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154Chapter 49

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Naruto or any of it's characters. Kishimoto Masashi does. I do not make any type of profit from writing this fanfiction. This is strictly for my and my readers' pleasure. The Japanese language used in this fanfiction is translated by Google.

CLAIMER: I OWN Yami Uchiha. Do NOT steal.

RATED: R and is subject to change.

WARNING: This is an YAOI/MALE+MALE story.

BETA READER: None; so there will be errors that I miss.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The scenarios involved in this fanfiction are fictional. The main character may also strike readers as a Mary Sue/Gary Stue. If this fact bothers you, turn back now. Construction criticism is welcomed. No flames. I also have this story posted on my Mibba account titled Kumo no Su De.

"Speaking"

'Thinking'

Hand Signing

~oOo~STORY START~oOo~

A triangle was formed with a shinobi in each corner. Jiraiya swiftly tucked the stasis scroll in a more secure place on his body; that being the inside of his sage-green kimono style top. The Gama Sennin (Toad Sage) watched Kabuto like a hawk, focusing more of one threat than the other. Under the pretense of a fight for the stasis scroll, Jiraiya finally put a name to the Rai nin's (lightning ninja) face. He was Kirabi (Killer Bee), better known as the Raikage's adopted little brother, B. Jiraiya spared a second to thank Kami that Kirabi was currently showing no hostility towards him, having it all aimed at Orochimaru's apprentice.

"The blossoms are beginning to wilt and you have the only fresh sample of the moon's life plant in that scroll of yours. Given the situation, I'll take a wild guess and say Tsunade-sama gave you a stasis scroll. But, I know that even her stasis scrolls will only last so long," Kabuto mouthed, pushing his glasses up further on the bridge of his nose as he smirked at the Sannin.

Kirabi unsheathed a second sword, sparing Jiraiya a glance.

"Seeing as Tsunade-hime (princess) was not there to accept Orochimaru's deal, you decided to search through rumors as well I see," Jiraiya voiced, rushing through strategies of getting away from the dangerous medic.

He had no time to spare fighting with the Oto nin (sound ninja) and the Rai nin made a choice not to attack Jiraiya first and conversant later. Jiraiya decided on a plan of action and was about to give the Rai nin an advantage over his by trusting the man enough to help him get away through a distraction. Good thing Kirabi seemed to be on the same page as the Sannin, because in that moment of exchanging nods, Kirabi was attacking Kabuto with vigor. As he made his way down the mountain side and away from the fight, Jiraiya gave thought of thanking Kirabi in some way for his help. Maybe he would send him a signed copy of his newly published Icha Icha Tactics. Was Kirabi even a fan? Shrugging that thought off, Jiraiya picked up his pace.

~oOo~

Kabuto barely managed to dodge the duel slashes of Kirabi's swords. Sneering, the white haired young man flipped backwards, blocking another strike with one of his chakra no mesus (chakra scalpels).

"I did not account for you helping Jiraiya-san. Why did you not attack him while his back was turned?" Kabuto asked, stalling for time.

He could not let Jiraiya get away with the only chance Orochimaru had at recovery, sans switching bodies. It helped to think that taking the plant from the Sannin would also eliminate one of the thorns in his master's side. Itachi Uchiha was apparently in enough of a bad state that even Jiraiya would risk being caught in enemy territory for a rumor. But the question was…why? Was one man so important? Or was another man's wish to save him the reason? Kabuto's thoughts immediately went to the eldest Uchiha that his master seemed to favor amongst the survivors. Even Kabuto knew that Orochimaru's obsession with Yami Uchiha revolved around more than him wanting the Uchiha's doujutsu. That obsession, Kabuto knew, would one day be the death of his master.

"Bakayarō! Konoyarō! Stalling does not work with me…let's fight this out and leave that man be," Kirabi rapped, his ungodly rhyme causing Kabuto's eye to twitch.

~oOo~

Yami stood outside of Hiruzen Sarutobi's personal residence where he was under strict orders to stay in bed and rest. A few days after the man was healed and transferred to his house, Hiruzen had practically thrown his Hokage title at Tsunade. Saying that the blonde was furious would be an understatement. She spent the weeks ignoring the old, newly retired, man other than checking his health. Given that it did make things easier for Itachi now that Tsunade was acting Hokage of the village, but Yami still knew that Hiruzen's standing in the matter of the Uchiha massacre was important.

Knocking on the hard wooden door, Yami blinked down at the boy who answered the door. The boy was sporting the same wildly spiky brunette hairstyle of the Sarutobi clan, but the goggles covering the boy's forehead was what caught Yami's attention. He vaguely remembered Naruto complaining for a moment about some idiot twerp that claimed to want to be Hokage and thought that it only took for him to beating the Sandaime in a fight to achieve it. Then Naruto was excited that he had an apprentice and it turned out to be the same twerp from before.

"Konohamaru-kun, good morning," Yami greeted, his smile hidden behind his bandages, but shown through his ebony orbs.

"Ah! You're Naruto-nii's sensei!" Konohamaru shouted, cheeks flushing at being called his given name instead of the usual 'Honorable Grandson'.

Yami nodded.

"I am here to see the Sandaime. Is he taking visitors?" Yami asked the gapping boy.

"Oh, yeah, Oji-chan is in his room," Konohamaru said and his lips peeled back in a large grin. "Tsunade-Oba-chan really laid it in Oji-chan this morning. She caught him wandering the house."

Yami chuckled and followed the boy into the house. They stopped outside of Hiruzen's bedroom and Yami would have knocked if Konohamaru had not taking it upon himself to barge into the room. Hiruzen sat in bed reading over a few files. He looked up when his bedroom door was thrown open and his grandson came prancing into the room with Yami standing at the threshold.

"Konohamaru-kun…"Hiruzen sighed with a smile. "Yami-san, please come in. What can this old, retired man do for you today?"

Yami smiled with Hiruzen stressed that he was retired. Then his face fell blank and Hiruzen dismissed his grandson for the inevitable serious discussion about to be had between the two men. To be on the safe side of privacy, Hiruzen activated the privacy seal on his bedside table, allowing the room to glow a mere second from the chakra.

"Yami-san, I have a feeling that I know what you wish to discuss with me. Hardly anything goes unnoticed by me inside this village…also Tsunade told me this morning doing my angering her," Hiruzen confessed, lacing his fingers together and resting them on his lap.

Yami frowned, brows furrowed.

"Do not be mad at her…it was partially my fault for picking at her on the matter. I suspected you would find out sooner or later when you came back to Konoha," Hiruzen stated somberly.

"Hoka—Sandaime-sama," Yami corrected himself, seeing as Tsunade was now Hokage, "Why did you allow Itachi Uchiha's hands be bloodied by my people's death? Why did you stand by and allow Danzo Shimura to trick my cousin into committing genocide?" Yami demanded, keeping his voice low despite the privacy seal.

Hiruzen sighed, having prepared for Yami's anger.

"The night of the Uchiha massacre, Itachi-san showed up in my office to report the completion of a mission forged by Danzo. Apparently Danzo had told him of your death and that information sent Itachi into accepting the mission handed to him. I was beyond shocked and confessed that I had not given him any mission pertaining to killing his clansmen. Itachi-san broke that night. He made me promise to protect Sasuke-kun from Danzo and that he would leave the village in order to gather information for Konoha. Over the years, I have been trying to gather enough evidence to arrest Danzo, but he has managed to stay in the shadows," Hiruzen explained before motioning to the papers on his lap. "This is all I could collect over the years, but it is not enough."

Mouth set in a tight line, Yami reached into his hanten and pulled out the file he had retrieved from summon Chisana, whom had been in charge of protecting the file. Yami handed the file over to a stunned Hiruzen and watched the older man flip through the contents with widening eyes.

"How did you…this is…" Hiruzen stumbled over his words.

"Arachnids are the perfect preditor. They can lie in wait for days at a time for their prey to spring a trap or they can creep along the shadows and enjoy the hunt personally," Yami stated vaguely, but outright stated that one of his summons found the information for him.

"Where is Itachi-san now?" Hiruzen asked, moving to get out of bed.

"He is…safe," Yami settled on the term, thinking of exactly where his seventeen year old cousin was at that given moment.

~oOo~

"YAAHOOO! Go Akamaru!" Kiba shouted gleefully as he and his ninken partner shot through the Inuzuka training grounds with Hinata Hyuga and Shino Aburame hot on their trail.

Team Eight were currently doing a joint training session with Team Seven and it was Team Eight's turn to seek the other three out. Kakashi sat up against one of the post in the training ground along with Kurenai. They were waiting for Team Ten to arrive, but considering the sensei in charge…it would be a slow process for the lazy jonin; which was strange seeing as Kakashi had a reputation for being late and he was already there.

Inside the Inuzuka Clan Head's house, Itachi sat out of sight of the commotion outside. A solid mound of fluffy bumped up against Itachi's back before settling against the ravenette's left side. His right side was already occupied by an identical animal, the same with his lap. Hana Inuzuka grinned cheekily from the doorway, staring at the Uchiha heir being surrounded by her sleeping ninken triplets. Having heard her come in, Itachi glanced over his shoulder at the brunette as she carried a tray of herbal tea for the two to drink. Being one from a blunt family, Hana voiced her opinion on a daily basis.

"Yami-san finally told you about the letter Kaa-san sent him," Hana stated more than asked.

"Hn, he informed be yesterday," Itachi replied, taking a sip of the warm tea.

"Well?" She asked, wanting to know his thoughts on the matter.

"You know of my health, as Tsunade and Itoko had told you and Tsume-san. I do not have long before my health deteriorates," Itachi stated calmly.

Hana frowned, moving around the kotatsu to sit beside him.

"Jiraiya-san is coming back with a medical plant that can cure you, Itachi-kun," Hana voiced confidently.

The frown remained on Itachi's face, his eyes closing with a melancholy slack of his shoulders.

"There is no way to tell that a mere rumor will be my salvation. If anything, my sins are too great for me to be sav—"

Itachi's eyes shot open, meeting the ever-so clear vision of mocha brown. Hana's plump lips moved over Itachi's, kissing the astonished Uchiha and interrupting his depressing talk. She leaned back, but kept her fingers tangled in his loose shoulder length black hair.

"Everyone deserves a second chance, Itachi. Let me help you make that second chance a reality," Hana said softly, freeing one hand from Itachi's hair to grab one of his shaking hands.

She placed his hand over her flat stomach, letting him know exactly how she planned on helping him.

A/N: Okay, let me get this out. Tsume wants her daughter and Itachi to marry. Being an Inuzuka, they like getting their way. She uses this by telling Yami that the Uchiha's need children and that she wants her daughter to get married. Hana is willing to be with Itachi, because she knows the truth and she believes that he is a good man for her. Any questions? Fill free to ask.