes his fingers deeper into his mouth, sucking. At first, I'm sure he's trying to seduce me, but I soon realize that is the last thing on his mind. "This tastes fantastic!" He moves to put more in his hand before Sasuke stops him and gets a large cup, filling it to the top with cherry slushee, places a lid on top and shoves it into Madara's hand with a straw.

"Pay for gas and let's get out the hell out of here before this retard breaks something." And he stalks of, glares at the manager, pushes open the door, and dramatically gets in the car.

I had to laugh a bit.

Madara doesn't really seem to give a shit about the situation, or Sasuke's sass for that matter, happily sucking down his drink, looking around the store. After pulling my sensei out of the gas-station by the hair, we finally make our way to the car to depart for the Hibachi bar.

Madara walked through my windshield and into the back seat. The cashier only gaped, open-mouthed.

This time, as out of character as it seemed, I did face-palm. No 'almost' about it.

So I have this new WORD-processor thing to replace Microsoft word and the format is soooooo weird... So pardon the most likely awkward format of the story, I have yet to get the hang of it...

I already have like two more chapters typed out, just not separated, so don't hate me completely...

I still have to edit soooo much but if you read and review then I would love you forever and update faster :D

Plus it motivates me. Even a 'Hey. I'm readin' your story. Update' would be just fine! I would even send you a 3

R&R?

~SaLEm