A/N: Alright guys! Here is the continuation of the War meeting. I would like to thank you all for the lovely reviews for the last chapter and yes, I will admit that where I left it off was kind of intense. This chapter gets better, trust me.

I do NOT OWN ANY of the Naruto characters or the manga itself. If I did, I would rewrite it as how I'm writing WWYDN,S – which I clearly have to update real soon, among other things. Thank you all for the wonderful reviews, again and I love them all. They really help inspire me. Also, this chapter was getting too long again so I cut it but I cut it in a less meaner, cliff-hanger way. Thank you and please enjoy!

Ch. 35: The War Meeting Pt. 2

"How sad. Slowly being killed and tortured by the very people you want to spare."

Now Sasuke really can't wait any longer. Kyuubi is not going to release Itachi from whatever it is he's using against him. He can't just sit here!

"Sasuke!"

The younger prince pushes his father's arm to the side and gets up to run right into the circle of candles. Kyuubi spares him a glance and so did Itachi when he came in. Despite having an audience all around them, Sasuke kneels beside Itachi's side and tries to help him as he calls, "Aniki,-"

But he doesn't get the chance to finish that sentence.

Ba-dum

…

When Sasuke paused, all eyes turn to him as what's happening to Itachi now happens to him. His entire body pulses and then he just feels this sharp pain in his neck and a large aching pain in his stomach. He tries to speak but all he can manage is a loud surprised gasp of pain and equally loud panting. All of a sudden it's really hard to breathe and the pain in his stomach feels more like someone is punching him with iron spiked fists multiple times from the inside. It becomes Itachi's turn to be scared out of his mind but he notices something at the corner of his eyes on the boy's neck that really makes them grow exceedingly wide. Because of the blood, he couldn't speak but apparently he didn't need to say anything. Sasuke can feel the blood flow traveling warmly down his skin and he can feel the stinging pain that comes with it. On his neck, he has this large gash between his neck and his shoulder, and blood is just dripping down his skin to look like multiple red rivers on his white ivory skin as it travels all the way to the floor. Placing his other hand over it, his eyes also grow wide in major confusion as to why he has this wound and why he has this pain in this stomach when it's showing no external wounds like the one on his neck. He tries pressing against it to try and stop as much of the bleeding as possible. Usually a wound like this, even though it's close to nearly cutting his head off, wouldn't be a problem. It wouldn't kill a vampire and it would take a longer time to heal than most wounds because it's so close to so many blood vessels, but that's the other thing. Besides the stomach and neck pains, Sasuke feels really strange throughout his entire body. Besides already feeling numb from all of the pain, could it be possible for your body to become even number? And when he moved his hand up towards his neck, it was shaking and it took longer than normal just to reach up there. His body feels stiff and a bit difficult to control. His head suddenly feels really hot and there's this agonizing burning coursing through his veins. What in the world is this? This is like suffering through three ways of how to die at once.

'Wh…what is this?' the younger prince wonders, looking at the pool of blood forming on the ground and feeling his body reactions. He cries out again from his stomach and then leans over from how unbelievably painful it all is. He's also finding it very hard to breathe until he starts coughing too. Blood comes splitting out on the floor in a matter of seconds.

'Sasuke!' Itachi calls telepathically. Oh how he wishes that he can have the strength to stop his pain at least temporary enough to stop Kyuubi or move Sasuke out of the way. He can't bear to watch his little brother/mate prolong in his suffering. He wants to stop it but the 'poison' he feels in his own body gets worst and worst with each passing second and all he can do is cough out more blood.

Mikoto is in horror shock. Her two children are practically dying right in front of her and there's not a thing she can do to save them. Mostly due to her mate stopping her from running towards them as soon as she saw blood leaking through Sasuke's wound. Despite his fear and desperate need to save his children as well, Madara most certainly did not want to see Mikoto in range of Kyuubi's fast-forwarding technique. Seeing your own children in pain, that's murderer. He didn't want to see what wounds his mate might have to endure when the war comes.

Not when it's…

"Ooh? Now this is interesting."

Both brothers look up at their god and like the know-it-all he is, he explains, "From how it looks for you, same thing but the wound is in the neck and the poison is different from Itachi's. A faster paralyzing substance to end a vampire quick. The only reason why you're not dead yet is because I'm only allowing you to feel the effects of the poison. But it truly is a perfect substance to use for a war battle. However, that stomach pain is what really intrigues me. " Then he lowers hand and just like that, the numbness, the pain, and the blood all just disappear. As if it never happened, Itachi and Sasuke are no longer wounded or dying. They're not bleeding from anywhere and now they both feel completely fine. No choking, no burning, no unexplainable internal pains; they're just fine. They're just sitting on their knees on the floor and no puddle of blood around them. So that was all just an illusion then…Oh thank goodness. Coming to the conclusion, Kyuubi says to them both, "From how it looks, both of you have a high chance of dying in this war, by the prince's resolve to save his friends. But I bet now that you two know one of you will end up dying, you're going to do everything you can to keep it from happening…if you can that is. That's only going to make the show for me all the more entertaining. Yet tell me, Uchiha Sasuke. Are you willing to fight and die for your brother's decision?"

Like brother, like brother. If Itachi isn't going to mentally bow down to this guy, what makes him think Sasuke is just going to sit and roll over like a loyal dog. Kyuubi could kill him, that's a fact. Could take everything he holds dear and destroy them right before his very eyes, making him feel completely weak, powerless, and worthless. However, all Sasuke has to do is place his hands over Itachi's and he will have the courage and strength to overcome that fear. It did catch the older prince of guard when he felt the boy's grip over his but one look at his little brother and he doesn't question it in the slightest. Sasuke is glaring at his god, also daring for him to do his absolute worst and it wouldn't change a thing. All of the other vampires again think that the look he's giving to their god right now is a foolish one. What is wrong with the mind set of their princes? Do they want to die at the hands of their god? Or are they just too prideful and stubborn to back down and heed Kyuubi's words?

With no intentions of physically bowing down to this guy again, or even sounding polite, Sasuke replies, "I may not know these humans but if my brother's memories are true, then how can I just stand by and allow them to die when the reason they're hunters is no different than any of us looking to kill for revenge. They're broken, they're angry, but they still have a soul. They can be the heartless killers but I most certainly will not. There is always a third option, even when I usually don't take it." His grip on Itachi's hand tightens. The older prince spares it a moment glance before looking back at the brave little vampire beside him. If the entire council is labeling him a fool for speaking such disrespect to their god, he at least can see the turmoil of emotions raging on inside of him. "Furthermore, I will not die. I don't fall that easily, and I know for a fact my brother doesn't either." He turns to look at Itachi when he said that last part. It threw him off for a moment but it doesn't appear on his face for others to see. Instead he returns the grip and his other hand reaches for Sasuke's face. Palm pressed against check, Itachi kisses Sasuke's temple and nearly every vampire gasps at the affectionate gesture.

Calculating the time they spent together, isn't it a little weird that they would return back to how they used to be? Hold on! Kyuubi mentioned Itachi being mated with someone. Is that person…his brother? But that's…incest! An incestuous mating is a common temporary idea but never a permanent one.

Speaking with the same valor he had before, Itachi tells the vampire god, "I've lived most of my life wanting to die. If I can last this long, there's no way I'm going to die now." He holds his little brother's head close to him, actually pressing the top of his head against the older prince's cheek, and if this was not a serious matter Sasuke would have blushed lightly from the soft kiss and the close contact.

Kyuubi did not frown from the princes' bold words but he's not smirking anymore either. It looks more like a grin now with sparkling ruby red eyes gleaming with satisfaction and approval. "Not when you two have something to live for, right?" he asks, shyly as if planning something. And he did. All of a sudden, he disappears and reappears behind the younger prince in less than a blink of an eye and thanks to the fact that Sasuke has a top that makes it easier to look, all the god has to do is pull back collar and reveal his mating mark to every vampire in this room to see. Neither vampires had the chance to even breathe when Kyuubi did that. "Still fresh and hot it seems." Sasuke quickly knocks the god's hand away and covers his mark as he backs away from. Itachi also moves his arm to around Sasuke's shoulders and holds him closer to be away from that guy.

In tradition, or rather just how every vampire feels, it's embarrassing for a vampire to reveal his or her mating mark without being asked first. It's like being peeped on while you're changing clothes. It's a violation of their privacy. So what is with this god they all supposedly worship and fear? If they didn't know better, they would say he's a perverted, sadistic trickster who takes his little mischief too far but he can still get away with it. Kyuubi regains his cruel smirk and tells them again for the last time, "Enjoy the time you two have left, because Uchiha blood will be spilt in three days. Rather you like it or not."

In a blink of an eye, Naruto's blood red eyes change back into his normal sky blue ones and his malicious expression wipes away complete, as if never there in the first place, and his eyes roll back into his skull before his entire body goes limp and begins to collapse to the ground. All audience gasps and the princes didn't need to rethink twice about rushing to the spiky blonde's aid before he collapses completely to the floor. Sasuke catches him and Itachi instantly checks to see if there is anything wrong with their god host. Hovering his hand over the now unconscious blonde's forehead, he slowly and easily slides it down over his neck, his torso, and then back up to his forehead.

Retracting his hand, Itachi reports, "He's alright. He'll wake up in a few minutes." Though when he turns to look at his little brother, he sees the younger prince raising a hand over the blonde's body and his claws pointing directly at the blonde's neck. Quickly, Itachi grabs Sasuke's hand and tells him, "Don't kill him, Sasuke."

"I'm not going to kill him. I'm just going to give him a beating!" the younger prince replies, angrily.

"Coming from you, how is that any different than trying to kill him?"

"Sasuke…" Both vampire princes look down to that small weakened voice and they see sky blue eyes looking at the younger prince and he's trying to appear as cute as a teary eyed baby. "Teme, is that you? You wouldn't hurt me, would you?"

Oh boy… A dark angry aura starts to grow from Sasuke's body, causing his hair and his clothes move in the soft non-existent wind. That's not good. In a low, furious voice, Sasuke calls "Naaaaaruuuuutooooo…" and quickly both Itachi and Naruto act by the time Sasuke takes out one of his hidden knives from his sleeve. He holds it in his grasp and he was just about to stab Naruto when Itachi grabs his wrist again and then wraps his other arm around the boy's chest while Naruto as quickly as he can jumps out of the enrage vampire's reach and tries to get a good enough distance away as the younger prince is now struggling in his older brother's arms.

"AHH!" Naruto screamed as he got away. He's still inside the circle of candles and if he really wants to be safe from harm then he should get out of the room and find a safe place to hide – and we're not talking about under his bed or in the closet.

"You moron! You let Kyuubi out!" Sasuke accuses, yelling and really wanting to just rip that blonde apart. Naruto has a history of doing stupid things but this one is absolutely the worst!

Itachi tries to tell him, "Sasuke, calm down," as he's holding him back nice and firmly.

Naruto argues back, "You can't get angry at me for doing that, teme! He saved Itachi's life, didn't he?"

Does he want to call harassment and making Itachi go through an example of what his death will be like a way to save his life? Sure it was only an illusion and Kyuubi got the council's consent to carry out the older prince's wishes without complaint but Sasuke doesn't see it like that one bit.

"Save him? Why I oughta-"

"Enough, children!" Madara calls, his voice overpowering his son's. The teenager stops moving and the three pairs of eyes turn up to look at the king and from the direction the voice was coming from, Madara's not on the floor on his knees anymore. He's back on his chair and like nothing serious really happened, like it's just another meeting day in the office, he simply says, "Now then, let's get back to business."

That attitude really does nothing for Sasuke's nerves. It really just wants to make him want to rip his head off instead.

But then being serious again, Madara calls out, "Itachi, just one last time. Despite our god's frightening prediction, are you still willing to try and save the organization Akatsuki? You could very well die from this war and so can Sasuke. Are you prepared for the consequences that come with this decision if things do not go your way?"

Just like how Kyuubi was asking him before but this time, Itachi is feeling the full weight of how heavily these two decisions could really be for him. He could very well lose Sasuke over this and then what would be the point? He can't kill another person's love one because he knows the pain but he can't live through that pain again. Before he wasn't worried because he knows that Sasuke is strong enough to survive but after that, is he really?

Sasuke can feel the arm around him grip a little bit tighter. Just from that, he can tell his mate is really starting to feel the pressure. His faith is starting to waver. He's starting to doubt his own resolve. There is no way he's just going to stand here and allow his brother to back down because of fear for his safety.

Gaining Itachi's attention when Sasuke places his one free hand over the one on his side, he holds his brother's fingers in a comforting grip as he whispers low enough for only him to hear, "Don't make me repeat what I already said. We're Uchihas and we're as stubborn as all hell. We don't back down and we don't crawl for anyone."

This boy…How is it that Itachi left him all those years ago when he's the only one who can give him the strength to fight against anything that's thrown at him and reign out victorious? Sasuke is right. The two of them have already claimed to not die so easily just because their god predicts it so and they both have declared their decision before this council. It'll be a dishonorable itself to back from it now, even if staying true to it means utter foolishness.

Itachi snuggles his nose against Sasuke's hair a moment, taking in his sweet scent and as a small gesture of gratitude for his encouraging words, before facing his king with the same determination and fire in his eyes he had before. "We are prepared, father. For we are more than just the monsters they claim for us to be."

Hearing his words, the vampire council and Naruto look upon the two princes in awe and astonishment. These two are truly inspiring for their courage and strength. No one can think ill of the love they have share when their encouragement even dares against their god. Their love is strong and unbreakable. However, Kakashi still looks at them with a tint of anger for wanting to spare those hunting murderers when they've already killed so many of their kind. He looks away as if those princes are the most shameful foolish things he has ever seen. Mikoto, she looked petrified and greatly shaken when she heard her son's words but as their mother, she must support them in whatever decision they make in their lives. Madara appears deep in thought as his dark eyes stare and analyze his sons for any fault in their expression that gives away any doubt of their assessment. He couldn't find any.

"Very well then," he agrees after a long moment. "Upon your request and in exchange for your cooperation, as well as by our god's orders, we are to support you and your decision with no complaints or struggle. No one is to kill the Akatsuki. Only capture them and, if you must, wound them to prevent any continuing assault. Well done, my son." Even though they can't see it, they know their father smiles proudly and in approval as he nods. Itachi, in turn, nods as well.

"Thank you, father."

And then like the changing rain…

Clap

"And now for main topic number two."

Huh?

Everything goes from hard pouring rain serious to bright and sunny cheerfulness.

Both Itachi and Sasuke raise a brow in major confusion at their king's sudden change in attitude as he reverts back to 'I wanna spoil you' sweet voice when saying, "Oh come now, you two. Surely you haven't forgotten already what your mother and I discussed before we came here." Oh no… "Since Kyuubi-sama has already spoiled the news for everyone, I would like to official declare that the heirs to the throne have happily mated. How about a hand for the lovely couple, huh?" Then he starts clapping, and then Mikoto, and soon the entire vampire council, plus excited and happy Naruto and minus irritated stick-in-the-mud Kakashi. This cannot be happening now…

"Faaaatheeerrrr…." Sasuke growls, really really getting frustrated with every vampire born into this castle. Since Itachi too is feeling the stress and humiliation, he allows his little brother to break free of his grip and try talking sense into their parents through yelling. "This is not the time to be celebrating! We are at war and we must prepare." Which always backfires.

"We're not in war yet, sweetheart. And we have at least three days to prepare for that, as well as two days to have the pre-mating ceremony," their mother cheerfully reminds. Oh Kyuubi, not that!

Usually when two royalties are 'engage' there is the engagement party to declare their soon-to-be-mating and then it's the week-long restriction between the two vampires – as a way to prepare both the groom and the bride for when they bond together for all eternity. During which, the groom and the bride have separate traditions they must follow to ask for blessings of their families, their people, and their god. Then after the week comes the pre-mating ceremony. To better explain it, the pre-mating ceremony is like a giant royal wedding and it is the biggest party of the entire mating progress and the kingdom. Everyone attends in some shape or form; the families, the invited guests, and the council while the rest of the castle, the free workers, the castle guards, and even the soldiers have their own little party to celebrate. It's also the party in which the bride and groom plan together without actually being together. It's like a way to exercise how strongly their bond is and how well they know each other. The pre-mating is also a series of events that happen within the party; such as getting the ceremony ready, cleaning and helping the bride and groom before the ceremony, the vows, the dinner, the dance, and then the actual mating ceremony in which the bride and groom have permission to leave the party to mate in their private quarters while their guests enjoy the rest of the party until day-break. The event itself is bigger than it sounds and it's impossible to plan such a thing in two day short notice and actually have it done in time of the war.

Itachi tries to plead, "Mother, please," when he knows he should just hold his breath because they're not going to listen.

The king cuts in, "I hereby declare this war meeting over. I want every blacksmith to be working at once on creating the strongest armor and weapons they can with our materials. Tomorrow, we will have a meeting with our generals to plan strategies. For the remainder of the day, Itachi will write reports of all the Akatsuki members' strengths and weaknesses and anything else we need to know about them. As for the rest of you, we have a pre-mating ceremony to plan. I want a copy of the plans on my desk by nightfall and the cooks to start preparing their finest dishes. You are all dismissed." By his command, the candle light all fades away into the darkness and not even a second later, natural light comes shining in when all exit doors are opened and all of the council leave to fulfill their king's orders by ordering the castle servants and preparing in their own way to congratulate the happy mated pair – if you can call them happy at this moment. In less than a minute, the only ones in the room are the king and queen, their sons, and Naruto – who's still happily sitting on the floor at the thought of his protector getting the ceremonial wedding he deserves.

This can't be real. They're planning for a war and they're planning for a wedding. How can you plan these two events that are very different from each other? It's like trying to plan world destruction and world peace at the same time! It's impossible! It shouldn't be possible in the first place!

"Father, you cannot be serious!" Sasuke exclaims as Madara comes down from his high throne and wraps his arm around his queen's shoulders as the two of them approach their frustrated, slightly stunned sons. "Our very lives are at stake and you want to plan a pre-mating ceremony? Planning for war doesn't have time for all of that nonsense?"

"Oh? And how many wars have you participated in, Sasuke?" Madara asks. "As far as I know, we've decided to keep that business as far away from you as possible after your brother ran away from home before you decided to end it for us by eliminating the Kaguya clan on your own. A pre-wedding ceremony can be planned at the same time as war."

"How?"

Mikoto tells him, "Well we decided that for this one time, we're going to bend the rules just a bit. Sasuke, you are going to help me prepare for the ceremony while your father and your brother plan for the war."

Wait, what? Just at the sound of that, Sasuke pales complete, even more so than his natural skin tone.

"Ooh, yea!" Naruto suddenly cheers out of nowhere. Approaching the queen, Naruto asks like a young child again, "Can I help you and Sasuke plan for the ceremony, Queen Mikoto? I wanted to help the preparations for Kakashi's and Obito's pre-mating ceremony last time but Sasuke wouldn't let me."

The queen sweetly replies, "Of course you can help, Naruto-kun."

Madara adds, "Sasuke still has to watch you, rather he's getting mated or not."

"Now hold up!" Sasuke exclaims again, gaining back his color and his composure.

But this time, Itachi decides to make his say. "We've already mated, mother. The pre-mating ceremony will just be a waste of time and effort."

"Which would be more appropriately used in preparing for the war. Not this stupid, insignificant tradition!" Sasuke adds in last minute.

Then their mother puts on the hurt face. Both princes flinch at the sight of her teary eyes, her pouty quivering lips, and upset expression. Is she…going to pull the guilt trick on them? "You boys are mean," she whines, like a sad, sad little girl. "All I want is to plan my only sons' one pre-mating ceremony since they untraditionally mated behind our backs. I thought the least we can do is have the ceremony as soon as possible. Not just for you but to have it as a family." Yes, she is using that trick on them but they're just trying to be realistic here!

Naruto, taking pity in her, grasps her hand and pats it gently in comfort. As Mikoto proceeds in wiping away her tears that apparently started to form at the corner of her eyes, Madara releases his mate and allows the blonde to comfort her as he tells his sons, "Listen you two, you are being very rude to your mother and to me. All we want is one last feast to share together as a family before the Akatsuki comes. It'll be the first time in a really long time since we did something like this, don't you think Itachi?" Nice, he's using that trick too and it's slightly working. "You also know no matter how perfect a war plan could be, it won't go your way no matter how much you want it to. In the office, it can be as perfect as can be but in reality, that is a different matter. The one thing you must never do is underestimate the enemy. You learned that the hard way."

What he means by that is that time when Itachi was called into war all those years ago. It was the last battle Itachi was in when he lost all his men and he was incredibly wounded afterwards as the only survivor of that battle. It was also the battle before he met Shisui and was saved by him. But on subject, yes he understands what his father is saying completely.

"Besides if some of us are going to be dying in three days, one last happy celebration before then seems like a good way to go."

But Sasuke still tries to say, "No one is going to die, father."

"I know, Sasuke. You're starting to sound like a broken record." Then get it through your thick-heads all ready! "I believe you two will make sure that neither of you will die but what about the rest of us? The soldiers of the army or even some of the humans that'll help us fight? With an opponent like the Akatsuki, lives will be lost. There is no such thing as a war with no death, no matter how much we wish for one. Even without it, people die every day but it is the cause and the reason why they die that makes it honorable. This ceremony will be more than just the celebration of your mating. It'll be one last grand feast with everyone while we're all still alive."

When he puts it that way, Sasuke and Itachi really can't say anything against it. Preparing for the war is crucial to prevent as many casualties as possible but making sure there won't be a single casualty is wishful thinking. Maybe having the ceremony won't be too terrible of an idea. To be together with everyone one last time would be nice because you can never know if the person sitting next to you, conversing with you, or standing next to you will be gone the next day. It's like living that one night as your last night. If you found out you might or are going to die tomorrow, how would you spend your last night?

When neither princes said a word more against it, Mikoto, all tears wiped away and no evidence at all on her face to prove that she was crying, cheers, "Then it's settled." She suddenly appears by Sasuke's side, grabs his arm, and starts pulling him to one of the doors to exit the meeting room. "Time to go plan the ceremony!" Naruto is following closely behind her.

"Hooray!" he cheers.

As Sasuke is starting to fade off into the distance without so much of a chance to stand his ground or have his say as to why he has to be the one to help plan the ceremony, Itachi just stands there, a bit stunned, but active enough to call, "Mother, wait!" Then he feels his father's hand on his shoulder.

"Oh leave them be," he tells him. "Your brother will be fine. It's only fitting that the bride takes a big role in planning the ceremony, don't you think?" He smiles and winks at his son as if he gets some kind of secret message no one else picked up on. Itachi, however, is wondering one thing from his father's words.

"How did-" Madara friendly slaps his hand on Itachi's back before he could finish that.

"Oh you know. It's a father's intuition. Not to mention you're older, you're taller, and you finally have some meat on your bones. A strong scrawny thing like your little brother being the groom is not just possible in this kind of relationship. Now come with me. We can discuss in my office and I expect those reports at the end of the day too."

A father's intuition, huh? Isn't it usually a mother's intuition to know these things?

And there we go. So before the war, which is going to be depressing and devastating, as all wars are, I'm going to give you all the pleasure of a vampire wedding between Itachi and Sasuke. Yes, they're already mated but think of this as publicly declaring that they are going to be mates, or already are. The next chapter is going to be a lot of ItaSasu sweetness, maybe a bit of hotness as well, but there is going to be a BIG hint about the truth of Akatsuki. Look forward to it!

But how was the chapter? Good? Bad? Iffy? Let me know. Until next time!