Chapter 84.- Smoke and mirrors

It was a clone.

The Higurashi Kagome that had been fighting together with them was nothing but a transformed bunshin. Yamato's mind whirled as he gritted his teeth, dark eyes looking to the side.

After countless attempts, one of Bankotsu's attacks finally managed to land on the evasive girl, rocks breaking through a crowd of clones before she could jump away, only to leave behind a puff of smoke. The real Higurashi heiress wasn't here, and the ANBU had no clue when the switch happened. Uchiha Itachi wasn't here either.

Thanks to the Suna incident, the two runaway heirs had shot up in the Akatsuki's target list. Not to mention, the Uchiha's prodigy was supposed to be after the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki. Every name in the man's hit list was gathered in a single place, and yet, Itachi hadn't shown up while his partner remained in the center of this makeshift battlefield. His attacks, big and aggressive and impossible to ignore. And now, Higurashi Kagome was missing.

Both heirs knew they were a target, and Uchiha Sasuke was not surprised about her sudden disappearance. Kagome was missing, but her overprotective partner didn't seem to care enough to do anything other than scowl a little deeper. Could it be…no, the mere idea of it was laughable; there was no way these two could've foreseen they'd be baited into an ambush, but was it so impossible to think they decided to use the situation to their advantage? That this was all part of their plan and the Shichinintai were only…

"…bait." One of the mercenaries snarled out when Kisame laughed crassly. "Bankotsu! She was the one with the explosives!"

Light exploded all around him, consuming the half-destroyed entrance.

Frustration welled up as he ran through pointless seals, willing wooden structures where the mercenaries were standing only a heartbeat ago. He didn't need to see to know there was no one trapped in his technique. It didn't really matter; his mission was to get to the girl and try to bargain with her before they could establish first contact. He was being used as a convenient distraction now, and he was forced to keep Kisame under control while she was left unchecked with the older Uchiha. Was there any way to salvage this mission? Could he sneak away to find the girl? Was that even possible? She'd been missing for a while now, but there were no signs of another battle going on anywhere.

"Well, they sure were quick to flee. That said, now I get why he stayed behind. Bastard probably knew from the start," the shark said with a scoff. "Shouldn't you be trying to get to them? Weren't you two joined at the hip."

"Kagome can play with him while I get rid of the annoying pests." Sasuke's words were all the confirmation the ANBU needed.

"Hahahaha, confidence is shared among Uchihas, I see." The Akatsuki waved the massive sword around; it was obvious he wasn't taking anyone here seriously. "As long as I don't deliver the final blow, he can't get mad at me."

"Stop acting like we're not here!" From the ocean of clones, Naruto came out running, Jiraiya-sama's rasengan in hand, only to be stopped by the Uchiha's hand tightly clasped on the blond's jacket. "What are you doing, you bastard?!"

"Running head first without a second thought…Kagome will be happy to know all her efforts in teaching you strategy were in vain."

"The hell's that supposed to mean?!"

"Go ahead and hit him with that stupid attack if you want to make him stronger," Sasuke said, words clipped and annoyed. "Hoshigake Kisame can absorb his enemies' chakra."

"Heh, Orochimaru blabbed a bit, I see. Sorry to tell you, knowing won't change a thing." The blue-skinned Akatsuki looked entirely unconcerned.

"Yamato-taicho, what do we do now?" Sakura said, landing beside him.

Dark eyes went through the battlefield; that was the right question to ask, but he wasn't sure he could see a way out. The Akatsuki's attention was on the Uchiha, but it was obvious he was monitoring his team's actions. From what he'd said, it looked like Itachi had laid claim to his brother's life, but Naruto didn't have that protection, and the ANBU doubted he'd just let them leave. Even if Yamato could get away, the blond under his care wasn't going to abandon this fight. Hell, Naruto was already going back to the fray, apparently determined to try his hand at taijutsu. Unlike the blond, Sai wasn't moving at all. Frustration really wasn't enough to describe what he was feeling. Kagome was too big of a threat, and this team could barely act as a team. Yamato didn't even have the whole dossier, and there was still the Uchiha and the other two to consider.

"Yamato-taicho?"

No matter what he chose to do, this mission was a failure. There was only one place the girl and the Uchiha prodigy could be, and considering the barrier in those underground tunnels had withstood the test of time, there was no guarantee anyone here could break it from the outside. If Tsunade-sama and the others were right about the Uchiha massacre, then chances were Itachi didn't want those two to get killed. Left alone or not, their chances of leaving this place alive were rather high. A simple order wouldn't be enough to pry the jinchuuriki from the battle, but there were other methods to get him away from here. With a bit of luck, the blue-skinned Akatsuki would get bored of the younger Uchiha after they left and go to interrupt whatever was going on in those tunnels.

He needed to return to Konoha, report, and let Tsunade-sama and the others work on a strategy to deal with this mess.

"Be ready for a hasty retreat," Yamato said without turning to look at the pink-haired kunoichi. "Until I give the word, provide support, and stay close to Naruto."

With a silent nod, the pinkette turned to race back into the fray, leaving the ANBU to scan the area; they needed a path to disappear into that'd let them gain as much distance from this place as soon as they could.

It was the sound that reached him first, the groan of the ground breaking under him, just as the Uchiha landed a hit on the rogue nin, forcing him into the first rows of half-crumbling buildings. The stone was breaking…and, it wasn't from Sakura's punches this time. Honed reflexes failed to fully catch up, chakra barely flowing through in an incomplete jutsus, his wood cracking as the explosion consumed what was left of the abandoned Higurashi compound. Dark eyes only just managed to catch the sight of Uchiha Itachi carrying the bloodied form of Higurashi Kagome, fleeing the explosion's heat.

Memorized coordinates played on repeat in his mind.

Kagome's reiki had flared through the shikigami hidden under his haori, one large burst followed by three intermittent bursts. It was the signal they'd agreed upon. Their plan had worked, and the whole compound went up in flames. All that was left was to give chase and reach the coordinates.

Planning had always been her strong suit; she'd been the one in charge of their strategies even when they were children, and for all of their struggles, she'd kept them alive. He had faith in her, even with the plans Sasuke hated, he could see her reasoning. His life was safe in her hands. But he couldn't stop himself from digging his nails into his flesh as he sped up. It made sense; by now, being watched whenever they left the Taisho estate was a certainty, not a possibility. By more than a single person, too. So it made sense for them to try and obscure the time they got their hands on Itachi; Kagome's political games required smoke and mirrors to let her make her moves under the surface so their enemies wouldn't have the time to prepare. But he knew exactly why the girl had been reluctant to share the cover she'd come up with.

It wasn't a difficult story to sell, not when his brother had planted the seeds so many years ago.

After all, the insane Uchiha prodigy had already shown his interest in Higurashi Kagome, so who'd doubt the rogue shinobi would try to take her for himself?

Those who knew her would never buy she lost without a fight.

Crimson-tainted eyes flickered to the side, Juugo and Suigetsu were falling behind, but it wasn't bad enough for him to stop, not when he could already see the slight trail of reiki marking the correct indentations he had to pull on. The girl's little excursion to her family's compound outside the village resulted in a number of scrolls, half of which they couldn't even read, and a couple of old maps. Fleeing to one of her family's abandoned estates had crossed their minds, they'd have their pick of options. But it wouldn't do anything to get them closer to their goals. As a momentary haven and with the need for privacy reiki-generated barriers afforded them, this small storage-like structure hidden in a cave system was the best place to make their next switch.

Swift motions had a small vial full of crimson in his hand, and it almost felt like his body was moving on its own as they landed. The rocks moved on their own the moment her blood landed on the surface. And then, he could feel the world slow down as his gaze found her form. Blood stood in violent contrast against the light fabric of her ripped kimono, the perfect image of a victim who fought until the end. Under those red stains, her skin was flawless, no sign of any injury was left behind; still, he had to fight the urge to run his hands over her, make sure there really was nothing left that could take her away from here. Now that there wasn't a threat to focus on, it was all he could do to follow her inside. Giving a quick scan to the stone entrance, it wasn't surprising to find his brother was nowhere in sight, just in case Sasuke wasn't able to keep his emotions under control.

"…need any healing?" Kagome's voice managed to pierce through the fog inside his mind, but his mouth refused to move.

"Only a few scrapes," Juugo answered for him. "Nothing that bad."

"He was holding back." The former Kiri nin spit out.

"Alright." Bright azure looked at him, concern swimming in her eyes. "Let's get moving then, no time to waste."

Gentle but firm, Kagome's grip on his arm helped ground him, the warmth of her skin on his a reminder of why he needed to calm down. Forcing himself to nod, he followed her through hallowed halls to the exit on the other side of the small mountain. Quick, short sentences reminded the others of the instructions she'd gone over before walking into the ambush. Nothing overly complicated. They'd send Juugo and Suigetsu in opposite directions, each with henged clones, following bunshins of his brother for as long as they could before spending the next couple of weeks doing their best to scope out Kumo and Ame respectively, before meeting back up. Juugo's little problem would be taken care of by one of the girl's shikigami providing a regular stream of reiki. It was a simple plan…and the mere fact that she was going over it again was nothing proof of the anxiety hidden under her cool facade, tearing at the seams of her self-control. Still, she was doing a far better job than him. At this point, he wasn't sure if he would've been able to successfully create the clones and morph them into his brother, and Kagome were it not because the jutsus were basic techniques.

"Sasuke…" Her voice was soft, carrying her worry with it.

"How are you?" The Uchiha asked, trying to focus on the feeling of her fingers caressing his cheek. "This…"

"It's nothing. It would've healed on its own in an hour or two, at the most." As always, she didn't rushed to offer reassurances.

Of course, it was nothing.

Kagome had willingly laid on Orochimaru's operating table. Nothing but one more guinea pig for the madman to cut open. She'd learned just how much her body could endure before it started failing and required expert assistance, so no matter how much the Uchiha hated it, he wasn't surprised when she decided the best way to fool the eyes watching them was to slice herself up.

"The sacrifices we made will all be worth it," she whispered, leaning close to him. "Itachi is here."

"Let's go then." Before he lost his already uncertain control.

Each step felt too heavy, too light. The hallways stretched for an eternity and were over in less than a second, and the only thing real was the girl he loved guiding him through this labyrinth to his brother. His heartbeats echoed inside his head, a discordant melody drowning the sound of his footsteps. His mind barely registered how she stopped in front of a door he didn't notice had already opened. And he was seven years old again, standing in front of his brother, blood staining his form with the corpses of his parents around him. This was the man who killed his family and dropped him into a never-ending nightmare. The man who loved them and did his best to protect them from his parents' greed even when that meant becoming a target for their hatred.

Uchiha Itachi was the man who broke them.

"Sasuke."

Dull pain throbbed in his hand. Fingers clenched tightly in a fist that fell to his side, devoid of energy after making contact. It wasn't enhanced with chakra. Maybe he'd run into the room with it, though, or maybe Kagome chose not to stop him, and his brother decided not to dodge his punch, but it didn't matter. Because Sasuke wasn't …he wanted…he should've…

Words fought one another, getting stuck in his throat out of impatience, only one escaping through clenched teeth.

"…why?"

Why did he leave them? Why did he obey that order? Why would he passively accept his fate? Why wouldn't he reach out to them and try to explain things?

He meant none of those questions. He meant all of them.

"…I thought those were my only options." It wasn't an excuse nor a plea for forgiveness, and Sasuke refused to acknowledge the regret in his brother's eyes.

"Leaving us alone in that rotted…!"

"Sasuke." She had her arms wrapped around his, though it hardly seemed necessary when he lost all his strength the moment she touched him. "We can't exactly ask him not to treat us like children when we're acting like ones."

Reiki washed over him in gentle waves, coaxing the tension out of him, sharing her warmth even though she should be saving every drop of her energy as possible. Bitterness filled his mouth at the realization that once more, he'd forced Kagome to take care of his emotional outbursts. Letting out a heavy sigh, the boy turned away. He didn't want to look at Itachi as he stood off the ground and let guilt corrode his entrails. His brother's face was thinner than he remembered, the circles under his eyes dark and ever-present, and the stress marks from his childhood memories now looking like permanent scars. And Sasuke's childish behavior now added a blooming bruise.

"There's a lot we need to talk about," the girl said when she noticed he'd finally cooled down. "But my reserves are mostly full, and we need to hurry. We'll get plenty of chances once I'm done."

"Kagome?"

"Granted, I haven't had the chance to test it out, but healing your eyes isn't exactly the easiest thing to pull off." The girl started to look through her sleeves. "The part of the jutsu I completed is as complex as gets, and I'm not sure how many medics would be able to replicate it, but since it only deals with the physical aspect of the problem, it's not that taxing. But that will get us nowhere if we don't deal with the inherent restrictions of the sharingan, and to do that, we need to dissect the kekkei genkai itself. If you believe my predecessor's writing, the amount of reiki required is likely only held by the matriarch herself." Kagome shook her head, doing her best to get back on topic. "Regardless, it'll drain me for sure."

"Left thigh, that's where you put that scroll." Her nervousness was shining through, but he'd always helped her pack her supplies.

"Oh right." The girl gifted him a smile. "Alright, the room we need should be this way."

Careful and soft, Kagome pulled on his hand, guiding him towards the far right tunnel, his brother trailing after them. There was no point in Sasuke going. Orochimaru had never been interested in teaching him any medical jutsu, and aside from the bare basics the girl insisted he learned, the Uchiha hadn't bothered to study any complicated techniques. Even if he wanted to help her, there was nothing he could do to help. In fact, being there could end up distracting the girl and causing more problems. Still, Kagome didn't let go of his hand, happy to appease his rampaging emotions. Unwilling to add more weight to her burden, Sasuke stepped away from her when the hall opened to a wide room, choosing to lean on the wall, arms crossed as he scanned the place.

Along the wall, covered by dust piled in layers thick enough to add to its volume, were a series of shelves and closed closets full of jars of what had to be medical supplies. The main reason they'd been looking for this particular room - its main feature, managed to remain pristine.

Illuminated by a row of candles, the clean water filling the room mostly covered a rough stone chair, flowing around it before leaving through a passage he couldn't quite see. Healing chambers were, apparently, essential structures for the Higurashi clan building, and running water was, for some reason, an important component. Kagome was already going through the ancient supplies, blowing and shaking the dust off an assortment of jars. Behind him, his brother entered as well, but before awkwardness could fully settle, the girl called for him. The selection of recovered materials were now grouped together with her own supplies as she sat down on the ground, as she offered him a small bowl with her left hand. Biting his tongue, Sasuke sat next to her, accepting the container and taking out a kunai.

This wasn't the first time she asked him to do this.

"I suppose it's not wrong to say reiki possesses two sides to it," the Higurashi continued to explain, her voice steady as the blade sliced through her skin, and Sasuke made sure to keep his weapon lodged in her flesh to stop it from closing it, letting her blood dripping into the bowl. "One side can heal, one causes harm, but in reality, unless you're a Higurashi, there's a limit to how much reiki can go through your system before it starts damaging your chakra network." Experienced motions didn't stop as the kunoichi kept mixing the dangerous substances in a glass beaker. "Blood makes for a nice conduit; it gives me more control."

Slow, purposeful motions took her wrist from his grasp, and all Sasuke could do was watch as she added the crimson liquid to the mix and made her way to his brother, stopping right in front of him. Itachi didn't fight her, allowing her to take his blood. The younger Uchiha knew exactly what she was doing right now.

Itachi had followed her and agreed to go with them and placate them, but neither of them trusted easily anymore. Kagome had always been more sensitive than him.

"The amount of reiki I need to use won't just harm your chakra network…" This was a test. "If something goes wrong, it'll destroy it."

"Alright."

Without hesitation, his brother drank from the glass.

Metallic bitterness clashed with an overly sweet tanginess on his tongue. Her blood now stained his lips.

It wouldn't do a thing to stop her from crippling him if so she wanted. Naturally, Itachi had no way to know if anything she was saying was true. As far as he knew, everything (including what she told him in the tunnels) could be a lie, part of an elaborate plan to deceive him into willingly drinking her poison. Honestly, it wouldn't even matter if that was the case. Because real or not, the pain that laced her every word was genuine. His life was hers, theirs to do with as they wished. So he swallowed the mixture, drinking until he felt her hands gently pulling the glass from him.

His remaining senses dulled, the distinct feeling of being underwater washing over him, even as he vaguely noticed the girl sipping from the cup as well.

Kagome's soft touch led him into the water, not stopping despite the sudden cold wrapping around them. Following her to the center of the pool, the Uchiha let himself be seated on a stone, medical chair; ignoring the shiver that went through him as he leaned back, the water reaching to his neck. Apparently unwilling to give any of them the chance to back out of this, a petite hand rested over his eyes.

"Don't fight it, Itachi."

Nostalgia swallowed him, the warmth that was slowly spreading through him was once a familiar sensation for him. It was more than just relaxing, it lulled him, dragging him ever closer to sleep, leaving him more vulnerable than he'd ever been. His sense of time was warping, distorted by the mixture of chemicals and her reiki, he wasn't sure how long they spent like this before it changed. The warmth began to focus, pressure building behind his eyes. He could feel it now, the instinctual urge to push back or get away. And yet, it was so easy to stay still and will his chakra to remain dormant. It didn't hurt, it was closer to discomfort than pain when warmth turned into heat. For minutes or for hours, Itachi wasn't sure, but he could feel the change once again. Almost overwhelming heat faded back into pleasant warmth that was now intertwining with the cooler feeling of healing chakra.

Back when he left Konoha, the young girl had shown promise in her use of her bloodline limit, aside from a few tricks, however, she could only do a couple of basic jutsus. Alone and without any sort of proper guidance, Kagome still managed to master her kekkei genkai in the years they'd been apart. He'd yet to see what his brother was capable of. How much had he missed? Was there any way to make up for it?

Lost in his thoughts he barely noticed the girl moving her hand away. Her warmth lingered even after breaking contact.

"You can open your eyes now."

Pain erupted as light assaulted his once useless eyes, a single finger stopping him from blinking. His vision, blurry and hazy struggled to focus on anything his brain could make sense of it.

"Good," the girl said, exhaustion tainting her voice. "Looks like it worked."

He should've been able to notice it before it happened, should've expected it even, but by the time he pushed himself up, Sasuke had already jumped into the water, catching the girl before she could go under.

"Figured this would happen," Sasuke said, his voice tense as he shoved something into his hand. "Here, Kagome thought you might need it, something about new stimuli overloading your senses." His brother moved, walking slowly but not really waiting for him. "This way, there should be a few rooms this way."

"You haven't been here before," Itachi mentioned.

"The Higurashi barriers have been breached from the outside twice already," Sasuke scoffed as he went through the halls."Kagome will explain things better."

With a nod, the older Uchiha entered what had to be temporary sleeping quarters, a couple of shelves full of dust-covered bags. Not turning around, his brother fished a storage scroll and took out a sleeping bag, setting it against the wall and gently seating the girl on top.

"Help me with her clothes." Sasuke's voice was clipped, it was obvious he still hadn't vented out all his anger. "Not like she'd get sick anyway, but she'll rest better if she's comfortable."

From the moment he left them, Itachi knew there was a chance something like this would happen, for his plan to work in the first place, he needed them to become as close as possible. He'd been relieved when rumors about the romantic nature of his younger brother's relationship with the girl began to spread. And yet, there was something about watching the practiced ease Sasuke went through the complicated knots he could glimpse adorning the girl's clothing that left him feeling odd. It was neither good nor bad, it was just…different. Biting his tongue, the Uchiha prodigy walked to them, softly holding Kagome's bare shoulders, closing his eyes when he noted his brother began to unwrap the inner layers of her clothing, even when he could barely see more than blurry, colored shapes through the dark fabric of his improvised blindfold, only moving his hands to the places Sasuke directed him to.

Silence had fallen upon them now that Kagome wasn't awake to fill the space between them. It's not like he couldn't understand why the boy wasn't willing to breach the distance. The non-enhanced punch from earlier could not be enough for the boy to let out all of the anger and pain he'd been subjected to for the last decade, Sasuke had always been more prone to act out. He couldn't fault him. Not when Itachi himself had no clue what words to pick. What could he even say to the people he'd tried to protect by making their world crumble to pieces? How could he attempt to approach those who reached out to him despite all the damage he'd caused once they found out the truth?

"Are you going to leave?"

"What?"

"Even if you don't stay with us, your eyes are healed now." Sasuke wasn't looking at him. "Whatever problems you still have will be gone in the next few days."

"That isn't…" Itachi started only for Sasuke to cut him off.

"We've changed, Itachi, both of us have." Barely contained tension laced every word. "The only reason our reputation isn't as vile as our former master's is because Kagome has been very careful creating and managing our public image. We're not the innocent, defenseless children you left behind, we can keep ourselves safe. We're not the sort of good people you'd want to protect, and we're not your responsibility anymore. You've done your duty. So if you're going to leave us when you realize who we are then just do so already. I don't need your eyes. Kagome's suffered enough, she doesn't need false hopes.

Oh…some things had stayed the same.

Lashing out to hide his fear.

As a kid, Sasuke would throw a fit when he wanted to pretend he wasn't scared of whatever may happen. He could clearly remember the boy climbing onto the back of a building in the Uchiha compound on his birthday because Sasuke was too scared Kagome might not remember their usual celebration because Naruto-kun was now part of their small circle. That could still hear that sliver of hesitation and insecurity, was bittersweet. Especially when considered together with his brother's words.

Jutsu creation was far from an exact science, and even if the most complicated part of the technique was already done, the sort of accidents involved when the jutsu in question was of a medical nature was always dangerous. And Orochimaru wasn't the type to offer animal subjects when he had an abundance of bodies to use. Directly or indirectly, people had died at her hands. Of course, Sasuke hadn't done anything to hide his predilection towards violence. The innocence of the children he'd left behind was gone, destroyed by Itachi's own hands. At this point, he didn't know the people they'd become. But there was so much blood in his hands that Itachi was the last person with the right to judge them. No…even if he could, even if the people in front of him might as well be strangers…Itachi loved them all the same.

"I'm not going anywhere." The older Uchiha put a cautious hand on his brother's shoulder, forcing the boy to look at him."Never again."

"You…I…"

"I'm sorry, Sasuke."

Apologies would never be enough to make up for the pain he caused, but it was the only thing he could do right now. Swallowing down a sigh, Itachi stood up, he wasn't about to force his brother to endure his presence.

"Just stay…sit here," Sasuke said, not looking at him again, though this time the tension in his voice was replaced by embarrassment. "Kagome will worry if she can't see you when she wakes up…

"She never believed it, you know, that the reason behind that was to test your power."

"Her intuition was always incredibly sharp." Sitting down at the girl's side, Itachi couldn't help but give a rueful smile.

This time, the silence that fell over them was comfortable. He wanted to stay quiet, let the fact that he really was here, together with them and with his vision working once more sink in. But the words waiting on his tongue demanded to be let out, pushed forth by worry that he couldn't quite ignore, not when it was only a few moments ago that he'd wiped her blood off his skin.

She hadn't hesitated, not for a second.

"Kagome…she was the one who cut herself." It had been far worse than that, but the Uchiha prodigy couldn't bring himself to describe it any other way.

"Yeah, that was always the plan," his brother scoffed, clearly he hadn't been fond of that part of the girl's strategy. "If she says it wasn't that bad, then it wasn't. Kagome tries to avoid acting like that, but Orochimaru was really interested in learning the limitations of a Higurashi body, and she needed him to think we were being stringed along."

The boy threw a scroll at him. "Here, this is all we found related to Father's coup."

Sasuke was running away again.

Reading while his eyes were still getting used to registering stimuli wasn't the best course of action. Still, he took the offered text, after all, he already had his answer.

Harming herself wasn't a common occurrence, but it wasn't uncommon either. A silent voice refused to shut up inside his head, whispering that the only reason this wasn't one of her go-to strategies, if not for Sasuke's very open dislike. She'd apologized to him, back in the underground tunnels, before picking up the blade Itachi threw to the ground, and starting to pierce her own flesh. His blood had frozen over as he realized Kagome wasn't even flinching as she went through her own body, all to ensure an unknown watcher would be fooled into thinking the three of them were still at odds.

Anger wasn't an emotion Itachi let reign often.

The shinobi that fought him at the end of the war were just people who happened to be born in a different village. The targets he was sent to hunt down were simply unlucky to have their names written in his mission scrolls. Of course, he felt guilty about the innocents who became collateral damage. And on the odd occasion, the Uchiha prodigy agreed that his mark's demise would be a net benefit, he mostly felt numb. Cruelty and brutality had become just another part of his daily life back when he was still a child himself. He clearly remembered, however, the one time it wasn't just anger that consumed him. The panic that had taken hold of him when Sasuke ran up to him, terrified and desperately telling him that Kagome was nowhere to be found had quickly vanished, morphing into a mixture of rage and hatred when he finally managed to track her. The mere thought of the girl, bound and gagged, her eyes hazy, thrown over an unknown man's shoulder, while the village pariah stubbornly refused to let go of the unnamed ninja's right arm, biting him as if his life depended on it was more than enough for the flames to rise up again. And right now, the loud implications woven in his brother's words were starting to reignite those embers.

Because a Higurashi body could endure hell, and Orochimaru would've tried to find every single limit.

The snake Sannin was already dead, however, so the only thing he could do was stay by their side and try not to let anyone harm them again. There were so many threats waiting for them outside this barrier, and Kagome was right about the long talk they needed to have. Plans had to be changed, strategies had to be made, and all secrets had to be shared. For now, however, Itachi opened the scroll.

Difficult to read or not, this was also something he had to do. Regardless of what brought Uchiha Fugaku to the edge, the coup needed to be stopped. That fact would remain the same, no matter what…but if there was a legitimate motivation for his father's actions, then there really was one more thing for him to consider.

Trying to open her eyes felt like an impossible task to accomplish.

When she heightened her senses, it wasn't Sasuke who was by her side, though.

Exhaustion pulled on her hazy awareness even as she fought to open her eyes. With worry and anxiety fueling her determination, Kagome struggled to see the dimly lit room. Itachi was next to her. Sitting with his back leaning on the wall, a scroll in his hands, and wearing the makeshift blindfold she prepared, and with the Akatsuki cloak nowhere to be found, Uchiha Itachi was right next to her.

All of her planning and clever words fled her.

Once upon a time, this wouldn't have been an unusual sight. Up until the day of the massacre, Sasuke and Kagome would try to sneak into the older Uchiha's room at night, desperate to get as much time together with him, falling asleep to the sound of his voice as he shared stories of the places he visited. For so many years, Kagome had gone through her memories, doing her best not to get swallowed by the emotions tied to it, and now, those feelings were rising to the surface. Fighting off her tiredness was nothing when she had him here with her, with them. Maybe it was the change in the rhythm of her breathing or her slight movement as she tried to get a better look at him when his head turned to her. She needed to check his eyes, and the girl managed to hold on to that thought to ground her. Created by the legendary Higurashi or not, the jutsu she used had never been tested before. Proper follow-ups were going to be necessary to ensure no unforeseen circumstances happened.

"Here, Kagome." Swift hands helped her sit up, letting her rest against the wall. "Are you alright?"

"Just a little tired," she said, doing her best to pretend she was fine.

"Is that what you call being unconscious for three days?" Sasuke scoffed as he entered the room, a bucket of water, but his voice was softer than usual. "Can you even lift your arms?"

"With a bit of effort. My chakra reserves aren't that low, diagnostics don't take that much, so I should…" A cup of water was gently pressed against her lips, cutting her excuses off.

"Rest, that's what you should to do." Itachi tipped the cup, careful not to overwhelm her. "I haven't felt any anomalies, so focus on recovering your energy."

Usually, she would've pushed back. One of the most common arguments she had with Sasuke anymore was about her tendency to overwork herself. Who won those not-quite fights was a coin toss. And yet, all she could do was offer a small nod and accept the glass placed into her hands. Gentle reprimands and thoughtful instruction were once a normal occurrence. Just this time, she'd let herself act as she did as a child, just this once. Sasuke seemed calmer now as he sat to her left, taking out some of their food supplies; whatever happened while she was unconscious had helped mend a bit of their relationship. They had a time limit to work with, going back to sleep or allowing them to get swept away by the emotions that swallowed her childhood memories, but she could leave the diagnostics for later.

"Fine," Kagome gave up with a sigh, letting Sasuke feed her a piece of dried meat. "We should still talk about…well, everything."

"Did you finish with the clan documents?" Sasuke turned towards the older Uchiha

"It looks like Father was hiding more things than I thought." The girl could hear a hint of bitterness in his voice. "The village as well."

"That's an understatement." In Sasuke's there was derision.

"Itachi…" Kagome started, pausing to decide just what angle would be the best to pursue before continuing. "The day of the massacre…who was with you?"

"You figured it out." He didn't sound surprised.

"Hard to kill an entire clan without getting a single scratch," Sasuke added. "Even for you."

Azure eyes studied the man at her side. She really could read him, to a point, at least. It'd be even better if he was actually lowering his guard in front of them, but she'd need a bit more time before she could feel confident about it. Regardless, she could see the tension taking hold of his form, even more than when Sasuke asked about his progress on the reports documenting Uchiha Fugaku's treason. They didn't need more complications in their lives. The temptation to slap him and pretend they had the time to simply bask in the fact that at last, they were together. The remnants of her broken little world finally in her hands. Complacency created blind spots, and she wasn't about to let anyone take them away anymore. Pushing back her exhaustion, Kagome moved her hand, letting it rest above his.

"Uchiha Madara." The name sounded vile when Itachi spoke again. "That's what he called himself."

"What the…" Sasuke trailed off.

"Of course, I have no way to prove if that's true; however, he is a part of the clan." The older Uchiha's words were definitely worth his earlier warning and cautiousness. "And he's the one controlling Akatsuki from the shadows."

"You're telling me a man who died decades ago was the one who killed our family?" Disbelief dripped from Sasuke's voice.

Bitter laughter got stuck in her throat. One more of Konoha's mistakes coming to haunt them. Maybe their families should've never gotten involved with the village in the first place.

So Itachi's sudden decision to knock her out that day wasn't just out of caution. If that man truly was one of Konoha's founders, then he might've realized the girl peeking through the window wasn't just not an Uchiha, but specifically, a Higurashi. Not that it made much of a difference. Whoever this guy was, he was strong enough for Itachi not to immediately dismiss the idea as nonsense. Even if the name was fake, they'd still end up going against a Sharingan user. More than likely, the owner of one of the many names on the list of suspicious deaths and disappearances. And there was no way this guy would let them go. One way or another, Konoha's mistakes were set to ruin their plans.

"He wouldn't be the first shinobi to look for immortality." Kagome shook her head; Orochimaru would still be here if he wasn't so ambitious. "We were always going to fight Akatsuki, and…"

Words died on her tongue.

Konoha created this mess. And for once, it could work in their favor. Priorities would have to shift, and their plans would need to be modified, but she could work with this. For so long they'd been forced to deal with Konoha's screw-ups; it was about time for the village to suffer for their mistakes.

Glancing at her side, Itachi seemed willing to share the secrets he'd kept from them, but the real test would come when they shared their desire for revenge. She only had a few days to make sure he'd be entangled to them. Chained together so they could drag him down to the abyss that had already swallowed them whole, and if they could pull him to them, their plans would finally start moving, one way or another.

A/N: Some rough first interactions but well, years of trauma tends to do that, but they're getting there, slowly.

And with this most of canon and future chances of it has officially gone out the window. There are still a couple of moments that need to happen but even those will have different consequences/contexts now entangles with them.

As always thank you guys so much for reading and any and all reviews/comments/criticisms area greatly and really welcome.