Yay! A new chapter!

Thanks for the reviews! I had fun reading them.

I put a poll on my profile about Madara's fate. I think I'm enjoying him too much to kill him off and I was wondering what you all think. Only registered users are allowed to vote (it's completely anonymous so I have no idea who voted what). It's the websites policy so I can't change that. It'll be up for a while, but I'll give warning before I close it.

Disclaimer: Kishimoto owns Naruto.

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Chapter 38 – An Agreement Between Brothers

Sasuke didn't get any sleep. Or if he did his dreams were so vivid and real that when he finally decided to get up around six am it took several minutes before he could wrap his mind around the events of the previous day. He felt different, and it wasn't just the stinging in his eyes or the soreness from the bruises he had received during the fight. His chest felt tight with anxiety and his stomach was doing summersaults, but when his mind finally switched on and finished sorting through everything he dropped to the ground and took a deep breath.

What hurt the most was the betrayal of his father and brother. Fugaku had tricked him, and Itachi had not saved him. "They just…" Sasuke whispered, "What's wrong with them?" It wasn't something he could comprehend; no matter how many times he reviewed the events in his mind. The anger had been delayed, but it had come several hours after the fight. Before that he had just felt numb, confused, sad and scared. But the anger seemed to wake him up, and that was what kept him awake all night and haunted his dreams when he slept, fitfully, in between his failed attempts at reason.

Sasuke snorted, "Maybe I should go to Orochimaru and never come back. I wonder what dad would think of that? Or maybe I should stay here with Madara?" He had a strong desire to do something… anything… that would piss Fugaku off no matter what the consequences were. But first…

Standing up he made his way to the sliding glass door and exited his room. He was supposed to be training with Itachi this morning, but his brother had not told him when or where. Stepping off the porch he slipped on his shoes and glanced over at his father's room. Nothing could be seen through the curtains, which were still pulled shut. His brother's room, on the other hand, had the curtains wide open and Itachi was standing on the porch, dressed completely in black with his long hair pulled back and a kunai swinging from one finger. Sheeta could be seen on the other side of the window reading a book and taking notes.

"Sasuke." Itachi stepped off the porch and made his way to his brother. "I want to show you something."

"Humph." Sasuke found he wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone, least of all his brother.

"I think you'll like it."

"Doubt it." Sasuke mumbled.

"Yeah, whatever. Just come on. We have to get away from the village. I don't want anyone… least of all Fugaku or Madara… or Sora for that matter… to see this."

Sasuke nodded and followed his brother out of the village and into the forest. The early morning fog that draped Mist faded away as they ran swiftly through the sparsely treed forest. Soon enough the sun rose, spreading long shadows across the ground. The trip was silent, as neither felt like talking.

After two hours Itachi came to a stop and smiled when he saw that Sasuke had not only kept up but wasn't even breathing heavily. Of course, he knew his brother could do it. He had put both Sasuke and Naruto through many marathon runs and given the competitive nature of the two boys both had excelled at anything they could fight over.

"So what did you want to show me?" Itachi's smiled faded at his brother's accusing tone.

"Susanoo. It's a jutsu maintained with the Mangekyou Sharingan. When I have it up, I want you to come at me with your Chidori. It's the most powerful jutsu you have right now."

"As much as I would love to punch the daylights out of you, is that really a good idea?"

"I have a point I want to make, and this is the easiest way to get it across."

"Fine. Tell me when."

Itachi moved about fifty feet from his brother and took a deep breath. Activating his Mangekyou Sharingan he closed one eye and concentrated. A second later he heard Sasuke gasp in surprise as the skeletal form of what could only be described as a monster wrapped around the teen.

"Come at me now."

Sasuke gulped and sent a Chidori to his hand. The chirping of the high-level lightening jutsu cast a blue glow that lit up his face with an eerie light. Turning his gaze back to his brother he was struck with the power that Itachi exuded in his jutsu. He looked invincible and surely, anyone who came at him would have a snowball's chance in hell of getting through.

'This is probably going to hurt.' Sasuke thought to himself as he dropped his hand down and took off running across the clearing. Of course, as a ninja getting hurt was something he had learned to take in his stride a long time ago. The chirping got louder as he shoved the blue ball into the Susanoo barrier, only to find himself knocked back about ten feet. Looking up he saw Itachi standing calmly, having not moved an inch to defend himself. The jutsu had done everything.

Itachi smiled as he stepped forward, dispelling Susanoo. "What do you think?"

"That was… amazing." Sasuke reluctantly admitted. "I'm going to be able to do that?"

"Yeah. That's the idea."

"So why is this such a secret?"

Itachi crossed his arms across his chest, "Well, to put it succinctly, I just have a feeling I should keep some secrets."

"That's the dumbest reason I've ever heard."

"Yeah, well, probably. Anyway, I had a bit of a brainstorm last night." That was actually an understatement. Itachi had spent the entire evening reconsidering his brother's mission. Years of experience leading missions and strategic planning had taught him how to think beyond the obvious and seek the paths that lay hidden. "Sasuke, we are going to teach Fugaku a lesson. Assuming he hasn't gone so insane that he's still capable of learning something."

"Huh? That… Really? Are we going to beat him up?" Sasuke realized he would like nothing better than to beat his father into oblivion.

"I'm pleased to see you're not being whiny today."

That made Sasuke bristle, "And how was I supposed to act? I've met Orochimaru, remember? He gave me this." He pulled down his jacket collar, showing the curse mark on his neck.

"Humph. Anyway. When we return to Konoha, that night we will have a meeting with the elders where Fugaku will have to give a report of the trip. During that meeting you will pick a fight with the elders and father. You will then storm out, go home, pack up, and run away to Orochimaru."

Sasuke couldn't help it, he laughed. "You're calling dad insane? You're the one that's gone nuts. How am I going to run away if I'm unconscious, because dad will beat the shit out of me if I pull a stunt like that."

"I'll stop them."

"Yeah. Just like you stopped them yesterday." That hurt and Itachi opened and closed his mouth a couple times as he tried to think of an apology that could possibly make up for his failure. But when all was said and done, he knew there was nothing that could make up for it. However…

"Sasuke, once you meet up with Orochimaru, you will contact me. I will then come to where you are. We will isolate him, pick his mind apart and kill him."

Sasuke shook his head, "You could do that without me. Seriously, Deidara was complaining about how you cut off Orochimaru's hand."

"Complaining?"

"Yeah. I guess he wanted to do it himself."

"Of course." Itachi replied dryly. "Well, leaving that snake alive was a mistake on my part. But the point here is that you will be with me. I want father to see how powerful the two of us are together. He thinks I'm getting weaker, but in reality, my Mangekyou Sharingan is getting stronger and stronger. And with Tsunade… even if she can help just a little… there isn't really much I won't be able to do. And you too. You will learn all the techniques I know. And if Tsunade can't do anything for me… then eventually you will surpass me."

"Okay. That's a good idea. Actually, it's a great idea." Sasuke gave his brother a small smile. "It's better than dad's idea and it'll be fun telling off the elders." He imagined their surprised faces and how good he would feel afterward. "I want to do more than just stand around and watch, though."

"Oh, don't worry. You'll definitely be doing more than that. We have to do this together or it won't make much of an impression."

"Wait a minute… if I run away, won't I be a missing nin? Aren't missing nin's executed?"

"Don't worry about that. There is no way in hell Fugaku is going to publicly acknowledge the mission he gave you. He would be tossed out of the Hokage position in a second and probably removed as clan chief as well. At this point, if he pisses you off… more than you are now…"

"Is that possible?" Sasuke wondered aloud.

"Hmm. Good point. Anyway, most people would call it 'blackmail'. I call it 'teaching him a lesson'. We can't get you out of this, so we're going to turn the tables on him instead. Is that acceptable?"

"Sure is." Sasuke was quiet for a minute, then smiled sheepishly, "I'm still scared, though, but I promise I won't cry about it anymore."

"That's my boy!" Itachi patted his brother on the head, only to have his hand knocked away.

"I'm not five-years-old." Sasuke complained. He was still mad at his brother, but not as much as he had been that morning. And if this plan worked perhaps the elders would finally get off his case.

Itachi smiled reached over and poked his brother on the forehead. "Let's get to work."

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To say she was mad at her husband would be the understatement of the century. However, right now she was very confused. Mikoto had woken up a couple minutes earlier to find herself comfortably resting her head on her husbands bare chest with his arms tightly wrapped around her. He was not the type to cuddle and the first image that had crossed her mind when she opened her eyes was of a little boy clutching a teddy bear.

It made her feel sorry for him.

But he didn't deserve pity.

Then again, 'I am his wife. I guess I'm supposed to support him, but does that really apply here?' She had been acquainted with him her entire life, though it wasn't until they got married that she really got to know him. He wasn't the man she had dreamed of marrying. That man, whoever he was, probably didn't even exist. As with many young girls, she had developed a fantasy of the "perfect man" who would support the household, be kind to her and the children, and always be strong. There were, of course, about fifty other points but they had been forgotten over the years.

"Hmm… Mikoto…" Fugaku stirred and slowly opened his eyes. "What time is it? Oh, after seven."

"Are you okay?" Angry as she was, she still felt obligated to ask.

"No, of course not." He replied bitterly as he clutched Mikoto tighter to his chest. He buried his nose in her hair and sighed deeply, "I couldn't think of any other way. I had to do it."

Mikoto had to resist the urge to groan, "You keep making decisions on your own. Itachi is old enough to share the burden and Toshiro…"

"Toshiro and Itachi are the two people I am trying to protect. If either of them finds out Danzou's secret I'll loose them both. I'd rather they were still alive and hating me than dead and…" his voice trailed off.

"What's going on?"

"I'm sorry, Mikoto, but I need to keep it a secret."

"How could it possibly affect Itachi and Toshiro? What do they even have in common? They don't even really talk much, their jobs don't put them in contact with each other."

Fugaku sighed again and released his wife so he could sit up. She joined him, pulling the futon cover up over her lap to ward off the morning chill. "Mikoto, please don't try to reason it out. Really, this will affect them both immensely. I just… I guess I underestimated Sasukes desire for power. He was always asking for ways to get more powerful, I truthfully thought he would want this so when Madara suggested it…"

"You jumped up and down with glee."

"No. Absolutely not."

"Then what? What would make you put Sasuke through that?"

"Desperation."

"Fugaku, call off the mission."

He turned to his wife in surprise, "What?"

"He's angry with you. Calling it off may be the best way to mend your relationship."

Closing his eyes he shook his head partially in amusement and partially in frustration, "We have to…"

"Come right out and tell Toshiro and Itachi whatever it is you don't want them to know. Fugaku, you may not understand it completely, I know you have trouble getting close to people and even more trouble interacting with them or understanding their feelings, but you have to know that no matter how deep of a hole you dig for yourself as long as you are alive we will find a way to get a ladder down to you. I promised myself when I left you ten years ago that when I came back I would be happy instead of miserable and I am going to keep that promise."

That took Fugaku by surprise and he had to blink a couple times as his brain tried to process what his wife was telling him.

"And even though I just said that I am still extremely angry with you, if you refuse to climb that ladder when we drop it down into your hole, then there is truly nothing anyone can do to help you."

Fugaku stood up and turned his back to his wife, "Has it occurred to you, Mikoto, that perhaps I don't deserve to climb that ladder? I told Itachi last night that it was entirely possible he would be the one to kill me. It might just be true."

"Damn it Fugaku!" Mikoto jumped to her feet and yelled, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me?" Fugaku yelled back, "I made my son hate me! That's what's wrong with me! And for some reason, hurting Sasuke's feelings hurt more than anything I've ever done to Itachi! Why is that? Why do I feel this way? I love both of them! Why does hurting Sasuke… why is so much more painful?"

Mikoto gasped in surprise. This was not what she expected to hear. "Fugaku… I think… I think that because you feel this way, perhaps you are not without redemption. Please, think about it. Call off the mission, and talk to Itachi and Toshiro. I won't say it will be easy… and it may even take months or years to win back Sasuke's love, but if you really work at it… perhaps…"

Fugaku looked up at the ceiling and considered his wife's words before speaking reluctantly, "I… will consider it."

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Morning turned into afternoon and even though the sun rose higher on the horizon, it never really warmed the earth. Sasuke was running through some jutsu drills – quickly executing a series of jutsus against innocent, defenseless pine trees in order to increase his speed. He had been given a time frame of five seconds and after about five hours he had finally surpassed it – reaching four seconds. The jutsus were quite difficult and the total number of hand signs was triple what he had ever done before.

Looking over at Itachi, Sasuke frowned, slightly worried. His brother's use of Susanoo had a rather unfortunate side-effect and the teen was now sleeping it off. It attacked his body in a way that ate away at his chakra and tried to rip apart his cells. Walking over to Itachi he reached down to shake him awake, but was stopped when the teen suddenly opened his eyes and grabbed Sasuke's hand. The look on the his face made the boy very happy he wasn't his enemy.

"It's not a good idea to walk up to a sleeping ninja." Itachi stated plainly as he sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Yeah. I'll remember that." He rubbed his sore hand and wondered if his brother could break bones with his grip. He had obviously used chakra when he had grabbed him. "Should we be getting back? The clan is holding a party for the Konoha Uchiha tonight. I don't mind missing it if you want to stay, but… um… I think Sheeta might…"

"…freak out if I'm out too late. Hn. You have a point. I really don't want to cut the training short like this, but she is expecting me to attend and mother is probably worried about you. Tomorrow it'll be easier. We won't have to come out this far to train." Itachi suddenly frowned and looked around the clearing they were standing in. "You go ahead, I have to pee."

"Oh… okay." Sasuke took off at a run, glancing back once with a curious stare.

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"Why are you here?" Itachi's voice had turned deadly and he glared angrily as the red-haired man stepped confidently out of the forest.

"You are to be commended, Itachi. I am quite impressed with both your plan and your training methods. Your devotion to your friends and family pleases me."

Itachi sighed, "You heard everything. Would it be too much to ask you to remain quiet about this?"

Pein moved closer to Itachi and placed on hand on his shoulder, "I am opposed to what Madara is doing, Itachi. It is too dangerous and could turn Sasuke against… well perhaps I shouldn't say 'us', but if he should join forces with Orochimaru it would be unfortunate."

"So you followed us."

"You are a master strategist, Itachi. I had faith that you would find a way out of this, and my faith was not misplaced."

"Why are you so interested in my brother?" Itachi asked firmly.

"Hmm." Pein frowned and stepped back from the teen. Gazing up at the sky, he seemed lost in thought for a couple minutes, "I really have no use for him while we have you. It's Madara who wants him."

Itachi remembered what his father had said the night before. That Pein was against the plan and Madara had added a condition in which he would call off the mission should Sasuke be endangered. While he doubted Madara and Pein had the same definition of "endangered", it was definitely suspicious.

"If I didn't know any better I would say you feel a little attached to Sasuke." Itachi was careful to keep any emotion out of his voice.

"I am in Akatsuki to bring an end to the wars. Even though, in order for than plan to be brought to fruition, I have to first start a war it does not mean I enjoy seeing people suffer. Madara is too experienced at using people and it is a pity that Sasuke is caught up in that. I assure you, I feel nothing more than pity for the boy."

He had to admit, that wasn't really what he expected to hear from the powerful Rinnegan user, but what he said about Madara was certainly the truth. "I find it hard to believe that someone who feels 'pity' would go to these lengths to make his feelings known. You are as far from Rain as you can get without leaving the continent."

"You are indeed very bright." Once again Pein looked up at the sky and smiled as clouds quickly covered the sun. "I feel Madara is getting sidetracked, I do not approve of his marriage to Aya, but it is, quite literally, none of my business and not something I intend to dwell on. My concern is Danzou."

"God damn it." Itachi growled under his breath, "What the hell is going on? Why is everyone so obsessed with him?" He was getting very close to loosing his temper and that was absolutely not something he wanted to do in front of Pein.

"Well, he killed a good friend of mine… many years ago… and I will avenge his death. But… I would be lying if I said that was the only reason."

"Then enlighten me." Rain drops started to drip from the grey sky and Itachi had to remove his glasses in order to see. The blurriness was annoying, but looking through raindrops was even more annoying.

"Your brother has stopped running and is wondering where you are. You should leave before he turns around and comes back. Pissing usually doesn't take this long."

Obviously he wasn't going to get an answer to his question. Well, there was usually more than one avenue to take when seeking the truth. "Fine. Are you leaving Mist?"

"No. I have more business with Madara. But don't worry, I won't pass on to anyone what your plans for Sasuke are, or what we discussed."

Itachi gave him a small smile. "I will remain silent as well."

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The dinner was a formal occasion held in an underground banquet room and attended by the entire clan, as well as Hinata and her two cousins. Kisame and Deidara had declined the invitation, opting instead to do some bar-hopping (although they were warned that given Deidara's age it would probably be accompanied by a sharp kick to ass when he got kicked out for being underage).

Itachi sat between his father and Sheeta. On the other side of Fugaku was Mikoto, then Sasuke. Originally, Sasuke was supposed to sit in Mikoto's spot, but, thankfully, she had quickly switched the name cards while everyone was maneuvering to sit down. She had looked strained, and Itachi noticed that she kept glancing at Fugaku, as if expecting him to do something.

"What beautiful penmanship." Sheeta murmured. She was holding the small card in her hands and gazing at it carefully. The kanji was perfectly drawn, along with a border of irises and a small Uchiha fan symbol in the corners. "It must have taken a long time to do all these cards."

"To some people, writing is an art form. They enjoy bringing their words to life." Itachi responded calmly.

"I could never have the patience for this." She sat the card back down on the table and glanced at Sasuke. Itachi followed her gaze and sighed under is breath. The boy's face was pale and he was staring despondently at his rice bowl. Sheeta shook her head sadly and whispered, "It'll take a while to get over the death of his 'friend'."

"It always does." Itachi responded in a quiet voice, "Even if it was Genjutsu, his mind still registered it as real. There's no way to reverse that except another Genjutsu… and with his new abilities, that wouldn't work."

Sheeta frowned, "Then shouldn't that Genjutsu have been broken when he got the Mangekyou?"

"It did break. Unfortunately for Sasuke, though, he cares a great deal for people and is very protective of his family and friends. That made the feelings he felt for that boy, however false they were, turn into reality." Itachi paused for a moment, "I hope that makes sense. But it doesn't really matter if it broke or not. As long as the Mangekyou was achieved first, that was their goal."

"I know it sounds mean, but I'm glad he's upset then. It means he has a conscious. I worry… I see too many shinobi who don't care if someone dies or not and it worries me."

Itachi smiled, "I hadn't thought of it that way. I guess you're right."

"During the coup… we ran into all those dead people and he saw his dead classmates… it was hard on him and when he saw that Naruto… one of his classmates was still alive… he stood up to Danzou's people and even got injured. He wasn't even friends with Naruto at the time."

"Hn." It was a sore spot for Itachi… how close his brother and girlfriend had come to dying that day. Not to mention Nui and Naruto. After all, it had been him who had told Danzou about the secret room in the temple…

"Father!" Itachi sat straight up and grabbed Fugaku's arm as a previously random series of events suddenly lined up in perfect order. "We need to talk, right now."

Fugaku, who had been gossiping with Madara and Sora, were sat across the table made his excuses as he allowed Itachi to lead him across the room. It was better than starting a scene and arguing, and appearances were important to him.

"What is it?" Fugaku was a little angry, but that quickly turned to worry when he saw the strained look on his son's face.

Itachi had led him out of the banquet room and into a smaller meeting room across the hall. Performing a series of hand-signs he sealed the room in order to prevent anyone from coming in or overhearing their conversation. Taking a deep breath, the teen leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. When he opened them his Sharingan was blazing brightly behind his glasses.

"You told me to read the clan chief scrolls. They were kept in the hidden chamber of the old temple, are in the hidden chamber of the new temple. Danzou knew about that chamber."

"Yes. I remember you telling me that." Fugaku confirmed.

"What is in those scrolls that is so important?"

"Son…" Fugaku's voice was hesitant, "It isn't the scrolls that's important…"

"Then what!" Itachi had the feeling that he was on the tip of a big secret and he had no intention of leaving that room until he found out what it was. Something was very wrong.

"It's the altar."

That was not even close to what Itachi expected to hear and his eyes opened wide in surprise for a second before he regained his composure. His voice turned cold, "Explain."

Fugaku took a deep breath and let it out before dropping down onto a chair. "The altar… has a special script on it. Only the Sharingan, Mangekyou Sharingan and… Rinnegan can read it."

That was also unexpected, and the truth Itachi had thought was within his reach suddenly drifted further away. "Danzou can't read it then. But the scrolls are a translation?"

"No. They merely detail the history… the real history of our lineage back to Rikudou Sennin. Well, it's the shortened version. One must read the writing on the altar to get the full version. I have read as much as I can, but the Rinnegan must be used to read the rest."

"Then it's safe…" Itachi stared closely at his father. The man had suddenly closed his eyes and dropped his head onto his hands. Itachi's voice turned cold again, "It's not safe. He needs a Sharingan or Rinnegan to read it… none of us would help him. Kakashi has a Sharingan but I would bet my life that he would never help that man…"

"There is… another possibility." Itachi could hear how hard it was for his father to spit out the words.

They were both silent for a couple minutes and the first time since entering the room the teen registered how quiet it was. Because they were underground there were no street noises, barking dogs, wind, rain, or talking. The silence was absolute. 'This must be what you hear when they put you in your grave.' Itachi thought to himself.

"Yes it is. It was too quiet."

Itachi jumped at the sound of Shisui's voice echoing in his head. He grasped his chest when a sharp pain stabbed at his heart and pushed the air out of his lungs. He dropped to floor, his heart pounding fiercely against his rib cage and beds of sweat appearing on his brow.

"I thought you might need some help…" Madara walked through the wall. The seals were not enough to keep him out. "Is he okay?"

Fugaku was kneeling next to his son, one hand on the teens back. "I think… he just figured it out."

"At least he's on the ground instead of ripping my mansion… and my guests… apart. He does have a bit of a temper at times."

"Father… they… he…" Itachi was stumbling over his words, not really hearing what the two men were saying. Suddenly he sat up on his knees, grabbed the front of his father's yukata and yelled at the top of his voice, "Danzou took Shisui's eyes!"

"Only one." Madara replied angrily, "But it is enough to cause us problems."

"We found out recently." Fugaku added as he removed his sons hands from his clothes. "Itachi, please don't tell…"

"Don't tell Toshiro or Kisa." Itachi added bitterly. "How could I? I would never do anything to hurt them… they've been through so much…" His voice trailed off and he took a deep breath before speaking again, but the anger in his voice was undisguised, "So what is on that altar?"

"The ten-tails." Madara sat down on the floor a few feet away from the father and son.

"There's…" Itachi was interrupted.

"…no such thing?" Madara finished. "There is. Rikudou split it up into the tailed beasts we have today and then used a jutsu to seal what remained in a big ball of dirt and shoot it up into the sky as the moon."

Itachi shook his head, "Let me guess, the altar tells how to release it and Danzou wants to use it to destroy the earth and remake it in his image. And you…" he pointed a finger at Madara, "are planning the same thing."

"There are a lot of differences between Danzou and myself, Itachi. I'm not happy about being compared to him."

He had to bite his tongue to keep from responding to that. Madara was the leader of Akatsuki and picking a fight with him was probably not in Itachi's best interests. At least not at that moment. Besides, he had to admit, however reluctantly, that Madara was not in the habit of taking tens of thousands of civilians hostage and blasting them to kingdom come just to make a point. Although, on the other hand… he probably could do it without much thought.

Fugaku spoke up, "Danzou doesn't know what the entire altar says. You need the Rinnegan to delve into that and, to our knowledge, Pein is the only one with that ability."

"So that's why he's here. Because of what you found out." Itachi rubbed his face with his hands and leaned back against the wall. Thankfully, the pain was gone and his breathing had returned to normal.

Madara nodded, "Yes. He was quite upset and showed up uninvited. Luckily Konan followed him and was able to calm him down. He really hates Danzou."

That pretty much matched what Itachi had heard from the Rinnegan user several hours earlier. Itachi spoke up in a strong voice, "If only you would have told me straight up. I can leave in the morning and…"

"You will do no such thing." Fugaku stated sternly.

"And why not? I don't need your permission you know. There is little you could do to stop me."

"True. I know that, Itachi, but we have a plan, I already explained it to you. And Danzou isn't that easy to get a hold of. Even Sai and Sakura Haruno, who are still his agents, are being directed by a subordinate whom we determined has never even met Danzou."

Itachi quickly re-evaluated the plan he had worked out for Sasuke and deduced that there was no need to change it. It would still work. But still… if he left in the morning with Kisame and Deidara… and grabbed Sasori on the way… the four of them could easily bust Orochimaru's operation. Of course, Sasuke would never forgive him. As scared as he was of facing Orochimaru again, he dearly wanted to teach Fugaku a lesson. Itachi found he didn't have the heart to remove that opportunity from his brother. However, a part of him regretted his plan and wished he could leave right then and there.

"I'll wait then." Itachi promised bitterly.

"Would you like to return to dinner?" Fugaku asked his son as he jumped to his feet. "You grabbed your chest…"

"I'm fine." Itachi snapped, a little more severely than intended.

Fugaku smiled, "Of course."

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"Hey Sasuke, go up to Deidara and yell 'how are you this morning' in his ear." Itachi smirked as he and his brother spied the blond ninja sitting on a bench in the garden looking rather green. It was almost lunch time and they were returning from a morning training session to get something to eat.

Sasuke gave his brother a withering look, not sure if he should do something like that to an "S" ranked ninja. "What the hell." Sasuke said out loud, shrugging his shoulders in resignation. It was probably safer than facing Orochimaru. And he did look sick. The only real danger here was probably getting vomited on.

"Hey." Sasuke said half-heartedly as he walked up to Deidara and bent down close to his ear before yelling, "How are you this morning?"

Itachi snickered as Deidara slipped off the back of the bench, falling flat on his back with his feet slung over the seat. He called out to the blond as he stepped closer, "So how much did you drink?"

"Not enough." Kisame answered. He walked up behind Itachi and laughed, "We made it through three bars before getting kicked out and he was already staggering by then. So I took him home, tucked him into his bed with his teddy bear and went back out."

"You make a great dad, Kisame. Poor kids." Itachi teased.

"He was already asleep by then. What they don't know won't hurt them, right?" He patted his partner on the shoulder and laughed again, "That's what the wife is for. To watch the kids while you party."

"That's what the divorce attorney is for, un. So you're wife can divorce your ass when you pull shit like that." Deidara stood up, very angry and, if possible, even greener.

Kisame turned serious, "That's what happens all right."

Itachi wondered if the blue swordsman actually had a wife and kids. It would explain his "personal business"… but somehow he just couldn't imagine it.

"We're going to lunch, you guys wanna come?" Sasuke offered, giving them a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"I don't even want to think about food, un." Deidara mumbled as he stomped away. "Ever."

"Humph." Sasuke smirked, "He didn't kill any of us, so I guess that means he had a good time last night."

"He did." Kisame confirmed, "And it was definitely not his first time drinking, although he does have a long ways to go to beat me."

"I'm not sure that's something to brag about, or something you should be encouraging him to do." Itachi spoke up, "You know how competitive he is."

"Ha ha ha! Point taken, Itachi. His ego is easily bruised. But I'm surprised to hear you defending him."

"Just stating a fact. Death by alcohol poisoning isn't exactly something a ninja can brag about in the after-life."

"Itachi," Kisame gave the teen a bittersweet smile, "there is nothing for a ninja to brag about in the after-life. I would have thought you of all people would have realized that by now."

"Yeah. I know." Itachi agreed, a bit of sorrow leaking into his voice.

"Boys! There you are, I have a message from Naruto." Fugaku walked up to them as Kisame took his leave.

Sasuke turned his back and frowned; Fugaku pretended not to notice. "It came by hawk a few minutes ago. I haven't read it yet, but I thought you two would be interested."

"Yes we are." Itachi spoke up, knowing his brother would likely remain silent. Or at least he hoped he would.

"Okay, well…" he pulled open the scroll and began reading.

We got her! And I learned an awesome new jutsu!

Bye.

Oh wait, Pervy Sage just said to tell you who we got. Um. Tsunade. She's coming back with us. And we got to fight Orochimaru and Kabuto. He wanted Tsunade to heal his arms but she pretended to go along with it so she could kill him and it didn't work and he's still alive. And Pervy Sage said to tell you that Orochimaru can't do any jutsus so Kabuto was doing it for him. He said he'll wait at Konoha for you to come back and talk to you then.

And wait until I show you my new jutsu! You'll piss your pants!

Bye.

"Humph." Sasuke muttered. "So he's probably coming sooner than later, huh?"

"Yeah." Fugaku muttered half-heartedly. "But I'm pleased to hear about Tsunade. We need her badly. Ever since Dr. Yakushi died, no one has been able to fill his shoes." He glanced at Itachi, "And you'll be one her first patients."

Considering all the bad luck he and his family had been having over the last few days – well, years - he wasn't sure he should be looking forward to seeing Tsunade, but for some reason his heart suddenly felt a littler lighter. 'Would it really be too much ask," He thought to himself, "for one thing to actually work out right?"

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Pein is kind of hard to write. He's not so much a bad guy as misguided and when I was working on that section with him and Itachi, I kept thinking of him as an older "canon" Itachi that had gone insane. Anyway, I hope that part makes sense. I certainly see Danzou as a catalyst to bring Fugaku, Pein and Madara together – no matter how distasteful Fugaku would think the temporary "alliance" was.

As for Mikoto and Fugaku's conversation, it wasn't put there to necessarily make you feel sorry for Fugaku as it was to show a glimpse of his conscience. I feel sorry for Mikoto though. She definitely has an uphill battle in front of her.

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