A/N: Heh it's been a while hadn't it. I finally got my butt kicked into completing another chapter. The reason this one is so short (when compared to the time it took to write) is because I wrote one really long and boring chapter and eventually gave up and chopped it in two. Chapter title is from the quote by George Carlin - 'Electricity is really just organised lightning.' I felt it was appropriate.

Sasuke stayed with the Hunt long enough to offer the houses as quarters and lead Tsunade to the library. He checked that Naruto had indeed moved the tables into the centre to create a suitable area for the council to meet and excused himself. It took all of his strength to stand tall in front of Tsunade but once he'd stumbled down the stairs to the dungeons he allowed himself to use the wall for support.

He made it to his bedroom with a sigh of relief and removed his coat, boots and trousers purely to avoid being stabbed by numerous weapons as he slept.

Sasuke was out like a light as soon as his head hit the pillow. He didn't even stir when Naruto crawled into bed beside him a few hours later, taking the open door as an unintended invitation. He woke up at sunset to find a strong arm wrapped around his waist, hand resting gently at the base of his spine. Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment or two, savouring the repetition of their earlier pose.

He knew he had to get up soon. He had to get up now, actually, if you wanted to be fussy about it. His brain was wide awake, already running through every strange thing that had happened in the past 24 hours and working out how he was to proceed. It wasn't as though Sasuke wasn't used to experiencing the unbelievable but he felt that recently his life had taken a particularly crazy turn. And all because he had saved this stupid man from a vampire.

Still, yesterday had been so odd, compared to his normal standards, that it felt almost like a puzzle piece from someone else's life. He'd gotten stoned for fuck's sake! Sasuke's face burned at the memory (what had he been thinking?) and he got up as carefully as possible and crept down the hall to the bathroom.

Despite his silent departure Sasuke wasn't at all surprised when he felt his partner's presence moving closer. A second later Naruto walked into the shower behind him.

"Good morning-evening," he muttered with a yawn as he slipped past Sasuke to get under the spray.

Sasuke generously stepped back to admire the view. Considering Naruto hadn't even started his hunter training until a few months ago he had a decent bit of muscle on him. Sasuke had his inherited lifestyle to thank for his body but Naruto was clearly the sort who took care of himself regardless of necessity. He watched as trails of steaming water ran down the smooth planes of his partner's back.

"Tsk, lecher."

Naruto was watching him out of the corner of his eye. Sasuke smirked slightly and deliberately gave him another slow once-over.

"Just admiring your tan; do a lot of naked sunbathing, do you?"

"Not recently. When summer hits I'll be sure to give you the full show."

-0-

They dressed quickly in their sparring clothes; thin, light hunter armour and loose fitting trousers and vests before heading to the great hall. Sasuke was in a hurry to make a start on their plan for defeating Madara. He'd already formulated several possible scenarios that could work, but they all depended on an ability he had never really experimented with.

The heavy door from the dungeon swung open and they strode into the great hall. The difference was noticeable immediately. The grates at either end of the hall were full of roaring flames and the hall was closer to the way Sasuke remembered it. The dank air that had lingered in the cavernous room during the years of neglect had been expelled, but nobody was sitting around enjoying the warmth.

The pair turned in unison towards the open doors to the left. Deep grunts and the clash of weaponry could be heard from the occupied dojo. Sasuke moved to the doorway and was relieved to see that nobody was being too destructive in his home. Most of the hunters were training in hand to hand combat in order to stay limber and all of the exercise equipment was occupied.

"Nice set up you have here, Sasuke!" called Tenten from the side of the room.

He nodded with a small proud smile and a look of shock passed over her face before Lee ran forward and engaged her in their match once more.

"Let's get to work," said Sasuke.

With that he turned and exited the hall through the main doors. Naruto hurried along behind him. When they stepped out into the courtyard they were once again greeted by the sight of training hunters. Outside were 6 pairs of sparring coven hunters, showcasing their wide range of powers and clearly enjoying the rare freedom of training outdoors, far from the prying eyes of the city. Naruto hesitated as the dirt ground swept up in front of Yamato forcing Kakashi to back-flip away.

"Please return my land to its former shape when you are done, Yamato-san," called Sasuke.

"Naturally," replied Yamato as the ground caved in under Kakashi, unbalancing him for only a moment. Next second Yamato was the one unbalanced by a mistimed glance in Kakashi's direction. He stumbled and fell to his knees. Kakashi dashed forward, skimming lightly over the disrupted earth, to disarm his bonded.

"You make a nice distraction, Sasuke," Kakashi informed him as he claimed his victory and helped Yamato to his feet. Yamato's face burned.

"Good match," he muttered grudgingly.

"Hn."

Sasuke swept away from the scene and headed around the back of the hall to the clifftop garden. Naruto had seen the garden briefly yesterday, when he'd gone searching for Sasuke; it had looked like such a peaceful place. All along the base of the castle wall tall witchfire braziers were being lit that had not seen use in years, they bathed the south side of the grounds in a flickering white light. He glanced up at the darkened section of the castle wall to the north and flushed lightly. Sasuke smirked at him and moved to the centre of the garden.

Here there was a large, empty circle of sand, the edges marked by granite slabs at the cardinal points and a ring of pebbles that divided sand from grass. Symbols stood out starkly on the pale quartz. Naruto frowned in confusion.

"This is where more destructive sparring matches are traditionally held; not the courtyard. I'm glad to have this space to ourselves for this training."

"What exactly do you have in mind for Madara, I know you said something about trapping him..?"

"Barriers; I've used them before. A temporary wave of lightning, so condensed that it acts like a solid barrier. They only last a second or two, but if I can anchor them to something..." Sasuke pulled a crystal from his coat pocket. As he spoke it began to glow. "I took this from the dungeon stores."

"You're thinking... a cage? Of lightning?" Naruto asked, wondering if he was following Sasuke's thought pattern correctly.

Sasuke nodded and threw the crystal into the sand several feet away. Then he drew his sword from its sheath and pointed it at the crystal almost like a golfer lining up a shot. As he swung the sword experimentally a violent arc of lightning flew across the space and struck the ground to the left of the glowing crystal. Sand erupted in every direction and Naruto shielded his eyes from both the sand and the bright burst of light. In the moment the barrier had existed the lightning had changed the atmosphere in the garden from dim half-light to stark white.

As Sasuke swung his sword again Naruto stepped out of the circle and settled himself on one of the granite slabs to watch. Sasuke continued to throw arcs of electricity in the direction of the kiyo crystal but when one finally made contact the crystal was tossed about a foot in the air. Sasuke tapped his sword on the ground in annoyance.

"Maybe you need more magick in the crystal?" Naruto suggested.

"Hmm, maybe."

Sasuke picked up the crystal and drew on his magick. He fed the palm sized rock with more magick than he would ever usually put into a kiyo in one day and willed himself to be able to feel the connection to his own magick where it was stored. He had a feeling that was the problem here; he couldn't sense any connection to the stone. It struck him as odd because he had always been able to feel a connection with his sword and sense which pendant was Itachi's old one.

But when he threw the stone back onto the sandy ground he found he still had no sense of it. He could see and feel the power glowing inside of it but it felt distant and unconnected. Sasuke threw a few more experimental barriers at the stone, willing them to stick but he only succeeded in throwing the stone right out of the circle.

Sasuke stuck his sword into the sandy ground and was about to collect the stone when Neji strode into the garden. He picked the stone up as he passed it and tossed it to Naruto, who caught it one handed without even looking. Naruto looked at the crystal for a moment, surprised by his own paranormal reflexes. He was about to throw it into the middle of the ring again when Neji stopped him.

"You try charging it Naruto."

Sasuke frowned at him, "This isn't a training exercise, Neji; I purposefully searched out an unused crystal so that I would be able to detect my own magick within it."

"I know what you're attempting; I've been watching from the war council."

"Clearly they're not keeping you entertained."

"No, not really. This is what Tsunade was referring to when she said you were working on a plan for defeating Madara I take it? She mentioned you would be needing my eyes to locate him and since I doubt you were planning to fill me in I took it upon myself to find out the details.

"Regarding this trap you are planning to spring up around him, it's a sort of electrical cage, correct?" Sasuke nodded tersely. "So you'll be able to pass through the walls and rein destruction within killing the invisible Madara without worrying about harming your visible colleagues. In order to anchor your wild magick you need to have an intimate sense of the object but it doesn't look like you have much of a connection with that stone... However you do have this wonderfully... vibrant connection with your dear Naruto."

Neji's eyes flickered between the pair of them, assessing them as a whole. Sasuke wondered for a moment if Neji could actually see the bonds placed on hunters during their ceremonies. Itachi had spoken of them as being almost tangible and the olde magick had run so deep that he was still bound to his brother in death. He caught Naruto's eye and for a moment he thought he saw a glimpse of a thousand glittering threads running between them, tangling them together. Naruto's eyes widened before the sight was snatched away as quickly as it had appeared, but the understanding remained.

"Do it," he said softly, nodding at Naruto.

Sasuke could feel the charge immediately. He bristled only slightly at the smug look on Neji's face, too distracted by the sudden swirl of magick in the crystal. One of the hunters creating the witchlights had reached the clifftop and as the nearest brazier flickered to life its light caught the stone, reflecting a myriad of colours across Naruto's skin, waxing pale and ghostly in the white fire. Sasuke glanced up at the focused look on his lover's face and mirrored the expression, drawing up images of the web of magick binding them together. Suddenly it was easy to sense the Kiyo crystal. Sasuke's logical mind reasoned that now he knew those threads of magick existed, connecting them together, it was not so hard to believe that he was in turn connected to the crystal. He knew with a sudden surety that this plan was possible.

So when Naruto dropped the crystal on the sand and stepped back again, Sasuke was not surprised to find that he could still sense the magick swirling within its faceted shell. He reached for it as he extended his magick almost unconsciously and lightning arced through the air. Sasuke saw it move in slow motion, like an extension of his own outstretched hand; reaching for Naruto's magick and cradling the glow in its grasp.

The strand of lightning shimmered in the air, flickering back and forth restlessly as was its nature but it did not dissipate; it was firmly anchored now.

Naruto let out a cheer and clapped his hands excitedly but Neji frowned, not so easily satisfied.

"It's a start but you'll need to manipulate its shape to create the cage, Sasuke. Have you ever tried that before?"

Rather than have to answer him Sasuke opted for concentrating on his lightning. It wavered as he tried to stretch its shape and Sasuke fed the link magick in order to steady it. His body thrummed with energy and static lifted his hair. It was more difficult than he had imagined to widen the lightning after he had brought it into existence. It bucked and writhed in the air and trying to control it was like trying to mould water with your bare hands. He hissed out a breath of frustration through his teeth as the lightning flickered and jumped, slipping through his fingers and finally fizzling out of existence.

"Keep trying," said Neji in what he evidently thought was an encouraging manner. It made Sasuke want to punch him.

Sasuke clenched his fists, controlling the urge to lash out. He was ready to start counting to ten when Shikamaru rounded the corner into the garden effectively distracting Neji who smiled pleasantly at him. Shikamaru strolled up to him and stood close by his side, shoulders hunched.

"Did I miss anything?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "More reports of the sad state of the city. Four more possible werewolf attacks, untransformed but it looks like one of them might have been caught on camera last full moon. Karin and Suigetsu are working on tracking down the evidence."

Neji made a noise of frustration. "This is bad, they're risking exposure at every turn."

"It's chaos all right but we can't get too distracted by the subspecies."

"If they're out there killing people then why aren't we out there stopping them? Everyone's here hiding and training while people are in danger!" Naruto interrupted them fiercely, standing up, ready to run to Konoha and help.

"There are hunters in Konoha who are fighting as best they can but it's the demons sending the subspecies into a frenzy and it's them we've got to stop," said Neji firmly. "We find them, or more specifically the one organising them, and then we can get the scum population under control."

Sasuke had been silent up until now but when Naruto glanced at him for support he looked thoughtful. "You're getting close," he said quietly.

Naruto's gaze flickered between the three hunters. They seemed to have come to a better understanding of the situation than Naruto could comprehend.

"Getting close? To who? Madara?"

"That's why Tsunade moved almost everyone out here, realistically the watch houses could have held a few more hunters, but she's sent everyone here to train and prepare. By not increasing the patrol numbers she could hope to have the enemy believe we are ignorant of their movements, but we all know it's too late for the that; Madara has already called us out. She could be running scared, protecting the bulk of her assets for when the time comes but Tsunade is no coward. That leads me to believe that the time is now."

Sasuke was staring at the pair of them, daring them to deny it but he knew they wouldn't; he was confident now, that he was right. The cautious glance they shared confirmed it. Neji looked unhappy, he had been keen to keep Sasuke out of the council sessions from the start, but it was Shikamaru who gave a heavy sigh and spoke.

"We have had a number of small successes recently. I can tell you we have been able to confirm that Madara has gathered a small group of demons to his will, quite an achievement when you consider they are demons and would sooner rip each other to pieces than join under a common cause. The organisation is called Akatsuki, we have gathered a certain amount of information on its members and all hunters specializing in tracking are currently working at locating their base." Shikamaru paused and gave them a stern, but somehow still bored, look. "You have two, maybe three days to perfect this technique of yours. After that we will likely have an exact location and will be ready to launch this mission. You will need to prove to the war council that your plan is sound before you are allowed to join the team."

Sasuke rolled his eyes but Naruto could tell he was almost buzzing with nervous energy from the news. "It's not like you have another strategy to deal with Madara. What exactly is your plan without me? Burst into his hideout en mass and line-up the hunters one-by-one to try their powers on him?"

"I always have another strategy, Sasuke." With that Shikamaru turned towards Neji, taking his elbow gently. "I came out here to see you off, are you ready to go?"

Neji nodded and looked back at Sasuke. "Now is your last chance for my guidance in the development of this technique. I have to head back to Konoha to help Hinata and the other trackers."

Sasuke folded his arms. "I'm sure I'll manage without you," he said scathingly.

"I'm positive you can but it would be wise to take this opportunity if there's anything in particular I can help you look into. For example I think you might actually find it easier to create the cage shape if you connect all of the corners first." Neji said, digging two more empty kiyo crystals out of a pouch beneath his cloak. "Just a thought."

He gave Sasuke an overly sweet smile and threw the stones to him forcing Sasuke to unfold his arms in order to catch them. Sasuke glowered at him, annoyed that he'd had the cheek to go through the Uchiha stores in the basement. It was further proof that Neji still kept an eye on him and knew where he went and what he got up to.

Sasuke spent the rest of the night attempting to connect the charges between the stones. He hadn't missed the look on Naruto's face when he had forsaken his pride and taken Neji's advice (once the Hyuuga was well outside the blinding spell of the castle walls, of course). The promise of a shot at Madara was enough of an incentive to prevent Sasuke getting all difficult about accepting a bit of help. Still, it was nearly dawn before he made any real headway.

A/N: I shall get part two out as soon as I can maybe after I've written those system plans and that website... *Le sigh*

_yasu