Chapter 17. Dilemma

"Fire style," he inhaled. "Phoenix fire Jutsu."

A volley of small fireball flow from his lips, controlled by his chakra, they attacked the redhead demon. With a wicked grin of amusement, she danced throw his attack. She fired off water bullets to dispose of those she couldn't dodge.

His vision was blurry, his body heavy. His breathing was harsh, and he could feel his body getting weaker. He lost too much blood and was losing more by fighting the demon. His clone was still alive; he could only hope that meant Sasuke and Naruto were safe.

There was a barrier around the Uchiha district, trapping them. His clone got destroyed upon touching it. He was not confident in saying he could get past it. Before that, he would need to get past her.

When he arrived, she seemed keen on getting her hand on Naruto. It wasn't until he injured himself to protect them that she took an interest in him, choosing to fight him instead. Though he soon realized they were trapped, and she wanted to fight him before going after them.

Emerald eyes followed his sluggish movement with an amused grin. She seemed to be enjoying his suffering, her eyes filled with glee. Her chains a shot towards him and stabbed into the roof where he once stood.

With his body moving slower, dodging became more difficult. He rolled away from the follow-up attack, throwing kunais as he went.

He was on the defensive, blocking, and dodging. Itachi maneuvered around her attacks. It became less of a fight and more of a game of cat and mouse.

"Oh, this is exciting!" the demon said, attacking him like a madwoman. "Even though you're dying, you're still trying to fight me. You really are something else, Itachi Uchiha!"

She knocked him off the roof with a kick to the chest. Gritting through the pain, he landed on his feet before falling to one knee. The clacking of wood alerted him of her presence. She strode over to his down form, hips swaying as she walked.

"Are you finally done, Uchiha.?" She taunted, looming over him with a satisfied look on her face. He snarled in defiance. He could no longer stand, falling to his knee whenever he tired. He fought for consciousness, for he knew the moment he lost it, Sasuke and Naruto would be defenseless.

She knelt before, him raising his chin, forcing him to look at her. Obsidian met emerald. Her eyes soften unnaturally, much as his own did around Sasuke. Golden chains aimed their spears towards him, eager to end him.

Fear choked him, but he kept his face masked with hatred. If his parents were among the casualties, Sasuke would be all alone with his death. That was assuming he didn't die once she killed him. He felt helpless, nothing but a child unable to stop the valance around him.

For all have peers praising his strengths, he was rather weak where it counted. Something wet ran down his cheek. He refused to acknowledge his tears. He was an Uchiha, his father's son … a big brother.

Frustration grew in him.

He was embraced.

Strong arms wrapped around him, holding him to a warm, soft chest. Confusion plagued him even as the demon whispered in his ear.

"You're far too young to be wearing a face like that," she said her voice heavenly.

"Don't worry."

Her chains pulled back, gearing up for the killing blow.

"After this, everything will be okay. I will end your suffering."

The chains sprung forward, and he closed his eyes in acceptance.

"Itachi!"

His eyes flew open. There was no pain, he was still in her arms, but he was still alive.

"It would appear we have guests." She said, no surprised in the slightest. She released him and flipped away. A familiar figure stood before him in a protective stance.

"K-Kakashi?" he fell back, losing his support.

"Got you!" someone caught him. He looked back to see an anbu mask, confused he looked around, becoming more confused. Mr. Haruno was in binds made of wood, and Sakura was unconscious.

"Wha?" he began but was interrupted by soft giggles.

Kakashi stood in front of them, snarling behind his anbu mask. The woman, an Uzumaki, was giggling at them, passively delighted.

"Oh my, the black ops are on the scene. Surely you didn't come all this way for little old me." She said.

Kakashi looked around, not for the first time, and saw nothing but death. They feared the clan would revolt against the village using the Jinchuriki, but it seemed they wouldn't be a problem anymore.

Caught with the bloody kunai was the Uzumaki standing before them. Her adamantine chains danced around her blood-covered form. From the lack of injures on her person, it was apparent it didn't belong to her.

Not to mention, they arrived to see her trying to kill Itachi. The Hokage didn't trust her and had asked him to watch her. She showed no sign of malicious intent during his observation – then again – he should not have expected her to. No good kunoichi would ever reveal her mission.

No one could have predicted her plans were massacring the Uchiha.

"Tenzo!" he spoke with urgency. "we must inform the Hokage."

"It's no use." He looked back to see Itachi's tired face. "There is a barrier around the area; no one can get out."

As if to accentuate his point, the barrier came alive. A dome formed around the area, chains seeming to hold it up. He remembered seeing the same dome the day his teacher died. The thought of his teacher alerted him to the missing Uzumaki.

"Where's Naruto?"

Blue eyes stared up at an unfamiliar ceiling. Something woke him – it wasn't a sound – more of a feeling. Sitting up, he looked about the room in confusion. It was of a traditional build, was he at the Hyuga? It was still night, the moonlight shining through the window.

He tilted his head and sniffed the air.

He was at the Uchiha district, inside Sasuke's room if the smell was any indication. He had expected them to drop him home when he fell asleep, a sleepover at the Uchihas was new.

Unease build in him. He was at the Uchiha district in Sasuke's room, but Sasuke wasn't there.

He's probably in the bathroom. Even as he tried to comfort himself, his feet moved to the door. The took a calming breath upon gripping the knob.

Everything is fine. Just find Sasuke and bring him back.

Plan in mind, he opened the door and stepped through it. The hallway was empty and silent as the dead. He through the hall peeking in each room, finding them empty. It shouldn't have, but that face made him fearful. He looked to the end of the hall and ran for it.

Sakura would scold him for not being silent on his feet, but fear overtook his common sense. Something wasn't right. He slid down the rails of the stairs, reaching the ground floor the smell hit him.

Copper, no, blood.

He staggered towards the kitchen, the smell increasing. With trembling hands, he pushed the door open.

He wished he hadn't.

He wished he had stayed in bed and ignored reality.

His legs gave out, and he fell to his knees.

"N-no," he shook his head in denial; this had to be a bad dream. Tears ran down his cheeks in a stream of sorrow.

Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha laid on moving on the kitchen floor, in a pool of their own blood.

A scream tore from his throat as he sobbed. They weren't his family, but they had excepted him. Mrs. Uchiha had even asked him to call her aunty. He finally had a family why was he losing them like this.

"Naruto?"

Itachi stood behind him with a grimace.

"Itachi-" Naruto gasped upon seeing the wound Itachi sported, blood coating his clothes. Naruto stood, rushing over to help, he feared the Uchiha would faint at any minute. He was no good at medical Jutsu, but he did know first add. He guided the teen to the wall unsealing bandages. It was then that he saw Sasuke sleeping on the floor in the sitting room. He sagged with relief; he hadn't lost all of them.

Sakura would be devastated if something happened to Sasuke. He looked to the corpses on the floor and wiped away his tears. He would grieve later; now, he needed to ensure no one else died. With a look of determination, he began to bandage his abdomen. There was a huge in his stomach; he could see through to the other side. His hands trembled as he tried – and failed – not to think about how it must hurt.

Naruto managed a clumsy job of wrapping Itachi's entire stomach to stop the bleeding. Judging from how red the bandages were when he finished, he didn't do a good job. Itachi saw his shame had tapped him on the forehead, the way he did with Sasuke.

"Thank you," He said, his voice soft his eyes tired. Naruto fought back the tears, but it was a losing battle. He nodded instead, lowering his head and wiping his eyes.

"Oniisan, what happened here?" Naruto dared to ask in the silence that followed.

"Naruto I -" his stopped mid-sentence, his eyes widening. He grabbed Naruto and body-flickered to Sasuke's side. Before Naruto could question his motive, he saw him. Clothed in black robes, a man stood in the walkway, a single red eye glowing against his silhouette.

Something inside him became agitated at the mere sight of the man. He only saw a silhouette, but everything inside him said this man was bad news. Judging from Itachi's actions, he thought so too. Just who was this guy.

"I see, so there some Uchihas that still live." A deep and bone-chilling voice came from the man. "Good, give me your eyes."

Everything was going wrong.

The Jinchuriki was missing, Itachi was dying, the Uchiha were dead, and the one who did it was holding them captive. Help wasn't coming, and he was confused as to what his mission was anymore.

Seek and capture the traitor and changeling Sakura Haruno; that was the mission. He looked between the sleeping girl under his arm; and the Uzumaki fighting Kakashi. It wasn't unusual for the same person to be in two different places at once; they had clones after all. But which of them was the real one?

Itachi coughed blood, his condition worsening.

"Itachi!" Mr. Haruno cried in a panic. He couldn't move with the binds around him, but he still tried to reach the young Uchiha. It sounded like genuine concern; it might have been. There was no way of knowing if the Harunos did, in fact, care for the Uchihas.

"I'm fine, Haruno-san." Itachi wheezed. Mr. Haruno was having none of it.

"The hell you are," the man scolded. "You've got a hole in your stomach, boy!" Itachi attempted a weak laugh that turned into a ragged cough. Tenzo wasn't a medical expert, though he tried to console the Uchiha, he could do nothing to ease his pain.

"Wake Sakura." it wasn't a request.

Tenzo looked at the Haruno, that stared back in defiance.

"She's the only one here who can heal him," he stated. "unless you want another Uchiha to die." Itachi was looking at them with confusion. Lord Danzo didn't make him aware of their plans in fear of his betrayal. To him, it would appear they had taken the Harunos hostage, without a reasonable cause.

"What's going on?" Itachi asked again, pulling out of his hold. "Why is Haruno-san being treated like this?"

Before Tenzo could explain the treason that was Sakura Haruno, black flames engulfed a nearby building. Naturally, it drew everyone's attention, pausing the current fight and conversation.

"Amaterasu?" Itachi spoke aloud. The Uzumaki leaped away from the flames, as did Kakashi. They weren't near it, to begin with, but saw the need to put more distance between them.

The wall of a house crumbled and, another Itachi broke through. With two children on his back, Itachi no. 2 fired off more black flames into the building. He leaped away from the burning building and watched it with bated breath.

His Mangekyou Sharingan was activated and bleeding relentlessly. The children on his back too watched the burning building with fear.

The Jinchuriki and Itachi's younger brother were alive, and with another Itachi, perhaps a clone. While he was relieved to know the Jinchuriki was alive and while, the atmosphere surrounding their appearance, wasn't at all cheerful.

"He's coming!" the Jinchuriki exclaimed, and the clone took a hasty step back.

"Fire style, fireball Jutsu," the youngest Uchiha fired off a ball of fire, adding to the black flames.

"Itachi!" Kakashi called, only to go silent as a man walked through the flames. Clothed in a black robe and an orange spiral mask, the man walked out of the burning building with no regard for the inferno around him.

"Now that wasn't very nice," a deep and bone-chilling voice came from the man. He stepped out of the fire's range and in view of everyone.

"The prodigal son returns," the Uzumaki said knowingly. "Things just got a lot more interesting, hehe."

The Uzumaki was the only one amused by this, Itachi's eyes widened with recognition. He knew that man. He was the one that killed his entire team. Why was he here? Did he have a hand in killing his clan? Just what was going on?

Kakashi was in a terrible dilemma. His target had turned into two, and now there was a third appeared. The Uzumaki knew him, judging from her reaction. They were after the Uchihas and Naruto, but he only had the strength to fight one of them. Itachi was injured, and then there were the prisoners Tenzo was guarding.

His eyes dared to look over at them. Itachi looked modified, Tenzo and Mr. Haruno, uneasy. They hadn't anticipated this; they needed reinforcements. With the barrier in place, he wasn't sure they would be getting any, anytime soon.

Kakashi drew in a sharp breath when his eyes spot a spark of green.

At that moment, three things became clear. The Uchiha clan were on the brink of extinction, they were tapped with no hope for reinforcements, and Sakura Haruno was awake.

Greetings Nightwalkers luna here, so I made a mistake on the last upload, I meant to say "June 13" but instead said the twelve, my bad. leading into the finale battle hope you are all enjoying the madness.

Now it seems I will be without internet for the foreseeable future. Don't panic there is always the liberty, I just have to go through a lot of trouble to upload then is all. As a result of this stupidity, I will have to upload every other week. I was planning on putting another story in between, but I'll have to finish at least five chapters of that before I upload one. I've learned my lesson.

anyway, that will do it for me, until next time, Night song!

Next chapter, June 26.