Hey guys.
I'm back after a long leave of absence~ I'll leave my skype at the bottom if you'd like to verbally crucify me and stuff. Anywho, you guys know what happened last chapter, so here you go.
Chapter Sixteen: Old Flames
Naruto
"Come on, Sasuke! You don't even have to talk! Just help me find him!"
"No." Ugh, Sasuke had to be the most stubborn creature I have ever met!
You wouldn't do well with Madara, then.
Why did I even miss your voice?
Because you're lonely.
I frown, continuing to chase after Sasuke, who was walking way too fast for someone pretending to be human.
The argument started after I told Kakashi about the oncoming Akatsuki invasion. Kakashi had automatically assumed that Sasuke had something to do with it and began grilling me. Sasuke, of course, was offended by this, or something. Now that Kakashi has disappeared, Sasuke's all pouty and won't help me look for him.
"He's not that suspicious! You'll have to work with him tonight anyway!" Sasuke turned one hundred and eighty degrees on a dime.
"And as soon as he's close enough to look me in the eyes, and I mean really look at me, he'll know exactly who I look like! He worked in ANBU with Itachi! The only thing I'm missing are the dark lines and girly eyelashes! You didn't even think tonight through!" Sasuke was legitimately upset. His forehead was wrinkled with worry and frustration, and his nose was slightly scrunched. Sasuke's eyes were wide for once as they glared at me, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out what he wanted me to do.
"Sasuke... I won't let anything happen to you... Not you or Itachi..." His brows shot up, and he seemed to curl into himself a bit, not comfortable with such sentiments being exposed. That, or he didn't like that I could read him so well.
He turned back, storming off down the hallway. I chased after him as inconspicuously as possible. "We had a pact, asshole! I've kept my word, now you have to keep yours!" He stopped and I nearly ran into his back.
We had a small glaring contest, my glare to guilt and his to defend himself from said swords of guilt that were being hurled at him. When I added a slight pout, he caved.
"Fine, dobe, I'll be there. My entire team will be allowed disguises. I will not have to work with anyone but you and your team. I will not even speak to anyone outside of that circle."
I grinned, "Fine! That's fine! Now we just have to find him agai-."
"I said I'm not speaking to anyone outside of that circle."
He turned and started walking away again, not bothering to see my betrayed expression. "But! That's the agreement for later!"
"I never said that, dead last." he continued to walk away.
I growled and chased after him, "Teme! You said you would help me!"
"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." He swerves into the restroom and I'm not far behind, but I'm still too late. Just a second lagging, and yet he's already poofed his way out of there. I search the entire bathroom before I roll my eyes and turn around to return to my Kakashi search. "Fucking coward."
I was rubbing my face, as if it could rid me of all of this irritation, when I felt a strange tingling down my spine. It was like vertigo focused in one spot. It was a paranoid sensation unlike any I'd ever felt, and I knew that someone dangerous was currently watching me...
I freeze slightly before snapping my head back to discover that my instincts have never been more spot on. Kyuubi hisses quietly in the back of my mind and I try my hardest to play it cool. "I have a hall-pass." I say lamely.
My voice comes out dead and emotionless, far too low and inconspicuous for a student afraid of punishment. The fluorescent light being reflected twinkles in his eyes as they begin to spin and turn red. I immediately close my own eyes and tense for what could easily be the last battle I ever fight.
I'd had the impression that Itachi was a good guy from what Sasuke told me, but as I take in my current situation, I begin to realize that this is perhaps only true between Uchiha clansmen, because it seemed as though Itachi had anything but good intentions for me.
Strangely enough, I'm still on my feet after five seconds.
"I am not interested in hunting you." I frown, but refuse to falter. Uchiha were known for illusions, so I wasn't falling for anything. I hear a dull sigh and a voice that suggested Itachi would rather watch paint dry than to be in my presence at this moment.
"If I wanted you I'd have you. Out of all of the Uchiha, I'm probably the least interested in you." Nothing but blunt sincerity in that tone. As reassuring as it is, it sounds more offensive than necessary. I open my eyes, still not trusting Itachi to be much more than a bloodthirsty psychopath.
"You'd put me on a silver platter if he wanted it." I say nastily, but I do not receive the glare that I was expecting. His eyes widen in shock, and they speak of fear and vulnerability. Honestly he could kill me right now, just to shut me up, but there's that hesitation there. He can't do it because there could be so many more that know. He's... legitimately concerned.
They are private people, he doesn't want Madara exposed.
The stern wrinkles on my forehead relax and disappear, and I try to sound as unthreatening as possible. "Don't worry, I haven't told anyone…" He doesn't seem to believe me at all.
I look off to the side, a bit uncomfortable. "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." The discomfort leaks into my smile as I lift my gaze. "Just… Just don't give me to Madara? You can't begin to understand-" I start, but he easily interrupts.
"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." Okaaaay... He seemed to be speaking pretty openly, if not harshly, so I doubted it was a lie. The only other reason he'd still be here talking to me would be his little brother.
"Well if you're looking for Sasuke you're S-O-L 'cause he just went in the bathroom and vanis-."
"Naruto-san," He interrupts again. "I'm going to assume that you know Akatsuki is coming for the Ichibi tonight." My mouth snaps shut and I listen hard. It was beginning to sound like this conversation was strictly business. "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."
I stare, opening my mouth to say something, but unable to figure out what.
It could be a trap...?
I have to agree. "Why are you telling me this?" I ask suspiciously.
He's quiet for a minute, as if he himself doesn't know why. "... Because I have recently been reunited with a few reasons to keep living." He says quietly, his hand having migrated to the mark on his neck. He looked thoughtful for a second, a small smile on his face before he looks back up at me. "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." That's reassuring.
His words are true.
At this point all I can really do is take the information in.
"Naruto-san, I am telling you these things because although 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."
Fuck.
Fuck, indeed.
How the hell do we keep Madara from hulk-smashing everything once Akatsuki moves?
They can't start the war without the Ichibi, I believe they need him to actually use my brothers and sisters.
And what if they start anyway? As a means to obtain Shukaku?
Kurama is silent for a minute, It would be risky, but they just may...
If they move then the whole hidden world will move, and if Konoha does anything, Orochimaru will start slithering all over the place.
And if he gets anywhere near Sasuke, Itachi will move, and in turn, Madara will be brought in.
I frowned, You think so?
I do. Itachi and Madara become closer and closer to being one every day. Madara can probably sense Itachi better than he can sense me at this point, which really says something. If Itachi were to be in the line of fire, Madara would become a bulletproof vest.
That sounded troublesome, as Nara would say. Is there any way to keep him out of it?
I feel Kurama shrug, If anything, Itachi is our best bet. I doubt Itachi wants Madara involved, judging his last words, and he's the only one capable of controlling Madara. I'd do what Itachi says.
I look back up to a, for some reason, confused Itachi. "What do I need to do, Itachi-san?"
He places sunglasses over his eyes, looking every bit as shady as how I first imagined he would be, "Stay away from us tonight. Even with everyone pinned against us the outcome can only be guessed. The hidden forces are under-educated 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." He adjusts his shirt, patting the invisible dust off. He appeared to be ready to make his exit, and I stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to do with my hands.
He pushes the sunglasses further up the bridge of his nose, "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."
I nod, ready to do my job, and I'm about to shake on it when he simply turns to walk away from me.
"Ahem." I say, a little offended. Sure, it was a far reach considering all of their anti-stranger rules and no-touchy sensitivities, but a hand-shake always felt right to me in these situations. I look back to find him staring at me expectantly with his hand pinned to his side. I can see the veiled discomfort, and I almost retracted my hand, but he eventually grabbed it and shook.
"You've now shaken the hand of Uchiha Itachi." He says with a smile in his voice, but not quite on his face.
I grin wide, never having thought a moment like this would happen, nor did I think it would be pleasant. "And you've just shaken the hand of Uzumaki Naruto, Anbu Fox-Captain and Kyuubi vessel." I say back, wishing that just my name spoke of my power like his did. He didn't even need his title, negative and bloodthirsty as they were. He smirks at me pleasantly.
"I'll be seeing you, Uzumaki Naruto. Keep Kakashi from my face and name and I may excuse your skipping of my class."
I laugh and snort, not sure what to do with a light-hearted Uchiha. "And Sasuke's?"
He shakes his head, "Death by Sharingan." He smiles and walks away. I smile at his back before walking in the opposite direction.
I hadn't believed all of the younger Uchiha's stories of Itachi. I nod silently.
Me neither. He's only half as evil as I imagined.
I could almost feel Kurama's eyes rolling at my dramatics.
After awhile I realize that I'd just been wandering the halls with my hands in my pockets. My eyes had stayed on my moving feet, so I nearly bumped into Kakashi. Luckily, his sigh signaled his presence when he was a good five feet away.
"Kakashi-senseeeei!" I yell, sure that Itachi's keen senses could hear me from here. He'd be able to disappear if Kakashi decided to go snooping. "Follow meeeee!" Luckily, Kakashi does. This time as I wander the halls I have a partner, hand in pockets and all. The only difference is that Kakashi's eyes gravitate to the ceiling as opposed to the floor.
I stare straight ahead, since one of us needed to be watching where we were going. "So where did you run off to? I've been looking for you."
Kakashi sighed dramatically, shoulders rising and falling. "I went to the hidden world to check on things, then I went to see if Minako's baby sitter could keep her through the night, but she bailed. Iruka is just gonna leave her with Karasu and Kurosawa."
I choke on my spit. Despite having a half heart to heart with Itachi, there was still something wrong with leaving someone like him to watch my god-child. Kakashi gave me an odd look. "What? Something wrong with them?" He asked suspiciously. I shook my head and shrugged much like he had. One would assume that Kakashi would be less trusting of the foreboding strangers that he found so mysterious.
"No, I guess not... They just seem..." He leaned closer, as if he was expecting me to blurt 'They just seem like blood-thirsty Uchiha monsters, that is all.', though I was learning otherwise.
"They don't really act like they'd like kids, you know? I don't even think they like the students. They're pretty strict." Kakashi's raised brow disappeared under his headband(which is not prohibited for whatever reason...).
"Miko likes them well enough, and you know how people-picky she is. Iruka thinks she has a crush on Karasu. I personally have never met the guy..." I chuckle.
"She has quite the competition..." I mumble under my breath.
Kakashi hears, "Who, Kurosawa? You don't know the half of it."
My eyes bug out, "What?" Kakashi laughs, half pleasant, half perverted.
"Oh yeah, I had an actual conversation with Kurosawa-" My heart skips a beat, "- and that guy is probably a bigger whore than I am." My pulse returns to normal.
"Dear god, that's pretty terrible." I say, keeping conversation. Kakashi proceeds to tell me what I assume to be the more PG segments of their discussion while I shrink away at the thought of the incestuous man-sex that took place no more than a couple walls away from Miko's being.
"And you guys didn't hear anything?" Kakashi shrugged.
"Iruka sleeps like a rock most of the time, and I was in Konoha half the night. They had either already done their nasty, or their home is sound-proofed, which is honestly not that uncommon." I had to shake my head and smirk. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Kakashi was losing interest in his neighbor's identities solely because one of them is a pervert like him. Usually, a room being sound proofed would warrant a full-scale stealth investigation, but Kakashi was being ridiculously understanding.
I didn't press it, "God, old people are gross." Kakashi glares, taking great offense.
He looks ready to start bitching about the horrors of young teenagers having sex when the lunch bell rings and students start flowing out of the cafeteria. He droops and I grin.
"Well, hate to hold you back from teaching your class. I'm gonna go ahead and get everyone ready for tonight, you go ahead and do your thing. I'll just text ya everything you need to know, champ." I lean in and whisper, "Texting is when you push the buttons..." He gave my a look that promised an unpleasant death.
"Have fuuuun!" I said, slowly walking down an adjacent hallway.
I pull out my phone to start texting Gaara to see if he'd gotten everyone on the same page yet. I had originally started trying to find Kakashi again to see what else he had to do(besides the whole 'school' thing) before he could be in Konoha, but if he had already dropped by and gotten a baby-sitter then he probably had everything under control-.
I pause.
If Itachi will be Akatsuki tonight, where will that leave my little Miko? With Madara of all people?
I continue my trek, nearly sweating at the thought.
Madara is not one to harm children.
I frowned, not really believing Kurama. Okay, but what if he just leaves her there? What if he forgets to feed her or what if she cries?
Kurama snorts, Madara was one of many brothers, and he was also someone's aniki. He knows well how to take care of a chil-.
"Watch where you're going, dobe." Sasuke is smart enough to speak up before I run straight into him.
But I run straight into him regardless. "What the fuck, you asshole!" I say as I charge with fists swinging. "You left me to the buzzards!"
He grabs my wrists and manages to keep me still, "What are you talking about, you moron?"
I head-butt him and push him when he shrinks away, "You! Poofing and leaving me! Do you know who was watching me? Itachi!" Sasuke rubs his head and opens his eyes, still glaring, but having the decency to look concerned.
"Well you're still here, so I'm going to assume he didn't kidnap you and take you to the Akatsuki, or Madara for that matter." He says with a thick layer of sarcasm atop his tone.
"Tch, you're lucky, I would have come back to haunt you with images of them doing it." Sasuke's face sours like he ate a peeled lemon whole.
"Good god, how would you have access to images like that?"
I push him aside and continue my text to Gaara, grabbing Sasuke's shoulder and dragging him into the janitor's closet. With my hand still on his shoulder, I flash us to his room so we could grab the gear we'd need.
"Walls aren't really a big deal to ghosts." I say absently, searching for something flexible to wear under my Captain's Cloak. He looks ready to say something, but I interrupt, telling him about the new seal Jiraiya gave me. We get into a ridiculous argument about his identity being revealed due to the properties of the seal only allowing the touch of one of the four clans, but eventually, he agrees that if worse comes to worse, he will remove the seal. Honestly, always a fight with this one.
Once we have what we need, we make one last stop to my room to get my things before I zap us outside of the village.
I hear Sasuke sigh, "Don't you have any of those thunder-kunai positioned closer to the village?"
I grin, "Teme, I never took you for a lazy-bones!" He glared. "-But! Of course I do. How efficient a captain would I be otherwise?"
He raises a brow, silently asking why we were here if that were the case.
I tuck my phone safely away, fastening my mask tightly on my face. "I simply want to remind you of the aftertaste my dust leaves in your mouth." I say with a flash of a grin before I take off.
Sasuke catches on quick and we're easily neck and neck before five seconds speed by.
This may be our last race.
I can't help but wonder if anybody really wins.
Itachi
The bell rings loudly and the chatter and movement of the students outside of my classroom could be heard in the halls. The students inside of my classroom, however, sat still and quiet, some not even daring to pack up their things for the day. They all stared at me expectantly, and after a couple seconds of sadism on my part, I sighed, "You are all dismissed."
They hurriedly stuffed their books and papers in their backpacks of various designs and colors before practically racing out to the halls. I watched them, shaking my head at the antics of young humans. They always seem to be in a hurry to grow and change, but I suppose if my existence was so short as theirs, I would rush things as well.
I gathered my things as well, at a much slower speed. I thought about Madara's earlier words, about seeing how long he could 'last', and I found myself smiling. As if he could resist me for so long. Once I could seduce him into bed with me once more, I'd have all the time in the world. We would have all the time in the world, what with a new found immortality. Not like the fragile, faux-eternity I have now, but really living forever, incapable of death, at his side...
Such thoughts seemed wistful, as I was so close and yet so far from being one with Madara, in terms of our bond. Wistful as they were, they seemed to consume me as I finished my end-of-the-day duties. With the blanket of thought I went about the room cleaning up, because for whatever reason, American schools simply let the students leave, no matter what mess they left behind. Once the room was tidied, I organized my own desk and set out my lesson plans, since I was most likely going to suffer a long night with Akatsuki and there will be no time for lesson-planning in the morning.
"Hello?" I hear a warm, male voice ask softly from the now-opened door. I am at first tense, but I recognize it not to be Hatake Kakashi's. I'm nearly positive that his voice would not have aged so well.
"How can I be of assistance?" I say just as quietly as he spoke. I only look up from my papers when I hear his footsteps come closer. I notice his black slacks look about as fitting on him as slacks look on Madara. A maroon button-up compliments his tan skin quite well, but still looks almost ridiculously out of place.
He had long brown hair from what I could tell, most of it being tied up in a low, stylishly messy bun that lay loosely at the base of his neck, a bit off to the side. The lack of perfect symmetry disturbed me greatly, and I positively itched to adjust my own hair.
He braces his weight on his hands, planting them on my desk as he leans closer to inspect my face. I take note that he is a rather large man, built tall and strong like Madara, but thick with muscle like some human action movie star. He wasn't human at all, from what I could tell. There was a disturbing energy surrounding him that tipped me off. It was familiar and off-putting.
He was still staring at me. Marveling, really.
"The last survivor... You know, I would have imagined you older. You look about a human's twenty-five years, you know that?"
I back away from his intrusive proximity, letting a bit of my disdain leak into my expression. "I hear that I'm a bit older, what with dark lines and wrinkles. The makeup serums do nothing for it."
He lets out a sharp guffaw before a series of obnoxiously loud peals of laughter boom from his gaping mouth. He's far too jovial for my tastes, and an irritated dead-pan of a glare takes over my already flat expression. It is as if he forgets that he is still a foot from my face.
I stand, attempting to steal back my personal bubble. My back is nearly against the board when he regains his composure. The stranger retracts his hands and arms to hold his sides as he opens his teary eyes. "I honestly think I found that funnier from a mouth so poised as yours." I frown and narrow my eyes at what seems to be a poorly executed Shakespearian-styled pick-up line.
I'm about to simply leave, or ask him to do so, when he completely sobers. "I have never met an Uchiha with a sense of humor." Had I been human I would have suffocated. My ears rang for a couple of seconds, and this strangely familiar man appeared to be waiting for my reaction.
When it became clear that no such reaction was coming, he seemed to pout a bit. "Huh, I'd heard you were one that was quick to attack." He said with a frown. His brow quirked and he placed a finger to his lip to look at the ceiling with curious thought. "Come to think of it, I'd heard you were 'hard to find'. You Uchiha aren't so great at living up to expectations." I simply stared at him, looking as blank as I had ever tried. I wonder where this man was hearing such things, because anyone who knew I was alive knew I was commonly with Akatsuki.
I'm about to ask, or ask him to leave, when he makes a comment that strikes me.
"Though, you do stay pretty looking, I must say. You are clearly of Madara's line, I can see it in your face." I suddenly realize why he looked so familiar. It had been so hard to place, armorless with tied hair and oddly young features, but this was definitely Senju Hashirama.
I grit my teeth, not willing to acknowledge it. I wasn't sure what confronting him here would accomplish.
But confrontation was what I yearned for.
Senju noticed my tensing jaw, "Ah, are you offended by my uttering your beloved leader's name? I didn't think such young creatures would covet a dead deity." He said mockingly. "I'd have thought that you or your brother, being the only ones left, would have been chosen to lead. I suppose that whole system falls when you'd only be leading one man…"
Odd. I'd never lingered on such an idea. Senju's knowledge of more ancient ways was expected, but it was disturbing that he was so well versed in regards to Uchiha ways. I flashed back to Madara's stolen memories and see flashes of Senju gloating about his knowledge.
But then I see images of other things Senju did.
He seems genuinely surprised at the reddening of my eyes, and my mouth throbs as my teeth lengthen and sharpen angrily. Senju tilts his head, examining me while I tried to hold back from tearing into him.
His eyes narrowed, "Very devoted, I see..." And he had an almost innocent curiosity in his eyes as he swiftly moved his hand to my neck and traced Madara's name. I burned with rage, but was blindsided when Senju suddenly burned with me.
"Why would you try to be his mate? I beat you to the punch on that one, kid. It was consummated and everything. I could think of better ways to spend my last days- especially that last one- but I have to say, he's a bit out of your league. Not to mention that he's out of your physical world." I could no longer hold myself back. My clawed hands dug into his throat, and my voice was but a growl.
"You will not speak of my bond-mate!" To my surprise, the air around me was disrupted and our hair and clothes slapped violently against our persons. I slammed him down onto my desk by the neck, and the wood splintered and metal clanked and bent. Had he not braced himself, my desk would have fallen in on itself.
He seemed alarmed, his body tensing for what he assumed was about to be a fight, but otherwise remained calm and collected. "So a new leader has been chosen. Mother Nature is an odd woman. I would have surely thought that Itachi would have been chosen." I paused, my anger smothered by confusion.
He caught on, but not in a way that he should have. "Did I hit a nerve? I was informed of your constant battle to out-do your big brother- Uchiha Izuna was the exact same way. You Uchiha are all the same. I must say, I actually really wanted to meet the clan-killer. Overpowering such god-like creatures is a cherished hobby of mine." He craned his neck and his voice was a teasing whisper. "I would have fucked your brother, Sasuke-kun." I was legitimately floored.
I didn't know which idea to latch onto first, the fact that he thought I was Sasuke, and was hunting my little brother, or the fact that the first Hokage wanted to spite-rape me.
For some reason, I latched onto the fact that this man had- had wronged my mate.
"You wouldn't have gotten far, Senju. You can't sense Madara, you couldn't even find a youngling that has yet to even freeze. You even mistook me for your prize, simply because you doubt a creature of my age could be capable of such mass feats." It was my turn to lean in close, surely spitting venom as I spoke viciously.
"I killed all of them. I slaughtered every last one of those cannibalistic monsters, and I'd been even more tender in years when I'd done it- not even near freezing. It was me. All for Sasuke. If you think that I'd even let you breathe my otouto's air, you are quite misguided, and if I weren't repulsed by the thought of touching you, I'd fuck you. With a sword of Amaterasu. Unlike Madara, I'd draw it out. You will never touch what is mine." My nostrils flared and I was surely hyperventilating or something of the sort. His neck had collapsed by now, but no blood or panic came. He only stared up at me, enthralled and utterly gobsmacked. His neck began to try and repair itself around my grip.
I sneered at the effects of the Edo Tensei, damning The Second and Orochimaru to the hottest pits in hell. It was rather disgusting to see.
The First paid his paper-flesh no mind, still staring up at me with the most interest since Madara saw me for the first time out of the well.
"My God, you're just like him! Brother complex and all! So ruthless and defensive!" I didn't know whether or not to be flattered, but I had very little time to decide, for he'd grabbed my hand and jerked me to the side. I resisted easily, not to be thrown around like some ragdoll, but throwing me hadn't been his plan, so this backfired. No, instead he pushed me down on my chest and slamming his hand on the small of my back to keep me down. In a horrifying flash, I was in the chamber, and wild black locks stuck to my face. Four strange-feeling fingers found their way to the hem of the back of my pants, fingernails digging into the flesh as they attempted to tear the clothing away. Contrary to what my mind's eye saw this as, I was not trapped like Madara had been.
I threw my hand back with a roar, the sound muffled by my angrily gritted teeth. My clawed fingers tore into his face, disfiguring him- at least temporarily. I began to lose myself, my thoughts only focusing on one thing.
"I will end you." I hear myself say, and I can barely register how cold the air around us has become. I know I must be completely at the will of the hazy voice in my head, because all I can see is Madara's anguished face and even that is dark. The lights in the room flicker and I attack while he still can't see. I easily take his arm, ripping it from his body like a dry twig from a branch. His surviving hand smacks into my forehead, and as the flesh and life returns to his face, his lips begin to move, chanting. Some kind of burning energy flows from the hand, straight into my head, or so it felt.
"What a worthy beast you are." He says darkly, like he spoke to Madara. My jaws lock, my own long sharp teeth grinding and digging into my mouth rather painfully. Even so, my teeth remain barred. Like this, I cannot spit at him, nor can I bite. I try to speak, but it only comes out as a growl, and he pushes my head back further, muttering something else that makes my eyes roll back and my fingers curl. My very bones begin to hurt, and whatever energy he was forcing into my head felt like it was trying to melt my brain.
"You know," he began calmly, "I'd have never imagined such a powerful reaction from you. I kind of wish I had your Sharingan, so I could show you just how well your dear Madara and I got along." I thrashed, my eyes spinning painfully as said Sharingan activated as a last resort, as if being cued.
"Oh, no, no, no. I've learned a lesson about only suppressing one thing at a time with you freaks. Neither blood nor Sharingan will help you, kid. I did my own research, before I came here today." He smiled, then frowned as the bright red energy of Susano'o began to seep from my pores, burning and repelling him.
He stared, genuinely confused before a pleased look stole his face once more, and he ran his regenerated free hand over the red flesh and muscle. He seemed rather intrigued by my body's reactions, and I felt him lean in close and run his tongue from my shoulder to- to…
I began to thrash around in some attempt to dislodge him before he tried anything with my bond mark, but whatever energy he was forcing into me had me nearly locked in one spot. It was much like how the Hyuuga clan attacked, but they almost never went straight for a person's base chakra point.
Before I could figure out what he intended to do to me now, a desperate voice boomed loud enough to blow at our already wildly flicking hair.
"NO!" Senju's head turned sharply and my eyes flashed to the side to see Madara standing there, frozen with fear and panic and fury. There was a visible struggle that one could see. Madara seemed to actually be fighting off the blood, as well as his other instincts to activate Sharingan. There was also a struggle with Senju, who seemed to have trouble focusing on me now.
Madara's eyes flicker between black and red, bouncing from my form to Senju's as he took cautious steps toward us, so slowly that it was almost difficult to see. His eyes were absolutely predatory, but each time his eyes flashed to me, he seemed to lose the cruelty in his gaze, his concern overshadowing his hate for the First.
Said Hokage faltered, his grip loosening, but never quite going slack. "M-Madara?" His voice only a whisper of disbelief. I take this time to regain control of my previously frozen limbs and disconnect whatever hold he had on my spiritual energy. I could only assume that he had been blocking that, since he'd made the connection from my head. Without that hold, and with the distraction of Madara being alive, he was completely vulnerable when I gripped his arm and twisted away before kicking him across the room.
I looked to Madara, confused, but he wasn't facing me. He'd locked the door behind him, checking the hall to see if anyone had heard the loud bang of Senju slamming into the desks and against the opposite wall.
I only had time to blink before he was at my side, both hands on my sweating face, checking me over like a frantic mother. The fingers of one of his hands tangled themselves in my hair, pulling my head to the side so the other hand could be ran over the yet to be sealed mark on my neck. A sigh of relief too washed over it, before moist lips took a brief rest there. Madara even held me against his chest for a bit, and I couldn't see, but I'm sure he was glaring across the way at Senju, who was only just then getting up from his spot on the floor.
Said man stumbled, unable to take his eyes off of his living and breathing mortal enemy.
His head moved along with his eyes as he glanced back and forth between our embracing forms, I glared back from behind Madara's hair. Senju began to develop a hysterical grin.
"Is… How? You simply lived on? After I ended? Despite the bite?" Madara said nothing. I smirk, feeling rather sadistic and happy to soak up his confusion. I saw the whole 'bond'. Senju was ignorant, an ignorant insect that I had once admired. One could visibly see his reflection on the moment of the bite, the light of realization entering his eyes before he grinned and laughed at himself, but I could not tell if it was in good or bad nature.
"Ah! I see where I erred. Haha!" His eyes moved back to me, still being held in Madara's arms quite gently, despite his digging claws.
"Is this your new prodigy, then? Have you resigned as Leader? Or do you simply need eyes to-" He stopped, seeming to remember something, and all of the light left his face, the expression there turning grim and disgusted.
"You have let a more similar animal leave their mark…" He said instead of questioned.
Madara continued to stare back for a bit, and I at first thought that this was all that he would do in the presence of this man, but he suddenly swallowed, moving away from me slowly. Madara closed his eyes and tilted his head back, bringing his hand to his neck to pull the hair away and reveal my completed claim. When his eyes opened, they shown a glowing red, half of the dazzling shine hidden behind his lids in a lazy glare that dared to show the pride he felt.
A lesser man would have blushed at such a display, but I was Itachi, so I simply smirked.
Senju shook his head, "What a crutch you have, then." And he tensed to charge us, but when both Madara and I let the blood fully take us, he faltered, looking between the two of us. We had to have looked like something straight out of Rob Zombie's nightmares at such a point in the transformation, and though the dead could not die, they could probably feel the pain. Edo Tensei or not, Senju Hashirama didn't strike me as the 'reckless abandon' type in a battle.
Instead, he simply nodded at his foreseeable defeat, pulling out a dagger in the design of a serpent that screamed Orochimaru. Madara and I stared on, unsure of his intention or what unthinkable weapon Orochimaru could have lent him.
Senju looked up at us, "Tell Sasuke we'll see him soon." And before I could really understand his intention, Senju took the twisted blade and sliced a wildly diagonal cut from hip to shoulder, the paper-like shreds of his Edo Tensei body shedding and disintegrating.
Madara and I stood still for awhile. Our bodies calmed, and we slowly became more human-looking, deadly features receding. Sensei turned to me, "What did he do to you?" He said slowly and brokenly, as if his mind was so scattered that he had to think hard about each individual word. I shook my head, dismissing it.
"I'm fine, what about yo-"
He rolled his eyes, "Please. I'm not some doll, I have killed him before, and I am not traumatized or anything of the sort. I am, however, concerned about what he may have physically done to you." He placed his hands on either side of my face, gently cradling my head as he activated Sharingan. At this point in our relationship I didn't feel the need to close my eyes or attempt to escape, plus it seemed rather obvious that he intended to check and see if anything was disrupted within me.
As he looked me up and down his face showed nothing, but there was a tenseness in his eyes that had little to do with Sharingan. He seemed to be anticipating something terrible, but even as he began to look at my head his search was fruitless. He relaxed, almost smiling as his thumbs stroked under my eyes and out along my cheekbones. It was comforting, and it felt good, especially since my eyes had been a bit strained in their attempt to ward off Senju's unfamiliar attack.
His faint smile abandoned him when he gazed at my lips, however. He stared hard, then glanced back up to my eyes, then my neck. I would have sworn upon seeing a blush, but there was simply no way that Madara could possibly be so bewitched by looking at m-.
Madara's lips smashing into mine halted my thoughts. I could feel relief and desperation accompanying the lust within our mouthy union, and I returned the feelings fervently. His hands were still on my face, holding me in place while he practically assaulted me. He pushed against me even harder and I stumbled, my back hitting the board with a slam. The loud boom reminds me of all of the ruckus that took place and I push against Madara with all the strength left in my body.
"We should leave." I say, barely catching my breath. He is in a similar state, but his red eyes seem to be blind to the wreckage left behind by Senju.
His stare is blank as he looks back at me and I sigh, leaning back against the board once more.
"Just fix the desks so we can leave peacefully…" I tell him, feeling a migraine coming on.
Madara sneers, looking down at me, "You do it." he said with a silent scoff in his tone. There was a challenge there in his eyes, one that made me inwardly growl. The voice in my head didn't like that look in the slightest.
Madara tilted his head, almost teasingly, like he was waiting for me to do it. There was an almost haughty air about him, and I wondered if having his nemesis pop up out of no where had excited Madara in some kind of way. I narrowed my eyes, and he mirrored me effortlessly. Neither of us were willing to simply give in, it seemed.
"We don't have time for this, Sensei. I should be off to the meeting." Still nothing. I couldn't help but wonder if this flare of activity from the past has ignited a mid-life crisis sort of feeling within Madara.
I also couldn't help but wonder if it could be called mid-life, considering what 'forever' meant...
I walked away and he followed, both of us too stubborn and rattled to dwell on the miniature war-zone. I suppose the janitor would be taking care of the room, then…
"It's more of a mission, I'd say. Remember to keep that little club of yours away from the fox."
I smirked, looking back at him, "It's not like it belongs to you anymore. Of what use is Kyuubi to you now?"
"It is mine. I do not need something to use it for." He said, glaring at me like a stubborn child. "The fox should not be in the soft hands of some brats who cannot wield such immense power."
I nearly snort. So full of himself. I don't say that, however, because on some level he is right.
"You seemed to like my soft hands last ni-."
"Shut up." And I do.
We no longer press the subject of the Kyuubi for our own reasons. Madara's reason being that he assumed I would obey him, mine being that I hadn't planned on truly aiding Akatsuki in the first place, so either way, the group wouldn't be given the fox.
Our trek back home is silent and thoughtful, and we will have many musings to share upon my return tonight. For now, we only speak with ourselves, perhaps in more ways than one.
The claim must be staked at once. I hear a smooth voice say. It is once again registered as my own, but the independence of the thought makes it easy to recognize as the other part of myself.
I do my best to ignore the thing that had taken over me not thirty minutes prior. I had adored and detested the feeling of such raw darkness fueling my actions and strength. All for Madara.
Said man was walking behind me with his eyes on the ground, all of the bravado having left his previously teasing manner. He remained in deep thought, greatly focused even as we stepped into the apartment and bedroom. Sensei's eyes were hard, but somewhat lost, and he never stepped more than two feet away from me, even moving when I moved, sitting when I sat. I certainly didn't mind, as I too felt a bit nauseous at the thought of being separated at the moment, he was simply establishing a nearness more actively.
At one point, shortly before I'd had everything in order for tonight, he'd gotten even closer. I closed my eyes as his arms wrapped gently around me. It made me feel a bit small, but that feeling was secondary to the more prominent comfort his physical presence gave me. All of the nerves that had been buzzing around since the classroom had been bashing against my walls of control, and I had a few minds to believe that Madara could sense that all too easily- because I could sense a certain distress within him too.
He sighed, nuzzling his face into the crook of my neck, having to bend down and crane his own neck a bit, since I insisted on slouching. I did not embrace him back, only willing to lean against him while he hummed tunelessly against my skin. The blood pumped lazily where his lips were, my body not in the mood for any more exciting 'up close and personal' interactions after this last scare. It was a scare, I had to admit that now as Madara's arms slithered tighter around me. Senju Hashirama, the first hokage, who had plenty of experience thwarting Uchiha, had held me, Itachi, by the throat.
I have never feared death, but there was a brief moment there when terror and despair had tainted my being. As soon as Madara walked in…
Perhaps it was some sort of empathetic connection we had, but I felt it. I felt the paralyzing fear that was so visible in his eyes when he opened that door and froze. I wasn't afraid of dying at that moment, but I was afraid of being without Madara. Even if Senju couldn't end me, he could have done anything else. I could have been drained and sealed, sent to another dimension, one could never tell with someone so powerful, especially one who had Orochimaru's aid.
At that moment, though, all I could see was red, so it couldn't have been all of my feelings there, meaning… Madara had been the one to give me that fear. Madara had been absolutely terrified of… losing me.
I raised a quiet hand up to wrap around and press between his shoulder blades, the only comforting act I could muster. His humming stopped. I marveled at the strength of our bond, even if only in it's half-stage. Madara backed away, his ridiculous hair acting as a thick curtain that shielded our faces as he placed his forehead against mine. His eyes remained closed, but I didn't need them open to read them. He'd been genuinely concerned today. I leaned up to kiss him, smiling into it.
Love made men pathetically weak creatures. I was rather disgusted in us, but I simply couldn't claw my way out of this if I tried.
"I'm going. Do not follow." and I doubted he would this time. There was something off about him. I grabbed my things and turned to leave and right before I closed the door behind me I could see him sitting cross-legged in the middle of the floor, in a common meditation position. His eyes were already closed, brows drawn together in focus.
I blinked awkwardly, closing the door and heading to the bathroom, not thinking it would be all too great to have to stop to take a leak on this mission. My restroom visit is short and uneventful, naturally. It was almost absent, since my thoughts were all pretty focused upon the happenings of this week. First Tobi does a one eighty, then Madara shows up to an Akatsuki meeting, then Senju Hashirama of all people just pops in searching for Sasuke. It was all so random, and yet, everything seemed to be connected some how.
I sighed, almost effortlessly teleporting to the designated meet-point some ways from Konoha. I began my trek, Senju weighing heaviest on my mind. We were very lucky that he hadn't caught Sasuke, where ever my otouto was. I doubt that Senju will find him, near or far, unless Sasuke stands within his line of vision. Sasuke had always been the slippery type, in more ways than one. He was just a naturally evasive creature, only ever looking for confrontations when invested in the subject. In every other aspect, my otouto was difficult to get a hold of, be it understanding him emotionally and mentally, or literally getting and keeping him in one's company. Senju had a fat chance, since Sasuke was already pretty set on keeping out of the dead man's way.
I smirked, this behavior of his always reminding me of a skittish cat, but I knew the truth of the matter. Sasuke was no coward, and as soon as Sasuke was threatened properly, he'd lash out.
I pause, catching a bit of deja vu. I'd thought along these lines before… Perhaps Orochimaru had known that Sasuke was hard to find. Even I, his own brother, had resorted to searching for the snake's chakra in favor of Sasuke's when I set out to find him, and I'm well and familiar with his chakra. Orochimaru would know this, and would probably send Senju anyway, if only to see if the man was indeed as attuned to the Uchiha as legends claimed. He probably won't be surprised that Senju had instead found me, as I was the only (some what) known living Uchiha, and he'd plan to use me to bait Sasuke. This was risky for him in every way, but with Senju…
I sucked my cheek in thought. I'd have to submit to a bit of study in the Senju field. I can only assume that it was a rather deadly seal that had been placed upon me earlier in the classroom, something that may be associated with his wood technique. Whatever it was, it left me a quite incapable of annihilating him, something that occurred more often than not when I had an opponent.
I could indeed be bait.
I frown, continuing my trek quietly, the silent forest in all of its black-treed glory coming into my view within a few steps. Bait for Sasuke was a terrible scenario to be involved in for every party. Naturally, Sasuke would bust in with his guns blazing, and while he was a clever boy, he was still just that compared to Akatsuki: a boy. He hasn't even completed his freeze, and non-human or otherwise, hormones and emotions ran rampant. He'd definitely come running straight to Orochimaru.
I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose as I slowed and stopped next to a large tree just inside the darkness of the forest. Orochimaru was definitely one of my least favorite people right now. I gave a brief huff of amusement as a thought came to me. I can't help but wonder what he'd think once Hashirama told him what company we were in.
Then my faint smile dropped. He could think many things… Sure, the logical thing would be to back the fuck off, because most of the horrific things of Madara's legend were completely true. Orochimaru, however, was not always working off of pure logic… What if instead of getting Senju to trap me to lure Sasuke, he just tried to lure Madara. Yes, it would be a great underestimation of power and raw fury, but what if Madara… gave into him to free me. Opposing three angry Uchiha was a battle no one wanted to engage in, but neither was a battle with Orochimaru, Kabuto, and the Shodaime Hokage. It was all too unpredictable. Hell, Orochimaru may even lay waste to the idea of luring anyone and utilize me, instead of Sasuke, by whatever Senju-esque means. With the first, Orochimaru just transformed from a thorn in my side to a splintering tree branch completely impaling my middle. Luckily, Madara has taught me how to heal from such wounds.
"Itachi-san, you're early. That's wonderful." Said a completely monotone voice that didn't sound like it called things 'wonderful' very often. I didn't turn to see who had the gal to sneak up behind me, that would make them aware that I'd been so wrapped up in my thoughts that I hadn't sensed them. It was Sasori for sure though, the voice was easy to identify. The fact that I beat him here is a bit embarrassing. What time is it?
Neither of us bother to engage in conversation. I'm well aware of the fact that does not like me so much, and I'm sure he knows that I'm rather indifferent towards his existence in response. The only times he has ever been on my mind were instances concerning alliances against Akatsuki's efforts and whenever Deidara popped into my head unannounced.
I finally did turn around to face him and he hesitantly looked my way as well, with the most pained look. A small smile scratched its way onto his otherwise flawless wooden face. Ah. For whatever reason, Sasori was trying to 'make nice'. I would have laughed if there wasn't so much on my mind.
I decided to tease. "How's life been with your other, more flamboyant half?" The smile dropped, and this time I laughed despite my troubles. Lovely.
Neither of us spoke for the rest of our time there, but it wasn't long before Deidara joined us, and then Tobi. I wonder if Kisame will show…
Our journey begins and ends wordlessly and without remarkable events, not only out of necessity for stealth, but because none of us were all that fond of each other at the moment, I'm sure.
Deidara and Sasori might be an exception, as they were walking particularly close.
We stop once we are close enough to Konoha's walls. At this point, we can see a good number of chuunin and jounin pacing at the top, but they cannot see us under the shadowy canopy of the trees.
Sasori frowns and Deidara narrows his eyes suspiciously at the abnormal amount of cover. I quickly counted thirty seven men just in my field of vision and informed the rest of the group. Tobi seemed to be frowning beneath his mask.
"They are expecting us." He says darkly. I inwardly applaud Uzumaki Naruto for his arrangement of this situation. Most of the guards are on the ground near the walls, tense and pacing still, but there are none scattered throughout the woods. If that had been the case, it would have surely initiated some form of battle, which was not something Konoha wanted, as it would end with many dead. Naruto was smart in following my directions to stay on the defensive.
"It would appear so." Sasori says quietly.
Deidara seems relieved at his side, but I couldn't figure out why.
"I believe it unwise to proceed." I say quietly, and Deidara's relieved look turns into one of shock. Tobi, however, shows no such emotion. His index finger and thumb fiddled with the bottom of his mask agitatedly.
After a moment, he snapped the face of his mask toward me. "I agree, Itachi-san, it is indeed unwise to proceed… as we are." Before any of us can guess at what he means, he flashes from sight, leaving only a blur that could be seen moving toward the heart of the Silent Forest.
I don't know whether cry or smirk. It isn't anything to be amused about, really. It's actually quite unfortunate that Tobi is making a mad dash in the direction of the mucky tomb where Madara no longer resides. Tobi is out of sight by this time and the rest of our squad, excluding me, stands a bit lost.
"I hope he doesn't expect us to follow him, un." Comes a grumble from my side.
Sasori breathes longsufferingly, "I doubt it, as he gave no direction in which to follow."
Deidara shrugs and smiles, "Well, I suppose we just have to head back, un. Mission abortion!"
I glance at him curiously, "You don't seem very wrapped up in our objective, Deidara." Sasori quickly pipes up to defend Deidara's honor before the blonde could even stutter a response.
"The objective is to capture beasts for a man who promises us nothing. I'm not so sure any of us are 'wrapped up in it', Itachi-san, unless you are some outstanding exception." His usually cold gaze is hot, revealing his investment in the topic.
I stare back, offering a barely visible smile. It is the only non verbal communication that I could think of to convey my thoughts on the matter, and if he misunderstood, Deidara could translate.
The odds are in my favor.
I begin a slow walk straight for Madara's last resting place. Sasori and Deidara, who were following cautiously, were astounded when I found Tobi immediately. Tobi also seemed a bit shocked.
"He… isn't here." I hear Tobi say quietly, fingertips brushing the engravings on the dead and black tree above the murky well.
"He?" Sasori asks delicately, not willing to set off what appeared to be a ticking time bomb.
Tobi turned, masked tilted down in a dark manner. "He. Madara. Uchiha Madara. He was supposed to be here."
I take a deep, tired breath before sighing. "I'm sure he is, rotted flesh and bones and all, buried under rock, muck, and oil. You may have to take a swim if you want to see him so badly."
Everyone remains quiet for a moment, and I can almost hear Konoha getting restless with the lack of enemy activity.
Finally, Tobi looks down into the well and laughs. He laughs very much like he used to, but this time it was much less merry. We're silently observing him the entire time, and when he sobers and snaps back to look at me, Sasori and Deidara tense only so noticeably for Sharingan to see, but I feel like we all saw it.
"You sure found this place easily."
I blinked, "I would be some Uchiha if I didn't know my ancestor's resting place."
"He doesn't rest." Tobi growled before I could even close my lips in finality. "If he isn't here, someone let him out." I keep a face of stone. Sasori raises a brow, an expression that reads something like 'I am too old for this shit.'. Deidara looks to be on the verge of soiling himself, but he is doing a decent job of not doing so, thankfully.
Sasori finally speaks in his familiarly impatient tone. "I was a child when he and Konoha's first hokage destroyed each other. He is long dead. If this was your only backup plan then I suggest we leave and begin formulating our explanations to Leader."
Tobi glares at Sasori, then at me, then back into the well. Slowly, almost too slowly, he kneels down, dipping his gloved hands into the well. That isn't enough, apparently, because he withdraws the hand and removes the glove before immersing it into the much once more.
Deidara looks thoroughly disgusted and Sasori sighs, not one for patience as usual. Even I am a bit offended by this act. My eyes slowly bleed red against my will, and as I watch him bring the messed hand to the base of his mask, I take a step forward. Everyone freezes.
I don't know what it is that I had planned to do, but I quickly set my foot back to its place and calmed myself. It was even harder to keep my eyes black as he lifted his mask the tiniest bit and slipped his blackened fingers underneath.
He was tasting it.
Tobi was tasting the old, dead blood of cursed Uchiha, along with the preserving oils and all the curses of my ancestors and-.
"Cold. The taste is cold." The mask covers the small glimpse of soft chin that I caught, and the fingers are wiped half clean on his already dirtied pant-leg.
Of course the taste is cold, I think to myself, nothing has been alive here since I was a child.
Tobi glances at me, a strange noise from the mouth muffled beneath his mask, perhaps a smacking of the lips to rid them of the cold and dead taste. I can see an angry red eye within the usually dark hole of his mask as he glances about where the wall of Konoha would be. It narrows in its hiding place.
"They've… They've destroyed him. They moved him while he was defenseless and crushed his bones and body. Just like Konoha and the other villages have always done." I was getting tired of all of the theatrics. Uchiha like myself can be extremely sensitive to an other individual's emotions, even more so if we have a bond or blood tie to said individual. I wasn't completely positive of his roots at this point, but he was agitating me. His jerky movements weren't making me nervous alone, because I could hear the teeth of Deidara's hands gently clicking.
We had good reason to feel such unease. The quiet clicking turned into a startled grinding as Deidara's hands clenched to catch his fall, a reaction I can only assume comes with a lifetime of having mouths on your palms. Deidara would not have fallen if a sudden thundering of the ground beneath us hadn't angrily shook the forest, the result of Tobi literally stomping himself into the air.
"Holy fuck, un!" Yelled Deidara off into Tobi's direction. His head whipped back to me and Sasori, both of our faces bored and secretly worried.
Deidara scrunched his brows at our lack of visible reaction, directing the brunt of his irritation to his beloved Danna. "Hey! You're the leader of this mission! Get off your ass, un!" Sasori sighed, that vein in his forehead that is only present when he's around Deidara beginning to show.
"Isn't it obvious, stupid brat? Tobi is in with Leader-sama, I was never really in charge." Deidara's stance tenses in a tell-tale manner that I've seen far too many times, and I knew we didn't need anything blowing up to set Konoha on us.
"He's right, Deidara." The glare snaps to me, reminding me of Madara's or Sasuke's tantrums. I swallow the oncoming smile.
"Besides, chasing after him would sick Konoha on us. It would be better to return to base and report that Tobi defied Sasori. We'll continue to play ignorant to the fact that Tobi is not actually our subordinate." Deidara and Sasori stare, trying to decipher exactly what my words meant. The undivided attention made me unreasonably uncomfortable, so I tucked my hair behind my ear and began walking in the direction of Konoha.
A blade is suddenly impaled into the tree that was directly in front of me.
"Then where are you creeping off to, Itachi-san?"
I turned to meet narrowed brown-magenta eyes, shifty blue ones bouncing back and forth between us off to the side.
Hn, I thought it would be obvious. "Someone must go attempt to retrieve him, don't you agree?"
This time Deidara pipes up. "How do we know you won't just go grab the bijuu alone, un?"
So little trust. I frown at my somewhat friend but answer honestly. "What would I do with the Ichibi? It's the Kyuubi I'd be interested in, if anything." What I thought would be some sort of relief only seemed to make Deidara's wide eyes grow.
This confused me, but I refused to use Sharingan on him. It would tarnish what little relationship we had left, perhaps rot it away. I instead turned my attention to Sasori.
"You both should go ahead. You can report that we split up to execute a better ambush and you lost track of Tobi and I-."
"If you are not here for Bijuu, why are you here, Itachi-san?" I blink at being interrupted, a pet peeve of mine, and I delay my response to irritate his impatience.
"Why are you?" He becomes silent, more so than usual. The forest hushes with him, but the wind does not seem to bow to the tense situation.
Sasori takes a step forward, then another and another until he has surpassed me. I turn and walk with him.
"What? Hey! Where are you guys going, un? I don't have the 'brooding emo telepathy'! What's the plan here, un?!" By the end of the rant Deidara had caught up with me and was pulling on my hair.
I turned around and grabbed where his hair was tied as well. "I do not know. Sasori is the leader, remember?" We yanked a couple more times for good measure before silently agreeing to let go. Sasori was stopped a few yards away looking back at us uncomfortably. It was an odd look on his face, like a mother watching their child play with a strange dog.
As Deidara joined him ahead the look disappeared. "Danna, we could still just go, you know. I'll follow, un." They stared a bit, clearly speaking of a conversation that I had not been apart of.
"No. I have already decided."
Deidara looked up at him in a way that made me miss Madara's presence. A quick blonde nod and we were off. Deidara and Sasori were at my flank, as I knew Konoha better than the two.
Or so I thought.
"If the party is departing, wouldn't they be at the main gate? Or gate three, un?" I looked back at him, openly curious.
"Yes. They would." I respond, and Sasori shares my suspicious glance.
Deidara glares and continues as if the layout of one of the big five hidden villages was common knowledge. "Then why are we headed toward the mountain?"
I blink softly, "Because the party was never departing." Sasori stares and Deidara gawks at my back.
It was my turn to continue as if nothing were amiss. "Konoha is obviously on the defensive, meaning they were probably tipped off. The civilians will be taking refuge deep below the Hokage mountain, along with all other officials or those deemed important. They will want to hide the Ichibi there, but I know for near fact that the team with which this particular Bijuu fights will not sit and hide. They will most likely be in the center of the village or at the back edge by gate six, adjacent and far from the mountain. We must get there before Tobi or this mission will turn into damage control." They both nodded dumbly from what I could see of their faces behind me and I inwardly groan. I have suddenly become the lead. This is why I do not talk very often.
Before long I can see Tobi off to our right, making a mad dash for the wall.
Deidara appears at my left, "He's headed straight for the wall, un."
"We see that." Sasori mumbles, but with a similar amount of confusion.
He keeps getting closer and closer until he's suddenly out of the trees and in plain view of the protective guard. With a solitary shout of instruction they began to move intending to cut him off, but he just kept going.
I stopped dead, Deidara and Sasori jerking to stop as well, staring awkwardly at my wide eyes, then looking back to Tobi.
Kilometers…
Now mere yards…
"No…" Sasori sighs astoundedly, because there were very few individuals in this world who could simply move through walls.
I only knew of one.
This only confirmed my previous theory. Tobi, or whoever he really was, was definitely of the Uchiha line, of Madara's line like me and Sasuke.
Sasori and I simply stared, then he glanced at me as if checking to see if I knew anything about what just happened. I looked just as shocked as he did, which wasn't very, considering the lack of capability of expression.
"Well, that was neat and all, un, but we should probably go get him before he traps the ichibi."
Sasori's eyes fly over to Deidara who promptly slaps a hand over his mouth, then yelps because the teeth of both mouths slammed together.
I smirked. "I think we're all on the same side here. No need to kiss yourself, Deidara." And I take off, quite happy. This was very good news.
Sasori and Deidara also held no interest in capturing the Bijuu. I'm sure Sasori was much more attached to Sabaku no Gaara than he would admit. Deidara… I'd guess that he'd follow Sasori to the end of the Earth now that they were… exclusive? I wasn't sure what he would call it…
We moved stealthily about the trees, and I took them around the wall to enter through the old Uchiha entrance from when the complex had been tied to the village. It was boarded up.
Deidara laces his fingers and stretches out, cracking his knuckles and showing us his grinning palms as he does so. "No problem, un, I'll just-."
Sasori rolls his eyes, "Stealth, brat." Deidara grumbled as Sasori pushed him aside and presented a limb that some sort of machine-saw mechanism. I quirked my head to the side a bit at the surprisingly muted tool.
Where did the electricity come from?
I was still debating whether or not it was chakra powered when we finally encountered Tobi… along with about 30 other individuals.
I closed my eyes and withheld a long sigh. All Konoha.
Tobi was taking them easily, breaking their bodies like toothpicks, obviously in no mood to play as he usually did.
The three of us watched from the shadows, having not anticipated meeting Tobi with others around.
"Just kill them, un. It'll be quicker and easier."
I glared at Deidara. "Why shed unnecessary blood?"
Sasori seemed genuinely shocked by this statement from my mouth.
"Then what do you think we should do, Itachi-san?"
I pursed my lips, but could not utter a word before Tobi had spotted and beckoned us over quite violently.
"We can't ignore him…"
We surged forward at once. I kept my Sharingan spinning, trying my best to simply knock them out with that instead of physically harming them, but with so many it was difficult to keep the battle completely bloodless.
As we pushed through them, more would come. I was starting to believe that Tobi would simply fight them forever, as he seemed a bit obsessed with his objective now.
It was getting too dangerous, and each person we put out of the way would only crowd our feet as the next opponent attacked. Tobi would surely get suspicious of my intent if this went on any longer, as I was the only one going out of my way not to harm them. Deidara blew a young woman up just moments ago, having given up on being gentle, and Sasori did as he pleased. I was sticking out, however.
I sighed through my nose, not too keen on having to do this. I waited until Tobi could see me before summoning chakra to my gut and quietly uttering, "Katon: Goukakyu." It was simple, but painful and effective.
Many of them cleared out of the way, now realizing that I could fight long distance as well. Just as the dust settled, a rather large group appears in front of us with an alarming amount of power compared to the rest.
Tobi throws aside what looked to be an unfortunately wounded chuunin and walked forward to the group.
He stared them down, paying special attention to the three masked opponents in the front. I felt a strong and vaguely familiar burning at the side of my neck upon my bond mark.
It was then that a burning red energy began to envelope the middle figure. The Fox mask.
Uzumaki Naruto.
Naruto
"When do you think they will come?" Sakura whispered anxiously.
My leg shook with energy and impatience. "It shouldn't be too long now… If they come at all."
Neji approached, eyeing my two masked teammates that stood at my side. "Captain, if they attack, what are our chances of defending the Ichibi?" He asked with a desperate look to Gaara's masked figure.
"We will have more on our side than accounted for." It was then that Kakashi suddenly leans forward from his stealthy spot behind me.
"Really? Who tipped you off again?" I sighed dramatically.
"Just trust me." I walked off frustratedly in the direction of Sasuke's trio, hearing Iruka mumble in the distance, 'I would bet money it was them.' to Kakashi. They'd be wrong, and consequently lose money, but it wasn't all that great to have them guessing at Sasuke or his team.
"Where's your fourth?" I ask a hooded figure with a deep blue crow's mask.
Sasuke's voice traveled quietly from the beak. "I sent Juugo to track Orochimaru. We don't need the snake anywhere around here, plus Juugo is too recognizable. His fighting style is… unique."
I laugh awkwardly. Because spinning red eyes, being covered in chakra-burn bite marks and turning into fucking water isn't 'unique'.
Karin seemed to be able to read my mind, her mask facing me with a muffled chuckle escaping. We both silently agreed on how cute paranoid-Sasuke was.
She jumped and looked to the left, whispering only for few to hear. "I feel Itachi."
Evidently, this was Sasuke's cue, because he shot out of the huddle faster than a bullet.
We made quick about following him, Kakashi hottest on his trail, most likely due to his lone Sharingan being able to keep up with Sasuke's movements to some handicapped extent.
The Akatsuki foursome wasn't exactly hard to find, and it was a pretty discouraging scene that we intruded upon. Multiple bodies lay incapacitated beneath each members feet, many dead or missing limbs. I swallowed disappointedly at the feeling of betrayal, but felt a bit better when I see that each person within Itachi's fighting vicinity is at least breathing.
Deidara's feet, however, were not so clean. Everyone around him was blown to hell with what I can only assume are his close-range spider bombs.
Sasuke seemed to be having… mixed feelings. I'm sure seeing this kind of carnage wasn't all that heavy on his heart due to his background, so his struggle was one of loyalty. Yes, Itachi was on the wrong side, but Itachi is blood. At least, that's how I think it must be for him. Sasuke isn't attached to the village the same way I am, or even how Deidara is.
That's the thought that made me seeth.
Kyuubi was getting agitated as well, what with our current scenery and two Uchiha right here.
Three.
What?
I feel… three. Three Uchiha.
Oh god. My fear begins to mix with my anger, further fueling the spikes in violent red chakra spikes licking about my body. My imagination was running wild with escape plans because I wasn't going to let my friends face Madara. The sheer horror of the thought…
It is not Madara.
Kyuubi's voice was skeptical, as if still thinking it over.
A fourth Uchiha. What happened to extinct? Itachi isn't as thorough as I would have imagined…
It… almost doesn't feel like Uchiha. It's hard to detect. Normally I could tell right away, but this is... masked somehow.
The mystery man steps forward. "Hello!" Says a strange, mixed up voice. "My associates and I are here to take the Ichibi off of your hands. It was nice of you to bring him straight to me, and…" He stops and smells the air, or so it looks, and then rests his gaze on me. "... How generous of you, to go ahead and bring the Kyuubi as well."
Through my mask I could see Deidara tense and look about with a ridiculously confused expression. I attempt to be diplomatic with the figure, "If you do not retreat, you will face the world in war. We will not let you have the tailed beasts." Itachi stares passively, then he spots Sasuke next to me. He glances back and forth between his brother and Tobi nervously, seemingly ready to attack anyone who comes at us. Good to know.
Deidara simply looked unsure of himself. I can only imagine, since I had been speaking with the Kyuubi's voice in clear Japanese. If only I could keep him from knowing…
Sasori was inching closer to Deidara, and we were all waiting for Tobi to speak…
However, he is silent.
There is a solid minute where the only thing that could be heard by anyone was their own fluttering heartbeats. I was beginning to get nervous, but not quickly enough was I on my toes because suddenly Tobi was directly in front of me.
And so was Deidara.
We're suddenly blown back, presumably by one of Deidara's spider bombs. Everyone recovers quickly besides those in the immediate vicinity of the bomb, those individuals be me, Gaara, Sasuke, Karin, Tobi, and Deidara. We slowly rise, coughing, aching and a bit disoriented as the dust settles, but otherwise quick to our feet. In front of me Deidara is hunched over, having taking the brunt of the bomb since he had been in front of me.
When the air is finally clear, the sides taken are as well. I look around, quite astounded as I see Uchiha Itachi standing defensively in front of Sasuke, much like Deidara is to me. I look to my other side to see sand falling away to reveal Sasori and Gaara leaning on each other.
And Tobi was standing alone.
"...I see…" He says quietly.
The wind whips at all of us as he begins to disappear, and Kakashi dashes forward in attempt to restrain him, but sensei simply falls through Tobi, and the latter is gone.
Kakashi turns back and is about to shrug when he makes eye contact with Itachi. They both tense for an entirely new battle but before they could even run at each other, I am restraining Kakashi.
"Go!" I yell, and everyone that makes our audience seems to wonder if I'm commanding them, but Itachi grabs Sasuke.
He turns to yell to his side, "Deidara, Sasori, let's go!"
Sasori gives a brief nod to Gaara and runs to Itachi's side, but Deidara remains rooted in his spot, staring at me.
I realize my mask has been blown off of my face.
I growl my frustration and fatigued muscles from holding Kakashi. "Go Deidara!" I yell in my own voice. He blinks repeatedly before looking around at the Konoha Anbu now attempting to surround him and he runs to Itachi.
With a horrifying change in features, Itachi takes them all away in a cloud of black smoke.
I release Kakashi, both of us falling to the ground with exhaustion.
Kit…
I close my eyes, not ready to face everyone. I can't let them see me like this. I just protected Akatsuki members. They will know my face. I realize that without my mask, I feel weaker. I feel vulnerable.
I ball up my fists, still on my hands and knees with my head facing down.
I wanted to disappear.
But I knew I had to face everyone.
I swallowed hard and looked up finally, only to find that Gaara and Sakura stood in front of me, guarding my face, their masks removed as well.
They turned and helped me up, firm at my side as we faced the accusing stares of what few superiors we had. Our subordinates simply looked confused.
Kakashi stepped toward us, Sakura grabbed my hand and Gaara's.
His eye moved down our line of three, glaring at each of us with a bit of mistrust. That was when the Sages arrived.
Tsunade and Jiraiya took place at Kakashi's side, taking in all of the damage.
They all looked to me.
"Explain."
Holy fuck. I did it. I finished this terrible chapter. It's a Christmas Miracle.
Sorry for such a delay. Life and stuff. I hope you enjoyed this. Much more to come, I assure you. PM me your thoughts and ideas on what you think may happen. I find it interesting.
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Thank you to all who have reviewed and followed the story. It means very much to me and encourages me to no end.
Leenism, Mortimermortman, maximoffs forever, GozenReiji, Harinthica, ExperimentDeath, wraithReaper, lyssec, itakyuurocks, pekudi, MadaSasu(my official nagger) and all of the lovely guest reviewers get their 'threes' (heart)3
If you guys want to ever crack the whip on me, or simply talk, my skype is salemLunafata. Just be sure to put a period/dot between 'salem' and 'LunaFata'. One reviewer told me they couldn't find me, but I hope they can now. doesn't seem to like my skype.
Thanks for the support, see you next chapter. Enjoy your Holiday, everyone.
~SaLEm