Thanks for all the reviews and favs!
Okay, the excuse for posting late this week is: I was writing this on my phone (at work) by sending e-mails to myself and I wrote a lot and ran out of memory. It locked up and I had to turn it off. I ended up loosing about half the chapter. The lesson here is that cell phones can't handle large e-mails. Or at least mine can't, xD. I'm getting a new one in a couple weeks so hopefully I can download a word program of some kind. I didn't want to use the computer because it makes me nervous when people read over my shoulder, lol.
Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by Kishimoto
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Chapter 71 – Unlikely Brothers
"Well, it looks like you're an uncle." Tama stretched lazily as he dropped down onto the bed next to the photographs Sasuke had carefully laid out. In them Itachi and Sheeta were smiling, and each was holding an infant wrapped carefully in a pastel colored blanket.
"I can't believe they have twins." Sasuke muttered. "No matter how long I stare there are always two."
"I think you've lost it." Tama yawned.
"I mean, the odds of that are…"
"Pretty high." Madara walked into the boy's room without knocking. Sasuke was so used to it by now that he didn't even bother complaining. Of course, it was still annoying and he did look up from the photos long enough to give the elder Uchiha a dirty look.
Madara smirked at the boy's scowl and continued, "You wouldn't really know this, since the birthrate in the clan has been so low in Konoha, but twins are quite common in the Uchiha clan. Rumiko had twins. Remember Arata and Yori?"
"Yeah… it hasn't been that long ago since I saw them."
"I find the names Itachi chose to be rather predictable. Rumiko and Shisui. After all, both fall short of following in their namesakes footsteps."
Sasuke picked up a photo that showed both babies propped up side-by-side and looked closely. They were both wearing diapers and tiny blue t-shirts with the Uchiha crest on them. He remembered seeing similar pictures of himself and Itachi and wondered if every kid got one when he or she was born.
"The letter says nothing is definite." Sasuke replied softly, "They could get better. I mean, even Sora is crippled and he still became a ninja in the medical corp and he's the clan leader."
Madara ground his teeth for a moment before speaking, his voice turning angry, "This is what the ninja lifestyle creates. The poison Danzou was dumping in their water supply did this. War cripples children and takes away their futures, Sasuke." He continued to stare at the photos arranged neatly on the bed, but he wasn't seeing Itachi's children. Instead, he was gazing into the past and remembering the joyful occasions of his own children's births and the sorrow of watching them die one by one.
Why was it that the world was was filled with such dichotomous circumstances? Fortune and misfortune, instead of being on opposite sides of the same coin, lay next to each other like lovers. Even simple things like raising a family, or going to work or being happy were major undertakings in the human world. And even if one did work hard, overcoming obstacles and misfortunes, a life of peace and happiness surrounded by the ones you loved could still be out of reach with death being the only certainly of a life well-lived.
"But you're wrong…" The voice surprised Madara and he took a step back before he remembered where he was and stopped. It was Izuna. His voice loud and clear, as it had been long ago when last he was alive. The remnant of his chakra imbedded in his eyes spoke clearly and firmly. "Humans accept their lives and are happy anyway. You have never accepted happiness, big brother. You have only ever tried to conquer it. It does not work that way. You can't force people to be happy. You can't force yourself to be happy."
Madara took another step back and grabbed his head, his eyes closing in a futile attempt to block out the voice, "I did not give you my eyes so you could do this. Look, big brother, there before you is a child that could give you your happiness. Instead, you will kill him. You are the one killing your own happiness. Not war. Not the ninja world."
Opening his eyes he saw Sasuke's young face looking up at him, his Sharingan activated and a look of worry etched painfully in his expression. For a second, Madara saw that face replaced with a skeleton. Eyeless, fleshless and without life, laying forgotten in a grave while he looked down on the earth from his perch on the moon where an eternal Genjutsu wrapped the earth in the welcoming embrace of peace.
Taking a deep breath he let it out slowly and spoke out loud to the bewildered boy in front of him and the bodiless chakra of his brother inside, "I have always made sacrifices for the clan. Everything I did was to ensure their power, their existence, and their happiness. I sacrificed my eyes, my life, even my status so they could live. Only to be betrayed in the end. However, I have found a way to bring peace to this world. In that world children won't be crippled by war, or orphaned or abandoned. Sasuke, you will help make that happen."
Sasuke gulped, suddenly wary of the change that had abruptly come over the man standing only six feet away from him. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to say anything or not, but Madara seemed to be expecting something.
"H…how?" Sasuke stuttered over the words and Madara couldn't help but notice how young the boy sounded. He would be twelve soon, still just a child, but in the world of Shinobi, he was a full warrior.
Glancing to the window Madara observed the afternoon sun beginning to make its way to the west-facing glass door of Sasuke's room. Karin and Juugo were sitting on a bench next to a small pond, each quietly reading a book. It was rare to have good weather in Mist and everyone had learned to enjoy it when it came.
"Would you sacrifice your life to save your family?" Madara asked seriously.
"Yes, of course. Itachi and Sheeta and Rumiko and Shisui and mom… and… I don't know about dad. I… I…" His words faded and he remembered how his brother had forbidden him from speaking any ill of the man. Itachi seemed to think that it was possible to repair their relationship even after everything that had happened. It was something he had been trying to understand ever since he had returned from Konoha. He had even spoken to Aya about it, but she seemed to grow sad and would only say that some things could not be explained with words, only understood with the passage of time.
"Aya is pregnant."
"I know. And I will protect Aya and her baby… Well… I guess it'll be my little brother or sister. But one thing I will not do is protect you, father." Sasuke spoke the word with such bitterness that Madara actually recoiled and closed his eyes to shut it out. While the boy had run away to Mist to escape Fugaku, the elder Uchiha knew better than to think he would ever be forgiven for his part in forcing the Mangekyou Sharingan on him.
"I am a failure as a father, Sasuke. That is something I came to terms with decades ago. Fugaku… he was also a failure… but his story is still being written. Don't give up on him." Turning around, Madara walked silently out of the room leaving a very confused boy and one very bored cat behind.
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"Okay, now I know Pervy Sage is crazy. I always suspected it, of course. But this is definitely proof." Naruto eyed the frog suspiciously after being told he was to be reverse-summoned to Toad Mountain so that Suigetsu could take his place. "Me? Learn Sage stuff? Geeze… seriously what is he thinking?"
The frog closed his eyes and shook his head in resignation, "Well, we can't leave you here. No matter what happens with the training, at least you'll be safe."
"But what about Suigetsu? I mean, I only met him that one time at Orochimaru's hideout but he seemed nice enough. Won't he get killed if he's found out?" Naruto had actually taken a liking to the water-jutsu boy and had spent the hours waiting for Sasuke and Itachi to recover telling jokes and exploring the underground hideout with him. It had only been a couple days, but it was enough for Naruto to decide he didn't want anything bad to happen to his new friend.
The boy leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table so he could rest his chin in his hands. He had read every book the frogs delivered, keeping them hidden from the Akatsuki who, after ignoring him for weeks, had suddenly taken to dropping in to chat.
The frog hopped down from the small table and crossed the dull green tatami mat. Stopping near the bookshelf he gave the room a once-over before returning his attention to the blond boy still leaning on the table and staring wide-eyed and confused at the small amphibian.
"In one week I will return. Until then, don't give anything away. I'm going to leave you with one book. It was Jiraiya's first novel and arguably his best. Although in sales his newer books make more money." The frog's voice disappeared as he pondered the odd habits of human beings and the even odder habits of one Sannin in particular.
Forming his hands into a seal a puff of white smoke appeared, the frog was gone, leaving behind a small paperback book with a picture of a strong ninja on the cover.
Picking it up Naruto turned it over and thumbed through some of the pages before returning to the cover.
"The Tales of a Gutsy Ninja." Naruto quoted. "I hope it's good. But then again, it's not like I have anything else to do."
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"This stuff's pretty good." Suigetsu commented as he downed his third bowl of pork ramen. "I can see how he got addicted to it."
Sakura smiled lightly and watched her new friend as he attempted, without even realizing it, to surpass Naruto's ramen-eating record. "You're doing great Suigetsu. I can't believe how quickly you catch on to this stuff. It's like second nature to you."
"Yeah well, I'm just good that way!" Suigetsu beamed. He turned his attention to the middle-aged proprietor who had stepped outside the small fifty-square-foot wooden food stall to adjust the red and white striped awning. The sun was moving across the sky at its usual late spring pace and threatening to invade the shaded eatery.
"Would you like another one?" Ayami, the proprietor's daughter smiled wistfully at the white-haired boy and quickly dished him up another bowl when he nodded his head.
"And some more water, please." Suigetsu added.
"Hey Suigetsu! Are you going to play with us today?" Konohamaru and his two school friends, Moegi and Udon stood behind him, their eyes brimming with anticipation.
Laughing, the boy picked up his bowl and downed the rest of the ramen in three large gulps, then swallowed his water in one. It was quite a feet and Sakura stared wide-eyed as Suigetsu ran away from Ichiraku Ramen with three nine-year-olds trailing close behind.
"I have no idea how he did that without choking." The girl remarked after a couple minutes had passed.
"Me neither." Ayami replied as she gently dropped the white ceramic dishes in a sink of hot, sudsy water. "But a lot of Shinobi do it. Father thinks it must be a jutsu."
"It's gotta be." The man laughed, "Because I can't think of any other explanation."
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Kabuto had gotten into the habit of laying low ever since his return to Konoha. Accepting an invitation to share an apartment from Haku and Zabuza turned out to be a great convenience. They did the shopping and he hid indoors when he wasn't training or on a mission as part of Fugaku's squad.
He still owned the big house he had lived in as a boy with his adoptive father, but the memories the place dredged up were to painful to bear at this time in his life. Therefore the small apartment he shared with the two ex-Mist nin's was perfect. It consisted of one large bedroom where the trio would spread out their futons at night, a bathroom, and a medium-sized room with a kitchenette, small table and cushions, and a TV.
Kabuto's days off were therefore spent reclining on the floor with a bag of chips and a bottle of green tea watching a old movies. Predictably he was surprised when there was a knock on his door that wasn't followed by Haku or Zabuza's chakra.
Standing up cautiously he stepped lightly over to the door in his bare feet and looked through the peep hole. Stepping back once in surprise he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly with great exasperation before allowing his guest enter.
"'Bought time." Deidara sneered, "How long were you planning on leaving me there?"
"Why are you here?" Kabuto asked, highly annoyed.
"Well, I thought I'd come by to say 'hi' since we both used to work with Sasori, un."
"Correction." Kabuto replied bitterly, "You were his partner and I was his slave."
"Yeah, un, that is a big distinction." Deidara's flippant tone did nothing to ease the white-haired man's temperament and he grinned widely, just to annoy him some more.
"Are you here to pick a fight?"
"Yeah, un."
"You're supposed to be learning how to imitate Naruto along with Suigetsu. When I kill you, he won't have a backup anymore."
"Kabuto, I won't be the one dying today, un," Deidara's voice was deadly serious as his aquamarine eyes caught and held Kabuto's gaze. "That misfortune will fall on your shoulders, un."
"Follow me then," Kabuto slipped his sandals on and walked past his house-guest to open the door, "Let's take this outside the village. We don't want any interruptions after all."
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'I wonder where Deidara is?' Itachi realized he could no longer feel the other teen's chakra and it dawned on him that he was probably hiding it.
"Itachi, be careful, you have to support his head." Sheeta said in a low voice. The therapy session had finished a few minutes earlier and baby Shisui was cranky and refusing to drink from his bottle. While he didn't screech or cry like his sister, he was definitely still able to get his point across.
"I give up." Itachi set the bottle down on the table. Standing up he walked across the room and laid the small boy in the crib and smiled as Shisui's face contorted in what could only be described as indecision between crying and sleeping. Choosing the latter he closed his eyes and relaxed.
"Oh well. I guess he'll be hungry when he wakes up." Sheeta watched as Itachi stuck a small monitor wire to the infant's arm and pushed a button on the computer to turn it on. It was designed to notify them if either his breathing or heart rate became irregular.
"Rumiko sure is hungry, though."
"Compared to Shisui. But she's eating the normal amount. But they're both so small still the clothes we got are too big."
Itachi silently wondered what the point of dressing a baby in anything other than a diaper was. They spit up and peed on everything anyway and the amount of laundry they generated was surprising.
Itachi nodded to acknowledge her words, "I'm going to go find Deidara. His chakra is gone. I don't want him blowing anything up."
"He said something earlier about visiting his brother. I didn't know someone here in Konoha shared the same sensei with Deidara." Sheeta replied curiously.
Itachi's eyes opened wide with understanding and he took off at a run, exiting the house at full speed. There was someone Kabuto could "loosely" refer to as a brother, but it wasn't a sensei the two shared. It was a puppet master.
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"This'll work perfectly." Deidara grinned viciously as he stuck his hands into the clay pouches hanging from his belt.
Kabuto had led the mad bomber to a field ten miles outside the village near a small mountain range that few people rarely traversed. There were no roads, just lots of narrow trails used by animals and ninja.
"I had a feeling I would be seeing you when I heard you were in the village, but I didn't think you would be able to get past Itachi."
"He's not my babysitter! I can do whatever I want!" Deidara threw a clay owl into the air and used a jutsu to make it grow. Jumping on top of it he drifted about forty feet up and began to drop small bombs on the ground below.
Kabuto jumped back to evade them then formed some seals and a huge strip of earth ripped itself from the ground and shot up directly in Deidara's path. The twenty foot wide, six foot thick earth wall rose a total of fifty feet up. Rocks, clumps of earth and various other objects began falling from it and Deidara was forced to jump off his owl to avoid hitting it.
Landing on top of the wall he jumped back again when he felt Kabuto appear next to him and hit his shoulder. Jumping into space Deidara tried to reach into his clay pouch with his right hand but it wouldn't move.
Cursing the other teen he instantly pulled another owl out of his left pouch and landed on it a mere ten feet from the ground. However, He had to vacate the owl again when Kabuto landed behind him. This time the blond was able to avoid a hit, but he realized he was going to have to move quickly if he was going to avoid Kabuto.
"You can't move your right arm. I severed several muscles." Kabuto sneered. "We may be inappropriately matched, with you a long range fighter and me short range, but you shouldn't make the mistake that I haven't learned to deal with that."
Deidara's anger grew as he watched Kabuto drop down onto the ground and stretch his legs out in front of him, as if relaxing.
The white haired teen sighed, "Why do you hate me so much? It makes no sense. It was like 'hate at first sight' when Sasori introduced me to you. Is it jealousy? Because there is nothing about my life I would wish on another human being." He stared hard at the blond ninja in front of him who was panting hard and clutching his injured arm tightly with his good hand.
"I'm better than you and I'm going to prove it!" Deidara finally said.
"Fine then. You're better than me. Is this childishness over now?" Kabuto rose to his feet and turned his back on his adversary. "Although, you are the one injured, not me. I don't even have a scratch."
"You little..." Deidara was interupted.
"You know, Instead of cutting your arm up, I could have sliced your heart apart. Simple, really. It's only a few inches from your..." Kabuto used a jutsu to appear behind Deidara, "heart."
Deidara was already in motion by the time Kabuto had reappeared behind him. Dropping to the ground he tangled his legs around Kabuto's and tripped him. In one fluid movement he was on top of the white-haired ninja and shoving a small wad of clay down his shirt. Jumping back he raised his good hand vertically in front of his face and yelled "Katsu!"
As soon as Deidara had leapt away Kabuto began ripping off his purple tunic and the white short-sleeved t-shirt he wore under it. The bomb exploded as the clay, still stuck firmly to the tunic, was thrown into the air.
Unfortunately it was only three feet away from him and Kabuto found himself blown away, landing hard on his back near the earthen wall that was now only half as high as it had been a few minutes ago. Dirt fell on his face as a large chunk dropped next to him.
Jumping to his feet he leapt away as Deidara threw another bomb at the wall, completely destroying it. "Now who's injured the worst?" Deidara laughed.
Kabuto felt a sharp sting and looked down at his chest. He was bleeding from several small cuts and one long gash that stretched from his left side up to his right shoulder. Feeling something in his back he reached behind him and felt a stick poking out of his lower back.
"That stick is in your kidney, isn't it?" Deidara grinned evilly.
Kabuto gritted his teeth as he applied chakra to the area around the stick and yanked it out. Healing chakra continued to flow into his body and his kidney was as good as new in less than a minute.
"Are you two finished?"
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Kabuto and Deidara both turned their attention to Itachi who walked calmly into the clearing with his hands in his pockets and his shirt thrown over his shoulder.
Itachi quickly deduced that the pair in front of him were not done trying to kill each other and decided to change his strategy.
"Okay, then how about you put this off until after we take care of Madara then? I promise I won't lift a finger to stop you."
"I don't need your permission to fight." Deidara snapped.
"Nor do I." Kabuto added as he continued to heal his wounds.
"No, of course not." Itachi said, remaining calm. "I was just voicing the observation that we need both of you for a while. And I will intervene to ensure that you are both available for active duty."
Deidara frowned then struggled out of his shirt as he turned sideways, "Fix my arm."
Kabuto bristled at the order, and as he walked across the clearing toward Deidara he contemplated all the ways he could make the injury worse. However, one glance at the red Sharingan from the one-eyed Uchiha was enough of a warning and he carefully reconnected the muscles he had severed a few minutes earlier, as well as the bruising.
"Looks like my shirt's a goner." Kabuto muttered as Itachi used a jutsu to burn the fragments. Even though they were only ten miles from konoha they still knew better than to leave any evidence of their passing.
The trio began walking down the narrow trail toward Konoha at a leisurely pace. Somehow they had subconsciously agreed to walk home even though a jutsu could get them back within an hour.
As the trail widened out into a little-used one lane road Kabuto was the first to speak after an hour-and-a-half of silence. "Are you ever glad that Yota died when he did?"
Itachi wasn't prepared for the question and looked curiously at the older teen. "Well..." Itachi thought about for a couple minutes. "He hated Konoha. Considering that... when I was ready to exterminate the clan I would probably have asked for his help. And he would probably be in Mist now under Madara's wing."
"A very sticky situation. Or it would have been. He's considered a hero, even though the main branch of the Hyuuga refused to recognize him because he was from the side-branch." Kabuto looked around at the sun speckled forest. The trees in the area were mostly deciduous and a small creek ran alongside the road,
He changed the subject slightly, "Yota loved it here."
Itachi nodded, remembering the camping trips he, Shisui, Kabuto and Yota would take into the hills surrounding Konoha to practice jutsus and survival skills.
A wave of nostalgia washed over him as he thought about his dead friends and Kabuto, who was only alive because of his intervention. However, a chill ran up and down his spine and the cicadas, that had been sparsely chirping only moments earlier began chirping much louder.
"Itachi you slowpoke! Hurry up!"
"There's our camping spot! Come on you guys!"
The young voices rang out clear and the sound of footsteps running past the trio brought Itachi and Kabuto to a halt. Moving their heads to follow the sound they both shuddered as a cold breeze passed through them.
"What's wrong with you two?" Deidara frowned. "You sick or something?"
"Did you… feel that?" Kabuto whispered.
"Y…yeah." Itachi stuck his hands in his pockets. The warm sun filtered through the trees that lined the road but his arms were full of goose-bumps. He listened carefully to see if he could hear anything else, but the only sounds were cicadas, birds, crickets, and leaves as they brushed up against each other in the light breeze.
"What?" Deidara asked again. He pushed the hair away from his eye scope and looked closely at the surrounding area.
"A ghost?" Kabuto was still whispering.
The blond rolled his eyes and kicked at a rock, sending it splashing into the creek.
"You keep kicking rocks like that and they'll find you." A child's sing-song voice called out from somewhere nearby, followed by giggling.
Deidara's eyes opened wider than should have been physically possible. "Okay… this better be a Genjutsu."
"A Genjutsu that affects Itachi?" Kabuto logically stated, much to Deidara's distaste. However, he smiled and turned back to the road, "Chakra is a funny thing. Spiritual energy that exists separate from the soul. Some researchers have postulated the theory that it exists as a separate soul. I had the chance to read about it quite extensively while I was with Orochimaru."
"I wonder…" Itachi said quietly, "That first voice was…"
"Yota." Kabuto replied softly, "And the second voice was definitely Shisui."
"And his chakra is inside me." Itachi explained.
"Which one laughed at me?" Deidara asked, as goose bumps appeared on his arms as well.
Itachi and Kabuto were silent, then looked at each other and spoke at the same time, "Don't know."
"Great." The blond continued walking down the road, followed by Itachi and Kabuto.
Looking back, Itachi decided that if he had to choose a place to spend eternity, then it would surely be a nice camping spot on a late-spring day in the middle of the woods. His thoughts moved into the future and he promised to bring his kids to that same spot when they were old enough. Even if he had to carry Shisui on his back to do it, they would see this small bit of heaven.
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"Wow, you were for a long time." Mikoto yawned as she greeted Itachi and Deidara at the door. Kabuto had returned to his own apartment as soon as they entered the village.
"It took a while to walk back, Lady Mikoto." Deidara smiled.
She laughed good naturedly, "It's almost midnight. Anyway, I was waiting for you Itachi. Tsunade has good news for you."
"What?" The teen mimicked his mother and yawned as well.
"They finally identified all the eyes Toshiro brought back from Ki a few weeks ago. Shisui's other eye was among them. She has scheduled you for surgery tomorrow afternoon. That way you should be recovered in time for the mission."
"Wouldn't it be better to wait until after?"
"Tsunade and Fugaku said no when I suggested that, so I guess not." Mikoto shrugged
The sound of a baby crying broke the late evening silence and Itachi turned to look at the stairs at the end of the hall. He was afraid of the advanced Sharingan he had gained with Shisui's eye, and getting the second one wouldn't give him any more power than he already had, but there was another reason for going through with it. Two reasons in fact.
"Okay. I'll be ready."
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Next week Operation Reverse Summon Naruto begins.
As I was writing the fight scene between Kabuto and Deidara I started to think about Itachi and his friends as little kids, so I added the ghost scene. Sorry if it's too bizarre, but haven't you ever had a weird sensation when thinking of a dead friend? It's probably just caused by being emotional, but anyway… it's still creepy.
I bet you thought I forgot about Madara's strange headaches from the first story. Now that his "Eye of the Moon" plan is getting closer, the headaches are back. And it turns out they aren't headaches, they're Izuna, lecturing his older brother.
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