Wow you guys are amazing, thank you for being so responsive! Anonymous Perspective, I'm glad you enjoyed Mini-Kisame; keep an eye out for his reappearance in Reverie, heh. As for kasumi, hmm, I don't think I can do a double-run on the 7 Cardinal Sins, but feel free to suggest a character you want to see in it if you so desire? :) Sin of the Fallen, I think the real question here is… which chibified character would I most want to hug the freaking breath out of! (The winner being, hands down, pre-Madara Tobi. Chibi Tobi would be a symbiotic explosion of crazy and cute, yes?) AnimeFreakAmanda & Speedykitten1643, will do! An extra long (in this case) Itachi chapter for all of you!

Disclaimer: I suppose since these are required, I must say, "I do not own anything of this fic but the idea!"

xxxix — masquerade

Why, of course… I can reassure you, Itachi, that there is no more feasible an option to turn to at this point.

"Nii-san, am I holding it right?"

You know it just as well as I do; our degenerate clan members are the very ones who have brought this upon themselves, Itachi.

"Oi, Nii-san!"

Danzou has made a wise decision. Itachi, it is time for you to make yours. You know where to find me, once you do…

"…Nii-san."

Itachi blinked, his momentarily blurred vision coming into focus and zeroing in on the unimposing figure in front of him. Accusing onyx eyes stared hard into his own, his younger sibling's lips twisted in a childish pout. Gripped in Sasuke's left hand was a practicing kunai, the edges dulled so as to allow the child some practice without risking fatal self-harm. Itachi erected his back, his black-clad bottom accommodated by the surface of a large rock.

"Sasuke," he began slowly, in his usual composed tone, "you… appear upset."

"'Cause you were zoning out again," Sasuke deadpanned.

Itachi's indecipherable gaze deserted the pudgy face of his younger sibling in favor of trailing down the latter's front collar. "…So I was."

The small boy, still standing before his prodigy of a brother, pursed his lips. His expression was anything but pleased. Itachi had promised, all but crossing his heart, to teach him how to handle kunai effectively today! Sasuke had been waiting so long for this one time alone with his Nii-san, having constantly been brushed aside like a bothersome gnat for weeks upon blasted weeks. But this, this was… How unfair!

He opened his mouth to voice his evident displeasure. "Nii—"

"Itachi-nii-san, don't be so unjust to Sasu-chan!"

Both brothers jerked their heads toward the source of sound, laying their pitch-black colored eyes on the petite frame of a grinning dark-haired woman. She was peering around the thick bark of a tree, now stepping away from it to reveal her full self. Disregarding her playful comment, Itachi nodded in wordless greeting.

"Kago-nee," Sasuke hissed, his ears flaming red with embarrassment. "I told you not to call me that!"

"Why not, it's such a cute nickname," she remarked pertly, winking. "An adorable name for an adorable little boy."

Itachi watched as Sasuke's whole complexion transitioned from alabaster to scarlet, and as the boy chucked his defective kunai to the ground out of sheer frustration.

"Nii-san… Kago-nee…" he growled while his head hung low. "You're both getting on my nerves!"

With that he angrily dashed away from the tiny clearing in the forest, perhaps to run home and weep sorrowfully in his mother's arms for the hundredth time about how he hated being the youngest child out of three. To which, Uchiha Mikoto would croon and run her chore-weary fingers through her little boy's head, further coddling him as she never failed to do. (No wonder Sasuke had turned out far more spoiled than both his elder siblings combined.)

"Nee-san," said Itachi with the slightest hint of amusement in his voice, his mouth quirked in a faint smile. "You did that on purpose."

"Did I?" Kagome replied lightly, lifting her palms to emphasize the small plate of onigiri resting on top of them.

I can reassure you, Itachi, that there is no more feasible an option to turn to at this point.

The near-nonexistent smile on Itachi's face died instantly as he recalled Madara's most recent words. Even his dear siblings could not distract him long enough from them, not Sasuke, not Kagome…

"We haven't had a good brother-to-sister chat in a bit of a while, right?"

Itachi noted as his sister made herself comfortable on the remaining room of his rock, having stridden over uninvited with her edible offering. He shifted a little over to the side, providing her marginally more space. Itachi soon felt a soft but firm hand grasp his chin and direct it to face eyes strikingly identical to his. Strange, it really was. Somehow, it seemed wrong that Kagome's eyes were of that particular piercing color; as a child he had often dreamt of a Kagome with brighter, warmer eyes, its filling shade that of anything but black. Was it truly but a dream, he would later ponder, as he remembered how vivid the images had been in his mind.

Kagome regarded him expectantly, awaiting his response.

Do you know, Nee-san, of this pain that has been plaguing me for countless days and nights?

He offered her a halfhearted smile. "No, Nee-san, we haven't."

You can kid the world. But not your sister.

—Charlotte Gray

Author's Note: Apparently everyone wants varying characters for the themes in the upcoming 7 Cardinal Sins, so… that's that. I'm in the process of brain-plotting my ideas for the mini series, and it's likely that it's going to make its not-so-grand entrance in Reverie after several more newly added chapters. During the considerable time that's left, you guys may inform me on which characters you want to be included in it.

1) Namikaze Minato (as requested by AnimeFreakAmanda)

2)

3)

4)

5)

6)

7)

The remaining six slots are open, and I'll take the first six requests that come in. If they don't get filled up by you guys, I shall resort to (a) random pick(s). xD