Hey guys!

Thank you so much for reading, and so today, I bring you the newest chapter of my continuing story Insignia!

Enjoy! And remember, if you don't review, I don't know what to do!

It was a huge phenomenon.

Japan went crazy to see the new "twins" of hip-hop dance at UDA, especially since it was a surprise. The show sold out, but people on TV went insane. The show was broadcasted that night specifically and had over 3,000,000 views worldwide. Among them, I knew, was Sasuke Uchiha. Even hundreds of miles away, thousands even, I could feel two pairs of onyx eyes watching my every move in HD, inspecting me, waiting. Waiting for me to fall apart underneath their gazes. And truth be told, I did break down; after the show.

Menma had to deal with my break down yet again. I had had another other one earlier that day, before the show, and my "twin" was now used to them. In the process, my Japanese also improved greatly. Or at least our type of Japanese did. Due to the persistence of the fans, we had an encore of the same show two days later. It also sold out. Now the morning after, Menma and I were relaxing as we went out to eat some pancakes.

"So...tell me about your dad." Menma swallowed what he was eating before clearing his throat and answering.

"I don't really know him much, to be honest. My...someone took care of my sister and I. I don't think my sister and I were related, but I have pictures of my dad. It's obvious we're related. He was always busy, if I remember correctly. I never saw him much, just glances. He was a scientist, I think, but I vaguely remember his in scrubs... so maybe he was medical...I also saw him in a suit, so maybe he was a lawyer. He was a bunch of things, that's all I can really say. He's always just been a provider, ya know? Not a dad. He disappeared from my life a couple years ago, when I was nineteen. I know he's around but I don't think he wants me to contact him. Maybe he's retired…" Menma drifted off, sucking his tongue in thought. I nodded slowly, trying to come up with a plan. We need to do something, I need to do something; I need answers. A sadness and an itch began to blanket over me and I had to dig my nails into my hand in order to ward it off. Menma sensed my discomfort and tried to comfort me. "Oi, be happy, okay?" I blinked, smiling at his English and giving him my thumb of approval.

After a couple more pancakes and minutes of chit-chat, I pushed the plan forward. "Do you think we could contact him?" The brunette leant back, cracking his knuckles as he thought. He sighed.

"My sister and I…" My phone rang, interrupting his thoughts. I apologized and he waved me off before telling me to answer. Without even looking at the person on the other end of the line I did.

"Hello?"

"Naruto, please don't hang up before I finish." My body stiffened. I remained silent, allowing him to continue. "I need to warn you. I know you and Menma are close but as you know, he's an Uchiha. There must be a million questions running through your head about why he looks like you and why he's an Uchiha and things like that but please, please don't try and involve yourself into anything personal and potentially dangerous! His situation is...fragile and needs to be held with care. Please, for your own sake, just bear with it for now and wait until we can have a proper conversation." I narrowed my eyes.

"Why would I listen to you? You lied to me! For so many months, you never even told me that I was dealing with devils! Murderers! I can't even trust you anymore, Kakashi; I don't know who you are." I was about to hang up when he stopped me.

"Yes you do. I've raised you, along with Jiraya, almost your entire life. When your parents died I took you as my own son, I let your imagination run wild and allowed you to create the roads to the dreams that you wanted, not something that I would've wanted. I held you up when you were falling, when you wanted to die I was there. I stayed with you when you were sick and when you needed someone to lean on. You know that's something that can't be replaced. No matter when or where, it's always been us two as the constant in our experiments; I'm not changing that now." There was a tear in my eye, and I couldn't stop myself from merely accepting his words. He was the only one I could continuously count on. "I don't have words to apologize for keeping such a secret from you for so long, especially once Sasuke came into your life. It's just that you both looked so happy together, I felt happy about it. After Sakura I thought you'd never give anyone else a chance, I thought you'd given up. But you didn't, and I was happy. I am happy. So please, let's meet and talk." I shook my head slightly, my Mark and my heart pulsing with emotion. I sighed and growled, nodded and muttering a quick 'yes' in response. I heard him smile on the other line and he gave me the details before hanging up.

Menma just looked at me with a blank face, questions in his mind. I sighed and answered them for him. "My uncle wants to speak with me. I'm sorry for interrupting you, continue." He nodded understandingly.

"My sister and I, before she passed away, used to meet with this man monthly in order to Skype my father when he was out of town. I think I may still have his phone number somewhere, and if I do, that would be our key to finding him." I nodded.

"Then we better find him."

I fiddled with my watch, rubbing it around my wrist so much that I was a hundred percent sure it was leaving red marks.

Only ten minutes and thirty-three seconds until everyone was gone and you could do you work, Sasuke. Only ten minutes and twenty-nine seconds.

Of course, the anxiety never made any of the waiting any easier.

Naruto had been gone for just about a month and a-half, maybe closer to two, and it's made things ten times easier for me; no late-night shenanigans, no leave-early excuses, nothing. I can stay late after everyone leaves and get some hard work done in peace and quiet, come in later so I can have a full night's sleep, eat a good breakfast and have a nice cup of coffee. Not to mention the house has been clean every single time I walk into it. Things just run better.

Speaking of which, my hard work would begin in about four more minutes and seven seconds.

I sat in my chair, rocking back and forth with my heel and fixing my watch's bracelet when I spotted my Mark. A sharp pain sprung up my arm, a tingling sensation running over my body and my heart rate increasing rapidly. I looked away and took deep breaths, attempting to calm my over-reactant body down. I reached out shakily for my water, gulping it down in order to aid my efforts. It was nothing to worry about. The headaches and pains had grown increasingly over the past month but I had nothing to worry over; it was just because we were spending time apart. Besides, they were hardly bothering me. I was used to it by now, surely. I took another deep breath and simply focused on the task ahead of me.

I don't know how many minutes, or hours, passed by before my phone rang, but when it did I jumped so hard my knee hit the table hard enough to form a bruise. I cursed, taking a second to collect my thoughts before picking up the call without looking at the ID.

"Sasuke uh, Uchiha's phone."

I heard a deep chuckle on the other end. "I'm sorry little brother, was I interrupting something? Or perhaps someone? Oh, right, it couldn't be the latter since the blonde is in Tokyo anyhow." My jaw clenched at the mention of my mate.

"What did you need Itachi?" He cooed.

"Aw, is that anyway to talk to your big brother Sasuke?" I growled, urging him to continue. He sighed and spoke again. "I sent you an e-mail, take a look at it."

I shook my head. "I'll look at it later."

Itachi replied almost instantly. "I'd rather you look at it now." I tensed slightly, his teasing attitude just barely covering the his threat. I looked at my watch, frowning.

"It's eleven twenty-six at night, Itachi."

Had I really lost track of time that much?

"You're in front of your computer anyway, just look." My grimace grew larger as I complied.

I opened a new tab and searched for my email, entering my sign-in information and clicking his new subject. I scanned it, my eyes growing wider and my body slouching back into the chair. Itachi hummed on the other side of the phone, almost as if he could see my reaction in person. He knew me well enough that he didn't have to be there to see my face.

"I just thought it might interest you a little bit." I began shaking slightly, my hands rubbing my wrist nervously. Blue eyes and blonde hair lit up the screen in addition to a contrasting black hair and blue and red eye combination. The two men had whiskers and both dressed similar in the picture, obviously taken at one of their recent shows. The kanji read "Hot new duo - long-lost twins?" in bright pink and yellow, along with more unnecessary celebrity news. My eyes traced the screen, traced him; he hadn't changed a bit. I wasn't sure how long I had been staring when Itachi pulled me back out of my head. "Aren't you glad you have such a nice big brother to look out for you?"

Yes.

I sighed shakily and pushed the seriousness back into my tone. "What is this supposed to mean to me?"

Itachi chuckled softly. "Oh how would I ever know, little brother? It means whatever it means to you. How have you been doing? Are you still in good health?" My hands started shaking, body stiff as I tried to calm my breath.

Don't be nervous, calm down, he's nothing to worry over, you're fine, you're okay, he's okay, things will be okay, everything is okay, you're okay.

"I uh..." I let out a breath and forced myself to continue. "I'm fine."

"Sure you are."

"I'm sorry I'm late, I got held up on the path of-"

"Save it, Kakashi." He stilled at my interruption, silently nodding his head and seating himself in front of me.

After ordering with the waiter he turned his attention to me. "So, how do you like Japan?"

I sighed. "Kakashi can we stop running in a circle please?" I stared at him, the need for answers clearly evident in my eyes. He sighed.

"I suppose we should. I only wanted to love my son first but that's alright. How much do you know about Menma?"

I thought about it for a second, really pondering about what I exactly knew about said guy. "Enough." Kakashi raised his brows at my answer, and I sighed. "We have the same Mark, he was raised by this guy named Madara Uchiha, but he doesn't really know his mom. He says that they told him when he was young that he was never gonna be normal and find a Mate or anything." Kakashi hummed in approval as he shook his head.

"Does Menma want to know?" I looked at him, a little confused at first. He sensed my hesitation and proceeded to clarify. "Does Menma what to know the truth about himself?"

I gave him the only answer I could. "I mean, I think so."

Kakashi looked at me, exhaling through his nose and leaning back in his chair. He began to open his mouth when the waiter came by, placing our food down and smiling before taking their leave. We began to chew at our dinner, taking a couple of bites and a few sips of our drinks before he returned to our previous conversation. "Naruto…What I'm going to tell you, I don't know if Menma will want to hear. I've never met him, nor do I know him personally, so unfortunately I can't tell you what to do. I'm just going to leave you with the decision with whether or not to tell Menma after I tell you." He sighed, running his hands over his face and quickly shoving a spoonful of soba in his mouth nervously before he began. How he managed to shove food under his mask I never knew. "Menma was the product of a social experiment. Actually, it was more of a science experiment than anything. His "father", per say, was a good friend of the Uchiha family.

"If you didn't know, the Uchiha were known as a very powerful, genius, and wealthy family all throughout Japan. The head of the family, and Sasuke's father, Fugaku, was an ingenious doctor. He was brilliant, truly, but he was also a great business man. He owned several hospitals originally and began branching out to other businesses. Itachi was a lawyer; the true mastermind behind all of the wealth that was left behind to Sasuke and his brother. Sasuke was destined to be the next family member in the medical field, as he was the second heir.

"Madara was his uncle. He worked with Fugaku a lot during their youth together. He was older than Sasuke's dad, which made me believe that he always held a resentment towards Fugaku for his advancements ahead of him. Madara steered more towards science during the midst of his career, which led to several scientific advancements. However, once your dad and mom became friends and business partners with the Uchiha family, Madara kind of went low on the radar. People said he retired and wanted peace, and so that's what the clan gave him. Regardless, there's evidence now that he clearly went into his own independent studies after that said time.

"Madara was always fascinated with Marks; he loved trying to discover the secrets behind them, to deconstruct them. He wanted to be able to fabricate his own." The waiter came buy to refill Kakashi's water, both of us thanking him as he took our plates and proceeded to wait on other tables. "And so, without anyone of the public knowing, I guess he did. Menma is the result of that."

I shook my head. "What do you mean? That doesn't explain why he looks like me, or why were born on the same day, or, hell, why our Marks are the same." Kakashi nodded in acknowledgement.

"Now that, I don't know. There are some things that seem to match up, and others that don't. Kushina was part of a royal clan of the northern part of Japan; she had been kidnapped twice before she was murdered. Perhaps Madara had been involved and somehow managed to gather some data from her, but these kidnappings were years before you were born. Well, you and Menma. There's still information I don't know." I nodded slowly, more to myself for reassurance, as I took it all in, trying to make sense of it. Let's just say it wasn't the easiest.

After a couple minutes of silence and some ordering of dessert as to not be rude, I approached him with another question. "So then, if Madara did it, who is Tobi? Why was he convicted?"

"Well, I don't know if Madara did it, but to answer your question...Obito Uchiha, or Tobi; the one who was charged with the kidnapping and murder for your parents...He was my best friend." I stopped drinking, my jaw falling slack and the glass almost falling from my hands. Kakashi looked away, folding his hands in his lap. He exhaled and continued. "I took care of the Uchiha family. I was their bodyguard and assistant, their butler if you wish. That's why Sasuke remembers me slightly. Obito was my partner-in-crime. I met Minato when I was going through some training. I wanted to advance my skills, lead into more privately-paid and operation mission for the government. Minato was at the head of the training. I was the one who introduced him and Kushina to Fugaku and his family.

"Obito was framed for their deaths. He never told me why, but I was with him when he was murdered shortly after. It was a privately paid job. He warned me, but I couldn't connect the dots and after I left to go take care of you, I didn't have the will to pursue it." I could hear the tension and the sorrow in his voice, my heart aching for him at the lost of his best friend. Of course, I wasn't exactly too happy with him, nor did I really care for Obito, but still; if I lost Menma right now, I'm not sure how I would take it. He cleared his throat and drank some water before he finished. "However, I know a few things. One being that whoever Obito was trying to protect, was in the Uchiha family. I know that because of the fact he was trying to protect them. I also know that due to this, it couldn't have been Itachi or Fugaku's wife, since Obito didn't know them. This means that the only possible candidates could've been Fugaku or Madara. Of course, I could be completely wrong based on just that information alone, but thankfully, I have more.

"I could see where the speculations that Fugaku would've been the one to hire your parents to be killed could be true; money, profits of their company, full business and trade ownerships of their business, etc. I just don't really believe it to be that probable, well, because the Uchiha's simply had more than enough wealth and power on their own. Not only that, but specifically Sasuke's family had this immense amount of pride. This means the only one left to digress is Madara." Kakashi sighed yet again, for what seemed to be more times in the past hour than in his whole life. He paused, and when he didn't continue after a minute I spoke up.

"Is Madara the one who did it?"

He looked at me, locking our gazes in a dead stare before nodding.

"I think he did."

Hm...do you think he did it?

Let me know!

Thank you for reading! Au revior!