Power and Possession

by sabakuXnoXsalem

'Sei Ryoku to Ryoudo' That was Madaras answer when asked what he lived for. If people count as possessions, Itachi could agree. So could Sasuke. How will Naruto protect his friends from the Uchiha spell without being caught in it himself? What secrets will come out? Yaoi,Demon/VampyThemed,dirty rotten tricks &a dash of deception. ItaMada, MadaIta, SasuNaru, Nejigaa, fullsumm inside

14. Layer By Layer, It Piles

Greetings, readers, long time no see, and for that, I apologize. I do hope this isn't crap, because I wrote much of this in a 'cabin fever' state, so if it seems to drone on or read somewhat badly, I once again apologize. I just wanted I out there as fast as possible. No edit, unless I decide to send it to madasasu, who acts as my beta and personal nagger.

You guys know what happened in the last chapter, and if not, you must skim through, because I don't have the energy anymore to write out the recaps, far too much has happened and it's been too long to remember. I do hope you will enjoy this, no matter how bland it may seem, and feel free to tell me if you do indeed find it bland or boring. This helps.

Enjoy.

Chapter Fourteen~:

Layer By Layer, It Piles

---

Itachi

I didn't know what to think anymore as Madara and I sat on opposite ends of the couch, our eyes trained on something -anything- other than each other. My eyes, now returned to a familiar black, found a particularly attractive patch of carpet and got rather comfortable there, allowing me to do something I once enjoyed: thinking. Just after dismissing Hatake, Madara returned to the room with a bit of chit-chat, only to wordlessly, or rather, without proper warning, transport us to the old Uchiha district and into his previous dwelling.

When we arrived, I had at first been rooted in my spot, staring out of a crack in his blackened excuse for a window. The Uchiha complex was as it always would be to me- frozen in time. It was like the image of bodies and chilled air and a full moon is all I would ever see again as I looked at this place. It had been odd and disturbing to look outside and see that even in the bright morning sun, the Uchiha district still managed to hold it's cloudy darkness, just enough grey to counter the sun's yellow warmth and keep the feel and scent of death fresh on the grounds.

Madara had wasted no time in getting to work on whatever the hell we had been there for. I remember him grabbing my chin and physically tear my gaze from the depressing outside scene and staring into my eyes with such concentration. He almost flinched, squinting said scrutinizing eyes and turning my face about to better examine it. I kept my expression bland and bored for the most part, only quirking my brow when those eyes softened and his fingers crept up from my jaw to caress the dark shadowing around my eyes. Madara seemed to get lost, his glazed eyes dropping to my colorless lips and his fingers following mindlessly. I found myself tempted to lick my lips, and in turn probably end up licking his fingertips, just to see what would happen. Before I could decide, he had already turned around to walk into a closet.

I stayed in my spot, not sure if I really wanted to explore too much of Madara's private activities, judging by the general mysteriousness of the current atmosphere. Less than a minute later, he returns from the closet carrying various bottles and jars made of glass or some kind of wood. He seemed to glare at each rattling jar as he balance them on a dark-metaled rectangular tray, as if he was making sure he had all of the necessities. I quickly move backwards away from the shelving that I had stood next to so that he could set them there. I watched as Madara gently placed them on an empty shelf, and he quickly scattered them randomly about(in my opinion) before returning to the closet to retrieve what looked to be a large black-wood mixing bowl.

I squinted, trying to take all of these details in as Madara lit small candles around his soon to be work space. I couldn't believe it. The wood for that bowl had come from the silent forest that surrounded this complex, it was unmistakable. My eyes moved from the small containers to the black candles and the disgustingly strong stick of incense that Madara was currently lighting and back to the bowl once more. This was... This is...

Black magic...

A small, nervous huff of laughter echoes through my chest and I almost expect Madara to turn around and admit that this is some sort of joke and share my nervous amusement, but he does no such thing. He continues to inspect each little container, carefully dripping their insides into the bowl. It was so strange to see this. I mean, I always knew that Madara was ancient, but people, human or not, had stopped the old ways centuries ago. Now, demons only used clan spells, tricks that were unique to one's family that could be performed with out runes, potion and spoken curses.

Then again, these were very minimalistic spells to someone like Madara. He saw these evolutions as laziness, viewing our unmarked flesh as disgraceful, since he himself was covered in scars with seals over them. I briefly wonder if that, the seals I mean, is how the scars disappeared that one time...

I am jarred out of my curious thoughts when the television in our living room is suddenly blaring, telling me that Madara had suddenly changed the channel. He still doesn't look at me, but I know he can feel my eyes.

With a sigh, my mind returns to the memories of this morning, dwelling mostly on the strange brew he had forced down my throat. During my training, Madara had made me draw, write, and voice curse after curse after curse until it was as natural as breathing, but I had never even heard him mention potions. Perhaps he didn't want to date himself, since potions were one of the earliest arts. I had no idea that he was so practiced.

I watched him add ingredients with such precision, so measured and each swirl of the bowl so deliberate. He tasted some, smelled others and wouldn't hold three mysterious purple and brown-wood jars to his face. I could only assume that he knew better than to let those particular vials near his face due to experience.

I noticed that he had no qualms about dumping them in the pot meant for me, though...

Then, he reached a point in the spell that apparently required customization. Madara suddenly began to steal glances a me before he would throw something in, he even got in my face, inspecting every detail of my features. He began touching my skin, rolling up my sleeve and dragging his nails across the soft skin of my white inner arm just hard enough to draw blood and watch the skin mend itself immediately. I was pleasantly surprised by this, despite the fact that it had occurred in the bathroom hours ago, but Madara seemed...

Displeased?

In that moment, I hadn't had time to think too much on it, because the next thing I knew, his fingers were prodding at my lips, demanding entrance. Not knowing what else to do, I opened my mouth, trying to pull my mind from the gutter as Madara's fingers probed my gums, tongue and teeth with a look of concentration etched onto his face, namely visible by his furrowed eyebrows. He began to poke around at one of my pointy elongated canines rather curiously. For some reason, this stole a strange reaction from my body. I shuddered as my entire mouth throbbed and salivated, and I found myself lathing Madara's finger in said saliva in anticipation of... well, I don't really know...

He retracted his wet fingers and I licked my lips, for some reason missing the feeling of his warm flesh in my mouth. Then, Sensei does something even more strange: He puts the same fingers into his own mouth, eyes focused on his knuckles as his tongue moves over the invading appendages. His brows furrow further and he suddenly snaps his eyes on me with a frown and an almost suspicious shine to his eyes.

Pfft, I didn't do anything...

Madara suddenly moves back to the shelf, wiping his fingers on his robe and grabbing an empty vial. He seemed to contemplate something for a bit, glancing at me and back to the vial, before he made a decision. He approached me with the vial, holding it to my face.

Madara pursed his lips and furrowed his brows, "I need you to... spit in this..."

What?

I'm left to wonder if all of his 'thinking' had been about how to word his request, because that definitely didn't sound right..

"You know how, right? Do you know what I mean, boy?" I almost wanted to be an ass and reply with something along the lines of 'Of course I know how to spit.', but I knew somehow that he did not want my saliva, per say...

As much as it pained me, I had had to awkwardly shake my head negatively...

He sighed, a bit frustrated as he fidgeted as if we were on a schedule. "I assumed things would come a bit more naturally to you, like the eye transitions did, but I suppose I can't expect this much..." I frowned, disliking the thought of not living up to Sensei's expectations.

With an irked tone and a slight pout, I demand his instruction. "Tell me what you want, exactly..."

Madara raised a brow, bringing a pretty finger to his face to tap his chin as he sized me up. His upper lip bulged a bit as his tongue moved slowly and seductively over his teeth in thought, then peeked out to wet his lips before he spoke.

"That strange taste in your mouth, kind of bitter sweet, I need you to make it more concentrated somehow..." At this, my tongue automatically moved about in my mouth, testing and tasting to see how correct Madara was. It was there, I could indeed taste something similar to what he has described, but it was very faint.

My eyes narrowed confusedly, "How do I... make it?"

He opened his mouth to answer, then snapped it shut, gnawing at his finger a bit in thought. He repeated this movement a couple times before seemingly giving up, as if he couldn't really put the act into words.

Madara grimaced, annoyed. "I need you to... 'arouse' yourself, in a sense..." I grinned the shittiest grin of all time, even more pleased to find that Madara seemed to miss his own innuendo.

"Why don't you do it for me, Madara-sama...?" Honestly, I had only been teasing. I loved when Madara didn't know whether to blush or flirt back wholeheartedly.

Instead of a bout of indecision, he actually seemed to contemplate my request. His eyes narrowed and zeroed in on the large bowl of who-knows-what as he nodded to himself. Then, he gave me a look that made me feel like I had just unwittingly dared a devil, and it was quite unsettling...

Madara sneered, his eyes lidded attractively and they seemed to gleam bright red as he sauntered into my personal space. His tongue slithers out in a mildly creepy manner to wet his lips and I can only just notice a flash of crimson before his hands are on either side of my face, smashing our mouths together. I melt into the kiss like a love-sick romantic, letting him dominate my mouth without command, despite the strange rebellious feelings this caused. I suddenly became aware of his warm tongue caressing every part of my mouth, particularly my tongue and teeth- Then, I tasted it. He must have bit into his tongue or something because I could taste his blood in my mouth and God... My entire mouth seemed to ache with need as I helplessly salivated- some spilling from the corners of my mouth. I vaguely recognized that bitter-sweetness that Sensei had spoken of, but my mind felt too far gone to even remember how or why this started.

I groaned helplessly, my instincts and feelings and senses all in war with each other. I couldn't decide if I wanted to fall at his mercy or tower over him and steal what I wanted. Hell, at this point, I didn't even know what I wanted.

Luckily-or unluckily- Madara pulled back at the sound of my utter confusion, licking his lips with relish, eyes falling shut. The sight didn't help my aroused state.

Perhaps he truly did catch his innuendo...

I fall to my hands and knees, my legs having been reduced to jelly, and fight to steady my breath. Madara looks down at my panting form, his eyes showing his own inner war for self control, and with a manly whine, he bites his lip. His hand creeps down to briefly palm his aroused manhood in what looked to be apology before he turns away to go to the table.

Madara quickly returns to my side holding an empty vial between us. I watch as he runs his tongue over his teeth again, his eyes shut in what looked to be concentration. He then spits a transparent, pink-tinted liquid into the vial before holding it to my lips. I quirk an eyebrow at the strangeness of our activities, but copy all the same. I seem to have acquired a bit more of the bitter-sweet saliva than Madara, though, because before I can even open my mouth all the way, I find myself drooling embarrassingly.

Madara chuckles, "Heh, seems like I've aroused you a bit too much, boy..." I grimace, licking my lips and moving to stand, no longer comfortable on my knees. "I'm not complaining, but what the hell was all of that about, Madara?" He paused to send me a brief glare, making me realize that I had so rudely used his name. Hn, respect issues...

Madara turned back to the table, swirling the vial like a wine glass to mix the contents. "This is the last step. That bitter-sweet liquid was like something like defense. Your body, in this state, produces something like a 'poison', and depending on the desired potency, it can get you out of a troubling situation, similar to a snake's venom. It is completely harmless to yourself, though, and aids healing when your body cannot help itself- say if you suffer from sun-exposure or devastating flesh wounds. Your body works from the inside out, so your... well, I suppose you could say your saliva helps accelerate the outside's healing... I'm sure you learned this when you invaded my brain." He finished the last part with a glare.

I swallow, not too comfortable with the strange after-taste yet. "And what does it have to do with your 'potion'?" I ask bemusedly.

"It is unique to you, boy, just as your blood is. This will make sure that my 'potion' is compatible with your body to suppress your current... problem. With out this bit of customization, it would attack your insides quite mercilessly, I'm afraid."

Judging by the shitty smirk, I'd bet my bond that he wasn't nearly as 'afraid' as he said...

A confusing thought occurred to me. "If that is so, why did you add your bit of 'venom' into the mix?"

Madara raised a brow before his face reddened in what looked suspiciously like a blush. He frowned and crinkled his nose before looking away. "We are bonded together, stupid boy, it should be obvious. You are part of me... and I... am part of you. It is simply another thing that will help this mold to your body..." I smiled at his angry bashfulness.

In a weird 'Uchiha Madara: Conqueror of All' kind of way, it was cute.

I smirk, "If we are so bonded, I don't see why you can't mold yourself to my body and call it a day." It was half playful jab, half wounded confession. I was honestly rather insecure about our situation for some reason, some daft part of me wondering if he didn't find me 'good enough'.

If he saw the other side of this, he made no comment, choosing only to recognize the jab and glare at me in a way that said 'This is serious business'.

I sigh, moving forward to peek over the shoulder of his hunched form, smirking at the way all of his muscles tense up. I make no comment about the hitch in his breath, but he growls none-the-less, knowing I had heard it. After about a minute of watching him work, I inched forward slowly, my front eventually coming into contact with his back. My arms come around to hug his middle, and we both wait in silence for him to relax into my embrace. My chin rests on his shoulder after this process, glaring at his actions. What I had thought was ceremonial decoration had apparently had more of a purpose. He held one of the candles over the pot to pour out a drop of the... candle wax, if it was even wax... Then, he pinched some of the ashes from the incense and sprinkled that in as well.

I was no potion master, but that didn't seem right to me...

Madara mixed all of this up silently. Then, as if sensing my distaste, turned his head toward me with a cocked eyebrow, silently asking what I was going to do about it. It was there in his eyes, the 'Don't even try to question me' look. I looked away, not willing to take the dare- but also not so sure of how long I could take his face touching mine.

I laid my head down on his back for a bit, silently running my tongue over my new, animalistic teeth in blank thought, simply enjoying the warmth of his body. It was almost too warm, as if his internal temperature wasn't quite right, but it felt good in the cold atmosphere, so I said nothing. Then suddenly, the world warped.

I tensed, nearly squeezing Madara to death with my upgraded strength. My eyes rushed around and I blinked hard, repeatedly, as if it would make the tunnel vision go away. I tried to open my mouth to get more air, but my jaw refused to unlock, and as I inhaled through my nose, it all started over again. I groaned, my eyes searching desperately for the source of this madness before finally settling on a smirking Madara, who held a blade over his sliced wrist.

"The blood I let you sample in our little saliva transfer wouldn't suffice, but I'm sure this will do." He said teasingly. I almost didn't hear him, all of my senses focused on his blood. It was suddenly so appealing, so attractive. I wanted Madara covered in it. I found myself fantasizing about him lying in a bed, on the floor, in a tub simply soaked in it, beckoning me and Oh God...

I watch in mourning as it drips away, disappearing into the bowl of now-burgundy mixture. I took a twitching step forward, but was stopped at a dark laugh.

"Seems like this is progressing just fine..."

Everything from that point was completely foggy, in and out, until we returned home. Flashes of the dark room, smells, feelings and tastes were all I could recover from it after that. I remember having to donate a bit of my own blood as well, though, and I almost think that Madara had to hold his breath as well...

My gaze wanders to him at his spot on the couch. His brows were furrowed and I could tell he was thinking rather hard about something. Madara suddenly stands, violently shutting the curtains in the living room and throwing us into darkness. That's fine, it was getting a bit hot any way...

He turns and stares at me so hard that it could be mistaken for a glare.

"Tell me, Itachi. How are you feeling?"

---

Madara

This isn't right... At first it was just suspicious, but now it's downright wrong.

It had been a bit of an understatement when I had said that things were progressing 'just fine', because as soon as Itachi guzzled half of that elixir, everything got too quiet. It was obvious that it had been the calm before the storm...

He had been fine, if not a little overwhelmed by all of this, and he had simply stood there as I collected all of the necessities. Had I been alone, I probably would have been murmuring my thoughts aloud, because it had been decades since I'd had to pull such a solution out of thin air, and making it to help someone as unique as Itachi was not going to be very easy.

Making my own personal little potion had been cake, since I required less customization and was better at controlling this monster. Itachi, however, was going to have a tough time. Despite the fact that he was so adaptable, and usually hit the ground running, it was inevitably going to be a wobbly start- for both of us, really.

Trying to ignore these discouraging thoughts, I began the 'first drink' ceremony, candles and incense and the works. I was mildly worried that his body would reject the solution, as he had already tasted blood. If so, this was going to be terrible for the both of us. After I had killed off my mother, I'd had to develop this omnivorous means of living and it had been trial and error trying to incorporate old Uchiha magic and 'modern medicine'. I had learned that it was better to choose one or the other; blood or medicine.

It had only been hours earlier that Itachi had unwittingly chose blood, be it tainted blood.

I sighed, absentmindedly testing and dumping vials of oils and herbs and you-name-it. I had to taste a few, just to see if they meshed together well, and I had to stifle my shudders of disgust for some of the vials as to not put off Itachi. Many of these were quite dreadful by themselves, but by the time you add the final ingredients, and when you become desperate, you tend to focus on the main course of this little mix.

The blood.

Hopefully, Itachi was fiending enough to ignore the other additives.

I paused briefly, collecting my thoughts after completing the basic formula. Now, I simply needed Itachi's body not to reject it. Frowning, I began looking him over, seeing how far gone he was, how developed his 'transformation' had become. I swallowed, unsure how to feel about Itachi at this moment. I couldn't figure out if this had progressed so well because of who Itachi was, or because of the fact that his first taste had been me. Either thought left a relatively bitter taste in my mouth, despite the fuzzy feelings my bond gave me.

I ignored my feelings the best I could, trying to focus on what I was doing. It had to be done quickly, for Itachi's sake and mine, because I don't think he really understood what he did to me when he stared at me with those eyes...

Speaking of those eyes... I frown, my brows coming together as I look at him once more, a bit harder this time. I narrow my eyes, moving to step in front of Itachi to get a better look. His eyes were such a dark red, and the black shadows around them were almost too black to be shadows. Itachi's skin was a bit disturbing shade as well, so white, but so healthy looking. I masked my expression as best I could and began to run my hands over his face. The skin was soft and full, as if his body had accepted his drastic change whole-heartedly.

Too fast...

Usually, the body resisted the blood's awakening. There was simply no way to tell if his ease into this life stage was because of the bond or my blood. It made sense that the transition be easier if it were either of those- the bond, because he was linked to someone who was beyond experienced with this, and my blood, because he had consumed someone who was beyond experienced...

I realized that I had been touching all over Itachi the entire time I had been thinking about this. I removed my hands from his face, having thoroughly caressed every inch, to my shame... Something just wasn't right about it though. I glared suspiciously before moving his sleeve up, surprising him a bit as I left long claw-marks down his fore-arm.

He healed immediately.

Much too fast for someone who just awakened their blood. I didn't like where this was going. I went down the mental checklist of transition maturity. What's next, what's ne-

I immediately poked my fingers at his lips, demanding he part them. He did so, eventually, giving me a rather awkward look. I smothered any inappropriate thoughts, reminding myself that this was a strictly scientific experiment, and it most certainly was not Itachi sucking my fingers. I felt around his mouth, thankful that I could not feel my skin tingling in what would be the tell-tale signs of matured venom. However, as soon as I began to inspect his rather long 'fangs' he shudders and my fingers become wetter than before. I quickly retracted my fingers before I got excited, inspecting them as Itachi licked his lips.

Well, only one way to know for sure...

Itachi's face was just too adorable, so I couldn't help but to look as sensual as possible as I placed my fingers into my mouth. This didn't last, because the strong taste that assaulted my tongue had my brows furrowing even more and my eyes darting to Itachi accusingly. If even this was so strong, then he is much more advanced than I had thought.

I quickly turn back to the bowl, contemplating my next move as I wipe his saliva on my robe. This could be a positive thing. If I put his own venom into the mix, it would only be that much more compatible, and with it being so strong...

I grab a vial and move in front of him once more, holding it to his face, but I falter. How am I supposed to ask this? I'm sure my face looks as awkward as I feel, but I muscle through the discomfort, eventually forcing myself to say what I need. "I need you to... spit in this..."

Itachi narrows his eyes, giving me a look that suggested I go check myself into a psych-ward.

I hold back yet another sigh, "You know how, right? Do you know what I mean, boy?" He seemed to think about it, but eventually shook his head. This time I did sigh. "I assumed things would come a bit more naturally to you, like the eye transitions did, but I suppose I can't expect this much..." Itachi frowned and naturally got a bit defensive.

"Tell me what you want, exactly..." And his slight pouting made me raise a brow. I bring a hand to my face and tap my chin as I look him up and down. I found myself running my tongue over my own fangs in thought. How does one explain these things? I mean, it was easy to produce the healing/hurting salve, right? It was natural, but how could I make Itachi understand that?

"That strange taste in your mouth, kind of bitter sweet, I need you to make it more concentrated somehow..." I watched as he imitated me, as if trying to taste it. His brow twitched, and he looked confused, something that looked ridiculously cute on him. "How do I... make it?"

I opened my mouth, but snapped it shut, biting at the finger that had been tapping my chin. I really couldn't explain how. For me, the idea of slaughter, sex and battle did the trick. I had to swallow a bit, just thinking about it. However, explaining the act of arousing your darker senses just seemed odd. I really wished that I didn't need Itachi's venom for this, but the more 'personalized', the better.

I grimaced, annoyed. "I need you to... 'arouse' yourself, in a sense..." Instead of another confused look, I received Itachi's most devious smile.

"Why don't you do it for me, Madara-sama...?"

Huh, that was... a good idea. My eyes narrowed in slight concern, a brief thought crossing my mind that posed a problem to this idea of Itachi's. If I did things 'manually', then part of myself may be mixed in as well, right?

But alas, we were already bonded, so we were about as mixed as it gets anyway. If anything, this could make this more customized, I suppose. With a nod of determination and a devious look of my own, I move toward my nervous looking mate. I watch his eyes glue themselves to my mouth as I run my tongue over the sharp tip of my teeth, just enough to draw blood.

I grabbed his face and smashed our lips together, pushing my tongue into his mouth, pleased with how he falls to my mercy, eagerly taking all I will give him. Honestly, the boy was so hungry for affection, it made me feel a bit guilty for not giving him more of my attention. I bite his lip playfully, running my tongue along his own and it wasn't long before I received a reaction. Itachi groaned into my mouth, his muscles jerking slightly as a certain side of him demanded I be put in my place. I could feel it, the intentions practically radiated off of him. Quickly, I moved away, having gotten quite a mouth full of Itachi, more than enough. I'm sure he understood what I needed now.

I close my eyes, licking my lips and swallowing. Itachi falls to his hands and knees, looking up at me as he pants and tries to understand what I had just done to him. Oh, how I wanted to have him, right then and there. Images of us on that floor, tearing each other's clothes off and-

A low whine escapes my throat as I bite my lip to hold back more sounds. I squeeze my neglected manhood in the most sincere apology before forcing myself to ignore it once more in favor of what needed to be done. I kneel down next to my beloved, produce my own, and spit it into the vial. I smirk as Itachi nearly chokes at the amount he has accidentally produced.

Who ever said Itachi was smooth all the time.

I chuckle, running the vial along a trail of saliva that escaped down his chin. "Heh, seems like I've aroused you a bit too much, boy..." He licks his lips with a rather embarrassed expression, moving to stand, as if a change in position could steal back his pride.

"I'm not complaining, but what the hell was all of that about, Madara?" I glared over my shoulder at the disrespect in his tone before turning back to give my attention to the elixir.

"This is the last step. That bitter-sweet liquid was like something like defense. Your body, in this state, produces something like a 'poison', and depending on the desired potency, it can get you out of a troubling situation, similar to a snake's venom. It is completely harmless to yourself, though, and aids healing when your body cannot help itself- say if you suffer from sun-exposure or devastating flesh wounds. Your body works from the inside out, so your... well, I suppose you could say your saliva helps accelerate the outside's healing... I'm sure you learned this when you invaded my brain." I finish with a glare.

I'm aware that this had not been what he'd been talking about when he'd said 'all of that', but I didn't want to address the fact that I'd gone a bit over-board with how I went about getting his 'venom'.

Luckily, he did not catch this. "And what does it have to do with your 'potion'?" he asked bemusedly. Okay, so maybe he did catch my evasion, if his tone was anything to go by.

"It is unique to you, boy, just as your blood is. This will make sure that my 'potion' is compatible with your body to suppress your current... problem. With out this bit of customization, it would attack your insides quite mercilessly, I'm afraid." I say with a smirk.

"If that is so, why did you add your bit of 'venom' into the mix?" and my smirk disappears.

I raise a brow before a blush steals my face and my nose crinkles angrily for some reason. "We are bonded together, stupid boy, it should be obvious. You are part of me... and I... am part of you. It is simply another thing that will help this mold to your body..." He smiled.

Son of a...

"If we are so bonded, I don't see why you can't mold yourself to my body and call it a day." Tch! I glare, tired and annoyed with his distractions. Since when was Itachi so pervertedly irritating?

I hear his sigh and feel him get closer, looking over my shoulder and I can't help but tense. I can almost feel his smirk and I growl. I try to ignore him, and I am successful for about a minute, but I freeze once more as I feel his arms wrap around me from behind. He doesn't say anything, only relaxes against me, forcing me to do the same as he rests his chin on my shoulder to watch me work. Itachi didn't seem to like what I was doing, if the air of distaste was anything to go by, but I didn't care. I looked back at him, our cheeks touching in the process, and glare, daring him to say something.

Itachi only frowns and looks away, submitting. He stayed like that, resting his face against my back as I continued to mix. Everything was going smoothly, but I knew that about to change.

With a quiet breath, I grabbed a small blade from my work-station and made a rather deep cut across my wrist, making sure to slice a vein. The reaction was instantaneous.

Itachi suddenly turned into the predator inside, arms tightening like steel belts around me, his supposed prey- a natural instinct. I heard him inhale and groan against my back before he peeked over and his eyes caught my bloodied arm and amused smirk.

"The blood I let you sample in our little saliva transfer wouldn't suffice, but I'm sure this will do." I teased, but he didn't seem to hear me, his eyes completely transfixed.I held it over the bowl, watching those eyes follow every drip.

"Seems like this is progressing just fine..." Itachi still wasn't listening though, eyes twitching. I frowned, quickly bringing my wrist to my mouth to clean it. This didn't bring him back to his senses though. It actually seemed to upset him more, and he almost looked as if he were going to attack...

I needed to finish this quickly.

I grabbed his arm and made a small cut, holding it over the bowl. Itachi jerked a bit, but everything was fine- until I inhaled.

Oh Kami. I hadn't smelled something so appetizing since... I can't even...

I struggled to breathe, holding my free hand over my mouth. Itachi was watching me, but his mind was too far gone to realize what was even happening. As soon as he healed, I threw him across the room, knowing he wouldn't remember it. I needed distance, now.

As soon as I heard the thump of Itachi hitting the wall, I mixed his medicine, pouring it into a couple of vials 'for the road'. After these vials were poured, I took the bowl to where Itachi lay, having landed quite hard.

I hadn't really been too gentle...

But since when is Uchiha Madara gentle?

I grabbed him by the hair, jerking his head back and dumping the contents of the bowl down his throat.

Itachi's features ever-so-slowly returned to normal, but he had been almost too quiet when we arrived back to our home in the Unhidden realm...

He seemed fine, healthy, normal- completely able to cope with his change.

I, however, was quite disturbed.

All morning, I had noticed a steady increase in temperature. I had assumed that this was because of the time of day, but I knew deep down that the California sun was not completely at fault... What with the gradualness of said heat increase, it must have started some time in the night. What triggered it, though? It was clear that this was some reaction that my body had come up with- but to tell me what? A symptom's purpose was to tell you something, but what message was my body trying to convey?

There were multiple variables, really, as so much has happened recently. Heat... Heat...

Something dawns on me and I make to stand, shutting the curtains violently. Nothing. No relief at all. This only proved that the sun had little to do with it, though I'm sure it did not help. I quickly turn to Itachi, staring hard at his face.

"Tell me, Itachi. How are you feeling?"

His face remains expressionless, but I can tell that he's contemplating, 'weirded out' by my question. After a bit of self analyzing, he replies with, "I'm well." I narrow my eyes.

Lies...

There were few things that could produce this reaction. One, was that Itachi's awakening is influencing our bond, and making my body simulate being 'in heat' as some would say in order to force me to move the process of completion along, but it would at least affect Itachi a little. Plus, I could read him like a book, and though it wasn't a complete lie, I could tell that something was making him physically uncomfortable, be it me or something else. The only other reason that my body would react in such a way was-

My eyes widen.

In light of more recent events, my mate's awakening, the bond has made Itachi my first priority, thus having me put the happenings of last night to the back of my mind.

Senju. Orochimaru brought back Senju Hashirama via Edo Tensei...

I stood tense in the middle of the living room, no longer looking at Itachi. With a short calming breath, I composed myself. It had been a very long time since I had last needed to wear a mask in front of Itachi, but this situation was a bit fragile, and I needed to smother my emotions to think through it.

Senju is alive. That thought alone drove me mad. Why, though? Orochimaru brought him back, and despite the level of disgusting insanity that I had witnessed when my phantom-like form followed Sasuke, it was clear to me that the snake demon was rather uninterested in war. If he didn't want war, then what was he after? What would he need Senju for, specifically.

I began pacing, my eyes narrowed in thought. Senju was tied to a few things in particular, the most outstanding being Konoha, Wood-style, The Kyuubi, The Uchiha, and The Uzumaki. Orochimaru himself is associated with Konoha... He wouldn't need Senju in that sense. The snake was also dabbling in Wood-style. If he was so interested in it, why not keep Senju in his snake-den instead of sending him to Konoha.

No, this was about something Orochimaru wanted...

I stopped my pacing. Sasuke?

Orochimaru was indeed rather obsessed with my youngest descendent, and it was the only thing that I could think of that would push him to go to such great lengths. Edo Tensei was no simple technique.

I began to pace once more.

That would make a bit of sense, summoning Senju of all people. The only other options in locating an Uchiha would be another Uchiha- That or an Uzumaki, but the remains of both clans were either lost or sealed. Summoning the Kyuubi was apparently out of the question, since only I, Senju, and the current host are the only people with the ability to properly harness or control it's strength. Well, if the host is a good Jinchuuriki...

I break back into my thoughts of Senju instead of mourning the loss of my Kuchiyose, pacing a bit more fervently. God, why is it so hot.

So Orochimaru was planning to use Senju to track Sasuke... Normally, this would have mobilized me immediately, but there was something bothering me. I felt as if I were missing something, something that tied all of this together.

Why...?Why not try and find Sasuke immediately after the summoning? It was a brief thought of mine that he could be unable to find Sasuke. Sasuke was incredibly skilled in his Chakra control, his ability to manipulate Amaterasu so well was only a neat parlor trick compared to his actual potential. Itachi had once commented on his ability to completely conceal his Chakra identity, and I imagine keeping a curse mark like his at bay required a constant feed of energy.

Has Sasuke been concealing himself this entire time? The thought was rather outstanding, as any other creature of his age and experience would have exhausted themselves, or at least tired themselves, so I found myself impressed. But that still didn't explain why Sasuke had to go to Konoha...

Nor did it explain why Senju went to Konoha. The only real thing that could be left for him there was-

My eyes widen. The Kyuubi no Kitsune.

I quickly calmed myself to dissect this further. The threat was not immediate, for if Senju had the Kyuubi, with their combined sense and tracking ability, finding an Uchiha would be next to effortless, hidden Chakra or not. This didn't seem so, however, as Senju was only good for suppressing the Kyuubi, not properly controlling it, or even housing it for that matter...

I doubt Senju is even aware of how much easier finding Sasuke would be if he used the Kyuubi... Senju had known very little about utilizing Kurama's power. Plus, if he did have the Kyuubi, Sasuke would have been gone before I arrived at the scene. He also would have sensed me and attacked... So it was clear that he did not have the Kyuubi in his grasp.

Why go to Konoha, then?! I needed to know what exactly he had come after, what he had taken from the village...

Damn... If I had been there earlier- Wait... Sasuke had been there earlier, I could simply ask him what he saw, why Senju was ther-

Or I could ask Sasuke why he was there in the first place...

I had been about to take off to find him when Itachi addressed me.

"Madara-sama, is something troubling you...?" I turn to Itachi, not sure if I should share or not, but I'm interrupted by a frantic, yet somewhat controlled, knock on our door. My eyes narrow, wondering if our neighbors came by to snoop once more...

I walk to the door, cracking it in case that Hatake was there, but I'm met with a slightly shorter figure who was indeed hiding his energy. There stood Sasuke, scowling harder than any Uchiha before him with his shirt acting as an umbrella. He held the white garb over his head, shielding himself from view and looking mildly ridiculous in the process. Sasuke quickly pushed the door the rest of the way open and let himself in, turning to shut and lock the door behind him.

I moved to Itachi's side to watch as he turned around to face us- or, face our direction, as his shirt still concealed his face from us. Itachi raised a brow. "Did you need something, Sasuke?"

He huffs, violently throwing his shirt off of his head, leaving Itachi and I to hide our reactions the best we could.

"Yes," he spits, "What the hell is this?"

---

Sasuke

That moron has been gone for some time... I sighed, falling back onto his bed with my arms lazily at my side.

I had come back to his room hours ago, and I was planning on sitting and waiting in the hall, but I began to feel a bit ill. With a shrug, and a tired shake of my head, I stood to break into the room. I reasoned that this was the appropriate action anyways, because it put our alliance in danger to have a bloody man sitting outside of your door, especially after the commotion last night- plus, Neji would be here soon as well. I needed to change, anyways.

There, that was more than enough logic to permit breaking and entering.

Oddly enough, though, I had to do no such thing. I narrowed my eyes as the door knob I'd grasped nearly fell off. Someone had already broken in. I kept my eyes black as I crept inside because, despite the fact that this room was hardly as sealed as Naruto's room in Deidara's house, it was still quite uncomfortable to have Sharingan activated in here. I shut the door behind me quietly, though no one was here. It was suspicious that nothing had moved since Naruto and I had left.

What reason would someone have to break in besides stealing- oh, I see.

How else would Madara have known that I was gone? It was obvious that he had been here, and I'd bet that my phone has messages from Juugo that Madara had been looking for me.

Damn it. Does that mean Naruto is on Madara's radar? If he's been in here, then he's most definitely noticed the seals... Granted, these weren't the strongest of seals, the whole point of them being to remain invisible, but Madara being Madara would have sensed the 'Senju' on them in a heart beat.

I search the room, looking for any signs that he'd dug around anywhere, but found nothing. His scent wasn't even really here, besides the faintest trace he left on the door knob. Madara didn't stay long, then. He probably took one look at the seals and bolted.

I sighed quietly in relief, sitting on the bed. As if this situation could suck any more...

I glance at the clock next to Naruto's bed, rather bored. It was eight thirty-two, and I had broke in at around seven fifteen. That left me sitting in that hall-way for almost two hours.

I need a life...

I shake my head and begin to strip, suddenly self-conscious about laying on Naruto's bed in my blood-coated battle outfit. When I was good and naked, I kicked my soiled clothes into a corner and began rooting around in Naruto's drawers. I'm sure he wouldn't mind...

I had to hold back a snort as I pulled out some rather flamboyant boxer-briefs. There's no way Naruto's straight...

I quickly replaced them and grabbed a pair that were a more neutral color. Ah, black. Perfect.

When it came to soaps, Naruto was rather limited, choosing to keep things basic with a 'three-in-one' liquid wash. I don't care what anyone says, washing your hair and body with the same thing just wasn't right. Regardless, I took it with me to the showers down the hall, because I sure as hell wasn't using anything that Hyuuga Neji bathed with.

I stealthily moved down the empty hall, glad that most of the students were either gone or spending their Saturday sleeping in. I sighed, relaxing as I shut the door to the showers behind me. It was rather lucky that I had yet to run into anyone in this stat-

I froze as I turned around, finding an equally frozen human with a towel around his waist. His jaw dropped as he looked down and took in all the crimson that splatter-painted me from head to toe, then back up again until a full second of awkward silence had ensued. His eyes grew wide and his jaw muscles tensed, preparing to scream and my eyes quickly evolved into Sharingan. It was nothing too intense, just three tomoe- just enough to stun someone to their knees, and more helpfully, to their silence.

"Hn..." I stepped over his sloppy form, noting how his ungraceful fall had dislodged his towel and he now lay uncomfortably exposed. With a shrug, and a silent prayer that no one would come in while I was showering, I turned on the water. The water immediately came off as a diluted red and I found myself unconsciously licking my lips as I watched it swirl down the drain...

With a shake of my head, I grabbed the all-in-one soap and began with my hair, working it to a lather, rinsing, rerinsing and so on. I had to repeat two or three times until the suds were white again, despite the fact that only certain parts of my skin had been exposed. It was as if parts of my clothes had been saturated, but that probably shouldn't have surprised me- it had been quite the bloodbath.

With a refreshed sigh, I shut off the water and toweled my hair before wrapping the same towel around my waist. I stood in the stall for a bit, watching as the remaining suds swam across the tile and into the drain. Something wasn't right... It felt as if something was amiss with my body...

I frowned, still standing in the stall, as if staying motionless would make the strange feeling go away. It was the oddest feeling, almost like how a chemical reaction looked. I suddenly got the feeling of falling, but not in my stomach. The sensation was concentrated in Orochimaru's curse mark. I quickly moved to one of the mirrors on the far wall to examine myself. The curse mark throbbed, but not painfully, making it even more suspicious.

Was Orochimaru trying to summon me? Was this some new way of searching for me?

No, that wasn't possible... The sensitivity of the curse mark had been entirely deadened, as if it had been paralyzed or numbed. Itachi hadn't truly removed the curse mark, as it would have taken far too much energy and ceremony, but he had easily deadened it, preventing that snake and I from connecting through it. Itachi had somehow smothered the snake's bond to me, probably with something Uchiha-friendly so that my body would attach to that instead.

Either way, it prevented him from finding me, so I saw no reason to think too hard about it.

Still, something was definitely interfering with the curse mark...

With a raised brow I began to change, choosing to ignore it for now in favor of staring at myself in Naruto's clothes. I smirked at his ridiculously tight boxer briefs, knowing for a fact that these had to suffocate his junk if they were this tight on even me, as I was slightly slimmer. Then I had the steamy image of Naruto modeling these accentuating underpants... Those muscular legs... that tight ass... that enticing-

I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the idea that Naruto had worn this pair of underwear. After dressing completely, I grabbed my towel and left the community shower, not sparing a glance to the naked heap on the tiled floor. He'd wake up when someone found him, but he sure as hell wouldn't remember seeing me.

Ah, the perks of being an Uchiha.

I quickly stepped into Naruto's room to gather all of my belongings, not wanting to leave evidence that I had done more than sleep here for Neji. I mussed up Naruto's sheets to make the bed look slept in, in hopes of fooling Neji into thinking that we had not left the room. I assumed that little the details like this were the ones that kept people from knowing that Naruto was involved in the Hidden world.

There, I had sat on Naruto's bed and waited for him to return. I noticed that the tingling of my skin and the flipping sensation had disappeared, so I folded my hands behind my head and laid back on Naruto's bed, dozing off and on. After awhile, I surrendered to a nap...

Hot.

It's hot in here...

I was awake before my eyes opened, a habit I had forced upon myself in Orochimaru's lair- so if anyone were caught unawares, it would be the snake or his four-eyed fan-boy.

Because of my closed eyes, when Naruto entered his room, he was ignorant of the fact that I was awake to hear his stressed huffs as he throws himself about, lazily kicking his door shut and tossing his ANBU things into a box under his bed. I smirk. What kind of idiot hides stuff under his bed?

"Hey, teme, only creeps pretend to be sleeping..." I open my eyes, smirk still in tact.

"Only children throw things around. What are you being obnoxious about?" The smirk soon leaves me when he doesn't take the bait. I look over to find him with stormy eyes, in no mood to play. That's fine, I was rather cranky from my nap as well...

Sobered, I sat up, nodding my head to the side to invite him to sit next to me. He sighs, shaking his head before taking the seat. "You have to leave soon. Neji can't be far behind me."

I nod, choosing to ask the more important questions. "Were you discovered?" I ask first.

"No," He says quietly, something a bit odd for him. "The Hyuuga cousins in our team saw Gaara fighting unmasked. Now they will be able to differentiate between Shukaku and Gaara, putting both chakra signatures to Gaara's face." I raise a brow.

"How do they not identify you?" The Kyuubi chakra was hard to miss when unleashed. I could feel it quite well at this moment, and if it weren't for the seals covering the room, I'm sure that Kyuubi's radiant energy would make it hard to think.

Even without the fox's power in the picture, Naruto's chakra was very distinct, and also rather hard to miss, and that was in it's immensity alone. If the great Byakugan could not connect Naruto and The Fox Captain of Konoha's fiercest ANBU troop, then I found it even more inferior to Sharingan and Rinnegan than I had before.

Naruto, though, laughed the Hyuuga's ignorance off. "You aren't the only one good at hide and seek, Sasuke." I frowned and he turned his head.

"Here, at this school, with Deidara- generally when I'm away from the Hidden- I am like this. Even before all of this Senju magic, you would have had to truly search to find that I hosted Kurama. One would have to be acquainted with him to be able to recognize what the chakra was in the first place." Naruto gave me a cheerful grin, as if emphasizing the point that he looked more human than most of the actual humans here. This unsettled me, and I felt a strange feeling of foreboding creeping into my gut, my eyes stinging to evolve.

"Now, close your eyes, Sasuke." The grin was still there, but it made me want to close my eyes even less. Despite these feelings, my eyes shut.

Immediately, a dark, monstrous energy overtook my senses. It wasn't so ominous or chilling like an Uchiha, it was simply enormous and angry and evil and...

It was hot...

My brows furrowed, but a voice bellowed throughout the darkness in my eyes. "Now, I am their Fox Captain. This is what they hear and feel when they are with me, and I rarely stray from Kyuubi's signature in the Hidden world. Last night was the only real exceptio- ...Sasuke?" I opened my eyes.

"Hn?" Naruto's darkened whiskers began to fade, and the vulpine qualities slowly began to recede. His eyes faded to blue and swam with concern as they gawked at me, something I found weird, since Naruto rarely gawked.

Naruto stuttered, his clawed hand reaching for my forehead. The heat returned, so much so that I shot up off of the bed to get away from Naruto. I stumbled a bit, holding my hand out to support myself on the door frame, blinking rapidly.

Naruto approached, "Dude, what's wrong with you?"

"I... don't know..." The closer he got, the more my skin tingled and heated. I quickly backed into the hallway, perhaps needing some fresh air. My eyelids drooped, but Naruto's slightly panicked voice opened them once more.

"Sasuke!" He whisper-yelled. I glared, about to demand why he was freaking out, when I caught sight of myself, namely my hands. My skin had darkened like in my curse form, but I hadn't activated it... And the long, sharp talons that usually accompanied this transformation were darker for some reason. My complexion also had a strange translucent quality about it as well...

I schooled my features, trying to remain calm. Think like Nii-san... Cool and collected.

With a deep breath, I looked back to Naruto, but he did little to support my efforts toward remaining calm. His eyes were glazed in that certain way that told me that he wasn't paying the outside world much attention. Perhaps the nine-tails was telling him something?

Before I can ask, his eyes snap back to me, rather wide. "Uh..." His tongue darted out to wet his dry lips. "You should go... Go straight to Ita-!" Naruto's eyes crossed, as if Kyuubi had interrupted his thought process, but then snapped back once more. "No, better yet, go straight to Madara! He'd know what to do." I narrow my eyes. Weird, Naruto rarely suggested anything to do with Madara...

I exhale, nodding awkwardly. "Get my white shirt." He grabs said shirt, his face screwed up in concern and slight horror. I grunted as he handed it to me. It was almost as if the strange sensations intensified the closer Naruto got. Naruto, or rather Kyuubi(judging by Naruto's expression), seemed to get the same idea, because he quickly backpedaled behind the threshold of his 'Uchiha-proof' room of Senju seals. With a nod, I transported myself to Itachi and Madara's room as fast as I could, opting to use the body flicker technique so I would go unseen. I let my shirt shield me as I entered the hall, where I had to slow down. I had completely bypassed the security guy and raced to Itachi's door, where I banged my fist loudly and urgently.

To my great annoyance, my relative took their sweet time in answering said door. Madara's aged face peeked through the cracked door, his heavy frown lightened when he saw that I was me, but didn't disappear completely.

Tch, because I'm totally happy to see him...

I pushed past rather roughly but he hardly acknowledged me, lazily walking back to the couch to stand next to where Itachi sat. I quickly slammed the door behind me, locking it to make sure I would be their only visitor. I turned back, still leaning on the door, but I didn't remove my 'shielding shirt'. Naruto had said that it was better that I see Madara, instead of Itachi... Did that mean that Itachi shouldn't know? I thought about this for a bit, slightly wary of my older brother at that moment.

With an inward shrug, I decided it was okay. Besides, with the way my relatives stuck together so much, Itachi was bound to find out anyway, even if I only showed Madara my newly discovered lack of control over the curse seal.

Itachi, who had been watching me with an odd look, broke me out of my inner though process.

"Did you need something, Sasuke?"

Ugh, what a sassy tone. With an even harder scowl, I threw off the bloody shirt, fixing Itachi and Madara with a frustrated glare.

"Yes," I spit, "What the hell is this?"

I was suddenly unsettled with how surprised and shocked they were, not that it showed on their faces any more than the slight widening of their eyes and the odd look they shared. When Naruto told me to go to Madara, I had assumed that he suggested it because Madara would know what was going on...

We shared a long moment of awkward silence before I grew tired of their shifty eyes and telepathic looking conversations with each other. "Well?"

Itachi stood, still expressionless as he spoke to Madara. "Should we return to the Uchiha manor? Well, that, or he could just drink the one you made me earlie-"

"NO!" Madara growled before correcting himself. "No... It's a much simpler solution for Sasuke." Then he looked me over once more with a frown. "Yet so much more complicated..." His eyes were narrowed, and soon, so were Itachi's.

"What exactly do you mean, Madara-sama?"

Madara crossed his arms and leaned back in what seemed to be one of his signature stances as he spoke. "Sasuke doesn't need the elixir, he can just consume someone's blood outright." He said flippantly.

I, of course, was not so flippant. "Drink someone's blood? I'm sorry, I thought my name was Uchiha, not Cullen." They ignored me, doing that thing where they were in their own little world.

"And why is that?" Itachi asks suspiciously, clearly more interested in Madara's comment rather than my building panic.

Madara glares, obviously not liking the look that his former pupil was giving him. "Because he isn't tied down. Almost anyone will suffice." What?

Itachi's chest seemed to swell and he looked ready to set Madara ablaze, but I interrupted. "Okay what the fuck are you guys talking about?!" They both jerked their head back to yell at me with their eyes and it took every ounce of pride to not snap my mouth shut. I received the coldest look from Madara, who obviously wasn't in any kind of good mood. His eyes shifted back to Itachi, annoyed. Itachi was still actively glaring at him, and it almost seemed as if he were holding himself back from punching a hole through Madara's face, which was rather odd to me considering that I had never known Itachi to resort to physical violence so often. He must be tense.

They had a small glaring contest that ended with no real victory. At the same time, they both kind of just growled or huffed and looked away.

Weird telepathy, I swear.

Madara stomped off to the couch, plopping down rather angrily, arms still folded. "Too many fucking variables..." He grumbled. He sounded like the old man he was, growling under his breath as he stared at the floor with a deep frown.

Itachi watched him for awhile, face giving away absolutely nothing. After about half a minute, Itachi gave me a look. The expression on his face made me wonder if he had ever really seen my curse seal form, because it seemed pretty surprising to him.

"Hn..." Itachi glanced to Madara once more. "Why was the reaction so different for Sasuke?" What reaction?

Madara looked up, seemingly confused as to what Itachi was referring to. Once again, one look to Itachi and telepathy cleared it all up. "No, that's not the blood, the mutation was all Orochimaru and his seal." Blood? My mind automatically flashes back to last night on the statues when I looked over to find Itachi's teeth buried in Madara's neck...

"Whats. Going. ON?!"

Itachi's eyes shifted back to me and narrowed while Madara slouched into his seat, his hands moving to cover his face and slide down slightly in exasperation. "I can't fucking-..." He groaned in frustration, now leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, still holding his face. Suddenly, his fingers spread apart, revealing his eyes that were moving about in rapid thought. He stood, looking at Itachi.

"We need to go. Itachi, go to the room and get me clothes!" At this point, Itachi and I were suddenly hyper-aware of the fact that Madara was only wearing a robe. I averted my eye immediately, mildly disturbed, but what freaked me out more was the fact that Itachi looked more than comfortable with Madara's state of dress...

My brother tore his gaze away from the opening of Madara's robe to make haste to the man's bedroom. It was rather awkward, but I tried to ignore Itachi's spacing out in order to understand this situation. I followed Itachi into the room, watching him thoughtfully pick out black sweatpants and a black long-sleeved shirt. Odd combination.

With a dismissive frown, I went into their bathroom to examine myself, trying to see if anything besides my complexion and nails had changed. When I looked into the mirror, I made a strangely silent choking sound, trying to smother a gasp. Not only had the curse's normally dark skin lightened, it seemed to make veins grotesquely pronounced. Not to mention the fact that it looked like I had been going for the 'smokey eye' look. With my long, spiky, grey-blue hair, I looked like a J-rock star. My hands looked positively sinister, and I was beyond afraid to see my wings, so I didn't bother expanding them...

I groaned, running my monstrous fingers through my hair. As if the curse seal form wasn't beastly enough... I jump as someone pulls my hand from my hair, jerking my head to the side to see Itachi and a newly dressed Madara looking me up and down.

Itachi's face is as blank as ever as he places his hands on my face and inspects my features. I close my eyes as his thumbs swipe under the black shadows and I can feel his breath fan over my face as he sighs. His breath is really hot...

I open my eyes as look over his face, then Madara's. Itachi was slightly flushed, barely noticeable to someone who wasn't six inches from his face. Madara, though, had a thin sheen of sweat that coated his pale skin. One of his eyebrows pointed down, seeming to twitch with every second of Itachi's examination of me.

"You seem to be taking this a bit better than I had." Itachi commented, bringing my eyes back to his face. I stop the frown that tries to take my face. Itachi is experiencing something similar to this?

I shrugged slightly, "After training under Orochimaru, things like this stop surprising you." He smirks, releasing my face. I'm glad that sounded more calm than how I actually felt... I mean, sure, the physical changes weren't nearly as drastic compared to my cursed seal mode, but still... What truly disturbed me was that I wasn't sure why these changes were occurring, and no one was going to tell me, of course.

Madara finally got tired of glaring and pushed Itachi out of the way, grabbing my chin and jerking my head left and right. "Do your eyes normally look like this?" I frowned, side-glancing at the mirror once more. I assumed that he was talking about the whites of my eyes being black, but my attention was captured by the fact that my Sharingan was absent. I pulled my head from his hands to look closer into the mirror. My eyes... My irises, really. They were just red, but with an eerie glow about them. The image of the Kyuubi's eyes was suddenly in my head, making me want to close my lids. I remember that Madara asked a question, "No," I answer. "Not like this..."

His nose wrinkled, catching both mine and Itachi's attention. Nii-san raised a brow, but kept silent, even as Madara began his interrogation. "How exactly did this happen?" I glared.

"What do you mean 'How did this happen'? I randomly transformed against my will!" Pfft, I came to him for answers.

Madara seemed to pretend that I hadn't said anything, moving on from that question. "You noticed nothing out of the ordinary before hand?"

Well... Come to think of it... "... I felt like I was falling, but the sensation was coming from the curse mark, not my stomach..." I said awkwardly. He prompted me to go on by leaning forward and raising a brow. "My skin felt tingly as well..." I added, but he seemed to want even more. "It was... really hot." I added again, not thinking it was very relevant. Itachi's eyes widened and averted to the side, as if he had somehow been caught red-handed in something.

"... What, Itachi?" I ask, looking at him questioningly. Had Itachi been responsible for this somehow?

"Hn..." Madara's hum recaptures my attention and I turn to see him smirking rather scarily. The smirk only widens at receiving my confused, slightly unsettled eyes. "Itachi!" Nii-san jumps at Madara's gruff call. "You are currently the most stable out of all three of us. We will use mostly your energy to transport us all to a particular location simultaneously." Itachi gives him a wary side-glance, making me think that I wasn't alone in my lack of knowledge. Part of me wanted to suggest to my brother that we double team Madara, but I had an odd feeling that both of my kin would turn on me instead. That, or Madara would just kill us both before we could do anything...

So, I simply scowl as Madara grabs Itachi's head and traps him into Sharingan, conveying his desired destination. As soon as their eyes are locked, Madara grabs my arm and Itachi performs a single seal before we disappear and then reappear in the middle of no where.

A single huff is the only show of exertion from Itachi, but even that has Madara smirking. My brother's expression remains bored, but I could tell that he was displeased with displaying even a small amount of weakness to Madara.

I was about to find out why.

Before I could even take in my surroundings, I received a brutal kick to the chest, making me fly backwards. The ground was merciless, despite it's wet, slightly muddy surface, and I flipped and rolled over every hard sharpness that the terrain offered.

Let's just say, rocks prevailed.

I shakily picked myself up, eyes wide and teary as I held my gut and tried to resist the urge to vomit. The kick Madara had landed hit right in my diaphragm, with enough force to rival a catapult launching semi-trucks, not that it should have surprised me. I looked up from my place on the ground to see Madara looking to the side, no emotion showing on his face, but a playful, blood-lusting shine in his eyes. I followed those eyes to see Itachi standing some thirty feet away, breathing only slightly uneven. He had a bloody cut and a muddy foot-print on his for-arm, making me assume that he had only just blocked a nasty kick very similar to the one I had received. I look to his face and see a single smudge of mud and a hideously fierce glare. Itachi was not amused.

Though I personally would not have done it, Madara looked away from Itachi to glance at me. This action showed that Madara wasn't wary of Itachi in the slightest. He turned his body completely away from Itachi, unfolding his arms to rest his hands on his hips in an all-too-relaxed fashion. I recognized this to be his signature pose and I found myself glaring from my defensive stance.

"As you both may have sensed, shit is about to hit the fan- as the youth of today say." Madara nods to both of us as he speaks. "Shit from your life," Itachi looks away, Madara glances to me, "Shit from your life, and shit from my life." He pauses in his speech, eyes closing, once again showing how utterly unthreatened by us he felt. Then, he slowly opens his eyes again and I see the the shimmering red glow of his strange irises pierce through the light mist that surrounded us. They were the same red eyes that I currently had... "And of course, what with Karma and all, and us being who we are, there is a more than slight possibility that trouble and misfortune will come down on us like a shit avalanche, my dears. I don't know when, I don't know how- but I know who." He said with a deep grimace. I watched with growing shock as his skin slowly lightened beyond a natural flesh tone, as darkness surrounded his eyes and as every terrifying thing about Madara was enhanced, aura and all.

A strange feeling of fear and intimidation crept into my gut with an intensity not unlike facing the Kyuubi. It felt like even more than that, though, as if Kyuubi, Orochimaru, Itachi and the rest of the Akatsuki had channeled all of their sinister, murderous energies into one person- but it was so much darker. Had I been a person unfamiliar with such individuals, I probably would have thrown up in the presence of this side of Madara...

I had never felt so overwhelmed, but I did not show these feelings in the slightest. I quickly smothered the terror before it threatened to bubble from my throat and I did so without batting an eyelash.

I am Uchiha Sasuke, after all.

Itachi remained unmoved as well, but his lids seemed to lower strangely. It was strange because that was usually a sign of comfort or relaxation, even attraction in some cases. If Itachi was trying to show Madara that he too felt 'unthreatened', I'd have to say he's overdoing it...

"Who-" Madara started where he left off, "-is the main issue here. Since all three of us have at least one 'who' in particular, and I assume we are all on the same side, we will be training together." As Madara addresses what side we are on, I suddenly feel rather transparent. Honestly, we were terrible allies to each other, for even at the mentioning of an assumed alliance Itachi looks away, I was sweating, and Madara's all-seeing eyes shift back and forth between the two of us in a suspicious fashion.

Ha, 'on the same side'.

The statement was both true and false. I had no room to be offended by Itachi's guilty eyes and Madara's untrusting glare. We were all hiding things, right? Judging by last night, Madara was hiding quite the past, I had a secret alliance with Kurama, and Kami knows what terrible things Itachi has done, even without his Akatsuki involvement. We didn't deserve trust, even(or especially) from each other. It would be stupid.

But it was necessary on some level.

"Itachi," Madara barks, "You will tell us of Akatsuki, as well as your recent, or not so recent, knowledge of forces from Konoha." Itachi frowns, and I feel like I can see him formulating lies, but I can't be sure.

"Sasuke, you will tell us what you know of Orochimaru... and the Kyuubi." He smirks, I choke a bit and Itachi's eyes flash back and forth between Madara and me. How?! What could have possibly given it away? I mean, yeah, they had been tied at one point, but how could he possibly sense...

I open my mouth to play dumb, but my jaw snaps shut as his smirk disappears and I receive a glare that suggests I keep silent. "It's quite obvious, Sasuke. I've gone over it and it's all too coincidental. You see, we are quite empathetic in this clan, and we almost feed off of the energy of our leader and those we are close to. Don't you think it's odd that your physical appearance has suddenly returned to normal now that you are in this world? Sure, you could say that your transformation was triggered by my recent loss of control, by my spontaneous transformation, or you could even say that it was triggered by Itachi's-"

I couldn't take it anymore. Nothing made sense, and I wasn't going to listen to another syllable of this bullshit until someone answered my fucking questions. "I'm not telling you shit about anything until you tell me what the fuck is going on." I say with a dark, quiet voice.

Big mistake. Madara's glare makes the air around my body crackle almost. It becomes ridiculously cold and I feel that sensation of terror take me once more, but it was much harder to smother this time around. Any second. I felt that I would die in any second now. Luckily, Itachi saved me.

If you could call it that...

---

Itachi

I honestly couldn't comprehend all of what was going on, even with the knowledge that Madara had bestowed upon me. Just as I was gaining a bit of understanding, something new and random was thrown into the mix.

I'd had most of the necessary facts down.

Madara and I had a strange gene that ran through our blood line, which accounted for all of his weirdness and bad health, as well as all of the scary, blood-thirsty subconscious thoughts that had been attacking me.

Madara and I are mated, and we really want to sleep together, but what's stopping us is-...

Well, I hadn't reached that level of understanding quite yet, but we seemed to be on the verge of a breakthrough in that department.

Then, as I'm sitting on the couch, Madara's pacing and weird questions light a whole new flame of concern. And, of course, that's when Sasuke has to bust through in some crazy curse form. Sure, I had seen it a few times before, but I had been rather distracted during those brief moments. Now, as I took it all in, I found that this form was intriguing and unsettling on many levels, not to mention that it looked rather different from the brief glimpses in my memory.

Madara throws himself onto the couch in frustration, grumbling and glaring. He had to know something, otherwise he wouldn't be so worked up... Were all of us involved? I sigh almost silently through my nose, turning to my younger brother.

I openly stare at Sasuke, wondering if the curse had always been so bad. I couldn't honestly tell, as this was the first time I got a real look at Sasuke like this. His entire face appearance was startlingly grotesque, so much so that even I found it a bit disturbing. Not to say that Madara's and my own transformation was not macabre in essence, but I found myself wondering why Sasuke's was so... 'modern-day Gargoyle'.

"Hn..." I can't help but hum. I glanced to Madara once more. "Why was the reaction so different for Sasuke?" I ask, sure that my brother's monstrous transformation was some kind of bad reaction to the awakening of his 'pedigree', or so I assumed. For what other reason would he be so startled by his appearance if it wasn't something new to him?

Madara looked up, seemingly confused as to what I was referring to. He frowned, and I raised a brow , but that seemed to be enough for Madara to figure out what I was talking about. Sensei had always been able to read me like a book. "No, that's not the blood, the mutation was all Orochimaru and his seal." So he already looked like that? I must not have payed Sasuke much attention at all if I had missed such a appearance...

"Whats. Going. ON?!" Sasuke growled, making my eyes dart back to him. Said eyes of mine narrowed, seeing his small burst of negative energy as a bit unnecessary, plus it was exasperating Madara. Sensei slowly slouched back into the couch, hands coming to his face and sliding down in a mildly dramatic display of frustration. "I can't fucking-..."

My eyes shifted back to Sasuke and narrowed while Madara slouched into his seat, his hands moving to cover his face and slide down slightly in exasperation until his fingertips hid his surely furrowed brows. "I can't fucking-..." but he didn't finish, choosing to instead lean forward to rest his elbows on his knees, face still buried in his hands. Suddenly, his fingers spread apart, revealing eyes that were moving about in rapid thought. He stood, said eyes flashing to me.

"We need to go. Itachi, go to the room and get me clothes!" And that was when I remembered that he wore nothing but robe. A thin... flimsy... robe...

I almost groaned at my lack of ability to control my eyes as they slowly, ever so slowly raked over his body. It seemed that all stoic qualities abandoned me in the presence of Madara. It felt like I had stared for a good hour before I realized that there were other people in the room, both most likely raising their eyebrows at my behavior. I forced myself to look away from the attractive sliver of leg that Madara's robe revealed and took off to do what Madara asked.

Immediately, I went for comfortable clothes, but clothes that one would wear in public, as I didn't know what exactly was going on in Madara's head. His tone and urgency suggested that we may be leaving, and I really hoped that we weren't just abandoning this place. I had put too much effort into this arrangement, and being on the run with Madara seemed a bit too hectic, especially after recent events.

But then where were we going?

I sigh quietly and take the black sweatpants and shirt to Madara before going into the bathroom where I see Sasuke. One of his clawed hands was tangled in his bluish hair, his eyes closed to block out his reflection. I take note of the dark blackish bruising around his eyes, seeing that it was exactly like the eyes that Madara and I had developed when in this strange form, besides the black sclera... From the glimpses I remember, he didn't have the shadowings before, or the 'blood eye', as Madara dubbed it. With a frown, I take his hand from his hair and he jumps a bit, lost in his head. He looks up just in time to see that Madara has come up behind me, and with a strange mood about him. When I go about touching my brother's face, the intensity of that strange mood intensifies and Madara's scanning of Sasuke becomes more critical. Sometimes, Madara's behavior was just too odd and random to digest.

I tried to ignore it, inspecting Sasuke's face with my hands. My face remained expressionless, but internally I was a bit concerned, and a bit more intrigued. It was as if the curse mark mutation and the awakening of this 'heritage' of ours were feeding one another, or perhaps off of each other? That, or both sides were attempting to override the other...

I feared the latter. That would make things a bit difficult, for more than Sasuke, Sensei and I...

I continued to examine the texture of the affected parts of his face: The odd star-shape that overtook the center of his face from the curse mark and the sinister bag-like shadows from the blood. I feel as though I should have done an examination on myself or Madara as well to get a better idea of 'normal', but I wasn't really doing this for science, so... I remove my stroking thumbs from under Sasuke's eyes, as he is surely disturbed my the intimate contact.

As his eyes open I receive a look that said he was inspecting me as well, causing me to shift under the cover of my shirt, but his gaze quickly moved on to Madara, who got more of a reaction. I frowned, curious, but not willing to stare at Madara in a conspicuous manner, lest I get 'lost in his eyes'. I keep my eyes on Sasuke, trying desperately to dismiss the seemingly random miniature heat-stroke I was suffering from. Perhaps three unsettled men in a stuffy bathroom was simply too much for the air conditioning to overcome?

"You seem to be taking this a bit better than I had." I say, and I do mean it. Too much had been going on at the time of my odd transformation for me to panic, but had I the time and isolation, I'm sure I would have freaked out a bit. Sasuke looked back at me, almost seeming to just realize that I too could be baring this burden.

He shrugged slightly after a second, "After training under Orochimaru, things like this stop surprising you." I smirk, stepping back out of his face. I somewhat admire his attempt at casualty, but his unsure eyes gave him away. I hear an unimpressed huff behind me, and only then do I become aware of the foreign body heat that was seeping into my clothes and making the already stuffy atmosphere worse. I was about to tell Madara to make some space, but he did so with out my asking, pushing past to grab Sasuke's chin, jerking his head about.

"Do your eyes normally look like this?" He asked in a gruff voice. Sasuke frowned, his eyes shifting to the side to stare into the mirror. Suddenly, as if he hadn't seen it before, his eyes widened and he jerked his face from Madara's grip to investigate further. "No," He finally said, "Not like this..."

Sasuke and I watch interestedly as Madara's nose wrinkles, but I choose to keep silent and observe...

"How exactly did this happen?" Madara asks, causing Sasuke to glare, something I wish I could stop him from doing. I wasn't sure how Madara would take that...

I remain silent, however, even as he continues to sass. "What do you mean 'How did this happen'? I randomly transformed against my will!" Luckily for Sasuke, Madara was capable of patience.

"You noticed nothing out of the ordinary before hand?" He asks Sasuke, ignoring his outburst. Perhaps Sasuke wasn't taking this so well?

This question seems to strike Sasuke a bit. "... I felt like I was falling, but the sensation was coming from the curse mark, not my stomach..." He admitted. Madara leaned forward interestedly, trying to get Sasuke to go on. "My skin felt tingly as well..." A small smirk was developing on Madara's lips as he leaned forward for even more, as if he knew exactly what Sasuke was going to say. "It was... really hot." He added again, and I'm sure my eyes gave me away, so I quickly averted them instinctively, as if that would make me seem less obvious. Was this heat affecting Sasuke as well?

"... What, Itachi?" Sasuke asks, having obviously caught my reaction.

"Hn..." Madara's hum recaptures his attention, fortunately, and we both turn to see Sensei smirking rather scarily. The smirk only widens at receiving Sasuke's disturbed look. "Itachi!" Madara suddenly calls. "You are currently the most stable out of all three of us. We will use mostly your energy to transport us all to a particular location simultaneously." Pardon? I can't help the desire to 'hmph!', but that would be beyond undignified. Still, his assumption that I'm eager to do his bidding or something is enough to earn a peeved glance from me, something I'm sure he was expecting.

Before I am allowed a frown, Madara becomes impatient, grabbing my head and forcing me to stare into his Sharingan while he displayed to me a rather familiar training ground. It was the one that he often took me to in order to avoid prying eyes. Essentially, so no one could spread the word that Madara found the terms 'training' and 'organized abuse' synonymous.

I smother the urge to wince at resurfacing memories and quickly make the single seal to transport us to the place that probably still had traces of my blood in the mud... So, I was naturally on edge as soon as our feet touched the uneven ground. A bit of my breath escaped after my hand fell, earning a smug expression akin to a smirk from Madara. Fucking bastard. I have never transported to such a location before, nor is teleportation my forte... I keep my face blank, hoping not to show any signs of weariness that he could take advantage of, but my muscles stay tense.

Thankfully, my tenseness wasn't for naught, and I was able to block Madara's attack. My eyes had only just caught him kicking Sasuke through the air before I could react to thwart the other kick that was surely quicker and a hell of a lot meaner...

Despite my forearm's valiant attempt at saving me, my entire body was blown back by the force, but I was able to maneuver my body in the air so that I landed on my feet. My eyes had been set on him as soon as I had figured out where my feet were going to land, so we had watched each other as I was falling. Normally, I would have at least glanced at Sasuke as he ate mud, at least to see if he was okay, but I had a feeling that Madara would have expected that and attacked once more. Judging by the sadistically pleased shine in his eyes, I'd say my assumption would've been spot on.

These were the games that Madara played. He found 'Cat and Mouse' to be a game he liked to waste his time on. The only way to win was to make it not fun for him anymore, but that didn't mean I could make it boring, lest he kill me and be done with it. He wouldn't, of course, but if the mouse were anyone else, he'd end them as soon as they stopped being fun to hunt.

And with the knowledge I have now, I think it's safe to assume that he'd eat them.

With such thoughts of my mate in mind, I angrily and defiantly ran my dirty thumb across my cheek bone, a gesture that conveyed that I was completely unimpressed with his attack, and that I could promise much more pain in retaliation.

Madara was not about to show any form of fear, though, meaningfully ignoring me to silently laugh at my threat, or what he found to be lack there of. His careless, superior stance even had Sasuke glaring, but Madara paid us no mind.

"As you both may have sensed, shit is about to hit the fan- as the youth of today say." Had he not looked straight at me, I would have lost my glare and smirked at his slang attempt, but alas, his statement becomes personalized. "Shit from your life," He says, and I avert my eyes as if I had something to be ashamed of. Before my conscience can bring up every terrible thing I've done, Madara has moved on to Sasuke. "Shit from your life, and shit from my life." I feel as though he put more of the stress of his statement on me, like perhaps he thought I carried more fault, or maybe I didn't have his full trust. I mean, I can't be offended, because if anyone were to trust me whole-heartedly, well, they just may die a fool. No, I wasn't offended, because Madara knew this and he was no fool, but I was kind of hurt.

Were those the same thing? Offense and hurt?

I am over thinking this.

Madara too needed a moment of silent thought, or maybe he was simply giving Sasuke and I that moment. It was brief, and when he reopened his eyes, they were the blood eyes, and they had purpose as he spoke. "And of course, what with Karma and all, and us being who we are, there is a more than slight possibility that trouble and misfortune will come down on us like a shit avalanche, my dears. I don't know when, I don't know how- but I know who." He said with a deep grimace. I watched with a strange hunger growing in my gut as his skin slowly lightened beyond a natural flesh tone, as darkness surrounded his eyes and as every terrifying thing about Madara was enhanced, aura and all.

It excited me.

I wanted to get closer, closer, so much closer to him. I didn't want to taste him, but there was a disgusting desire to eat him, eat at him, my teeth ached to tear his skin and let their prize sit on my tongue. I could smell the pleasant aroma of death rather than the fowl stench that humans and some non-humans always associate it with. I liked it. I wanted to reach out and grip his flesh, much like how one would grip clothing, digging my finger nails in, and pull him toward me and-

I licked my lips and swallowed, my lids fluttering a bit as I tried to stop my eyes from rolling back to see my dirty thoughts better. After said eye-lid fit, they gave up and simply lowered with desire, something I simply didn't have the will-power to hide at the moment.

"Who-" Madara started where he left off, making me almost jump at the sudden sound of his voice, "-is the main issue here. Since all three of us have at least one 'who' in particular, and I assume we are all on the same side," I felt like there was a brief pause, "we will be training together." I find myself looking away, as if I were a traitor(again). 'Same side' sounded too hopeful, too black and white, despite the fact that it was essentially true... Even Madara doesn't believe what he's saying, if his eyes were anything to go by, what with their jumping from one descendent to the other.

Once again, Madara was no fool...

Trust is a special word for our kind.

"Itachi," Sensei barks, "You will tell us of Akatsuki, as well as your recent, or not so recent, knowledge of forces from Konoha." I frown. How unrealistic. I'll do no such thing, especially when I know he's going to lie about what he knows. Sasuke probably will too.

Speaking of Sasuke's secrets...

"Sasuke, you will tell us what you know of Orochimaru... and the Kyuubi." My eyes widen and I find them snapping from mate to brother. Were they sharing things behind my back? I suddenly felt isolated, or perhaps I isolated myself in defense? I don't know, but the concept of trust was being destroyed in its infancy...

I finally settle my eyes between them, stepping back so that I could see every move from both potential threats. Who knows anymore if they both shared the Kyuubi?

I watch as Sasuke creates the most innocent looking expression and inwardly wince, knowing that Madara would see straight through him. His smirk abandoned his face, probably out of rage, and a large gulp of air filled his chest before he growled out his aggravated words. "It's quite obvious, Sasuke. I've gone over it and it's all too coincidental. You see, we are quite empathetic in this clan, and we almost feed off of the energy of our leader and those we are close to. Don't you think it's odd that your physical appearance has suddenly returned to normal now that you are in this world?" Odd, we hadn't noticed. Perhaps because you kicked the shit out of us before we knew what color the sky was, let alone what we looked like. "Sure, you could say that your transformation was triggered by my recent loss of control, by my spontaneous transformation, or you could even say that it was triggered by Itachi's-"

"I'm not telling you shit about anything until you tell me what the fuck is going on." Sasuke interrupted with a dark, quiet voice. Big mistake. Sasuke seems to be full of 'no-no's today. If there is one thing that Madara hates more than being interrupted, it's being talked down to, especially by someone below him, which is probably why breaking our barriers was such a hard concept for me. I was so sure 'Do what you want' meant 'Do what is Uchiha-acceptable or I'll give your living body an autopsy'.

I wasn't disappointed. Madara's wrath was something feared in every land. At that moment, the last person I would have wanted to be was Sasuke. It was like watching your pet Pit Bull be confronted by a Chihuahua, and you know that the stupid ankle biter was gonna get what it deserved, and you know that the Chihuahua had no chance, that your much stronger, meaner companion was quite capable of, and would love to, break that rat-dog with its mouth- but you just couldn't let it happen. Especially when that rat-dog was your brother. So, you do the only thing you can. You kick that dog out of your 'killer's path.

No, I didn't kick him, that would be too redundant, too like Madara. Instead, I punch the shit out of him, not enough to send him flying, but to knock him on his ass and to leave him a bit cross-eyed. Not even a real punishment in Madara's eyes, but Sasuke wasn't conditioned to this treatment quite yet, and while Orochimaru's training was probably terrible and disturbing, I could almost guarantee that it was nothing like the 'training' I received. We excelled in different things for a variety different reasons, I'm sure, but there was a reason that my mind was capable of fabricating an entire nightmare realm of torture. Madara saw training in a very odd light.

Sasuke recovered quickly, holding his face and looking at me accusingly, but I'm sure that he understood that I just took a bullet for him. Slowly, reluctantly, our heads turned to Madara, who's cold hate was on me now, as it had been many times before, only now more terrifying with the manifestations of our pedigree. In a sense, Madara understood my action as a fellow older brother. I could see him doing the same for his own otouto. In another sense, I had just overridden his authority. His pink-red eyes promised that I would take Sasuke's punishment for him.

Never before had angry, fearful shame and erotic anticipation danced so closely in me...

Madara snapped back to Sasuke, "Do not play stupid, child, it doesn't look good on an Uchiha face." He spat. I could feel the violence in his words, as if Madara wanted for them to physically hurt Sasuke. "As I was saying, you could blame your awakening on Itachi's, or other factors, but I believe what is a trigger for us all is The Kyuubi." He said. Sasuke still seemed upset at not being fully up to speed, but Madara was right. If there was a matter urgent enough to bring us to this training ground, then we simply didn't have the time to talk things out like Madara and I had.

"One thing I'm sure we all feel is a rise in temperature, correct?" Sasuke nodded. I frowned at Madara's inquiry. Sasuke had mentioned that earlier, and Madara knew it had to do with the Kyuubi, perhaps before Sasuke even came to us... "Itachi is probably the most comfortable out of all of us." I raise a brow as he explains further, his voice deep. "This is because he does not have direct ties or contact with the Kyuubi, like I have in the past, and like you have now with the vessel. Mine is going to be most intense, because I controlled the Kyuubi before it even had hosts, so what heat Itachi is really feeling is probably all coming from me through our-..." My throat closes up and I freeze. "... close connection." That still could have blown it, Sensei...

Sasuke let's it fly over his head, thank Kami... He continues, as if to belittle the slip in all of our eyes.

"All Uchiha, Senju and Uzumaki have some sort of affiliation with The Kyuubi. We manipulate it, Senju suppresses it, and Uzumaki controls it." He paused, then looked at me with earnest eyes. "That is why I was so very interested in Sasuke's companion." I raise a brow, barely remembering that. Was he truly concerned about week-old jealousy of mine? I blink slowly, unwilling to admit that I'm touched, and I turn my head, almost embarrassed at myself now. He gave a quiet sigh and turned to Sasuke to keep explaining that because whatever Senju seal had been on the vessel had clearly been removed, our Uchiha bodies were reacting to it, as Uzumaki energy is only capable of housing and controlling, not suppressing.

Sasuke was reluctant to answer questions to prove Madara's theories correct, but we eventually, with much coaxing, figured out that after being exposed to The Kyuubi, Sasuke's body suffered something akin to sensory overload on an internal level. Sasuke's body was already approaching the age of 'freezing', but the Curse mark was interfering with his growth in more than a physical way. His Sharingan was luckily uncorrupted for the most part, but the curse would make him 'freeze' at a relatively young age. The cease of aging is a big factor in Uchiha of special traits, as this is when the awakening usually happens if it goes unprompted.(1)

It is natural for the Sharingan eye and the Blood eye to battle for dominance before they are controlled and can exist without trouble, but with the Curse mark involved, also a dark energy battling for dominance, Sasuke's body was only just managing. The biggest factors had been Sharingan and the Curse, as his body found the blood eye to be secondary and not needed at that very moment. When the Kyuubi's energy was introduced, however, the Sharingan and the Blood were drawn to it, drawn to the surface without rhyme or reason or concern for the body. Since the Sharingan and the Curse had become tied in a way, that came along with it.

"The main reason, though, I would say, was that the blood was attracted to it, which is why it surfaced so abruptly. Uchiha are attracted to Uzumaki for the chakra, but the Uchiha's Special blood is attracted to the potential of such chakra, because it is often associated with Kyuubi." Sasuke's brows were so furrowed that they were touching, but he nodded.

Madara smirked, "All of this happened so violently because your body instinctively prepared to attack the Kyuubi and conquer it, devour it, dominate it." Sasuke gaped, then blushed interestingly.

"I... what?" Madara chuckled this time, slowly circling Sasuke before he was behind him, leaning down to whisper into his ear intimately.

"Or perhaps you would-" He locks eyes with me as his lips touch Sasuke's ear, "Dominate... conquer... and devour? I think I like that order better, hn?" Sasuke shudders pleasantly, something I want to growl at, but then I see Madara's pointed teeth peeking through his smirking lips. He was teasing me, using Sasuke as a medium to sexually harass me at a time like this.

Madara wasn't unpredictable at all, his libido was.

After a rather sinisterly charming grin, Madara turns back to a disturbed Sasuke, "Don't look so disgusted with yourself, child, today, you will learn to control that better." Sasuke looked at him as if he were mental. "You see, Sasuke, a big part of training is for you and your Sensei realize your true potential, what you are capable of..." Oh god, here it comes... "And the only way to truly understand one's self..." Run, Sasuke... "Is to analyze them, and realize... " Sasuke was tensing, but not enough... Fucking run, little brother... "... Their threshold... for pain." Sorry Sasu-

"OH FUCK ME!" I grunted for reasons beyond me. I had been so focused on Sasuke that Madara's traitorous smirk had slipped under the radar. I give Sasuke credit for only twitching when my blood splattered on his eyelids. As soon as the word 'pain' had left Madara's mouth, his clawed hand plunged into my abdomen, just under my ribcage so as to avoid contact with bone, since that generally took longer to heal. Who really knows with my healing capabilities now, but still...

I looked from his arm to his eyes, more shocked than truly in pain. Yes, it really fucking hurt, very much so, but I can easily say that I'd take this over other forms of training. This had been my first three months with Madara as my mentor. Madara felt that if the thought 'I may not live through this training session' didn't cross your mind, then it was a weak session.

I wonder if this was going to be a weak session for me...

Blood bubbled from my mouth as Madara moved me with his arm, presenting his hand through my back to my brother as I planned out my revenge. "Now Sasuke, in these sessions, you must always fight and think as if you might die. You just might. Testing thresholds is tricky, you know. In any other fight, there are many things you can utilized with Sharingan and the Blood alike, but you can't do here, because I know how to combat it." I glanced back to find Sasuke simply staring, mouth slightly open.

With a sigh, many squelchy, juicy sound effects and quite a few stifled grunts and gasps, I pulled myself from Madara's arm. I looked down at myself and sighed, taking my shirt off to watch the blood rush to my wound in a futile attempt seal away my insides as Madara explained that using certain tactics would be as pointless as using illusionary techniques on stronger Sharingan.

I looked back to watch Sasuke nod stiffly as Madara continued, both of them trying to ignore the smell of my blood, "So, don't try to overpower either of us with Sharingan, it's stupid. Sure, use it, but don't rely on it. You mustn't show any crutch or pattern.. Second, you heard me speak of consuming blood, yes?" Sasuke seemed to nod in genuine interest this time, the hole in his brother's body being quickly forgotten once Madara mentions something he was curious about. "Well, that is how you fuel and support that part of you now. You will consume to live." Sasuke looks ready to vomit objections and questions, but Madara ignores him.

"However," Sasuke freezes at the change in tone, "You will never, ever, consume Itachi's blood..." I frown. I hadn't heard of that particular rule...

"Is this similar to the requirements of Mangekyou? Is there consequence or prize in the consumption of a brother?" I asked, genuinely curious. The look Madara gave me seemed to ask if my question was a personal attack on him, as I had seen him kill his brother.

"No, consuming the blood of our clan is only beneficial because of purity. There are good meals and bad meals, that is what blood can be like. Sasuke cannot have your blood because I said so." Madara turned his body away from Sasuke to run his tongue up his red-stained arm to collect my blood that still clung to him, all while keeping my eye contact. "Do you understand?"

I was about to say yes, but Sasuke stole the word from me. "Yes..." Only when Madara winked did I realize that the question had been meant for Sasuke. Supposedly.

"I will be training both you and Itachi in order to get you both caught up with these changes, hn? You are expected to keep up with your brother, but I'm sure you two can come up with something..." I frowned. By 'You two', did he mean...

Sasuke voiced this before me, "Wait, Itachi and I are working together? To do wh-"

"You want us to fight you?" I say, not doing well to keep the shock from my voice. A short nod was his response, before he looked down at the wound again. By now the bleeding had slowed, but for some reason, I wasn't healing like I had been this morning. I watch Madara's face as he stares at me, and I'm almost tempted to run a finger along a trail and lick the blood from my finger, but Sasuke was present and I didn't want him to watch Madara rape me, or eat me for that matter. He was rather entranced, his nose twitching a bit, and his awkward swallowing let me know that he was salivating pretty badly.

"Itachi-kun," He began shakily, making me smirk a bit.

"Yes, Sensei?"

His face returned to the normal bored glare upon hearing my slightly teasing tone. "If you want that scratch to heal up, you'd better activate that special blood of yours..." Scratch? Scratch?

I glare as well, "I can't exactly do that yet, Madara-sama." I say in a slightly dull tone.

"I know." is his prompt reply, and all Sasuke and I could do was jump away as he erupted into the most developed Susano'o I had ever seen. I choked as I landed, holding the hole in my stomach since it felt like I would spill out if I moved anymore. Sasuke kept his awe and terror masked, putting on his game face and glaring up at one of the faces of Madara's Susano'o. I couldn't say I was too terrified, for if he killed me, he himself would die in a sense, and if I remember correctly, he said neither of us could actually 'die', but I assume that should we be 'mortally wounded', we would fall into quite the coma until sufficient sustenance and such were absorbed.

Or perhaps I would just die...

Therefor, I could simply share Sasuke's awe, if not intense intimidation. So much raw power, yet so much control over it. His hair was being blown all over, and the wind was doing the same all around, bouncing off of his overflowing chakra. I couldn't fight him with a hole in my chest, but he was going to make me, and he wasn't going to go easy on either of us.

With a twisted grin, he looks down at me. "I'm not going to go all out on you guys, so count your blessings, however, if you can handle this, then I shall up volume a bit, my dear." Okay, so this was his 'going easy'. God damn it.

I glared, making his grin grow, "Hopefully a sufficient amount of bloodshed will help you both to your peak, hmm? Then you wouldn't have to drag along, boy. If you want a fairer fight, the game is to touch me, in the blood-state, and Susano'o comes down, then it's man to men..." He's got to be fucking kidding. Luckily, he wasn't expecting a battle between Susano'o, because that was a Sharingan thing, and would defeat the purpose of a training session for the opposite ocular, or otherwise, power. Plus, I was almost convinced that one couldn't use both simultaneously, since, when he and I were in the bathroom last night, he'd had to switch, and while he did it remarkably fast, he'd still had to do it...

While I was doing what I do best, being cool and calculating, Sasuke simply absorbs the terrain, mapping everything out, most likely forming strategies based on the land. I personally knew it was hopeless, as Madara knows this place like he knows his own face, and it rains here almost every fifteen minutes if it's not raining already, so the ground never really stays the same.

Seeming to sense my gaze, Sasuke looks over to me. He was lost, confused, angry and a bit scared, something I hadn't seen in Sasuke in a long time. With a frown, I thought, "Yes, I'll do what I want, even if it offends." and with an almost dismissive blink, I quickly evolved Mangekyou Sharingan. My brother, not expecting this, was caught, but it wasn't an attack. I relayed every bit of information about this physical change and situation of ours, thoroughly blocking out any information about mine and Madara's complicated relationship.

I'm sure it was a slow and mind-boggling vision for him to bear, but if we didn't want Madara throwing us around like rag-dolls, I needed my battle partner to be a little more caught up, and it's the least I could do for my baby brother.

Madara, of course, was not happy that I had just used Sharingan on Sasuke, because he could only guess what I was doing. For all he knew, I could have put him in Tsukuyomi and fucked the shit out of his brain- though I don't see how that would benefit any party, but Madara kept possibilities open.

After a couple seconds, I released Sasuke, both of us sighing, his sigh from all of the information he'd just received, mine from pain and exhaustion. It really wasn't smart to use Mangekyou when tired and wounded, but it was soon becoming a part of the plan I was beginning to formulate. Madara, who had become suspicious about our odd behavior, no longer felt like waiting for our attack, which was better for us.

Not seeing Sasuke as much of a threat, and probably thinking he would be incapacitated, Madara swung at me. There wasn't much I could do besides dodge, he was armored by a giant, armed exoskeleton of pure power. I jumped to the side as fast as possible, knowing that I had to keep moving. With Susano'o, there is no close combat, unless you become equal in size, such as another Susano'o, but I didn't have the energy for that, and Sasuke's Susano'o probably wasn't anywhere near as advanced as Madara's.

I kept moving, allbeit slower than I usually moved, but I was still rather fast. I kept running over last night's situation in my head as Madara toyed with me, much like a cat cornering a mouse.

I had noticed the change in myself when we got home, but I had felt the haze long before that. Logically speaking with the information I now know, the 'haze' was probably some unconscious feeling or chemical in my convoluted Uchiha brain that was released in response to some kind of stimulus. So, logically, I would need that stimulus in order to achieve the blood state. I only really felt this haze when I was in close contact with Madara, in certain situations, which would be difficult now... unless...

With a small smirk, I jumped, pretending to limp and fall. It had started raining now, so the ground was softer, but the rocks remained hard and cruel, and if I didn't know better, I'd say they were alive, because the way they dug straight into my wound felt aimed and purposeful. Sasuke, who had been observing mine and Madara's movements like a hunting cat, saw this and narrowed his eyes. I scanned for Madara, who was currently cackling and saying, "You better heal up fast, boy!" with his hands on his hips. That wouldn't last long, because Madara tired of games rather quickly. When I found Sasuke again, I frowned, mirroring his expression, and our eyes locked.

With a flash of Sharingan and a pained grunt, I whispered across the rain-muffled way.

"Kill me."

---

Naruto

I fling my weapons pouch on one of the stretchers and march to the back of the secondary medic tent. After everything settled down, every uninjured protector and volunteering family-head was put on clean up duty until the village was decent enough for the civilians. Since there was a surplus of Genin and such, there really wasn't much that I personally could do, and I'd needed to check up on some other things anyway.

My hand slips under my hood to rub at my neck, and I desperately wished that I was somewhere that I could removed this mask.

"It was Sasuke, wasn't it?" I jump at the sound of a tired, raspy voice. Fucking sand...

I laughed it off, "Jeez, you think you'd get used to that stealth, you know? Try foot-steps next time, champ-" Gaara cuts me off, his voice more exhausted than annoyed.

"I don't want to play games. You know if our other team-mate were here, she'd use your full name, mask or not."

I shook my head, wishing I could touch my face for some reason. I must be watching Uchiha clansmen too much, because the whole body language thing was rubbing off on me. "Where is Sakura, by the way?"

"She got here after everything cooled down. She's in the primary tent treating the more severe injuries. Don't change the subject." I nodded.

After a long pause and a sigh, I broke. "Yeah... It was him..." There's one thing you have to understand about me and Gaara before you judge my weakness. Gaara has been my best friend long enough to know when I'm lying with out even seeing my face. He probably smelled it on me, because I'm not sure that he even needed to hear it. He asked because he already knew, and the fact that he asked meant that he didn't trust me as much, and that he wanted to see if I would lie.

Sometimes, Gaara reminded me of a tricky woman.

"Okay." He said quietly. It was what I expected from him. Gaara never fished for answers more than he had to, but I knew he needed something.

"We've settled our differences, I guess you could say..." I mumbled.

"I see that." Ever the chatterbox, Gaara. "You seem quite close in school." I laugh a bit.

"You jealous?" but he doesn't smile.

"You act weird in certain classes, you know. Specifically English and Japanese class." I sigh and turn my head, unable to look at Gaara.

"What do you need to know...?" It feels like I'm speaking to an interrogator, a wife, and a brother all in one. I say wife because Gaara can get so moody and-.

"Do you need help?" My thoughts stopped for a second and I looked up, staring into his eyes through the slits in my mask. Gaara was... worried. My lips parted unconsciously as I took the time to finally put myself in his place. All this time I thought that hiding this had been protecting Gaara, protecting everyone, when really, it was eating him up inside. If he and I were in opposite shoes, I'd think that this 'Sasuke' was holding something over Gaara's head.I smiled, feeling a pleasant warmth spread through my chest as I shake my head, "No... No, I think I'm okay..." And he nodded, looking away. He wanted to know more, I could tell that he was concerned, but he couldn't know exactly what was going on. He couldn't know about the Uchiha, or their ties to me and Kurama.

But I had to give him something.

With a slow sigh, I speak, so quietly that he has to lean down to hear me. "I can't tell you who is all involved, and I can't tell you why, but I'm in... somewhat of an agreement with Uchiha-" Fuck.

I continue fluidly, hoping that he doesn't catch it, "-Hebi Sasuke. We're kind of protecting each other in a way." Gaara only lifts a brow, obviously, and thankfully, not familiar with the term 'Uchiha', since he was not born in Konoha and didn't know many of the legends, besides the Hyuuga Clan legends.

I think that was only to get closer to Neji, though...

"I'm going to be alright, that fox and I can handle anything." I say with a smile. He seems unsure, but he nods anyway, accepting the answer.

With a slow blink that would have probably unnerved anyone else, Gaara responds. "I understand that you cannot tell me much more in your situation... but, please do tell me when you need me..." I smile.

"When?" I get a rare Gaara-smirk.

"We both know you can't do anything right without me, Uzumaki..." I snort loudly, catching a few eyes, including two white pairs. Our whispering had been barely loud enough to register as sound, so when I laughed, it surprises even me. Luckily there were no Inuzuka around, otherwise I wouldn't have even been able to whisper...

Dismissing it as nothing important, everyone looks away, besides Neji, of course, whose eyes have locked on to Gaara and stayed there. He smiles unconsciously, and I can't hold back my giggles at the way his eyes lid in such a love-struck manner. I had borrowed Kurama's voice by now, since we had caught everyone's attention, so said giggles were of low pitch mild terror.

Neji's white eyes snapped angrily to whoever was mocking him before widening and looking down as soon as he realized it was his first captain. Ah, sweet power.

I look back to Gaara who was smirking too, "If only he knew that you were that blonde dumbass from school..." I glared, though he couldn't see it.

"You're just jealous of my acting skills." He glances at me before giving a small humored shrug.

"So, what kind of shape is he in?" Gaara looks back at Neji, who was gracefully getting up from the medical bed.

Gaara blinked, "A broken leg and a couple stab-wounds. One was diagonal, so that was a bit of trouble, but now it's nothing that the Hyuuga hair-magic can't fix..." I snort again, rolling my eyes. I had never heard Gaara use the term 'hair-magic'. It's what many non-Hyuuga called the healing methods that the Hyuuga practiced. They would lay them in this crazy voodoo Yin Yang circle and place locks of their hair over the wounds. I had always assumed that this was why they all had long hair... But hey, it worked, and they were always good as new. I guess the hair was used as a medium to mend broken tissue and bone because it was disposable and very compatible with the Hyuuga, as it was their own hair...

Eh, whatever works.

Suddenly we are in the presence of said Hyuuga, or rather he was in the presence of us. Such quiet grace was to be expected from Hyuuga Neji, though. He bowed once we acknowledged him.

"Captains," he said quietly in greeting.

Gaara doesn't bother with any change of expression, nor do I, as I am masked. I do however nod.

"Kicked around a bit, I see. Your captains must be terribly lenient. Probably idiots, whoever they are..." Neji seemed to blanch at my joke, as if he was having an internal war with himself about whether to kiss ass or to laugh.

Gaara smooths it over for him, "At least one of them is for sure..." He said with a meaningful glance in my direction, accompanied with a smirk to Neji. Said Hyuuga managed a small smile at my offended scoff.

"So all captains are children under their masks, I see..." and I almost clap at his effort. Neji definitely had a certain charm, though it was hard to get out of him. I looked up to see certain sparkle in Gaara's usually flat eyes that I had never seen, and for that, I would always treasure Neji as more than a comrade. Seeing that, though, brought other pressing matters to the forefront of my mind.

"Hyuuga," I say, getting his attention quite quickly. "You work in close quarters with Gaara in one of his side missions, correct?" I couldn't have Neji knowing who all of the captains were, nor could he know of how involved we were in that school. It probably wouldn't look good for him to realized that the strongest captain trio was completely invested in the infiltration of a fancy high school. In our defense, the council still held the most control. Then there was the fact three Uchiha demons with strength on a legendary level had sneaked in as well...

"Yes, Fox Captain." Neji said, surprising me out of my thoughts.

"You are to keep your knowledge of his identity to yourself. Has Hyuuga Hinata seen his face?" Neji nods, causing me to sigh. I had yet to find out if Hinata's Byakugan seen the Uchiha... With this, she may connect the dots.

"Pass on this command to her, it is a direct order from the Fox Captain, understood?" He nods sharply. I turn toGaara.

"Let's try to keep political information out of this as best we can...?" Gaara frowned a bit, glancing to Neji who blinked in what seemed to be recognition.

Gaara's hairless brow rose a bit before he spoke, "I'm afraid it's a bit too late for that..." I looked to Neji for explanation.

"... Gaara had been walking to the Hokage tower when the fights broke out. He'd been... wearing the Kazekage robes, and we had already been informed of the new Kazekage coming in... He was being attacked and I came to his aide, despite how no one was getting past the sand..." I rolled my eyes at the flirtatious praise. Ugh, really Hyuuga?

I snapped my fingers to break the lovebirds out of their eye-lock, "Oh, yes. When I had been stabbed the first time, it had been as I was about to use the revolving heaven technique, so as the the chakra dispelled, the force sort of blew the hat and veil, revealing his face..."

"Am I to assume that Hinata saw this as well?" I couldn't really keep the frustration from my voice...

Thankfully, Neji quickly shook his head. "No, we removed his robes as soon as we had defeated the attackers and hid them in a trash can in an alley. Lady Hinata arrived after." There was an awkward pause. "... We've retrieved them since then, of course."

I couldn't help the huff of laughter... "Yes, I would hope so." I sigh. "Try not to act different in his presence, be him masked or otherwise." Neji nods, moving to leave us as he assumes that he is dismissed. He would have been, had a thought not struck me.

"How is that mission going, by the way?" Neji frowns, and I realize that 'school' is not necessarily a 'mission' for him, so I quickly reword it. "Or shall I ask, How's school, Neji-kun?"He blinks a bit in response, quiet, making me sigh.

"Nothing interesting at all? From either of you?" Gaara, not finding my prying all that amusing, takes a jab at me, allbeit a jab under the belt.

"There is one particularly interesting character... One 'Sasuke Hebi', I believe his name is..." Neji tilts his head in recognition.

"Yes, he's the one that makes eyes on that blonde idiot in our classes... He is suspicious. Then again, I get a strangely unsettled vibe from a couple of teachers as well, deep from my core, it feels like..."

"Really," I say, trying not to punch Gaara. "Suspicious how?" I ask, and Gaara seems curious as well.

Neji seems hesitant, but an encouraging nod from 'his beloved' motivates him. "I'm not sure if I am permitted to speak of this, as my clan is somewhat involved despite our neutral standpoint and self-isolation, but, I have noticed many... coincidences." Gaara narrows his eyes, mostly at my silence.

"Do tell me, Neji. I am not from the leaf, so I'm not familiar with certain history..." This is true, it was what I had been thankful for, but now, I'm sure Gaara was going to pick up a few more things about 'Hebi'. "How is your clan 'involved'" I ask before I can stop myself.

Thankfully, Neji doesn't catch the suspicious nature of my question, moving on to answering Gaara's question. "Well, everyone is familiar with The Rikudou Sennin, yes?" Gaara nods.

"Presumably the creator of our way of life? He is the one responsible for the Bijuu as well, correct?" Neji seemed a bit weirded out by Gaara's question, but that was probably because that was pretty much he extent of Gaara's knowledge of the Sage.

"Yes... That is all you know?" Gaara, never one for feeling out of the loop(sorry Gaara), gave him quite the glare, to which Neji responded by obediently moved on with his story.

"That is not all that important right now anyways..." He said reassuringly, "Right now we need to know about his two sons." Kurama's hot energy seemed to bubble beneath my skin nervously at this, and I had to bite my lip in order to not react.

"Of his two sons, the youngest inherited his 'body', or rather his physical energy and life force. There are two main branches or clans from this son: The Uzumaki and the Senju, the latter being our Shodaime and an ancestor of most Konoha non-civilians, as well as the attacker from this evening, so is rumored..." Gaara glanced down at me curiously, a look that Neji took in another way, probably thinking it had something to do with concern about the attack.

What it really was, however, was surprise at hearing about my ancestors. I had never really bragged about it, and he probably thought that I was keeping it a secret, because being both Senju and Uzumaki seemed like a big deal.

Awkwardly, we all tried to move away from the silence, and I had to nod to Neji to get him to finish his 'story'.

"Ahem," he began, ever the stiff. "The Uzumaki Clan scattered after one of the wars and are presumed to be extinct, despite their legendary power. Lately, though, some of the clansmen have resurfaced, as you saw in Kurosawa's class on the second day of school..." He was referring to Sasuke's friend 'Karin'. Has he seen the connection between them already?

"What does that have to do with this 'Sasuke Hebi'?" I ask, genuinely curious as to how Neji's mind was managing to piece all of this together by himself, when I had needed Kurama's help.

"I'm getting to it, Captain." He turns back to Gaara, always having been more comfortable speaking to him, masked or otherwise. "The oldest son of the sage inherited the other energy, the 'eyes', and he had his father's amazing Chakra and spiritual energy. The oldest son is the ancestor of the Hyuuga Clan and a Clan called Uchiha, who had also become... extinct..." Gaara raised an invisible brow.

"Why say it like that?" He asked, not missing Neji's hesitation.

"Kakashi's told me this story..." I say, and it was partially true, as I had learned part of that history from his bingo book. "The guy that did it was in that bingo book that I stole from Hatake a long time ago. He was like ten years old."

"This is why we need bingo books, because he has never been announced dead." Neji said, barely stopping himself from a council-rant.

Gaara blinked. "...I have heard that name here... Were the Uchiha powerful?" To his credit, we just told him that they were taken out by one guy, so it's only understandable for him to assume that they were... dull...

Neji makes a strange constipated face, lowering his voice even more, despite the fact that this tent had cleared long ago. "You've heard the name because it is rather... infamous. The two statues at the valley of the en-"

Gaara's brain begins to piece this together with the crash courses in Konoha history we received years ago. "The founders. The 'two greatest men to ever live' or whatever it is." Neji seems mildly offended by Gaara's lack of care towards history, but nods never the less.

"Yes, and if you know about the left statue, Uchiha Madara, then you know that the Uchiha are powerful. They were taken out by a boy who became an elite captain before puberty... He was a 'genius' within a clan of geniuses, galaxies away from my level of talent." He paused to turn up his nose, "Then again, you can't exactly call a talent like that 'unique' within a clan of bloodthirsty monsters. My father said it would have been one hell of a bloodbath, had the boy and Madara existed at the same time..."

I found myself not liking Neji's tone...

Gaara, sensing my quiet discomfort, moved the conversation along. "What does this have to do with Hebi?" With the way that Gaara was trying to pull this out of Neji, I felt like he already knew, he just wanted some confirmation. That, or Gaara just couldn't connect the dots...

"Well, Uchiha have dark hair, light skin, dark eyes..." I butt in, not liking that Neji was just going to up and say it.

"So does half of the population of the world. The Uchiha are extinct, and if the exterminator really is still alive, why would he be at your school, Hyuuga-san?" Neji looks at the ground, never having been so bold in a captain's presence. Gaara, however, side glances at me with wide eyes.

"Neji, what were the Uchiha capable of?" Said Hyuuga looks up to Gaara with a stoney face.

"It's hard to say as a whole. One, they were very mysterious and isolated from the rest. Two, unlike Byakugan, their ocular powers varied from person to person... Hatake Kakashi used to be in Anbu with the boy who eliminated the Uchiha, though. He said that the boy could kill you in three seconds if he so wished, just by making eye contact. He almost killed Kakashi when they were 'sparring'..." Huh, I had never heard about that... Itachi didn't seem like the type to do something like that in a practice fight.

He may have been trying to act the part, kit. Itachi was supposed to be a cold, calculating sociopath with no feeling or remorse. That's how everyone saw the entire clan.

I frowned, almost feeling bad for Itachi... One look at Gaara told me that he was totally buying into what Neji was saying, too.

"Captains, I was young, but I was alive when the Uchiha were around. Hebi feels like them."

"Do you think he is the one who killed his clan?" Gaara asked a bit too urgently.

Neji shook his head, "No, but that's what worries me. If he is an Uchiha, that means there is two out there, which means there may be more. What if they are to resurface like the Uzumaki seem to be doing?" I could hear Gaara's heartbeat speed up a bit as he looked down at me.

I rolled my eyes and groaned, "What if? If there is only two, then they are alone, and they certainly can't take over like that. Plus, one is in every bingo book ever, and the other is in a school infested with Anbu like you and Gaara. I'm sure if he were interested in such things, he would have killed someone by now, so he probably isn't one of those blood-thirsty Uchiha-"

"Fox Captain, Hatake Kakashi and the Sannin need to speak with you urgently." Interrupts a masked Anbu that I know to be Sai.

I curse under my breath, having really wanted to discourage Neji's intuition.

I sigh, Neji and Gaara watching from the corner of their eyes with stoic expressions. "Just don't worry about it, guys. If you see this guy doing anything shady or spooky, then tell me. Other wise, this conversation stays in this tent. Got it?" Neji nods, but Gaara glares, knowing I'm covering for Sasuke.

There wasn't much else I could do, though, quite frankly, and I didn't have the space in my head to think about it right now as I followed Sai to what was surely going to be an interrogation...

We walked in silence, Sai acting surprisingly professional in my presence for once. He usually didn't care, always perving on me whether the mask was on or off, but right now seemed to be pretty serious to him...

After we reached Hokage tower, we had to walk nearly two miles into the mountain to get to the sealed off room that everyone was waiting in.

When we walked in, Tsunade was angrily pacing back and fourth, and Jiraiya was leaning against a wall with his eyes closed, meaning that they had been hanging out in here for quite some time. Ugh, why were the Sannin never around when you really needed them?I shook my head, ridding myself of unforgiving thoughts. No, Gramps' death wasn't their fault. I wasn't over it, but I had accepted that I had to move on... Plus, I had much more than grief to deal with.

The Sannin looked up at the sound of the door closing behind me, shutting Sai out into the hallway. Kakashi kept his nose in his book but was watching me in his peripheral vision.

"Hey brat, you alright?" Tsunade asked softly, as if she were talking to a glass flower.

"I'm fine, you old bat, whadya' want?" She growled and hit me over the head, pulling a chuckle from Jiraiya.

"Don't call me that, you stupid brat! I'll punch your teeth into your stomach!" She yelled as I held my probably-broken skull together.

Jiraiya put a hand on her shoulder, "Pfft, see woman? I told you the kid would be fine, tough as nails- AHH!" She punched him as well, perhaps harder.

"Call me 'woman' one more time!" At the ruckus, Kakashi decided to finally pull his nose out of the book.

"You can remove your mask, Naruto." He said quietly. I nodded and tied it at my hip, ruffling my hair a bit before looking up at them. Tsunade's mouth fixed into a thin line as she looked at me.

"So it's true, then. He got the necklace..." I suddenly remembered that without that crystal, my Jinchuuriki traits showed. I nodded grimly, almost ashamed of my lack of ability to protect the gift she gave me. Jiraiya stepped forward, fingers on his chin in thought. He circled around me, observing, and I was beginning to get a bit self conscious before he spoke.

"You know, you aren't lookin' too good, brat. 'This mission hard on you?" I looked to the side, shrugging. Apparently, I didn't appear as bright and bouncy as normal, and he was assuming that it was the mission. I began to explain that the attack and the losses had got to me, but he shook his head.

"No, this seems different. The Kyuubi looks like it's creeping up on you." Huh? I looked to Kakashi, seeing him nod. Tsunade pulls a small mirror out of her pocket and hands it to me. I open it nervously, not sure if my reflection would greet me nicely...

I find that I was tense for no real reason, as the only big changes were that my eyes were more fox-like and my whiskers more pronounced.

"Weird. Why do you think it's doing that, pervy sage?" They all seemed to look at each other before Kakashi voiced a concern of his.

"Did you feel odd when you first put on the necklace? Was anything different, really?" I tilted my head in faux-thought. Of course something was different, Kurama couldn't speak with me for days, it seemed. I nodded, and they shared looks again.

"Would you guys mind talking out loud?"

Kakashi continued as if I hadn't spoken. "Did the feeling go away after awhile? Did you feel normal again?" Yes, the jerk was mocking me as soon as he could speak again.

I nodded once more. He frowned, "Naruto, we're thinking that the Kyuubi had to adapt his chakra to the crystal, and now that it's been removed..."

I didn't like that tone. "What. Spit it out, Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi sighed, "Well, its no longer supressed, so it's like the energy is overflowing... Which means you can't go on with that mission..." My eyes widen and my jaw falls. I can't... my mission... but Sasuke... my team...

"No. No way. I'm a fucking captain. You can't ground me, Kakashi, I outrank you!" It wasn't supposed sound like a teenage-rant, and Kakashi knew and understood that, but he still raised a brow. I huffed, trying to calm down, and Tsunade was looking pleadingly to Jiraiya, making me wonder if he could do something.

I put on my most desperate face, "Look, I'm sorry. The attack just now and the Hyuuga cousins discovering Gaara has me worked up. I promise I have things under control. There has got to be a way for me to go on in this mission. Can't you guys find some other Senju thing to suppress that stupid fox?!"

As soon as I opened my big fat mouth, I knew I had said too much.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes, "Naruto, we didn't tell you it would suppress anything. We told you it would strengthen your seal." I rolled my eyes, sweating.

"Jeez, granny, I'm not an idiot. You said it was the first hokage's! Yamato uses his cells to suppress Kyuubi, not 'strengthen' my seal." She didn't seem to go with it at first, but when all else fails, Gramps has my back.

"He's got a point, Tsunade." He says, sending a sneaky wink my way. Jiraiya always reminded me of a cool uncle, the kind that knew I was planning a house party and made sure mom stayed gone. It still worried me a bit because I couldn't tell if he only knew I was up to something, or he knew exactly what I was up to...

Tsunade frowns, and ever-present expression on her face. "Either way, he still can't go. The Kyuubi's chakra will flair and you won't need to be a Hyuuga to notice... Plus, since we have to put the Hyuuga cousins on the job, they'll be looking out instead of just attending school." Oh how I wanted to protest the Hyuuga cousins being put to work, but since they've seen Gaara and know about the mission, we're almost obligated to put them in mission mode... Plus, if I protest it will be suspicious, and I could already feel Kakashi's eyes on me.

I can never catch a break...

"Hey kid, are you listening?" I jerk my head back to Jiraiya. "Huh?"

He clicks his teeth, "Jeez, I'm trying to help you out and you aren't even paying attention. I said, I have a 'suppressor' that would work a bit better than your seal, but it's a little complicated." I grinned.

"No way? C'mon, fork it over!" he laughed and pulled a flimsy paper-seal out of his book(he had a habit of carrying around those kinds of things like book-marks) and unfolded it.

"It's still Senju, but it's from the Namikaze branch so I think it will work better with your seal. More compatible, so less funny feelings, and Hyuuga clansmen still won't be able to detect the chakra. Just gotta avoid the stray Uzumaki, should you come into contact." He said with another wink, sure that I wouldn't run into one. I nodded, having uneasy feelings as I thought of Sasuke's companion, Karin.

"Now, the tricky thing about this, though, is that you can't remove it yourself." I raised a brow but shrugged.

"I'll just get Kakashi to remove it, should I need to kick ass fox-style."

Kakashi shook his head, "One, I am not around you enough in that environment, as we are supposed to play teacher and student, and two, Namikaze paper-seals don't work like that."

Jiraiya nodded, "He's right. Namikaze is a branch of Senju, so the seals are similar, but not quite the same. You can't have just anyone removing such a powerful thing, kid. You will need someone purely of one of the four main branches from the Rikudou Sennin's sons. Your best bet is one of the Hyuuga kids, since pure Senju Clansmen are practically impossible to find, and the other two clans are extinct." I huffed.

"That's fine, I'm sure Shodaime will come to rip this off too, so we won't have to worry about it. There's no way I'm just going to reveal myself to my team-mates." They all seemed to share a sigh, though Kakashi's was silent, mostly expressed in his bored eye.

I see Jiraiya move to put away the paper-seal but I reach out for it like a junkie. "Wait!" He paused. "I... I know an Uzumaki I can trust..." I know it was stupid, but it was my only hope.

Their eyebrows shot into their varying hairlines. "You know an Uzumaki?" I nod.

"She won't reveal herself, and I know she won't reveal me, so we're safe. Just... let me handle this. I can take care of myself. Everything is under control."

Jiraiya swallowed, then nodded, handing me the seal. "You place it in the center of the markings of your seal, only those who fit that description are capable of removing it." I nod, pocketing it for now.

Kakashi steps forward, having replaced his nose into the book, quite done with everyone's serious attitudes. "I will be at the school a little after sun-rise to pick up Minako from her baby sitter's. I should be teaching my class by Monday, so I hope you've read up on Jiraiya's latest novels..." All men in the room share a laughing fit of various volumes, Jiraiya's being the loudest.

I shake my head, "I wonder how some of you people were accepted as teachers up there..." And I don't just mean from Konoha. I still can't wrap my head around some director approving Itachi and Madara...

Kakashi shrugged, "It's this, or Shakespeare."

Suddenly, the door opens, interrupting our small, joyous break from the troubles of life that wait outside. Iruka and Sai step in, the former quickly moving to Kakashi's side as said man continued speaking.

"Sai will also be going back with me, this time as a student." My jaw dropped and Sai removed his mask, smiling at me.

"I'm glad we will be working together, Naruto-kun. Maybe we can become closer...?" He winks and I exaggerate the gestures for vomiting in my mouth.

I stick my tongue out in a gagging manner, "Yeah, no thanks, stay far away from me. You'll fuck up the mission if you stalk me, anyways, and that's the last thing I need right now." Jiraiya raises a brow.

"I was under the impression that this was a blow-off mission compared to your others, Naruto." I shrugged, replacing my masking and pulling my hood over my head.

"It started out that way..." I said quietly, turning to take my leave. I had no idea what had happened to Sasuke after the statue fell, and my clone never made it, as one of the dying root members exploded, killing off my copycat and wounding another fighter nearby. Everyone said that the strangers just disappeared...

With that in mind, my steps quickened, and I was already halfway out the door when I heard Jiraiya's voice once more.

"What changed, Fox Captain?"

I paused, but only briefly. "Someone needs me."

It was quiet, as if they couldn't figure out how to respond, and I didn't give them time to find something to say. I walked through Konoha, through the wooded areas with the training grounds where I got my ass handed to me by all of my sensei. Yeah, I was still in a hurry to get back to the school and find Sasuke, but I needed time to think. There were no people around to concern myself with, nothing to hide from, no distractions. I needed this. I needed to just walk, breathe and let the thoughts happen.

Naturally, I found myself wondering to The Final Valley. Sarutobi once told me that many with 'The Will of Fire' were almost called there, and I didn't know if it was such a good thing anymore... When I heard the water fall I slowed even more, not sure if I wanted to interact with people anymore, but knowing I'd have to. I stayed off to the side of what was going on, simply observing as medics and other workers cleared the corpses of the root and Konoha protectors.

I received mournful looks and sympathetic glances from those who knew of my affiliation with Konoha, but I couldn't acknowledge them with the mask on, nor did I want to acknowledge them. I wasn't even concerned with the bodies, like they probably thought I was. No, I was examining the scorch marks on and around the bodies. I was figuring out which enemies were offed by Konoha and which enemies were offed by Uchiha.

All three of them were here. Kurama says quietly. I can smell them. We should get rid of the scent.

I nodded, trying not to seem overly surprised that Kurama was trying to look out for them. I followed the directions he gave so that the scent would be covered, leaving my chakra signature behind with every step I took, and since I was of the highest ranks within the village, I was permitted to simply walk through fenced off areas. No one would say anything because no one suspected that a captain of such respect would tamper with an investigation, and for that, I felt guilty.

I stood the top of what used to be Senju Hashirama's statue, having erased most of the indicators of an Uchiha's presence compared to any other dark figures. Now, I was simply staring. My eyes would alternate from the rubble and blood to the statue of Madara. It looked so much like him, yet it didn't, and I couldn't decide if it was good or not. One side of me, the one that promised to protect Sasuke, was beyond glad that my generation was too sheltered to make the connections, since it worked in mine and Sasuke's favor.

The loyalist side of me wished that I had an artistic bone in my body, so that perhaps I could better carve the fine detail of Madara's face and eyes in hopes that someone could actually recognize him. You could tell that whoever carved this had never looked Uchiha Madara in the eyes, because the eyes were all wrong. The eyes of the statue were as blank as the expression on it's face, which, contrary to what would be popular belief, is not the default look for Uchiha Madara. The face Madara wore was anything but blank. His eyes were cold and tired, as if you had no hope of being a threat to him, as if you weren't worth the effort of looking awake. His eyes seemed to always be lidded, and his muscles were relaxed, never tense like in this stone interpretation, so it was nothing like the Madara that I had seen.

No, they'd never looked Madara in the eyes, not even in the face.

"Creepy, isn't it?" I nearly jumped, turning my head to see Shikamaru staring straight ahead at Madara's statue as I had been. I slowly return my head to its original position as if I'd hallucinated him. We stared in silence for a good minute before I spoke.

"What is creepy?" I ask quietly, but I know exactly what he had in mind.

As he usually did, Shikamaru shrugged and looked to the side a bit, then to the clouds. "As a fellow Konoha-born protector, it's got to chill your bones a bit to see it from this spot... Uchiha Madara standing tall while Senju Hashirama crumbles, and here we are, standing in the rubble." He pauses, looking at me, but I don't respond. The fact that I stay perfectly silent and still probably worked against me, but I simply didn't have the energy, and his words were getting to me.

Seeing no reply in the near future, he continues, as if simply musing to himself(but it doesn't feel like he really is...). "I think it's weird how the water continues to flow between them, as if Senju's head isn't missing, and this isn't a surprise..."

I sigh, shaking my head, "It's water, Shikamaru. Just water."

He narrowed his eyes in response but didn't take them away from the statue. "It's life, Captain. Water is life. This is a message, and that is why it's darker and colder here. That is why it's creepy."

I don't bother with a reply. He was right, anyways. Whatever god was watching over us right now was giving everyone a sign, and for once, I'm glad that God wasn't speaking with words. I'm glad, for once, that the message is cryptic and the answer is vague...

Gods rarely speak in voice, kit. I know. It's saving us this time, but it won't work for long, because Shikamaru was already dissecting and analyzing nature's symbolism. The water, or 'life', was undisturbed by Senju's fall, meaning that it saw said fall coming and simply continued on. The fact that Madara remained unmoving simply sent the message of immortality, a message that wasn't solely symbolic.

"Yeah, I guess it is creepy..." I say, turning to walk away. I preferred to flash to the unhidden world while in the forest, as opposed to teleporting in front of everyone. I didn't want the extra attention, so even as I walked away I kept my footsteps silent.

"I think it's a sign, Captain. Someone is trying to tell us something." I stop, but don't look back.

Surely Madara didn't leave his statue on purpose...

Why would he do that? The way Sasuke described their situation, he made it seem like they were trying not to attract attention...

Itachi maybe, but this is a stunt that Madara would definitely pull. If it were up to him, he would have decorated the statue with corpses and painted 'God of Uchiha' in blood...

I blink. Okay... that was a bit graphic...

But Itachi wouldn't let him do that, and you said they were all here.

This is true. Perhaps it was not deliberate on their part. He lets a sinister laugh echo through my head. Perhaps this is just a foreshadowing by the gods, as the Nara suggested...

I sigh and turn back to Shikamaru, who was looking back at me as well.

"... Who, do you think? And what are they saying, I wonder..." He narrowed his eyes, slowly turning back to the statue as if it would attack should his movements be jerky.

Or is he wary of me now?

"I don't know for sure, captain. Danzou's body was never fully recovered, excluding the chunks that were all over the remains of the Senju statue,-" So Madara did get to decorate... "so they had to have blown him up, but there was no explosive residue, or any signs of paper bombs. It doesn't add up..."

"This is where you say 'troublesome...', isn't it Shikamaru?"

He smirks and lifts his head to the sky that was slowly lightening. "Yeah..." He turns to me once more, his hands in his pockets. "I can't be sure about what this all adds up to, Captain, but I have a bad feeling..."

With a frown, I start walking once more, as I had a long way to walk before it was safe to 'yellow flash' my way back to the unhidden world.

"Me too, Nara..."

I didn't hear his voice after that, but I didn't expect to. The conversation was uncomfortably close to home, and I was glad that it was over. Conversations with Shikamaru tended to rub anyone the wrong way when they had a secret.

I walked a couple miles before taking off my gear, hoping to flash back to somewhere just outside the campus gates, as I had walked enough, in my opinion. I had my gear rolled up in the hooded cloak, so when I finally got to my room, I could just throw it in it's box and kick it under my bed. By the time I was in the hall, my entire body felt heavy and I was ready to just throw myself onto my mattress and sleep for days, so I was unpleasantly surprised to find that my amazing, comfy bed was already occupied...

I couldn't help but huff a bit as I put my things away and shut my door, but seeing that Sasuke was alright and sleeping soundly took a bit of the weight off of my aching shoulders. I was about to watch said sleeping form until I got a closer look at the faker and realize he's smirking. "Hey, teme, only creeps pretend to be sleeping..." He opens his eyes, smirk still there as if it were permanent.

"Only children throw things around. What are you being obnoxious about?" I can tell he wanted to argue, but I just didn't feel like indulging in such a carefree thing. He seems to get the mood, sitting up and gesturing with his head. I obliged and sat next to him, sighing and shaking my head at his communication quirks. "You have to leave soon. Neji can't be far behind me." I say. Sasuke doesn't seem to be concerned with Neji though, only nodding.

"Were you discovered?" He asks, and I find it pleasant to have someone so concerned about my troubles.

"No," I say, "The Hyuuga cousins in our team saw Gaara fighting unmasked. Now they will be able to differentiate between Shukaku and Gaara, putting both chakra signatures to Gaara's face." He raised a brow, as if he didn't really get what I was saying.

"How do they not identify you?" He asks. I almost didn't understand what he was saying, so I had to step back and think about it from an Uchiha's perspective. Sasuke probably didn't understand how Kurama's chakra could go unsensed, since he and his relatives were so sensitive to it. I had to laugh a bit, because Sasuke's expressions had a knack for giving me the giggles. He probably didn't know it, but with his eyebrow arched and his nosed wrinkled, he almost looked cute.

Almost.

"You aren't the only one good at hide and seek, Sasuke." He frowns, making the look even better, so I have to turn my head to explain, lest I laugh at him again.

"Here, at this school, with Deidara- generally when I'm away from the Hidden- I am like this. Even before all of this Senju magic, you would have had to truly search to find that I hosted Kurama. One would have to be acquainted with him to be able to recognize what the chakra was in the first place." I gave him a grin, something that generally made me look more human, since for some reason, non-humans smiled less. As usual, though, Uchiha Sasuke gives me the opposite of the expected response. He looked a bit disturbed and uncomfortable, and he seemed close to glaring at me. I kept the grin plastered on my face, for effect if anything else.

"Now, close your eyes, Sasuke." He seemed hesitant, as if he wanted to watch me closely. Pfft, creep.

I let Kurama's chakra have free reign, and almost immediately his face begins to scrunch up. He seems confused and disoriented, his brows furrowing.

I wondered briefly why he was reacting so strangely, as he had been in Kurama's presence before... Unsure how to react myself, I spokes, trying to ignore his odd behavior."Now, I am their Fox Captain. This is what they hear and feel when they are with me, and I rarely stray from Kyuubi's signature in the Hidden world. Last night was the only real exceptio- ...Sasuke?" I smother Kyuubi as completely as I can without the aide of a seal, since Kurama's chakra seemed to be... disturbing him...

He opens his eyes, rimmed with frighteningly familiar shadows. "Hn?" He was sweating almost profusely- at least for someone sitting in one spot- but his cheeks were not blushed as one's usually would be if they were hot. He almost seemed to be getting paler... The shadowing had receded a bit, so I assumed that Kyuubi was indeed the reason(it usually was in the case of an Uchiha, it seemed), so carefully, I moved my hand to his forehead to check his temperature, trying to stutter out a sentence, but as soon as I got too close, Sasuke shot off my bed and stumbled away from me.

Sasuke held himself up on my door frame, his naturally broody face looking odd as he blinked rapidly. Slowly, cautiously, I moved forward. "Dude, what's wrong with you?"

Kit... I ignored the tone of Kurama's voice, watching as Sasuke's face scrunched up more into what seemed to be pain or confusion. What the fuck is going on?

"I... don't know..." I tried to move closer again but he immediately backed out into the hallway, and as soon as he did, my breath hitched.

"Sasuke!" I whispered furiously, not wanting to alarm anyone in their rooms. Sasuke looked almost like I had seen him on the first day, with his longer blueish hair and his strange face-star, but there was nothing comical about it. Fear and concern bubbled in my abdomen as I scanned over his glaring form. His normally corpse-like coloring seemed to be diluted to an extreme, making his skin seem almost translucent if you looked at him a certain way, and his hands were positively grotesque with his darkened finger nails.

He seemed to eventually catch sight of himself, but only a brief widening of the eyes was shown before he schooled his features, taking a few calming breaths to avoid a hysterical fit.

Something has set him off, kit. We were too late.

A small well of panic swells in my gut. What do you mean too late?!

That blood of Madara's is no longer dormant. We could not stop it.

So Sasuke was already dracula-fied? Oh god... Wha-... What am I supposed to do? Why is this happening?!

Kurama's voice seemed to drone, not affected or even surprised by the events taking place. There is nothing we can do, brat. All of the commotion as of late could well be responsible. Anything from Madara or Itachi losing control, to the Senju suppressant being removed. If we leave him as he is, he's sure to cause a scene.

I pause, pondering his words.

That, or he could outright eat someone. It's always hard to control in early stages of awareness.

I gulped. Well we can't just stand here and watch him freak out!Kyuubi hummed.

This is a bit new to me, as I have never seen a transformation like this. I assume Orochimaru's influence is contaminating him. It's a wonder that his body-conflicts haven't forced him into insanity...

Jeez... So all of that crazy shit was just making a big soup of evil energy inside his body... Even I'm surprised he hasn't lost it...

H-how can we help him?

Kurama sighed. As I said previously: There is nothing we can do. If anything, being near him in this unshielded manner makes it worse.

My brain thinks as fast as it can, which is rather slowly when I'm outside of battle, so I'm stuck frantically connecting dots. Who is close to him? Who knows him best? Who understands the situation? Who-

Got it!

My wide eyes re-focus on Sasuke, "Uh..." How eloquent. I lick my lips nervously. "You should go... Go straight to Ita-!" No, you idiot! The Akatsuki would be all over it, and Itachi is probably about as experienced as Sasuke with this. The best choice... is Madara... As much as it pained us both, I spoke, "No, better yet, go straight to Madara! He'd know what to do." Even as I said it I felt invisible hands creeping from my mouth to claw at the air in attempt to steal back the words I just spoke...

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, knowing how weird a suggestion that was, but nodding anyway and requesting the bloody shirt he wore on last night's impromptu mission. I grab it and quickly bring it to him, feeling a bit offended and guilty as he grunts in discomfort when I hand it to him.

We do indeed make him uncomfortable in our uncensored state.

I frowned, immediately returning to the smothering safety of my room of seals so I wouldn't make Sasuke feel any worse. With a brief nod of what I hoped to be gratitude, he flickered away with the shirt hiding his head from view of anyone with keen enough eyes to track him. I sighed, walking back to my bed and plopping down where I had been sitting previously. My bed smelled like Sasuke.

I twisted and laid down, wallowing in the scent and smothering it with my own, so it wouldn't look suspicious when Neji found his way back(though I doubted he would be back before Monday). Frowning, I pulled the seal from my pocket and stared at the runes, which didn't look like anything more than pretty scribbles to me. With a soft, exhausted blink, I thought about how I hadn't had the chance to ask Sasuke to be the one to remove it when the time came.

Yes, I'd lied when I told Kakashi and the Sannin that I had another Uzumaki in mind. No way was I gonna ask Karin, I felt like that would only complicate things more, and I sure as hell wasn't going to ask Neji, because knowing the Sand Captain was enough for one subordinate, and knowledge of the Kyuubi vessel simply seemed more dangerous in the hands of someone from Konoha- don't ask me why.

I bit my lip, staring at the paper seal for a little while longer before putting it back in my pocket and folding my hands behind my head. I stared at the ceiling for awhile, not sure what I was supposed to be doing. Konoha had been under attack and now had no Hokage, Senju was awake and taken over by some sick, twisted snake-bastard, the remaining Uchiha were all losing their marbles, Gaara was unmasked to two different people and I currently can't leave my room without the paper seal slapped over my stomach without being detected. It's like everything was blending together, and I can't help but wonder when each and every one of my problems are going to explode in my face. I could almost feel it, but I've been feeling like that from day one, and it only seems to get worse, since there's always one more thing that gets added into the mix and makes it a bit more miserably interesting.

My phone buzzes in the drawer of my night-stand. I stare at said night-stand for awhile, wondering if I should ignore it so I could further enjoy the sweet silence of isolation. It was almost ironic, because when I was younger, I hated the feeling of being alone. Now, as I open the drawer and see the multiple texts from my friends, I wish to be left alone a bit longer.

I open the texts, skimming through.

Hey Tachibana! Something's come up, my dog is sick, can't hang Sunday, sorry! -Kiba

I raise a brow. I wouldn't exactly call getting blown up with a paper-bomb 'sick', but I understand.

It's all good, man! Hope he heals up!- Naruto~

I'm sure he'd be just fine with all the healers, and I wasn't too hurt anyway. Hanging with Kiba was only to be sure that he didn't know anything about what was going on.

I opened another text, this one from Suigetsu. Hey man, you seen Sasuke? I ignore the text, then skip over the very next one since it was from Sai, then pause at the one just after that.

::Gaara(4)::

I was a bit afraid to open the texts. Gaara rarely sent more than one text in the same week, so seeing four unread messages from him was unsettling...

I clicked 'open', knowing that I couldn't ignore them.

Naruto, answer your phone.

Neil died this morning. Sakura needs us.

I'm with her now, answer your phone.

The funeral is in around five days.

I close my eyes, bite my lip and sigh. I felt like shit. I could tell that they, or at least Gaara, still felt a bit neglected and ignored since I've been spending my time with Sasuke. I feel as though I have abandoned them by making this pact, but it was meant to protect them so...

Why do I feel so guilty?

Because you enjoy your time with that miniature Madara.

I grimace. For once, Kurama is probably right...

As selfish as it sounds, I couldn't even say my heart went out to Sakura at the moment. There was too much on my plate for sympathy and grieving. I didn't have room in my heart right now, for anything. I needed to disappear or something. I really needed to feel normal.

I sit up and rise to a stand, pulling the paper out of my pocket. With no small amount of willpower, I lift my shirt and force myself to slap the paper over Kurama's seal. Only when it glows and disappears into my skin do I grab my phone and open my door to leave.

That is, before I run into Neji.

I step back, but he seems unphased by our small collision. "Naruto-san, where are you going?" I put on the bright and sunny mask, laughing. "Ah, Neji! I was just getting a bit lonesome, thought I'd go home for the weekend, you know?"

He raised a pretty eyebrow, "Homesick after only the first week of school?" I inwardly roll my eyes, but outwardly giggle.

"Yeah, hope you don't miss me. I'm sure good ol' Gaara will entertain you." I say winking, and he blushes. "Bye Neji~!" I say in the shittiest voice imaginable. I start taking off down the hallway, but his voice stops me.

"Naruto-san..." I frown, turning back to him once I hear his strange tone. "Yeah, Neji?"

His big white eyes stare blankly at me, "How did you and Gaara meet?" The blood in my face seems to drain to my feet, making them desperately want to move. I shrug, trying to seem as innocent as possible.

"Eh, it was some time ago, we were kids, and that guy is so mysterious..." I blather on, and the small shine of suspicion seems to fade from his gaze as he turns away.

"I see. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, then." And he turns to our room. I narrow my eyes at his back, not liking the dismissive behavior on one hand, but thankful for it on the other. I turn away as well. "You too, Neji."

I run down to the public bathrooms, plastering myself to a wall when I encounter a couple guys carrying an unconscious naked student through the hall. Weird. I shrugg and go to the showers, hiding myself in a stall before flashing my way to the wooded area behind my house. As I march up the hill and climb the fence to my back yard, a bit of giddiness creeps into my stomach and delivers me from a bit of my depression. With a devious grin, I raise my fist to the back screen door and bang on it repeatedly as hard as I can without shattering the thing. I giggle behind my other hand as I hear a flowing stream of curses from Deidara's room, but I can't hold back when I see him emerge with a royal bed-head and candy-corn patterned pajama pants.

I can't tell if his rage left or intensified upon seeing me, because his eyes widened and narrowed and he immediately unlocked and violently pushed the screen open.

"Naruto!" He whisper-yelled, reminding me of myself earlier today after Sasuke's freak out. "What are you doing here?" I tilted my head, frowning. Why did he sound panicked?

I shrug, pushing past to walk into the living room. "Is it so bad to miss my big brothe-" I freeze upon seeing someone step out of his room and said man mimics my actions, sharp and doll-like eyes stuck on me.

Oops.

Yeah 'oops'! Why is he here?

By the lingering of his scent, I'd say he's been here for a couple of days...

Oh gods... Aka Suna no Sasori quickly adjusted the robe over himself, but I'd already seen the ball-and-socket quality he had to his faux flesh. This is the first time I'd seen him so close, and the natural fear I had for all things Akatsuki was creeping away enough to absently wonder how that worked out in the bedroom...

His voice breaks me out of my tangent thoughts. "Brother?" He asks, looking to Deidara with those interesting eyes. Sasori's voice was so soft and soothing for a mass murdering psycho, but I suppose that was the kicker. I twitched, and it was the only movement in the house for a good minute, because Sasori of the Red Sand wasn't taking his eyes off of me, and I sure wasn't going to look away from him. It was at the very end of this minute that I came to my senses and realized why he was really here.

The open robe, the disheveled hair, the guilty expre-

I smell sex.

… Ew.

He hadn't come after me, he was just here fucking my brother.

Seeing no need to freak out and go into combat mode, I let an ugly, lecherous grin eat my face as I slowly turned around to stare at Deidara. "So... Is this 'Sah-Sorry'? Eh?" I wiggle my brows, watching with interest as Deidara's muscles relax themselves before tensing again, this time in embarrassment rather than fear.

"Shut your stupid mouth, un!" I grin, but Deidara can see through it, judging by the suspicious gleam in his eye, so I'm forced to cheese it up even more. I laugh obnoxiously, moving to the kitchen and pretending to raid the fridge.

I really don't think you should leave your back to him.

Well I can't exactly face him the whole time, that would look even more suspicious.

Mmm...

Ugh... I can't catch a break anywhere.I grabbed a soda, turning around to catch them having a silent argument, flailing arms and muted yelling included. I didn't even have to fake my confused look, and as soon as they felt my eyes they stopped. I walk awkwardly into the living room where they stood, Sasori watching me like a hawk, Deidara watching him.

"Uh... I just came by to get a few extra things, then I'll just leave you kids-"

"No!" Both Sasori and I start, giving Deidara a questioning look. My brother shrinks back a bit, eyes fixed on me. Any other person would be shifting their eyes in thought, but Deidara held back all impulses, trying to look nonchalant. Unfortunately, while his eyes stayed still, the lips on his hands were being nervously bitten by the anxious mouths, something he hid from our guest.

I raised a brow finally, not up for guessing at his outburst.

"No...?" And the tone of my own voice has me wondering if I'm spending too much time around Uchiha.

Deidara blinks once, his expression dulling out, "No, why don't you stay a little while? This is your first weekend home from school. Just... hangout in the den or something?" And nothing but the small narrowing of his right eye gave me the proper directions.

'Play it cool, stay out of your room.' Got it.

Would understanding Deidara's underlying message be suspicious to him? Kurama was clearly amused with the complexities of this situation...

I think not being discovered as a Jinchuuriki by Sasori is more important than Deidara knowing what I know...

It'll be fun either way.

I shrug outwardly, walking from the kitchen to the den and plopping on the couch, watching the television while secretly spying on them. Sasori stared at me with narrowed eyes before walking towards Deidara, moving forward to mutter in his ear almost intimately.

I listened hard, then even harder with Kurama's ears, watching Deidara's expression, since Sasori's back was facing me.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a younger brother?" He asks in Japanese, his voice almost muted.

Deidara growled under his breath, his voice naturally a bit louder than Sasori's soft tenor. "Would you have told me? As if Leader doesn't know enough about every one of us, un!"

Sasori's soft voice breaks through again, "I said 'me', not Leader." There is a pause, and Deidara's eyes were downcast in guilt.

Kyuubi groans at the scene. Kami, all of these 'heartless' monsters are soft.

I suppress a smirk, And you aren't?

… Pay attention, idiot...

Sasori's quiet mumbles continue, "... This distraction aside, for now, I came out of your room to pass on a message from Leader..." Deidara's brows come together a bit, listening hard. "Since capturing the bijuu in order is obviously unnecessary, we've decided to go after the beasts that are most available first. Hidan and Kakuzu have gone after the two-tails, and Leader left the three-tails to Tobi and Zetsu since it has no Jinchuuriki. Leader and Konan have just collected the four-tails. They are moving on to the six-tails. Seven-tails will be collected by Kisame and Itachi. And we will be collecting..." He seems to pause, as if choked up, oddly enough, but in my heart, I knew he didn't have to continue...

"The Ichibi..." Deidara finishes quietly... I swallow, forcing myself to keep my wetting eyes on the television. I feel my brother's gaze on me, sadly watching me over Sasori's shoulder, so I force a content, bored expression. I do my best to pretend my ears were as human as my appearance, and for once, I truly wish they were.

"We have the meeting to finalize the plans tonight..." Sasori says quietly, and there is that bit of feeling in his voice that reminds me that he and Gaara are related. Hell, a month ago, before this whole mission started, we had all been drinking because he and Gaara ran into each other and got into some fight. I had to wonder how close of a relationship they had, because neither of them were killed in this altercation, and in this world, that meant quite a bit.

"Why is this happening so soon, un? What happened to the idea of slowly collecti-"

"It's been tossed, Leader has sensed some... problems, and says that collecting all or most of them at around the same time is more efficient."

I chewed on the inside of my cheek, and I could almost feel Kurama pacing in circles like the antsy fox he was. Deidara's eyes were on me again for a brief moment, and as innocently as possible, I looked back at him. He averts his gaze immediately, seemingly unable to take looking me in the eye at that moment.

"We should go then, Sasori no danna..." Deidara backs away from Sasori before going to his room. Sasori spares me a glance, and for some reason, I can't help but to stare back. I leave my eyes to their truest nature, holding back nothing. I wonder if he can sense that I know everything, I almost want him to feel it. On the surface, I'm sure it's nothing but a dull, uncensored glare, but I feel the need to send out a warning, almost. It's as if Kyuubi's instincts were rubbing off on me or something. I was feeling threatened, so I was warning Sasori not to go through with mine or Gaara's capture, lest he be eliminated.

I hope he sees everything swimming behind my eyes...

And then, just like that, he turns and follows Deidara into the bedroom.

I stay like that, staring at where they were, not really moving or even blinking. My eyes are lidded and a bit glazed, and I can't help but feel numb. I wonder absently where Sasuke is, what he's doing with his relatives, how Madara was training him to mow down my precious people. Even so, even with these unpleasant thoughts, I kind of wish he were here. I wish that something terrible would happen to him, and then we can sit alone and talk about it or drink or something. We'd have something to share.

Not that we'd had any problem with complaining about our shitty life struggles as of late, but a ton of stuff had just been dumped on me within the past few hours- no, minutes- and I was itching to vent to someone who could see through the same glass.

But instead, I sat in the den, staring at the kitchen with my glazed eyes.

It wasn't long before they were exiting the bedroom, suspicious bags in hand which surely hid their famous Akatsuki cloaks. Sasori looked bored and unaffected, while Deidara seemed to bustle about as he gathered his things, but this was somewhat typical for my easy to read brother.

"Where ya goin'?" And the emptiness in my tone almost makes me facepalm.

Don't let your emotions take over, brat, they'll notice.

But they didn't. Sasori doesn't know me well enough, and would naturally chalk it up to me being a moody teenager, and Deidara was distracted with the thought of hunting and killing my best friend. That, and he was always a bit antsy when he had to meet with Akatsuki.

Sasori raises a brow, looking over at me when Deidara does, waiting to see what he'd say.

Deidara shrugged, seeming to step into his hot temper. "Nunya', un." It made me smile a bit, because for some reason, I found a mean Deidara to be cool, much like how any little brother would idolize his dick-head older brother.

"If you guys are going to the gay bar, you can just say so..." Deidara's eyes widen while Sasori's narrow, not appreciating my sense of humor.

"We aren't going there, un!" He glares for good measure. Deidara marches to the door with Sasori following quietly. "... A couple of friends from work are meeting at a regular bar, un. I'll be back late, remember to lo-"

"Lock the doors, shut the curtains and keep quiet," I recite, "don't answer the door or phone before hearing who it is. I got it. Have fun, Dei." He glares at being interrupted but pushes Sasori out of the house before moving to shut the door behind himself.

He looks back once more but I'm reclined in the sofa, absorbed in the television. "See ya, brat." And the door is shut behind him.

"Be safe..." I say quietly to myself. Here I was, for the first time in a long time, truly alone, with no one to understand.

… Don't be so dramatic... but even Kurama's voice is soft and somewhat hopeless.

The tear that rolls down my expressionless face isn't nearly as warm as I need it to be, and my tired body can't even muster the energy to sob. This morning feels like days ago, and it was almost stocked with enough trouble for a lifetime.

I didn't know what to do or where to go. The last man I turned to just left to plan my demise, and I truly needed his presence. No where was okay. I couldn't go back to the dorm, I'd told Neji I'd be gone for the weekend. I didn't want to go to Konoha or see anyone from the hidden, I couldn't see Gaara or Sakura, they were busy with Neil's death and they had no idea what was going on.

I had no idea where Sasuke was.

So... Where do I go?

I think... we should go to sleep...

Yeah... My body did feel heavy, but that could have been Kurama's influence taking over... I didn't want to think any more, anyway...

Yeah, we should sleep...

---

Madara

Ha! This was all too entertaining! It was good to partake in some form of stress relief when things were getting a bit hairy.

And violence was my favorite form.

Sex was a very close second.

But when violent sex was available-

"Ah!" Lost my footing... Luckily the chakra pull from Susano'o kept me upright as the rocks beneath me crumbled a bit into the mud. Twas my own fault really, one can't expect the ground to stay all that stable when Susano'o was smashing about. Distracting thoughts were quite hazardous at the moment...

I continue swinging the arms of Susano'o, always barely missing them. We were both just playing around, honestly. They both know I could have destroyed them by know, and I was well aware of how fast they both were. They were testing me as I tested them. Pretty ineffective since both sides would be underestimated, but eventually one of us would lose patience and try to move this torture session forward, lest we exhaust ourselves with play.

They were both out of sight at the moment, and it was difficult to place them with the rain that had started, so I waited. I was quite curious as to what Itachi would come up with to defeat me. Sasuke was quite skilled as well, but I questioned his capabilities when it came to knowing when to make objective and subjective decisions in battle. Would he let fear seep in at any point? If I attempted to antagonize him, would he crack or submit to any kind of anger?

I knew Itachi wouldn't. The boy was a rock. If I killed Sasuke, his face would probably be impassive, as he would probably only break inwardly, but he would surely set his eyes on me, forcing me into a slow, brain-melting faux-death.

Then again, Itachi was very much like me, meaning that he would let me no where near his baby brother with the intent of harm. This meant that young Sasuke could be a crutch.

I grin, my Mangekyou Sharingan tingling a bit in what seemed to be anticipation of action after such long dormancy. I begin to look for Sasuke in the rain, but with the rain my effort is wasted. I wished that I could temporarily switch eyes, but I felt that doing so would be like cheating, as my word promised that Itachi and Sasuke must activate those eyes, and I would fight them with these. Plus, it was more entertaining this way, and I hadn't used Mangekyou Sharingan in quite some time. Besides, it wasn't about victory, it was about my descendents learning to channel their blood properly.

I was about to give up my search and go stomping down the rise in the earth to find them when Sasuke finally revealed himself. I frown at his attack, trying to figure out why it was all wrong.

One, it was a bit open, despite it's deadly edge. Two, it seemed almost thoughtless, like he simply went insane and started moving, but he wasn't being controlled, else he would have shown a bit of panic, and the only look in his eye was murderous intent and suspicion. Lastly, the boy had me wondering at his aim, or if he could see properly with all of that lightning chakra sparking around him, because I was way the fuck over he-

My eyes widened as they finally moved to follow his body.

There on the ground was Itachi, his gaping wound having yet to close due to being unable to channel the blood just yet. He stared at Sasuke's oncoming form with a confused expression, then a bit of tragic betrayal entered his eye and I felt bone chilling fear coating my bones as I realized what was happening.

Sasuke was going to kill Itachi?

Logically, I knew there was only a thirty percent chance that Itachi could actually die, as we weren't completely tied and his blood could be a bit too diluted to harness that immortality at such an early stage and what if-.

Of course this was all going through my mind as Susano'o dissolved and the blood had me teleporting right in front of Itachi, just in time for me to activate Rinnegan and bounce Sasuke backward bout fifty yards. I didn't even stare long enough to see him land, but I heard the thud of him slamming against what unfortunately sounded like a rock as I turned around to help Itachi. I bent down and knelt to inspect the wound I inflicted on him, hands twitching to touch, lips moistened by my tongue with the intentions of hopefully soothing kisses.

In other words, I completely lost my head.

It was as soon as I looked into his eyes that I realized this, because I didn't see pain or any kind of emotional distress. All I got from Itachi was coldness, just a split second of absolutely nothing before I was paralyzed by the boy's merciless Sharingan.

Luckily I was only stunned. I could see everything, I just couldn't move, so I sat frozen, inwardly glaring as Itachi got up with a small bit of pain and went to find Sasuke.

Those fucking brats. I could only fume in my head as it became apparent what had been going on. Those little bastards tricked me. I should have seen it coming, because it was a trick that had me and Izuna's name written all over it. Find a weakness, exploit it, distract, and attack.

If I hadn't been the one to fall for it, I would be proud. Their teamwork rivaled mine and my little brothers, and it had me a bit nostalgic. Itachi, knowing that I would come to his aid, used himself as my weakness by pretending to be incapable of protecting himself and somehow got Sasuke to attack him. When I finally came to defend him, he had me close enough to get what he wanted so he could win.

I smirked inwardly, as I could not outwardly, and waited to see what they would try to do. Just because they incapacitated me didn't mean they won. The deal was that for them to be victorious, they had to tap into their blood.

Giggles bubbled up my throat, unable to escape through my zipped lips as I watched them approach, Sasuke rubbing what seemed to be a sore shoulder, glaring at me.

"Okay, so what now? All we did was stun him."

Itachi's face was blank, "I'm well aware of that, Sasuke." He dropped down to his knees and stared into my eyes that surely expressed my amusement.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Well? Do you know how to... do that?" Itachi smirked, eyes closing to contain his slight mirth.

"Yes, I think I do." Sasuke watched with interest and not a bit of horror as Itachi grabbed a fist-full of my hair and wrenched my head back and to the side before he sank his teeth into the side of my neck. I was too frozen to even flinch, not that I would've. With a long, painful suck, movement slowly crept back into my muscles, but they didn't bother with escape. I melted into his attack on my jugular, because contrary to what Sasuke's horrified mug might suggest, this was actually quite pleasant and comforting.

Not to mention romantic in some twisted way.

Sadly enough, all delicious things come to an end. As soon as he reached the desired state, he dropped my lust-limp body into the mud, staying true to the 'nothing but teacher and student' facade.

Itachi stood and dusted himself off, watching with a smirk as I did the same in a much less graceful fashion. Sasuke quickly composed himself, trying to pretend like he was as used to this behavior as we were. I straightened and gave Itachi a glare as he looked me straight in the eye and licked his lips, quite infatuated with the taste he found there.

I raised a brow, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say I sensed a bit of affection in that, boy." The eyes widened a fraction and he looked away.

"You're lucky I left your head on your shoulders..." Ah, he makes my heart flutter. He folded his arms and looked to the darkening sky. "We've won this game. What's next."

I look down and chuckle a bit, "No, my dear boy, you did not quite accomplish the goal." Sasuke raised a brow in question but Itachi only huffed, his face as dull as usual. He knew damn well why, and he had tried to cheat his way out of this.

"What's wrong, brat? Finally encountering an obstacle you can't clear in one bound?" No response. "You've never been one to cheat, boy." Still nothing from Itachi.

Sasuke finally stepped forward. "What do you mean? I thought you wanted us to transform into whatever. Look at him." He says pointing to his brother as if I simply hadn't seen his obvious lack of skin pigment and black-rimmed eyes.

I shook my head. Sasuke really was just like Izuna, never one to acknowledge every technicality.

"You see, this was not for my amusement, Sasuke. This is no entertainment to me." I side-glance Itachi and despite his lack of expression, I know he's inwardly rolling his eyes. I look back to Sasuke, "The goal was to defeat Susano'o by becoming like Itachi has, and then making physical contact. That was the objective. One, only Itachi has achieved the blood state. Two, he only achieved this after 'defeating' me- when I was already out of Susano'o, by the way. Essentially you broke the three terms of the agreement and did not even accomplish the goal, because once again, this was to train you." Sasuke glared, making me smile a bit.

Itachi sighed. "You didn't exactly teach us how to do it properly..." He said, scratching his now-healed stomach.

I looked up, wishing the rain would stop at least for the sake of conversation. "This is how my mother taught me." I said rather openly. "It's like a 'sink or swim' thing, only you aren't being thrown into open water. It's much like the first time your Sharingan activates, only a bit more desperate and bloody." I say, looking back to them to send a pointed glance at Itachi's absent wound.

"I wish I'd had my brother to learn with me, though." I said with an underlying message that Sasuke seemed to cling to. He looked at Itachi with a pathetic gaze...

And that's when I felt it. It was a bubbling of chakra in his hand and the subtle licking of his teeth that had me privy to his intention. Sasuke intended to imitate Itachi and take my blood, but he planned to do this via wounding me without skin-to-skin contact, it seemed. I raised a brow, but took no defensive measures. I wanted to see how this played out.

It was quick, and I'm sure it would have been painful had it reached me, but Itachi grabbed the lightning decorated hand before said lightning could indeed wound me.

I heard the intensely satisfying sound of his breaking wrist and was funny that Sasuke thought Itachi would just let him take my blood. Itachi stood rigidly, still crushing Sasuke's wrist, with angry bared teeth. Sasuke's face was going red with the effort it took not to scream. I smirk, "Well, you both have the right idea." Their eyes moved to me, one pair blood-shot with pain and one pair with fury.

I turned my back to them and tip my head back, since the rain had pushed the front locks of my hair into my face rather annoyingly. I let that same rain force them out of my face as I spoke, uncaring about the water that fell into my mouth. "Well, I wasn't exactly lying about the blood and desperation. You initiate this in three different ways. One is when you are on the verge of death, going insane with some amount of pain." I turned back to nod my hand to Sasuke's wrist, making Itachi let go. It flopped unpleasantly, making Sasuke's brows meet above his nose and his eyes bulge. I turned back, coming to like the feeling of the rain washing over my face.

"The second way is for the Uchiha to taste blood in some excited state. This is easiest, and most parents initiate their offspring's change by torturing them or forcing them into battle, then let them taste a demon's blood. That, or they unleash a weakened opponent on the child and let them devour said opponent, if they are victorious."

"Hn." Itachi says, undisturbed by the gruesome ways of his ancestors. "And the third way? I assume it is simpler..." I blink, the water sticking to my lashes.

I look back at them with narrowed eyes. I paused for only a second, a sudden unpleasant feeling creeping into me. "The third way... is uncommon..." Sasuke's heavy breathing calmed and slowed as he ignored the pain and listened in curiously.

"It is only in unfavorable times when the blood is in danger of becoming extinct. It is when a clan-head, by whatever circumstance, comes into his heritage unexpectedly. It forces even the most smothered, recessive genes take over. This doesn't apply to us, however, because I have been both clan-head and awakened member of the special bloodline for-..." Something cold seems to drop in my gut and spread until I can't feel my fingertips and my eyes sink to the ground.

I have been an awakened clan-head for years, but haven't had a body. It's the first time in kami-knows-how-long since all of the Uchiha, despite our lack of numbers, have been together.

Could I have lost my place?

My brows knit and my eyes widen and ever so slowly, I look up from the ground to stare at my two descendants. Which one? Which one had stolen away my rule?

I look at Sasuke but quickly rule him out. I felt no feelings of obligation, not even feelings of anything other than protectiveness and a bit of affection. Nothing in Sasuke's presence said 'Obey me' or 'Follow my will' to me in the slightest. Itachi, however, spoke those commands rather fluently.

I swallow as he meets my eyes. I had always assumed that these feelings came from the bond, and I had always been in command, born to lead the Uchiha clan, so I hadn't been familiar with the emotions of a follower. This... strange thirst to please him, to do as he would. I look away, staring at my wet and cold hands.

Is this why I 'hid' with him? Why I've been pretending to be some human teacher to compliment his plan? Is this why it is so easy to want to submit to him? I remember the time out in the bar's parking lot, just last night. How his eyes became tinged with red and suddenly everything I breathed was him and the control he had over my senses was just...

For a second. It had been for a second, but it had happened so many times. What was most terrible about it was that I couldn't differentiate between his power over me as my mate or his power over me as the new clan-head.

It doesn't matter, we will only follow him more... The primal, blood driven monster within me was not wrong. It rarely was when it came to these things, though I seldom consulted 'myself'.

I blinked and looked back up to Itachi, staring at his face, absorbing every detail as if it would confirm my suspicions. He'd handled my inner creature so well, as most others have died after being exposed to the ravenous, uncensored 'me', since I usually only expose this 'self' in times of desperation or times of hateful wrath.

But Itachi held control, right? Was it instinct? Or...

Did Itachi have an inner 'self' as well?

Every leader did, at least every leader that descended from the Special blood, to insure that they would be separate from mindless blood lust that could endanger the clan. It was a control mechanism to prevent insanity and the extinction of the clan.

And now it is passed on to my descendant.

I had everything to question about us, as I'm sure he did when he discovered the secrets I kept from him. Even as I fell to my knees I questioned.

Is this my legs giving out due to exhaustion?

Is this me fainting from shock?

Am I kneeling to my new king?

"Madara?" Sasuke asks with a cracking voice.

"Madara-sama..." Itachi's voice is soft. It always is. What panic has he let me, his followers, see?

Well, besides on the statue...

No, there was worry in that soft voice. A hint of confusion haunted his empty tone. In the name of my past leadership I would compose myself, if only to please my new leader.

I rose up from the ground and gave my attention to Sasuke. "Pardon my manners, twas nothing but a brief battle with insanity." He blinked. "Now, Sasuke, I believe that your descent had many variables involved. Think of yourself as a trigger-soup, with all kinds of different ingredients trying to be the dominant flavor." Both descendants raise a brow.

I don't know either.

But I still continue, "The Kyuubi trigge- Stop with the shocked face, I know you know where it is." He snaps his gaped jaw shut. "The Kyuubi triggered your regular Uchiha blood because of the ties between said tailed beast and said blood. Orochimaru's curse mark flares up along with this, but with Kyuubi's now unleashed energy- and I know he's been unleashed- it is more of a struggle with the more natural parts, blood, of your body. While these are battling for dominance, the special blood is responding to the (now) two other, and only, members who share the pedigree. Itachi and I smothered his awakening just before you burst through the door, so the conclusion is quite evident."

They frowned, trying to process the load of information I just dumped on them. Some of it was a bit of bullshit, because saying 'Hey, apparently nature has named Itachi a better leader than me, by the way.' didn't really pet my ego too softly.

"So..." Sasuke begins with his deep monotone voice, "my 'awakening' was just a whole bunch of shit happening at the same time?"

"What a coincidence." Itachi says quietly, matching Sasuke's monotone with zero effort.

I'm about to make a rather biting remark when Sasuke speaks once more. "Then how do I awaken this at will? I haven't tasted blood, it didn't happen in battle, and you've been clan-head since the dinosaurs." My face did not reveal the true reality, but it did perform well in displaying my desire to hurt him for that comment.

Fortunately for Sasuke, I found it somewhere in my will to ignore the negative undertones of his words and move to solve our problem. "Well, what do you believe was the main trigger. What was the most prominent thing in your mind when it was happening?"

He thought for a bit, then seemed to blush awkwardly before looking back up at me. "The heat. The closer I was to-... The Kyuubi, the hotter it was." So he's close...

I blink, as if it would rid my thoughts of that fox, "Then let that be your trigger." He raised a brow and I moved closer to him, invading his Uchiha bubble. "Think of all of that heat. Think of it bleeding into your skin and into your organs, as if it's trying to bake your brain- and then think of how it bleeds from your pores at the same time." He narrows his eyes, as if he's surprised that I knew exactly how it felt, but I cut him off, not sure if I liked him speaking of the fox with Itachi around because I still wanted to keep a couple of things to myself, to just belong to me, Uchiha Madara.

"Then think of blood." He paused. "Think of the blood of the one you lust for most, the one you care for most, the one you hate most, the Kyuubi- it doesn't matter all that much at this stage. Imagine your hands holding them in place, while you bury your mouth between their face and shoulder. Imagine your teeth breaking the soft skin of their neck, and your jaws not stopping there, not until your top and bottom teeth meet and you have that person's flesh in your mouth. It's yours now. You know it hurts but it feels good too, it tastes good and you want it everywhere-"

Oh Kami, stop! I did. The sound of Itachi's voice in my head wakes me up from my little fantasy to see that Sasuke had long obtained the special blood's features as he stood there with his eyes glazed over and was now salivating so profusely that it was falling from his mouth in a thin, constant stream and I suddenly have Deja Vu. 'Well, that worked a little too well.'

Then, I turned to the owner of the voice that brought me back to my senses. He had a hand on his neck, as expected, and he was staring right at me, his gaze hot and lidded. The slight tuck of his lower lip told me that he was biting it, and I could see a small bit of white peeking from his mouth, sure to reveal sharp fangs should they be bared. I glanced southward, smirking at the eye-full I received, which was unfortunately hidden as Itachi turned away angrily.

I place my hand to my own neck. You boys like that visual?

He glared over his shoulder. Only because I imagined ripping a chunk of your neck...

I raise a brow at the apparent hate in his voice, only because I knew it was false. That doesn't do anything to scare me, boy, it's quite the opposite.

Sasuke blinks back to life suddenly, catching our attention. Itachi doesn't turn to face him however, for fear of Sasuke seeing his arousal. Fine by me, this lets me stare at his ass.

"So, that worked." I nod in agreement. "What next?" Sasuke asks quietly.

"Isn't it obvious?" Both boys look at me, but remain silent. I sigh, "We train."

And we did, well into the night. We worked on finding and controlling that part in my relatives, manipulating it until they had a good feel for utilizing it on their own, then we fought. It would rain and stop, rain and stop, so much that we didn't notice when the pattern would start again. We all seemed to feel differently about training, if our faces said anything about it. Sasuke's eyes stayed wide and full of ferocity, but only when he it came to fighting hand-to-hand. When he was somewhat far, his face was as blank and calculating as Itachi's, thinking over his next course of action. It was quite endearing, in my opinion, and it reminded me of Izuna's sneer when we would fight.

Itachi remained completely unreadable, of course. His eyes were as dull and not entertained in the least, as usual, but I wasn't quite fooled. I was well aware of Itachi's excitement. He didn't quite think of battle the same way as I or Sasuke did, but it still made his blood pump. Itachi thought of training as a mandatory, no-nonsense thing, and he wasn't wrong, but he wasn't all right either.

I, myself, loved to spar. I found it especially satisfying when I had a bit of suppressed anger or feelings of tension for my opponent. It was even better when I was fighting someone worth the effort to raise my fist. My expression was a bit different from my relatives. My brows pointed down and the corners of my lips turned up. I couldn't help it, not when I was so close to Itachi, tooth and claw to tooth and claw.

By the end of it, all of our expressions read tired, and claw marks from each of us decorated our white flesh. We watched interest as Sasuke eyed his bloodied hands. Itachi gave me an apathetic glance, and I returned it. It seemed to be a silent agreement that we didn't care if he tasted the sample, so long as his mouth wasn't on either of us, because watching some brat latch on to your mate was a rather detestable thought to both of us.

But as Sasuke sucked his fingers, we felt nothing but amusement. It was an odd expression he wore, both disgusted and enamored by his body's natural reaction.

I smirked, "You'll need a bit more than just that to hold you over well." Sasuke looked up with his ring and middle fingers in his mouth.

My smirk widened, "My suggestion is that you take from strong blood, say, Uzumaki or perhaps... The blood of the Kyuubi's vessel?" Ah, there was a reaction.

His eyes widened just long enough to express how scandalous the thought was before they narrowed dangerously. Sasuke slipped the fingers from his mouth slowly and gave what, to me, looked like a trademark Izuna sneer. "No. I don't want to give-"

"Please, brat," I interrupt, easily following his train of thought. "we aren't what would be called 'vampires', and Kurama would not let any contagion infect his vessel even if we were." I frown, "This probably means he won't let you near the vessel's jugular, so..."

"Madara." I look to Itachi, the owner of the voice.

"Yes, boy?" I ask with a raised brow. He seemed troubled...

"We need to separate." Itachi says, staring at his phone. "You both should go to the apartment."

I choked on my laugh, earning a displeased glance. Like hell I'm going to simply follow an order, new clan leader or not. I snatch his phone and see what seems to be a text message from 'Deidara'.

Meeting tonight. Thought you'd rather hear from me than have Zetsu come lurking around to find you.

I frown. Who is this 'Zetsu', and why does he sound like a creep?

The phone was snatched back, and I had the pleasure of being on the receiving end of Itachi's most hateful glare.

"Who is 'Zetsu'?" I ask, but it's Sasuke that answers.

"Orochimaru has been really interested in that man. He's almost two people, and two species, black and white, demon and fly trap. That's what I've heard, at least." Itachi transfers his glare to his younger brother, who is facing me to avoid looking into Itachi's eyes.

Hn... I'd be willing to bet the bond that this 'meeting' Itachi had to go to had everything to do with this Akatsuki, and if Itachi was involved, I was all over it.

After all, I had to look out for the safety of my mate, right?

---

(1) Unprompted like Sasuke and Itachi, as opposed to taught and encouraged like how Madara was brought up.

Soooo, I know I've waited too long to update, and you guys probably aren't even reading anymore, but I still plan to go on and finish with this story. I was snowed/iced in this weekend so I thought, what the hell, better type up the rest of chapter fourteen, right? Nothing else I should do, besides study for finals, but I don't want to do that...

Well, please review. I know I've been... unresponsive, but the reviews truly do encourage, I promise. By now I'm sure you know I enjoy communicating with readers. Much love to all who follow, favorite and especially those who review! Each notification I receive makes my heart flutter with happiness, so do continue spoiling me to your affections. All of you get threes! (as FF simply will not take my 'less than' symbols to make hearts!)

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

SaLEm