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

15. Keep Your Lion On Its Leash

Hello again everyone! I've finally updated! I got a couple days off, so eh, what's a few lost hours of sleep writing gay fiction? All of your reviews and PMs and Skypes and tumblr messages have been a lovely source of giddiness. I even giggle and grin when you guys talk to me about this fic or the pairing in general. SO SORRY TO NEGLECT YOU.

I honestly had no idea that the fic was so well-liked. I asked for a fic rec on tumblr and when someone recommended this and another one of my fics I was absolutely touched. My heart also melted upon receiving a rather enthusiastic anonymous review that informed me that the reviewer talked about my fic with other readers. You haven't the slightest idea how good that made me feel. I only wish it hadn't been anonymous so that I could have replied! :::::(I believe your name was ExperimentDeath):::::

My tumblr is thecackler -dot) tumblr (dot- com. Don't be afraid to hit me up. I don't bite, and I need people to fangirl over this pairing with.

Much loves~

Chapter Fifteen: Keep Your Lion On Its Leash

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Itachi

We made quick time about returning to the apartment- I still had to get my Akatsuki gear, because I surely wasn't going to show up openly displaying wounds, so the cloak at the very least was necessary.

Transporting us there hadn't been nearly as tasking in this new form of mine, fortunately. I hadn't even needed to use a seal of any sort. This method was much like 'The Haze' in my unspoken knowledge of it, very much like some kind of instinct, as previously described. It was the same black sand-looking energy that surrounded Madara nearly a month back at Deidara's place, and I couldn't help but wonder if it gave my sensei similar shivers when it enveloped and carried him away. I didn't ask, though, because I simply didn't have the will or time. As soon as we were back in my living room I left my relatives in their spot to go to the closet in the other room to gather what I needed for the meeting.

"You learn quick, boy." A lesser man would have jumped, but I simply glared over my shoulder at Madara as he leaned against the door frame, smugly, for some reason. I assumed he was speaking about our transportation here so I simply returned to retrieving my cloak, "Yes, I always have, you were the one that trained me, after all." Akatsuki cloak in hand, I turned around, eyeing him as he did me. He'd been looking at me strangely for this entire training session, as if he were thinking about something, but didn't know how to broach the topic aloud.

I frowned, "Honestly, Madara-sama, little small-talk comments are below your communicative abilities," Madara narrows his eyes, but only slightly, as if he were thinking even harder now. We have a stare-off before he gives me a once over, sniffs, and smirks briefly before stepping forward. He moves forward slowly, each step seeming to echo before he was finally inches from my face. I didn't flinch as he leaned his face closer, tilting his it so that our noses wouldn't bump. Madara's eyes were still connected with mine, so I got to witness his lids drop and his brows raise as he inhaled, held his breath, and then released it back into my face. I glared when I realized I could no longer control my heart beat, and I glared harder when he realized it too.

The short breaths of Madara's airy chuckles fanned my face. "Ooh, Itachi, my communicative abilities exceed words," My teeth slowly peeked out from my lips unconsciously, and a feather-light touch glided over my arm. "There are so many other things I put into getting my message across... You know that..." He abruptly distanced himself, smirking as I unconsciously leaned forward.

I scowl hard, already grumpy from having my ass handed to me all day, "Yes, if only you were bold enough to simply speak." It was childish to respond in such a sassy fashion, even more so to call him mild of all things, but I wasn't in the mood to play mind-games. Akatsuki stressed me out when I was away from the group, so being called to a surprise meeting wasn't really treating me too well. I had a feeling this meeting meant we were beginning to move, meaning I had little time to stop it...

"Don't you have some place to go, boy?" Madara asked sourly, deciding that my company really wasn't all that entertaining to be in. I blinked softly before walking past him, grabbing his key(he didn't need it anyway) on the way out. "Don't wait up." Neither of us bothered looking back, but I heard the smile in his voice as he replied with, "I won't."

I ignored him, silently bidding Sasuke a brief goodbye as I heard the shower turn on. My walk to get out of the campus gate was mostly uninterrupted save for the occasional nod or blush from teachers and students that passed. Once I was a good distance from the grounds, at a decently secluded spot, I bled my finger and was bending down to draw a transportation seal when I paused. I frowned, then rose to stand. With a short thought upon today's training, I closed my eyes to succumb to The Haze before allowing the smokey- energy to carry me to my destination. Madara really was a great teacher. For awhile I had been thinking that all of that sparring and taunting and torture had been for his amusement, but that one session, that very long session, had definitely done something, because tapping into this special blood was only getting easier.

I sighed as I looked around me. This time I had gone ahead and teleported to just outside the mountain in which Akatsuki met. For some reason, leader favored mountains...

My phone buzzed in my pocket, reminding me that I should silence it before entering cavern where the meeting would take place. I pulled the phone out and opened my messages.

It starts soon.

I frowned at the screen. Deidara was already here and waiting, meaning there was little time to lurk around as I usually enjoyed to do.

Don't judge.

I pocketed my phone once more and went about making my way to everyone else. To get to our location, one had to actually walk into the mountain and under ground. It was a narrow-ish tunnel that reminded me of Orochimaru's lair when I went to retrieve Sasuke and it was a bit of a long walk. The tunnel opened up and the other members were revealed, all standing tensely. I did a quick scan of the room to find Zetsu absent, probably working as surveillance as he sometimes did. As I continued to my spot beside Kisame, I kept my eyes on a rather tense pair that had placed themselves furthest away from the front.

My eyes moved to the front where Leader and Konan were entering but my mind stayed on that pair. Deidara and Sasori had unreadable expressions usually, but Sasori's head was tilted down and away from Leader as said shadowy, pierced man began speaking. Deidara's own body language was worse off, and his muscles were actually twitching in their tenseness and there was a sharp frown upon his face, his eyebrows pointing up a bit in what looked to be inner turmoil.

I memorized the expressions they wore and analyzed them as I half-mindedly paid Leader's words my attention.

"...briefed in the last meeting. We are keeping the captured jinchuuriki in separate room of seals assembled by one of our own, and they are to be drained in order when we have collected all of them, but it was simply easier to catch the ones that were most available. We have run many tests on the jinchuuriki we currently have in captivity, and plan to run similar tests on the ones we have recently obtained. We currently have tails two through six." He turned to Konan who handed him what looked to be a couple of folders with an expression of utter boredom that rivaled any Uchiha's.

The folders were passed down to their designated pairs, Kisame and I getting one, Sasori and Deidara getting one, and Hidan and Kakuzu getting one. I glance at the folder disinterestedly before facing the front once more, watching as Tobi and Zetsu converse quietly with Konan and Pein. Odd.

With what seems to be an assured nod, Leader speaks once more. "The folders of information you have received hold stats, background and the abilities of your targets. The original plan was that Itachi and Kisame go after the seven-tails tonight-" I inwardly choke. Whew, dodged a bullet there. I honestly didn't feel like hunting some luckless fool, I was feeling far too lazy at the moment, and I had bigger, personal problems on my mind. "-but that particular mission will be handed off to Kakuzu and Hidan."

I hear a quiet 'What the fuck.' from Hidan, clearly displeased at being handed another mission so soon after his last. A stern glare from Leader leaves him merely scowling.

Leader's eyes are then set on the lot of us. "I'm sure you have all at least heard of the recent attack on The Village Hidden In The Leaves. Some of our resourceful informants sighted the raccoon demon in the middle of the invasion. As of now, he is said to be on the move to Suna, his homeland." Pein gives Sasori a pointed glance and the puppet opens the file handed to him, flipping through the pages. Any other would have probably missed it, but this new blood of mine makes my eyes as sharp as ever, so it's impossible to miss Deidara's widening eyes and his subtle gulp. I glance at Sasori to find him in a similar state of distress, and it is then that I catch a glimpse of one of the photos that peaked out of the file. That's...

"Sabaku no Gaara is the son of the late Kazekage and is in line to follow his father's footsteps. Sasori and Deidara will be collecting the Ichibi." My gaze hardens. Gaara was a student of mine and Madara's. If Deidara and that scorpion go snooping around for them, it will be difficult to keep Madara from being discovered and in turn dragged into some sort of trouble, especially with his nose being hot on the trail of the Kyuubi. If he gets involved, the damage could be...

No, he can't be involved, there had to be some way to get at least Sasori off of this case...

Leader began explaining why, as per usual, Deidara and Sasori were chosen for this mission in particular, like he did with everyone's missions. "Sabaku no Gaara is a very dangerous long-range fighter, so we need a better one to combat this." Deidara's sad eyes remained on the picture in his partner's hand, strangely enough.

Pein then looked to Sasori, explaining the puppet's purpose as well. "You probably know every grain of sand in Suna- And Sabaku no Gaara is your cousin," he paused, glaring into Sasori's emotionless eyes as if he expected some sort of reaction. Sasori remained as unmoved as usual, but something seemed to dawn on Deidara, and the blonde fought to keep face as Leader continued. "This could be an advantage or disadvantage, it will be your call to make. I'm sure you will choose wisely." Sasori didn't look impressed.

Everyone began to shift, assuming that it was time to take our leave, but Tobi's movement and mine and Kisame's obvious reassignment kept me rooted in my spot, waiting for the other orders that were sure to come. Everyone stopped when he suddenly faced me, and the more expressive members displayed their confusion clearly upon their face. I too was confused, but I wasn't going to let it show. I had an unpleasant feeling bubbling in my gut, and my bond mark was tingling a bit. I had associated this feeling with either Madara or the blood, so it was suspicious that the bond was reacting when neither of the stimulants were present.

I decided listen hard and get a better feel of my surroundings, as my senses seemed to be picking up something, but my thoughts were interrupted by Pein's voice.

"Itachi, you will also be involved." This actually disturbed me, not that I was involved, but that I alone was involved, that my partner was excluded. It was bad strategy to move in uneven cells of close-range and long-range fighters, and if we were after only the Ichibi, Deidara and Sasori would be enough, the Kazekage heir being guarded or not. I briefly wondered just how strong my quiet student really was beyond that reclusive nature of his before Pein interrupted my thoughts once more.

"I'm sure you have sensed it yourself, as you are Uchiha, but some of our sensory types picked up a strong chakra pulse during the Konoha invasion." Hn. He wouldn't happen to be talking about the Kyuubi...

"What the hell does that have to do with Itachi, un? We don't need him!" Deidara's voice is the one to startle me out of my musings this time, but his exclamation was correct, and I could tell that he was simply acting as a voice for the rest of the curious and uneasy members of the Akatsuki.

Pein spoke, his voice booming irritably at being questioned. "The Ichibi, as far as we know, is somehow affiliated with Konoha. He will be leaving from there when he travels to Suna. That Chakra pulse had the specific signature of the Kyuubi, a tailed beast that the Uchiha clan is well acquainted with, if I am correct." Pein seemed pleased with himself, if the tone of his voice was anything to go by. The fact that his voice carried a tone at all was rather uncharacteristic, so he must be feeling particularly victorious about having such little-known information about me or my clan.

Since my eyes remain unfocused, it was difficult not to catch a small smirk from Deidara in my peripheral vision. My mind is determined to ignore Pein, preferring to latch on to Deidara's expression and guess at whatever he seemed to be planning. Leader seemed to sense my inattentiveness because his voice seems a fraction louder and harder as he speaks up once more.

"I am a bit insulted that you were not the one to inform me of this development, Itachi, I was under the impression that Uchiha clansmen could identify the Kyuubi faster than they could identify themselves." Deidara's face seemed to sour and fright. I took in Pein's words grimly, and I for some reason found them to be threatening. Naturally, this stirred my darker side and I finally set my eyes on someone for the first time.

"What an interesting impression you have." My gaze moved to Tobi who tensed a bit, seeming to feel the cold aura I was unconsciously emitting. In fact, everyone was affected in some way, all a bit nervous, and to be honest, it was quite the satisfying power trip.

Pein eventually overcame the startling feeling to maintain control, "You will accompany Sasori and Deidara on this mission in case this isn't a false alarm. We may need those eyes of yours." I kept my eyes on Tobi a bit longer, and as each second ticked by, his nervous giggling and goofy mannerisms appeared to become more and more forced. I found myself reminded of Madara-sensei's behavior in the beginning, how he acted almost child-like and moronic to disguise how dangerous he was, and as soon as he ditched the fool's act, his true nature was all the more disturbing when finally revealed. I had to wonder if Tobi was dangerous, and if so, what was he waiting for? Was he building up this act so that his big reveal would throw everyone off that much more? Was that the plan?

If my assumptions were correct, revealing his power now would be detrimental to finding out the goal of Pein's plans for Akatsuki. It could possibly initiate a fight that would better be saved for later when I knew more about the organization's alliances.

It would also be beneficial to have allies of my own when I take them down. I only hoped I could persuade Deidara to join me, hopefully Sasori as well, but I didn't know what Deidara was getting out of the Akatsuki besides money and opportunities to blow things up. Plus if Sasori sided with the group, it would be difficult to drag my blonde friend away...

After a bit of silence, my eyes returned to staring at nothing, not wanting Tobi to feel cornered more than he probably did, and I nodded in response to Pein's demand.

Pein looked to Sasori, "You will be bringing Tobi as well. I think it would be good for him to have a bit more hands-on experience under his belt." Lie. What more experience would any of us need if we were seasoned enough to be in this organization. Unless there was a war coming, there would be no need for...

My eyes narrowed but stayed in place. It was becoming clear to me that Tobi was more involved in the plans than the rest of us.

"Yosh!" He exclaimed, back into his silly character, dutifully disregarding the stare-down I had just given him. Deidara face-palmed.

"Whatever! When do we leave, un?"

Pein glared at the blonde, but I'm sure being around me had left him immune to such venomous looks. "The Ichibi will be leaving Konoha at eight tomorrow evening. I suggest that you four intercept him and his company when they are too far from either village to get help. I don't want this to be a time-consuming fiasco. Between Itachi and Sasori, a half-way point should be easy to find." It would be, but I was planning to hopefully disorient that scorpion a bit. Perhaps then we could be a couple miles closer to Konoha so they could send some sort of back-up. The Ichibi is necessary to begin that actual harvesting of the power. Just because they could be captured out of order doesn't mean they could be 'collected' out of order. If they had Gaara, they could begin what ever war-like scheme they were planning.

I glanced to the side to find Deidara scowling, but other than that, no one had anymore to say.

When everyone was in agreeable silence, Pein spoke for the last time. "You are all dismissed." Zetsu then appeared at his side with shifty eyes and a frown was fitted on both sides of his divided face. He seemed to give the walls a thorough scanning with his mismatched orbs before placing a hand at his mouth and whispering into Konan's ear, who then whispered into Pein's(because no one but Konan was allowed to be so close, apparently.). Tobi had been walking toward them, but a meaningful stare from Pein halted his footsteps and he turned around to follow Deidara and Sasori out.

I side-glanced at Kisame who took the hint and followed as well while I stayed behind and scrutinized three of the four most mysterious members of Akatsuki. Three sets of odd-colored stares met my own and stayed like that for awhile. By nature, I didn't look away. There was a whispering voice in my head that sounded much like my own as it refused to back down. We didn't stand there too long, as it became apparent who could hold out longer, and one by one the turned and walked away. Pein was last, of course, but eventually he too turned his back and admitted defeat. I only hoped that he realized the foreshadowing of this little show of dominance and victory, because this Uchiha didn't lose, and I wasn't going to let him succeed.

For a moment I stared at the spot he'd been standing in for good measure before following the group and leaving.

I thought that everyone would have left already and gone to their respective stays, so I found myself a bit surprised to find Kisame, Deidara, Sasori, and Tobi lined up to block the exit. I transformed my Sharingan to Mangekyou, warning them that they didn't want to attempt to corner me for whatever reason, but Kisame grinned and shook his head before stepping forward and patting my back.

"Maa, maa, I-ta-chi, no need to be so serious. We were just going to discuss plans for tomorrow's mission..." I glared at the heavy limb that was weighing down my right shoulder. My partner knew me well enough to move his hand before I set it ablaze, so I didn't have to speak. In silence, we maneuvered through the base to a back room that was furnished with nothing more than a long table and a few chairs, which looked ridiculously out of place in such a large, tall room. It was nearly as massive as the cavern we had just held the meeting in, so I was automatically put on edge because it simply didn't feel right.

The others, however, calmly took their seats, Kisame even going as far as putting his feet on the table and reclining back so that he balanced on the chair's hind legs. I took a seat beside him, feeling that he was my closest ally. Deidara and I were closer in a sense, but he had some agenda for being here where as Kisame did not. If worse came to worse, Deidara would fight for whatever was in his favor, but Kisame gained nothing but gore and entertainment from Akatsuki, and there were no political concerns or ties weighing his decisions. I could manipulate Kisame into being on the right side should it come to me versus Akatsuki, and I think Pein knows that. That's probably why he's separating us for this mission.

Speaking of that...

"Kisame," I said quietly, somehow gaining everyone's attention, "what are you doing here?"

He replied with an odd laugh, "Hyuk, hyuk, hyuk... I wasn't assigned to anything, so I figured I'd volunteer as back-up." I narrowed my eyes. That probably wouldn't work out so well...

"How will Leader react to this?" Asked Sasori with a raised, artificial eyebrow.

Tobi piped in then, "Kisame will get in trouble~." I was about to begrudgingly agree with him when I suddenly felt my stomach flip and my bond tingle. Instinctively my hand twitched to cover my neck, but I suppressed the urge. I felt it again and my eyes caught a slow movement in the wall I was facing that stood ten feet from our group. Had Deidara not scooted closer to Sasori, I would have missed it despite my eyes. My first thought was Zetsu, but upon closer inspection, I saw a smirk mar the face I saw on that cavern wall. Red eyes open and I immediately recognized the camouflaged face that was eaves-dropping.

My eyes widened and I stared hard, not believing my eyes. Madara had followed me here. I knew I had been feeling funny every so often, but I would have never imagined that he had been shadowing me the entire time. My heart jumped into my throat a bit. What if that cocky bastard got caught?

He stared directly into my eyes with the laziness that said that he expected no battle, but I could tell he was keeping an eye on everyone else as well. I felt my face tense against my will as I fought The Haze. This time, it wasn't Madara's proximity, nor was it the scent of blood or fear or arousal. No, this time it was pure, overflowing rage. I had never experience a fury so deep red in my life, and it fought to manifest on my physical features but my will held strong, though only just... I knew it would not do to have the color drain from my face and my eyes to rim black in front of Akatsuki members.

Though I must wonder how their terrified faces would look under the red glow of our gaze... Especially Madara's face...

"Itachi-san?" I blinked and finally looked away from the wall. I felt that my face had tensed so much that my eyes were wide and my nostrils were flared angrily.

It was Sasori's voice that broke me from my trance. I relaxed my features, resisting the urge to look at the cavern wall.

That voice before his, though, the one in my head... It wasn't Madara's. It gave the same feeling of foreign thoughts in my head as when Madara and I communicated through the bond, but the voice... was mine...

"Well, well, am I really missing this Sausage-fest? This is super fucking cute, guys." Everyone, possibly even Tobi, shared a silent groan as Hidan entered the room.

"What the hell are you doing here, un?" asked Deidara rather irritably. He probably hated Hidan more than any of us. I simply didn't enjoy his personality or his disgusting comments about Deidara. Everyone had their reasons for disliking him.

He laughed mockingly at Deidara, "My gaydar was acting up, so I figured it needed to be around you for awhile to readjust." Deidara shot up to fight, fists probably aching to clench but refraining in order to protect the snarling mouths there.

"I swear to God, I'll blow you to smithereens if you do-"

"You'll blow me, huh?" Deidara tried to launch across the table but Sasori grabbed his cloak and pulled him back down to sit.

"We are orchestrating strategies and setting the arrangements for our mission according to everyone's strengths and weaknesses. You are not included, so feel free to fix your gaydar else where."

Hidan raised a silver brow before giving Kisame and I a glance. "Kisame isn't either, so why the fuck is he allowed?" I leaned forward and placed my elbow on the table pinching the bridge of my nose. All of these nuisances were making it difficult to control the dark nature that wanted to burst out and kill the lot of them, starting with Madara.

No. Madara is our beloved and our closest follower.

My eyebrows slowly approached each other. I am... talking to myself? My mind briefly flashes back to the other night when I was face-to-face with that strange version of Madara and a thought assaulted me. Was there a thing like that in me as well?

There is indeed, and this Itachi prohibits the death of our mate, if such a thing exists. He is not so out of line as to permit such a fate anyway. I would suggest we simply put him back in his place. The voice purred.

It purred.

I swallowed and shifted in my cloak, finding it to be a bit hot. I craned my neck and let my hair fall away from it, but only briefly to feel the air upon the skin. Unfortunately, that's all it took to earn a short, choked gasp from none other than Hidan. Said man's magenta eyes were wide and his thin brows were pointed down in a scandalized fashion. His open mouth quickly snapped shut and looked away from me, but I'm positive that he saw it. The rest of the groups eyes snapped me but my cloaked had already been raised to conceal it.

Their curious gazes returned to Hidan who was standing in a forcefully casual manner with a pained expression. The inside of his lip was clearly being bitten as he glanced from person to person and he finally forced words out. "... I... forgot to breathe..."

Silence and a collective blink was shared before Deidara shook his head. "And we call Tobi an idiot, un..." I was surprised that Hidan didn't say anything or come closer to further inspect me, but I was also appreciative. However, his reaction suggested that he understood what he saw and knew to be startled by it, and to play it off as well. I sighed. Yet another thing to investigate...

I leaned back, finding myself more comfortable hidden behind Kisame's large form. From here, I could see Tobi and Hidan rather well if my eyes were in that direction, but they couldn't see me staring. I watched with interest as Hidan discreetly looked around the cavern, swallowing harshly.

"Ah, Hidan being here makes me feel popular! Heheh!" All eyes focused their hate on Tobi.

"We aren't here to hang out with you, you stupid brat! We're here to work, un!" Tobi continued to giggle quietly, his mask pointed at Hidan who had stopped looking about. I was about to get up and leave, beyond tired of this evening's events, when I felt Madara once more, and he spoke to me.

What an interesting bunch. All of their power is so masked, how can you trust them?

He had the audacity to speak to me right now.

As stealthily as possible, I slipped the hand still in my cloak up to my neck, conveying my response in the most sinister fashion.

I trust them about as far as I could throw you, Madara.

I heard an amused laugh echo in my head and a flash of glowing red eyes across the room.

That's probably a little too far with the development of your power recently.

I grit my teeth, removing my hand from my neck and sitting forward once more and catching Sasori's eyes. His eyes narrowed, but he didn't pause in explaining his plan.

"...Then we will wait until they've gotten about three-fourths of the way to Suna. Contrary to Leader's beliefs, a half way point isn't quite so beneficial. Three fourths is far enough away from Suna that reinforcement from the sand would be late, plus their protecting military force is lacking in skill or strength, and with the surrounding desert, the leaf company will be out of their element of tree and forest." We continued to stare into each other's eyes, both of our gazes equally blank and wide, butthere was a certain conversation happening...

Hidan suddenly announced that we were 'fucking boring' and that he was 'out of this bitch', effectively getting everyone's attention, but Sasori and I remained in our silent conversation,
trying desperately to read the other's mind.

It became clear after a while that Sasori wasn't nearly as invested in the Akatsuki as one might think, because the second my gaze flitted to Deidara, Sasori blink slowly and looked down at the map he had laid out.

I narrowed my eyes, looking around at the faces of the group, completely prepared to go along with the faulty plan when Tobi finally said something intelligent. His voice wasn't nearly as high and nasally with him speaking at such a low volume, and he didn't sound nearly as amused as he usually did.

"You're underestimating Konoha's Anbu, Sasori-san. You know what they say about those who underestimate their opponent. You must want to die." It was so disturbing to hear his voice so calm and accusing. Kisame's jaw even dropped a bit. Deidara was probably more offended than Sasori, but his blonde brows didn't know whether to raise in surprise or scrunch up in anger. Sasori and I kept face, now more than ever not willing to express our thoughts on our faces.

My partner seemed to recover without skepticism, asking with a light heart, "And what did you think we should do, Leader Jr.?" Tobi's orange mask moved slowly to face Kisame.

"You don't belong here, Kisame-san. If you accompany us, I will see to it that you be dealt with."

Kisame's brows shot to the ceiling, "You're going to tattle on me? Well there's the Tobi we're used to-"

Tobi's head snapped back to Sasori, abruptly cutting off Kisame. "The Anbu can fight in any environment and any situation, plus, in the sand, the Ichibi will be surrounded by his greatest defense and weapon."

"We are unaware of how many Anbu will accompany him as well, and the Kyuubi may also be a factor." I surprise everyone, including Tobi, by speaking logically. Sasori's dead eyes convey brief confusion, then betrayal, and Deidara's do the same. Kisame lifts a brow, but shrugs and looks at Tobi. This cements my suspicions that Kisame didn't care either way and would probably just side with me in the name of our partnership. When I was sure I understood everyone's reaction, I stare into the hole of Tobi's mask. Times like this had me wishing his face was bare, just so I could look into his eyes. He too seemed confused, almost like he expected my rebellion.

Eventually, he sat forward, back straight as he spoke, "This is true as well," He agreed.

"What are your plans then, Tobi? You seem to have taken control of this team." Sasori says in a dull tone.

The masked man ignores the small bite that tagged along with Sasori's words and turned to the lot of us. "If we are going against leader's word, I say we turn it all around!" He seemed to regain a hint of his giddiness, but it was more like excitement than false persona. At this point, even I was openly curious about his identity and purpose.

"The element of surprise," He continued, "that is what we should go with. We should wait just outside of the walls and ambush them when they are close to home and comfortable. The closer they are, the more off their guard they will be."

I almost scoffed aloud, but the expression on my face was enough to get the attention. "For someone criticizing Sasori's lack of knowledge about Konoha, you seem to be pretty behind. The village is surrounded by security that are constantly watching the walls. The whole point of an ambush is for no one to see us coming."

It wasn't often that I preached, but when it was for a good cause I was willing to open my mouth to coax out the information I needed.

Luckily, or unluckily, he was about to spit out a puzzle piece that I needed. "Outside the walls, Itachi-san. Isolated. Abandoned. It's almost like it isn't there, but it is, it's just silent now, thanks to somebody." My head cocked to the side a tad. He couldn't seriously mean...

"You are suggesting the murder site of my clan. Could you be asking my permission?" He squawked a disturbed-sounding peal of laughter at the question, and the sound was just as borderlined as his current personality issue, half child-like, half evil.

After awhile of holding his stomach and catching his breath, I was faced with the mask yet again. "No, Itachi-san, I don't need your permission. I don't need anyone's. It's a crime-scene, not a memorial." I bit my tongue inside my mouth angrily but showed no outer offense. Deidara probably knew I felt it, and Kisame could probably sense exactly how I felt about that comment, but I remained silent as Tobi continues.

"I haven't been to Konoha for awhile, but last I heard, the 'Silent Forest' isn't even looked after. As they leave, we could easily come at them in ambush. The fog there can be heavy around the old trees, and if worse comes to worse, I know of a weapon there."

There was silence. Every simply absorbed the information, then looked to me for confirmation. This was probably the only time that I truly struggled to hold back physical evidence of my amusement. Tobi was talking about Madara, no doubt about it. What other 'weapon' was there? There was a chance that he was speaking about physical weapons, but since the word was singular, there was only one that he'd set his eyes on, and it stood alone in value. If Madara was truly the weapon that he sought to control and utilize, then I had three words for this fool.

Be. My. Guest.

Madara can't even resist crossing simple, unspoken boundaries like "Don't follow me to my secret meetings, for everyone's safety." so he surely wasn't going to follow any other's rule.

I let a smirk slip, "Do you?" He had no idea that Madara's body was no longer hidden in the Silent Forest. What was he planning for my 'dead' mate anyway? Madara had always been a particularly slippery character- the man could walk through walls, for God's sake- so I could only guess Tobi's planned means of operating Madara as a war machine.

Tobi seemed to shift away from me, as if that would make my unwelcome words swerve around him. He, and the rest of the group, seemed to catch my tone too well, but I couldn't bring myself to care. Quite frankly the combination of my amusement at Tobi and anger at Madara was mixing into the dark aura that was swirling around me, and there was a feeling of invincibility that accompanied my emotions. I felt myself suddenly wishing for a fight. I craved the feeling broken flesh around my hands, despite the fact that my relatives and I had torn into each other mere hours about. I wanted to watch someone die, so much so that my blood was beginning to pump so quick and loud that it could be heard throughout the room, or so it felt.

I began to feel concern in the eyes that were on me. It was Deidara, most definitely. Kisame and Sasori inched away with apprehension, ready to pull a weapon of some sort. They were that uncomfortable with the feeling I was emitting. My eyes twitched to smile since my lip was caught in my teeth, and I felt that evil kind of laugh bubbling in my stomach.

Tobi only stared, and even with his mask I could tell he was completely collected, if not a bit nervous. My behavior was suspicious. These feelings were weird, and they were not in my nature. The second voice in my head was silent, of course, so I couldn't even blame that, and I hadn't seen Madara's face in the grinning wall for some time. Had I hallucinated?

I grit my teeth and stood, "We will meet there at the arranged time, I only hope you have planned well enough to take over, Tobi." And I did everything I could to compose myself and step lightly and calmly out of the meeting. I needed to walk. I needed to be alone and calm myself before I killed the next thing I saw. I desperately wanted to surround myself in Susano'o and plow through the mountains, just to destroy something, just to leave my mark.

I could feel tension building in every last one of my muscles, near irritating me to the point of tantrums. I furiously spat and swatted the hair that the wind blew into my mouth. Even nature was in on this. Fuck it all.

Fuck Akatsuki.

Fuck Tobi and everyone else who thought they were sneaking something by me.

Fuck Madara for pushing his ever-keen nose into business that wasn't his.

I growled as thoughts of him brought the sound of his voice, his laugh that echoed in my skull.

Fuck Madara.

With furrowed eyes and a distracted place of mind, I nodded in a jerky fashion. It was as soon as I did this that I realized the voiced I'd heard was secondary to my own thoughts. It was that strange conscience that accompanied the haze.

He will learn. Sate me.

With shaky breaths, I began a purposeful stomp in the direction I knew home to be.

Perhaps the mountainside wasn't the only thing I wanted to plow into.

Nor the only thing upon which we wish to leave our mark...

---

Deidara

Fuck. God fucking damn it.

They found Gaara.

Even as Pein droned out my purpose in this mission I couldn't take my eyes off of the picture. My throat feels dry. I'd only ever seen the ginger brat in the unhidden world, Akatsuki never bothered to branch out there, I'd always counted on that when keeping Naruto. If that kid went back and forth between the hidden and unhidden, maybe Pein would branch out and expand his search... God, Pein even knew where he was headed and I couldn't even warn him. I felt like an idiot, not connecting anything until now. I mean, it was obvious that he housed Shukaku, but I'd let the Kazekage heir part slip by me. What could I do...

I couldn't actually fight him, but both of us being long-range made whispering 'pretend' out of the question. Plus, Sasori would be there, and I wasn't sure if I could count on him yet...

My eyes and Pein's landed on Sasori at the same time as leader gave Sasori his purpose. "You probably know every grain of sand in Suna- And Sabaku no Gaara is your cousin," he paused, waiting for a response from Sasori that would never come. I hid my shock, flashing back to our first night at my house, now understanding what it had all been about. The doubt, the personal questions, the strange level of... intimacy afterwards. It made a bit of sense now. Sasori..."This could be an advantage or disadvantage, it will be your call to make. I'm sure you will choose wisely." My partner didn't look impressed by Pein's pointed stare. He kept eye-contact, and he played his expression well. Being a doll had advantages in the poker face department, and Sasori's inner storm spun wild, but no one's hair flicked or fluttered on the outside.

Most of us moved to leave, assuming that was all, when he suddenly gestured to yet another member. We all froze, curious. We had never moved in more than two, before. How dangerous could the Ichibi be?

"Itachi, you will also be involved." Itachi simply stared ahead, not even making eye contact.

Sasori and I exchange glances, not liking this for two different reasons. Sasori just wasn't a fan of Itachi- as he knew about how the odd man practically had his name scratched into my head board. I didn't like this because if Itachi was needed, something was up...

Pein seemed to want Itachi's attention, but the raven in question had been a bit weird throughout the entire meeting, so Leader simply continued.

"I'm sure you have sensed it yourself, as you are Uchiha, but some of our sensory types picked up a strong chakra pulse during the Konoha invasion."

Despite myself and my inner voice warning me not to speak out of turn, I asked, "What the hell does that have to do with Itachi, un? We don't need him!" Most of this was to find out why we needed him in particular, rather than another member. The other part was that, despite our rocky 'friendship', I still had a few issues with Itachi- namely trust and a slight inferiority complex.

Yeah, the guy is so powerful that it's almost a handicap, but Sasori and I are not the people to trifle with either, especially paired up. If we needed Itachi as well, then this mission smelled fishy.

And not just because I was sitting next to Kisame.

Kisame glares at me, probably for prolonging this meeting with my interruption, but I can't help but feel as though he just knew when we were making fish jokes about him in our heads...

Pein spoke, his voice booming irritably. "The Ichibi, as far as we know, is somehow affiliated with Konoha. He will be leaving from there when he travels to Suna. That Chakra pulse had the specific signature of the Kyuubi, a tailed beast that the Uchiha clan is well acquainted with, if I am correct." Despite the fact that we couldn't see him, I felt as if he were smirking. Cheeky bastards.

I tried to keep my face hidden, but Sasori saw me as I smirked, rolling my eyes. What a bunch of dumb-fucks. I know for a fact that the Kyuubi isn't anywhere near the hidden world. Naruto has been in that boarding school since August. He'd been blabbering about it all summer.

My eyes snap to the front as Pein continues. "I am a bit insulted that you were not the one to inform me of this development, Itachi, I was under the impression that Uchiha clansmen could identify the Kyuubi faster than they could identify themselves." Woah, what?

I, personally, was not under that impression and was a bit worried now. I glanced to Itachi, noting that, while his expression remained blank, he had moved his eyes to stare at Leader.

"What an interesting impression you have." And then, his eyes moved to Tobi, who tensed visibly. I suddenly felt suffocated, and as I glance about the room, I find that I'm not alone. The vibes coming from Itachi were enough to unsettle even the Leader.

"You will accompany Sasori and Deidara on this mission in case this isn't a false alarm. We may need those eyes of yours." Itachi continued to stare at Tobi, who had been twitching and laughing nervously, before moving his gaze back to the wall and nodding.

Pein looked to Sasori, "You will be bringing Tobi as well. I think it would be good for him to have a bit of hands-on experience under his belt."

"Yosh!" I face-palmed.

"Whatever! When do we leave, un?"

Pein glared at me, but I remained unphased. "He will be leaving Konoha at eight tomorrow evening. I suggest that you four intercept him and his company when they are too far from either village to get help. I don't want this to be a time-consuming fiasco. Between Itachi and Sasori, a half-way point should be easy to find."

I frowned, confident that the two would bump heads.

When everyone was in agreeable silence, Pein spoke for the last time. "You are all dismissed."

Damn.

Everyone slowly moved to leave, not sure how to feel about this meeting. Sasori's wooden fingers brushed my arm so softly that it felt like he only touched the hairs that were standing on end there. I looked at him, but his eyes were elsewhere. I followed the gaze, stopping on Itachi. It was weird. Itachi seemed to be staring straight at Pein, who stared back. The tension was so palpable and thick, I wanted to reach out and test it. I felt like you could cut it with a taut string of dental floss. I honestly didn't know who to be scared for, Itachi or Pein. For one, we know so little about Leader, but one thing was for sure: He had the Rinnegan. It wasn't like he could hide it or anything, so as soon as a light shined on his face, everyone would know, which was probably why he held all of our meetings underground and in the dark. The Rinnegan was so immensely rare that no one really knew what it was capable of. To those who did know about the Rinnegan, it was even more so terrifying.

But Itachi... Itachi was not the one to be in bad graces with...

I decided that Pein was who I felt bad for, based solely on circumstance. He wasn't in a good spot right now, because no one had a staring contest with an Uchiha and lived to tell the tale. It just seemed like a bad idea to look Itachi in the eyes, and that didn't even have anything to Uchiha body language. With that in the mix, Pein was challenging Itachi in a way he couldn't possibly understand.

It was Leader that walked away, but Itachi remained in his spot staring, as if for good measure. I couldn't think too much on it, though. For one, there were too many other things to think about, for two, Sasori was pulling me away for whatever reason.

"We should discuss our plans for this mission..." He said in a way that could be interpreted differently for everyone. I noticed that Kisame followed us as well, which was probably why Sasori bothered to speak it aloud in the first place. He probably knew that Kisame wouldn't want to be excluded if Itachi was involved.

Tobi met us at the exit, strangely silent for some reason, not that I was complaining. We all stood together, waiting for the last member of our party, wordlessly accepting Kisame's presence as a given since Leader hadn't outright prohibited it. Itachi finally turned to leave and abandon his place in the circle like everyone else had. He seemed surprised to find us waiting for him, but that surprise only lasted a second before he turned his Mangekyou on us. It was then that I realized how far apart Itachi and I had drifted. I also realized that Kisame's presence probably was necessary, because it was only him that stepped forward to unwind the Uchiha.

"Maa, maa, I-ta-chi, no need to be so serious. We were just going to discuss plans for tomorrow's mission..." Itachi relaxed a bit, but stilled glared pretty harshly, making Kisame slowly remove the hand that had given the raven a hearty pat. We all moved to something of a sub-quarters, which was simply dressed with a large discussion desk and some chairs. We all took our seats, Itachi looking contemplative and uncomfortable before sitting next to a rather cozy Kisame. I'm not going to lie, it stung a bit. No, it wasn't unusual for everyone to remain with their partners, they were the people that you were generally more comfortable with since you spent most of your time with them, but I'd thought there was something of a truce between us at least.

I kept silent, though. Voicing my thoughts, and mostly feelings, would only induce drama. It was bad enough to bring personal drama to Akatsuki, but if I said something that made other members question my loyalty, and the loyalty of others, things could end bloody. So instead, I simply watched Itachi, trying to read his mind. At the moment, he was staring at Kisame almost curiously. His face wasn't really revealing anything, but I knew Itachi well enough(or so I once thought) to pick up on certain things.

"Kisame," His voice almost startled me. It was rare to hear much of Itachi's voice in a meeting. "what are you doing here?"

One could almost laugh at the tone of his voice. Kisame did. "Hyuk, hyuk, hyuk... I wasn't assigned to anything, so I figured I'd volunteer as back-up." Itachi narrowed his eyes, and Sasori spoke up beside me with an almost snooty tone.

"How will Leader react to this?"

Tobi piped in then, "Kisame will get in trouble~." I roll my eyes, scooting closer to Sasori in a discreet manner as if being near an intelligent being might cancel out Tobi's presence. If anyone caught it, they didn't say anything, but I thought I saw a faint smile etch its way onto my danna's wood-like face. I watched said face with more than a friendly interest as the smile disappeared into his speech as he began to talk about the outline of our mission, all of us having dismissed the fact that Kisame didn't belong. That fish-face seemed much more interested than his partner, who was the one that actually should be paying attention. With that thought I gave him an unconsciously reprimanding glance, knowing that he often spaced out in these meetings, and I almost jumped at the intensity in his expression. .

Itachi was glaring hard at me, and it wasn't his usually glare. I don't know what I did to piss him off, but I wanted to stop right away, whatever it was. I'd never seen Itachi's nostrils flare. Sure, it wasn't drastic or ridiculously noticeable, it was Itachi after all, but I could see them twitch lightly, along with his wide eyes and the rest of his too-tense face. I answered with a questioning don't-set-me-ablaze look but received no response. Perhaps he was thinking about something he didn't like? Malfunctioning fireworks always made me cross, but never like that...

I nudged Sasori who trailed off to a mute as he caught the expression, equally surprised as me.

Just when I thought Itachi's head would explode, Sasori's soft, ever-soothing voice stops it.

"Itachi-san?" Uchiha blinks, directing his mad gaze at us before composing himself. There was a brief awkward silence that didn't get the chance to be broken gracefully, because one of my favorite nuisances decided to waltz in.

"Well, well, am I really missing this Sausage-fest? This is super fucking cute, guys." Perfect...

"What the hell are you doing here, un?" Good God, this asshole is going to be the first to die when I ditch this crazy-club. I just have to figure out how to kill him...

All Hidan does is laugh, "My gaydar was acting up, so I figured it needed to be around you for awhile to readjust." I stood up so fast that I thought I might hit the ceiling. I wasn't going to wait to blow this guy to smithereens, because now was a good a time as any. I told him so.

"I swear to God, I'll blow you to smithereens if you do-"

"You'll blow me, huh?" I nearly threw myself, intent on simply tearing him apart with my bare hands, but a sharp and strong tug on my Akatsuki cloak pulled me back down next to my deceptively young lover.

"We are orchestrating strategies and setting the arrangements for our mission according to everyone's strengths and weaknesses. You are not included, so feel free to fix your gaydar else where." Ha, suck on that.

Hidan raised a silver brow before giving Kisame and Itachi a glance. "Kisame isn't either, so why the fuck is he allowed?" Itachi leaned forward and placed an elbow on the table, pinching the bridge of his nose in an almost absurdly dramatic(for him) movement. I tensed a bit, having a natural sense for ticking time-bombs, but instead of exploding, he shifted agitatedly and adjusted himself. I could tell he wanted the hell out of here. Itachi never worked with Sasori, so he wasn't quite as used to the puppet's pre-meetings, and he certainly wasn't used to being so close to such a mixed group of people. It must be wearing on him...

He craned his neck, seeming a bit claustrophobic. I couldn't think too much on it though, because a strange sound of what seemed to be shock and terror choked out of Hidan's vulgar mouth. Everyone looked up too see his disbelieving face pointed at Itachi, who looked as entertained as a child at a grocery store. Hidan quickly righted his face, shutting his mouth and averting his eyes. His desperate attempt to look nonchalant was easily ruined by his positively constipated expression. We all had expectant stares aimed at him, surely even Tobi, and he met each of our eyes individually before grating out, "... I... forgot to breathe..." in a broken, hoarse sounding voice.

I blink, opening my lids at a much narrower look before shaking my head. "And we call Tobi an idiot, un..." Surprisingly, he didn't comment any further. Whatever spooked him left him rightfully quiet, though I secretly hoped that Itachi had done some crazy Sharingan thing to freak him out... Itachi leans back, though, clearly uninterested, so I doubt it. Although, Hidan was still acting kinda weird...

"Ah, Hidan being here makes me feel popular! Hehehe!" Ugh, now if only Itachi could silence the other pest!

"We aren't here to hang out with you, you stupid brat! We're here to work, un!" Tobi continued to giggle quietly, his mask pointed at Hidan who now had his eyes staring at nothing in a glazed sort of way.

I made a face, but let it leave my mind for the moment to listen to Sasori's plan, as he had decided to take charge. I was afraid that Itachi may not like that, judging by the intense glare they were sharing, nothing was said about it, and even when Sasori finished, they stared...

Maybe it was just a gift that psychos shared. All the 'quiet ones' could just read each other's mind or something like that. I jumped when Hidan spewed his goodbye, but other than that my eyes continued to watch them watch each other. I looked up and around at nothing in an effort to look innocent when Itachi's eyes darted to me. It was only brief, maybe not even to get a look at me, but whatever he was non-verbally saying, Sasori understood and it lost him his staring match.

Everyone seemed in their own world thinking about Sasori's plan, but strangely enough, it was Tobi that spoke up, sounding nothing like himself...

"You're underestimating Konoha's Anbu, Sasori-san. You know what they say about those who underestimate their opponent. You must want to die." Excuse the fuck out of me? Kisame's jaw was dropped, eyes subtly flitting to and from Tobi and Sasori and my face twitched dramatically, confused and infuriated. How did... Who...? Fuck! Who does he think he is? And what the fuck is with him? This isn't Tobi...

Kisame blinks back to life first, a fake smile and an empty, breathy voice that sounded like half-nervous laughter. "And what did you think we should do, Leader Jr.?" Tobi's orange mask moved slowly to face Shark-mouth, a bit of static coming from the peek-hole in his mask.

"You don't belong here, Kisame-san. If you accompany us, I will see to it that you be dealt with." This little shi-.

Kisame was trapped between amused and annoyed. "You're going to tattle on me? Well there's the Tobi we're used to-"

Tobi's head snapped back to Sasori, abruptly cutting off Kisame. Rude. "The Anbu can fight in any environment and any situation, plus, in the sand, the Ichibi will be surrounded by his greatest defense and weapon." Wait, what? That almost... made sense? I narrowed my eyes, unsure of why Sasori hadn't thought of that. My danna is no idiot, and he's a genius when it comes to planning, so why did that scheme of his sound so flaky?

I look between Tobi and Sasori, then to and from Sasori and Itachi, connecting the dots of their last stare-off. Were... were Itachi and Sasori trying to... save Gaara?

"We are unaware of how many Anbu will accompany him as well, and the Kyuubi may also be a factor." Or maybe Itachi was just like every other power hungry skeez in this shitty organization. I'm sure Sasori feels the small thread of understanding between he and Itachi get severed, and I glare along with him, feeling the blade. Kisame shrugs, down for whatever Itachi was doing. I honestly think he's just bored and killing people was all he was good at. That, or he had some weird attachment to Itachi that went beyond partners... I doubt it's romantic, probably a friendship of some warped sort... I frowned, not liking the fact that the side against my brother would have both Itachi and Kisame, because both were powerhouses in their own right, and they worked too well with each other...

"This is true as well," Tobi said, having shifted into a more business-like position while I weighed the odds of success in the inevitable fight.

"What are your plans then, Tobi? You seem to have taken control of this team." Says Danna, clearly wanting to go to sleep. I could read through this, fortunately, and I could tell that he was wary of Tobi for some reason. I tried to read further into what Sasori saw as I looked back at Tobi.

"If we are going against leader's word, I say we turn it all around!" So weird. He's still Tobi, but he's a completely different Tobi. Anyone who hides their face must have plenty more to hide, but I had just ignored the thought because he was such a moro-.

I blink, my head tilting slightly. He... wanted us to dismiss him. That was his plan. I focus my gaze on him, as tense as everyone else, finally. I'd always had a slow streak. How long ago did they all figure it out?

"The element of surprise," Tobi said, building on his last thought, "that is what we should go with. We should wait just outside of the walls and ambush them when they are close to home and comfortable. The closer they are, the more off their guard they will be."

That earned the first real expression from Itachi that night. With one brow raised and one lowered, a nasty half smile complimented his face quite well as he half-passively mocked. "For someone criticizing Sasori's lack of knowledge about Konoha, you seem to be pretty behind. The village is surrounded by security that are constantly watching the walls. The whole point of an ambush is for no one to see us coming." It was easy to see that Itachi was amused. His full attention was finally focused on something outside of his head, and he was leaning forward again. He had that twinkle in his eye, the one people got when they were torturing animals for fun. If that's what an entertained Itachi looked like, I knew exactly who not to take to the circus...

This new Tobi seemed to thrive on that flavor of crazy, though, because he leaned in as well, selling his idea. "Outside the walls, Itachi-san. Isolated. Abandoned. It's almost like it isn't there, but it is, it's just silent now, thanks to somebody." Itachi's head tilted in a spooky matter, almost seeming offended.

"You are suggesting the murder site of my clan. Could you be asking my permission?" I winced at the squealed cackle that exploded from the faux-idiot. He laughed a bit too long for everyone's taste, not only because it was nerve-grating, but because that little vein on Itachi's forehead had been dangerously present all night, and none of us wanted to be around when it popped.

Thankfully he got ahold of himself, and we all relaxed. Apparently there was no version of Tobi that knew when to back off. "No, Itachi-san, I don't need your permission. I don't need anyone's. It's a crime-scene, not a memorial." I silently suck in a breath, fearing it would be my last when Itachi imploded this world into a vacuum and stole all of the oxygen, but it never happened. Absolutely nothing in his face changed. Sasori watched Itachi warily and Kisame glanced back and forth between Tobi and Itachi.

The former, obviously having no fear of death, continued undisturbed. "I haven't been to Konoha for awhile, but last I heard, the 'Silent Forest' isn't even looked after. As they leave, we could easily come at them in ambush. The fog there can be heavy around the old trees, and if worse comes to worse, I know of a weapon there." By the end of this, Itachi's brows had raised and his eyes widened. His pursed lips told of irritation, but if one had known him as long as me, they would see the restraint of... laughter...

My eyes bulged as I tried to keep quiet and simply observe further, but it was hard. I'd only ever witnessed that face a hand-full of times, and they were usually when someone was suffering, or when Kisame was being scarred by our sex-tales, but I'd never seen it quite like this. The expression was almost incredulous, with undertones of 'oh, please' sprinkled about, and if Itachi were any less who he was, I'm sure he'd be outright guffawing.

He barely contained his mirth in a smirk, "Do you?" Tobi shifted back to his previous position of lounging in his chair, seemingly put off buy Itachi's attitude. I honestly didn't blame him... It was pretty clear that Itachi knew something that the rest of us didn't.

Seconds of tense silence seemed to pass like drips of water into an overflowing pot, Itachi being the pot. The longer we eyed him, the colder the room got, and Itachi was almost vibrating with some strange aura that made me want to scream and run and piss my pants all at the same time. I knew the weird feelings were coming from him, I was positive, I just didn't know why. I stared at him, silently begging to understand. What was frightening about it was that he seemed to enjoy our discomfort. He fought not to smile and by this time everyone was ready to spring; fight or flight.

Except Tobi...

Tobi seemed to be the one that Itachi wanted to tear into first, and when he shot up to stand, I was sure that the lolli-looking freak was completely done for. Instead, Itachi moved to leave. "We will meet there at the arranged time, I only hope you have planned well enough to take over, Tobi." And I watched as he walked softly and calmly out of the meeting room like nothing strange had just occurred at all.

There was nothing but dead silence after that. My ears didn't even want to ring for fear of Itachi returning, and as the temperature returned to normal all too quickly I developed a light sweat, the cavern seeming hotter than hell itself after all of that.

Kisame shook like a dog, trying to rid himself of a sharp shiver that had him pushing air from his lips like a raspberry. "Don't even ask, I don't even fucking know what the hell his problem is." He said, but I had no intention of asking. Partners or not, I could tell that Itachi's behavior was totally new to gill-face.

Sasori turned to me, speaking in a hushed tone, "Will this compromise us?" I turned to him, confused. His eyes told me to say yes, and I realized that Sasori was using even this to avoid hunting his young cousin. I was about to say it, too, but Tobi spoke up, fitting his leader boots all too well. "No. I have seen this before, something similar in my own clan. Nothing but a phase. We will go on with the mission. Same time, the silent forest behind Konoha. Follow the fog and the scent of death."

All I did was blink and he was gone. I looked around the room confused, Kisame's head tilted all the way to the side, but Sasori was the one to speak. "Body flicker. He's long gone." His head hung a bit, and he seemed to be admitting defeat. "We should go. We have to prepare for a mission." Kisame nodded, ignoring Sasori's odd mood, but I felt for him. He must feel helpless, like there is no way in the universe that he could protect someone after being alone so long. I'd felt that way once. Protecting Naruto has always been mission impossible, with no one but myself to rely on and no where to run to.

I watched his back as he walked away, and even with his tall-tree posture, he slouched. I side-glanced Kisame who watched from the side, but went for it anyway. I caught up and grabbed his shoulder, turning him a bit.

"... I'll follow you, Sasori no Danna." And my head tilted down in a nod that conveyed my coded words. The glossy doll-eyes stared at me blankly, only acknowledging Kisame when he simply said, "Okay."

I gave a small smile, more a pursing of the lips.

Okay.

---

Madara

Hahahaha! I've never seen that boy so mad!

I kept the laughter at bay as I materialized outside the mountain. The only person to have seen me was Itachi, which was truly hilarious, but I felt another pair of eyes catch me. They weren't like the others, making me feel as if stealth and camouflage were not only my weapons tonight.

Yellow eyes...

I do remember yellow... What an odd color for eyes. I've only ever seen them on demons of the serpent nature, usually snakes or dragons- dragons being exceedingly rare. That explains the yellow hue that Sasuke's eyes sometimes take on when in that strange form of his. Well, that won't be happening anymore. His two other-worldly forms have nearly fused, so I'm sure his eyes will only ever be red or black in color, that a pure Uchiha should be.

My steady stroll and ever-pleased grin is interrupted the startling swing of a scythe. Naturally it passes right through me, as it wasn't all too speedy, but that doesn't mean it wasn't annoying. With a growl Sharingan takes my eyes. I didn't bother with any other eye, I doubted I'd need something so immense or dark, and I'd neglected this famed gift.

And I'd know that tacky red scythe anywhere.

"I know you're one for cheap shots, but shouldn't you at least be good at them? You're lacking, punk."

Hidan flies from the shadows to stand in front of me, positively seething. "I'm the fucking punk. You've lost your god-damned mind, you old shit! The fuck are you doing here?!"

I raise a brow and deactivate Sharingan, easily noting Hidan's defensive, but otherwise non-threatening stance. They way he eyed me said that he thought me unstable, and was therefor on edge, but it also meant that he wasn't going to try anything. Facing me on normal terms was stupid enough, but trying to fight me when I'm 'not all there' means dying a fool's death, and Hidan was no fool. He was perfectly aware of how much trouble fighting with me would be.

I always knew there was something I liked about Hidan.

"Stop fucking staring at me and answer my question, you whore-pig." There were also many things I didn't like.

My eyes rolled almost involuntarily. "Please spare your ego and stop talking. As if my eyes would linger on you..."

"Not when Uchiha Itachi is around." My eyes widen, evolving of their own accord into a glowing Sharingan that made my head throb. Honestly, juggling around all of these eyes was like having a kaleidoscope in your head. Eventually, you are bound to get stuck in between slides. I had to close my eyes and calm myself, willing my half-blood-half-Sharingan irises to return to black. It was a pain to have the two fuse. I feel bad for Sasuke.

I sigh my thoughts away, rubbing my temples gently with two fingers and glaring at Hidan through my eyelashes. "How do you know about that, hn?"

Hidan's brows nearly meet and he opens his mouth aggressively, "Jashin! I only had to see two inches of his dainty girl-neck to see the Kanji! You've got to be shitting me with this..." He swung his scythe around behind his back and began pacing, cursing colorfully under his breath. Then, after an epiphanic expression eats his face, he rounds on me.

"You trained that crazy fuck. You guys had to have been stuck together for years..." He blinked, nearly going cross-eyed. "You... Why did you need my blood that night?" I frowned, remembering the high from that night, then the fighting. Hidan had almost been washed from that memory.

And I still hadn't killed Deidara...

I look to the side, not interested in remembering the events, "It's a bit more complicated than that. You haven't seen me until recently because I've been... having an out of body experience, courtesy of the Demonic Council. Too much is going on and it's not the most convenient time for the concretion of bonds." Hidan stops his pacing to raise his own brow.

"So you leeched me... because your whore isn't giving it u-." He chokes abruptly on a cough.

… and my foot.

"Itachi was apart of me long before he was apart of Akatsuki. The main focus as of this moment is essentially the safety of my kin."

Hidan sputters a bit more, massaging the front of his neck. "Who're you after?" He croaks. I raise a brow, and my silence has him circling his hand and nodding, as if asking me to elaborate, but he does so instead. "What's the fuckin' goal, here?"

I frown. "I just told you. It is the safety of my kin."

He scoffed, rolling his eyes and rising. "Yeah, well, I'm going stir-crazy waiting for my next mission, so I say we ensure the survival of Itachi by eliminating whoever threatens him- not that anyone is much of a threat to that crazy bastard..."

Of course no one is threatening Itachi, not directly at least. It seems that Hidan is misreading my stalking. I am not here to ensure Itachi's safety just yet. This bit of harassment was just that, harassment. It was me pestering him. Invading his privacy and snooping around in his other life was both entertaining and informative. There seemed to be a bit more to Itachi's involvement in the 'Akatsuki', what with the bijuu hunt, the strange looks and responses...

And why does he associate Itachi with insanity?

"What makes you call Itachi a crazy bastard?" Other than the fact that he's a mass murderer who wiped out his clan and practices assassination as a side hobby.

Hidan shot me a look that suggested that I too was associated with insanity. "One, anyone who's killed multiple people and hangs out at Akatsuki meetings to hunt tailed beasts is automatically not alright in the head. Two, you are his mentor. Three, have you seen that fucker's psycho expressions? Four-."

"I understand. Itachi is... not well..." Hidan shook his head, looking at me in a 'side-ways' manner, as the kids say.

"He seems to want you and his Akatsuki life far the fuck apart." His eyes seemed to accuse me, almost like coaxing a child to admit that they stole a cookie from the jar. I turned my head to the side to ignore him, but this only encouraged the idiot.

"Madara, I'm not involved in whatever you and Itachi have going on, but I will tell you that there is probably a good reason that he's keeping it away from you, or you away from it. These guys... We all have our own agendas, and we all have our ways of getting what we want out of this, but the leaders... Well, Pein alone is bothersome as fuck. With Zetsu and his other ties to all the seedy shit-heads like Orochimaru, not to mention having more than half of the tailed beasts power already-."

"Stop rambling and spit it out."

He glared, his returning sour mood restoring his unpleasant personality quirks. "I'm just saying that maybe he's keeping you out of it for a fucking reason. It's a dumbfuck move to show up here." Perhaps Itachi is indeed keeping a little shy about this... What reason would Itachi have besides wanting to keep me from the Kyuubi, though? That's all I'd want from this little club, and If I truly cared, I could hunt the Kyuubi blindfolded and find it faster than they could, especially since its seal is now weakened.

"Well, I'm positive he saw me, so I'll let you know how it goe-"

"No, Madara, don't contact me anymore. I don't want to be in the middle of this shit if you get too close and it comes down to fists. Stay the hell away from Akatsuki." I glare at his honest expression, not sure if I was reading him correctly, as he often toned himself down in my presence.

"I will do as I please. What is mine will stay mine, and since that applies to Itachi, I will stalk as closely as I wish."

Hidan gave me a nasty looking snarl, "I'm ninety-nine percent sure that Zetsu's creepy ass yellow marbles saw you lurking wherever you were, you arrogant motherfucker. Pein is going to be notified that a man that can walk through walls is spying on the meetings, and if he's on edge, that means more shit for the rest of us, including your butt-buddy, and with Danzou's 'mysterious' death, Orochimaru is probably going to be around and that's unpleasant for everyone. If catching the bijuu gets any more complicated, I can't sacrifice to Jashin, Kakuzu can't cash in, Sasori-"

"Shut up." I cut him off, the blood seeping into my aura. "I don't care if 'Zetsu' reports me. Pein's wrath means nothing to me and Orochimaru is but a splinter in my little finger. I don't care about the bijuu-quest, but as I said before..." I lick my teeth, finding the elongated canines there to be throbbing in my irritation with this entire situation.

"I will do as I please, and what is mine will stay mine. Itachi and Kyuubi belong to me, and if Pein tries to stake a claim to them, I will drink his blood like Suna-folk drink water, and you will all watch." Hidan does nothing but grimace, and it is good that he knows who is in charge. Good, but boring. I step closer and closer until we are nose to nose. "You will not disturb my activities, no matter where they take place. You will leave now or find your limbs scattered from desert to ocean." And he did, of course, but not without a few unpleasant expressions. Annoyance, fear, annoyance at his fear? I didn't bother pondering it, and it left my mind before I even took my first step in home's direction, which was honestly no true direction at all, because I certainly wasn't going to walk through all of these mountains.

I didn't walk far, as I wasn't in a bad enough mood to sulk- yet not in a good enough mood to savor the moment. About a minute into the stroll I simply vanished from any eyes looking, appearing on top of the covers on Itachi's side of the bed. I sighed and ran my fingertips over the blanket under me. Hidan went and sucked all the fun out of the day. All of that training carnage and Itachi spying completely erased in the wake of Hidan's fat mouth. I crawled under the blankets with the past day's events weighing on my mind, and my sleep was light and fitful and... short.

As soon as my eyes shut, the sound of the door opening and shutting wakes me, or so it felt. I stayed in bed, though, too tired to move and well aware that Itachi saw me tonight and would come storming in to punish me, and that thought made me a little less tired... However, all I did was wait. The dread and anticipation mixing within me increased more and more, but Itachi never came in. Wary, I slowly rose out of the bed. His voice sounded muffled behind the closed door despite my sharp ears, which was beyond strange. I couldn't find the ability to acknowledge this for some reason, and I simply continued forward, leaning against the door. Two voices. Sasuke was with him, if the affection in Itachi's voice was anything to go by.

I opened the door a crack, watching them interact with a pleasant smile. They sat on opposite sides of the love seat, almost mirroring one another. Both sat facing each other with one of their arms resting against the back of the couch. One of their legs bent in front of them while the other dangled of the edge of their seat. I began to question my well-being as I creeped on them, because I simply couldn't hear what exactly they were saying, and my vision was fuzzy around them. I dipped forward a bit, nearly fainting but catching myself on the door frame. I was about to call one of them for help but I picked up a strange feeling in their conversation. It was like listening to a song in an unfamiliar language, but understanding that the song was a sad one. I caught this undertone and found myself looking up to find Itachi comforting his younger brother.

Sasuke's forehead rested on Itachi's shoulder, and my mate's fingers petted Sasuke's head intimately, holding the upset boy. That's when their mood shifted again. There weren't even words to not understand this time, just a reading of body language that... alarmed me.

Sasuke was lifting his head slowly, staring Itachi straight in the eyes. I choked on confusion as he leaned forward, Itachi mimicking him for whatever reason.

"Ahem." I try subtly, sure that I was misinterpreting, but they were lost in each other's eyes. They got closer.

"Itachi!" I growled quickly, frantic for some reason, as if him betraying me would get one of us killed(it might...), and he paused. His confused expression seemed dazed, and for a split second I thought that perhaps Sasuke had trapped the great Uchiha Itachi in his Sharingan or something, but before Itachi could look this way, Sasuke grabs his face and Itachi is bewitched again. I watch helplessly engaged as their lips touch. I for some reason find it hard to breathe. Am I... heart-broken? My chest was heavy and light at the same time and I was sure I'd faint for real, but with a blink, I'm safely seated on that same couch...

… gently kissing Sasuke.

I had no control, but even if I did, I didn't want to move. So much feeling. It was different from what I felt with Itachi, less want and frustration. This feeling was pure and smooth and deep. I leaned into the kiss, wanting more of the feeling, suddenly deprived of such an emotion, a need I didn't know I had. I bring my hand to the side of Sasuke's face, stroking my thumb over the smooth cheek there. I sob at how familiar this action feels to me and I open my eyes half mast to find equally heavy lidded eyes looking back.

Nii-san...

I tasted my tears in the kiss, but tried desperately to keep it going.

Madara-nii...

I stopped, Sasuke stopping as well but his eyes remained lidded and on me. Slowly, I separated us, our lips making a pleasant and soft smack, too soft to echo like the sound of Sasuke's voice in my head.

Madara-nii...

Izuna's voice.

I placed my other hand on the opposite cheek and held the face there in place while I put more space between us. The lids blinked, heavy black lashes seeming to slow the motion. The last time I touched his face had been to move the hair from his cheek as he laid in his final bed.

Nii-san...

Itachi and Sasuke were no where in sight, and the sound of Izuna's quiet singing creeps into the scene, but his mouth isn't moving. I look back up, questions on my lips, but go silent as the black of his pupil and iris bleed into the creamy white until it looked like...

An empty socket...

The singing slowly got louder and Izuna's lips began to move, but only to mouth the words that rang through the songs in my head.

Nii-san...

Niisan... NiisanNiisanNiisan

NiisanNiisanNiisanNiisanNiisanNIISANNIISA-

I jump awake at the sound of the door slamming open, hitting the wall. There stood Itachi in the doorway of our room, a frightening aura about him. The air practically cackled and he was very, very real this time.

I relaxed despite the sense of impending doom that Itachi was forcing down my throat. I curled in on myself a bit, wanting to sob because... because he felt so real... I shook my head and ran a head over my sweaty face, licking my lips and tasting... salt.

Fuck.

I smother a sob, gritting my teeth in shame. Crying in my sleep like a child. Why now? Could watching Itachi and Sasuke spar in our training have brought this up? It was so much like me and Izuna, so playful, yet so serious, and so, so good. It felt good to have your brother.

"Couldn't stay away, Madara-sama? One simple part of my existence that doesn't have anything to do with you, that could complicate our lives so much more, and you have to roll around in it."

"Shut up, boy." I can't help but growl. "I'm in no mood, and I don't care about your insignificant little grou-."

"You're in no mood?" That voice...

I slowly look up to find furious glowing orbs trying to melt me with their gaze. Itachi was well into the blood. He was almost sweating, holding himself back. His eyes were wide and his brows were pointed down and his nose was scrunched and... he was grinning.

"I am in no mood for your games, Sensei, and I have this idea that you like playing games with me." I stare, not believing what I'm hearing. That voice... Itachi is losing it. The voice that left his lips was not alone. His usually soft, pleasant tone was a rough growl with a smooth, sultry purr that rang under that. Two voices, one I only heard when Itachi wanted to kill me, and the latter voice I only heard when he wanted to... do other things to me...

He stepped closer to me, fingers curling as he tried to figure out what he wanted to do, how he wanted those hands to hurt me. It may have been a bad idea, but I laughed. I laughed a lot. I don't know why. It was just one of those feelings you got when your day was going so terribly in the most funny way, and there was nothing you could do to stop it. Strangely, Itachi hadn't stormed at me yet. He watched me, the predatory look in his eye never leaving. It wasn't too long ago that our places were switched, but I wasn't confused or scared like he'd been. I was actually a bit annoyed and I think Itachi could sense that, so when the amusement vacates my face and a murderous expression takes up residence in that vacancy, Itachi is unphased.

"You'd be right." I reply with a shrug, feeling a bit sadistic and masochistic at the same time. "It was fun, seeing where you scurry off to, and it was more than entertaining to watch you fume and twitch upon seeing my face in 'forbidden territory'." I swung my legs off of the side of the bed, still keeping eye contact with all my pride. "I don't know why you're still there, but let me tell you something..." I take a few slow steps forward, to which he responds by straightening his back even more, attempting to glare down at me. Call me rebellious, blame it on the fact that I've never really had to answer to anyone, but I simply couldn't allow him to intimidate me. In fact, I found myself wanting to prove my superiority, despite the treacherous voice in my head that demanded I submit. As much as I played with the idea of Itachi on top of me... I wasn't going to be unrealistic when it actually occurred. It seemed that when it came right down to it, I'd be fighting, not laying docile by candle light as so many romantics imagine.

Like I could ever bring myself to do such a thing so willingly.

And Itachi was going to learn some things today.

We are eventually nose to nose, and I hope my breath is foul. "... The Kyuubi is still, and will always be, mine. I will not let a band of children lay claim to-" I tilt my head and our noses touch meaningfully, "- what is mine..."

The effective smirk that I'd planned to have on my face was transformed into a grimace as Itachi's hand plunged through my middle.

I coughed a bit, having held my breath in order to avoid screaming or something even less dignified. Itachi's face moved closer to my ear, completely expressionless as expected. "I never got to really pay you back for training." He threw me on the bed and I felt myself flop awkwardly onto my back, unable to use my abdominal muscles to do much else. I immediately feel the dark blood rush through me, speeding through my veins in some effort to clot somewhere to heal the gaping wound in my middle. I'm sure my amused glare only further enraged Itachi as I smugly lean back to display the rapid closing of the results of his fury.

Sure, it wasn't the most impressive considering I was a bit starved, and it wasn't healing fast enough to stop my innards from trying to creep from my gut, but I'd like to think my smirk made up for some of that.

I glance down at myself before looking back to Itachi, stealing his eyes again. "This is what you should have done in training, boy. You won't always know what feelings to play on against some other opponent, so deceit isn't the best weapon."

He stares at me through his lashes, looking all the part of a rebellious, sarcastic teen as he replied, "It worked pretty well on you, Sensei."

What a little shit.

He crawls onto the bed to hover over me and I'm much too proud to move. "It wasn't a difficult plan to formulate. I am a handicap to you..." I frown harshly, a growl bubbling up my throat as I begin to feel entranced by the lusting stare he was giving me. Our faces got closer and closer, and his eyes lidded heavily. My lips parted in anticipation, the tension and anger and thirst for action or violence or something had me slide our cheeks together affectionately right before he moved in...

"...You are weak to me..." He said with his lips brushing mine as he spoke. I blink once, then a couple more times... He was leering down at me, and that gaze was absolutely lascivious.

I promptly kneed him in the gut, throwing my hardest right hook. He flies off the bed, rolling once before springing forward and we're suddenly a mess of fist and tooth and claw and-

"Nngh." Itachi groans as I roughly palm his too-hard manhood. I roll on top of him and move my mouth to his neck, sucking almost hard enough to break the skin. God knows I wanted to, and I'd assumed simply sucking would relieve that urge I had, but it only made it worse. It was my turn to groan, and I switched sides to mouth at the mark that bore my name. Itachi took this as an act of dominance, instantly becoming offended and pushing me off, punching me square in the mouth for good measure. I groaned, and not in any kind of pleasure. That one felt like it cracked a tooth, and I'd need those later on...

I raised up on my elbow, only to drop back down to avoid another fist. We scuffled on the floor a bit, sucking and biting at whatever skin presented itself at our lips. Eventually our mouths met rather furiously, and our teeth clashed harshly, making my earlier disturbed canine throb painfully. I ignored it, much more interested in how this floor scuffle would end. The tension within Itachi was probably a maelstrom in his gut, and I had a feeling that I was to become some sort of casualty to this, because we weren't going to leave this unresolved.

I jumped and winced in our kiss at the feeling of Itachi's long claws digging into my shoulder as he laid himself over me. In one swift flip, I switched our places, intending to continue. Itachi was having none of that. Glowing red eyes seemed to yearn to set me on fire from the inside out, and that glare intensified in the effort it took him to kick me into the air and onto the bed. I gaped at the sheer control he had over his strength, and I would have praised it if he hadn't immediately jumped on top of me. He hit me in the mouth once more, and I was coming to learn that this was some means to 'check' me when I did something he didn't like. I was about to check the little bastard back when he took me by surprise and began to violently... strip me?

I caught on quick, doing the same to him while dodging his grabby hands. It became a game to see who would be naked first.

Or so I thought. I'd been trying to rip his undershirt when I felt the first two fingers.

A manly yelp rang through the room, and my violent flinch caused me to tear the shirt in two, regardless of Itachi's protecting it. He grimaced, but his expression was overtaken by concentration as he pushed his fingers in and out, moving them a bit too expertly for my liking...

My hips moved toward him for more- entirely against my will- and he smirked, leaning down to my face and nipping at my lips. I jerked away, causing him to bite and draw blood. I ran my tongue over it, glaring at him as I pant softly, my arousal no longer capable of being masked.

He licked a my bloodied lip and closed his eyes with a pleased humm before speaking in that doubled voice. "... Hn... I told you I was good with my hands, Madara-sama..." He spread his fingers inside and I bit my tongue trying to keep any more undignified noises at bay. My back arched, and I wasn't sure if I was even fighting him anymore.

When I felt his pointed teeth graze my neck, I became sure.

I twisted violently, surprising Itachiwho'd thought I'd surely given in and been thoroughly seduced. I had unfortunately forgotten about his hold on my hair, so as I got on all fours to crawl away and get some distance, my head was yanked back.

Turning away had been a fool's mistake, because as soon as Itachi had me bent over in front of him, he took his chance. My body didn't know how to absorb the shock-wave of sensation that accompanied the penetration. My jaw dropped in a silent scream or yell, I wasn't sure what kind of noise would have left me. Itachi gripped my hip and leaned over me, withdrawing himself before slamming in again with a low grunt of a sound. As he began to set a pace, my eyes fluttered and rolled back, and I couldn't hold myself up any longer. I slowly slouched down, sliding until my chest and stomach were against the mattress, my hips only up because of Itachi's grip on them. My fingers knotted into the sheets when Itachi began to move slow, deep and hard, contradicting himself with the sweet wet kisses he was leaving all over my back and shoulder.

My brain seemed to abandon all thought, and for the first time in a very long time, I simply felt. When Itachi's kisses made their way up to my face and neck, I twisted to meet him. If it surprised him, he didn't show it, far too busy making our toes curl. The hand in my hair pulled back, allowing Itachi to attack my mouth as he had been when we were last close. Clothes didn't stop him this time.

I caught his bottom lip and nibbled, earning a moan that sounded deep in his throat, and in turn mine. Suddenly I was on my back again, but I was in no state to fight anything. He slammed me down making both of us bounce slightly. I opened my eyes to glare but was met with a sharper gaze. By now, I figured that I too wore glowing red eyes, so I didn't feel so put off by his, but there was something about the stare he was giving me...

"... What, boy?" I was a bit confused, and not a little mad that he'd simply stopped. His eyes twitch, as if wanting to look away from me, and he seems to pant, despite our sudden inactivity. I tilt my head curiously, my already messy hair surely tangled to hell now against the rumpled sheets. His hands that splay on those sheets on either side of me began to knot into shaking fists, and Itachi closes his eyes with a look of shame.

I could feel the bad vibes before he snapped his head up to bare his teeth. He didn't seem to know what he was doing or feeling, if his conflicted body language was anything to go by. Itachi looked me up and down, from my feet(one of which my pants still clung to) all the way to my eyes once more in a ridiculously lewd fashion. Had it not only turned me on even further I would have been offended. I frowned, confused at his flip-flopping, and he mirrored me, frustratedly placing his forehead against my chest and groaning. I was about to become legitimately concerned for my mate- and this fuck session- when I suddenly felt his tongue run from my middle to my neck.

I shivered and he clamped down, sucking hard against the flesh of my neck, on the opposite side of the mark. My head knew that this was a good thing, and was very thankful, but my body wanted Itachi to take it all, and as I began to feel his claws rake up and down my side, I was beginning to think that those raw feelings were exactly what was confusing Itachi. Before I could really think upon it Itachi was pushing into me once more. I groaned, biting my lip as if it could dull the electric feeling that rushed through me. I wanted to touch him so badly, but I knew I'd bite. Even with all of the experience I had with that darkness in me, I could feel myself slipping and losing my control.

I tried to push him away from me, to get some distance before he overwhelmed me, but he wasn't having it. The hand that had been pushing against his chest was grabbed, and I felt my wrist wanting to snap. I looked up at him with heavy breath and lidded eyes, lust weighing down my will. He stared back with a cold, red gaze.

"Give in." He said, his voice smooth and deep with just enough firmness to make me want to comply. It was solo, no longer accompanied with emotions like anger or arousal. This was the other Itachi speaking to me.

I became wary. The other side was always unpredictable. My own darkness was sadistic and savage, prone to toying with people and outright torture. This Itachi seemed to share a bit of that, but he was much more to the point, otherwise I'd be writhing. I stayed deathly still, trying to control my own natural response to this behavior of his. Seeing his other side made mine want to come out and play, to follow Itachi's wishes and give in. I couldn't, for both of our sakes, because as cold and calculating as Itachi's monster was, mine could be more so, and many times more violent. This I knew.

I shook my head, baring my teeth and craning my neck in defiance. This worked against my favor. Itachi smirked and ran merciless claws down my inner thigh. The muscles there twitched in a panicky spasm and my legs spread wide to escape the pleasurable torture. If he kept this up, I wouldn't be able to fight-

Suddenly Itachi was no longer touching me.

"Hmnn!" I threw my head back when I felt his mouth at my bleeding thighs. I looked down to see him licking up one of the claw marks, giving me a lecherous gaze that had me salivating at the mere thought of switching roles...

I couldn't take it anymore. I growled and reached down to grab him by the hair and wrenched him up to devour his mouth. My tongue invaded, tasting myself. It wasn't anything like what I wanted to taste, though. I nibbled a bit too rough at his lips and he grunted angrily, but I was too far gone to hear it. I finally tasted the boy and I began to suck lightly on his bleeding lip to get more, but that too was not enough. I wanted him bad. I wanted to touch every inch of him.

My hands began ruthlessly exploring, uncaring of roughness or nails. Itachi seemed to like it anyway. I grabbed a hand-full of his ass, earning an indecent hum against my lips. It hadn't even occurred to me that we were no longer having sex, but this seemed to be more about something else, something other than release.

Itachi's hands moved to my shoulders, twisting me so that I lay on my side. I was still thinking with my lower head, so I didn't bother questioning. Itachi was behind me again, lifting one of my legs and whispering against my hair. "Is this what you like, Madara-sama?" I tried to turn and face him but he stopped me. It didn't matter, though, because I knew the cold expression I'd meet. "Soft and sweet..." he said hotly with a kiss against the mark on my neck, "Then hard and mean?" It was then that he chose to enter me once more. The oxygen abandoned my lungs in a louder groan than I would have liked. "You just can't make up your mind, can you, my beloved?" He began to move, hitting the spot without fail, all while nibbling and sucking at my neck affectionately.

Fuck it felt so good...

The soreness I was feeling was telling me that it had been way too long, and the way I was currently unable to keep silent was a testimony to how out of practice my control was. I began to roll my hips against him, trying to meet his thrusts. His response was grabbing me by the hair and yanking my head back to look him in the eyes as he fucked me harder. His glare was tainted with lust, but was still angry enough to show that he meant business. He... didn't want me to move against him.

"Submit to me..." Hn, gladly. As sexy as Itachi ordering me around was, I knew something wasn't right. My lips parted to question him, concerned with his state of mind, but he began again with more fervor and my attempt at speech was reduced to purrs and heavy pants. I was getting close.

Don't bite..

Itachi pushed me onto my stomach, completely on top of me as he thrust with an uncontrolled viciousness that foretold oncoming release.

Nnn, don't bite...

My body burned and tingled, and despite Itachi's orders, I couldn't help but to move against him, needing just a little bit more to get where I wanted- no, needed to go.

Don't bi-

"Hah- Nghh!" My eyes shut tight as I came with a harsh shudder. I felt that Itachi had done the same inside me, but only as an after thought was it acknowledged, because another sensation of pleasure was pulling me from my post-orgasmic bliss. My body ached, but was numb and I felt-...

My lids snapped open at the realization that Itachi had... He'd... He'd done it. His long canines were buried in my neck. Blood bubbled as he growled against my flesh, still sucking and lapping at the blood there like a starved animal.

I was angry. I felt betrayed. Part of me was even relieved for whatever reason. I couldn't sort through it all. The sensation of my mate claiming me overshadowed all coherent thought. Itachi seemed to wake up from his nightmarish state, slowly coming to realize what had happened. He quickly removed his mouth, both of us tense against each other. Neither of us knew what to say. What was done was done. My mate slowly and apologetically began to lap at the blood, almost lazily cleaning what had remained from his attack. We both began to relax and I closed my eyes with a sigh, all feelings soothed by Itachi's workings.

I felt myself beginning to doze off. Being malnourished, in a sense, my healing capabilities were greatly compromised, and loss of blood was dizzying me. I'd probably be sore enough to walk with a limp tomorrow. Hopefully none of the students noticed. Perverted teenagers were sure to assume...

My lips twitched, unsure whether to smile or frown when one last thought crossed my mind before unconsciousness.

I now belong... to Itachi...

---

Itachi

It took every part of my being not to peel the skin from his bones. I was so angry that I wanted to throw up. Everything I saw was blurry and tinted with red, and the sound of the door hitting the wall echoed in m throbbing skull, along with that other voice of mine that seemed to have full reign over my actions.

"Couldn't stay away, Madara-sama? One simple part of my existence that doesn't have anything to do with you, that could complicate our lives so much more, and you have to roll around in it." I'm furious, but even in my blind rage, I see that Madara is… off.

"Shut up, boy." His voice is a gruff but hoarse growl. "I'm in no mood, and I don't care about your insignificant little grou-." And all understanding and sympathy left me.

"You're in no mood?" A devilish version of my own voice bled into the room, and I felt something take the wheel of my consciousness. My body shook with rage, such disbelief at Madara's… Madara-ness that it was almost funny. In fact, a blood chilling grin was eating my face. I could feel it, it was making my cheeks ache.

"I am in no mood for your games, Sensei, and I have this idea that you like playing games with me." I felt myself nearly breathing through my teeth, but there was a hot-oil quality to my voice- part of it, at least. The angry part was as rough as low-quality cement, and I felt the growling of it scratch up my throat, accompanying the the silkier voice that was, but wasn't, also mine. Madara watched with slightly tensed muscles, analyzing my every move with an extra watchful eye on my flexing fingers. Part of me wanted to dig them into his eye-sockets, the other part wanted them in other such places. It was brain-splittingly frustrating to try and decide whether or not you wanted to be a murderer or a rapist.

When I hear Sensei's mocking cackle, I nearly settle for trying at both to see which is successful first. Instead my proverbial pot of anger boiling over, it seems to simmer down, nearly freezing in fact. It frightened me, the sudden change in myself. I began to sense that my consciousness was fading into more of a balcony-view than a ring-side seat. Now, I simply watched him, mentally circling him like he was my dinner. Madara was no prey, though. He soon adopted the same icy look that I was currently wearing.

"You'd be right." He said shrugging. Of course I was right. Madara was all about games, whether in his favor or otherwise. "It was fun," he continued, "seeing where you scurry off to, and it was more than entertaining to watch you fume and twitch upon seeing my face in 'forbidden territory'." He swung his legs over the side of the bed, intent on approaching me. His eyes never leaving mine. "I don't know why you're still there, but let me tell you something..." Madara stepped forward, disregarding the fact that I was poised to look down at him. He remained unthreatened, even going so far as to come centimeters from my face. I try to remain firm and domineering, but the weaker part of me is trying to inhale the scent of his breath.

This was when I realized that I was completely separated from my consciousness. There was another me that had taken over the outside completely. My mind flashed back to the other night when Madara had been taken over by another version of himself: The Blood. Was it- Has it happened to me?

"The Kyuubi is still, and will always be, mine. I will not let a band of children lay claim to-" Our noses touched in a way that made the other me growl in with lust, but only served to leave the real me weak in my knees. "- what is mine…"

If I could, I would have blinked or jumped at the unexpected movement of my hand piercing through my Sensei. "I never got to really pay you back for training." A mixed voice says from my mouth, then I throw him onto the bed where he bounces and lays to heal. I could tell that it was slower than normal, but the sheer smugness managed to put me off.

He simply glances down at his middle and back to me as if it were but a flesh wound. Idiot. It's the cocky attitude that got you stabbed with an arm in the first place. "This is what you should have done in training, boy. You won't always know what feelings to play on against some other opponent, so deceit isn't the best weapon."

I'm quite sure that I'd leaked back into the forefront of myself for a moment, because the other me seemed far too difficult to sway to come back with something as immature as "It worked pretty well on you, Sensei." Madara's smirk vacated his face. I'm slowly moving toward him, crawling up onto the bed to hover over his prone form, stuck in place healing. I doubt he would have moved anyway. Madara was far too sure of himself, this was something that the other me wanted to correct. "It wasn't a difficult plan to formulate. I am a handicap to you…" says an even deeper and silkier version of my voice. Strangely enough, instead of being on his guard around me in this… state of half-absence, Madara seems to be taken in. The closer our faces get… I want to touch… The room is red… Mine...

"...You are weak to me…" What?

That is the last thing I can remember properly from there. I faded in and out, feeling every hungry sensation, pleasant and otherwise, as we rolled around. Both parts of me were stuck on certain thoughts that replayed over and over, as if we were fixated on those little parts of the situation. 'He is touching us!' when I was being punched in the ribs, for example. It was like I was drunk with the haze. Yes means yes and no means yes and 'ow, fuck!' means yes and so does profuse bleeding.

I'd fade back into the situation to find Madara reciprocating, though, meaning that he wasn't exactly saying 'no' anyways. I could feel his want, and it felt as if everyone within a five mile radius could feel mine. I didn't even know what to do with myself, all I knew was that I was here and this situation was poised under my thumb. I remember being the least aware when Madara moved to fight back or gain control, but when I came back, he'd have another bruise- but he'd be in his place for a bit longer. I could feel that he secretly liked this game.

Unfortunately for him, all games come to an end. After one last punch to his already bloodied teeth, I began to tear away at the pesky clothing that kept me from what I needed. I'd waited to have Madara like this since… God, how long have I craved this moment? How many fantasies and wet dreams had been centered upon this man? Can nine-year-olds even have wet dreams?

I cleared my head, focused on the task at hand.

Or rather, what I wanted to have at hand.

Madara seemed distracted with the removal of my shirt, trying to take it off by tugging and pulling it over my head, not quite getting past my shoulders. He began trying to rip it, much to my chagrin. Though the other me was not so concerned with clothing, this was one of my favorite undershirts.

I disregarded the thought in favor inserting two fingers in what I hoped would be a pleasant fashion. A strange sound of fright jumped from his throat that I had never heard come from Madara, and he immediately ripped my shirt in a jerky response.

Lovely.

The thought abandoned me when I got to the task at hand, eager to earn more reactions. His hips shifted to meet the movement of my fingers, clearly wanting it more than what he let on. I smirked, pleased. I tried to move down to kiss him, but my affections were violently rejected, earning nothing more than a bloodier mouth. This didn't bother me much, because it made the kisses taste sweeter. Sensei licked his lips, his glare having much less sting when accompanied by lusty panting. I ran my tongue over his lips like his own had done, closing my eyes and savoring the taste with hum. My mouth watered.

"... Hn… I told you I was good with my hands…" The other me was back. Controlling which side got to ride passenger and which got to drive seemed to be impossible- after all, whose will is stronger than Uchiha Itachi's but another Uchiha Itachi? I'm not sure which me was responsible, but Madara's spine arched beautifully in response to my ministrations. I couldn't help it any more. The urges.. The need to take him as mine. I buried my face in his neck, intent upon leaving my mark where it belonged. So close…

Naturally, Madara had to make everything more complicated. Nothing was proper for him unless it was difficult and nerve-grating. Sensei twisted away from me, startling me despite his predictability, intent on crawling away. Luckily, all I had to do was put him back in his place via his long locks. He truly did enjoy it too much. I was about laugh sadistically at his scrunched eyes and wincing face when I realized that his bare ass was displayed right in front of me. Honestly, who would hesitate?

I groan and push forward, delighting in the sudden tenseness of his muscles. My fingers tightened in his hair, and those on the other hand seized a grip on his hip. No sound left him, and his head was bowed, so I couldn't even see his face. I needed something. I wanted to hear him. I wanted to commit as many of his sounds as I could to my memory. I grunted lightly as I pulled out, slowly starting up a rhythm I thought he'd enjoy. I felt an overwhelming desire to make him feel good.

His head was turned to the side now, his head having descended to the mattress, laying on his cheek. I was glad, because now I could witness the way his eyes rolled back in ecstasy. Oh god… Everything about him was so hot. I begin to think that not being able to see those faces was a good thing, because if I didn't slow down, I'd come in minutes. Madara began to slide down against the sheets, only leaving his ass still up. Oh yes, slow…

When I did slow down, Madara only seemed to enjoy it more. His lips parted and I could hear his light pants as he gripped the sheets. I thrusted deep, in a way that I could only imagine to be accompanied with pain, but Madara thrived on it. I kissed from his back and shoulder to his neck and face, simply tasting his flesh to keep the desire to really taste it at bay. I thought he was going to climb the walls.

I gambled, advancing to kiss him. Surprisingly, he didn't try to wound me, though the kiss was rather rough. I pulled his hair back so I could have more, and he began suck and nip at my bottom lip. I moaned at receiving such attentions, making me feel a bit pathetic. It seemed to ignite something in me that had me throwing him onto his back, moving to…

I paused, disturbed by the image that flashed in my head. I wanted to… I imagined biting… chunks out of him. Bleeding him until there was more on me than inside of him. I was shocked by such thoughts, while the whispering of the other me slowly got louder, attempting to take over and, in a sense, make my dreams come true.

"... What, boy?" He asked a bit irritably, still probably hot and heavy and ready to go. My breath heaved a bit at his desire and I had to look away from his deliciously naked form. He gives me a look, tilting his head curiously. How… Surely it isn't okay to want that. Yes, kinky pain and all that, but… I grasp the sheets and close my eyes, trying to ward off red images and soft white flesh…

I suddenly snapped to the other me, hazy red vision eyeing Madara up and down like an entree. He frowned, and I did the same. It was so hard to fight… I wanted it so bad… I leaned my forehead against his, battling with myself. I can't do this… I should stop… I need-.

I left hot breath along the trail that my tongue took from his chest to the milky flesh of his neck. His resulting shiver suggested that he liked it, and I latched on to an unfavorably hickie-free spot on his neck, hoping that he'd like that just as much. I tried to ignore my body's signals that told me my mouth was on the wrong side, smothering the dark impulses as best I possibly could. However, when Madara shivered against me, I found that some things simply couldn't be suppressed. As soon as the tips of my sharp fingernails broke his skin, it felt as if a spring had completely uncoiled within me. Such release, but such guilt.

I couldn't' wait for Madara's approval or disapproval of the action. I shoved in once more, needing to uncoil some other springs. The sound of him groaning directly into my ear sent waves of pleasure straight to where it mattered. I moved back to see his face, hoping that I'd be able to dream of him biting his lip like that later on. His eyes were closed and his brows pointed up, as if pouting or begging. It felt like both. I smirked, loving that it was me to bring him to this state. For once, the other me and I worked in perfect tandem, completely agreeing on this. Mine… It said darkly. The other me appeared less eloquent in such heated situations.

And all of this was fine until Madara tried to fight once more. I thought we were over this.

It was both parts of me that growled and grabbed his wrist warningly. There was no fighting now. It took him one look to realize this, that I was no longer going to be denied what I really wanted.

Do what you want. I remember that quite fondly now as I do just that.

"Give in." Said the other me, having completely stolen my voice. I could see that this alarmed Madara a bit, though I'd never say it to his face. I too had been frightened in the presence of his other side. He seemed to compose himself, laying still and closing his eyes.

No, come to me… I didn't understand what the darkness within me wanted.

What I did understand, however, was that Madara was suddenly baring his teeth at me. Excuse me? I ran claws of authority down the sensitive inside of his thighs, thrilling in the way the muscles flexed and his legs spread wide for me like the indecent man-whore that Madara really was. He ate it up, visibly enjoying himself, I dropped down to those parted thighs to lap at the sweet red life. I probably looked like that man-whore, necting at his crotch and looking him straight in the eye.

It was too much for Madara, apparently, because I was wrenched up by the hair, a pleasant taste of my own medicine, and brought up to Madara's level where he shoved his tongue down my throat. I flinched, grunting in mild annoyance when he outright bites my lip. The fire it brings to my gut seems to eat up that annoyance, and Madara's sudden eagerness begins to bring back dark urges. He manhandles me, touching and grabbing where he so wished before throwing me overboard by squeezing my ass with an unforgiving grip. The sound I make can only be described as a slut's mating call. I need to be inside him again.

I flip him to his side, marveling at how compliant sex has made Madara, because he simply let me, not even objecting when I hike his leg up. A positively evil smile is on my face as I whisper into his hair. "Is this what you like, Madara-sama?" He tried to face me, seemingly disoriented by the voice of the other me, but I thwarted him. "Soft and sweet..." I punctuate with a kiss on my mark, "Then hard and mean?" I slammed into him, excited by the sound of his rough gasp. "You just can't make up your mind, can you, my beloved?" I slammed in and out, working to aim for where it made him purr.

Fuck it felt so good...

I was doing well to please him, if the constant stream of voice was anything to go by. The closer I got, the more I faded in and out. I was… losing control. When Madara began to roll his hips sexily against me, something that would have made me come instantly, the other me became enraged at his lack of submission. I was suddenly glaring him in the eye, slamming into him too violently to intend to simply please.

"Submit to me..." He seemed to want to question me, and I couldn't blame him, because I was often uncomfortable with most thoughts and actions that originated from the darker side of myself. I didn't want any more questions or interruptions, though. I was far too close, now.

Bite.

I pushed him down, moving against him so hard that the sound of our flesh slapping together seemed deafening.

Bite him.He wanted it too, I could feel it in the way he moved against me, despite being told not to. I want it too… I want all of it...

Bit-"Mmh…" The sensation of Madara tightening around me as we both come, accompanied by the hot tang of his blood flowing into me was euphoric. My very teeth felt good, just because they were buried in Madara's ne-.

Oh.

Oh god...

I come to, realizing that I was savagely mouthing Madara in a disgustingly careless manner. Madara seemed to have realized this as well. We both lay still, afraid to move for whatever reason. Moving would mean that it really happened.

All those times we had been any kind of 'close', Madara had been dead-set against this happening, and I had betrayed that. Now, we lay frozen and speechless, and… sorry. I began licking and kissing at the now-complete mark, trying my hardest to soothe what hurt Madara may be harboring. I waited for the fury and wrath, but it never came. The only thing that assaulted me was the overwhelming desire to- well, the desire to please hadn't left me after sexual release. No, that only seemed to morph into the desire to keep Madara pleased in general, so I continued to kiss at the mark until he fell asleep.

I too needed sleep, and I irritably noted that the monster that was the other me had retreated into the recesses of my mind, with that other monster that was my blinding lust.

I laid down next to him, watching him sleep like I did every other night. I watched every face he made for a good ten minutes before my lids got too heavy to hold up. As I fell asleep, I became fixated on certain thoughts again.

He is all mine…

---

Hashirama

I searched high and low, despite the nothingness emitting from the crystal that hung from my neck. For awhile I began to question whether or not I had been reunited with the real Senju heirloom, but after repeated inspection I found that it was indeed genuine. Still, I wondered if the crystal were malfunctioning or something of the like.

Either way, I wasn't sensing an Uchiha for miles. Hell, I wasn't sensing one of those bastards for lands. I had even scoured the Uchiha grounds, but they seem to have migrated. I had thought them dead, briefly, what with the overwhelming scent of old blood and decay, but the notion left me as soon as it came. If the Senju line endured, then the Uchiha clan surely did as well. Plus, Uchiha smelled like blood and decay all the time.

I sighed in bad nature as I walked through the maze that was this "Orochimaru's" lair. It was out of character to do so, since I usually remained pleasant and laid back, but I was having a really hard time with a sour attitude. For one, I'm stuck searching for a bloody Uchiha, and that alone makes me sore. Two, the longer it takes, the longer I'm stuck as a walking corpse in a time period that I most certainly do not belong in, and I have found nothing. Perhaps they bred Madara and Izuna's line so that every Uchiha could travel from dimension to dimension? I wouldn't put it past them to kill off those born without a certain trait. They may be dwelling in a world I cannot locate.

If so, I may be put to work in this world for a very long time.

I want to grumble as I walk into Orochimaru's outer chambers. I just needed to get to the after-life again. Fleeting blurs of heaven and Mito's face were what motivated me. Another slap to the Uchiha clan was a secondary motivation, because I can't deny that I'd be happy to hand over one of Madara's descendents to said young Uchiha's torturer. This Orochimaru was quite the weirdo.

A disturbing hiss sounded from the shadowy side of the room. "Senju Hashirama… May I ask why I do not see Uchiha Sasuke slung over your shoulder?"

I shrug, "You may." He tilts his head forward, not at all annoyed at my response.

No fun. "I don't have the Uchiha because he isn't anywhere. None of them are anywhere to be found."

He frowned, but didn't look as angry as I'd assumed he'd be. "I had suspected this." He said with a slithery tongue.

I made a rather animatedly confused face. "Well if you knew they were gone, why did I just waste all of that time? I'll tell you what, Snake-san, if this is some game-."

He speaks up, unafraid to interrupt me despite the fact that I could easily be his grandfather. "It is no game. I assure you that I'm quite serious about retrieving my wayward apprentice. I have even been in contact with some… old friends."

I stretch my back and fall into the nearest chair, speaking lazily. "And this friend knows something about 'Young Sasuke'?" His obsession with such a youth was quite disturbing, and were he not an Uchiha, I might feel bad for this Sasuke.

Orochimaru relaxed as well, twisting a few strands of inky hair between his thumb and index finger in thought. "I doubt it. He probably doesn't know Sasuke-kun exists. The Uchiha seem more like legends than real people now days, you know. Everyone's impression of them flip-flops from myth to reality. I only know so much because of my observations of Sasuke-kun."

I raise a brow, wondering how someone could simply be 'unaware' of someone so seemingly infamous as the ward of Orochimaru, coupled with being an Uchiha, "Then what good is your old friend in our search?"

Snake man smiles in the creepiest way, "Because he is in the regular company of Uchiha Itachi, my first pursuit as well as Sasuke's older brother." I shivered unpleasantly, wondering what would come out if the sudden wave of nausea caused me to vomit. It reminded me of Madara and Izuna, these brothers that Orochimaru spoke almost fondly of, though I'm sure they weren't in the same league as their ancestors.

I shook my head and stared on, prompting Orochimaru to elaborate and hopefully deliver me from the disturbed nostalgia. "I've been thinking that perhaps Sasuke has forgiven aniki of his crimes and they are now together once more. If this is so, then they will be in the unhidden world, where Akatsuki- my 'old friend's' organization- is lurking." I nodded, sufficiently up to date, though wondering if Orochimaru knew that people like him didn't really have 'friends'. Honestly, he could have simply said go look in the unhidden world, but that would be too simple, and the people of this time enjoyed listening to their own voices.

I stood, prepared to begin my search anew, when Orochimaru's voice rang suddenly firm. "Senju, be smart about it. When you find him, make a plan, not a scene. Make sure Sasuke is alone." I nodded. Sure, I wouldn't be hurt or die, but if I'm sloppy, I could lead a world of grief to Orochimaru's door step.

I just may do it to spite him…

No, he'd just keep me resurrected. That's no good.

"Loud and clear."

His head tilts down and he glared at me from under his eyebrows. "I mean it. The last person I need on my tail is the man who wiped out the Uchiha clan with a fresh fury."

I paused. Then, I blinked. Finally, I turned around. "The… entire Uchiha clan? How…?"

Orochimaru frowned, "Yes, I forget that you're a bit behind. Itachi and Sasuke are the only Uchiha clansmen left. Itachi slaughtered them all when he was a youngling, and Sasuke's been my rebellious little ward ever since." He was smiling by the end of it, surely amused at my now gaping jaw. Perhaps… perhaps Itachi is in Madara's and Izuna's league…

I nearly stumble to the door with an absent nod. My name's entire enemy clan was completely destroyed, and by one of its own.

And yet, one was spared. This Itachi has a soft spot for his otouto. If he is anything like Madara was, he won't let his baby brother go easily.

The entire clan… I shake my head, somewhat growing fond of the boy just by his deeds. What devilish abilities must he hone? I can only wonder if Madara would approve of his descendent or despise him.

I'd bet that he's smiling from his special pit in hell.

"Happy hunting, Senju."

It will be. Yes, my silent orders were to avoid an encounter with Itachi, but my curiosity would drive me mad if I didn't have my questions answered. Was he angry and spiteful like Madara? Was he devious and unstable like Izuna? Was Itachi perhaps stoic and set in his ways like Tajima? I was beginning to feel that a test was in order. I may not have my secret chamber anymore, but I had a feeling that this Itachi and I were going to really get to know each other.

---

Sasuke

When I left the shower the apartment had been empty again. Sure, Itachi was going to some Akatsuki thing, but what the hell was Madara doing at this hour? Robbing a convenience store of their slurpee machines? I shrug, having not had any intention of sticking around anyway. I finished drying my hair before throwing the towel in the hamper.

With one last glance around the living room of the apartment, I locked up and began my trek to my dorm. It wasn't where I really wanted to go, but I had vowed to make my closeness with Naruto much less obvious, lest I reveal his bijuu status to Madara. This meant that I couldn't follow him around like a second shadow.

I'll give it ten minutes. That seems like enough.

I practiced stealth down the hallways, easily sneaking into my room. I was in the room for a full minute gathering clothes(it felt weird to wear Itachi's again) that I could wear before Suigetsu sensed my presence and woke up.

He blinked sleepily, "Long time no see, Uchiha." I didn't bother looking back.

I grabbed a baggy black shirt and grey sweat pants. "Why is it that you are sleeping here and not Juugo?" I ask, genuinely curious of our new rooming and sleeping arrangements.

He stretches slowly, raising one arm high above his head while the other curls next to his face. By this time I had turned around so I unfortunately witnessed the ugly face that accompanied this stretch. He relaxed once more, smacking his lips. "Eh, Orochimaru was honing in on him so he took off to lead Snake-face's goons in a circle or two. He should be back by tomorrow." I raised a brow. Had I been anyone else, I would have been touched by Juugo's loyalty.

"And why are you sleeping in his bed?" Suigetsu shrugged.

"My roommate doesn't sleep, so I avoid sleeping in his company as best I can. I mean, could imagine being watched while you sleep? And by that guy? I mean, he's cool, but… he's just… him." He shudders for effect.

I roll my eyes at his dramatics. "Your roommate probably isn't there."

"How would you know, Sassy?"

"Because I just know."

I move to the door before he can question me further.

"You're leaving again?" Ugh, I wasn't fast enough…

I give him a dull stare, thinking it was quite obvious. Reading the look for what it was, Suigetsu simply sighed and shook his head, pulling the covers back over himself. There we go.

I shut the door and make my way to the room I really wanted to be in. As I walked, I thought of a million different ways to ask Naruto the… favor I needed.

Hey, Loser, let me bite holes in you.

Nope. Not going to work.

I could try the whole 'Twilight' card…

Pass. Hard pass.

I was mulling over the 'ask nicely' category when I made it to his room. I hadn't been thinking about who else would be there, the thought of Naruto giving me a sort of tunnel vision. I shuddered uncomfortably at the thought, making it even weirder when Neji was the one to greet me in mid-shudder.

His expression was really nothing more than a quirked eyebrow, but it was quite comical on a Hyuuga's face. I would have smirked if I weren't so uncomfortable. "Hn…" He read that well enough, closing his laptop and his eyes as if he were too good to be talking to me.

"You've missed Naruto by about an hour. He went home, something about being homesick." I frowned. I felt as if Naruto would have said something to me, what with all of our 'sharing' lately… After a minute, and a slight staring contest with Hyuuga, I shrugged. He probably just missed his brother. I remember that when I was stressed or upset, I would run to Itachi and curl up in his lap. Even when I was with Orochimaru I'd curl up in the bed in my quarters and pretend Itachi was there, whether I hated him or not.

I turned and began walking towards the door, absently wondering where big brothers sought comfort, when Neji called for my attention once more.

"What village did you say you were from again?" I didn't turn, or even stop or slow down. I was so very tempted to spout some smart ass remark like "I didn't." or even "The village of your mom.", but that would be wildly immature, and a bit stupid. Instead, I didn't even acknowledge the fact that he'd spoken to me. It probably worked better to get under his skin anyhow, what with his princely attitude. I'm sure he isn't accustomed to being outright dismissed, and that thought made me smile as I walked to Karin's dorms.

Luckily she was awake.

She'd been changing, that or staring at herself in the mirror, because all she wore were her undergarments. Here panties were dark purple and lacy, and she wore a black sports bra up top. Had she been matching I would have been a bit disturbed, as that would have given the vibe that she'd been expecting me.

She knew I was here. She probably felt me a good couple of seconds before I practically materialized by her bed. We pretended like it wasn't a big deal. She and I looked over her body, both with contemplative frowns over our face. I silently questioned whether or not we were looking at the same things. As a man, I naturally felt my eyes attracted to the lovely curves and soft skin. She herself eyed the imprints of various mouths that littered her skin, more in some spots than others.

I briefly noted the one that was rather high up on her inner thigh, the last little bit of the imprint disappearing under the lace of her underwear.

I closed my eyes, dismissing the wonders of the body from my mind. Honestly, if I were feeling women lately, I would probably fuck Karin. She was a good looking woman, and she knew not to cross certain lines. She was smart, but I feared she wouldn't be smart enough to not get emotionally involved in the deed. Plus, I'd be afraid to have little red-headed Uchiha's running around at my age.

I shudder.

I open my eyes to see her no longer at the mirror, but digging in her chest of drawers, presumably for clothes. I choose to speak now, because what could I have said earlier without sounding weird?

"Who changes clothes in the middle of the night?"

She shrugs, not bothering to look back as she finally picks a pair of fuzzy sleep pants from the drawer, cocking her head confusedly before shrugging.

"I change in the middle of the night. How do you know I didn't just get in from going clubbing all night or killing someone. Or hey, maybe I showered." She returned to the mirror, holding the fuzzy pants against her. In the light, they were cotton-candy colored, and I couldn't help but frown, being just homo enough to know that pink wasn't Karin's color.

"They're Sakura's. When you live with three other girls, clothes mysteriously come and go. Hinata usually returns them to where they belong. Sweet girl." She bends over to put them on and I find that I am also just straight enough to enjoy staring at her ass. Not quite enough to be aroused, but it was a pleasant sight.

"Staring at my ass?" I purse my lips at being caught, but Karin seems pretty laid back right now, not offended or excited by the idea of me checking her out. Perhaps all of this girl-time is good for her, despite her probably being much older than the other girls here.

"Dorm-mates?" She shrugs and frowns, so I assumed that all of them were out, probably still in Konoha.

Odd that Neji was here…

She put on a dark blue sweat shirt, pulling her long hair out of it before sitting on her bed across from where I stood.

Karin stared at me expectantly, a little less intimidating without her glasses for some reason, I noticed. "Well, Sasuke-kun? What can I help you with? It's unlike you to just come to hang out, Mr. Solitary."

I sigh, not all that excited about having to do this, but I needed strong blood, and Karin is pretty used to getting bitten, and she probably won't make as big a deal about it as someone else, so this was the safest plan B until I could get to Naruto.

"I need a favor."

---

Naruto

I felt like I woke up two days after I passed out on the couch at home, but it had only really been about an hour and a half. A white-noise kind of whirring echoed in my head telling me that Kyuubi was still 'sleeping', and I would be without a partner in conversation for awhile longer. I blink a couple times before pushing myself up to a sitting position and drawing my knees to my chest. I slump to the side a bit due to the age of the couch and its uneven cushions, but I don't bother righting myself.

I stay like that for awhile, just allowing myself to wake up since naps left me groggy. After that I have to dig around in the couch for my phone, afraid that there would be a message from Sakura. I really did feel guilty for not rushing over at Gaara's first text. Hell, I felt guilty for all of this. It seemed that my getting involved with Sasuke brought on most of this turmoil.

I took a few seconds to silently hate the bastard, barging in with all his 'hn' sounds and prettiness, but logically I knew our meeting had little to do with recent events. The Konoha attack would have happened whether we knew of each other or not, and Akatsuki has always been on my ass and he's got nothing to do with those guys, really. No, once again I simply want an easy target to blame.

I flip open my phone, one of my two text messages being from said easy target.

With Karin. Text when you're up for conference.

I grin, silently laughing at Sasuke's inability to confess that he enjoys hanging out with me.

"Pfft, 'conference'." I huff under my breath. Why can't he just be normal and ask to chill? He probably doesn't have much to tell me that I don't already know about his weirdo family. I shrug, disregarding it. Technically, I'm not up for conference, and he has no idea whether I've seen the text or not.

He didn't seem like the type to get his feelings hurt even if he could see it.

I go back to my messages for the second text, but it's just an old unopened one. I frown, confused. I thought for sure that Sakura or Gaara would have texted me…

Now I'm the one with hurt feelings, but I try to suck it up, sure that they must have been offended at my lack of response to them as well.

My stomach drops a bit as I remember what I'd been trying to forget. I still had to tell them about Akatsuki. I let my phone fall to the couch once more and ran my hands up and down my face. Ugh, did I really have to do this? To them? To Sakura? Today?

She just lost her baby brother and I have to be Fox Captain and tell her to suck it up and fight Akatsuki? I give a sharp huff before planting my feet on the ground and slapping my thighs as I rise to stand. It was about seven in the morning and I had school pretty soon. I pick up my phone and give it one last glance before flashing my way to Sakura's, specifically her bedroom.

I appear directly in the middle of the room as usual(something I will never understand about the Flying Thunder God technique and its weirdness with the indoors), and look around me a bit. No one was there.

"She's in Neal's room. She wanted to get pictures."

I turn to see that Gaara had been in the doorway behind me, leaning on the frame looking more tired than I had ever seen him. I nod, but he wasn't looking at me so I had to hum. I stepped toward him, not sure what exactly I could offer as comfort, but pushed off the door-frame in a way that suggested he was not in the mood for hugs.

I sighed, my eyes drooping with a similar stress. "I… I'm sorry I didn't answer. Some stuff happened, and I-"

He looked up finally, "Stuff? Stuff happened here, and Sakura needed you. What could be more important? Sasuke?"

"You." I said, at my limit in the patience department.

Gaara raises one of those invisible brows, not understanding at first. His eyes carry his questions, but I can't say it twice, so I walk past him out of the room, knowing he would follow. The scene that meets me upon entering the room at the end of the hall breaks my heart.

I open the door and see Sakura sniveling and hiccupping as she tries to hold back her tears. She had one arm full of pictures and two in the other hand, just a sobbing mess. With her eyes closed, she slowly placed one of the pictures back on the cabinet.

She looked at me with tears threatening to overflow, "That was when he was seven. I was ten and we snuck out and walked around town, just because we felt like it. We saw a man with an old clunky camera and he took this picture of us and gave it to us." She ran her fingers over their young faces. The picture lacked color, and they wore clothes that Sakura wouldn't be caught dead in now, but they were both grinning and happy and quite frankly I had to look away because I was tired of crying.

She looked back at the one she kept in her hand, "He's thirty-four in this one," Sakura said, showing me a picture of Neil and about three of four other older men, Sakura's arms around Neil's shoulder. "They thought I was his daughter, and they always talked about how sweet it was that I went to their club meetings and sang old country karaoke songs with him." She giggled.

I smiled fondly, my eyes still cast to the side. "They coming to the funeral?"

She shrugs, "Paul has Alzheimer's, Toro died about seven years ago, and Jerry and Vince think I'm Neil's grand-daughter." I nodded and she placed the picture with the other bunch she carried in her arm. "I certainly can't have pictures of us when we were both kids, but I think I can swing these…" Sakura's tears seemed to have dried up a bit by now, and she began separating the pictures into boxes.

I left her to it, trying to ignore Gaara's curious and impatient nudges to my elbow. After awhile she began checking her phone for the time every now and then. She eventually abandoned her picture gathering in favor of getting together clothes for school and changing, not bothering to hide away or shield herself, as we've all seen each other naked at some time. Still, Gaara and I averted our eyes.

Unfortunately, this left us looking at each other. Gaara glared expectantly, nodding his head in Sakura's direction. This seemed to have caught her attention.

"Alright, you two, what's going on here? No more telepathy!" She tried to say with a light heart.

I opened my mouth but it fell shut with yet another sigh, and my hand nervously ran through the hair on the back of my head.

Sakura moved closer to Gaara, both of them teaming up on me now. "I, uh… I heard something about… about Akatsuki today…" Sakura frowned and Gaara glared at me.

I hurried to spit the rest out before Gaara could growl at me, "Sasori was at my house! I went over and he walks out of Deidara's bedroom and then I heard them talking and…" I faltered. My throat closed and I had to force it back open with something more than willpower.

"Spit it out, Uzumaki." Said Gaara, his voice not as hard and angry as he may have wanted it to be. Instead he sounded as if he knew what I was about to say.

Sakura was still out of the loop, "What, Naruto?"

I swallowed hard, "Akatsuki is coming for Gaara tonight. Sasori and Deidara. I don't know how, but I think they caught wind of Gaara being escorted back to Suna."

I was met with silence. Sakura looked as if she were about to start crying all over again, but she also looked angry and ready to someone's ass. Gaara just looked as if he needed a long nap.

He blinked, slow and long and dramatic. "This is why you couldn't be here last night."

I nodded grimly. "Yeah- and I'm sorry for that, but… well I can't make excuses. I should have came as soon as I found out. So much is hitting me- us, all at once, you know?"

She eyed me, then Gaara. Naturally, Gaara's face gave away little, but she could probably read my stress solely off of the dark circles under my eyes.

"Uzumaki Naruto, what is going on?" Ah, the 'Mom' look.

I rubbed the back of my head nervously, chuckling a bit despite myself. "I just told ya!"

She glared. "Yeah, I got that. We have to kick Akatsuki's ass. Understood. Now what's been up with you. I wanna be where Gaara is."

Gaara looked up at me with a slightly guilty look and I know he had to have squealed something.

"Traitor."

"Naruto!" Sakura growls.

I put my hands up defensively. "Ah, um, alright…" I look to the side, trying to remember all that Gaara knew and how to sugar-coat it. Surely Gaara's figured out Sasuke's ancestry by chatting with Neji, but Gaara knowing and Sakura knowing are two different things. Sakura-chan isn't ancient by any means, but the Uchiha were only wiped out a little over a decade ago. As soon as she heard the word 'Uchiha', she'd blab to Kakashi or something.

"I'm…" I had to think smart. "I'm in a sort of… 'contract' with Hebi Sasuke." She narrowed her eyes in a confused manner.

I shrug, trying to make this as logical and reasonable sounding as the first times I had to explain. "It's like an exchange of information, but it's really touchy, you can't say anything." She nods, but looks at Gaara. He's still stone-faced, but he's never been good at keeping it up when she looked at him like that.

After awhile, he finally gave in and met her eyes before promptly slouching and averting them. Damn it, Gaara.

The green orbs of evil were put back on me, "Hebi isn't a good guy to be around, is he?" I wince and shrug slowly, palms up in the typical 'Who knows?' manner.

"Naruto."

I sigh dramatically, "Jeez, Mom, who is? Half of everyone we know isn't 'good'. Plus, Sasuke's been shady from the jump, so you can't look at me like that when you were drooling over him." She shook her head, turning to her vanity and brushing out her hair with a sharp hand-signal to keep me talking.

"Long story short, he can tell me straight up what may go down with certain members of the Akatsuki, and I've learned a ton about Orochimaru. Not to mention the ticking time-bomb that's… You know, whatever, don't worry about it, alright? Look, I'm gonna get Sasuke on board with us for this. We'll get together after school- nah, fuck books, let's skip the last half of the day. Me, you, Gaara, and Sasuke will meet… In your dorm room."

She frowned at her hair in the mirror, then at me. "And Ino-pig? Karin? Hinata?"

I nod, "Right, Gaara, you and Neji should rally our squads. The normal group, Trackers, Planners, the works- that gets Ino and Hyuuga away from here and working where we need them. We will meet the entire group in Konoha…" I try to remember what time we had been told to leave to escort Gaara to Suna. "We were supposed to leave at eight, right?" He nods. Eh, Sage say, not mine. "Right, eight! Have everyone meet in the cellar under Hokage mountain at five on the dot."

Gaara speaks up this time, "Still leaves us with the other girl around." I wave away his comment.

"Nah, we may need her. If Orochimaru has something to do with it, she'll be the first to sense-"

"Why would he be there?!" Oh. My mouth froze open.

I'd make a shitty 007.

"Uh, well, like I said, lots of… things have been going on… The Edo Tensei of Shodaime? Yeah, I'd bet that snake is keeping watch on things concerning Konoha." Little did Sakura know that he was more interested in Sasuke... "Karin is sensory type, and she and Sasuke are familiar with the Sound group, so it's just good to have her around?"

She groaned, "Yeah, you said something about Sasuke and Orochimaru." I bit the inside of my cheek. She was looking at me now, this time like she knew I was up to something but had no proof as to what it was.

"Damn it, Naruto. You really stepped in it. You have a knack for complicating things." I finally let loose the air I'd been holding hostage.

"You're telling me."

Gaara huffs off to the side.

"Well," I try to say, "Now that we have that… 'figured out'..." Sakura and Gaara roll their eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, Gaara gets our minions." She says smirking. Gaara shares a small smile as well, but I'm sure it is because Neji is automatically included under the 'minion' title.

"Aha, yeah. Sakura, you get a hard job."

"Oh?" She says sarcastically.

"Yes, oh!" I stick out my tongue. "We can't just have our strongest fighters band together and not catch attention from the higher-ups. Plus, Sasori and Deidara are a big deal. If anyone from Akatsuki is involved, even if we outnumber them or think we can take them, we have to think of the village and the system as a whole." The volume of my voice drops dramatically.
"Therefor Sakura will be the one to get the sages together…"

"WHAT?! Why me?!"

"Because Gaara has the group and you have no idea how complicated your little Sasuke-kun is!" I yell back. Sakura throws her hands into the air.

"He's right, Bubblegum." Gaara earns the most betrayed look I'd ever seen on Sakura, but he trucks on.

"From what I've truly heard of… Hebi, the situation is delicate at best. Naruto won't have time to get Sasuke and all of their mess together and let warn our superiors." I nodded, thankful. Honestly, I was just afraid to speak to granny and gramps, they'd grill me to death.

Even luckier, I didn't have to face-.

"Uzumaki should still be the one to talk to Kakashi." Damn it, Gaara…

"Well, uh, he's a little close to this, too-."

"Can it, Naruto. Gaara, tell Neji to get everyone together under our unified orders. Class S defense. I'll tell the Sages and put all men on high alert. The healing tents are in the center of the village, so it will look natural for everyone to be gathered there. Sasori and Deidara shouldn't suspect anything off about that after the last attack. They'll probably want to cut us off outside the village anyway." We all nod, directions understood.

She turns sharply to me, "Naruto, keep us informed on and up to date on anything vital. If Akatsuki is will to attack, then they know where Gaara is and who he is accompanied by. They may bring reinforcements as well. Communication is the key to this plan. Have Kakashi gather all Jounin and capable Chuunin. Tsunade and Jiraiya can command Anbu. This isn't for the sake of the village, this is Gaara's life."

A heavy quiet takes over, and we unconsciously seem to move closer to one another. Funny, weren't we just sitting here in each other's pajamas chugging booze? Weren't Deidara and I just talking about sexy underwear? The memories feel good. I'd do anything for these people, but why can't I just spit it out?

Madara! Uchiha Madara lives!

Gaara's eyes are closed, but for once, he breaks the silence. "I don't want to kill your brother, Uzumaki." His voice is gruff with an attempt at light humor(that's about as light as it gets for him), but rings with a sincerity that touches me.

"I don't either, Gaara." I didn't even want to kill Sasori. Gaara only had a handful of blood-ties, and we all silently agree that the fact that both Sasori and Gaara still breathe means something.

Sakura slaps my shoulder softer than I expect, "We all clear?" She asks, moving to get her back-pack and stuff it with gear in place of notes and textbooks. Gaara nods, not bothering to change his black pants, but placing a clean shirt over his head from our designated 'boy-drawer' in Sakura's dresser.

I shrug, doubting I'd even get through much of first period without a panic attack, so I didn't bother with my appearance. Sakura gives a determined, but sad smile. "School in fifteen, boys." She raises her fist above her head and turns, leading us downstair.

When she open the door, she grabs mine and Gaara's hand, hoping we could all flash to school, despite the wave of nausea she always seemed to catch. The last thing I hear her say before our feet are on campus grounds will probably stick with me into the oncoming battle this tonight.

"Dead men walking!"

---

Itachi

Uuugh, fuck. Is the sun always so… sunny?

I felt the prickling heat shower needles over a particularly unlucky strip of flesh on my side. Why am I shirtless? In fact, why am I naked? My head hurts…

"Feel like shit, don't you, boy." I blink my eyes open to see that it isn't the sun making my eyes ache, but rather the sun's reflection off of Madara's milky thigh. God, I could only imagine staring directly at the rays… I raise up a bit, peeling my cheek from Madara's lap to look up at him. He continues playing with my hair, a sadistic smirk on his face. My cheek plops back down and it's strangely… clammy.

Oh god.

I raise up again, praying that I hadn't just laid my face in my own mess. I hear a deep chuckle. "Please, what kind of filth do you take me for? I've cleaned up, brat." Right. Of course.

It's quiet again, and I run last night's event over and over again in my head, unsure if I should smile or apologize and feel guilty…

"I… I didn't imagine it like that. That's not how I originally wanted things to go…" I sighed out. I'd wanted to be in full control. I'd wanted it all to be as glorious and perfect as he was. Last night felt so… angry. Yes, I'd been furious, but I didn't have to let it out quite like that. It was supposed to be long kisses and smooth transition. The bite sure as hell hadn't been part of the plan.

And yet…

"Shut up. You're a terrible romantic, Itachi. No one imagines their first time with me like that." His smirk is accompanied by a playful wink. "I'd say you did pretty damn well if we take in the fact that I had to roll out of bed to clean up." I find myself able to roll my eyes.

"It wasn't a question of how well I did. I lack no faith in my capabilities." His laugh was pervish.

He lightly pushes my head back and away from him, sitting up so that he no longer leaned on the head-board. Madara winced a bit, probably feeling that movement a little lower in his back than he predicted.

"Feeling alright, Sensei?" He glares.

"I'll make you suffer, boy." I shiver despite myself. Madara is suddenly standing and limping attractively to the bathroom where I hear the shower turn on. The bed squeaks noisily as I get up to follow.

"Hold there a second." I freeze, a little wary of moving at his tone. The light dims in the bathroom from what I can see from under the door, and I hear a muffled noise from him signalling an 'ok'. I walk into the cloud of steam that has already started up and look to my right to see that the window had a couple of towels blocking the light. Perhaps Madara was sensitive today in more ways than one.

I shrug, following him into the shower. Strangely enough, he's simply bathing. I'd assumed his libido to be insatiable, but it seemed one good go was all it took to calm the beast. I eye him suspiciously as I slide the shower curtain shut behind me.

Despite getting all of him last night, I still find that I want my hands to be where my eyes can wander. I lick my lip distractedly. "I had assumed that you would be less… forgiving, the morning after." He pauses, looking at me over his shoulder.

"What's done is done, I suppose. You can't simply un-mark me." I narrow my eyes but he continues shampooing his hair. I'm about to comment on this behavior once more when the strange sight of pink-tinted water catches my attention.

"Madara…" He looks back once more, irritated. Once Sensei follows my line of sight, however, he only sighs.

"Perhaps I did not clean up well enough. My soreness was much worse this morning." Then he dismisses it. I wonder if the blood comes from the healing pink scratches that run up and down his thighs or if he bleeds from the inside…

"You'd better shower, brat, I can smell good sex on you even through the water." I look up to find him smiling crookedly. Sensei appeared to be in good spirits after a coupling. I found it endearing in an odd way.

I began to clean myself up, because I'm sure my scent was indeed strong. I averted my eyes, staring down at my feet. I probably wouldn't be able to keep a decent train of thought if I could see the water cascading down his form.

Ahem. "What time is it, exactly?"

He stepped to the side, ringing out his hair once he was out of the shower's path. "I'm not positive. We probably have thirty minutes before the first class. I simply can't wait." He said dryly, leaving the shower. I smiled a bit, softly. Through the rest of my shower, I rushed. Thirty minutes was not enough time to dress and have more of Madara.

I got out and dried off, walking naked to the closet grab some clothes for the day. My hair was still damp when I tied it, but my shirt was a very dark blue, so it was hard to see the water droplets that fell from the ends of my ponytail.

I grabbed the things I needed for class and moved to follow Madara into the living room. This was a mistake.

My next lungful of air is inhaled through my teeth.

I hear Madara's laugh echo throughout the room, booming louder than normal for some reason. "How do you feel?"

Oh god, like hell. That is how I feel. "What-?" I try to ask with my eyes screwed shut.

I feel rather than hear his footsteps as he approaches me. "That bad? It's to be expected from you." I feel something plastic glide along the sides of my face to the back of my ears. With a frown, I touch my face, opening my eyes to realize Madara had just placed a rather dark pair of sunglasses on me.

"When… did you even get these?" I ask suspiciously, finally able to see and take in my well-tinted environment.

Madara shrugged. "Just now." He replied, snapping his fingers. I assumed that this signaled that he'd 'zapped' himself somewhere and stole a pair.

I'm sure that the security footage from where ever he snatched these was going to look great on the news.

I stared at him, not as surprised as I should have been.

"Well I certainly wasn't going to hobble there." I failed to suppress my somewhat sadistic grin. His responding glare was venomous.

"I could pick you up and throw you straight into the sun, brat." I bite my tongue.

Madara shakes his head and turns, doing well to look casual as he walked to the door. "Let's go before I keep my word." I nod and follow, but he gives me a once over before opening the door.

"What now?"

He places his hand on his hips in that trademark stance of his. "Is that shirt hot? It would be hell to overheat in your state." I tilt my head.

His hand touches my face, "Your body is adjusting to the changes of having taken my blood in marking, and we are nearly one. Since my blood is foreign, your body must adapt to what mine has adapted to. I'll give it a couple more hours until the sun stops burning so badly, especially with how much gulped down last night." He said with a grimace.

This made sense. The other 'hazy' changes I experienced had been encountered and dealt with slowly, but with a surge of energy like the blood or Uchiha Madara, a couple hours sounded about right.

If only it weren't so irritating.

I stepped out into the hallway and almost immediately began to sweat. It wasn't profuse, luckily, more of a burning feeling in my pores, but it was definitely uncomfortable. I placed my hands at opposite sides of my body, tucked under my elbows so that they would be out of the direct sunlight.

There was nothing I could do for my face.

Madara, tall and overbearing as usual, stepped to my other side to act as a shade. Even through my sunglasses I could tell that he too was uncomfortable, because with a good portion of your life-blood sucked up, one had to be drained in more ways than one.

"I'm used to it. I haven't been 'in good health' for decades. Just watch the ground." I nodded, only wincing when said floor would reflect whatever sunlight hit it. This was a bit exhausting, but with each second, I was feeling better. The energy and life that tingled my veins was nearly tangible. I was almost itchy.

I wanted Madara to feel this.

I looked up, "When-."

"How ever long I can last." I gaped.

"Why? I've already taken you so we may as well!" I whisper harshly. "We are probably weaker than ever in this state." I was halted and pushed against the unused lockers under the stairs.

Hands slammed against the metal on either side of my head, making my ears ring. "Because in your state, I'd destroy you…" He growled into my ear. I shivered. I think this situation just flipped on me.

Madara's mouth was against my ear, practically moaning, "You wouldn't be able to take it, and I'd draw it out, because at this very moment, you are a slave to the little taste of me that you got last night. I could get a paper cut and you'd crawl across a desert on your face to breathe the scent."

I could hear the smile in his voice, but my eyes would open, so I couldn't turn to see it. I felt a bit breathless. Dear god, it was probably true. "Besides," He rasped, "I have commitment issues." I balked, my eyes opening wide at the sudden change in tone, as well as my abruptly restored personal space. I looked to the left to find him already walking away, right into his classroom.

I grimaced, stomping into my class with a sour attitude. I hate him. What a sadistic bastard.

In my current mood and state of being, I would like to have waltzed into class and announced a surprise holiday, but doing something as mundane and irritating as teaching my own mother tongue was probably the only thing that was keeping me from having an erection. Something had to steal my thoughts from last night.

And five minutes ago.

"Open your books."

The sound of shuffling and page-turning had an unsavory undertone of whispers. I frowned, taking in all of their perplexed faces. Simple instructions, people.

"Karasu-sensei? Why are you wearing sunglasses?"

I hear, strangely enough, Inuzuka Kiba yell across the classroom, "He's hung-over, you dumb shit!" The class explodes into laughter, making me wish it were just a hangover, because it made me feel like me head was splitting into halves.

My hands went to either side of my face, as if I could hold it together. "Shut up." Ah sweet silence. Even the mortal younglings seemed to sense the power behind my commands. That or they were simply scared of me for normal human reasons like authority and meanness.

"Woah, he really is hung-over…" Inuzuka whispers.

I would have assumed that the Inuzuka clansmen would all be on call, trying to track the attackers that demolished Konoha. I dismissed it, having long ago stopped caring about the affairs of that village. Still, I subconsciously noted each absence throughout my classes. The Hyuuga clansmen had been present, but they'd been jittery and disruptive, passing notes to almost all of the other non-humans.

And Sasuke wasn't there either. Interesting.

I pulled out my phone to text him when something else dawned on me. After everything I'd learned in the past day, I was finally putting faces to the names, lining it all up.

All of the students here from the hidden world seem to be rallying. Many of those students are gone, probably already in Konoha. The red-headed kid that was usually in front was one of them. Gaara. The Kazekage. The Ichibi. Akatsuki's prey for tonight. The Ichibi is to be escorted from Konoha, guarded and associated with the Kyuubi.

Sasuke isn't here, but neither is that blonde, Naruto.

I lick my teeth, not sure what emotion I was currently feeling. My brother had teamed up with Jinchuurikis one and nine, and somehow, everyone knew that something was going to happen tonight.

Was there a leak in Akatsuki? No, no one is brave enough. Or stupid enough. It couldn't have been Madara, either. If he'd known who to leak the information to, then he'd have known they could get him the Kyuubi, and he would have simply taken it instead of going through all of this. He wasn't a middle-man kind of person.

I looked out to the class once more, specifically at the non-human faces. Some looking down confusedly at their phones, some at notes being passed by younglings like Hyuuga Neji and Nara Shikamaru. Those two seemed to eye me nervously. It would be interesting if they knew who I was. They couldn't do anything, of course, because one, I'd wipe the floor with them, and two, everyone else in the school would probably die too.

They would have had Kakashi down in my class room by now. His presence here was also odd to me, because he'd been of high rank when I was in Konoha, and I assume that this means he would be needed at a time like this. Unfortunately for me, he was here. Teaching. I'd only been able to avoid him just barely. I even planned to skip lunch to avoid encountering him or-.

Fuck.

Kakashi being here and now meant that Madara was probably teaching in another classroom, so they had to have met whenever Kakashi showed up to class(however late that probably was). Lunch was about to start, and I rushed my class out of the room, hoping to evacuate before this entire living situation blows up in my face.

They sense my urgency and are gone a good five minutes before the lunch bell, happy to be first in line for their meals. None of them were paying attention anyways, not even myself. I debated on hiding in my room, but that struck me as far too cowardly, so made to head towards where I could feel Madara. I peeked out, sliding my sunglasses down my nose glancing left and right down the hallways before pushing them back up. Part of me wanted to remove them, because my eyes had stopped throbbing about a half hour before, but I wanted to keep them on because they were large and hid my most prominent features- My eyes, brows and the faint stress-lines that had surely become more prominent in the past few days. I vaguely wondered if these were women's sunglasses. Probably.

I step out after the inspection of my surroundings and turn to lock the door behind me, planning out my strategy to avoid people. Stick to the shadows, slink by against the walls, let the hair down to improve the disgui-.

"Karasu-san!" I jump, despite myself. Kami I hope Iruka is alone…

I turn slowly, and it is almost painful, but I discover that he is indeed by himself.

I stare at him nervously for awhile before he realizes I'm not going to say anything. "Oh, well, um, I was wondering if you met Kakashi yet? He and Kurosawa were talking earlier and let me tell you that I had no idea that Kurosawa-san was so… perverted. Anyway, they hit it off quite well and-"

I tuned out the rest, my eyes wide and blinking uncomfortably. Normally I'd be hoping that Madara would be tight lipped about who we are, but I'd probably prefer him conversing about our heritage over talking about… last night's events to… Hatake Kakashi…

"Are you okay, Karasu-san?"

I swallow, "I'm sorry?"

Iruka frowned, "You were… making a face. I hope I haven't made you uncomfortable. I mean, some of the other teachers had been assuming anyways, what with you and Kurama stuck together like glue, so I was beginning to think you were more open… You're making the face again, oh god, please pardon my manners!"

I probably was.

"I'm so sorry. I'd be pretty embarrassed too, having someone like Kakashi know so much about you before you've met!"

I sigh, "You don't know the half of it…"

"Pardon?"

I wave dismissively, "Nothing, I have to go. I'm starving and I need something off-campus." Iruka nods sheepishly, buying the lie.

"Kakashi is probably expecting me anyways. Naruto pulled him away right before lunch and I haven't heard anything so he's probably waiti-"

"Naruto? He skipped my class? Was Hebi with him?" I ask, purposely flavoring my tone with concern and slight betrayal.

Iruka didn't look surprised. "Ah! I knew it, that little shit." I frowned at hearing Iruka curse, but he doesn't pay it mind. "He and Sasuke said that you let them go. Sorry, I should have checked with you first." I give a small, almost unnoticeable shrug, choosing that time to walk away. If Iruka is surprised at my sudden departure he plays it off well, waving me off.

"See ya after lunch! We should all go on a double lunch-date tomorrow!" And he too leaves.

Double lunch-date. Ha. If there even is a tomorrow.

I'm not even half way to the exit before I hear yet another bump in the road coming.

"Teme! You said you would help me!" Fuck. If Naruto is around then so is Kakashi…

"I'm not helping you with that, idiot. I can already tell that Kakashi is suspicious of me. You can figure out where he wandered off to on your own." Safe.

I see Sasuke storm past the corridor and I hear the echo of the restroom door shutting, then opening once again. After a minute, the process repeats, followed by a harshly whispered "Fucking coward!".

I take off my sunglasses as slowly creep around the corner to spy him rubbing his face agitatedly. He pauses, like a deer that heard the crackling of leaves being stepped on. I too pause. His neck nearly snaps with how quick his head turns. Interestingly enough, his face reveals nothing.

"I have a hall-pass." He says in a monotonous voice that indicates his awareness of the situation, and that detentions were the least of his worries.

I activate Sharingan and he closes his eyes, body tense and ready to fight tooth and nail for his life. The Kyuubi vessel indeed, and he knows exactly who I am.

He also seems to think he can take me on and survive, so he's either incredibly stupid or incredibly strong. His fighting stance and actions suggest the latter.

I still smell fear.

"I am not interested in hunting you." He frowns, but remains tense and focused. He probably thinks I'm playing a trick on him.

I roll my eyes, deactivating them with a sigh. "If I wanted you I'd have you. Out of all of the Uchiha, I'm probably the least interested in you." He opens his eyes, a hurricane of blue staring at me unafraid.

"You'd put me on a silver platter if he wanted it." My eyes bulge because I'm almost positive he isn't talking about Sasuke.

His expression softens, "Don't worry, I haven't told anyone…" I look up, surprised and on edge.

His eyes are downcast and a bit off to the side as he speaks, "Me and your brother are… we made a deal because we figured out what we were and- it's complicated, but, I don't go back on my word so you're fine here." Naruto looks up with a weak smile. "Just… Just don't give me to Madara? You can't begin to understand-"

"You are the last thing I'd hand over to Madara. It would be like handing an angry toddler a flame-thrower. I have already stated that I didn't approach you with the intentions of capture." The vessel frowned, obviously confused.

"Well if you're looking for Sasuke you're S-O-L 'cuz he just went in the bathroom and vanis-."

"Naruto-san," I interrupt, tired of going back and forth with this kid. "I'm going to assume that you know Akatsuki is coming for the Ichibi tonight." He shuts his mouth, confusion on his face being replaced with a focus I would not have guessed he possessed. "There will be five of us: Deidara of Iwa, Akasuna no Sasori of Suna, a masked man named Tobi, and then Myself. There is a small chance that Hoshigaki Kisame of the Mist will be present as well. We will be stationed near or in the silent forest- The site of the Uchiha Massacre."

His lips slowly parted, brows furrowing with distrust. "Why are you telling me this?"

I find myself temporarily stumped by the question. It takes me a bit to find my answer. "... Because I have recently been reunited with a few reasons to keep living." I say, my hand finding its way to the mark on my neck. Sasuke and Madara were with me once more, and they were all I ever really wanted in life. I look back up at Naruto, "If Akatsuki tries to take over with the power of the bijuu, they will take on the world, and both the world and Akatsuki will have to take on Madara. I don't know how much you know about him, but know that those odds against him are pretty fair. Not even I know what things he is capable of."

Naruto didn't seem surprised or awed, he simply nodded slowly in understanding, accepting the gravity of my words.

"Naruto-san, I am telling you these things because though I do not know the specifics of our Leader's plan, I know that it is world-scale. If this war happens, between the three parties, four if you include Orochimaru, the planet will be a waste-land before day one is up. Both the hidden and unhidden worlds will die."

The Kyuubi vessel is silent for a moment, as if contemplating, but after a couple minutes, I begin to noticed the subtle changes in his expression from second to second. It was almost as if he were…

He was speaking to the Kyuubi.

Before I could drill him with questions he looks up, "What do I need to do, Itachi-san?"

I put my sunglasses back on, "Stay away from us tonight. Even with every pinned against us the outcome can only be guessed. The hidden forces are undereducated about Akatsuki and each of us are immensely powerful and even more so unpredictable. Even I am not sure exactly what level some of us are at, especially Tobi. I suspect that he is far more than just a simple game piece to our leader like the rest of us." I straighten and dust off my shirt, and Naruto catches my unconscious hint that this conversation is reaching its end and he too fidgets.

I push the sunglasses closer to my face, almost like I was developing a temporary nervous quirk. "Get your men on guard and prepared, but do not try an ambush. It will only mean unnecessary deaths. I need you to prepare the world for war as silently as you can. You cannot allow the Akatsuki the bijuu."

He nods with a determined shine in his eyes and I turn to leave.

"Ahem." I look back to find him staring at me expectantly with his hand outstretched. I stare at it and try not to curl my lip at the open demand for physical contact with a near-stranger. Madara was rubbing off on me. I shake the hand despite myself, having accumulated at least that much respect for the youngling before me.

"You've now shaken the hand of Uchiha Itachi." I say amused, pulling my hand from his firm grip.

He grins the brightest grin I've ever seen, "And you've just shaken the hand of Uzumaki Naruto, Anbu Fox-Captain and Kyuubi vessel." I smirk at his title, not willing to show any hint of being surprised or impressed.

"I'll be seeing you, Uzumaki Naruto. Keep Kakashi from my face and name and I may excuse your skipping of my class."

He laughs almost obnoxiously, "And Sasuke's?"

I shake my head, "Death by Sharingan."

We finally part ways but by now there is no sense in hiding through lunch, as it is nearly half over. I loop back to my room and sit in there, organizing papers and preparing for the class that comes after. I hear Uzumaki Naruto yell "Kakashi-senseeeei!" through the hall not far from mine and Kakashi's rooms and prepare to teleport, but it's followed by a "Follow meeeee!" And Kakashi never comes.

So he does indeed keep his word.

---

Madara

Today was long and boring. It was eventful, but the lulls in between were making me hungry for murder.

Unfortunately, they do not serve that in the cafeteria.

This morning had to have been the most interesting encounter I've ever experienced(aside from encountering Itachi naked, those were my favorite hands down.).

I had walked into my usual classroom with a pleased grin on my face from having bested a hot and heavy Itachi in the hall when a lazy, humored drawl addressed me.

"Well, well, someone got laid." My eyes flicked to the side to find the next door neighbor leaning against the board and reading a book with some rather questionable warnings stamped all over it.

I had no idea that Japanese literature had advanced so far.

Nor was I aware that there was someone who wanted to be here less than myself.

"Yes, I did." I responded with a dull tone, suddenly wondering how strong the sound barriers on our walls were.

He pulled his nose out of his book to reveal that he still wore the mask from the last time I saw him, and his eyes squinted in what appeared to be amusement.

"They let you teach with a mask?" He shrugged before giving a nod to my hair. I shrug back. Touche.

"You're probably the first person to indulge that kind of personal information to me." I blinked lamely.

"That is probably because you give off a 'sexual predator' vibe." I said in Japanese.

He stared at me for a solid thirty seconds, and I wracked my brain trying to remember if this man had spoken in English or Japanese to me upon our first meeting because this silence was odd. When his eye crinkles once more, I realized that he was only trying to decide whether or to to feign offence.

"I give the same vibe." I assured him. This man is not so bad, I decided. If he weren't against my mate in some way, we may have gotten along quite well as friends.

"So how was it?"

I raised a brow.

"Your 'night'?" Oh.

"It was…" I can't help the lecherous grin that takes over my face. Kakashi and I began sharing little stories and sessions, last night being from where I drew most of my conversation ammunition.

"So you were bottom, huh? 'Ruka and I don't trade very often, and when we do it's mostly for him. I find it awkward."

"This is probably because you've come to know him as submissive, and he most likely doesn't want to cross a boundary. To fix this, you must prompt him to be rough. Don't be quiet, either. Let him know how much you want it by moaning like a common whore, and when all else fails, ride him." I say with a dirty smirk.

I see pinkness peek from the top of Kakashi's mask. Did I just make this man blush?

"Maa, maa, I don't know about all of that." he said lazily, not really seeing what was so great about it.

"Do it, Hatake-san. It does not humble you or anything of the sort. You will not regret trying." I said, my own cheeks heating at the filthy images of Itachi in my brain.

"You seem quite open on the subject. I had the impression that you were the quiet and reserved, if not quirky, type."

I frowned, "Quiet, yes, and perhaps ill-versed in certain social behaviors, but not reserved. That would be my mate that you confuse me with. I have little problem sharing such thoughts as these."

"I've noticed," He said with a chuckle. "Iruka would skin me if he heard me saying things like that to anyone. I'm glad our other halves aren't present for this…"

"Hatake Kakashi, I have been present for this for three full minutes now." Kakashi jumps and stares at the door with a look of fear that I thought only a woman could put into a man's eyes.

"'Ruka! My love! Look, I have made a friend!" Iruka isn't having it, glaring harder, then glaring at me for a minute before giving up. I am unphased, having seen harsher glares on a six year old Itachi.

"Shut it, couch-dweller." he says, silencing what I had acknowledged to be a strong and pleasant-humored man. Perhaps Iruka did have it in him to dominate Kakashi.

"I certainly cannot scold you for conversing like that in front of students, Kurosawa-san, but do know that Karasu-san will be hearing about this." He says. His tone is like a mother's, and he sounds as if he thinks I will be threatened.

I play along, shrugging before walking away to leave. I give one last wink to the man in the doghouse before heading to the office to find out where I'm supposed to be today. April-san was in a sour mood, displeased that I had not read whatever 'the e-mail bulletin' was. She was sassy as she sent me to my room. I had been sad to discover that I was on the other side of the school from Itachi and my new sexual conversation partner.

It wasn't often that you found someone you could talk about your passions with.

The rest of the day I babysat and tracked the Kyuubi chakra. I thought about snatching the creature up and stealing it within my mind, but then I'd have to deal with the vessel, and worst of all, Itachi's wrath.

Said wrath led me to believe that Itachi wouldn't let the Akatsuki take the fox, so I was at least pacified by that thought. If I can't have Kurama, they certainly can't.

The Kyuubi's energy was gone from the unhidden world a good two hours before the last bell, so those had been the hours I spent thinking about last night and smirking to myself about mine and Kakashi's conversation. I still dwelled on it even after the last bell, fantasizing and grinning about what would happen tonight. Hell, maybe seconds from now, but that depended entirely upon Itachi's opinion about sex on his desk.

With that in mind, and a hungry lion's smile upon my face, I entered Itachi's classroom.

Upon viewing the scene behind the door, the smile fell.

---

SOOOOOOO sorry for putting this off for months! God it's been half a year. I hope you guys enjoyed this! Thanks for your support and encouragement through this stressful time in my life! Your reviews make me SO happy.

Hearts/threes to all!

Please review, it really helps even just to hear 'hey, I like this story, keep going'.

Stay tuned.

~SaLEm